Hey! This is Emma from mmmEnglish!
In this lesson, you're going to learn six phrasal verbs
Now, you know all about phrasal verbs by now, don't you?
You probably can't stand them!
But the truth is, you need to understand them
and you need to recognise them
when you see them and hear them.
And of course, you need to learn how to use them!
They are just so commonly used in English.
how many times I hear them in conversation
when I'm looking through a blog post.
But they are frustrating to learn!
The same phrasal verb can have different meanings
and rules that you need to understand
and they're not always the same.
Some phrasal verbs are really common,
But don't worry we're going to go over some of the
common phrasal verbs using the verb, 'pick'.
Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb
and either a preposition or an adverb
Now, this is a phrasal verb that is
If you're not sure what that means,
I've made a whole other video about it right here.
But this phrasal verb is inseparable
because the words can't be separated.
They need to stay together at all times
it doesn't make any sense on its own.
You can't just pick at. Pick at what?
Children often pick at their food!
Or someone who's distracted or disappointed,
usually they pick at their food when they're eating.
When you only eat a small amount because you're not
so you just push the food around your plate.
Awful! He hardly made eye contact at all
and he just picked at his dinner all night.
I don't think I'll see him again.
To 'pick at' can also mean to touch something
many times in an annoying way.
This phrasal verb is separable,
Order whatever pizza you want,
I'll just pick the mushrooms off!
Or,
I'll just pick off the mushrooms.
'Pick on'.
Now, this phrasal verb is not the opposite of 'pick off'
and that's one of the annoying things about
English phrasal verbs, they're not always logical.
To pick on someone means to bully them or be mean
At school, the smaller, quieter children
are often picked on by the bigger children.
Teenagers often pick on the new kid at school.
If you're being picked on at school,
you should talk to the teacher about it.
'Pick on' is also transitive, so you must always say
Have you heard of the expression
'pick on someone your own size?'
It's used for telling someone to stop criticising
or attacking someone else who is
'Pick out'
This is also a transitive phrasal verb
and it's most often used when you're choosing or
or recognising something from a bigger group.
Pick out one of the pastries to buy for your grandma.
He's really tall, easy to pick out in a crowd!
'Pick up' is a little more complicated
because there are lots of different ways
that you can use this phrasal verb
It's also one of the most frequently used phrasal verbs
so it's worth spending some extra time on.
It can mean to lift something up from the ground
or the floor or a table, any flat surface really.
There was rubbish on the ground, so I picked it up.
See how this phrasal verb can be separable
It can also mean to get someone in a car.
I need to pick up Tom at 6 o'clock.
It's raining and I forgot an umbrella,
It can also mean to collect something.
Can you pick up dinner on the way home?
Your dry cleaning is ready to be picked up.
'Pick up' can also mean to improve or increase
It was so nice at the beach this morning,
The train was picking up speed as it left the city.
It can also mean to obtain or acquire something,
but something like knowledge or a skill.
I lived in Ho Chi Minh City for a year,
so I picked up a bit of Vietnamese.
I picked up a cold while I was on holiday.
And actually, this meaning is quite informal,
It can mean to start talking with someone
at a bar or a club, with something else in mind.
You're talking to them because you like the look of them
and you might want to go home with them that night.
So you can also use 'pick up' to suggest that!
Johnny only comes out with us to pick up girls!
with a guy she picked up at the bar.
which can mean to become aware of something.
When you pick up on something,
told something by someone else.
you learn about it in little pieces of information that you
connect together in your own mind.
So for example, you might pick up on the fact
because her boyfriend broke up with her.
and it means that her boyfriend ended their relationship.
not because she told you about it
but because you observed her behaviour and heard
You picked up on it and then you guessed.
Did you hear that Steven's been fired?
but I did pick up on it in this morning's meeting.
Now I know that you get frustrated
with the number of phrasal verbs that you need to know.
there are literally hundreds that follow!
My biggest tip is to focus on just a small number,
Make the ones that you learnt in this lesson,
Use them in sentences, look for them,
study them. Don't worry about all of the others,
Just focus on these ones, this week.
Now make sure you subscribe to my channel,
just down there. There's a new lesson here every week!
To learn more about phrasal verbs,
I share some really great tips for practising
Or you could try this playlist down here
and listen for phrasal verbs as they're used
in natural conversation with native English speakers.