Phrasal Verbs: Definitions and Usage

Phrasal Verbs

• To call someone out means to confront or criticize someone publicly for their actions or behaviors.
• An example of this is, "She called him out for not keeping his promises", meaning she publicly criticized him for not fulfilling his promises.
• To call out to someone means to shout or raise your voice to get someone's attention, like shouting "Hey John, Hey Mary".
• To jump in means to enter a conversation or situation, generally in a positive way.
• To butt in means to interrupt or intrude into a conversation in a negative way and to butt out means to stop intruding in something that does not concern you.
• To come up with means to think of or create something, such as an idea, plan, or solution.
• To come out with means to introduce or release something new, usually a product or service.
• To back out of something means to decide not to do something you had previously agreed to.
• To back something up means to make a copy of data to prevent loss.
• To catch on to something means to begin to understand or realize something.
• To catch up to someone means to reach the same level or pace as someone else.
• To catch up on something means to do the tasks that you missed or were not previously completed.
• To get across means to successfully communicate or convey an idea to others.
• To cheer on means to encourage or support someone, often vocally, while to cheer up means to help someone feel happier or to become happier oneself.
• To carry on means to continue with an activity or task despite challenges, while to carry out means to complete or perform an action, plan, or task.
• To look into something means to investigate or examine something in detail while to look over something means to review or examine something briefly or casually.
• To check in with someone means to communicate with someone to see how they're doing or if they need assistance, while to check up on someone means to monitor or observe someone's progress, condition, or behavior to ensure all is well.
• To hang out means to spend time with someone socially in a casual way, while to hang up means to end a phone call.
• To break up with someone means to end a romantic relationship, while to break something up means to separate something into smaller parts.

Listening Comprehension

• "It's worth mentioning" is followed by a gerund verb (verb + -ing), hence "mentioning."
• "Going to" is commonly reduced to "gonna" in spoken English.
• "Some of the" can be contracted to "sum of the" in speech.
• "To be frank" means to speak honestly, directly, or openly, often about something uncomfortable.
• "Icky" is an informal term for something unpleasant, gross, or distasteful.
• "Got to" becomes "Gada" in spoken English.
• "A lot of" reduces to "a lada" in pronunciation
• Reflect "on" and work "on" can be said as one word, reflecton and workon, in fast speech.
• "Want to" can be contracted to "wanna".
• "The scoop" refers to insider information or the latest secret or exclusive details.
• "Crank up" means to increase the intensity, volume, or level of something.

Grammar and Vocabulary Collocations

• To break a promise means to fail to do what one has promised to do.
• A lasting impression is an effect, feeling, or memory that remains in one's mind for a long time
• A heavy workload refers to a large amount of work.
• A light workload refers to a small amount of work.
• To take initiative means to be the first to take action to achieve a goal or to solve a problem.
• To gain momentum means to progress or move forward at an increasing pace.
• A profound impact means a very significant or deep impact.
• To meet standards if you meet a standard means to reach the expected level of quality or requirements.
• An overwhelming majority refers to a very large percentage or proportion.
• A frank discussion is one that is open, honest, and straightforward.
• To take responsibility means to accept responsibility.
• To grant approval means to officially agree to or allow something.
• A mutual agreement is one that all people involved accept.
• A positive influence is one that leads to improvements.
• A competitive advantage is something that allows someone to outperform others.

News Article Analysis: Egyptian Pyramids

• Headlines may omit grammatically required articles, unlike the body of the article.
• Possessive nouns (e.g., Egypt's pyramids) replace articles, but adjectives (e.g., Egyptian pyramids) do not.
• Modal verbs like "may" indicate possibility, not certainty.
• The past simple tense (e.g., I solved the problem) suggests a completed action and a fact.
• "May have solved" indicates the possibility of a past action, expressing doubt.
• The present perfect tense (e.g., A research team has discovered) indicates a completed past action with a result in the present.
• The word choice conveys a lot of information by sharing information and facts.
• "Likely to have been built" suggests an 80% probability.
• "Must have used" indicates a strong degree of possibility maybe 85-95%.
• "Up until now" is the same as "until now" but is slightly more conversational.
• "Cross-continental" describes something that spans continents and functions as an adjective.
• "Buried" is pronounced like "berry" with a "d" at the end.
• "Drought" is pronounced with an "out" sound.
• "Could have been used" suggests a lower level of possibility, one possibility, or one of multiple options.
• "Inhospitable" describes conditions not suitable for human life.
• "Proximity" refers to how close something is.

Learn common phrasal verbs like 'call out,' 'jump in,' 'butt in,' 'come up with,' and 'back out.' Understand their meanings and how to use them correctly in everyday conversations and writing. Improve your English vocabulary with these helpful explanations.