Phrasal Verbs: Review #1

JLB Language Services' second post was all about phrasal verbs. That was more than two months ago, so let's do a brief review.




Phrasal verbs are usually in two or three parts: verb + preposition (+ preposition). For example,

turn off

 verb + preposition

James, an ESL instructor with the website engvid.com, has a very good lesson on using phrasal verbs using the word turn to make expressions like: turn off, turn on, etc. 

You can also view James' other lessons here.

Here, we can see why phrasal verbs can be so difficult. Matching a verb like turn with a different preposition (or prepositions) can create whole new expressions with very different meanings. 

Or

Often, the same phrasal verb in different situations can have a totally different meaning.  For example:

Please turn off the air conditioner.

This means to stop or cut power to a machine or appliance (TVs, light bulbs, etc).

Now look at the picture below:

Genna: I never drink coffee.

Koji: Really? Why not?

Genna: The bitter taste just turns me off. 

In this case, the phrasal verb, turn off, means to make someone feel uncomfortable, or to not like something. Also, the grammar is different: the verb and preposition are split by the object pronoun (me).

Another example: turn around

I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned around and saw my old friend Bob.

 In this case, turn around means to turn or look back in the opposite direction.

We were losing money last year, but the new president turned the company around. Now, our profits are up 10%.

This means to take a bad situation, and make it good, or improve it. 

One way to understand a phrasal verb is to look at the context, the situation, and the other words in the sentence, or paragraph. Look at the example below.

 My friend offered me some doughnuts. 

I turned them down.Doughnuts are too sweet for me.

So, what did the young woman do?  She__

a) ate the doughnuts.

b) said, "No thank you", and didn't eat any doughnuts.

c) only ate one doughnut.

d) threw the doughnuts on the floor.

Next, complete the sentences using the correct preposition. You can use the comments sections to answer the questions.



1/ After cooking one side for 60 seconds, turn the omelette ______.

a) up

b) under

c) in

d) over

2/ I can't hear the radio very well. Can you turn it ______, please?

a) down

b) up

c) off

d) on

 

3/ Reina turned her sales reports ______ to her boss.

a) on

b) over

c) in

d) off

Below are two phrasal verbs quizzed from English Media Lab.

Phrasal Verbs & Similiar Verbs Match

Phrasal Verb/Noun Match

For home study, there are many ESL textbooks on phrasal verbs on Amazon.

JLB Language Services recommends:

Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary


Really Learn 100 Phrasal Verbs