Common English Phrasal Verbs Used In Daily Conversation Part 2 (Useful Vocabulary!)

Have you punched in the data yet? Okay well make sure you punch it in by the end of the day. Okay thanks bye.

I just used a common phrasal verb. What was it and what does it mean? Let’s find out. 

What’s up guys? My name is Shane and this is part two of the phrasal verb series. If you haven’t seen part 1, you can check it out right here.

Many students have problems with phrasal verbs but they are actually quite easy once you understand what they are and how to use them.

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb phrase which normally consists of a verb and a preposition. A verb is a doing word. For example: go, eat, run. 

And a preposition is a word which shows the relationship between two things. For example, on or off.

So how do we use phrasal verbs? Well sometimes we use the verb and the preposition together. For example. Fall down. 

But other times we don’t have to put the verb and the preposition together. For example, turn the tv off.  Turn the tv off. 

But don’t worry if this sounds very confusing to you because by the end of the video, you will have learned 5 new phrasal verbs. And make sure you watch until the end of the video because there will be a quiz to test your understanding. Okay, let’s get started.  

Phrasal verb #1

The first phrasal verb for today is ask for. I would like to ask for next Friday off please. I would like to ask for next Friday off please.

What do you think ask for means here?  It means to request. To request. It’s a very polite way to request something.

And another example could be: I asked him for two 5 dollar bills.  I asked him for two 5 dollar bills. 

And you can see here that we have him in between ask and for. And also note that we have said asked. It’s a past tense verb so we know this sentence is talking about the past and it means that I requested two 5 dollar bills. 

Phrasal verb #2

The second phrasal verb is catch on. Catch on. The phrasal verb catch on normally has two main meanings so let’s look at the first meaning.

I didn’t catch on to what happened in the movie.  I didn’t catch on to what happened in the movie. 

What do you think catch on means here? Do you think I understood the movie or I didn’t understand the movie?  This means I didn’t understand the movie.

So the first meaning of catch on can be understand.  I didn’t catch on means I didn’t understand.

And let’s look at the second meaning. That style of dress is starting to catch on. That style of dress is starting to catch on.

So what do you think catch on means?

Do you think this kind of dress is starting to become popular or not popular? It means this style of dress is starting to become popular. So catch on can mean to become popular. So in this sentence, catch on means the dress or that style of dress is starting to become more popular. 

Phrasal verb #3

And the third phrasal verb for today is: doze off. Doze off.  I was in class and I dozed off. I was in class and I dozed off. What do you think doze off means here?

Doze off means to fall asleep, normally for a short time. So this sentence here means that I was in class and I fell asleep. Probably for a short time.

Another example. The bus ride made me so tired that I dozed off. The bus ride made me so tired that I dozed off. So what does dozed off mean in this sentence? Did I fall asleep? Yes.

Did I fall asleep for a long time? No, probably not.

So dozed off here means I fell asleep and it was probably for a short time. 

Phrasal verb #4

And the fourth phrasal verb is get over. Get over. This phrasal verb normally has three main meanings so let’s look at the first meaning.

How can we get over this wall? How can we get over this wall?  So what do you think get over means here? Get over means to get past an obstacle.

For example, there is a wall here. I need to get over it.  I need to get past the obstacle. And I can mean going up and over. It can also mean going under. It can also mean going through. The phrasal verb get over here just means to get past something.  

And let’s look at the second main meaning.  She has to get over the breakup with her boyfriend.  She has to get over the breakup with her boyfriend. 

Breakup means when two people that are in a relationship, they stop seeing each other. They are not together anymore.

So do you think this girl is happy now? No, she isn’t.

And do you think that something happened to make her really really sad? Yes, she broke up with her boyfriend.

So what do you think get over here means? Get over here means to recover, to get better from something.

Something bad happened to her. She broke up with her boyfriend and now she is very sad. So get over here means she has to recover, she has to get better from this situation.  

And the third main meaning. John, get over here. John, get over her. Do you think john is next to me now? No he isn’t.

So get over in this situation means come. Come closer to me.

Now he is not next to me so get over here means come over here. Come closer to me. 

Phrasal verb #5

And the fifth phrasal verb is punch in. Punch in. Punch in normally has two main meanings so let’s look at the first meaning. 

Have you punched in the data yet? Have you punched in the data yet?  What do you think punch in the data means here?  Punch in means to enter the data. To put the data into the machine. 

So this question here is asking have you put the information into the machine. Maybe it’s a computer so the person is asking you have you put the information, the data into the machine yet?

And the second meaning. I punched in today at 8am.  I punched in today at 8am.  So what do you think punched in mean?

Punched in means to enter the time that you started something into a special clock or a special machine.  Normally we do this at work.

So you, when you get to work you have to punch in when you started. And normally to punch in, you have to enter your employee number or your employee code.

Another expression you can use actually is clock in.  So you could say I clocked in at 8am. This is the same meaning as I punched in at 8am today. 

Quiz

Okay so we have learned 5 new phrasal verbs today.  So it’s time for a quiz to test your understanding. I will show you a sentence with some missing words and I want you to fill in the space with a phrasal verb. 

Number one.  Can you ___ over here and do my hair?  Can you ___ over here and do my hair?  And the correct answer is: can you get  over here and do my hair? Remember, get over can have the meaning of come, come towards me, come closer to me.

Number two. He ___ me ___ permission to borrow his car yesterday.  He ___ me ___ permission to borrow his car yesterday. And the correct answer is: he asked me for permission to borrow his car yesterday.  We say asked for because remember ask for means request.  He is requesting permissing to borrow his car. 

Number three. Sorry, I don’t really _____ what you’re saying to me.  Sorry, I don’t really _____ what you’re saying to me.  And the correct answer is: sorry, I don’t really catch on with what you’re saying to me.  This means I don’t understand because remember, one of the main meanings of catch on is to understand. 

And that is the end of the lesson today. If you haven’t seen part 1 of this phrasal verb series, make sure you go and watch it right now.  And if you’re interested in more intermediate lessons, you can check out this video right here. 

And if you haven’t subscribed already, make sure you subscribe right now so you don’t miss any video that can help you understand English like a native speaker. And if you have any questions, please comment down below.

And for some extra practice, you can write some sentences in the comments with the phrasal verbs we learned today and I will check them for you. If you learned something today, please hit like and share this with your friends so they can learn 5 new phrasal verbs in English.

And for daily quizzes, weekly posts, videos, lessons and much much more, make sure you are following me on Instagram and I will see you in the next video.  The third phrasal verb. The third phrasal verb for. And that is the end of the lesson today.