25 Common Phrasal Verbs B2 Students Must Know

Phrasal verbs are part of everyday communication,  so you need strong familiarity with them. The key  

to learning phrasal verbs is understanding  their meanings and the context you can use  

them in. You also have to pay attention  to the grammar. Some take an object;  

others don't. In this lesson, I'll help  you master 25 common phrasal verbs.

Hi. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer,  and here's the first set of five phrasal verbs:

check out, move on, put  out , look around, catch up

Look at the text. Let's replace the  boldfaced words with the five phrasal verbs.

The goal of any creator is to release content  to entertain, inform, or educate. Let's replace  

that with "put out." When you visit a new channel,  see what's there. What does the creator offer?  

Videos, a podcast, special posts on the community  tab? Let's replace this with "look around."  

Examine at least one video before you leave in  search of a better channel. Instead of "examine,"  

you can "check out." And let's replace "leave"  with "move on." If you really like the creator,  

subscribe. You may not have time to watch every  new release, but you can always reach the point  

where others are at your convenience since videos  are on demand. That last one is "catch up."

Let's read the completed text once more.

The goal of any creator is to put out  good content to entertain, inform,  

or educate. When you visit a new channel, look  around. What does the creator offer? Videos,  

a podcast, special posts on the community tab?  Check out at least one video before you move on  

in search of a better channel. If you really like  the creator, subscribe. You may not have time to  

watch every new release, but you can always catch  up at your convenience since videos are on demand.

Let's recap. When you put something out,  you release it or share it with the public.

Looking around is about taking  the time to see what's available.

Checking something out involves  examining it in order to form a judgment.

When you move on, you leave one activity  to start another. This may also involve  

changing your location. After college, you  move on to the real world and get a job.

You can catch up or catch up to someone if you  

need to complete work that wasn't done  before. We catch up on work or tasks.

There are other meanings of these phrasal  verbs. Can you guess a few more from context?

One. Imagine I'm an old friend and I say,  "Hey! I haven't seen you in ages. Let's get  

together and catch up? Can you meet for lunch?"  What does "catch up" mean in this situation?

B. Talk and learn what has happened.

Two. We're in a hotel lobby, and I tell you you  

have to put out your cigarette. This  is a nonsmoking area. This means...

A. You have to extinguish it.

Three. Imagine I want to tell  you all my personal troubles,  

but you really don't want to get caught up in  my problems because you have your own to deal  

with. In other words, you don't want to a  become involved in something undesirable.

Here's another set of five phrasal verbs:

go in, break down, get off, keep up, put down

I'll test your understanding by asking you  eight true-false questions. Pay attention  

to how I ask the question, and you'll  see which phrasal verbs take an object.

One. You shouldn't go in a private  room without permission. True or false?

True. To "go in" means to enter. If you're  outside, going in means moving indoors.

Two. Complicated grammar is easier to master when  a teacher breaks it down for you. True or false?

True. When you break something  down you look at it in smaller  

parts so that it's easier to understand or handle.

Three. Receiving an awesome job offer would  make most people break down. True or false?

False. Good job offers make people happy. When a  person breaks down, they're emotionally upset. One  

might break down in tears, for example, if they  got fired or lost their boyfriend or girlfriend.

Four. Many adults in the US get off  work around 5:00 p.m. True or false?

True. Get off work, get off the  bus... This is about leaving a place.

Five. If a worker isn't fired after lying to the  

boss, some might complain that the  person got off easy. True or false?

True. "To get off easy" or "to get off  the hook" means you didn't receive a  

punishment or you only received  a light punishment for something.

Six. Ideally, new businesses want to  get off to a rocky start. True or false?

False. A rocky start is is  a difficult or bad start.  

Here "get off" means to start in a particular way.

Seven. A good student keeps up with assignments.  

They're organized enough to keep up and  never submit work late. True or false?

True. "Keeping up" is about maintaining  the pace. You don't fall behind.

Eight. Kind people often put  others down. True or false?

False. "Putting others down" is about  criticizing them. If you put yourself down,  

you're criticizing yourself  and making yourself feel small.

How did you do? Make note of any  new definitions you've learned  

so far. Let's move on to the next set of  phrasal verbs. This one has seven verbs:

reach out, go off, cut off, turn  back, pull up, set out, clean up

With this set, I'll test your ability  to choose the correct phrasal verb.

One.

My alarm went off, but I  didn't hear it right away.

Two.

When you really need help, you should  be able to reach out to friends.

Three.

When the former classmates met for lunch,  

they felt like they were able to turn back  time for a day and feel youthful again.

Four.

Craig set out to become the  top chef in New York City.

Five.

I pulled up to the drive-thru  window and received my order.

Six.

Heather says she doesn't want to live in the  suburbs because she feels cut off from city life.

Seven.

The new mayor promised to clean  up the parks and neighborhoods.

How did you do? Let's review.

"To reach out to someone" means  you communicate with them because  

you want their help or their involvement.

We use "go off" with things that make a sound,  

like an alarm clock or a fire alarm. In  another sense, if you "go off "on someone,  

you're yelling loudly. You're voicing  angry complaints against them.

When you're "cut off" from  something you're separated from it.

"To turn back" is to return to some earlier  

point. We can physically turn back our clocks,  for example. In a figurative sense, we say,  

"There's no turning back," when we know once  we make a decision, we can't reverse it.

When you "pull up" somewhere,  you approach that place in a car.

"Cleaning up" is about making a  place completely clean and orderly.

Ready for the last set? This  group has eight phrasal verbs:

shut down, turn over, slow down, wind  up, turn up, line up, take back, lay out.

Let's take a moment to talk about the particles  -- those little words that look like prepositions  

or adverbs. Remember that phrasal verbs have  a main verb and then one or two particles.

"Up" often refers to an increase or to something  

done completely. "Up" can  also refer to an appearance.

"Down" usually refers to a decrease or an ending.

"Over" might imply "again" or it might refer to  another side or even a transfer of some kind.

"Back" often implies going  in reverse or returning.

"Out" has different meanings, but there's this  outward sense, like showing or presenting.

Let's see if you can guess the meaning  of each phrasal verb in this last set.  

Pay attention to how they're being  used. Which ones take an object?

One. Some computer problems are  resolved when when we completely  

shut down and restart. Here "shut down" means...

B. Stop working

Two. Upon retiring, Mitchell turned over all  

control of the company to his  daughter. In other words,...

he transferred control to her.

Three. The teacher asked us to  turn over our test paper when we  

were finished. "Turn over" in this sense means...

to flip something to the other side.

Four. In our company, business often slows down  right before the New Year because everyone is  

out of the office. Whether something slows down on  its own or someone slows it down this is about...

decreasing the pace or speed .

Five. My GPS stopped working,  

and I wound up getting completely lost  in an unfamiliar town. "Wind up" means...

to find oneself in an unexpected  and usually unfortunate situation.

Six Plenty of volunteers turned up,  

so the community project was a success.  In this sense, "turned up" means...

arrive or appear somewhat unexpectedly.

Seven. The hockey players lined up and prepared  

to skate onto the ice for the  big game. In other words,...

they formed a queue.

Eight. Our team struggled to  take back control of the game,  

but we worked hard and won. "Taking back" means...

regaining possession.

Nine. Emily's boyfriend apologized and said  he took back what he said, but she refused  

to forgive and forget his harsh criticism. In  this sense, "taking something back" means...

admitting one was wrong and  withdrawing what was said.

Ten. In court, lawyers lay out all the facts  for the jury to consider. This means they...

explain things clearly.

How did you do? Let's take a look at the complete  list of 25 phrasal verbs from this lesson.

That's all for now. I encourage you to make  examples with any new phrasal verbs from  

this lesson. A good learner's dictionary  will also provide examples for you. And if  

you want a good place to ask me questions  about phrasal verbs or any other grammar,  

you can consider joining me on Patreon  as a Lifelong Learner. Visit my Patreon  

page for more information. As always,  thanks for watching and happy studies!