Phrasal verbs are no joke! Not only do they often not make sense, they can also have multiple meanings too. Learning them can seem impossible. But, if you want to really get under the surface of English, you will need to master them, and it’s not as hard as you might think. Here are a few tips to help you.
Learn in context
You can’t learn phrasal verbs in isolation. In other words, you can’t just learn the phrasal verb without a sentence around it. You need context to understand what the phrasal verb is saying and to be able to remember it. So, study the phrasal verb in the sentence it is used and remember how it was used.
For instance “bring up”. If you ask me to explain what this means, I would have to ask you how you heard it being used. Simply because it can mean, to start talking about a subject, to vomit and even to nurture a child. It’s all about the context, so when you’re writing these verbs down write them down in the sentence.
Don’t write a list using the same verb – Use the particle.
Writing lists can be helpful but don’t write lists where you use the same verb. For instance, don’t write:
bring up
bring down
bring about
bring around
This is just confusing as these phrasal verbs mean completely different things. You will get in a mess with the verbs and which one means what thing. Remember the golden rule, context.
Don’t write lists using the same verbs. Write lists that use the same particle.
If you are grouping them in lists, then group them by particle. Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a particle. Bring is the verb and up is the particle. So you can make lists like:
bring up
get up
break up
give up
This makes it easier to understand the particle that goes with the verb, and it doesn’t confuse the verbs and their meanings.
And finally
Group them by topic
Phrasal verbs do have links between them. You can group them by topic to help learn them. For example, you could create a group of phrasal verbs all about expressing emotions. You can then group phrasal verbs such as:
Cheer up
Calm down
Bottle up
Lighten up
Then, study these verbs by writing them out in a sentence.
Phrasal verbs are not easy, but when you have the right techniques, you can master them. If you want to do a few activities, why not visit the British council website and see how you do. You can do the activities here
In our previous post we talked about how to listen well, you can read that here. And, maybe you want to know more about how to keep what you learn in your brain? You can read all about that in our previous post here, about retaining what you learn.
