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When I was studying for my TOEFL Exam, I noticed there was something about my speaking that was simply not native-like. Leaving aside the accent, for which, generally speaking, nobody will give you a lower score (as long as you pronounce the words correctly; of course), there was something off about my English speaking level. And then, it suddenly hit me while I was practicing my grammar. It was all about phrasal verbs. Now, what are the phrasal verbs, more exactly? Phrasal verbs have an idiomatic behavior and they are usually composed out of a verb and an adverb or a preposition (for example, jot down). From a grammatical point of view, these so-called "phrasal verbs" bear different names: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and prepositional-phrasal verbs. However, to make everything less confusing for you, we will refer to all of them with the generic term "phrasal verbs". Native speakers use them very frequently, and, if you want to achieve a high level of proficiency at speaking English, you should try to use them as well. Unfortunately, the downfall about phrasal verbs is the fact that they tend not to have a specific logic. Therefore, regardless of how much I hate it or of how much you hate it, you will have to learn them by heart (and practice them a lot, until using them comes natural). Learn online What Is Toefl and toefl grammar. Which are the Most Commonly Encountered Phrasal Verbs in English? While there are an awful lot of phrasal verbs in the English language, for starters you will only have to learn the ones that are used most often. Here are some of them: " To add up - to add together or to make sense " To ask (someone) out - to invite (someone) on a date " To ask around - to enquire people about a topic " To back up - to reverse something or to support someone " To blow (something) up - to fill up with air " To blow up - to explode " To break (something) down - to break into multiple pieces " To break down - to get broken or to get upset " To break out (of something) - to escape something " To break up - to put an end to a relationship " To bring up - to bring something into discussion or to raise someone " To carry on - to move on, to continue a journey or to continue speaking (rather foolishly) " To get over - to overcome something or to recover from something " To give in - to submit, to yield " To give up - to renounce doing something " To go on - to continue (a journey, a path, speaking) " To look up - to search " To look up to someone - to admire someone " To make out - to kiss, to understand / hear something or to write information on something " To make over - to repair, to give a new look " To make up - to invent, to put together or to put an end to a quarrel " To put down - to take notes (also to jot down), to place something, to give money as a first payment, to kill an animal in a painless way " To put up with - to allow something / someone unpleasant to continue/ exist " To take after (someone) - to resemble (someone) " To tear apart - to destroy " To turn up - to arrive somewhere (also, to show up), to find in an unexpected way, to increase( the volume , for example) Which is the Easiest Way of Learning Them? As mentioned before, you will have to learn these by heart, but to make sure you will memorize them easier, you can do some things: " Group them according to the basic verb around which they are formed (for example, to make: to make up, to make out, etc.) " Group them according to their meaning (for example, to take notes - to take down, to jot down, etc.) " Practice, practice, practice. With enough exercise, you will master them naturally Be careful not to mistake them with each other, because it might cause confusion and even amusement. For example, don't say "She made out with her husband at church, when the priest made them to do it". She didn't start kissing her husband passionately in the church! At first, using the phrasal verbs will not simply come to you. You WILL have to be very conscious about it. But all the trouble will be worth it, because you will have made an important step towards speaking English like a native. Article Sources: http://www.articlesbase.com/tutoring-articles/speak-like-a-native-phrasal-verbs-6687997.html
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