30 Everyday Phrasal Verbs

Quick Answer: Everyday phrasal verbs are a verb plus a particle such as up, out, on or off, and together they have a new meaning: give up means stop trying. The most useful ones for daily life are get up, wake up, put on, take off, turn on, turn off, look for, find out, pick up, give up and run out of.

Key takeaways

• Learn wake up (open your eyes) and get up (leave the bed) as two separate steps.
• Separable verbs allow two word orders: turn off the TV and turn the TV off are both correct.
• A pronoun object always goes in the middle: turn it off, never turn off it.
• Inseparable verbs keep the object after the particle: look for my keys, look after her grandmother.
• Some phrasal verbs take no object at all: wake up, grow up, calm down, break down.
• Learn them in opposite pairs such as put on and take off, go out and come back.

What makes phrasal verbs tricky?

The meaning is often not literal. "Look up" can mean look toward the sky, but also search for information: "I looked the word up in a dictionary." Some phrasal verbs also have several meanings. The best strategy is to learn each one with a clear example sentence.

Morning and daily routine (1-8)

#	Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
1	wake up	stop sleeping	I woke up at 6 today.
2	get up	leave your bed	I usually get up at 7.
3	put on	dress in	Put on your coat; it's cold.
4	take off	remove clothes	Please take off your shoes.
5	turn on	start a machine	Can you turn on the light?
6	turn off	stop a machine	Turn off your phone, please.
7	go out	leave home for fun	We're going out tonight.
8	come back	return	I'll come back in ten minutes.

Note the difference: you wake up first (your eyes open), then you get up (you leave the bed).

Searching and discovering (9-13)

#	Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
9	look for	try to find	I'm looking for my keys.
10	find out	discover information	I found out the shop was closed.
11	look up	search in a book or online	Look up the train times.
12	figure out	understand or solve	I can't figure out this app.
13	come across	find by chance	I came across an old photo.

People and relationships (14-19)

#	Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
14	get along (with)	have a good relationship	I get along well with my boss.
15	look after	take care of	She looks after her little brother.
16	grow up	become an adult	I grew up in Ankara.
17	break up	end a romantic relationship	They broke up last year.
18	pick up	collect someone	I'll pick you up at the station.
19	call back	return a phone call	Can I call you back later?

British English often uses get on (with) instead of get along: "I get on well with my sister."

Work and tasks (20-25)

#	Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
20	give up	stop trying, or quit a habit	Don't give up! / He gave up smoking.
21	carry on	continue	Carry on, you're doing great.
22	fill in / fill out	complete a form	Please fill out this form.
23	set up	arrange or start	We set up a meeting for Monday.
24	put off	postpone	Let's put off the call until Friday.
25	hand in	submit work	Hand in your essays by Monday.

Problems and changes (26-30)

#	Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
26	run out of	have none left	We've run out of milk.
27	break down	stop working (machine)	My car broke down on the highway.
28	calm down	become relaxed	Calm down, it's not a big problem.
29	slow down	reduce speed	Can you slow down? You're talking too fast.
30	work out	exercise, or have a good result	I work out three times a week. / Everything worked out fine.

Can you separate a phrasal verb?

Some phrasal verbs are separable: the object can go between the verb and the particle.

• Turn off the TV. / Turn the TV off. (both correct)
• Put on your jacket. / Put your jacket on. (both correct)

When the object is a pronoun (it, them, him, her), it must go in the middle:

• Turn it off. (correct)
• Turn off it. (wrong)

Other phrasal verbs are inseparable: the object always comes after the particle.

• I'm looking for my phone. (not "looking my phone for")
• She looks after her grandmother.
• I came across an interesting article.

And some have no object at all: wake up, grow up, calm down, break down.

How should you learn phrasal verbs?

1. Learn by topic, as in this article, not alphabetically.
2. Learn the opposite pairs: turn on and turn off, put on and take off, go out and come back.
3. Notice them in films and series. Phrasal verbs are everywhere in natural dialogue.
4. Use spaced repetition to review them. See the best way to learn English vocabulary.
5. Write about your day using at least five phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs often appear next to idioms and collocations. When you are ready, look at common English idioms and make vs do collocations.

Common mistakes

Wrong	Right
I woke up from bed.	I got up.
Turn off it.	Turn it off.
I'm looking my keys.	I'm looking for my keys.
We ran out milk.	We ran out of milk.
Fill the form.	Fill in the form. or Fill out the form.

Quick quiz

Choose the correct phrasal verb: give up, find out, run out of, pick up, put off.

1. We've ___ coffee. Can you buy some?
2. I'll ___ you ___ from the airport.
3. Don't ___. You're almost finished!
4. They ___ the meeting until next week.
5. I need to ___ what time the film starts.

Answers: 1. run out of 2. pick ... up 3. give up 4. put off 5. find out

Phrasal verbs are a big step from A2 to B1. Practice them in context in our B1 English course, where Sage the Turtle brings back each verb right before you forget it.

People Also Ask

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb plus one or two small words like up, out, on or off. Together they have a new meaning, for example give up means stop trying, not give something upward.

What is a separable phrasal verb?

A separable phrasal verb lets you put the object in the middle: turn the TV off or turn off the TV. If the object is a pronoun, it must go in the middle: turn it off, not turn off it.

How many phrasal verbs should I learn?

Start with the 30 to 50 most common everyday phrasal verbs. They appear constantly in conversation, films and messages, and they will make your English sound much more natural.

What is the best way to learn phrasal verbs?

Learn them in context and by topic, such as morning routine or travel, not as a long alphabetical list. Write your own example sentences and review them with spaced repetition.

Related Reading

• Common English Idioms and What They Mean
• Make vs Do: Collocations Explained
• The Best Way to Learn English Vocabulary
• American English Expressions