Everyday English phrasal verbs: 12 to learn first
A2–B212 words
Phrasal verbs are the part of English that dictionaries handle badly and native speakers use constantly. They resist logic, which makes them a textbook case for spaced repetition: you cannot deduce them, so you have to keep meeting them until they stick.
Where you will use it: Everyday conversation, films and informal writing.
Everyday phrasal verbs — The word list
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| give up | To stop trying.“Don't give up after one bad week.” |
| look after | To take care of someone or something.“Could you look after the cat this weekend?” |
| run out of | To have no more of something left.“We ran out of milk this morning.” |
| put off | To postpone.“They put off the meeting until Monday.” |
| work out | To find a solution, or to exercise.“We worked out a plan together.” |
| turn down | To refuse, or to lower volume.“He turned down the offer.” |
| come across | To find something by chance.“I came across this word in a novel.” |
| figure out | To understand after thinking.“I finally figured out how it works.” |
| bring up | To mention a topic.“She brought up the budget again.” |
| set up | To arrange or create something.“We set up the account in a minute.” |
| get along | To have a good relationship.“They get along really well.” |
| look forward to | To feel happy about something in the future.“I'm looking forward to the trip.” |
How to study this list
Add five or six of these words a day rather than all twelve at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.
Studying everyday phrasal verbs pairs well with our phrasal verbs with get, phrasal verbs with take and common English idioms list, or browse all free English word lists.
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