Most Common Phrasal Verbs in English: go on, pick up, come back (1-3)

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. Let's study phrasal verbs together.  

I'm sure you've already  picked some up on your own.  

It's time to make sure that you learn  the most common ones in English. Ready?

Phrasal verbs use a verb and a particle, as in  "pick up." Phrasal verbs can be transitive or  

intransitive, meaning they may or may not take an  object. If they take an object, they may or may  

not be separable, as in "pick up new words"/"pick  them up." In short, there are details you need  

to pay attention to. But the biggest challenge  is learning the meanings of the phrasal verbs,  

so let's study one phrasal verb at a time,  and I'll share the most common definitions.

Do you like to know what's going on in the world?  Many of us open news apps and social media apps  

to see what's happening. We like  to stay informed and connected.

"Go on" is intransitive. The most common meaning,  especially in spoken English, is "happen." If you  

hear extremely noisy neighbors, you may wonder,  "What's going on over there?" What's happening?

Guess another meaning. Not many college  athletes go on to play professional sports.

When you go on to do something or go on to the  next step in a process, you continue. You proceed.

Look at this messy room. Besides  making the bed and wiping the desk,  

what does the child need to do  to make the room tidy again?  

I think he or she can start by picking  up the toys and the trash off the floor.

"Pick up" is transitive and separable.  

When you pick things up, you lift them with your  hands and often move them to another position.

If you're driving and you pick up a friend, you  take them from one place to another in your car:  

Pick up a friend. Pick her up.

Guess two other meanings.

Nadia didn't take any French lessons,  

but she picked up some words and  phrases from her Belgian boyfriend.

"All right," the teacher  said to call our attention.  

"Let's pick up where we stopped  yesterday. Open to page five, please."

In sentence A, "pick up" means "learn something."  

You learn something indirectly  through observation.

In sentence B, "pick up" means "to  continue from a certain place."

Do you know anybody who left your hometown or  your country only to come back years later?  

What would make someone return after so long?

If you want to see one woman's  return to her childhood home  

and be highly entertained, then watch  The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet.

"Come back" means "return." It's intransitive,  but you can use it with a prepositional phrase.

In the movie, Tilly comes back to Australia.  

She comes back to where all her problems  started. She comes back for the truth.

We've now covered the three most  common phrasal verbs in English.  

As you pick up new phrasal verbs, be sure you  know what they mean and how to use them. Then  

you can go on to the next lesson and learn  more. You can always come back and review.

That's all for now. Please like and  share the video if you found it useful.  

As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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