Phrasal Verbs Part 1! Let's Learn English! 🤹🚔🚓 (Lesson Only)

Main ideas / lessons (phrasal verbs, Part 1)

The video introduces phrasal verbs—common English phrases where a verb is combined with a particle such as on, of, out, up, etc. The overall meaning may not be obvious from the individual words.

Key teaching approach:

• Learn phrasal verbs because you’ll hear/read them constantly.
• Many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings, and the lesson focuses on the most common meanings.
• Examples come from the speaker’s own life (driving, school, family, etc.).

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Phrasal verbs covered (main meanings + examples)

1) Hang up

• Meaning A (clothes): to hang clothes on a clothesline or drying rack after washing so they dry.
• Meaning B (phone call): to end a phone conversation (“hang up”).
• Related note: “It’s rude to hang up on someone in the middle of a conversation,” but usually people finish and then say goodbye.

2) Show up

• Meaning: to arrive/appear at a place.
• Examples:
  • Showing up to visit someone after pushing a button to enter a lobby.
  • Waiting for family to show up for a party, then asking when they’ll arrive.

3) Pull over

• Meaning: to slow down and stop on the side of the road (often for safety).
• Police-related meaning: a police car can pull you over (stop you) if you’re speeding.
• Example: flashing red/blue lights → officer pulls the speaker over.

4) Double down

• Meaning: to work harder / try more intensely to get results.
• Examples:
  • If studying was low recently, double down before a test.
  • Double down on grading because the semester is ending.

5) Double up

• Meaning: to multiply by two / do something at double the amount.
• Example: double up the number of vegetables eaten (but don’t double up fruit).

6) Show off

• Meaning: to do something skillfully in a way meant to impress others.
• Note: people may not always like it when someone shows off.
• Examples:
  • Riding a unicycle at a family reunion to demonstrate skill.
  • Doing extra fancy soccer/football moves before scoring.

7) Stop by

• Meaning: to visit briefly (more visiting implied than “show up”).
• Contrast: delivery people can “show up” and drop packages, but “stop by” usually implies going in and talking/visiting.
• Example: stopping by to talk with a mum, having tea with a sister after shopping.

8) Cut off

• Meaning (driving): to pull in/front someone too soon, causing near-collision.
• Example: a car passes then cuts in quickly; the speaker must brake.
• Also mentioned (not the main focus here): cut off as removing a tag from a shirt.

9) Get along

• Meaning: to like spending time together; to have a good relationship.
• Examples: friends/people in the chat get along; parents hope kids find friends they get along with.

10) Give up

• Meaning: to stop doing something, either intentionally or eventually.
• Examples:
  • Giving up smoking (intentional stop).
  • Starting a gym membership but then giving up after a few weeks.
  • Giving up cooking practice because learning wasn’t going well.
• Motivation message: don’t give up when learning English.

11) Catch up

• Meaning: to reach the same level/position as others (in space or progress).
• Examples:
  • Others are ahead in a race → you need to run faster to catch up and then pass.
  • In class, others are on later questions/pages → you need to work faster to catch up.

12) Let down

• Meaning: to make someone feel sad/disappointed by failing to meet expectations.
• Examples:
  • Forgetting to pick someone up → “you let me down.”
  • Everyone forgets a birthday → disappointment because people didn’t do what was expected.

13) Break down

• Meaning: for a vehicle to stop working.
• Examples: car breaks down → tow truck; photocopier breaks down → trouble because exams must be photocopied.

14) Come up with

• Meaning: to think of an idea/solution.
• Examples: come up with ideas for English lessons; solution when the photocopier is broken (go to a print shop).

15) Dress up

• Meaning (two common uses):
  • Wear an outfit/costume (kids dress up like animals).
  • Wear nicer clothes (adults dress up for graduation/events).
• Speaker note: doesn’t enjoy wearing a tie, but dresses up when required.

16) Get away

• Meaning A (vacation): to go on vacation to relax.
• Meaning B (escape / not get caught): “get away with” is the cheating/crime meaning (see next item).

17) Get away with

• Meaning: to do something wrong and not get caught.
• Examples:
  • Students cheat using AI and hope the teacher doesn’t catch them.
  • A thief robbed somewhere and hoped to escape.

18) Look up

• Meaning A (literal): to look upward (e.g., see an airplane).
• Meaning B (research): to search for information (dictionary app, encyclopedia, Google Maps, Wikipedia).

19) Look up to

• Meaning: to admire/respect someone (often older—though not always).
• Example: looking up to a father or a teacher; wanting to be like them.

20) Take after

• Meaning: to be similar to a person, usually in appearance or behavior (often family resemblance).
• Examples:
  • A boy takes after his dad (similar looks/sense of humor).
  • A niece takes after grandma.

21) Call off

• Meaning: to cancel something.
• Examples: cancel a party due to illness; meetings/events cancelled during the pandemic.

22) Eat out

• Meaning A: to eat at a restaurant (not at home).
• Related restaurant choice wording:
  • Eat in = eat at home (or sometimes eat in the restaurant, depending on context).
  • Takeout = get food to go.
• Example: “We’re going to eat out tonight” → restaurant.

23) Hang out

• Meaning: to spend time with friends (often casually at someone’s place).
• Example: teenagers hang out by playing games/talking; the speaker doesn’t hang out often due to busyness.

24) Put off

• Meaning: to delay doing something to later.
• Examples:
  • Put off dentist appointment because it’s unpleasant → reschedule.
  • General advice: “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”

25) Bring up

• Meaning: to mention an idea/fact in a conversation or meeting.
• Examples:
  • In a meeting about serving coffee, someone brings up that there are no cups.
  • Mentioning that a van needs gas.

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Speakers / sources featured

• Primary speaker: “Bob” (the course instructor; referred to as Bob, e.g., “Wednesdays with Bob” and “my life,” plus “I got my ideas from…”)