Top 10 Phrasal Verbs in English - Most Common Phrasal Verbs

Hello and welcome to this lesson. Today you're  going to add the top 10 phrasal verbs to your  

vocabulary. So first I'll explain what the phrasal  verb means, give you some example sentences  

of that phrasal verb, and then at the end of this  video, you're going to test your knowledge. You're  

going to complete a quiz. So make sure you  stay right to the end to complete that quiz.  

Of course, I'm Jennifer from JForrestEnglish.com  And this channel is dedicated to helping you feel  

confident speaking English in public so you can  take your career and your life to the next level.  

Now, before we go any further, make sure  you subscribe and hit that bell icon  

so you're notified every time I post a new  lesson. Now let's dive in with this lesson.  

Are you ready to add the top 10  phrasal verbs to your vocabulary?  

Well, let's get started with number one. To  phase something in. When you phase something in,  

it means that you introduce something  new, but you introduce it gradually,  

which means little by little. And generally  what we're introducing is a new law, a new rule,  

a new regulation, or a new policy. So let's say  that your company has a new policy, and they're  

introducing a dress code. A dress code will tell  you what you can and cannot wear to work. Now,  

let's say they announced the new dress code,  but they say we're phasing in the new dress code  

over the next two months. Now why would they want  to introduce it little by little? Well, maybe it's  

because we want to give you time to prepare.  You might have to go out and buy new clothing  

for example. So you might have to save money to  do that and get comfortable doing that as well.  

So maybe the first week they introduced  the new shirts that they want you to wear  

and then the next week it's the new shoes and the  following week it's the new pants. And little by  

little they phase in the new dress code. Number  two, to block off. Now the thing about phrasal  

verbs is they're always used in a very specific  context. So in this context of blocked off, we're  

talking specifically about time in your calendar  or on your schedule, so you're blocking off  

time. So what does that mean? It means that you  reserve that time for a specific task or activity,  

and you reserve that time so no one else can  schedule a meeting with you or no one else  

can assign you a task during those specific  blocks of time because you block them off.  

So let's say you're preparing for the aisles and  you might block off Monday, Wednesday, Friday  

from seven to nine in your calendar, and that is  the time you're going to spend studying for aisles  

or if you have an important deadline at  work, you might block off the entire day.  

So you might block off Monday and just focus on  that task so you can meet the deadline. So this  

is probably something you do every single  day anyway for time. management purposes.  

And now you know how to explain that naturally in  English. Number three, to clear out. And again,  

remember phrasal verbs are used in a very specific  context. And in this context, we're talking about  

clearing out of a location, like a restaurant  or even a conference and office or mall.  

Any location that has a lot of people in  it generally. And when people clear out  

of a location, it means they simply leave the  location but that location then becomes empty.  

So the majority or all of the people leave  a location. That's when you clear out  

of a location. So let's say you go to lunch at  a restaurant around 1:30 And it's really busy.  

You get the last available table and you're  eating your lunch or talking to your coworker  

and then around 2:30 You look around and you  notice that you're the only table left in  

the restaurant. And remember the restaurant was  full when you got there. So you can turn to your  

coworker and say, Wow, it really clear out which  means everybody left the restaurant number four,  

to do without something. This is a really useful  one because it's a fact of life, you're going to  

have to do without certain things as certain times  in your life. So when you do without something,  

it means you manage despite the lack of and it's  the lack of the something that you do without.  

So let me give you an example. Maybe finances  are a little tight. You didn't get that bonus  

you were hoping for so you might say we'll have  to do without a cleaner for the next few months.  

Do without a cleaner. So a cleaner is someone  who cleans your house, a house cleaner.  

Now previously, a lot of people call this a maid.  I know many people in certain countries still  

call it a maid in North America. It's considered  outdated and even a little politically incorrect  

to call someone a maid. We now call them house  cleaners. So just so you can know it's more  

politically correct to use house cleaner so you  have to manage manage your day to day manage  

your house. Despite the lack of a house cleaner.  We have to do without a house cleaner, because  

I didn't get the bonus. So you can use this in  a personal context like I just gave you or you  

can use this in a work context as well. Maybe your  assistant quit, and you're having trouble finding  

a new assistant. So you might say well, I guess  I'll have to do without an assistant for the next  

month, which means you have to manage all your  work without an assistant do without something  

it's a very useful phrasal verb because we all  have to do without certain things at certain  

points in our life. Our next phrasal verb, to  force out. This is a very useful business phrasal  

verb you're going to hear it in the media and  newspapers all the time. When someone is forced  

out. It means that they are asked to leave their  position but it wasn't their decision to do so.  

Notice the sentence structure I used I put this  in the passive to be forced out. For example,  

the CEO was forced out after the scandal. So  there's a scandal obviously, it didn't look good  

for the CEO. So the company wanted him to leave.  The CEO himself did not want to leave, but the  

company wanted him to leave. So the CEO was forced  out. Now if you use it in the active sentence,  

you'll be talking about who forced out the CEO.  So you might say the Board of Directors forced the  

CEO out after the scandal. So you can absolutely  use this in the active but it's very commonly used  

in the passive. Our next phrasal verb number  six, to sink in. When something sinks in,  

it becomes clear in your mind and the something  that sinking in is information news and events.  

For example, it took him a while before his  mother's death sunk in. So his mother died.  

But that fact that event didn't sink in for some  time. It didn't become clear. So he didn't process  

it. He didn't fully understand it. He didn't  fully accept it as a fact as a reality for some  

time. So the event his mother's death didn't sink  in. So we do use this a lot for tragic events.  

Well, we can also use this with difficult  or complicated information. For example,  

let's say your coworker is explaining a new  accounting software, and it's pretty technical.  

So your coworker is explaining it, explaining it  explaining it quite quickly. And you might say  

give me a minute. To let that sink in. So that is  the information the information your coworker was  

just explaining. And for that the information to  sink in. It means for you to fully understand it  

to fully process it, so we can use it for tragic  events. But we can also use this for complicated  

information. Number seven, to bail out. This is  another must know business phrasal verb but you  

can also use it in your personal life as well.  When you bail someone out, it means that you  

rescue them and you rescue them from a financially  difficult situation. So remember that CEO that was  

forced out and our previous example. Well, maybe  he had a sister that bailed him out. His sister  

bailed him out, which means his sister helped him  financially. So maybe she gave him a place to stay  

because he couldn't afford his rent. She gave him  food because it couldn't afford groceries. And  

she gave him money because he didn't have any.  His sister bailed him out. So we can use it in  

a personal context. But this is commonly used in  business context, in the sense of the government  

bailing out companies because they're about to  go bankrupt. And why would the government do  

that? Well, because that company is important for  the economy. For example, in the US, the company  

Chrysler, which is an automobile company, they've  been bailed out by the government multiple times.  

Chrysler as a company has almost gone bankrupt  multiple times. And the government has come in  

and bailed the company out. They bailed Chrysler  out. Number eight, to leave something behind.  

This is a very useful one in your everyday  vocabulary when you leave something behind.  

It simply means that you forget something at a  specific location. So we do this all the time,  

right? We go to a restaurant, a cafe, we put  our phone on the counter, we get our coffee,  

and we go and oh no, I left my phone. Behind.  I think I left my phone behind at the cafe.  

So it's just the same as saying I think I forgot  my phone at the cafe. You can use this with  

any object you can leave behind your keys, your  sweater, your jacket, your computer. Whatever you  

want. So this is a very useful one. So what about  you? Have you ever left something important behind  

maybe you left your cell phone behind or your  laptop behind or important family photo is behind?  

Have you ever left something behind? Let us know  in the comments. Number nine, to miss out on  

something. To miss out on something. And this  is when you miss an important opportunity or  

an experience that shouldn't have been missed.  So let's say that you work for Tesla and Elon  

Musk was making an appearance at your office that  day, and you were going to get to meet Elon Musk,  

but your bus was late and you didn't get to work  on time and you didn't get to meet Elon Musk. You  

my friend just missed out on an opportunity of a  lifetime. You missed out on meeting Elon Musk. So  

you can say I can't believe I missed out. You can  just end it there. I can't believe I missed out if  

you want to continue. You can say I can't believe  I missed out on meeting Elon Musk. And finally,  

number 10, to show up. To show up has a very  simple definition it means to appear or arrive.  

Native speakers don't really use appear  or arrive we used to show up. For example,  

what time did you show up to the party? I  would never say What time did you arrive  

to the party? I wouldn't say that that sounds  unnatural, outdated, too formal I would say what  

time did you show up? What time did you show up to  the party? What time did you show up last night?  

Now let's say you got to work late one day and  your boss is standing at your desk as you're  

walking to your desk and you're 45 minutes late  and your boss might look at you and say Oh how  

nice of you to finally show up. That's obviously  sarcastic. But this happens a lot if you get to  

a party really late or even if you're  just having dinner at home with your  

your husband or your wife. But dinner is normally  at seven and you don't get home till 730 And your  

husband or your wife has been waiting and waiting  and waiting. When you get home. They might say Oh  

how nice of you to finally show up. So we use this  a lot in a sarcastic way when someone is late.  

But we also use it just to talk about getting  somewhere Oh I showed up at and then you say the  

time. So now you have the top 10 phrasal verbs  added to your vocabulary is fine to test your  

knowledge. So here's what we're going to do.  I'm going to show you a quiz that will have 10  

questions and you have to decide which phrasal  verb best completes the sentence. Now I'll only  

show the quiz for about 10 seconds. Obviously that  isn't long enough. So just hit pause, complete the  

quiz, and then I'll show you the answers. Again,  I'll show you the answers for about 10 seconds.  

So again, hit pause compare your answers and  then let us know how did you do let us know  

in the comments after you complete the  quiz. So let's start your quiz now.  

So how did you do with that quiz? Put your  mark in the comments and the ones you got wrong  

take some time and write out some practice  sentences with those new phrasal verbs. So  

you really get that practice and repetition  and add them to your permanent memory. And  

if you found this video helpful, please hit  the like button, share it with your friends  

and of course subscribe. And before you go  make sure you head on over to my website  

JForrestEnglish.com and download your free  speaking Guide. In this guide I share six  

tips on how to speak English fluently and  confidently. And until next time, happy studying.