Phrasal verbs and idioms for advanced level

Sooner or later, when learning a foreign language, various difficulties arise. Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions are those pitfalls that most English learners “care about,” from a student at a prestigious language university to an ordinary amateur traveler.

What you need to remember

The problem is not even in the English phrasal verbs or idioms themselves, but in the prepositions that are used with nouns, adjectives, verbs or past participles without any logic. You just need to remember that after interested it stands in, after good it follows at, and go home does not require any pretexts at all.

What are phrasal verbs?

Phrasal verbs are verbs that form one whole with one or more auxiliary words, which can serve as prepositions and / or adverbs. For example, stand for is a combination of a verb with a preposition, go off is a combination of a verb with an adverb, and stand in for includes a verb, an adverb, and a preposition. If additional auxiliary words change the meaning of the main verb, then the combination is called a phrasal verb, since from now on it has an idiomatic meaning different from those that used components in the past.

Phrasal verbs in use: values

However, there are times when the meaning of the phrasal verb and the meaning of its main verb are identical or close in meaning. And thus, they do not have idiomatic characteristics. So, not all phrasal verbs are translatable. For example, to run up literally means “to run upward” (does not carry the aforementioned character), when figuratively can be translated as “increase in price”.

Some phrasal verbs, as mentioned above, are similar in meaning to the main verb. In such cases, the basic interpretation remains unchanged, but the service words create the conditions for additional meaning. For example, in the sentence: The plane fly on to New York - the on component indicates that the plane continues to fly. Thus, the phrasal verb fly on reflects an action that lasts for a marked period of time.

Phrasal verbs: Advanced Phrasal Verbs List

For an illustrative example, let's take a few topics with the most used phrasal verbs and idioms in the proposed thematic framework.

Theme number 1.Hospital

The first group of verbs relates to hospital subjects.

1. To come through smth. Move, recover or recover from a serious illness or situation.
2. To build up. 1) Increase power, energy. 2) To help someone to move away from any incident / case, to make him strong again, especially after a disease.
3. To fight smth / smb off. To win over something unpleasant or over any impending threat (for example, to overcome an infection, a cold).
4. To go ahead with smth. Continue to do something (for example, take pills).
5. To wear off. Gradually disappear to a complete cessation of existence.
6. To bring smth on. Bring on a disease or pain.
7. To feel up to doing smth. Be able to do something (both physically and mentally).
8. To try smth out on smb. Test a subject for effectiveness (for example, painkillers or other medications).

Phrasal verbs + idiomatic expressions

1. To be up and about. Survive the disease and return to normal.
2. To be over the worst. Start recovering from a previous illness.
3. To be in good hands. To be in good hands (as they say about caring medical staff).
4. To take a turn for the worse / better. Suddenly feel a deterioration or improvement (for example, during rehabilitation).
5. To live through smth. Go through difficult times without breaking (survive a war or famine).
6. To go through smth. Go through difficult times. For example, endure severe pain, undergo surgery.

Theme number 2. Features of character

This phrasal verbs list is applicable to describe a person and his personality traits. Some expressions are suitable in order to emphasize someone’s success and positive features, while others are indispensable in order to note the fact of unexpected disclosure of qualities that are unusual for anyone. Also, the following phrasal verbs will help to express someone's feelings towards another person.

1. To make of someone or smth. Have an impression of someone or something.
2. To turn out to be someone or smth. Open up on the other side in someone’s eyes (randomly).
3. To come off. Be successful in overcoming certain difficulties, be successful in something (for example, succeed in fulfilling a plan, in promoting some kind of idea).
4. To put someone off someone or smth. To discourage another person from something (from getting close to someone).
5. To live up to smth. Achieve expected aspirations. For example, the proper level, long-awaited impressions.
6. To come across. To be perfectly understood (about the message, the idea).
7. To put smth across. Communicate the idea to others easily and naturally, be sociable, skillfully express your thoughts.

The next portion of phrasal verbs is suitable for describing not only the human person, but also for determining the nature of relations between people.

1. To hand smth over. Give (give) someone an object with the right to own and control it.
2. To take someone in. Deliberately deceive, mislead anyone.
3. To talk someone into doing something. To convince someone to do something, to take up some business. Such a statement is most often used in a negative context, for example, when one person convinces another to take some action (legal or illegal), in which the second will later repent or be punished for them. And the first one does it on purpose.
4. To come across as smth. To create the impression of the owner of some specific features, characteristics.
5. To get away with smth. Get rid of criticism and punishment for anything.
6. To pass someone or smth off as someone or smth. To extradite someone or something for what that object or person is, in fact, not.
7. To go by something. Judge (for example, by clothing, at a glance).
8. To see through someone or smth. To see the real essence of man, not paying attention to the pleasant outer shell.

Difficulties do not recede

Despite the complexity of phrasal verbs and idioms, students do not lose their desire to study them. They understand that phrasal verbs are an important component of the English language, especially spoken. Students are also aware that the understanding of idioms contributes to successful communication with citizens of English-speaking countries.