Phrasal verbs: what are they? Examples and list of the most used

When we study English, phrasal verbs are one of the most boring and difficult elements at first. 

They are compound, complex verbs that take on different connotations depending on the terms they compose and the context. Therefore, they can be a thorn in the side and a false cognate.

In this sense, it is necessary to face the subject and face it once and for all to try to learn better. With the right content, you can get a good look at what these verbs are and how to understand them. 

A good strategy is to get to know them one by one and understand their uses in specific contexts. Over time, you will expand your vocabulary and get used to these verbs.

In this content, we will talk a little about them. follow up. 

What is phrasal verbs?

Phrasal verbs are verbs composed of distinct words that have specific meanings when separated, but which, when joined, form a new meaning. The corresponding Portuguese term is phrasal verb.

Generally, you have a verb + a preposition or a verb + an adverb. As we said, the terms separately mean completely different things, so a literal translation just doesn't work.

Example: Come (verb) + up (preposition) = to rise, appear

These elements must necessarily be together for that meaning to be successfully perceived. 

Therefore, phrasal verbs represent an additional difficulty for the beginning student. After all, there are more meanings that the person needs to memorize. Real learning only comes with time, when you get used to the language.

When to use phrasal verbs in English?

Phrasal verbs are used all the time in English. It all depends on the kind of meaning you want to convey with a particular sentence.

For example, to talk about waking up, the most common verb is “wake up” or even “get up”, which are phrasal verbs. So, you will naturally see these verbs always being used in this context.

Overall, phrasal verbs tend to have very specific meanings that go a long way in determining and narrowing down what you mean. So they are very useful in certain situations to offer what the communicator needs.

types of phrasal verbs

We have some important divisions to separate the phrasal lines: intransitive and transitive. Transitives include separable and inseparable. 

Intransitive

When the verb is intransitive, as in Portuguese, it can convey a complete sense by itself, without needing a complement. That is, there is no need to ask the verb anything.

An example of this is the “wake up” itself. If someone says “I woke up”, this sentence needs no complement, as the verb is complete and self-sufficient. 

Transitive

The transitive, unlike the first, is the verb that asks for a complement so that the meaning is understood in fact, perfectly. It needs one more idea to specify what is being said, otherwise the feeling is of emptiness.

Note the verb “turn down”, which means to refuse. If I say “he turned down” (he refused), the meaning of the sentence is incomplete, for no one will understand it at first. The main reaction is to ask “what”, because you can only refuse something.

Already “he turned down the job” is complete. 

separable

Separable phrasal verbs are those transitive verbs that can be written with the complement between the verb terms or after them. There is an option to change the order.

For example: “turn down” is a separable verb. You can write “turn down the job” or “turn the job down”. 

inseparable

In turn, the inseparable are those who do not accept this change of order. 

“Take care” is a verb that means “to take care” and that can work as a transitive. It is impossible to place the element in the middle of the elements, as this would represent noise in the transmission of meaning. 

The right thing is “take care of someone”, not “take someone care of”.

Leia mais: Como pensar em inglês: dicas simples para seu aprendizado!

Example of the 7 most used phrasal verbs

Now, how about a summary with some of the most used phrasal verbs in the English language? Come on. 

1. Catch up

“Catch up” means to catch up, to catch up with something or someone. It can also mean a time to chat with a friend or catch up on the news after a while away.

“Catch up”, in some cases, calls for the preposition “with”. In other cases, it is possible to see this verb alone.

2. Drop out

“Drop out” means to leave, to give up. A famous expression with this verb is “drop out of college”, which means to give up college. There is even an associated noun: “dropout,” or dropouts, people who dropped out and dropped out of college.

3. Give up

“Give up” also means to give up, but in a more general sense than “drop out”. 

4. Turn on

“Turn on” is a verb that can mean to turn on some electrical equipment. Or it could even mean putting some song to play: “turn on the music”. 

5. Get along with

This verb has more elements than common phrasal verbs (3 instead of just 2), but the meaning is simple to pick up. It means “getting used to”, “getting along” with someone, generally. 

It can be used when you want to say that a person X gets along with another person Y. That is, they don't fight, they are friends.

6. Roll out

“Roll out” can be used as “get out of bed”.

7. Get on

“Get On”, can have several meanings, as it inherits the versatility of the verb “get”. One of them is the sense of going on, going on doing something. There is also the sense of boarding, getting on some means of transport to start a journey.

There is also the sense of charging someone, as if to ask for money that the person owes. 

List of Phrasal Verbs 

• do over: repeat;
• put down: put down;
• fall apart: break, shatter;
• find out: discover;
• grow up: to grow, to become more mature;
• think something over: consider, think longer;
• work out: doing physical exercises;
• take apart: disassemble;
• go back: go back;
• come up with: think of something, come up with a solution;
• hold on: hold, continue;
• get up: get up.

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Conclusion

As we have seen, phrasal verbs are famous and widely used verbs, although they are a little more difficult to study. They have specific meanings, different from their particles and need custom. 

The student must become familiar with the language, reinforce listening and read a lot to know the contexts in which they are used and add these terms to your vocabulary. 

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