10 Phrasal Verbs You Should Use Every Day

Why Phrasal Verbs Matter

After the popularity of the idioms post, I thought I’d do another one, but this time on phrasal verbs. Whenever someone asks me what makes someone sound natural, one of the first things I say is: **phrasal verbs**.

Remember, phrasal verbs are just replacements for other words, but they are more common, and that’s why they help us sound more natural and really help us when trying to understand what someone is saying.

The most annoying thing for students is that one phrasal verb can have many different meanings. Take pick up for example. How many uses do you know I’m sure you know it means to lift something and to collect someone from somewhere, but did you know it also means:

• to improve – Business has really picked up lately.
• to learn without trying too hard – I picked up some Polish when I was in Poland.

With all these meanings, naturally they can be a nightmare for students. But they are important, not just for sounding more natural, but for understanding too.

I’ve thought about the ones I use on a daily basis – excluding the easy ones like get up, put on – and I’ve chosen 10 of the most common that you can start using too. Hopefully they’ll help you understand what I’m saying ;)

Note: phrasal verbs are just like verbs – they change their form for the right tense.

10 Everyday Phrasal Verbs

1. Get on / Get off

To enter or leave public transport. Anything you can buy a ticket for, you get on and get off: tram, bus, plane, underground, ferry… Remember: you don’t “get in” the bus – you get on it.

A: I entered the bus and saw my old friend James.
N (natural): I got on the bus and saw my friend James.

2. Go out

To go somewhere to eat, drink, or party. When people ask you “Did you go out last night” they are asking if you went somewhere fun, not just if you left the house.

Fridays and Saturday nights are the most popular nights when we go out. If you didn’t go out, you can say: “No, I stayed in and…”

A: Are you going to a restaurant tonight
N: Are you going out tonight

3. Watch out

To be careful / pay attention. Imagine you’re walking up some stairs and one of them is a little wobbly: “Watch out, one of the steps is wobbly.”

A: Be careful, the door is quite stiff, so you have to pull it quite hard.
N: Watch out, the door is quite stiff, so you have to pull it quite hard.

4. Chill out

To relax. After a long day at work we all need to chill out, and we all do it in different ways. I prefer to chill out by watching films and episodes of the TV series I’m watching…

A: I’m going to relax for about an hour before I go to the shop.
N: I’m going to chill out for about an hour before I go to the shop.

5. Find out

To discover / get more information about something. I use this very often. If someone tells me something interesting, I’ll probably say: “Really I’ll try and find out more when I get home.”

We find out what new words mean, and we try to find out about events and things in the local area.

A: I will find more information about this on my phone.
N: I will find out about this on my phone.

6. Get back

To return home. Try to get out of the habit of saying “I arrived home at 11pm” and instead say “I got back at 11pm”. It sounds much more natural and means exactly the same.

A: I arrived home at around 11pm, so that’s why I didn’t call.
N: I got back around 11pm, so that’s why I didn’t call.

7. Come across / Bump into

When you find something or meet someone by accident, without planning to.

• We often come across information, books, things when we aren’t looking.
• We often bump into people in the centre of town or at events.

A: I found this book about Italy when I was in the shop.
N: I came across this book about Italy when I was in the shop.

I bumped into James at Forum Lviv.

8. Go on / Carry on

To continue. I say this a lot when speaking to people. I often stop someone to clarify something and then say “Go on” or “Carry on” for them to finish.

A: OK, I understand now, continue…
N: OK, I understand now, carry on…

9. Work out

Two useful meanings:

• to exercise – I try to work out three times a week.
• to understand / solve – I need to work out how to get there.

A: I want to go to Ivano-Frankivsk but I don’t know how I will get there.
N: I want to go to Ivano-Frankivsk but I need to work out how to get there.

10. Rip off (someone)

To cheat someone into paying too much money.

I am now accustomed to Ukrainian prices, so I know when someone is trying to rip me off. Luckily it happens very rarely in Lviv, but every time I go to Kyiv and get to the train station, there are millions of taxi drivers waiting to rip you off. Hello Uber.

A: The restaurant tried to make me pay too much for my cake because I’m a foreigner.
N: The restaurant tried to rip me off because I’m a foreigner.