25 Must-Know English Phrasal Verbs
- Charles Hodson
- Jan 16, 2024
- 2 min read
Phrasal verbs are one of the more difficult parts of the English language. Some languages also have them, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Romani for example. Other languages don't have a direct equivalent or, like Spanish, use them extremely rarely.
Meanwhile the English use them *all the time*.
This article takes a quick look at 25 of the most common phrasal verbs and gives a quite explanation of what they mean. See if you can make use of them in your written and spoken English.

Add up: To make sense; to seem to be logical or true.
Example: "His story didn't add up. I don't believe him."
Blow up: To become very angry.
Example: "The teacher blew up at the students when they were talking in class."
Bring up: To mention (something) when talking; to start to talk about (something).
Example: "I don't want to bring up the past, but I still think about it sometimes."
Call off: To stop doing or planning to do (something).
Example: "The game was called off due to rain."
Carry on: To continue doing something.
Example: "The band carried on playing despite the technical problems."
Catch on: To become popular or fashionable.
Example: "The new dance craze caught on quickly."
Come across (something): To find (something) by chance.
Example: "I came across an old photo of my grandmother while I was cleaning out my attic."
Come around: To change one's mind or opinion.
Example: "I was against the idea at first, but I eventually came around."
Cut back on (something): To reduce the amount of (something) that one uses or does.
Example: "I've been trying to cut back on my caffeine intake."
Cut out: To stop doing or using (something).
Example: "I finally cut out smoking after years of trying."
End up: To arrive at a particular place or situation, especially by chance.
Example: "I ended up getting lost in the city."
Fall apart: To break down or become untidy.
Example: "The old car fell apart after years of neglect."
Fill up: To become full.
Example: "The restaurant filled up quickly after the show ended."
Find out: To discover or learn (something).
Example: "I finally found out what happened to my lost backpack."
Get away with (something): To escape punishment or blame for (something).
Example: "The thief got away with the robbery."
Get back at (someone): To take revenge on (someone).
Example: "I'm going to get back at him for what he did to me."
Get by: To manage to survive or live comfortably on (a limited amount of money).
Example: "I'm just getting by on minimum wage."
Get down: To be unhappy or depressed.
Example: "I'm feeling a bit down today."
Get down to (something): To start working on (something) seriously.
Example: "We finally got down to work on the project."
Get on: To succeed in a particular area or activity.
Example: "She's really getting on in her career."
Get up: To wake up from sleep.
Example: "I usually get up at 6:00 AM every morning."
Give up: To stop trying to do something.
Example: "I'm giving up on trying to learn to play the guitar."
Make up: To put on makeup.
Example: "She takes a long time to make up every morning."
Put up with (something): To tolerate (something unpleasant) without complaining.
Example: "I can't put up with his loud music any longer."
Turn up: To arrive or appear suddenly.
Example: "My best friend turned up at my party unannounced."
OK! Now get memorising!
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