TIPS TO LEARN PHRASAL VERBS EASIER

Seven tips for making idiomatic phrasal verbs easier to learn:

1. Be careful when checking for meaning in your dictionary – phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning. Study the context of the sentence in which you first saw the phrasal verb. From that context you may be able to tell which definition in the dictionary is the one you need.

 

2. If possible, ask a native speaker about the meaning of the phrasal verb.

 

3. Find out how common the phrasal verb is (again, a native speaker will be a big help). Focus on learning common phrasal verbs, not ones which are seldom used.

 

4. Learn the phrasal verb as part of a sentence or phrase (this helps you to remember it).

 

5. Double check that you can use the phrasal verb correctly. You can do this by inventing your own sentence containing the verb and again asking a native speaker if it’s correct. By doing this, for instance, you will see if you are putting the object of the verb in the correct place. Look at these examples: ‘I invite friends over’ and ‘I invited over friends’ are both correct because the position of the object is flexible with this verb. However, with the verb give up, we can say ‘I gave up smoking‘ but not ‘I gave smoking up’.

 

6. Don’t try to learn every meaning of a phrasal verb: one is enough to start with. Learn the other meanings once you are sure you’ll remember the first.

 

7. Look out for phrasal verbs in your favourite songs. Pop music is full of them, and having a melody makes words much easier to remember.
 

How about starting with the songs at MYPLACEFORENGLISH  ?