English Phrasal Verbs Guide — 50 Essential Phrasal Verbs with Examples

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What Are Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition or adverb (or both) that creates a meaning different from the original verb alone. For example, "give up" doesn't mean "give" + "up" — it means to quit.

Phrasal verbs are extremely common in everyday English conversation. Native speakers use them constantly, so learning them is essential for sounding natural and understanding spoken English.

Below are 50 essential phrasal verbs grouped by their main verb. Each comes with its meaning and an example sentence to help you understand how to use it in context.

Phrasal Verbs with "Get"

• Get up — to rise from bed. "I get up at 7 AM every morning."
• Get along — to have a friendly relationship. "My sister and I get along really well."
• Get over — to recover from something. "It took him a week to get over the flu."
• Get through — to complete or endure something. "I need to get through this report by Friday."
• Get by — to manage with what you have. "She gets by on a very small salary."

Phrasal Verbs with "Take"

• Take off — to remove or to leave the ground (for planes). "Please take off your shoes before entering." / "The plane took off at noon."
• Take over — to assume control. "Who will take over the business when you retire?"
• Take up — to start a new hobby or activity. "I decided to take up painting during the lockdown."
• Take out — to remove or to invite someone. "He took out his wallet and paid." / "I want to take you out for dinner."
• Take in — to absorb information or to provide shelter. "There was too much to take in during the lecture."

Phrasal Verbs with "Look"

• Look after — to take care of someone or something. "Can you look after my cat while I'm away?"
• Look for — to search for something. "I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?"
• Look forward to — to feel excited about something in the future. "I look forward to meeting you next week."
• Look up — to search for information. "You can look up the word in a dictionary."
• Look into — to investigate. "The police are looking into the matter."

Phrasal Verbs with "Come"

• Come across — to find or meet by chance. "I came across an old photo album while cleaning the attic."
• Come back — to return. "She promised to come back before midnight."
• Come up — to arise or to be mentioned. "Something urgent has come up at work."
• Come out — to be released or to become visible. "When does the new album come out?"
• Come in — to enter. "Please come in and make yourself at home."

Phrasal Verbs with "Put"

• Put on — to wear something. "She put on her jacket and left."
• Put off — to postpone. "Don't put off your homework until tomorrow."
• Put away — to store something in its proper place. "Please put away your toys before dinner."
• Put up with — to tolerate. "I don't know how she puts up with all that noise."
• Put out — to extinguish or to inconvenience. "Firefighters quickly put out the fire."

Phrasal Verbs with "Give"

• Give up — to quit or stop trying. "Don't give up on your dreams."
• Give away — to donate or reveal a secret. "She gave away all her old clothes to charity."
• Give back — to return something. "Please give me back the book I lent you."
• Give in — to surrender or yield. "After hours of negotiation, he finally gave in."
• Give out — to distribute or stop functioning. "The teacher gave out the test papers." / "My phone battery gave out."

Phrasal Verbs with "Go"

• Go on — to continue. "Please go on with your story."
• Go off — to explode, ring, or leave. "The alarm went off at 6 AM."
• Go through — to experience or examine. "She went through a difficult time last year."
• Go over — to review. "Let's go over the plan one more time."
• Go out — to leave home for social activities. "Do you want to go out tonight?"

Phrasal Verbs with "Turn"

• Turn on — to start a device. "Can you turn on the TV?"
• Turn off — to stop a device. "Please turn off the lights when you leave."
• Turn up — to increase volume or to arrive. "Turn up the music!" / "He didn't turn up for the meeting."
• Turn down — to decrease volume or to reject. "She turned down the job offer."
• Turn into — to transform. "The caterpillar turned into a butterfly."

Phrasal Verbs with "Run"

• Run out of — to use up a supply. "We've run out of milk."
• Run into — to meet unexpectedly. "I ran into an old friend at the mall."
• Run away — to escape. "The dog ran away from home."
• Run over — to hit with a vehicle or to exceed a limit. "The meeting ran over by 15 minutes."
• Run through — to rehearse or review quickly. "Let's run through the presentation one more time."

Tips to Learn Phrasal Verbs

• Learn them in context. Don't memorize lists of phrasal verbs in isolation. Read sentences and stories that use them naturally.
• Use them daily. Try to use 3-5 new phrasal verbs in your conversations or writing each day until they feel natural.
• Practice with AI. Use the English Conversation app to practice phrasal verbs in realistic dialogues with AI teachers.
• Group by verb. Learn phrasal verbs grouped by the main verb (get, take, look, etc.) to see patterns and remember more easily.
• Keep a journal. Write down new phrasal verbs you encounter and the sentence you found them in for future review.

Mastering phrasal verbs is one of the best ways to sound more natural in English. Start with the groups above, practice every day, and soon you'll be using them with confidence.