Get Back, Look Up, Figure Out ✨ Most Common Phrasal Verbs (19-21)

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. I hope you're enjoying my lessons.  

If you'd like to get written practice tasks twice  a week, click the JOIN button and become a member  

of my YouTube channel. I'll give you regular  practice every month. Right now I bet you're  

here to learn the most common phrasal verbs in  English. Right? Well, let's see how well you know  

the first 18 phrasal verbs on the list. Choose the  phrasal verbs that best complete the sentences.

My friends and I had been planning to celebrate my  30th birthday, but then I caught a bad cold, and  

we ended up canceling the party. My friends didn't  exactly give up on the idea. They came up with a  

plan to have a virtual celebration. They set up  a Zoom call and sent out invitations to everyone.  

I didn't know of their plans, so I only found  out when I clicked the link and entered the  

meeting room. A bunch of my friends were there  waiting for me. I wasn't feeling strong enough  

to get out of bed, so I stayed under the covers  while they took turns sending their wishes.

Jacob was out of breath after only one mile,  so he stopped running. Could he really go on?  

He wasn't sure. He gave up smoking only one week  ago, so maybe it was too early to start jogging.  

But he had definitely made up his mind  to change his lifestyle and be healthier.  

Jacob had picked up the habit  of smoking back in college.  

Many of his classmates smoked back then, so it  didn't seem very bad at the time. If he could,  

he would go back and tell his younger  self not to make such a stupid choice.  

Then again, he knew that younger guy wouldn't  have wanted anyone to point out the obvious.

Julia grew up with an older  sister who was the opposite of her  

in so many ways. Madison loved to go  out and have a good time with friends.  

Julia preferred to stay home with a good book.  If the doorbell rang, Madison would jump up,  

greet visitors, and invite them to come in.  Julia usually pretended not to hear the doorbell.  

At school, Madison enjoyed taking on big roles,  like captain of the soccer team. Julia came out  

of the shadows just enough to serve as newspaper  editor. She accepted responsibility without  

receiving too much attention. As it turned out,  both sisters had a love for music, so that was  

one thing they could always come back to and  share together. They both were musically gifted.

Are you ready to learn three more  phrasal verbs? Let's get started.

As you may know, this is the third series  I've created on phrasal verbs. There were  

other language topics that I wanted to cover,  so it took some time to get back to this one.  

"To get back to something" means to return. We can  use "get back" as an intransitive phrasal verb:  

get back home, get back late, get back on  time. If you specify a place or a state,  

then you can use a prepositional phrase: get  back from my trip, get back to my hometown,  

get back to my roots, get back to  the basics, get back to normal.

In conversation you may tell someone, "I'll get  back to you later. That means you'll return to  

this topic or to this question later when you  have new information or when you have the answer.

When you go to the eye doctor  they ask you to look up,  

look down, look left, and look right. So,  "looking up" can simply mean to raise your eyes,  

direct your eyes upward.  That's a very literal meaning.

What about looking up to someone,  like your wonderful grandfather  

or a really good coach? What does that mean?

"Look up to" means admire. You respect  the person. We use this three-part phrasal  

verb with an object: look up to someone. It's  transitive. It's used a lot in spoken English.

A third meaning of "look up" has to do with  getting information. Why do we look up a new word?  

To get the definition, the pronunciation, and  the use. These days we look everything up online.  

Right? We consult different websites to get  the information we need. Look up a word.  

Look it up. This phrasal verb is transitive and  separable. If you want, you can name the resource,  

for example, look up the idiom in the  dictionary, look up hotel recommendations online.  

Hopefully, as you study with me, you'll  figure out a good way to learn phrasal verbs.  

It takes time to understand different strategies  you can use, and you'll learn to determine which  

strategies work for you. "Figure out" means  you finally understand or determine something.  

This phrasal verb is transitive and  separable: figure out a way, figure it out.

The object of the phrasal verb can be a noun  or a pronoun. It could also be a whole noun  

clause. For example, students usually figure  out that it's nearly impossible to memorize  

and retain 50 new phrasal verbs in one week

If it's a long object, don't separate the phrasal  verb. Put the object after the particle. We can also  

talk about understanding a person's character or  behavior. Think about your best and worst qualities.  

Have you figured out why you are the way you are?  "To figure someone out" means to understand them.

Here are some questions for  reflection or discussion.  

One. What is the first thing you do  when you get back home from a trip?

Two. Was there any adult in particular that you  looked up to in your childhood or adolescence?

Three. Have you figured out why we forget  some of our craziest dreams after we wake up?

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