Learning Vocabulary: 10 Phrasal Verbs

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Vocabulary: Phrasal verbs

Task: Complete three dialogues with new phrasal verbs from this podcast

Learning Vocabulary: 10 Phrasal Verbs

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Jack and Rich talk about phrasal verbs, why they are difficult to learn and how you can increase your vocabulary by learning and using them. They focus on ten phrasal verbs that are common but difficult to learn. Your task is to complete three dialogues using phrasal verbs that are introduced in this podcast. As always, we also have a new football phrase for you to guess. Enjoy!

If you find the podcast difficult to understand, you can read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Read and listen at the same time.

Learning Vocabulary - 10 useful phrasal verbs

Introduction:

Jack: Hey Rich. What are you reading?

Rich: I’m just reading a match report. Listen. The Liverpool and Everton match was in danger of being called off due to snow but went ahead with snow falling at Anfield.

Jack: I bet you wish it had been called off. Liverpool didn’t really put away their chances, did they?

Rich: I know. We should have killed the game off in the second half. Listen. Calvert-Lewin was brought down for a penalty to Everton. Brought down? The defender never touched him.

Jack: It was definitely a penalty. What does it say? Look here. Rooney tucked it away effortlessly.

Rich: A draw. Oh well. It could have been worse. I’m already looking forward to beating Everton in the next derby match.

Jack: Some of that vocabulary was really difficult. To put away, to tuck away, to call off. All of these are phrasal verbs. And that’s what we’re going to look at in this week’s podcast - phrasal verbs.

Rich: And not just phrasal verbs connected to football but some common phrasal verbs that people use all the time.

Welcome - Phrasal verbs

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re looking at vocabulary.

Jack: We’re going to speak about phrasal verbs. What are phrasal verbs? Why are they difficult to use and remember? How can you learn them and use more of them?

Rich: We’re going to give you some answers to those questions and then we’re going to introduce ten phrasal verbs that are common but difficult to learn.

Jack: The phrasal verbs we’ve chosen to teach in this podcast are all high frequency - they are all used a lot - but we also think they are a bit difficult to remember.

Language Focus

Jack: First, let’s think about what a phrasal verb is.

Rich: It’s a verb form that has two or three parts. For example, called off - the match was nearly called off. Or look forward to - I’m already looking forward to the next derby match.

Jack: Called off has two parts and look forward to has three parts. There is a verb and then a preposition or adverb and phrasal verbs often have nonliteral meanings.

Rich: Because the meanings are nonliteral you have to know the whole form - you can’t understand them if you only know the words that make them.

Jack: Let’s look at an example. The phrasal verb to ‘run out of’ is quite difficult to understand because it doesn’t have anything to do with running.

Rich: I had to have black coffee this morning because I’ve run out of milk.

Jack: Here the phrasal verb means to finish a supply of something that you normally have. It has nothing to do with running or moving quickly!

Rich: If you don’t know the phrasal verb you will need to use the rest of the sentence to help you. I drank black coffee which I don’t like because I didn’t have any milk in my fridge. I’d run out of milk.

Jack: Because phrasal verbs often have nonliteral meanings one of the best ways to learn them is in context. It’s best to hear them being used and then try to use them yourself.

Rich: So, in the next section, we are going to use 10 common phrasal verbs that we think are difficult to learn. It’s your job to listen for them and think about what they mean.

Topic Focus

Jack: We’re going to do five very short dialogues. Each dialogue includes two phrasal verbs.

Rich: We want you to pause the listening after each dialogue. We want you to stop and think about two things.

Jack: First you need to think what the two phrasal verbs in the dialogue are.

Rich: And second you need to think what words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs.

Jack: Let’s do an example first. Here is an example dialogue.

Rich: I think the match might be called off.

Jack: No, it’s stopped snowing now. I think it’ll go ahead.

Stop and think!

Jack: The phrasal verbs in this example were call off and go ahead.

Rich: You could replace call off with cancel and go ahead with happen.

Jack: When you think you know how to replace the phrasal verbs play the podcast and listen to the dialogue without the phrasal verbs.

Rich: The answers we give you are not the only answers.

Jack: There will be lots of ways that you can replace the phrasal verbs. We’re just giving you our examples.

Rich: Thinking about different ways of saying the same thing should help you understand. Right, here are our five dialogues. Are you ready?

Dialogue number one.

Jack: Cheer up Rich! Your team didn’t lose.

Rich: I know but can you stop bringing it up!

Stop and think!!

Jack: The phrasal verbs were cheer up and bring up.

Rich: Did you think of some words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs? Maybe you thought of something like this.

Jack: Don’t be so sad Rich. Your team didn’t lose.

Rich: I know but can you stop talking about it!

Jack: Dialogue number two.

Rich: Are you looking forward to the holidays Jack?

Jack: Yes, I am but I always enjoy getting back to work after a break.

Stop and think!

Rich: The phrasal verbs were look forward to and get back to.

Jack: Did you think of some words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs? Maybe you thought of something like this.

Rich: Are you happy the holidays are nearly here Jack?

Jack: Yes, but I always enjoy returning to work after a break.

Jack: Dialogue number three.

Rich: If you hang on for a minute I’ll come with you.

Jack: Can you catch up with me? I’m in a hurry.

Stop and think!

Rich: The phrasal verbs were hang on and catch up with.

Jack: Did you think of some words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs? Maybe you thought of something like this.

Rich: If you wait for a minute I’ll come with you.

Jack: Can you walk fast and meet me on the way? I’m in a hurry.

Rich: Dialogue number four.

Jack: Can you turn over? The match is about to kick off.

Rich: Hold on. Let’s watch the end of the film first.

Stop and think!

Jack: The phrasal verbs were turn over, kick off and hold on.

Rich: Did you think of some words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs? Maybe you thought of something like this.

Jack: Can you change the channel? The match is about to start.

Rich: Wait a minute. Let’s watch the end of the film first.

Jack: Dialogue number five.

Rich: Can you pick me up from the office later?

Jack: You’ll have to get the bus. My car broke down yesterday.

Stop and think!!

Rich: The phrasal verbs were pick up and break down.

Jack: Did you think of some words or phrases you could use to replace the phrasal verbs? Maybe you thought of something like this.

Rich: Can you collect me in your car from the office later?

Jack: You’ll have to get the bus. My car stopped working yesterday.

Task - Dialogues

Rich: Your task this week is to listen to three more dialogues.

Jack: This time, the dialogues don’t have any phrasal verbs. You have to listen to the dialogues and decide which phrasal verbs from this podcast you could use.

Rich: You need to write the dialogues in the comments section and include phrasal verbs from this podcast.

Jack: You can change the grammar of the original dialogue but you can’t change the meaning. Are you ready?

Rich: Dialogue number one

Jack: The match starts at three this afternoon. Do you want to watch it?

Rich: Yeah, great. I can come and get you at two if you like.

Jack: Dialogue number two

Rich: If we could return to the topic of today’s podcast.

Jack: Wait a second! I just want to say one more thing about last night’s match.

Rich: Dialogue number three

Jack: Don’t look so miserable! You only lost 5-0, it could have been eight!

Rich: It finished 5-0? I changed the channel when the third goal went in.

Jack: Choose one or all three of the dialogues and write your own dialogues with phrasal verbs in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Football Phrase

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was a draw which is an event that happens to decide which teams play each other in a cup competition. For example, on the first of December, the draw was made for the World Cup in Russia.

Rich: It can be a verb too. And of course, it is used to describe a match that finishes with the scores level. A 1-1 draw for example.

Jack: What about this for a sentence: England drew with Belgium after being drawn together in the World Cup draw.

Rich: Nice. A noun and an irregular verb.

Jack: Well done to those of you who got it right. People who got the answer include Liubomyr and Sabanoleg and from Ukraine, Kakarotho from the USA, Milos from Serbia, Ahmed Adam from Sudan, Kwesimanifest from Ghana, Lakerwang from China, and Elghoul from Algeria. Also, a special well done to Buchiy from Japan who answered the football phrase for the first ever time and also got it right!

Rich: What’s this week’s football phrase?

Jack: This week’s football phrase is a bit more difficult. The phrase is an *** *** **** ********. This phrase is used to describe something that happens on the pitch but not where the ball is. It often involves a player or players being violent towards other players or maybe saying something to the crowd or the opposition bench. The referee doesn’t usually see what happened but the television cameras do and players are often later suspended for *** *** **** *********.

Rich: That one is difficult. Let’s see if anybody gets it. We’ve never had a football phrase with no correct answers. COuld this be the first one?

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.

Rich: And don’t forget to listen to our round-up show called ‘This Week’. All the action from Matchweek 18 will be on the Premier Skills homepage on Monday.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words in bold?

The Liverpool - Everton match was in danger of being called off due to snow but went ahead with snow falling at Anfield.

Liverpool didn't put away their chances, did they?

There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words.

Activity 1: In this activity, try to match the words and phrases to their definitions. All of the words were in this week's podcast.

Calvert-Lewin was BROUGHT DOWN and Rooney TUCKED AWAY the penalty. Are these phrasal verbs new for you?

Phrasal Verbs

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about phrasal verbs. What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb form that has two or three parts and usually has a non-literal meaning. There are lots of multi-word verbs or phrasal verbs in English and sometimes it can be difficult to learn them all. This sentence is easy to understand because it has a literal meaning:

I ran out of the stadium at the end of the match because I wanted to get home quickly.

But, here, 'run out of' has a non-literal meaning and is a phrasal verb and is much more difficult to understand:

I had to drink black coffee because I'd run out of milk.

In the second sentence, to run out of something means to finish a supply of something that you normally have, it has nothing to do with running! How can we learn phrasal verbs?

There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English and when the meaning is non-literal we need to use the context of the rest of the sentence to help us understand.

What do footballers do when a match is CALLED OFF?

Phrasal Verbs - Using Context

So, understanding phrasal verbs with nonliteral meanings can be difficult to understand from just looking at the words. Look at the example below:

Manchester Utd hang on against Chelsea.

If you don't know the specific meaning of the phrasal verb 'to hang on', the above sentence is impossible to understand. We need more context to help us. The following example would help us more:

Chelsea attacked a lot during the game and in the final minute won a penalty, but David de Gea made a great save and Manchester Utd hung on.

By reading more, you will have more context and will be better able to understand problematic phrasal verbs. Now, with more context you can make a guess at what the word means so it's always important to read the sentences before and after the phrasal verb - this will help you. The phrasal verb 'to hang on', in this context, means to continue to do something in a difficult situation.

10 Phrasal Verbs

In the podcast, we looked at 10 phrasal verbs. In this activity, look at the sentences and decide which phrasal verb to use.

Activity 2: In this activity, see how many of the phrasal verbs from the podcast you have understood.

When it snows matches are sometimes called off or postponed. A good way to learn phrasal verbs is to think about what regular verb could replace them.

Dialogues

Your task is to look at the three dialogues below and rewrite them using phrasal verbs that you learned in the podcast. Look at the phrases that are underlined and write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Jack: The match starts at three this afternoon. Do you want to watch it?
Rich: Yeah, great. I can come and get you at two if you like.
Rich: If we could return to the topic of today’s podcast.
Jack: Wait a second! I just want to say one more thing about last night’s match.
Jack: Don’t look so miserable! You only lost 5-0, it could have been eight!
Rich: It finished 5-0? I changed the channel when the third goal went in.

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about phrasal verbs.

Are football matches often called off in your country? Why?

Which football match are you most looking forward to this season? Is there anything else you are looking forward to?

Look at the task above and write your answers.

Remember to write your guess for this week's football phrase, too!

If you want us to correct your English, just write 'correct me' at the beginning of your comment.

Quiz

Football English Extra!

At the beginning of the podcast, Rich and Jack talk about the match between Liverpool and Everton. They used lots of phrasal verbs related to football. We want you to listen to this conversation again and write down the phrasal verbs that Rich and Jack use. Think about what they mean in the context of this conversation. If this is difficult, use the transcript to help. Do you understand the phrasal verbs?