I believe grammar is overrated when it comes to learning a language; however, that doesn’t mean I ignore it entirely. In my opinion, some grammar is necessary at the very start in order to build up an idea of how the language works, which then allows you to start using comprehensible input. If you don’t know what that is, have a look here. When you're eventually reading, listening, and speaking, reviewing grammar rules occasionally can be very helpful and speed up the learning process. I want to write about some general grammar points every now and then in order to help those who need a grammar refresher. However, too many technical words can be used when it comes to studying grammar, and this can really put people off.
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For any English grammar experts out there, these aren't
going to be grammar masterclasses that cover absolutely everything. I just want
to try to explain some grammar in the simplest way possible, which is hopefully
more accessible to those learning English.
The dreaded phrasal verbs and idioms. These appear to be what a lot of English learners fear the most. I’ve spoken to so many people who've said this is the most challenging part of learning English. You’ll encounter so many of these that you’ll want to call it a day. But what are they?
Phrasal verbs:
Phrasal verbs are generally two or three words that, when
combined, have a completely different meaning from the original words. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English, and unfortunately, you're not able to
guess what they mean based on the individual words.
Example:
Go = to move from one place to another ("I am going to the
shops.")
Over = at a higher level than something ("He hit the ball
over the fence.")
In some situations, this isn’t a problem ("If we want to
get to the house, we need to go over that hill.")
However, in other situations, this can be harder to
understand ("I need to go over my notes before the exam tomorrow"). In this
situation, ‘go over’ means to review something.
These can be frustrating for an English learner, as
trying to translate the phrasal verbs literally usually just creates problems. If
you reread the first paragraph, those words I’ve highlighted in red may have
confused you when you were trying to read them. I only wrote a few sentences,
and I already used four phrasal verbs. This is how common they can be, and it's really important to understand how some of them work. However, if you can
learn to use a few of them, you'll start to sound more like a native very
quickly. I’ve made a list of some common phrasal verbs below for you to try to
learn.
A couple of things to be aware of:
1) Some of these may have other uses, but I don’t want to
overload you by giving you every possible example. So,
I’m going to provide the most common uses, in my opinion as a native English speaker.
2) All phrasal verbs start with a verb, and this verb will
come in different forms, so be prepared to see some sentences that look
slightly odd at first.
Bring up – to introduce or mention a particular topic in a conversation
“I owe my friend money, and he always brings it
up”
“At the meeting earlier, I brought up the problems
you were telling me about”
Bump into – when you meet people unexpectedly
“Me and Jack bumped into each other at the shops, and we spoke
for a little while”
“I hope I don’t bump into Chloe at work”
Come across – to find someone or something by chance
“I was cleaning out my room, and I came across some old photos”
“When you learn English, you’ll come across a lot of phrasal verbs”
End up – the final result of something happening
“I was planning on going to the gym, but I ended up staying
at home”
“They don’t know where they’ll end up after
the party”
Find out – to become aware of something
“We’re planning a surprise party for Chris. I hope he
doesn’t find out”
“I found out that he was lying to me”
Get along – to have friendly interactions with somebody
“I’m getting along really well with my new housemate”
“We never got along with our Maths teacher”
Give up – to stop doing something without completing it
“Phrasal verbs make me want to give up,
but I’m going to continue studying”
“I was learning Korean, but it was too hard, so I gave up”
Keep on – to continue doing something
“Phrasal verbs made me want to give up, but I kept on trying”
“If you want to succeed, you need to keep on working
hard”
Plan on – when you have the intention to do something
“We planned on going for a walk, but it started
raining”
“What are you planning on doing for your birthday?”
Think about – to consider something before making a final decision
“They need to think about what they’re going to do in their
lives”
“I thought about having fish for dinner, but I decided
to have a pizza instead”
Idioms:
Idioms are similar to phrasal
verbs, but not exactly the same. Phrasal verbs indicate an action,
whereas idioms are more of an expression with a certain meaning. Idioms are
also a few words that have a particular meaning but can’t be understood based
on their individual words.
Better late than never – it
is better to be late than to never arrive or complete a task
This idiom is used on its own
rather than as part of a sentence. For example, if a work meeting is waiting
for Paul to arrive before they start, and then Paul walks in 3 minutes late,
someone could say “Better late than never”.
Call it a day – to decide
to stop doing something, either temporarily or permanently
“I think I’m going to call it a
day with Hungarian. It’s too difficult”
“I was playing tennis with Rich, and we called it a day after a couple of hours”
Hit the nail on the head –
to be completely accurate
“Your comment in the meeting
really hit the nail on the head”
It’s not rocket science – this
isn’t that difficult
“I don’t know how she isn’t
understanding this; it’s not rocket science”
Under the weather – feeling ill
“I can’t come to work today. I’m
a bit under the weather”
“Izzy is feeling under the
weather today, so she’s not sure if she’s coming to the party”
Phrasal verbs and idioms can be
confusing given that they have a different meaning than their individual
words. However, they're important to know about. Phrasal verbs are incredibly common, and you'll discover a lot of them, so if you're able to learn some that are
more frequently used, it'll make your life a lot easier. Idioms are much less
common than phrasal verbs. As a result, I want to emphasize that you should only use
idioms occasionally. If you use them too much, it'll start to sound unnatural, and it'll be obvious that you're only using them to try to show people how
good your English is.
Like I said at the start, I
believe studying grammar can be very useful. Hopefully, these phrasal verbs and
idioms that I’ve mentioned today will be useful for you. However, using
comprehensible input is far more important, in my opinion. Please don’t feel
like you need to study every single phrasal verb with every single meaning and
every single use. Read and listen to the language, and try to absorb them
naturally. This will be much more enjoyable.
Key vocabulary:
Build up – to create/accumulate
something
Speed up – to make a process
faster
Comes to – to reach a particular
situation
Put off – to make someone not
want to do something
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