Phrasal Verb

Power Pack
- E N E R G E T I C E N G L I S H -

-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - CONTENTS -

Contents Page 2

Introduction Page 3

Small Talk & Networking Page 4

Talking Business Page 9

Good to Know Page 15

Your Invitation Page 18

-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - Introduction -
- Confused? -

‘Fed up’ (upset/frustrated) with phrasal verbs? You’re not alone, most professionals
learning English agree that it is a complicated language in many areas - but none of these
areas are more feared by English learners than phrasal verbs!

In many cases, they form the very basis of the day to day language in English and, apart
from idioms, they seem to be the most difficult area for professional English learners to
master.

They act as riddles for learners trying to learn and understand the language, creating
areas of misunderstanding and confusion.

They are simply horrible… they are used in almost all situations, they have multiple
meanings and above all - they just don’t make sense!

- Be powerful -

For these reasons, the Phrasal Verb Power Pack was created! Its aim is to assist English
learners with understanding the most commonly used phrasal verbs and where they can
be most effectively used - especially within Business English contexts.

The bad news is that there are often a number of different meanings for a single phrasal
verb. However, the good news is that they are so commonly used, you will learn them
quickly and the most common ones have been captured in this eBook to help ‘speed up’
(accelerate) your understanding.

Mastering phrasal verbs will truly take your Business English to another level and add
so much power to your communication. Welcome to the Phrasal Verb Power Pack ...

-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - Small Talk & Networking -
The following section introduces a number of phrasal verbs for use in social situations
and networking environments.

The word ‘small talk’ has been used as this best expresses the types of conversation that
take place in these real life scenarios.

The phrasal verbs have been written in context to reinforce understanding and speed up
your learning process, with the literal definition afterwards.

- Catching Up1 over Coffee -

Below is a conversation that you may typically hear in a coffee shop between two friends
‘catching up’ with each other. This could be at morning coffee before a presentation or at
lunch with clients. These phrasal verbs can be widely used in most situations:

SARAH:

I was called in by my boss at the weekend...

- To ask someone to come and help

...that is why I didn't pick up your message immediately...

- To receive

...so I am sorry for not getting back to you sooner...

- To reply

...I am so pleased we have been able to set this up though!

- To arrange

KATE:

1
To update someone on something. In this case, about someone's life.
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Yes, I know you have been putting in lots of hours at work recently…

- To give

… I just thought it was because you had to catch up on lots of work.

- To do something that should have been done earlier

Don’t worry, I wasn't going to give up on trying to organise a coffee with you...

- To abandon an idea or action

...I knew I could count on you to meet me eventually.

- To depend on someone or something

SARAH:

Thank you for not giving in.

- To surrender

The reason for working at the weekend is because I had to step in for someone at work...

- To take someone’s place

...and no one bothered to run it by me on Friday!

- To tell

So, on Saturday morning, I had no one to turn to when I was in the office alone…

- To get help from

...trying to work out what I was doing.

- To understand

At least my boss said he would stick up for me next time someone does this to me…

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 - To support

...and has put in a good word about the work I did by myself last weekend.

- To say something positive

- Talking Sport -

Here is a conversation that may be heard when talking about sport. These sorts of
conversations are great ways to make introductions and ‘break the ice’ (to get a
conversation going in a strained situation or when strangers meet) when meeting new
people during business trips.

For example, football is often a well known topic:

TONY:

Do you know what time the game kicks off today?

- To start something

BRIAN:

I heard that they were going to call it off due to the bad weather…

- To cancel something

...plus some of the players could use some time out as they’re probably still tired from
the last game.

- To take a break

TONY:

Yes, they could probably use the time to work out and review their game plan before
their next game...

- To do some exercise

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...I hope they don’t get knocked out of the championship.

- To be defeated

BRIAN:

Well, as long as they warm up properly before the game, this should prevent at least
some injuries from happening!

- To stretch / prepare for something

- On the Move -

The following discussion includes many phrasal verbs that are useful when talking about
travel and moving around on business trips:

GARY:

Do you have any idea what time we need to check in at the airport tomorrow?

- To register

I need to drop off my son at school on the way to the airport so I don’t want to be late.

- To leave someone at a destination after being transported there

MATT:

I heard that the plane has broken down…

- To stop working (something mechanical i.e. a computer does NOT break down)

… so i think they will have to put back the flight time a bit.

- To delay

I think if you set off by 8am, you will be ok.

- To depart a location
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GARY:

Well if you get in the office for 9am…

- To arrive to a location (inside)

...I could pick you up and we could go to the airport together.

- To collect

Ready to upgrade your speaking even further? Great! We’ve got a special offer for you
right now with our Vocabulary Upgrade Program.

You can learn more by clicking on this link:

https://www.EnergeticEnglish.com/VUP-SLO-SP

-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - Talking Business -
This section contains several common pieces of dialogue you will find in the workplace.
They have been separated into different scenarios to make learning them easier; however,
the verbs can be used in any business situation.

- A Meeting -

Meetings often involve different types of people, from different backgrounds, with
different types of speech. The most common phrasal verbs that can be heard in a
meeting are listed below.

DAN:

I have set up this meeting so…

- To organise

I can point out a few challenges we have with our marketing team.

- To highlight

SEAN:

I have only set aside 50 mins for this meeting.

- To allocate

If it takes any longer, I will have to call off my networking lunch with a client.

- To cancel

DAN:

Well, if we can come up with the answers quickly…

- To think of something

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I can wrap it up in around 30 mins, okay?

- To finish a meeting

SEAN:

Ok, one thing is clear to me and that is we cannot go on marketing like this.

- To continue

I think we need to bring the CEO in on this challenge with marketing.

- To involve

DAN:

I won't rule that out but if we can solve it without involving him, that would be best.

- To disregard

Do you understand what I am getting at?

- To focus on something

SEAN:

Yes but I think that if he sits in on the meeting …

- To attend (in a passive way)

… he will understand the details better and sign off our proposals quicker.

- To approve

DAN:

Actually, I have come around to that idea. I’ll call him now.

- To be persuaded

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 - A Presentation -

A presentation (giving or receiving) can be extremely challenging when it comes to what

style of language is used. One thing is for certain though, phrasal verbs will be involved
from beginning to end. The dialogue below is an example of what you may hear:

ZOE:

Before I start, I will put it clearly…

- To explain

...I have had to step in at the last minute to deliver this presentation.

- To fill in for someone

If I hadn’t, it would have been called off.

- To cancel

So, as I am rabbiting on,

- To talk excessively

I encourage you to note down anything you find interesting so that...

- To take note

...you can look into it after the presentation...

- To investigate

...because I don't have leaflets to hand out.

- To give out / away

Please join in at the end during the question section...

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 - To contribute

...but please don't cut in during the presentation as I don't have much time.
- To interrupt

Finally, before you make a decision, please weigh up everything I have said today.

- To consider

If you feel like I am dragging on...

- To continue in a boring manner

...please ask me to move on. Okay, let’s begin...

- To change subject

- A Negotiation -

Negotiations can take place in just about any scenario. The following negociation takes
place in the Human Resources department:

PHIL:

Since taking on new responsibilities and a new job…

- To accept work / responsibility

...I thought I might follow up with you to see about a raise in my salary?

- To try to find out information

HR:

No problem, I need to fill in this form to arrange your meeting with the HR manager?

- To complete

When did you hand over your previous job?

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-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - To give something to someone

PHIL:
I handed it over last week because the other person backed out of this job at the last
minute.

- To decide not to do something you agreed to

How long does it take to draw up a new contract?

- To prepare and write something like an important document

HR:

Not long at all. I will jot down a few of your details…

- To take note

...to pass on to the HR manager.

- To give something to someone

He will go over the details with you.

- To review something

PHIL:

Great. I am looking forward to getting a bit of extra money…

- To feel happy / excited about something that is going to happen

...i nearly ran out last month…

- To have none left / use all of something

...but i managed to figure it out at the last minute.

- To solve a problem

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HR:

Oh dear. In that case, I am sure we can deal with this quickly.

- To take action with something or a person

Ready to upgrade your speaking even further? Great! We’ve got a special offer for you
right now with our Vocabulary Upgrade Program.

You can learn more by clicking on this link:

https://www.EnergeticEnglish.com/VUP-SLO-SP

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-ENERGETIC ENGLISH-
 - Good to Know -
This final section highlights additional phrasal verbs that are good to know for use in any
business context.

Branch out

- To start something new or different

To be successful, we need to branch out into the telecoms market next year.

Break into

- To enter through force / aggressively

Two new competitors have broken into our market.

Chip In

- To add a point to a conversation

Anyone can chip in to the discussion as we want to hear everyones’ ideas.

Get Around

- To avoid / overcome

I don’t know how we are going to get around these funding issues.

Get back to

- To return contact with someone

I need to get back to them before Monday.

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Think Through

- To think about a scenario or decision in a logical sequence

I will need some time to think this through before making a decision on this.

Break Down

- To separate something larger into smaller parts

It will be easier for the investors to understand if we break the product down.

Bring Up

- To mention something in a conversation

Try not to bring up any negatives with the product during the meeting with the investors.

Look Through

- To physically look at something in a logical / ordered way

I will need to look through the plan before Monday so that I understand it.

Take Over

- To take control of something

There will be a new CEO taking over next year.

Take Aside

- To talk to someone privately

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I need to take the new guy aside before the next meeting to brief him on the format.

Take Away

- To leave a strong impression

I want you to take away the key messages from this presentation.

Take In

- To understand something / remember something

I didn't take anything in from that presentation. I was too tired!

Take Through

- To explain something to someone

Can you take me through the new proposal as I missed the briefing.

Ready to upgrade your speaking even further? Great! We’ve got a special offer for you
right now with our Vocabulary Upgrade Program.

You can learn more by clicking on this link:

https://www.EnergeticEnglish.com/VUP-SLO-SP

17

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 - Your Invitation -
Well done for investing your time into improving your professional English skills. There
are many learners who would rather take the easy option and refuse to study - but you
didn’t. Instead, you chose to put the effort in and improve yourself.

That makes you a certain kind of English learner. One which is driven to succeed…

Here at Energetic English, we love to work with learners like you!

After teaching hundreds of professional and business students all over the world, we’ve
become experts in helping them get the results that they really want - and we would like
to do the same for you.

So here is our invitation to you: come and improve your professional English skills with us!
We would really like to work with you. If you haven’t already, we recommend taking the
next step and getting started with our Vocabulary Upgrade Program. You can follow the
link here: https://www.EnergeticEnglish.com/VUP-SLO-SP

We’re looking forwards to helping you improve on your business and professional English
journey.

Here’s to your English! Rob James

Rob and the Energetic English Team

About Energetic English

Business partners Rob and James teach Business and Professional English (BaPE) to
learners all over the world to help them feel more confident and become more effective in
their work in English.
They realised that traditional English schools were teaching old, irrelevant and ineffective
English lessons and that the students weren’t getting the results they needed.
That’s when they decided to work to become the number 1 provider of Business and
Professional English and focus more on real-world lessons, based on what learners
actually need to know.
As of this writing, EE has over 60,000 students worldwide and continues to grow.

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