#172: 10 Must-Have Phrasal Verbs for Work in English
This list is perfect for business English and daily conversations!
I know. Phrasal verbs can be stressful or scary. They are confusing and strange.
You may even have a love/hate relationship with them.
But here are some cool things that using phrasal verbs will help you do:
- Speak more naturally and like a native speaker
- Understand your colleagues and peers more easily in English
- Watch or listen to TV, radio, and podcasts in English without confusion
- Be more specific when you want to express yourself in English
Those are all great benefits of learning phrasal verbs!
My best advice is to learn a few at a time, get really good at those few, and then learn new ones.
Today’s focus is on phrasal verbs we often use in business or professional situations. You will hear these used in business meetings, office discussions, or conversations with your boss or English-speaking colleagues.
So let’s get going and grow your professional vocabulary today!
10 Must-Have Phrasal Verbs for Work in English
Get ahead
Definitions:
- To make progress
- To become more successful
I’d love to enjoy the long weekend but I have to make sure I get this project done on time. Maybe I’ll stay at work late tonight to get ahead.
To get ahead in this industry, you really need to be well-connected. It isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.
Definition:
- To cause to fail, wear out, or become exhausted due to overwork
Did you hear Sara quit her job? I guess she was just really burnt out after working 12-hour days every day. I can’t blame her. That’s just too much!
Definitions:
- To discover; pinpoint
- To direct all of one’s attention to someone or something
I think I’ve zeroed in on the problem. It took quite a bit of work but I found the issue.
Okay, let’s zero in on this project. We’re running out of time and this is the most important for our long-term success.
Definition:
- To postpone; to hold off
Do you put off unpleasant tasks until the last minute at the end of the day? Some successful entrepreneurs say it’s been to get those unpleasant tasks finished first thing in the morning so the rest of the day feels more positive.
Definitions:
- To make something plain or simple
- To explain something in a detailed way so it is clear or easy to understand
Lara, thanks for coming in to talk more about this. We’re interested in your proposal but we’d like to have you spell a few things out for us.
Definition:
- To think carefully about; to think about all the different parts or aspects of something to fully understand it
You’ve certainly given us something to think through. Rebranding our company will require a lot of time, energy, and investment. We will consider this proposal carefully and get back to you in a few days.
Definition:
- To introduce
Due to restructuring, the company will begin rolling out some new Human Resources policies this summer. We’ll be sure to keep everyone up-to-date.
Definition:
- To try to get someone or something; to work to get something
My best advice is to do everything you can to go after the job you want.
Let’s do what we can to go after this potential client. This would be a fantastic contract for our company.
Definition:
- To review
Let’s go over the agenda for today’s meeting. I want to make sure we don’t forget anything important as we have a lot to discuss today.
Definition:
- To cancel
The boss called off the meeting today. Sounds like there is some emergency that came up – I hope everything is okay.
Choose 2-3 phrasal verbs from this list that are new to you. Now think about your everyday life – your work, your schedule, your colleagues, your English-speaking friends. Can you think of some situations from your life to use with these phrasal verbs?
Write your examples in the comments section below. I’ll provide you with feedback and help you make sure they are correct.
You’ve got this!
~ Annemarie
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Hi, This is my first time here. I found your website from the youtube video you posted previously. here is my example regarding phrasal verbs you gave in this video: I have been putting off my lab tasks but I need to stop procrastination. It is time to think through what could have been better to get ahead on my work. If I want to roll out new scientific papers I have to work harder and go over my previous experiments whether I did properly or not. Also, I should ask my mentor to spell out the new PCR protocol.… Read more »
Hello everyone! I really think phrasal verbs are very important in english, so I am going to do my best giving examples of the ones I find more difficult to memorize:
I hope I did’t make a lot of mistakes.
Thank you Annemarie, your tips have been really important to help improving my english skills
Hello Anne,
Below are the phrases which I like the most.
1)ROLL OUT
2)ZERO IN ON
3)SPELL OUT
Hi Anne, of all these I liked “roll out” and “spell out”
1. The government is going to roll out a new anti-crisis program to fight the consequences of COVID-19 situation.
2. My mother has difficulty with understanding films, so I have to spell things out to her while watching them together.
Oh, great work with those phrasal verbs Chinara!!
Hello everyone This is my first time here and I’ll try to write some examples of phrasal verbs. 1. I’m working online these days, and this is burning me out. 2. I have to prepare tests online and I always have to go over them before send those tests to students. I’m putting off some reading because I have too much work to do. 4. Sometimes I have to spell things out to my students so they can understand some exercises better. I have to get ahead some studies to get better for my job. This is it! I hope… Read more »
Nice work, Melissa! Thank you for sharing your examples. I’m especially impressed with your last example with ‘spell things out.’ Your sentence structure is perfect.
Greetings,
Re’ Sentences Using Verbal Phrases
1. Since COVID-19 our work-life situation has changed; therefore, to avoid things being missed I typically take time to go over various material before our next turnover session.
2. Before calling an associate to discuss current issues; I often take time to think through situations to be able to offer alternate methods to help eliminate future occurrences.
3. Our manager decided to put off our weekly meetings until further updates have been provided related towards the “Shut Down”.
Great job, Sag! Thank you for sharing your examples with us. I do like the second one. Well done.
Roll out and zero in are my top favorite ones by all means.
We will be rolling out a brand new employee reward program in June.
After doing this report a couple of times, I zeroed in on how to present it in a very simple way.
Oh, awesome Claudia! I’m glad you found some new phrasal verbs and you’ve used them perfectly! Nice work with your grammar choices and sentence structure.
Hi Annemarie, how are you? Here are some examples of phrasal verbs. 1. To get ahead in my job, I really need to communicate with more people. 2. I hate working long hours at work I don’t want to burn out. 3. The government called off the schools after the March break because of COVID-19. 4. I have to go over the questions carefully before I write the answers. 5. I can go after the real estate agent to buy a house. 6. Education ministry has rolled out an online learning system to the children. 7. Before I invest my… Read more »
Nicely done, Yogesh! Thanks for sharing your examples.
A couple of small edits:
1. “____ Education Ministry has rolled out…” –> Can you identify the missing word?
2. “Before I invest my money ___ your company…” –> We need to change the preposition here. With the verb invest, we always follow it with a specific preposition. What might it be?
I want to get ahead in English conversations, that ‘ s why I need to increase my efforts and record myself every day.
As a teacher, if you want to organise a private lesson, you have to think trough all the distractions a student may have and how to encounter them. That is how this lesson will become more effective.
Hi, Annemarie! I trust you and your family are all doing well. Thanks for this useful lesson. I’ll certainly add these new phrasal verbs to my active vocabulary and use at the work too though a few of them were already known and occasionally applied in mail correspondence. Here’s my examples. To get ahead on my professional study examination which is approaching I’m going to put extra work and dedication in order not to burn it out. At the moment we’re going over the quotation from a new 3rd party vendor. After thinking it through we will announce an ultimate… Read more »
Well done, Dulat! You’ve got some nice examples here using the phrasal verbs from this lesson.
One little edit: “…in order not to burn it out.” –> Here we can remove ‘it’ because we’re talking about you (not it) and how you might feel. So we can simply say, “…in order not to burn out.”
And here are my 2 chosen phrasal verbs:
To put something off
To spell something out
I never put the priority off and start my day with what’s the most difficult.
Phrasal verbs are a complex part of English grammar. Luckily, Anne-Marie spells them out for us
Hi Anne-Marie,
First of all, I want to thank you for the lessons. The subjects are well elaborated, brief and encouraging to learn.
Agnes
Hi Agnes,
Thank you so much for your comment. We’re thrilled to know Annemarie’s lessons are helpful to you and we wish you much continued success in your English.
Here are my examples
I have zeroed in my English failure. I have to go after practicing every day.
One of my problems is I have put the English off of my plans. That´s why i have not get any progress.
I have to think though the way I want to learn a new language.
Hi Angel. I like the phrasal verbs you chose. The best way to remember new words is by practicing them in your sentences. We wish you continued success in your English progress.
Because of the Corona virus, I have to put off my flight back to my home country, to think through all scenarios what I can do during this period and finally I have decided to take the chance of social distancing by getting ahead on the online English lessons taught by Annemerie which I have been behind the schedule for 3 months already.
Hi Van Ho,
Thank you for your comment. Now, it’s so important to stay emotionally, mentally, and socially healthy as we spend more time alone, at home, and online. We’re happy to hear Annemarie’s lessons are helpful to you. It’s super important to stay connected and support each other in any possible way. Wishing you to be strong and healthy.
Hi annamarie your videos are very useful and fantastic I have some example the phrase verbs you taught me In this video , I hope you help me if are correct thank you. 1 I ‘m going to practice my phrase verbs more the usual so that I can get ahead on my progress.2 I have an important appointment but my car doesn’t working I need to call off my appointment.3 I will going to sign my contract of my new department tomorrow I need to go over it carefully
Oh, great job Araceli! You’ve definitely understood the meaning of these phrasal verbs and how to use them.
One question:
“I have an important appointment but my care doesn’t _______, ______ I need to call off my appointment.” –> There are 2 things we need here. 1. We need to change the conjugation of ‘working’ to show the simple present. 2. We need some kind of transition word here to help you go from one thought to the next. What could you use?
Hi, Annemarie. Thanks for this useful and illuminating lesson. I’ve got just a question re the extra examples provided. Would you please be so kind as to clarify your use of “has been” in the following sentence, if it is not too much asking “Some successful entrepreneurs say it’s been to get those unpleasant tasks finished”? Thank you in anticipation.
Hi Esther, thanks for the question.
Can you tell me where the original sentence was from? Is it in the video? I didn’t see it in the text.
Hello,
Because the COVI-19, the HR department has rolled out many policies recently.
Hi Beatriz,
Thank you for your comment and your example. Yes, this’s our reality today. We wish you and your family to stay healthy!
Hi, my favourite verbs for today were calling off the last meeting due to another class showing up. Also, I needed to brush my work to submit for review so I called off a call with my coworker.
Hi dffewrfe,
Great choice of the phrasal verbs! That’s great that you created your sentences. This’s the best way to learn new words. Thank you for sharing.
HI Annemarie,
Your lessons are lovely and easy to understand, sharing my comments on the phrasal verbs you shared , kindly review and help sharing your comments to further improve my English .
1/put off –
I had to put off my factory visit due this week as MD called for an urgent meeting to discuss the production delays .
2/ go over –
I have to go over the meeting agenda to schedule the planning perfectly as any miss outs will call for huge trouble from the higher management .
Hi Vasanti,
Thank you so much for your comment. We’re glad to hear the lessons are helpful to you. Great use of the phrasal verbs you chose. We wish you continued success in your English progress.
Happy Wednesday.
Since I am quarantined like others because of current challenges everyone facing in the world. Best time for me to improve my English language and have a time on hand so I want to zero in on my skills which I had been putting off . Thank you for putting together the phrasal verbs lesson. I go over your lessons from time to time to get ahead in my daily Englisghspeaking practice.
Hi Hyder.
What a creative way to use the phrasal verbs. 🙂 I like it. Thank you for your comment and we wish you continued success in your English language learning.
Hi Annamarie, I try to send you the two sentences using phrasal verbs.
1. The scientific research has to zero in on finding the solution to stop the pandemic.
2. We need to go over well the previous restoration treatment reports to understand the cause of the recent conservation state of the artwork.
Thanks so much.
Mari
Hi Mari.
Thank you for your comment. I like the phrasal verbs you chose. Well done and thank you for sharing. We are very glad this lesson was useful to you.
Hello Annemaria,
thank you for your support. I have to get ahead in my job, think all the possibilities to help me express freely my all the ideas , and opinions.
Have a nice day!
You’re very welcome, Albina. I’m glad this lesson was useful to you! I wish you continued success in your English efforts.
Best, Annemarie
Hi Annemarie,
I hope it’s OK I’m writing some examples even though it’s an old lesson 🙂
You must take care of yourself so you don’t burn out. You have a great deal of tasks and duties for the moment.
I’ve putted off to improve at my English for so many years. Now I’m very motivated to change it.
Sorry professor/name but the causes of the disease weren’t clear. Can you spell them out, please?
Have a nice weekend and thumbs up for the task about phrasal verbs – I like them 🙂
Hello Marie,
It is always okay to comment and share examples on a lesson! 🙂
Great use of the phrasal verbs you chose. Your examples show that you clearly understand the meaning. One small change: the verb put is one of those irregular verbs, so we can add an -ed ending. Any idea how you might change that?
Well done and thank you for sharing. I’m very glad it was useful to you. ~ Annemarie
Hello Annemarie!
Here is a my example.
As many other people, I have to work more to get ahead in English. However, thanks to your lessons, I do not want to put my study off and I do not burn out because I have a lot of fun!
🙂 What great examples and compliments Yulia!! Thank you.
You captured the meaning of get ahead, put off and burn out perfectly! Well done!
Hello Annemarie, Good lesson) phrasal verbs are very common in everyday life for English speaker. Its very important to know them . But as for me it’s so hard to remember thier meanings because they have more than one. So i try study them as I come across them,rather than trying to memorize many at once. Here is my example: I want to get ahead in my project , so I must work harder ,think through all possibilities, all ideas which could lead me to success. I decided to put off other things and dedicate all my spare time to… Read more »
Hello Victoria,
I think you are correct! It is too difficult to memorize a list all at one time. That is exactly why I encourage students to start with just 2-3. Then, after those new phrasal verbs are easy to use and remember, you can learn 2-3 new ones. 🙂
And perfect examples of using “get ahead” and “put off” – well done! Two things: don’t forget the [and] and [the] in, ” … think through all [the] possibilities, [and] all [the] ideas which could lead me to success.”
Great work, Victoria!
Hello, Annemarie I have a little question concerning the “burn out” phrasal verb. The first meaning is “to cause to fail”, I wonder if we can say, for example, that “the project we have been working for two years is about to burn out.”? Or we use it only to talk about people and their being tired of work? Can you spell it out for me, please. My examples: Being a translator takes a lot of accuracy, especially when you translate documents, I always go over my translations for several times before giving them to my clients. The signing of… Read more »
Hi Maria,
Yes, you are exactly correct in using “burn out” in your example with the project. Because of it’s meaning (to cause to fail), we can use it in this way. Great job with it!
Your examples are perfect uses of go over, put off and go after. One little word I might add in your first example is “so.” For example: ” … when you translate documents, [so] I always go after my …” We could also use “therefore” but this could sound a little too formal for speaking.
Excellent work, Maria!