Season 1 Episode 2: Mastering Phrasal Verbs!

Ever wondered how to make your English conversations sound more natural and fluent? Today, we're unlocking the secrets of phrasal verbs—those fascinating combinations of verbs with adverbs or prepositions that can transform your speech. We'll begin by touching on some handy synonyms we've previously covered, like beautiful, easy, and old. Then, we'll dive into examples such as "give up," "get on with," and "run into," showcasing how mastering these expressions can elevate your everyday English. Stick around as we share a list of commonly used phrasal verbs, complete with meanings and example sentences, and test your newfound knowledge with an engaging exercise.

But that's not all! We’re extending a special invitation to our L.E.W.N. Book Club, where for just six dollars a month, you can access four extra episodes, supplementary PDF activities, and join an exclusive online community. This is your chance to enrich your language skills while exploring intricate plots and themes in English literature. Don’t miss our seven-day free trial to experience firsthand how this membership can transform your English learning journey. Check out the show notes for further details, and let’s continue this exciting learning adventure together.

Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding Phrasal Verbs in English
• 13:45 English Book Club Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:59

Hello to my amazing podcast listeners. Thank you so much for joining me today again, and I really hope that you enjoyed episode one and got a lot from that. Today is episode two and in episode two we will be learning how to understand and use phrasal verbs, and if you don't know what they are, you're going to learn today. Please remember that this lesson provides important information for the foundations of your English language learning, so you may want to revisit this episode in the future and look through your notes as you go through your learning journey. There is a pdf activity booklet available to download check out the show notes to download yours and that is designed to accompany this episode so that you can see the written form of the words as we go through the lesson. So quick start. Let's have a quick recap on last week's episode, which was synonyms and antonyms, and I want to see if you can recall some synonyms from last week. So if we had the word beautiful, can you think of any synonyms for beautiful? If I had the word easy, can you think of any synonyms for the word easy? And the word old synonyms for old. And if you can't remember what a synonym is, it is basically a word or a phrase that has the same or similar meaning. So those words were beautiful, easy and old. Okay, so for the word beautiful we have attractive and stunning. The word easy we have simple, effortless, and for the word old you might have said ancient or aged.

Speaker 1: 2:43

Episode two today, as I said, we're going to use and understand phrasal verbs. By the end of this lesson, you will understand the structure and usage of phrasal verbs and you will also learn common phrasal verbs and how to incorporate them into your English language, into your conversational English, your everyday speech. Now I'm going to be splitting the episode into five parts Part one, introduction and teaching point. Part two, vocabulary. Part three, real life application. Part four is your listening practice and part five is your independent learning. Part one introduction and teaching point.

Speaker 1: 3:21

What is a phrasal verb? It's a lot less complicated than it sounds. Basically, a phrasal verb is a verb that is combined with an adverb or a preposition, or sometimes both, to give a new meaning. If you're not sure what an adverb or a preposition is, don't worry about it. Basically, they are just expressions that are used in everyday English conversations. An example might be give up, I can't do it, I give up. Give up, give is the verb, the phrase that goes around. It is give up, get on with it, come on, you can do it, just get on with it. Get on with the task, carry on, do it. Just get on with it. Get on with the task, carry on now.

Speaker 1: 4:08

Phrasal verbs can be used formally and informally. But if you are trying to be formal in your speech or in your writing, you must be careful with which phrasal verbs you use. Here are some examples of phrasal verbs. We'll do a my turn, your turn, so I will pause after I say each phrasal verb Back down, bring up, put up with. Break down, give up, turn up, bump into, hang on, watch out, okay. So why are phrasal verbs used? Basically, they help with the cohesion of your speech, and what I mean by that is they help with the flow of your speech. It makes your speech sound more natural and smooth running. They give specific meaning to something and they are everyday expressions used in everyday conversations. Part 2. Vocabulary section. Here are some examples of common phrasal verbs and their meanings Get up, it's time to get up.

Speaker 1: 5:21

Get up means to rise from bed in the morning. Come on, get up, it's time for school. Next one break down, to stop functioning, usually concerning a machine of some kind. So sorry I'm late, my car broke down, or my car is making a funny noise. I hope it doesn't break down. My car is making a funny noise. I hope it doesn't break down. Next one run into it doesn't mean you actually run into somebody and clash with them. It's a phrase, a phrasal verb to meet someone unexpectedly. Oh, I ran into Linda at the supermarket, or I hope I don't run into George today. That might be a little bit embarrassing. Run into. Next one look forward to, which means to be excited about something in the future. I'm so looking forward to my birthday. I am really looking forward to going out to dinner tonight. Last one give up, which means to stop trying. Oh, this assignment is so hard, I'm just going to give up.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Here are some examples of those phrasal verbs in more sentences. Number one woke up. She woke up early this morning. Number two broke down His car broke down on the way to work. Number three ran into I ran into an old friend at the store. Number four look forward to they look forward to the holidays every year. Number five give up. He decided to give up smoking.

Speaker 1: 7:09

Now I'm going to read a sentence and I'm going to leave a blank space and I want you to try and fit a phrasal verb into that space the train blank, so I was late for work. The train blank, so I was late for work. I'm going to read the phrasal verbs again so you can come back to them and think of the appropriate one that fits in that sentence to them and think of the appropriate one that fits in that sentence Get up or woke up, broke down, ran into, look forward to give up. And the correct phrasal verb the train broke down so I was late for work. Next one I blank my birthday every year Woke up, broke down, ran into, look forward to give up. And if you said look forward to, you would be correct. I look forward to my birthday every year. And the last one I blank later than I expected, I was very tired Is it woke up, broke down, run into, look forward to or give up. And if you said woke up or got up later than expected I was very tired, then you would be correct. Well done.

Speaker 1: 8:45

Part three real life application. Now I am going to read a paragraph and I'm going to pretend that I am chatting to a friend on the phone. I want you to listen to my conversation and I want you to see if you can identify any of the phrasal verbs that I used while I was speaking. Now, some of them might sound a little bit different to ones you've just heard. It's because I might need to change the tense of which I am speaking, depending on the sentence.

Speaker 1: 9:17

Hey, I just got up a little while ago and you'll never believe what happened. My car broke down on the way to work. I was so frustrated, especially because I ran into an old friend last week and we were supposed to catch up today. But now I'm not sure if I can make it. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to our weekend trip. It's the one thing keeping me going right now. I almost gave up on the idea of going, but I'm glad I didn't. How's your day going? Did you spot any phrasal verbs in there? You might have heard got up, broke down, ran into, looking forward to and gave up. I got up a little while ago. My car broke down on the way to work. I ran into an old friend. I'm really looking forward to our weekend trip. I almost gave up on the idea.

Speaker 1: 10:12

I also included two more, which is catch up. We were supposed to catch up today. That means meet a friend and talk about what's been going on with you recently. You're going to catch up and tell them about your life. It's the one thing keeping me going right now. Keeping me going, that means it's the one thing giving you the energy to go through your day today. It's the one thing that's giving you positivity right now. Now I'm going to do the same thing again. However, I'm going to change it to a more formal tone, so this will suit those of you that are wanting to learn business English, so it might sound a little bit more formal. I'm going to pretend that I am discussing a meeting with a colleague, but I'm still going to use phrasal verbs.

Speaker 1: 10:57

In the meeting this morning, I mentioned that I had just gotten up when I received the news that our server had broken down, which caused significant delays. Additionally, I ran into a former client last week and we discussed the possibility of collaborating on a future project. I'm looking forward to presenting these ideas in our next strategy session. There was a moment when I considered giving up on the plan due to the challenges we faced, but I believe it's still worth pursuing. So again, I used gotten up, got up, gotten up, broken down. Ran into looking forward to and giving up. I had just gotten up, our server had broken down. I ran into a former client. I'm looking forward to presenting these ideas. I considered giving up on the plan. Part four listening practice. Listen to the short conversation that includes multiple phrasal verbs and while you're doing that, I want you to consider what phrasal verbs can you hear? What do they mean in this context, and how did the use of phrasal verbs impact the flow of the conversation? Hey, did you just get up? You sound a little groggy.

Speaker 2: 12:12

Yeah, I did. I had a late night yesterday. Anyway, everything okay.

Speaker 1: 12:16

I was thinking I would go to the cinema today. There's that new thriller out that I've been wanting to see, but my car broke down this morning so I'm not sure how I'll get there.

Speaker 2: 12:25

Oh no, that's annoying. Do you need the lift? I can pick you up.

Speaker 1: 12:30

That would be great. Thanks, Actually, I ran into Sarah yesterday and she said the movie is amazing.

Speaker 2: 12:37

I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Awesome, I almost gave up on going to the cinema today because I thought you might not want to go, so I'm glad I asked. Let's plan for the late afternoon show.

Speaker 1: 12:48

Sounds perfect, I'll be ready. Part five Independent learning and next steps. One day this week, I want you to write a diary entry at the end of your day and I want you to use at least five of this week's phrasal verbs in that diary entry. If you download the pdf activity, you will find a list of phrasal verbs that you can use, some of which we've covered today and some new ones as well, for you to experiment with. Congratulations, you've reached the end of today's lesson and I am so proud of you. Thank you so much for joining me today and trusting me with your English learning. I hope this really helps and please do give me feedback on if there are any areas of the lessons you would like me to improve. Is there anything you want me to add into the lessons? Is there anything that you want me to take out? What do you find useful? I want to know.

Speaker 1: 13:43

This podcast is for you. If you are enjoying your English learning with me and you want to learn English at a faster pace. If you have dreamed of reading English novels and understanding the deep plots and themes around them, then you may want to consider joining my book club. There is a seven day free trial included and it's only six dollars per month. So for that six dollars per month, you will get four extra episodes and, honestly, this is where my true passion lies.

Speaker 1: 14:11

I absolutely love reading, love literature, and I want to share that passion with you. So please check out the show notes for all information regarding that. Again, you get pdf activities to follow up your learning with and, as well, you will be a part of my exclusive online community. So all information about that and my gold membership, which is another member tier option they are all available in my link tree in the show notes. Thank you so so much for joining me and I hope this really helped you. I hope you've gotten a lot from this lesson and I look forward to seeing you next week. Thank you.