Learn English With Katie
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Lessons
  • Shop
  • Contact

Phrasal Verbs A to Z

9/8/2020

0 Comments

 
When I started to post on Instagram, I made 24 phrasal verb posts, one for each letter of the alphabet except for X and Y! I tried to choose phrasal verbs that are useful or interesting. Here they are! I hope you enjoy them! (You can find me on Instagram @learnenglishwithkatie.) 

ask out
= to invite someone on a date
He really liked her so he asked her out.

brush up
= to improve a skill or knowledge that you already have but perhaps haven't used recently
I'm going to do a course to brush up on my French. I learnt it at school but I can't remember much now.

chicken out
= to decide not to do something because you are scared, often at the last moment
He wanted to do a parachute jump but he chickened out at the last moment.

drop out
= to leave a course before finishing it.
She dropped out of university after a year and got a job instead.

egg on
= to encourage somebody to do something dangerous or stupid.
Two boys were fighting while the other children egged them on.

fess up
= to confess, admit
At first he denied it but eventually he fessed up and told me everything.
(This is modern and very informal.)

grow up
= to become an adult
I grew up near Nottingham.
(Don’t confuse “grow up” with “grow”. “Grow” just means “get bigger”. Plants grow. Hair grows. You can grow your business. Only children grow up.)

hang out
= spend time relaxing
A lot of young people like to hang out with their friends here.

iron out
= remove small problems
They are meeting to iron out the details of the contract.

jump at
= accept eagerly
When she was offered a job in America, she jumped at the chance to work abroad.

kick off
1. = start a football match
The match kicks off at 3 pm.
2. = when trouble starts
The fight kicked off when someone made a racist comment.

look up to
= admire or respect
The boy really looks up to his big brother. He wants to be like him one day.

mouth off
= speak angrily about something
He was mouthing off about his workload when his boss walked into the room!

nod off
= fall asleep
I was so tired that I nodded off in the middle of the film.

own up
= admit or confess
Somebody broke my favourite cup but nobody owned up to it.

pass away
= die
She passed away peacefully in her sleep.
("Pass away" sounds less direct, softer or more polite than "die" in some situations.)

quieten down
= become quieter
The children quietened down when the teacher played some relaxing music.

rip off
= cheat someone by asking for too much money.
Be careful at the airport. Some taxi drivers try to rip off the tourists.

set off / set out
= begin a journey
We need to set off at about 10 o'clock if we want to arrive in time for lunch.

be taken aback
= be surprised

I was taken aback when I passed my exam! I thought I had failed!
(This phrasal verb is usually used in the passive form.)

use up
= finish all of something
We've used up all the milk. I'm going to the shop to get some more.
He had a bath and used up all the hot water!


veg out
= relax, be lazy and do very little
We're really tired so we're just going to veg out on the sofa tonight.

while away
= spend time in a relaxed and pleasant way when you have nothing else to do
She whiled away the hours reading her favourite book.

zonk out
= fall heavily asleep from exhaustion or after drinking alcohol.
She was so tired that she zonked out on the sofa as soon as she sat down.


​If you would like to know how to improve your vocabulary, you will find my "English Vocabulary Challenge" e-book helpful. Get your copy by clicking on the button.
​
English Vocabulary Challenge e-book
Pinterest pin. Phrasal verbs A to F.
Piinterest pin. Phrasal verbs M to R.
Pinterest pin. Phrasal verbs G to L.
Pinterest pin. Phrasal verbs S to Z.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About the blog

    Follow the blog for mini lessons and tips on how to improve your English.

    ​You can find a complete index of all grammar topics here.

    ​You can also find a reading index here.

    Categories

    All
    About Me
    A Year In England
    Common Mistakes
    Confusing Words
    Culture
    Grammar
    Idioms
    Listening
    Modal Verbs
    Phrasal Verbs
    Pronunciation
    Quizzes
    Reading
    Speaking
    Special Days
    Spelling
    Tenses
    Tips
    Varieties Of English
    Vocabulary
    Writing

    Archives

    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2018
    May 2018

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Lessons
  • Shop
  • Contact