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Phrasal verbs

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 Phrasal verbs are one of the most expressive, flexible, and—let’s be honest—tricky/hard parts of English.


🌟 What Phrasal Verbs Are

Phrasal verbs are a verb + one or more elements (prepositions or adverbs) that together create a new meaning—often very different from the base verb.

  • Verb: look, take, get, put, break

  • Element: up, down, out, in, off, on, away, over…

The magic is that the meaning is not always literal!


🎯 Why They’re sooo Difficult

  • Meanings are often idiomatic.

  • One single verb can have multiple meanings.

 [Watch out

Pick up the pen (raccogliere da terra)

Pick up Spanish (prendere su - tipo imparare ascoltando)]


  • They’re extremely common in spoken English.


🔍 How to Learn Them Effectively

These strategies fit your style:

• Learn them by theme

Travel: check in, take off, get on Daily routine: wake up, get up, put on

• Learn them by concept

  • Movement (go out, come in)

  • Change (grow up, calm down)

  • Completion (finish up, eat up)

• Use mini‑stories

You can remember them better when the phrasal verb appears in context. English people learn them in context!


Key to the comic strip

get up = wake up
get on = be successful
get along = siamo perfetti or andare d'accordo
put off = delay-postpone (a chore is housework, a task to be done at home like sweeping, doing the washing-up)
turn on= accendere
take off = departure
look after = take care - occuparsi di
look up = search - cercare
turn off = spegnere
go on= continue - va avanti
go out= hang out - uscire

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