We love talking about phrasal verbs here at Bespeaking. They’re a hugely important part of language learning! Phrasal verbs have no pattern and have to be memorized, which can make them pretty tricky to learn. But once you do learn them, you’ll be so much more fluent than you are already! You’ll sound so much more like a native speaker, which is really what we’re trying to achieve (make happen).

This week, we’ll give you a short review of what phrasal verbs are, as well as a list of 15 phrasal verbs for business. These are ones you’ll be able to use around the office with confidence (100% sure), and will help you make great strides (steps, a lot of progress) with your language learning.

Phrasal Verbs: A Review

A phrasal verb is a combination of a few parts of speech. They’re a combo of a verb and a preposition or a participle. This combination gives the verb a new meaning. If you’re unfamiliar with the phrasal verb, this new meaning may not be immediately clear in conversation.

Unfortunately, you can’t follow a certain pattern with phrasal verbs, and it’s very likely that they won’t translate directly from your native language. This makes it kind of tricky to learn them, as they have to be memorized. There’s no way around it! But once you do, they really enrich (add to, make much better) your language, and the way you speak and understand the language.

How to Learn Phrasal Verbs

Honestly, the best way to learn phrasal verbs is to take a lot of notes. Write them down when you hear them in conversation. Print out this blog! Make flash cards. Try using them yourself in conversation, and ask your English teacher to have a lesson focused on studying phrasal verbs.

The office is a great place to learn phrasal verbs, as you have lots of different opportunities to try using them. You can use them in an email to someone while practicing your writing, or you can use them in a meeting with colleagues. You can also use them when speaking with coworkers in a more casual setting over coffee. Give it a try and make sure to let us know how it goes!

15 Phrasal Verbs for Business

Cut in – to interrupt

Can I cut in for a second?

Catch up – do something that should be done

I really need to catch up on my emails. I haven’t read them in days.

Set up – arrange

Can you set up a meeting for Monday?

Get back to – reply

We’ll get back to you as soon as we know more.

Run by – tell

I need to run this idea by my boss before we can do something. But I like it!

Deal with – manage, do

Can we deal with this on Monday? I’m getting ready to leave for the day.

Look into – research

We need to look into what our competitors are doing.

Join in – participate

Do you want to join in the meeting?

Come up – something happened

I had something else come up with the client. I need to delay our meeting.

Step in – take someone’s place

My boss is in another call, so she asked me to step in for her here.

Work out – agree

Do you think we’ll be able to work something out? Or do we need to negotiate more?

Put in (a good word) – say something positive

Can you put in a good word for me with the CEO?

Give up – abandon

We can’t give up on this project, it’s really important.

Count on – depend on

You can count on me to get this done.

Call off – cancel

The meeting was called off; not enough people showed up.

Are you familiar with any of these phrasal verbs? Do you use any of them already? Let us know in the comments below!

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Check out these other popular blogs: TV English Vocabulary, Banking English Vocabulary, English Comma: Basic Rules, or these Commonly Confused Words used in English!

Erin Duffin lives in Hamburg, is an English teacher, blogger, yoga instructor, and uses so many of these phrasal verbs for business on a weekly basis.