Advanced English: Phrasal Verbs

• This is an advanced English fluency masterclass designed to improve vocabulary, grammar, listening, pronunciation, and speaking.

Phrasal Verbs

• Phrasal verbs appear similar but have completely different meanings. Understanding and using them helps you sound fluent and natural.

• To Call Someone Out:

  • This means to confront or criticize someone, often publicly, for their actions.
  • Example: "She called him out for not keeping his promises" means she publicly criticized him for not fulfilling his promises.
  • It's grammatically correct to say, "He called out his friend," which means to publicly criticize.

• To Call Out To Someone:

  • To shout or raise your voice to get someone's attention.
  • Example: "He called out to his friend across the street," which means he shouted to gain his friend's attention.
  • The sentence "He called out to his friend" is grammatically correct and signifies shouting to get attention.

• Jump In:

  • This signifies entering a conversation or situation.
  • Indicates active participation and sharing ideas.
  • Generally used positively.

• Butt In:

  • To interrupt or intrude in a conversation negatively.
  • Example: "He kept butting in while I was presenting," is rude.

• Butt Out:

  • Means to stop intruding in something that doesn't concern you.

• Come Up With:

  • To think of or create something, such as an idea, plan, or solution.
  • Example: "They came up with a new marketing strategy" means they devised or created a new strategy.

• Come Out With:

  • To introduce or release something new, usually a product or service.
  • Example: "Apple came out with the iPhone in 2007" means they released the iPhone product.

• Back Out Of:

  • Deciding not to do something you had previously agreed to.
  • Example: "She backed out of the deal at the last minute."
  • "Don't back out now – you said you were going to finish the English course."

• Back Something Up:

  • To make a copy of data to prevent loss.
  • Example: "Always back up your computer."

• Catch On To:

  • To begin to understand or realize something.
  • It took him a while, but he finally caught on to the joke.

• Catch Up To Someone:

  • To reach the same level or pace as someone else.
  • Example: "She's driving too fast; we'll never catch up."
  • "Hurry, they're catching up now."

• Catch Up On Something :

  • To do tasks that you missed or were not previously completed.
  • Example: "I need to catch up on my work so I can catch up to my coworker."

• Get Across:

  • To successfully communicate or convey an idea to others.
  • Example: "He tried to get his point across in the meeting."

• Cheer On:

  • To encourage or support someone, often vocally.
  • Expressing encouragement.

• Cheer Up:

• To help someone feel happier or to become happier oneself.

• Trying to make someone happier.

• Carry On:

  • To continue with an activity or task despite challenges.
  • To keep going despite difficulties.

• Carry Out:

  • To complete or perform an action, plan, or task.
  • Conducting an experiment.

• Look Into:

  • To investigate or examine something in detail.
  • The company is looking into the issue

• Look Over:

  • To review or examine something briefly or casually.
  • Example: "She looked over the document before signing."

• Check In With:

  • To communicate with someone to see how they're doing or if they need assistance.
  • See how they're doing or if they need assistance

• Check Up On:

  • This involves monitoring or observing someone's progress, condition, or behavior to ensure all is well.
  • Can be viewed negatively if it suggests a lack of trust in someone’s abilities.

• Hang Out:

  • To spend time with someone socially in a casual way.
  • Relaxed social interaction.

• Hang Up:

  • To end a phone call.
  • Ending a phone call.

• Break Up With Someone:

  • This means to end a romantic relationship.
  • Means to end a romantic relationship.

• Break Something Up:

• This means to separate something into smaller parts.

• To separate something into smaller parts.

• For example dividing tasks.

Listening Exercise Vocabulary

• To be worth + gerund (verb ending in -ing) is used to express that something is worth doing.

  • A friend asks if they should subscribe, respond "Yes, it's worth it" (subscribing).
  • Adding "totally" makes it "It's totally worth it".

• To be Frank:

  • Means to speak honestly, directly, or openly, especially about sensitive issues and is often used to start a sentence to introduce an honest opinion.
  • Example: "To be frank, I thought you were rude to your mother".
  • "Pretty" can be used as an intensifier, like "to be pretty frank".

• Icky:

• An informal term describing something unpleasant, gross, or distasteful.

• To level with someone:

  • Means sharing a surprising or harsh truth.
  • Americans often say "I got to level with you," equivalent to "I have to level with you."

• Slipping:

  • Deteriorating job performance.

• To Reflect On:

  • Thinking deeply or carefully about something.

• You Know What:

  • An interjection used to introduce a thought or create a pause in a conversation.

• The Scoop:

  • Insider information, the latest secret, or exclusive details.

• Crank Up:

  • To increase the intensity, volume, or level of something.
  • It is also a good description for music.

• Believability:

  • The quality or state of being believable (adjective).

• Alright:

  • Used as both an interjection for getting attention or as a confirmation.

• Let's Do It:

  • An informal way to signal readiness to act.

• It's Go Time:

  • An informal term to indicate that now is the time to act, often used with energy and excitement.

Collocations

• It's important to learn the preposition or the words that complete the verb, because if you get them wrong it won't sound right.

• To Break a Promise: Disappointment if someone breaks a promise.

• A Lasting Impression: A memory or feeling that remains for a long time.

• The lesson left a lasting impression.

• A Heavy Workload: is a large amount of work.

• A Light Workload: This is the opposite of heavy, used to describe a small amount of tasks.

• Lightening the workload.

• Take Initiative: Is being proactive and the first to act.

• Gain Momentum: Is to progress or move forward at an increasing pace.

• A Profound Impact: Which is a very significant or deep effect.

• Meet Standards: Is to reach the expected level of quality or requirements.

• An Overwhelming Majority: Signifies a very large percentage or proportion, perhaps 75% or more.

• A Frank Discussion: Is open, honest, and straightforward.

• Take Responsibility: Is to accept accountability for one's actions.

• It's mature to to take responsibility for their project.

• Grant Approval: To officially agree to or allow something.

• A Mutual Agreement: Is one that is accepted by all people involved.

• A Positive Influence: is one that leads to improvements.

• Competitive Advantage: Is something that allows someone or a company to outperform others.

News Article Vocabulary

• Headlines often omit articles for brevity, but they are required in the body of the article. Egypts Pyramids needs article because its singular countable noun.

• Possessives replace articles. Adjectives do not replace articles.

• Modal verb "may" shows possibility, not a conclusive fact.

• May Have Solved:

• "May have solved" indicates possibility. "Solved" (past simple) indicates a fact.

• Present Perfect:

• A completed past action with a result in the present.

• Example: "A research team has discovered".

• Using this when talking about facts that happened in the past.

• Possessive nouns replace an article and are more specific.

• Likely To Have Been Built :

• "Likely to have been built" implies around an 80% possibility, whereas "maybe" is around 50/50.

• Archaeologists:

• This refers to scientists how study historic and prehistoric people and their cultures by analyzing their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other remains.

• Must Have Used:

• "Must have used" represents a strong possibility (85-95%).

• Time reference "up until now" is the same as "until now."

• Cross-Continental:

• Spans continents.

• This functions as an adjective.

• Berry vs Buried:

  • Do not pronounce these the same.

• Drought:

• A long period of no water or rain.

• The choice of words conveys a lot of information

• Could Have Been Used:

• This this conveys that there is only one possibility.

• "Density" refers to the high number of pyramids in a certain area.

• Burials:

• Relating this to to the funeral process.

• The action of burying a body.

• Inhospitable:

• Unsuitable for humans to live in.

• Describing not being generous or welcoming.

• Proximity:

• How close something is.

Enhance English fluency with phrasal verbs! Learn the nuances of 'call out' and 'jump in'. Improve vocabulary and sound more natural when speaking English.