Phrasal Verbs in the Real World

Once you start listening and looking for them, you’ll spot phrasal words everywhere in authentic English content. They’re commonly used in TV shows, movies, news reports, conversations and books.

Learning by context

It would be very difficult to learn phrasal verbs by studying lists of them and memorising their meanings. It’s best to listen out (wink wink that was one!) for them in natural use and make a note in a notebook when you hear them, including how they were used. The context is so important to deciphering the meaning. Listen to the tone and watch the body language. For example if you hear: “She always shows off her new clothes.” spoken with a negative tone and an eye roll, then you can guess that the phrasal verb ‘to show off’ is not a good thing.

Get Creative

Emotional and dramatic language is easier to remember so try to connect the phrasal verb with a dramatic example. Once you have noted down a set of 10 or so phrasal verbs, try using them in a simple role play or dramatic scene. Here’s an example to get you started:

• • Friend 1: I ran into your boyfriend at the mall today.
  • Friend 2: What? He said he couldn’t drop by because he was working all day.
  • Friend 1: He’s always letting you down. You should break up with him.
  • Friend 2: I know. But I’m scared I won’t get over him.
  • Friend 1: Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

Did you spot them all? There were 6 phrasal verbs in that conversation!

Musical Examples

1. Wake up – Wake me up when it’s all over. (Avicii)
2. Shake off – Shake it off, shake it off. (Taylor Swift)
3. Stand by – Stand by me. (Ben E. King)
4. Show up – Don’t show up, don’t come out, don’t start caring about me now. (Dua Lipa)
5. Let down – I know that I let you down, is it too late to say I’m sorry now? (Justin Bieber)