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Phrasal Verbs List 1

Perfect English Grammar

Phrasal Verbs 1

Download this explanation in PDF here.
Try an exercise about these phrasal verbs here.

This list is the first fifteen of the list of 150 most common phrasal verbs made by the linguists Melodie Garnier and Norbert Schmitt. You can see the full list here.

You can see all my pages about phrasal verbs here.

1: GO ON = happen
  • What's going on?
  • There's a class going on at the moment.
  • What went on last night?
2: PICK UP = get something or someone from a place
  • I picked up my brother from the airport.
  • Please pick up some bread.
  • Would you come and pick me up from work tonight?
3: COME BACK = return to a place (the speaker is in that place)
  • She came back around 10pm last night.
  • When will you come back from France?
  • Please come back! It's boring here without you.
4: COME UP WITH = produce an idea
  • Julie came up with a great idea.
  • He came up with an answer to the question very quickly.
  • Can you come up with a better solution?
5: GO BACK = return to a place (the speaker isn't in that place)
  • He finished his work and went back to his flat.
  • When is she planning to go back to Japan?
  • I'll go back to the library later.
6: FIND OUT = get information
  • Can you find out what time the restaurant opens?
  • I found out that we need to submit our essays next Tuesday.
  • I don't know what the weather forecast is for tomorrow, but I'll find out.
7: COME OUT = appear from a place
  • She came out of the kitchen.
  • He went to the cafe and came out with a coffee.
  • Please come out of the bedroom.
8: GO OUT = go to an event / restaurant / pub / party
  • Let's go out for dinner.
  • You're going out a lot these days.
  • We should go out more.
9: POINT OUT = show / mention
  • She pointed out the beautiful paintings on the walls.
  • Please point out to the students that they must attend all the lectures.
  • 'We'll miss the bus if we don't hurry', he pointed out.
10: GROW UP = become an adult
  • I grew up in Scotland.
  • My children are growing up too fast!
  • When will he grow up?
11: SET UP = create / arrange
  • I need to set up a new bank account.
  • She's decided to set up her own company.
  • I set up some language classes at the school.
12: TURN OUT = in the end we discover
  • The maid turned out to have stolen the money.
  • He turned out to be a friend of Alex's.
  • The party turned out to be a big success.
13: GET OUT = leave a room / building / car
  • I need to get out of the house!
  • She got out of the car and went into the shop.
  • Get out! There's a fire in the kitchen!
14: COME IN / INTO = enter (the speaker is in that place)
  • Please come in! It's great to see you.
  • She came into the living room and sat down.
  • Don't come in! I'm not ready yet!
15: TAKE ON = to be responsible for
  • He's going to take on the new project.
  • She isn't taking on any new students at the moment.
  • Could you take on some extra work?
Try an exercise about these phrasal verbs here.