Phrasal verbs are essential to learn in order to sound natural when speaking English. Read on to find out about some common ones.

Common Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and an adverbial particle (e.g. about, in, off, on). These multi-word verbs are only understood as a whole, not from the individual words. Below are some frequently used phrasal verbs and their meanings:

ask for	to request
ask about	to inquire
believe in	to feel confident about something
bring over	to bring from one place to another
care for	to nurture someone or something
care about	to feel sympathy toward someone
come back	to return to a place
do over	to do something again in order to correct it
drop off	to become less (in numbers) or to bring someone to a place
eat out	to eat in a restaurant
fall down	to fall to the ground
figure out	to solve a problem
get away	to escape
get back	to return
get together	to meet
head back	to go back somewhere after visiting
hang up	to end a call
keep away	to remain far from someone or something
keep on	to keep trying
lay down	to put something on a surface or object
let in	to allow someone or something to enter
move in	to begin living in a new home
move out	to stop living in your current home
move out	to stop living in your current home
pay for	to purchase
put down	to place something on a surface or floor
run over	to hit someone or something with a vehicle
set up	to organize something
slow down	to begin to move slower
turn on	to move a switch so that a light or other device starts working
turn off	to move a switch so the a device stops
wake up	to finish sleeping
wash off	to remove dirt from an object with water
work out	when a problem becomes better / to solve a problem / to exercise

Most phrasal verbs are transitive (i.e. have an object), but some are intransitive and can stand alone. If the phrasal verb is separable, the object can come before or after the particle, except when it is a pronoun.

Examples:

• Please remember to turn the television off when you are finished watching it.
• Don’t forget to turn off the television.
• I care about her a lot.  (NOT I care her about a lot.)