Phrasal Verbs

1. What is a Phrasal Verb?

Phrasal Verbs are verbs that are accompanied by an adverb (phrasal verb) or preposition
(prepositional verb) modifying the meaning of the verb they accompany.

These expressions are formed by combining verbs with prepositions or with adverbs. The
meaning of these compound verbs can be very different from what we could deduce from
the individual meaning of the verb and preposition (or adverb) of which it is composed. The
importance of phrasal verbs is that they have a very common use in English. Also keep in
mind that the same phrasal verb can have several meanings. There are 2 main types of
phrasal verbs, intransitive and transitive.

2. Why are they so important?

First, they are used like normal verbs, it is really important because you can easily
replace a long list of words with a simple phrasal verb. This makes the conversation in
English more natural and fluid, by changing the language and making it more friendly
and easy to understand. Plus, they make your way of speaking English sound much
more native. These kind of verbs are used in all situations, starting in conversations
between friends and ending with work or study meetings. These verbs go also with the
creation of new terms and expressions of speech, so you need to constantly review
those expressions in trend that involve adjusting the indicated adverb, and in what way
it will affect the concept in the sentence, this is very useful for informal conversations
where you want to show specific emotions.
3. Cultural aspects

These verbs are widely used in a culture that speaks the English language. It is very
common to find people using these verbs in any environment, such as at school, at
work, in any social environment. A person, who has the command of this language,
could use one of these verbs to communicate quickly, which makes it necessary for a
person who does not speak the language well or does not know these verbs, to learn
them. Learning them would give you a better command.

4. Examples

There are some verbs related to sports which are widely used, for example:

Look out! = Be careful!

EX: Look out! She is attempting to win.

Bulk up: gain weight or put on muscle

Ex: I don’t know but I feel myself really tinny. I want to bulk up.

Warm up: preparatory exercise

EX: If you want to feel better before playing the match, warm up as soon as you can.

Work out: do exercise

EX: You look great! I can see you’ve been working out.

Catch up: Be faster and reach the level of someone

EX: Nobody can catch Usain Bolt up.