PHRASAL VERBS are special verbs in English that are composed of: VERB + one or more PARTICLES (usually, prepositions or adverbs) The main problem about English “phrasal verbs” is that there is no connection between the meaning of its components.
Check in a dictionary the different meanings of “turn” and “on” that you can find. But for a student, the worst thing about phrasal verbs is having to study lists of verbs by heart. In Bridges for Bachillerato 1 - page 146, you have a chronological list of 106 verbs, but in reality phrasal verbs in English are virtually unlimited.
Get a list of the most common PARTICLES and their most probable meaning: ON
– encendido, continuidad, sobre (una superficie)
OFF
– apagado, separado (de una superficie)
UP
– arriba, aumentar, completamente/exhaustivamente, aparecer
DOWN – abajo, disminuir OUT – hacia fuera, resultado IN
– hacia dentro
Then, organize them in a visual way:
Go on
- seguir, continuar
e.g. He went on talking forever encender -
Switch on
e.g. Mike switched on the lights ON
e.g. Hold on a moment! Put on
- ponerse
e.g. The woman put on her clothes
mantenerse a la espera -
Hold on
Take off
- despegar, quitarse (de ropa)
e.g. The plane took off on time apagar -
Turn off
e.g. The TV turned off OFF
e.g. She got off the train in London! Set off
- salir, ponerse en marcha
e.g. We set off early in the morning
Bajarse (del bus,tren‌) -
Get off
Turn up
- subir, aparecer.
e.g. He turned up the volume Separarse, romper -
Break up
e.g. Tony broke up with his girlfriend UP
e.g. He gave up smoking Pick up - coger e.g. The man picked up the rubbish from the ground
Abandonar, renunciar -
Give up
Etc…
ADVANTAGES of this type of diagrams: - It’s more logical to organize verbs by similar particles than alphabetically. - It’s more VISUAL because it includes colours and uses a more attractive space distribution in your notebook. - It’s easier to remember phrasal verbs this way.
Prepare an empty diagram like this:
And organize the phrasal verbs that you see in your class or YOU WILL REMEMBER PHRASAL VERBS MORE EASILY that you have to study in your diagram. AND YOU WILL START TO SEE SOME LOGIC IN THEM!