English Phrasal Verbs with mini-stories

Hi, everyone! I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com.
My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In this episode:

• I'll be discussing some of the most common phrasal verbs.
• After, I will tell you a mini-story using the Question & Answer technique.
This mini-story will help you develop your speaking skills. We'll practice phrasal verbs here.

Ok, let's get started!

Most English students tend to get over-concerned about how to learn phrasal verbs.
A phrasal verb is just a verb and a particle. For example: "get in."

There are thousands of phrasal verbs. Sometimes they may be confusing and counterintuitive.

Also, each phrasal verb can have multiple meanings.

Ok, this scenario doesn't seem very encouraging, and the million-dollar question is:
How can I learn all those phrasal verbs?

Here's the good news: You just need to learn the most common ones.
In other words, what people use most of the time.

So, let’s see some of the most common phrasal verbs, and later on, we’ll practice them with a mini-story.

Turn on

It has two different primary meanings, and you have to be careful about how you use it, especially the second one.

Let’s see the first meaning—the most obvious one.
To turn on something means to start it. For example:

• Please, can you turn on the TV? I want to watch the news.
  
  

• Please, turn on the computer. I need to check something.
  
  

You can also use "switch on" for the same purpose:

• Please, can you switch on the TV? I want to watch the news.
  
  

• Please, switch on the computer. I need to check something.
  
  

The second meaning of "turn on" is to arouse sexually. It's informal and commonly used:

• That girl turns me on.
  
  

• Tall men turn me on.
  
  

• Whatever turns you on, I'm not interested.
  
  

Turn off

When you want to stop something, you turn it off.
You can also use "switch off". For example:

• Please, turn off the TV; we are talking about something important.
  
  

Turn up

To intensify or increase volume, etc. For example:

• Turn the volume up, please. I'd like to listen to the news.
  
  

Turn down

The opposite of "turn up" is "turn down."
It means to reduce the volume or brightness of something:

• Please, turn the music down. It's too loud.
  
  

• Please, turn the volume down. We're talking.
  
  

It also has an interesting meaning: to refuse an offer:

• I don't want that job, so I am going to turn it down.
  
  

• Please carefully consider the offer before turning it down.
  
  

Turn out

This means something happens in a particular way or has a specific result, often unexpected.
It’s like discovering something. Examples:

• It turns out that Jim doesn’t want to buy a car.
  
  

• It turns out that she’s a vegetarian.
  
  

• The job offer turned out to be a scam.
  
  

• Things often don’t turn out as one would like.
  
  

Mini-Story 🗣 (Practice Your Speaking)

Awesome! Now let’s practice with a short question-and-answer exercise,
a method I use in my premium English courses.

Sometimes I call it a conversation simulator because you practice your English like in a real conversation.

Here’s how it works:
I give you information and ask simple questions.
After each question, there is a pause where you can answer.
Then, I give you a correct answer for you to compare.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

Alex wants to watch TV, so he turns it on.

• Does Alex want to watch TV?
  Yes, he wants to watch TV.
  
  

• Does Alex turn the radio on?
  No, Alex doesn't turn the radio on. He turns the TV on.
  
  

• Does Alex turn up the TV volume?
  No, he doesn't turn up the TV volume; he turns the TV on.
  
  

• Does Alex switch the TV on?
  Yes. He switches the TV on. He wants to watch TV.
  
  

• Why is Alex turning on the TV? Why is that?
  Because he wants to watch TV. Alex turns the TV on because he wants to watch it.
  
  

When the news starts, Alex turns the volume up. He wants to listen better.

• Does Alex turn the volume down?
  No. Alex doesn’t turn the volume down. He turns it up.
  
  

• Why does Alex want to turn the volume up?
  Because he wants to listen better. The volume is low, so he turns it up.
  
  

• Who wants to listen better?
  Alex. He wants to listen better.
  
  

• Does Alex switch the TV off because it’s distracting?
  No. Alex doesn’t switch the TV off. He wants to listen better.
  
  

• What does Alex do with the TV volume?
  He turns it up.
  
  

On the news, the presenter says IBM turned down an offer made by Microsoft.

• Does the presenter say IBM turned down an offer?
  Yes, he does.
  
  

• Did IBM turn down an offer made by Microsoft?
  Yes, IBM turned down an offer made by Microsoft.
  
  

• Did Microsoft turn down an offer made by IBM?
  No. Microsoft didn’t turn down an offer made by IBM.
  It was IBM, not Microsoft.
  
  

It turns out that the news is boring, so Alex goes to sleep.

• Does it turn out that the news is boring?
  Yes, it turns out that the news is boring.
  
  

• Is the news entertaining?
  No. It turns out that the news is boring.
  
  

• Where does Alex go?
  To sleep. Alex goes to sleep.
  
  

• Why does he go to sleep?
  Because the news is boring.
  It turns out that the news is boring, so he decides to sleep.
  
  

Ok! That’s the end of this mini-story.
As you can see, you are answering easy questions all the time.
They are easy on purpose, and this technique helps you develop your speaking skills.
It’s like practicing with another person!

Now you can improve your speaking with my Fluency Course, only by listening!
Go to speakenglishpodcast.com/courses and start speaking English fluently once and for all!

Well, that’s it for today!
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I’ll be back next week!
Take care! Bye! Bye!