Look Back, Wake Up, Carry Out ✨Most Common Phrasal Verbs (34-36)

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer  from English with Jennifer.  

Do you ever think about something you did and  say, "Yeah, I could have done that better"?  

I'd be surprised if you said no. I think we  can all admit that some of our past choices  

weren't the best ones. The difference is whether  we look back with regret or look back to learn.  

If I could go back in time, I might change  what videos I made and how I made them. But  

then again, every single video I ever  made was a learning experience for me.  

All of my experiments taught me something. I  didn't wake up one morning in 2007 and say,  

"I'm going to start a YouTube channel,  and I know exactly how to do it."  

No. I didn't know. I knew so little, but I had  ideas. I made plans, and then I carried them out  

to the best of my ability -- while raising two  kids and running a household. I'm learning not  

to be so hard on myself and to be less critical  when I look back. And I guess that's what I want  

to tell you too. No one will ever wake up and be  perfect. You can only face the day and do your  

best with what you have and who you are today.  When you carry out your plans, have hope and have  

the best intentions. That way when you look back  at the end of the day, you won't have any regrets.  

In this lesson, we'll practice using three common  phrasal verbs: look back, wake up, carry out.

In another lesson, I covered the many uses  of "back" to talk about the past. I included  

phrasal verbs like "look back." "Look back"  is an intransitive phrasal verb. No object.  

It means to think and consider the past. We can  use prepositional phrases to be more specific.  

We can look back at, on, or to something.

When we look back on this decade, how will we  remember it? We may not have the answer yet.

When you look back at your childhood, is  there anything you miss? I miss having  

someone cook for me. If you'd like, you can tell  me your answer to the question in the comments.

If you look back to the 1940s, do  you have any positive associations?  

I think of big band music. Jazz in general was  really popular in the U.S. in the first half of  

the 20th century. Did you know that I really  enjoyed big band music and jazz ballads? I  

certainly didn't experience the 1940s, but I like  the music from that era. In fact, I bought tickets  

to a concert later this month, so a friend  and I are going to hear live big band music.  

Here are two expressions with this phrasal  verb that you can use in conversation.  

The first: looking back on it. This  means, "When I think about it..."  

I could also shorten that to "looking back."  Looking back, I realized that listening to the  

music that my parents and grandparents liked  exposed me to a wide range of music styles.

Looking back now, I feel like our lives  changed because they had to. The second  

expression is "never look back." It means when  you make a decision or make a change, you don't  

have regrets. It's especially appropriate when  one phase of your life ends and another begins.  

Jessie quit her office job and started her  own online store. She's never looked back.

Will moved to the West Coast  and never looked back. In fact,  

he's never returned to New York for a visit.

A variation is "no looking back." You  can say it all by itself and it means,  

"Don't think about the past. Move on."

No regrets. No looking back. Hey! If you like  the lesson so far, please subscribe. If you're  

already a subscriber, consider becoming a YouTube  member. Learning opportunities are a click away.  

"Wake up" can be intransitive or transitive.  When we stop sleeping, we wake up.  

If we need someone else to stop sleeping, we  say, "Wake up!" Wake up, honey. Wake up. Wake up.  

In the movie clip, the daughter  is trying to wake up her mother,  

but she's having trouble. You can wake up all  by yourself, but if you're in a deep sleep,  

then someone or something can wake you up. As a  transitive phrasal verb, "wake up" is separable.  

We put a pronoun object in between the verb  and the particle: wake her up. This movie  

is called Freaky Friday, and the mother and  daughter actually switch bodies, so the mother  

is actually like a teenager who doesn't want to  wake up early and go to school. And the daughter,  

who inside is actually a middle-aged woman, is  trying to wake up her mother. It's a funny comedy,  

and it stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.  I recommend it. Can you wake up on your own in  

the morning or do you need an alarm to wake you  up? Maybe you need two alarms to wake you up.  

You can let me know in the comments. Another way  we use "wake up" is to get someone's attention  

we think they've failed to realize or notice  something important. They don't see the true  

situation, so we tell them wake up. A common  expression is, "Wake up and smell the coffee."

Wake up and smell the coffee.  Rose, wake up and smell the coffee.  

We can also wake up to something. Literally, we  can wake up to a beautiful morning. Figuratively,  

we can wake up to the fact that the world  has changed. Something is different now.

"Carry out" is a transitive  phrasal verb, and it's separable.  

When you carry something out, you do it. You  perform it or execute it. What can you carry out?  

Carry out a plan. Carry out an experiment.

An army can carry out an attack.  Scientists carry out research.

The verbs "perform" and "execute" are  academic equivalents of "carry out."  

So is "conduct." Scientists  can conduct an experiment;  

they can carry it out. An army can  execute a maneuver; they can carry it out.

Carrying something out can also be about  performing your duty or fulfilling a promise.  

When you sign a contract, you  promise to carry out your duties.  

When a superior gives you instructions, you're  expected to carry them out. Please carry out my  

instructions. I need you to stay on board and  carry out my instructions. We can use "carry  

out" in the passive voice. How would you  change these verbs from active to passive?

The orders were carried out. A  series of tests will be carried out.

By the way, some people use "carryout" to  

refer to the food that you buy at a  restaurant and then take home to eat.  

Personally, I think "takeout" is a lot more  common in American English for that context.  

If you're ordering pizza at a pizza place, they  may ask you, "Is that for here or take out?" So,  

when we talk about "carry out," let's stick to  the meaning of perform, execute, or conduct.

We've covered three of the most common phrasal  verbs in English. Do you remember any others?  

If you've watched my earlier lessons, then  a few dozen phrasal verbs should be familiar  

to you by now. Let's review a little. One.  Match the phrasal verbs to their meanings.

Two. Which phrasal verbs are physical motions?

Three. Use the phrasal verbs to complete the text.

At first, I didn't know what was going  on, but I knew Kaylee was stressed.  

She didn't complain, but I found out  that she had a new part-time job.  

She showed up to school really tired. Kaylee  finally admitted that she had taken on too much,  

but she needed the extra money right now.  I told her to please take care of herself.

Four. Match the phrasal verbs to their meanings.

Five. Match the phrasal verbs to their objects.

Six. Use the phrasal verbs  to complete the phrases.

Seven. Use the correct preposition or adverb.

Eight. Use the phrasal  verbs to complete the ideas.

Nine. Match the phrasal verbs to their meanings.

Ten. Use the correct particles  to complete the phrasal verbs.

Bonus! What is the expression  with this phrasal verb?

Wake up and smell the coffee!

We'll end here. Remember you can't learn all  the phrasal verbs in English in a single day  

or a month. It takes time. Make a realistic plan  and then carry it out. Wake up to each new day  

with the optimism that you can learn something  new. Study and review regularly. That way,  

when you look back, you'll know that  you've done your best to make progress.

Please remember to like and share  this video if you found the lesson  

useful. As always, thanks for  watching and happy studies!

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and  Instagram. Why not join me on Patreon?  

And don't forget to subscribe on YouTube!