25 Must-Know English Phrasal Verbs

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."

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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!