21 Phrasal Verbs for Daily English Conversation | Vocabulary Booster

Imagine you've just had a deep inspiring conversation with a new

friend, and when you get home you're excited to tell someone else about it,

whether it's a sibling or a partner.

And then while you're recalling this experience,

you struggle to share key details,

how the conversation started and what was the sequence of the conversation.

Now, sure, you could say First she said, and then I said,

and then she said, and after that,

but this quickly becomes monotonous and overly simplistic.

Moreover,

it lacks the variety and the nuance to fully capture

the richness of this conversation. Instead,

what you need are the right words to describe exactly what happened and

when. And this is where phrasal verbs come in.

In this confident English lesson. Today,

you're going to learn 21 phrasal verbs commonly used in daily

English conversations, adding precision and nuance to your speech.

Now, before we get there, if this is your first time here, welcome.

I am Annemarie, an English confidence and fluency coach.

Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your

life and work in English.

If you'd love to get more lessons just like this for me,

I have hundreds of them over at my Speak Confident English website.

You can search by topic, vocabulary, focus, grammar issue and more.

Plus,

you can also get my in-depth fluency training called How to Get the Confidence

to Say What You Want in English. Now,

I suspect you know that learning phrasal verbs significantly boosts your

English fluency comprehension and ability to fully express yourself in

the language,

but there's more understanding how phrasal verbs function grammatically is

crucial for using them correctly. For example,

can you separate a phrasal verb like this? I took off my coat,

I took my coat off. The answer is sometimes,

sometimes yes and sometimes no. Now,

if this is sounding a bit complicated, don't worry.

Together we're going to simplify things with a quick overview on what we call

transitive and intransitive phrasal verbs so that you're certain to get the

structure correct,

and we're going to talk about phrasal verbs that are separable and inseparable

to make sure that you always have the correct word order.

So let's take a moment to clarify what I mean by transitive intransitive,

separable and inseparable.

A transitive phrasal verb is a verb that requires an object,

a person, or a thing that is receiving the action.

To make that simple,

the direct object of the sentence answers the question what or whom.

For example, she turned off the light.

What did she turn off? She turned off the light.

I cannot say she turned off.

I need to know what it is that she turned off.

That phrasal verb cannot be alone. An intransitive verb on the other hand,

can be alone. It doesn't need that direct object.

For example, I can say he woke up or he woke up late,

he woke up early.

We don't need that thing or person receiving an action.

All phrasal verbs are either transitive or intransitive.

They either need a direct object or they don't,

and this is something you're going to learn along the way with this lesson

today. Now in addition,

a phrasal verb can be separable or inseparable.

A separable phrasal verb is one in which the object can

go between the verb and the particle. For example,

they put off the meeting until tomorrow we have our phrasal verb put off and we

have our object answering what, what did they put off the meeting?

I can separate that phrasal verb and say they put the meeting off

until tomorrow. It works perfectly well. There are no issues with it.

Both example sentences are correct. However,

we also have phrasal verbs that are inseparable, which means we cannot do that.

For example, I can say she looks after her younger brother,

but I cannot say she looks her younger brother after

it just doesn't work. Again.

Throughout this lesson today with our 21 phrasal verbs,

I will share with you whether the phrasal verb is transitive or intransitive so

you can use the structure correctly,

and I will let you know whether it is separable or inseparable to make sure

you've got the word order accurate as well. So if you're ready to go,

I have one recommendation for you, get a notebook and a pen or pencil,

get ready to take some notes.

I am going to ask you along the way to practice with me,

and when we get to the end,

I'll have some extra practice recommendations as well,

so that you not only learn these phrasal verbs,

but you also remember them.

You add them to your active speaking vocabulary so that you can use them

naturally and confidently in your conversations.

For our 21 phrasal verbs today,

I've divided them up into the different stages of a conversation,

starting participating in and ending a conversation.

So for this first stage starting a conversation,

I'll share each phrasal verb, what it means,

how to use it in an example sentence,

and whether it's transitive or intransitive,

separable or inseparable. So number one,

to strike up a conversation,

this simply means to begin a conversation and we tend to use it

when we're beginning a conversation with someone we don't know very well or we

don't know at all. For example,

the line was taking forever to move,

so I decided to strike up a conversation with the person behind me while we were

waiting. I'm curious,

have you ever struck up a conversation with a total stranger while you're

waiting in line or maybe while you're traveling abroad? If so,

I want you to take a moment to write down this phrasal verb.

You can write down my example sentence and then try writing your own example

sentence sentences. Well,

if you watched my lesson on how to increase your active speaking

vocabulary,

then you know this method of learning and remembering vocabulary

so that you can use it easily in conversations.

If you haven't seen that lesson yet,

I will leave a link to that lesson in the notes below.

Our next phrasal verb here is to launch into a conversation which means to begin

a conversation abruptly or enthusiastically without hesitation.

For example,

she launched into a conversation about her weekend plans the moment she walked

into the room. Now, a quick note here, I mentioned that with each phrasal verb,

I will indicate whether it's transitive or intrans,

separable or inseparable. This one is transitive,

which means we need to have an object. Afterwards,

she launched into what she launched into a conversation,

and this one is not separable,

so what that means is we have to use these words in that order to launch

into a conversation.

Phrasal verb number three is to join in a conversation.

This simply means to become part of an existing conversation.

Now,

you might be wondering how exactly is this different from simply

using the verb join to join a conversation, and in truth,

it's really not any different in its meaning. However,

by its nature, a phrasal verb is more informal,

so if I use the phrasal verb to join in a conversation,

it is just slightly more informal. On top of that,

the verb join is used more broadly, someone can join a game,

join a volunteer effort, join a company. However,

when we use the phrasal verb to join in,

it is most often used specifically with a conversation,

and here's an example sentence.

My friends were talking about the summer vacation, so I joined in,

I was excited to share my plans.

Notice here that I don't need to answer the question what or

whom would join in it's intransitive.

Our fourth phrasal verb for this stage of a conversation is to jump into

a conversation.

This indicates that you are joining a conversation rather abruptly without

waiting for a pause. In other words,

you might be interrupting someone by doing so. For example,

he jumped into the conversation to share his opinion,

even though I wasn't finished speaking.

And now phrasal verb number five to jump in on a

conversation.

It sounds quite similar to the phrasal verb we just looked at to jump into,

and indeed it is, but it's slightly less impolite.

To jump in on a conversation indicates that you are joining a conversation

without hesitation and not really waiting for an invitation,

but it's not as abrupt.

You're not doing it in a moment where you may be interrupting someone else

instead. For example,

you could imagine a group of colleagues at a networking event.

They're all standing together. You walk up,

you listen to the conversation happening,

and when there's a tiny moment of pause,

you join in on the conversation.

It's a bit more natural and polite in its process.

Not only is there this little distinction in meaning between to jump into and to

jump in,

there's also a difference in grammatical structure to jump into

is transitive,

so we need to answer what to jump into a conversation.

However, to jump in is intransitive.

I don't need that extra information after the phrasal verb.

Next on our list is to chip in on a conversation. Now,

this particular phrasal verb to chip in typically is used to indicate that

someone is contributing to something quite often financially. For example,

if a group of your friends are all chipping in on a gift for a

friend's wedding,

and this context to chip in on a conversation means to contribute your ideas

or your opinions to a conversation. For example,

everyone was discussing the project and I decided to chip in on the conversation

with my ideas.

Our last phrasal verb for this category is to butt into a conversation.

This is perhaps the most impolite phrasal verb on our list,

and it means to rudely begin participating in a conversation.

So it is an absolute interruption. For example,

I was talking to my colleague when someone butted in to our conversation without

any introduction. Okay,

now let's move on to the next stage of a conversation participating

in the conversation. I've got nine phrasal verbs for you here.

The first is to dive into a conversation.

This means to become deeply involved or engrossed in a conversation.

For example, when we realized we were both from Latin America,

we immediately dove into a conversation about our favorite foods and the things

we miss the most. Next is to engage in a conversation,

and this simply means to participate in a conversation actively. For example,

my boyfriend and my parents engaged in a lively conversation on politics.

Number three is to weigh in on a conversation,

and this means to add in your opinions or your ideas.

We typically use this to suggest that someone has spent time listening to others

and maybe there are two sides. Maybe you're trying to make a decision as a team,

and there are two opinions. If you weigh in on the conversation,

you're adding your opinion in on one side or another.

For example, after listening for a while,

Rita weighed in on the conversation with her thoughts.

Number four is to add to a conversation.

This means to contribute to a conversation typically with a helpful comment or

helpful information. For example,

she added to the conversation by recounting the funny details of an

experience she had the first time she traveled abroad.

In this particular sentence,

I'm suggesting that her anecdote or story brought some joy

or humor to the conversation in a way that was appreciated.

Number five for this category is to carry on a conversation.

This simply means to continue a conversation.

I use this phrasal verb quite often when I'm talking about the importance of

asking open questions to help keep a conversation going

successfully, and here's an example sentence.

The two women carried on a conversation for hours without realizing it was

almost midnight. Next is to catch up on a conversation.

This means to get up to date or get the details that you may have missed

previously in a conversation. For example,

I had to catch up on the conversation with my friends after my unexpected

work call ended. As you might imagine,

if you've been in a conversation with some friends and then your boss calls,

you may have to step away for a little bit,

so you might miss some of the important information that was shared or a funny

anecdote that was shared. So once you return,

you need to catch up on those details.

Our next one is to get across,

and we very often use this with the words a point or an opinion,

and it is separable.

So you'll often hear someone say to get a point across or to get

my opinion across.

What this means is to successfully communicate an idea or a

message in a conversation. Not only are you able to articulate it,

but it's also understood by those who are listening. For example,

she struggled at first,

but eventually she was able to get her point across in the conversation.

Number eight for participating in a conversation is to keep up with a

conversation.

This means to follow along and understand everything that's been said in

a conversation. We could also use this if you were, for example,

listening to a presentation.

If there are some complicated details or pieces of information that are shared,

it may be challenging to keep up with the details or to

keep up with the presentation. And here's an example sentence.

The conversation was moving quickly, but I was able to keep up with it,

and our final phrasal verb for this category is to speak up in a

conversation.

This means to express your opinion or thoughts clearly and loudly

in a conversation. Now, when I say loudly,

I don't mean that you're yelling it at everyone,

but it means that you ensure your volume is clear

that everyone can hear you.

It comes across as important and confident. For example,

I was hesitant at first,

but I decided to speak up in the conversation when I disagreed.

And now let's transition to our final five phrasal verbs all focused

on the final stage of a conversation.

Ending it first is to wrap up a conversation.

This simply means to conclude a conversation in a tidy or efficient manner.

For example, if you're in a business meeting with a set agenda,

but the conversation goes off course,

you might allow that conversation to continue for a short period of time and

then say, let's wrap up this conversation and get back to the work at hand,

and I want to draw your attention to the fact that this phrasal verb is

separable. So we could say,

let's wrap this conversation up and get back to the work at hand.

Next is to shut down a conversation.

This means to abruptly end a conversation often in a forceful way

from time to time.

There are situations in which the topic of discussion is

inappropriate, rude, or making somebody uncomfortable,

and in those moments,

it may be necessary to finish the conversation abruptly and

with force. For example,

he shut down the conversation by changing the topic completely.

Our third phrasal verb for this category is to break off a conversation.

This means to end a conversation abruptly,

typically due to an unexpected interruption or a disagreement.

For example, they were enjoying each other's opinions when the phone rang,

forcing them to break off the conversation.

Next is to wind down, to wind down a conversation.

This is similar to the first one in this category to wrap up,

and it means to bring a conversation to a gradual end

in a tidy, inefficient way. For example, as the evening got late,

we began to wind down our conversation and say our goodbyes,

and finally to phase out a conversation.

This means to gradually end a conversation,

but a conversation that has been happening over time,

not just the conversation you're having right now at this moment,

but perhaps for example,

your team has been dealing with a difficult issue at work.

It's been an ongoing topic of conversation for weeks and it really

hasn't been productive,

so perhaps your team leader is working to phase out of

that conversation.

Now that you have these 21 phrasal verbs for daily English conversations,

I want you to practice and I have three recommendations for how to do that.

Number one,

take a few moments to write down your own example sentences,

particularly with the phrasal verbs that may be a bit challenging for you.

Again,

I highly recommend that you watch my lesson titled How to

Increase Your Active Speaking Vocabulary.

I want to make sure that you don't just learn these phrasal verbs,

but that you're able to use them in conversations.

One way to do that is to write them down and include your own example

sentence. Now,

you can also share them with me in the comments below so I can review them and

make sure you've got them right.

The second way you can practice is to listen for these phrasal verbs in

conversations, whether you're listening to coworkers, family, friends,

a TV show or a podcast,

see if you can hear these phrasal verbs used in conversations.

If you do take note of how they're used,

you could even include those example sentences in your vocabulary

notebook. And finally, download your bonus worksheet.

I created a bonus activity for you,

which is free at my Speak Confident English website.

Simply visit this [email protected] to get it for free.

If you found this lesson helpful to you today, I would love to know,

and you can tell me in two very simple ways. Number one,

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And number two,

you can share a comment or question with me down in the comments below or by

visiting this lesson over at my Speak Confident English website.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to seeing you next time.