Monday 8 February 2010

Phrasal Verbs I. School Days


Phrasal verbs are very common and are a really good way to make yourself sound more natural when speaking informal English. They can be difficult, but here you can find out how to use phrasal verbs to talk about school days.

You can listen to conversations one and two, where the phrasal verbs are used, and at the end, you can test your knowledge by trying the quiz.

Dialogue 1:
VICKI:We’re going to go back to school.
CALLUM:Because if you want to get ahead, you need a good education!
VICKI:That’s right. Well one way to get ahead with English is to use more phrasal verbs. For example:
CALLUM:'get ahead' Yes..my education certainly helped me get ahead – it helped me to become more successful than other people.
VICKI:It must have done Callum because now you’re working with me!
CALLUM:And that really is getting ahead!
VICKI:So what were your school days like, Callum?
CALLUM:Well..I suppose I got on okay.
VICKI:So you were quite successful.
CALLUM:I got on okay, yeah. Sometimes I messed around.
VICKI:Ah, you were sometimes naughty, and just played when you should’ve been working?
CALLUM:Yes, I messed around sometimes, just like most kids.

Dialogue 2:
CALLUM:I messed around sometimes, just like most kids. But then I usually got down to work in the end!
VICKI:Well, yes, if you want to succeed you have to start doing your work sometime!
CALLUM:So, I got down to work and I’m glad to say I got through all my exams.
VICKI:Well done you! So in the end, you started working, and even though it was hard, you managed to pass your exams, so then what did you do?
CALLUM:Well I went on to university.
VICKI:So after school, you continued your education at university – just like me.

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