Most Common Phrasal Verbs in English: go on, pick up, come back (1-3)

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. Let's study phrasal verbs together.

I'm sure you've already picked some up on your own.

It's time to make sure that you learn the most common ones in English. Ready?

Phrasal verbs use a verb and a particle, as in "pick up." Phrasal verbs can be transitive or

intransitive, meaning they may or may not take an object. If they take an object, they may or may

not be separable, as in "pick up new words"/"pick them up." In short, there are details you need

to pay attention to. But the biggest challenge is learning the meanings of the phrasal verbs,

so let's study one phrasal verb at a time, and I'll share the most common definitions.

Do you like to know what's going on in the world? Many of us open news apps and social media apps

to see what's happening. We like to stay informed and connected.

"Go on" is intransitive. The most common meaning, especially in spoken English, is "happen." If you

hear extremely noisy neighbors, you may wonder, "What's going on over there?" What's happening?

Guess another meaning. Not many college athletes go on to play professional sports.

When you go on to do something or go on to the next step in a process, you continue. You proceed.

Look at this messy room. Besides making the bed and wiping the desk,

what does the child need to do to make the room tidy again?

I think he or she can start by picking up the toys and the trash off the floor.

"Pick up" is transitive and separable.

When you pick things up, you lift them with your hands and often move them to another position.

If you're driving and you pick up a friend, you take them from one place to another in your car:

Pick up a friend. Pick her up.

Guess two other meanings.

Nadia didn't take any French lessons,

but she picked up some words and phrases from her Belgian boyfriend.

"All right," the teacher said to call our attention.

"Let's pick up where we stopped yesterday. Open to page five, please."

In sentence A, "pick up" means "learn something."

You learn something indirectly through observation.

In sentence B, "pick up" means "to continue from a certain place."

Do you know anybody who left your hometown or your country only to come back years later?

What would make someone return after so long?

If you want to see one woman's return to her childhood home

and be highly entertained, then watch The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet.

"Come back" means "return." It's intransitive, but you can use it with a prepositional phrase.

In the movie, Tilly comes back to Australia.

She comes back to where all her problems started. She comes back for the truth.

We've now covered the three most common phrasal verbs in English.

As you pick up new phrasal verbs, be sure you know what they mean and how to use them. Then

you can go on to the next lesson and learn more. You can always come back and review.

That's all for now. Please like and share the video if you found it useful.

As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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