Phrasal verbs are a natural and important part of everyday English.
Native speakers use phrasal verbs in daily conversations at home, at work, while traveling, and with friends.
Many English learners find phrasal verbs difficult, but learning them through everyday situations makes them easier to understand and remember.
This blog post, “Phrasal Verbs for Everyday Situations,” is specially created for students, beginners, and ESL learners.
In this post, you will learn commonly used English phrasal verbs that appear in real-life situations.
These phrasal verbs will help you understand spoken English better and communicate more naturally and confidently.
This topic is part of our English Phrasal Verbs for English learners.
What are phrasal verbs?
Before we dive in, let’s quickly explain what phrasal verbs are.
A phrasal verb is a verb made up of two or three words.
It usually has a main verb and one or two particles (small words like “up,” “on,” or “out”). The meaning of a phrasal verb is often different from the meaning of the main verb on its own.
For example, “give up” is a phrasal verb. It means to stop trying to do something. This is different from just “give,” which means to hand something to someone.
Now, let’s look at phrasal verbs in different everyday situations.
At Home
Get up: To rise from bed “I get up at 7 AM every day.”
Tidy up: To make a place neat and clean “I always tidy up my room before going to bed.”
Turn on/off: To start or stop the operation of something (like a light or TV) “Can you turn off the lights before you leave?”
Put away: To place something where it’s usually kept “After dinner, I put away the dishes in the cupboard.”
Run out of: To use up all of something “We’ve run out of milk. Can you buy some?”
At Work
Clock in/out: To record the time you start or finish work “Don’t forget to clock in when you arrive at the office.”
Hand in: To submit something “I need to hand in my report by Friday.”
Look into: To investigate or examine something “My boss asked me to look into the cause of the problem.”
Catch up: To do work you haven’t had time for earlier “I’m staying late to catch up on some emails.”
Set up: To arrange or organize something “Can you help me set up the meeting room for the presentation?”
In Social Situations
Hang out: To spend time relaxing with friends “Want to hang out this weekend?”
Show up: To arrive at a place “I waited for an hour, but he never showed up.”
Get along: To have a good relationship with someone “I get along well with my new roommate.”
Dress up: To wear formal or special clothes “We’re dressing up for the party tonight.”
Catch up: To talk about recent events with someone you haven’t seen in a while “Let’s meet for coffee and catch up.”
More phrasal verbs:
- 30 Phrasal Verbs using “PUT” with Meanings and Sentences
- English Phrasal Verbs You Must Know
- Phrasal Verbs with “COME,” along with their meanings
- Phrasal Verbs with “CALL,” along with their meanings
While Shopping
Try on: To put on clothing to see if it fits or looks good “I’m going to try on this jacket.”
Ring up: To register the price of items at a cash register “The cashier is ringing up my purchases.”
Pay for: To give money for something “Can I pay for this with a credit card?”
Pick out: To choose something “Help me pick out a gift for Mom.”
Run out of: To no longer have a supply of something “The store has run out of my favorite cereal.”
While Traveling
Check in: To register at a hotel or for a flight “We need to check in two hours before our flight.”
Set off: To start a journey “We’ll set off early to avoid traffic.”
Get around: To move from place to place in a city or area “It’s easy to get around London using the Underground.”
Drop off: To leave someone or something at a place “The taxi dropped us off at the airport.”
Pack up: To put things in bags or boxes before a trip “I need to pack up my suitcase before tomorrow.”
In the Kitchen
Heat up: To make food hot “I’ll heat up the leftovers for dinner.”
Cut up: To cut something into smaller pieces “Can you cut up the vegetables for the salad?”
Wash up: To clean dishes and cooking utensils “It’s your turn to wash up after dinner.”
Throw away: To put something in the trash “This milk has gone bad. We should throw it away.”
Use up: To consume all of something “Let’s use up these tomatoes before they go bad.”
During Exercise
Work out: To exercise “I work out at the gym three times a week.”
Warm up: To do light exercise before more intense activity “Always warm up before you start running.”
Cool down: To do light exercise after more intense activity “After your workout, cool down with some stretching.”
Build up: To gradually increase strength or endurance “I’m trying to build up my stamina for the marathon.”
Give up: To stop trying or quit “Don’t give up! You’re almost at the finish line.”
In Relationships
Ask out: To invite someone on a date “He finally asked her out after talking for weeks.”
Break up: To end a romantic relationship “They broke up after dating for two years.”
Make up: To reconcile after an argument “They had a fight but made up the next day.”
Fall out: To have an argument or disagreement “The brothers fell out over who would inherit the family business.”
Get back together: To resume a romantic relationship after a breakup “They got back together after being apart for six months.”
With Technology
Log in/out: To enter or exit a computer system or application “Don’t forget to log out of your account on public computers.”
Back up: To make a copy of computer data “Remember to back up your files regularly.”
Shut down: To turn off a computer “Please shut down your computer before you leave the office.”
Update: To install the latest version of software “I need to update my phone’s operating system.”
Run out of: To use all of a resource, like battery power “My phone is about to run out of battery.”
In Education
Drop out: To leave school before finishing “He dropped out of college to start his own business.”
Sign up: To register for a class or activity “I’m going to sign up for a Spanish course.”
Hand in: To submit an assignment “Don’t forget to hand in your essays by Friday.”
Look up: To search for information “If you don’t know a word, look it up in the dictionary.”
Catch up: To reach the same level as others after falling behind “I missed a week of classes, so I need to catch up on my homework.”
With Money
Save up: To keep money for future use “I’m saving up for a new car.”
Pay off: To finish paying a debt “It took me five years to pay off my student loans.”
Set aside: To reserve money for a specific purpose “We set aside some money each month for emergencies.”
Run out of: To use all available money “By the end of the month, I often run out of money.”
Take out: To borrow money from a bank “They had to take out a loan to buy their house.”
In Emergencies
Call off: To cancel “The outdoor concert was called off due to the storm.”
Break down: To stop working (for machines or vehicles) “My car broke down on the highway.”
Put out: To extinguish a fire “The firefighters quickly put out the blaze.”
Pass out: To lose consciousness “He passed out from the heat at the outdoor event.”
Look after: To take care of someone “Can you look after my kids while I’m at the doctor’s?”
Tips for Learning Phrasal Verbs
Learning phrasal verbs can be challenging, but here are some tips to help:
- Learn them in context: Instead of memorizing lists, try to learn phrasal verbs as part of sentences or situations.
- Group them by particle: Many phrasal verbs share the same particle (like “up” or “out”). Learning them in groups can help.
- Practice regularly: Try to use phrasal verbs in your everyday English conversations.
- Watch and listen: Pay attention to phrasal verbs in English movies, TV shows, and songs.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes: Using phrasal verbs correctly takes practice. It’s okay to make errors as you learn.
Conclusion
Phrasal verbs are an important part of everyday English. They can make your language more natural and expressive.
While they might seem tricky at first, with practice, you’ll find yourself using them more easily. Remember, language learning takes time, so be patient with yourself.
Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be using phrasal verbs like a native speaker!
