Phrasal verbs to express emotions

Phrasal verbs are phrases that refer to actions, such as turn down(to refuse an offer), come across(to find something or someone by a chance) and run into(to meet  someone you know when you aren’t expecting to). They are usually used in spoken English and informal texts.

Contents

1. How to translate and understand the meaning of phrasal verbs?
2. Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs
3. Learning phrasal verbs to express emotions
4. The most difficult phrasal verbs to understand

In English school, you will be told that phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a preposition or adverb:

But sometimes such verbs consist of three elements:

Be sure to keep in mind that a preposition or an adverb can completely change the meaning of the verb to which it is added.

How to understand the meaning of phrasal verbs?

Such phrases in English can have two meanings:

• literal (She opened the door and looked outside);
• idiomatic (Can you put me up for tonight? The verb "put up" here does not mean "to build". However, it does have a figurative meaning: in this context, it is a request to let someone stay at your house).

Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs can be separated by an additional word. In such cases, it is more difficult to translate a spoken or written statement correctly.

1. Sometimes a preposition/adverb is placed either after a verb or after a noun:

• Mary made up a really entertaining story. 
• Mary made the story up. 

2. If the noun is a pronoun, the preposition/adverb should be placed after the pronoun (noun).

• She made it up.
• Put it down.
• Take it off.

3. Some combinations of verbs and adverbs in a foreign language are always inseparable:

I came across some old photos in a drawer.

How do you know when a phrase can be split and when it would be a mistake? The only way is to memorize and practice using them more.

Learning phrasal verbs to express emotions

We have prepared a list of commonly used verbs that you may encounter in your communication with native speakers. Such phrases are more typical for informal communication.

• Lash out at – to pounce on someone (As the kids were not obeying, she lashed out at them).
• Crack up – a phrase used to describe a sudden laugh (The students cracked up as the music teacher entered the class wearing a weird cap).
• Calm down – to stop feeling upset, angry (You need to calm down before starting discussion).
• Let down – used to express disappointment (No child should let their parents down).
• Bottle up – this phrase is often used when someone is hiding feelings and cannot express them (It is not healthy to bottle up your feelings).
• Blow up – used when we talk about an outburst of anger (Don’t blow up at me, it wasn’t my mistake).
• Freak out – a phrase used to describe anxiety or fear (People freaked out when they heard the news).

You can learn how to express your emotions in English in just 20 minutes. You will learn all this in a short online course from Booyya – Emotions. Phrasal verbs – https://bit.ly/38Qwk2r

The most difficult phrasal verbs to understand

We offer you to learn popular English phrases that are often used in informal communication. They are difficult to understand, so it is better to memorize them right away.

• To cheer up – to improve your mood. Use it if you want to cheer someone up or help them feel happier (If I feel miserable, I usually call my best friend and we go for a coffee and a chat. That always cheers me up.)
• To get carried away – this expression can be explained as  "to lose control". It is used to describe a person who has become too absorbed in themselves and has stopped noticing what is happening around them (I was so overjoyed when I got my exam results, I got completely carried away and started hugging and kissing everyone!)
• To get over something – to cope, overcome, survive. We use this phrasal verb when we feel better after an illness or unpleasant event (Do you find it easy or difficult to get over disappointments?)

To learn three-word phrasal verbs, take a short online course from Booyya – https://bit.ly/3qMZy8U with 14 such phrases

Try to practice using these phrasal verbs more often. Don't hesitate to talk about your feelings in English – even if you make a mistake, your teacher will help you correct it.