FROM BASIC TO FLUENT: 10 Phrasal Verbs to Advance Your English

Hi there. This is Harry and welcome back to my  English advanced English lessons with Harry.

So later on I'll give you my contact  details if you want to contact me.

So let's get back to the lesson. So what are  we going to talk to you about today? Well,  

in today's lesson, we're going to look at  advanced phrasal verbs using the preposition  

out. Advanced phrasal verbs using the  preposition out. As always, I'm going  

to go through them with you one by one. I give  you the list and then we'll go back into them,  

give you some examples and hopefully you'll  get an understanding as to how to use them.

Okay, let's go to them one by one.

To find out. Well, that's really quite a simple  phrasal verb. To find out some information,  

to find out whether you got the  job or not. So you check your  

emails every day to see did you get  the letter offering you the job? So  

I need to find out quickly because I've  got really important things to happen.

I want to know, do I have  the job or not? So I really  

would like to find out, to discover  whether I got the job or not.

What did you find out in school today?  What did you learn? Go on to the internet  

and you'll find out lots of information for  your project. So you look up the internet,  

you go into some page and  you find out information.

Wikipedia is a great way for people. Now  

to find out unknown facts about  whatever they're interested in.

Spiders, insects, creepy crawlies,  football, whatever it might be to find out.

Find out the source of the leak if you got a leak  in your bathroom. Drip, drip, drip somewhere. You  

have to find out where the leak is coming  from, and you have to fix it so find out.

Next to check out. There are a couple of  ways of using that. Normally we check out  

the local restaurants. So if you've just  moved into an area, you've moved apartment  

or lucky enough to have a house. Then when  you get yourself settled, why why don't we  

go into the the town or the city and check out  the local restaurants, see what's available.

Do we have an Indian restaurant or do we  have an Italian restaurant? Or what's the  

cuisine that they are offering? So  we want to check out the local area.

We go for a walk and we walk around, see the park,  

visit the shops, check out what's in the  area that we've just recently moved into.

Of course, you can also check out  of the hotel. You can check out.

The goods that you purchase in the supermarket.  So that's a different way to use it. So what is  

the checkout time in the hotel? Usually, it's  midday so they can have a quick turnaround.  

So the hotel rooms are available for  the next guests. Checking in at 2:00.

So you check out and they check in. Okay. But  if you want to check out the local restaurants,  

then you take a walk and see what they are like.

Next to puzzle out on a puzzle is something  that is tricky. Yeah. Like a jigsaw puzzle?  

Yeah. Or a crossword puzzle. So when you  want to puzzle out. Something you want to  

work out? The solution? The answer? Yeah.  It'll take me a little while to puzzle out  

what exactly they are looking for. So you get  a letter from somebody with lots of questions,  

and it's written in perhaps very formal English.

And it takes you a while to realise what exactly  do they want? What are they looking for? So you  

try to puzzle out to work out what is the  exact information that they're looking for?

Apply for a job. Or perhaps if you're  making a visa application and when you  

see the application form, there are  25 different questions. We want this,  

we want that, we want this. Yeah. So  it takes you a little while to puzzle  

out to understand what exactly  it is that they are looking for.

To suss something out. And this is really, really  informal. And to suss. To suss something out is  

a bit like finding something out. Okay.  So if your friend is having a birthday,  

a big birthday, 30th or 40th or 50th  birthday over the next couple of weeks,  

you're talking to the other friends or  family. What will we buy him or her?

And you need to know, because a lot of people  have very particular tastes. And just because  

you like it, it doesn't necessarily mean  that they're going to like it. So if you  

want to find out what might they like as a  birthday celebration, what might they like  

as a birthday present? You need to suss them  out. So you ask them some leading questions.

What do you think about massages? Or what  do you think about beauty treatments? Or  

are you still interested in photography?  And have we bought any equipment recently?  

So you suss out what they're doing,  what they are still interested in,  

and it might give you a little bit of a  clue as to what you could buy them for.

That all-important present. Okay. So you suss them  out without actually asking them upfront. I mean,  

you could go along and say, okay, it's your  birthday in two weeks' time. What do you want  

as a present? That's a really, really direct way  to find out. But if you suss them out, you do it  

in a little bit secretive way that you're asking  questions that might be a little bit leading,  

but it'll give you the information and you can  go back to your friends and say, oh, I have it.

I know exactly what he would  like. Okay. To suss something out.

To pile out. Well, we've spoken.

In the past about pile up when everything  is stacked on top of each other.

But pile out is when everything sort  of falls out. Okay. So, for example,  

if you're driving a car and you're taking  the kids to the local football match and  

a couple of the parents ask you,  could you take their kids as well?

So when you look in the back of the car, you got  six of them. They're okay with football boots and  

football gear. So when you come to the football  stadium or the park where they're going to play,  

you open the door and they pile out  means they they fall out literally  

out of the car onto the ground and off  they go to play the football match or  

at the end of the day when the school bell  rings, ding ding ding ding, class is over.

The teacher opens the door and  the kids pile out of school,  

run into the playground to be collected  by the parents, or to jump on the  

swing or to kick the football around the  playground. Okay, so they pile out. Okay,  

everybody pile out. Okay, so open the door and  out they fall. Okay. One on top of the other.

So we can pile out of the school at the  classroom. We can pile out of the car  

on our way to the playground or the football  stadium to play the football match, pile out.

The tree, fall out. Bom bom  bom one on top of the other.

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To figure out. Well, to figure out is to work out  

and to understand something. I have  to figure out my taxes this weekend.

Been putting it off and putting it  off. I have a couple of weeks to do it,  

but if I don't do it now and I come up against a  deadline, I'll only panic and I'll make a mistake.

So it's going to take me a couple of  nights to figure out exactly what I  

have to pay. So I've got to calculate my  income. I've got to look at my expenses,  

and then I've got to figure out how much tax I  owe, and then I've got to pay it. So to figure out

I'm trying to figure out exactly what they need. I  mean, the customer has been on the phone a couple  

of times, but the message isn't so clear. So  I need to know, do they want 12 boxes of 12 or  

12 boxes of four? So I need to go back to them and  find out and figure out exactly what the order is.

Because if I send that too much,  they'll only send it back and over  

send them too little. They'll be  on the phone complaining. Okay,  

so we need to figure out exactly what it is  they want. So to figure out means to work out,  

to understand and and see what the client wants  or what your the amount of tax you have to pay.

Can you figure this out? So somebody send you a

calculation, or your son or daughter come to  you with modern mathematics, and they set out,  

sit down with you and say, can you help me?  I just can't figure this out on my own. So  

you look at this and think, I don't think I'm  going to be able to figure this out either.

But between us, perhaps we might be able to  do it. So to figure out the answer to the  

mathematical problem, to figure out the answer to  this particular equation, whatever it might be, we  

need to understand it. We need to find an answer,  and therefore we can figure it out together.

To drown out. Well, usually when we're talking  about drown out, it's to do with sound. Okay,  

so the music was drowned out by the digging  in the building site next to you. Okay,  

so you're playing your music. You're  sitting out in your garden. Perhaps  

it's a lovely sunny day. Hopefully. And  you've got a little bit of music on and  

you're having a nice soft drink and  reading a book, enjoying the sunshine.

And then all of a sudden you hear this  bang bang, bang, bang, bang. Drill, drill,  

drill. Hammer, hammer, hammer and the building  site a kilometre away. They're making lots of  

noise and it drowns out your stereo so you can't  hear. So when something drowns out something,  

it means it covers it, or it prevents  you from hearing that particular sound.

Okay, so the sound of the children fighting,

upstairs in the bedroom was  drowned out by the music. Okay,  

so you turn the music up a little bit  louder so you couldn't hear the noise  

of the children squabbling and fighting  in the room. Alright. Maybe about. So  

you turn up the music a little bit, and that  would drown out the shouting and the screaming.

So when something else covers up prevents you  from hearing something you want to listen to,  

then we can use the expression to drown  out. Okay, so somebody might speak very  

loudly. Okay. And if you're trying to say  something, the other person beside you  

or behind you might have a louder voice and  their voice drowns out your voice. Excuse me?

I'm trying to ask a question here.  And somebody is talking over you,  

and they speak a little more loudly,  which drowns out the question that  

you want to ask. Okay, so to drown out,  to cover, to prevent you or other people  

hearing the sound denies the music.  The question, whatever it might be.

To sound out. And again, here we're talking  about sound, but in a very different way.  

When you want to sound out somebody,  you want to find out what they think,  

how they feel about something. Okay. So  to be to sound you out. So a bit like we  

had the question before to suss out when,  when, when we want to sound out somebody,  

we want to find out what their impressions are,  what their views or what their opinions are.

So, for example, if we're launching  a new product to the marketplace,  

you might want to sound out a few people  to see what they think about it. So you  

might get together some of your colleagues  tell them that this is the new chocolate bar  

that we're hoping to launch in a couple  of months. And what do they think?

So they might want to taste it. They  might want to talk about the timing of  

it. Who it's aimed at. What the packaging or  is like. Yeah. So you you want to sound them  

out. So you show them some sketches of  what the packaging will look like. You.

Show them the how the bar would be made up,  

whether it's dark chocolate or milk  chocolate or whatever it might be,  

and you get some opinions impressions from them  that might be helpful in the whole launching  

developing of this particular product. So you  like to sound them out. Okay. If something  

important is going to happen in the area,  perhaps the local council are going to build.

Some new

facilities like playing fields or cinema  or library. So they want to sound out the  

local people to see what they want. So they might  come around and do a door to door questionnaire,  

or they may stop you in the street and  ask you for your opinion. So they sound  

out the locals before they make a final decision.

Now we're here today to talk to you about the  empty space that has been there for several  

years. The council are getting the opinions of  the locals to see what's more important a library,  

a cinema, turn it into a playing field, or  develop a jazz apartment. So we're asking you  

for your opinion. We want to sound out the  locals as to what they want in their area.

So it's a great way of forming a partnership that  

local government or council and the people of  the residents who live there to sound them out

Next to worm something out of somebody.  Now important to you to get the right  

pronunciation? Worm warm worm. Warm  to worm w o r m to worm. Something  

out of somebody is to get information  that they are reluctant to share with  

other people. So they've got  some information, some facts.

and you're trying just to understand it. So you  

have to keep asking or digging  to get the, the information.

You

If you want to get a worm in the ground,  you have to dig the soil with a little  

bit of a spade, and eventually you'll find  the worms. When you want to worm something  

out of somebody. You have to keep digging  metaphorically. Keep asking questions. Well,  

what about this? And what about that?  And eventually you get the information  

that you're looking for like, well, why  couldn't you just give me that information?

Why do I have to spend so long worm in it out of  you? The kids that have been had a little fight  

at school, and your son doesn't want to talk about  it. Nothing happened. It's okay. But you've got a  

bruise on your face. You've got a cut here or cut  there. Something happened. well, this and that.

And then eventually you worm the truth out  of them exactly what happened. And then  

you're able to form your own opinion  to worm something out of somebody,

Then finally to fathom out.  Well, we've already looked at,

puzzle out, to figure out and to fathom out  is very, very similar. Okay. A fathom is a  

unit of measurement used when we're  talking about the sea. So, you know,  

if you want to find out the depth of the  water, how many fathoms deep it is. Okay.

So that's a, that's a unit of measurement.  And when we want to fathom out something  

we're trying to measure or to understand  something. And often we use it not all  

the time, but often we use it in the  negative. I just cannot fathom out  

what he wants. It's going to take me  ages to fathom out really where we start.

I'm sure she cannot fathom out what  happened. Why did he leave? Okay,  

so always when we're trying to work something  out, trying to understand something, trying to  

find a solution to something. But often we use it  in the negative. Yeah. I cannot fathom out he's  

not able to fathom out. I wish I could fathom out.  So there's always a little negativity around it.

Okay. But it's all about understanding,  working out and finding the solution.

Okay. So they're advanced phrasal verbs using  out. Okay. So let me get into one more time.

To find out. To check out. To puzzle out. To  

suss out. Suss to suss out. To  pile out. Pile out of the car.

To figure out. To drown out.  

To sound out. To worm out or to worm something  out of somebody. And then finally to fathom  

out. To fathom. Out to understand. And  they said. Often used in the naked.

Okay. So they're the advanced phrasal verbs  using out as always, if you want to contact  

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