Study phrasal verbs to speak about relationships, habits, and debate. Learning English phrasal verbs is very important for all English language learners. Phrasal verbs are used in conversation as well as in writing. Improve your English by learning the phrasal verbs in this free English lesson. Make sure to download the free pdf!
Let’s study English phrasal verbs!
Free English Lesson PDF Download. Start your download now!
Act on
to take action
If you have a gut instinct, you should act on it.
Cut back/down on
to restrict consumption
Sally needs to cut back on butter.
Deck out
to decorate
Hugh’s apartment is decked out in chic furniture.
Die down
to slowly end
The party died down around midnight.
Do away with
to put an end to, remove
The government wants to do away with the penny.
Ease in(to)
to gradually acclimate
Don’t just start a new diet, you should ease into it.
Fall apart
to break down
My parents’ marriage fell apart when I was a toddler.
Knuckle down
to get serious
Sam needs to knuckle down and burn those calories.
Look up to
to admire
Larry looks up to Denis.
Man up
to exert masculine power
Man up and do what you promised me!
Measure up (to)
to compare to
Oscar finds it difficult to measure up to his track star brother.
Mess around
to not be serious, to joke
When he turned 29, Jim stopped messing around and got married.
Mess up
to botch
My wife always has to cook dinner because I can mess up the simplest meals.
Nod off
to fall asleep
As the jet landed in Kyoto, I finally nodded off.
Rally around
to support
Conservatives rally around gun rights.
Stand by
to support
Tammy Wynette said you have to stand by your man.
to wait
The train is approaching the station, please stand by.
Wear out
to exhaust
I wore my shoes out. They have holes in them!
Air out
to expose to fresh air
That quilt is rank, Mark! Go air it out.
Back down
to relent
You can stand me up at the gates of hell and I won’t back down.
Back off
to stop being involved
Michelle’s ex-husband needs to back off.
Blow up
to explode, to detonate
The lit cigarette made the lawnmower blow up.
Buy into
to invest, to believe
Why do so many celebrities buy into scientology?
Cut in
to interrupt
Stephan’s online-poker habit is cutting into his work.
Dawn on
to realize
It just dawned on me that I can’t go to the Keys this weekend, I forgot that I have a wedding to attend.
Hang up
to end a phone call
When telemarketers call me, I just hang up.
Hear out
to allow someone to finish talking
If you just hear him out, we might make some cash.
Heat up
to intensify
The debate around gun control is really heating up.
Look into
to research
I don’t know much about that, but I’ll look into it.
Run out of
to use all of something
We always run out of coffee on Sunday evening.
Stand for
to represent
The “v sign” stands for peace.
Stand up to
to resist
Whatever you do, don’t stand up to the police!
Talk into
to persuade somebody to do something
Somehow, she talked me into working Saturday.
Talk out of
to persuade somebody not to do something
His family talked him out of joining the Peace Corps.
Work out
to resolve
Todd and Mary worked out their problems.
The phrasal verbs with an asterisk (*) are inseparable.When the direct object is a pronoun, it must be placed in the middle of a two-word phrasal verb. Example: Jane put them away. NOT: Jane put away them.
Free English Lesson PDF Download. Start your download now!
I hope you learned some new phrasal verbs. Now, it’s your turn. Use the comment box below and try making sentences using one or some of these prhasal verbs.
Don’t forget to sign up to receive our free newsletter.
