DON'T Miss Out: 15 KEY Phrasal Verbs for Fluent Conversations

Hi there, this is Harry Welcome back to Advanced  English lessons with Harry, where I try to help  

you to get a better understanding of the English  language. Helping you to communicate better,  

to have better conversations, improve your  business English. Indeed, if you're preparing  

for some proficiency exams, where we're here to  help you and will help you with your grammar,  

use of English expressions that are vocabulary,  whatever it takes, you've come to the right place.

As you know, I strongly believe that one  to one lessons are the best way in which  

you can improve your language skills. So  let me introduce you to Preply. Preply  

has a one-to-one tutor platform where you  can learn how to communicate in a language  

faster. Preply has thousands of tutors who  are native in Spanish, English, Portuguese,  

German, and over 50 other languages. And  with over 32,000 tutors to choose from,  

you can use their filters to narrow down the  selection process to ensure that you get the  

tutor that meets your needs exactly. Self-guided  language learning can be challenging to maintain,  

and many language learning apps offer a one size  fits all approach that may not be effective for  

everyone. In person learning on the other hand,  can be both expensive and complicated. Preply  

connects you with real people, expert tutors who  can offer customised guidance and support to help  

you achieve your language learning goals. Plus,  with the convenience of online lessons, you can  

take classes anytime and anywhere that suits  your schedule. With Preply's 100% Satisfaction  

guarantee they will provide a replacement tutor  if the first tutor that you select for some reason  

doesn't meet up to your expectations. So don't you  think it's about time that you tried Preply? Make  

sure you click on the link in the description  below to get your 50% reduction in the first  

lesson that you purchase with Preply.com.  Thanks Preply for sponsoring this lesson.

And in this advanced English lesson, we're going  to look at phrasal verbs and particularly we've  

got 15 advanced phrasal verbs, which will  be better for your day-to-day communication.  

And indeed, if you are taking IELTS or CAE exams,  than these phrasal verbs are really some of those  

that you would use when you're communicating with  the inspector or who the examiner whoever it is,  

and it will make you sound really, really much  much better and you have a much better chance of  

scoring high in the speaking part. Okay, so let's  get back to our lesson our advanced English lesson  

dealing with phrasal verbs that will help you to  communicate in a better way number one to bring up  

now this has a couple of meanings. But if we're  talking about communication and conversation,  

bring up specifically means to raise an important  point or any issue at a particular meeting. So if  

you're sitting around the table with your  colleagues, or your managers, whoever it  

happens to be, you might say there's something I  would like to bring up today. So I'd like to bring  

up the issue about staff appraisals or I'd like  to bring up the issue about the last report or  

whatever it happens to be. So to bring up means to  raise or introduce a topic or point something for  

discussion. Okay, so now we can outside of that -  this is a business meetings bring up -but we can  

also bring up a child or bring up our children.  So that's another use of the phrasal verb bring  

up he brought up his children after his wife  died, or she brought up the children as a single  

parent. So you can use it in that sense means to  literally grow your children or we don't stick him  

in a plant pot and feed them fertiliser of course  but we bring them up. We allow our children to  

develop. We bring them up as balanced people. We  bring them up to be polite. Yeah. So we use them  

in that sort of context. Okay, so that's number  one bring up. Number two, bump into someone. Well,  

when we bump into someone, it means we meet  them accidentally. It's not something planned.  

Not something that you had expected. Guess who  I bumped into in the High Street? Remember that  

guy that was in the university? Yeah, yeah,  that guy. Yeah, he's, he's really, really  

changed that I recognised him from his hairstyle.  I bumped into him and he was really really in a  

chatty mood and he's really doing well for himself  has his own IT business. So it seems to be very,  

very successful. So to bump into somebody is to  meet somebody accidentally or not planned in any  

way. Okay. Now, you can also bump into something  okay. So if you're not watching what you're doing,  

and most people these days they're walking along  the street with their mobile phone in their hands.  

And the chances are that they will bump into  somebody or bump into something, they may bump  

into a lamppost, they may bump into a bicycle, a  pram, whatever it might be, they will, if they're  

not looking, where they're going, then there's a  good chance that they will bump into something.

Number three to call off. Now, this is a very  common phrasal verb and to call off means to  

cancel. Okay, so if you call off a meeting that  short notice you tell everybody that you're sick,  

and the meeting will have to be deferred  until another day, you, you call off the  

search for your car keys in the house that you  you found in your pocket, that's usually where  

I find them in the pocket of my coat. Okay,  so to call off the search call of a meeting,  

or if you're planning to go to a football game  in the middle of winter, and the rain is coming  

down very heavily in has been for several days,  perhaps the match, or the game will be called  

off due to bad weather so it will be postponed or  cancelled to another day. Okay, so to call off.

Don't forget to click on the link  in the description below to get your  

50% reduction in the first lesson  that you purchase with Preply.com.

Number four to catch up. And usually we follow it  with with catch up with sorta effectively a three  

part phrasal verb catch up with, we catch  up with our friends on a Friday night for  

a beer. We catch up with our friends later on.  We don't set a particular day. But when we end  

the telephone conversation, before we get to the  end of the telephone conversation, we might say  

something like look has been really great talking  to you. Let's catch up with each other next week.

Okay, let's catch up with each other. When we have  more time, I have to run to a meeting now. But I'd  

really like to get together and have a bite to eat  or a beer or whatever it might be. So to catch up  

with your friends, you can also catch up with your  work, perhaps you've been out sick for a few days,  

you've been on holidays, for a few weeks, you've  been on study, leave whatever it might be, but  

you stay behind late in work because you've got to  catch up with the backlog catch up with all those  

emails, catch up with some paperwork. Oh, look,  I can't get home right now, I'll be a little bit  

late because I really need to catch up with some  paperwork. Okay, so you use it in that context.

Number five to cut down on something. Now, if  we're going to go on a diet and so we want to  

lose a few kilos of shared a few kilos,  then we will cut down on the food we eat,  

we will cut down on the calories we will cut down  on fatty foods, whatever it might be that the diet  

we are following indicates what we should do so  to cut down on doesn't mean stop it completely.  

That would be cut out something. But to cut down  on something means to reduce. So from two beers  

to one beer from two slices of bread to one slice  of bread to from one kilo of meat to a half a kilo  

of meat per week, whatever it might be we cut  down on we reduce, okay. Now if we're talking  

in a work sense, we can talk about cutting down  on our workload. So perhaps we're getting to the  

stage where we're thinking of retiring or taking  it a little bit easier. So somebody might say,  

Well, why don't you cut down on the workload?  Why don't you delegate a little bit more? Why  

don't you spread the work to some other  people. Okay, so to cut down on something.

Number six to end up, okay. Now, when we end up,  we usually say end up doing something usually  

means we end up doing something we didn't plan to  do. I ended up meeting him. After all, I promised  

that I wouldn't, and he talks forever. And he's  got no work to do. So it takes a long time to get  

away from him. But I ended up going to lunch with  him anyway. So to end up means to finish or to do  

something that you hadn't planned to do. If you  go to meet a few friends and you ended up going  

to a nightclub or you ended up going for a game  of bowling, something not planned originally. But  

when you get there, you get into the mood. Then  of course the night goes on and you do things  

or go places which that you hadn't planned to  do or to go okay, so to end up doing, okay.

Number seven, fall out. Okay, when we fall out  with somebody, it means we have an argument and  

we no longer talk to him now that might last a  few days, a few weeks or whatever it might be  

or you might follow it permanently. Or I haven't  seen David for months and months and months we had  

fallen out. We fell out with each other over some,  I think some stupid argument. I didn't ring him  

he didn't ring me and of course time passed by and  so we just lost touch. So we fell out. So the past  

tense of the verb fall and remember with that verb  fall, it's for fell, fallen, it's an irregular  

verb. So we fell out in the past tense, okay? Not,  not we felt out. Sometimes students come back to  

me when they use FELT, that's a very different  verb completely. So for fell, fallen, we fell  

out several months ago. So when you fall out with  somebody, you usually break off relationships with  

them, you don't talk to them over some argument  that you've had. Okay, so now, we can fall out of  

a window, if we're not careful what we're doing,  we can fall out of the boss if the door opens,  

and we're not holding on to the handle. So  that's a very literal meaning of it. But  

when we fall out with people, we've usually have  an argument and we stop talking to them. Okay.

Number eight, get around to so we get around to  something means we will eventually do something  

that we intended to do, but we maybe we've kept  putting it on the long finger. So we've been  

really delaying when we get to it, I get round  to it later. Have you completed your tax return  

form yet? No, no, I'll get round to it later. Or  I finally got round to completing that tax return.  

I'd really stopped thinking about it for several  weeks, but I realised that there's a refund due  

to me. So I got it completed. And I'm hoping to  get the refund next week. So when you get around  

to doing something, you do something that you had  put off, you had procrastinated, you had delayed  

you had put on the long finger? Or you might say  to somebody, yeah, I'll get round to it. So it's  

not now I'll get around to it later meaning Yeah,  yeah, give me a reminder in a couple of days,  

I'll get around to it. Eventually, I've got some  more important things to complete at the moment.

Number nine to grow apart. Okay, well, when things  or people grow apart, it usually means they have  

differences of opinion, different interests, and  therefore the things that kept their friendship  

together, previously, no longer exist. So usually  happens when people meet other people at school  

and primary school and secondary school. And  then they perhaps go on to university together.  

And then when they leave university, they go  their separate ways, because they grow apart,  

somebody studied it, the other person studied  some other science or medicine, and they develop  

other friendships, they develop other interests,  so they finally grow apart. So Mary might say,  

have you seen Catherine? Recently, you  used to be really close friends? Yeah,  

we were we were really close. But you know, over  a period of time, we grew apart, we had different  

interests, where the fact she went to live in a  different city. So that didn't help. And really,  

you know, we haven't kept in touch. But  yeah, I suppose if we met each other,  

we would still be unfriendly terms. But we don't  have that deep friendship that we used to have,  

we have grown apart. And unfortunately, in  marriages, often couples grow apart over a  

period of time, because they just get bored,  or they don't keep that flame of romance going.  

They don't enjoy that little Valentine's date,  or they don't bring flowers or exchange gifts,  

they just accept the way they are. And  unfortunately, they grow apart. athey  

don't stop liking each other, or indeed, they  don't even divorce, they just grow apart because  

they have different interests are not common  interests anymore. So to grow apart, and it  

happens gradually. So particularly with relation  to relationships, this is what happens. Okay.

Number 10. To live on. Okay, so you might say  what to, for example, animals live on? Well,  

of course, we know that, you know, cows live  on grass, and so they constantly eat it or  

sheep in a field will live on grass. But if you're  talking about something a little bit more exotic,  

yeah. You might want to know what to certain  animals live on. So if your son is interested  

in some really interesting creatures, I have  a student and her son is fascinating. He has  

always got some really interesting creatures  that he keeps in certain aquarium and they  

could be butterflies or stick insects or all  sorts of interesting things. So when you you've  

got a deep interest in those type of rare or  unusual animals or insects, then you would  

like to know what do they like? Live on so, you  know, do they eat meat? Do they eat fish? Or do  

they eat vegetation like grass or leaves or not?  Whatever it might be. So what do they live on?

Now, you could use it it loosely in relation  to people. So when we talk about our student  

days is, Ah, I lived on beans on toast for  years. It was great. Yeah. Okay. I don't  

ever want to look at another can of baked  beans. But you know, when I was a student,  

there was nothing better than coming home after  a day in the university, putting a can of beans  

on the stove, popping a couple of slices of  bread, make some toast, and it makes a really  

tasty meal. Yeah, you wouldn't serve it up to  your girlfriend, but it was very, very tasty. So

what did you live on? Yeah. And we use the  expression, I often heard my parents using  

this expression, what do you think we live on  fresh air? So when you start earning some money,  

you have to give some money to your mother so that  she can go out and purchase some groceries? Yeah,  

because she will ask the question,  What do you think we live on? Fresh  

air? Somebody has to buy the food that  they put before you for your breakfast,  

your lunch and your dinner. Yeah, so to live  on. And as always, as I always say, the best  

way for you to understand these is to practice  and practice and practice a little bit more,  

because it's the only way you're going  to get to know them to write them down.  

Use your own examples, and then drop them  into your conversation from time to time.

Number 11. This is an interesting phrasal verb,  it's something that's a little bit unusual,  

you don't use it so often to mull over. M-U-L-L  mull over and it's all about thinking, okay,  

and it's about thinking for a long period  of time. So if somebody gives you a puzzle,  

or somebody gives you something that you have to  think about for a period of time, you might say,  

Well, look, let me mull over this for a couple  of days. And I'll give you an answer then. Okay,  

so you don't want to commit yourself to an answer  immediately. or, indeed, you want to buy yourself  

some time because perhaps you don't have the  answer for the person. So you will say, Well,  

let me mull over this for a little while. And  I'll come back to you next week, or I'll come  

back to you after the weekend or whenever the  period is. So when you mull over something,  

you turn it over in your mind you think about  it, you slip on it for a little bit, and then  

you give somebody a more considered response, a  more considered answer that they might expect.

Number 12, pan out. So we might ask the question,  Well, how did things pan out for you? And what  

that means is how did things develop. How did  things turn out in the end? So you meet that  

you bump into that friend, or you meet that  friend that you haven't met for a long, long  

time you went to university together. So you're  sitting down having a coffee, and he just asked  

the question, Well, how did things pan out for  you? What are you doing now? Ah, well, you know,  

after university, I lost my way a little bit. So  I just went off and I travelled around Europe for  

six or nine months. And then I got some jobs here  and some jobs there. I really wasn't clued in as  

to what I wanted to do. Uh huh. Perhaps I'm still  not clued in, but I came home eventually got a  

job. And you know, one thing leads to another.  Now we're married with a couple of kids now.  

So that's how it happened. So how did things pan  out for you? Meaning how did things turn out or  

develop? Okay? Or we can use it for the future.  How do you think this will pan out? Meaning,  

you know, we might be planning or preparing a  particular meeting that's going to take place  

today or tomorrow. And you ask your boss or your  your report manager. How do you think this will  

pan out? You know, these clients better than  I do. So what do you think the angle is? What  

do you think they're going to be looking for?  So he will tell you or give you advice to say,  

Well, I think they're going to be focusing  on the costs, or I think they're going to  

be focusing on the margins or the service,  whatever it might be. That's how it will  

pan out. That's how it will develop. That's  how the meeting is likely to go to pan out.

Number 13. Something that happens to all of us run  out of something, okay, so you open the cupboard,  

no coffee, you open the fridge, no milk,  you go into the freezer, nothing to defrost,  

you have run out of everything and everything.  When was the last time I went to the supermarket,  

or better calling on the way home from  work. So when we run out of something,  

it means we've nothing left. Of course we can run  out of time. So it doesn't have to be something  

specific like food. We can run out of time at  the meeting. Oh, you look at your watch. Is that  

the time? I need to get on to another meeting?  Let's continue tomorrow. So to run out of time,  

run out of money. Yeah. So If you look in your  bank account, it's empty. I went a little bit  

crazy at the sales recently or, you know, I  went online and started buying a few things.  

And guess what, I have no money in my account.  Hopefully I'm going to get paid in the next  

couple of days. So to run out of something is  to have no more of that particular item. Money,  

beans, coffee, bread, whatever it happens to  be, nothing is left you have run out of it.

Number 14. To think back, think back. Now, if  we're trying to jog somebody's memory. Okay,  

so we want to find out what happened last  week. So or what happened two days ago,  

or indeed with our kids? What happened  two hour ago, two hours ago at school,  

think back? Where were you? What were you doing?  who said what? So these are the sorts of phrases  

we might use to jog the memory? And we ask son or  daughter, we look, just be careful ticket time.  

But think back where were you? What were you  doing? What exactly did the teacher say to you,  

because the son or daughter are very upset about  something that happened. And you're trying to get  

to the bottom of the problem. So you want the  child to think back about the situation. Now,  

we can just use think back more generally and  say, Ah, when I think back about those wonderful  

summer days that we had no pressure, just grab  the bike cycle somewhere, grab a bite to eat,  

go off to the beach and swim. Ah, those were the  days when I think back about the good old days.  

Yeah. So when we think back, it's to remember  basically something that happened in the past, we  

like to think back about it. Or if I think back,  I can remember or I'll jog my own memory and think  

back about the particular relationship or the  friendship of the last time that we met somebody.

And then finally, to while away to while away.  This is a really nice phrasal verb to use. We  

can while away our time doing something. You're  delayed in the airport, the classic situation,  

you've walked through the duty free once or twice,  you've had the coffee. So while you're waiting to  

board the plane, you while away the time reading  a book, you while away the time watching a movie  

on your mobile phone or apps you just doze off  in the chair and while away your time having a  

little bit of a siesta. Okay, so it could be  nice, warm summer days, you go on a holiday  

and somebody asks you what do you like to do for  your holidays? Well, there's nothing better than  

whiling away my time sitting on the beach,  not many people around. Yeah, that's to me,  

it's good way to spend a few days not all of my  holiday, but a few days to while away the time,  

okay. So it means to spend the time idly or  relaxed or without any things specific to do.

Okay, so there we are. We've had 15  advanced phrasal verbs that will help  

you not only to improve your conversational  skills, but also to help you in terms of  

your your IELTS. And if you can pick up  and use three or four or five of these,  

then you'll be amazed the difference it will make.

So I'm going to give them to you one more  time very, very quickly. One bring up,  

bump into someone call off or postpone. catch  up with someone or something like the work cut  

down on something and up doing something you  hadn't planned end up fall out with a friend,  

fall out. Get around to eventually get  around to doing something to grow apart,  

to grow apart. Live on. What do you live on?  To mull over to think. To mull over. Pan out  

how did that develop for you? To pan out, run  out of something. Think back on something and  

then finally to while away the hours to while  away? Okay, so 15 advanced phrasal verbs that  

will help you to improve and give you better  communication. And if you do find that you've  

liked this particular lesson, then please like  the video and if you can subscribe to the channel,  

because it really really helps. And as always  remember to join me for the next lesson.