ACHING FOR more PHRASALS?

Last post, we discussed what phrasal verbs were essentially about. Today, we'll look at examples, starting with the letter A.

ACHE FOR - want something a lot
Ex. Tom's aching to go surfing again next weekend.

ACT ON - take action as a result of information obtained or of an event
Ex. Acting on evidence found at the crime scene, police are now looking for two suspects instead of one.

ACT UP - behave badly or strangely
Ex. I called you here because your son has been acting up all week in class.

ADD UP -to be a satisfactory explanation for something.
Ex. If you left your house an hour ago, you couldn't have been here for the past two hours. Something doesn't add up!

ANSWER FOR - be responsible for someone or something
Ex. Mary is the team leader, so she'll have to answer for any of its members.

ASK OUT - invite someone on a date (can also be expressed as "Take out")
Ex. I wanted to ask her out, but she's already got a date for the dance.

ASK OVER - invite to your home or place
Ex. Forget about the dance, ask her over to your place next time.

And speaking of aching and not having the nerve to ask or take someone out, here's a song from Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand that deals with just that. Check it out and practice today's phrasals!

What'S UP with PHRASAL VERBS?

So what’s up (happening) with phrasal verbs? Why do we need to know them?

First of all, phrasal verbs are used by native speakers to describe things in a natural way. So, to truly understand them, you’ll have to get friendly with them. And the first step to doing that is understanding what they are and what they are not.

So what are phrasal verbs then?

Basically, they’re two or three word phrases that native speakers use in place of a more formal or academic way of describing a verb idea or phrase. In other words, they don't use phrasal verbs to show off (demonstrate with pride) how cool they talk. It is how they talk.

But here’s the thing about PVs. You know, phrasal verbs... Oh wait, we just invented an acronym. A what? An acronym. You remember, right?

Naturally, if you checked out (studied closely) our last POST, you know what we mean. If you didn’t, maybe it’s a good idea to catch up (reach the same point others have reached before you). LOL!

Anyway, for the lovers of technicalities out there, a phrasal verb is made up (composed) of a verb plus one or more prepositions or adverbs.

VERB + PREPOSITION (or ADVERB) = PHRASAL VERB :O

But, guess what? That’s basically irrelevant.

You see, the meaning of that verb or that preposition or adverb alone will tell you nothing about the meaning of the phrasal verb.

Why? Because a PV has a meaning of its own.

It’s the way native speakers naturally express themselves. In fact, often you might notice native speakers stress the preposition or adverb (also called particle) more than the verb. Almost as if the real meaning was there, although it really isn’t.

But don’t some native speakers - perhaps managers or scientists - speak without the use of phrasal verbs? What about the British? No, not really. So get over (overcome the reality of) it.

So what’s the best way to learn PVs? Learn a few and practice them in context any chance you get. Catch on (understand)?

Great! So that sums up (concludes) this first approach on phrasal verbs. Next time, we’ll check out (study closely) a few more. In the meantime, look out (be alert) for any PVs that might come your way ;)

Oh, look, here are some... in this famous song by The Beatles. So what's that phrasal verb John, Paul, George and Ringo are singing? And what on Earth does it mean?

BTW RU LOL? (Know what they mean?)

As electronic communication (email, chat, sms, mms) becomes more and more pervasive in our world, users of English as a second language are also beginning to use acronyms on a frequent basis.

Here are some of the most popular ones:

FAQ Frequently Asked Question
Thx Thanks
TIA Thanks in advance
IMO In my opinion
CU See you
FYI For your information
BTW By the way
Fwd Forward
LOL Laughing out loud
2 to
U you
RU are you

And there are many, many more. The important thing is that you keep in mind that these acronyms are to be used for business friendly or informal situations. In other words, don't use them for very formal communication.

For more information, you may also check out this very complete Acronym List on the web. There you will find a very extensive list, some formal, some informal.

Acronyms are almost a way of life in English speaking countries. So just for fun, here's a video that tells a silly little story with acronyms. Watch it and see how many you know... and how many you don't? Enjoy!