What Are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with one or two particles (a preposition or adverb) that together create a meaning different from the original verb. They are one of the most distinctive features of English and one of the biggest challenges for non-native speakers.
Consider the verb "look": by adding different particles, you get completely different meanings — look up (search for information), look after (take care of), look forward to (anticipate with pleasure), look down on (consider inferior). This is why phrasal verbs cannot simply be translated word by word.
This guide covers 100 essential phrasal verbs organised by theme, with meanings, examples, and tips for Indian learners. Students preparing for English exams or building vocabulary skills may find it helpful to practise with platforms like PenLeap, which offers 600+ vocabulary and grammar drills to reinforce these patterns.
Learning Strategy
Do not memorise all 100 at once. Pick one theme per week, learn 15-20 phrasal verbs, and actively use them in conversations and writing. Spaced repetition and real usage are the keys to retention.
Daily Routine Phrasal Verbs
20 Daily Routine Phrasal Verbs
- Wake up — To stop sleeping. "I wake up at 6 AM every day."
- Get up — To get out of bed. "It is hard to get up on cold mornings."
- Work out — To exercise. "I work out at the gym three times a week."
- Put on — To wear clothing. "She put on her jacket before leaving."
- Take off — To remove clothing. "Please take off your shoes at the door."
- Turn on / Turn off — To start/stop a device. "Turn off the lights before you leave."
- Pick up — To lift something or collect someone. "I will pick you up at 7 PM."
- Drop off — To deliver or leave someone/something. "Can you drop me off at the station?"
- Hurry up — To do something faster. "Hurry up, or we will miss the train!"
- Slow down — To reduce speed. "You are driving too fast. Please slow down."
- Look for — To search for something. "I am looking for my keys. Have you seen them?"
- Find out — To discover or learn new information. "I just found out that the meeting has been postponed."
- Run out of — To have no more of something. "We have run out of milk."
- Fill up — To make something completely full. "I need to fill up the car with petrol."
- Clean up — To make a place tidy. "Let us clean up the kitchen after dinner."
- Throw away — To discard or dispose of. "Do not throw away those documents — we might need them."
- Hang up — To end a phone call or to put something on a hook. "She hung up the phone angrily."
- Set up — To arrange or prepare something. "Can you help me set up the projector?"
- Warm up — To prepare or heat something gradually. "Let us warm up before the workout."
- Wind down — To relax after a busy period. "I like to wind down with a book before bed."
Work & Office Phrasal Verbs
20 Work & Office Phrasal Verbs
- Carry out — To perform or complete a task. "We need to carry out a thorough analysis."
- Follow up — To take further action after an initial step. "I will follow up with the client tomorrow."
- Come up with — To think of or produce an idea. "She came up with a brilliant marketing strategy."
- Put off — To postpone. "Let us not put off this decision any longer."
- Take on — To accept a responsibility or task. "He took on the new project despite his busy schedule."
- Hand in / Submit — To give something to someone in authority. "Please hand in your reports by Friday."
- Figure out — To solve or understand something. "We need to figure out why the system crashed."
- Point out — To draw attention to something. "She pointed out a critical flaw in the plan."
- Bring up — To mention or introduce a topic. "He brought up the budget issue during the meeting."
- Sort out — To organise or resolve something. "We need to sort out the scheduling conflict."
- Look into — To investigate. "I will look into the issue and get back to you."
- Go over — To review. "Let us go over the presentation one more time."
- Wrap up — To finish or conclude. "Let us wrap up the meeting — we have covered everything."
- Cut back on — To reduce. "The company needs to cut back on expenses."
- Step down — To resign from a position. "The CEO stepped down after 15 years."
- Take over — To assume control. "She took over the department when the manager left."
- Turn down — To reject or refuse. "He turned down the job offer because of the location."
- Break down — To divide into parts or to stop working. "Let us break down the project into phases."
- Scale up — To increase in size or scope. "We need to scale up production to meet demand."
- Sign off on — To give official approval. "The manager signed off on the budget proposal."
Social & Relationship Phrasal Verbs
20 Social Phrasal Verbs
- Get along with — To have a good relationship. "I get along well with my colleagues."
- Catch up — To exchange news after a period of time. "Let us catch up over coffee this weekend."
- Hang out — To spend time casually. "We usually hang out at the mall on weekends."
- Look up to — To admire or respect. "I have always looked up to my father."
- Stand up for — To defend or support. "She always stands up for what is right."
- Let down — To disappoint. "I trusted him, and he let me down."
- Make up — To reconcile after an argument. "They argued yesterday but made up today."
- Break up — To end a relationship. "They broke up after dating for two years."
- Ask out — To invite someone on a date. "He finally asked her out for dinner."
- Show up — To arrive or appear. "He showed up an hour late to the party."
- Turn up — To arrive unexpectedly. "She turned up at the door without calling."
- Come across — To seem or appear; to find by chance. "She comes across as very confident."
- Fit in — To belong or be accepted by a group. "It took me a few months to fit in at the new office."
- Grow up — To mature or become an adult. "I grew up in a small town in Rajasthan."
- Open up — To share feelings or become emotionally available. "It takes time for her to open up to new people."
- Cheer up — To become happier or make someone happier. "Cheer up! Things will get better."
- Count on — To depend on or rely on. "You can always count on me."
- Put up with — To tolerate. "I cannot put up with this noise any longer."
- Go through — To experience something difficult. "She is going through a tough time."
- Look after — To take care of. "Who will look after the children while we are away?"
Communication Phrasal Verbs
20 Communication Phrasal Verbs
- Speak up — To talk louder or express your opinion. "Could you speak up? I cannot hear you."
- Bring up — To mention a topic. "Do not bring up politics at dinner."
- Call off — To cancel. "They called off the meeting due to the holiday."
- Get back to — To respond later. "I will get back to you with the details."
- Hold on — To wait. "Hold on, let me check my calendar."
- Go ahead — To proceed. "Go ahead with the plan. You have my approval."
- Talk over — To discuss. "Let us talk this over before making a decision."
- Spell out — To explain clearly and in detail. "I need you to spell out exactly what you expect."
- Sum up — To summarise. "To sum up, we need to increase sales by 15%."
- Run by — To share an idea for feedback. "Can I run an idea by you?"
- Cut in — To interrupt. "Sorry to cut in, but I have a question."
- Pass on — To share information with others. "Could you pass on the message to the team?"
- Hear out — To listen to someone completely. "Please hear me out before you respond."
- Come up — To be mentioned or arise. "An interesting point came up during the discussion."
- Back up — To support with evidence. "Can you back up your claim with data?"
- Take back — To retract or withdraw a statement. "I take back what I said — you were right."
- Turn out — To result or end up. "It turned out that the problem was a simple typo."
- Give away — To reveal or distribute for free. "Do not give away the ending of the movie!"
- Make up — To invent or fabricate. "She made up an excuse for being late."
- Keep up with — To stay informed about. "It is hard to keep up with all the industry changes."
Decision & Problem-Solving Phrasal Verbs
20 Decision Phrasal Verbs
- Think over — To consider carefully. "Let me think it over and get back to you."
- Work out — To find a solution. "We need to work out a plan for the launch."
- Give up — To stop trying. "Do not give up — you are almost there."
- Go for — To choose or pursue. "I am going to go for the higher-paying job."
- Rule out — To eliminate as a possibility. "The doctor ruled out any serious condition."
- Narrow down — To reduce the number of options. "We have narrowed down the candidates to three."
- Weigh up — To consider the pros and cons. "We need to weigh up the risks before investing."
- Hold off — To delay taking action. "Let us hold off on the decision until we have more data."
- Opt for — To choose. "She opted for the remote position."
- End up — To finally be in a situation. "We ended up choosing the cheapest option."
- Come down to — To be determined by. "It all comes down to budget."
- Pull off — To succeed at something difficult. "She pulled off the event despite the short notice."
- Fall through — To fail to happen. "The deal fell through at the last minute."
- Pay off — To yield good results. "All that hard work finally paid off."
- Set back — To delay progress. "The software bug set us back by a week."
- Deal with — To handle or manage. "How do you deal with difficult clients?"
- Stick with — To continue with a choice. "I will stick with my original plan."
- Get around to — To finally do something you have been delaying. "I never got around to reading that book."
- Face up to — To accept and deal with something difficult. "You need to face up to the reality of the situation."
- Carry on — To continue. "Let us carry on with the meeting."
Tips for Learning Phrasal Verbs
Effective Learning Strategies
- Learn by theme, not by verb: Instead of learning all "get" phrasal verbs at once, learn all "work" phrasal verbs together — they share context and are easier to remember
- Learn the particle patterns: "up" often means increase/complete (fill up, clean up, wrap up), "down" often means decrease/reduce (cut down, slow down, break down), "out" often means remove/discover (find out, sort out, figure out)
- Watch English content: Movies, podcasts, and YouTube videos are full of phrasal verbs in natural context
- Keep a phrasal verb journal: Every time you encounter a new phrasal verb, write it down with an example sentence
- Practise in conversation: Force yourself to use 3-5 phrasal verbs in every English conversation
Practise Phrasal Verbs
The biggest challenge with phrasal verbs is not understanding them — it is using them naturally in conversation. Many Indian learners default to formal single-word verbs ("investigate" instead of "look into," "postpone" instead of "put off") because they never practised using the phrasal verb versions.
Simulated conversation practice is the fastest way to make phrasal verbs feel natural. The more you use them in context, the more instinctively they will come when you need them.
Practise Phrasal Verbs in Real Conversations
Simulate everyday conversations with TalkDrill's AI characters and actively use phrasal verbs in context. Whether you are practising office discussions, casual chats, or interview scenarios, build the habit of using phrasal verbs naturally until they become part of your instinctive vocabulary.
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