6 Phrasal Verbs with PICK! English Lesson | New Vocabulary

Hey! This is Emma from mmmEnglish!

In this lesson, you're going to learn six phrasal verbs

using the verb 'pick'.

Now, you know all about phrasal verbs by now, don't you?

You probably can't stand them!

But the truth is, you need to understand them

and you need to recognise them

when you see them and hear them.

And of course, you need to learn how to use them!

They are just so commonly used in English.

I'm always surprised by

how many times I hear them in conversation

or how many times I read them

when I'm looking through a blog post.

They're everywhere!

But they are frustrating to learn!

The same phrasal verb can have different meanings

and rules that you need to understand

and they're not always the same.

Some phrasal verbs are really common,

others, not so much.

But don't worry we're going to go over some of the

common phrasal verbs using the verb, 'pick'.

Let's dive in!

Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb

and either a preposition or an adverb

like 'pick at'.

Now, this is a phrasal verb that is

transitive and inseparable.

If you're not sure what that means,

I've made a whole other video about it right here.

But this phrasal verb is inseparable

because the words can't be separated.

They need to stay together at all times

And it's transitive because

it doesn't make any sense on its own.

You can't just pick at. Pick at what?

You need to pick at something

like food.

Children often pick at their food!

Or someone who's distracted or disappointed,

annoyed or upset,

usually they pick at their food when they're eating.

You've done this before!

When you only eat a small amount because you're not

really interested in it

so you just push the food around your plate.

Awful! He hardly made eye contact at all

and he just picked at his dinner all night.

I don't think I'll see him again.

To 'pick at' can also mean to touch something

many times in an annoying way.

It's often used with sores.

To 'pick off'.

Now, this means to remove.

This phrasal verb is separable,

the words can be separated.

Order whatever pizza you want,

I'll just pick the mushrooms off!

Or,

I'll just pick off the mushrooms.

'Pick on'.

Now, this phrasal verb is not the opposite of 'pick off'

and that's one of the annoying things about

English phrasal verbs, they're not always logical.

To pick on someone means to bully them or be mean

or cruel to them.

At school, the smaller, quieter children

are often picked on by the bigger children.

Teenagers often pick on the new kid at school.

If you're being picked on at school,

you should talk to the teacher about it.

'Pick on' is also transitive, so you must always say

what is being picked on.

Have you heard of the expression

'pick on someone your own size?'

It's used for telling someone to stop criticising

or attacking someone else who is

smaller or weaker than them.

It's very common!

'Pick out'

This is also a transitive phrasal verb

and it's most often used when you're choosing or

or recognising something from a bigger group.

So for example.

Pick out one of the pastries to buy for your grandma.

He's really tall, easy to pick out in a crowd!

Okay, so far so good, right?

But what about 'pick up'?

'Pick up' is a little more complicated

because there are lots of different ways

that you can use this phrasal verb

but don't let that scare you!

It's also one of the most frequently used phrasal verbs

so it's worth spending some extra time on.

It can mean to lift something up from the ground

or the floor or a table, any flat surface really.

Can you pick up the baby?

There was rubbish on the ground, so I picked it up.

See how this phrasal verb can be separable

or inseparable,

either way is correct.

It can also mean to get someone in a car.

I need to pick up Tom at 6 o'clock.

Hi mum, it's me!

It's raining and I forgot an umbrella,

can you come pick me up?

It can also mean to collect something.

Can you pick up dinner on the way home?

Your dry cleaning is ready to be picked up.

'Pick up' can also mean to improve or increase

or get stronger.

It was so nice at the beach this morning,

until the wind picked up.

The train was picking up speed as it left the city.

It can also mean to obtain or acquire something,

often not a physical object

but something like knowledge or a skill.

I lived in Ho Chi Minh City for a year,

so I picked up a bit of Vietnamese.

I picked up a cold while I was on holiday.

Okay, last one for 'pick up'.

And actually, this meaning is quite informal,

it's quite colloquial.

It can mean to start talking with someone

at a bar or a club, with something else in mind.

You're talking to them because you like the look of them

and you might want to go home with them that night.

So you can also use 'pick up' to suggest that!

Johnny only comes out with us to pick up girls!

Sarah went home last night

with a guy she picked up at the bar.

And lastly, to 'pick up on'

which can mean to become aware of something.

When you pick up on something,

it's not as simple as being

told something by someone else.

If you pick up on it,

you learn about it in little pieces of information that you

connect together in your own mind.

So for example, you might pick up on the fact

that your sister is upset

because her boyfriend broke up with her.

That's another phrasal verb

and it means that her boyfriend ended their relationship.

But you know about this

not because she told you about it

but because you observed her behaviour and heard

the frustration in her voice.

You picked up on it and then you guessed.

Did you hear that Steven's been fired?

Not officially,

but I did pick up on it in this morning's meeting.

Now I know that you get frustrated

with the number of phrasal verbs that you need to know.

Once you learn a couple,

there are literally hundreds that follow!

But don't give up!

My biggest tip is to focus on just a small number,

just a handful each week.

Make the ones that you learnt in this lesson,

your focus this week.

Use them in sentences, look for them,

study them. Don't worry about all of the others,

Just focus on these ones, this week.

Now make sure you subscribe to my channel,

just down there. There's a new lesson here every week!

To learn more about phrasal verbs,

watch this video here.

I share some really great tips for practising

and learning phrasal verbs.

Or you could try this playlist down here

and listen for phrasal verbs as they're used

in natural conversation with native English speakers.

Thanks for watching and I will see you next week.

Bye for now!