Essential English Phrasal Verbs, Grammar, and Vocabulary

Posted on Mar 28, 2025 in English

Common English Phrasal Verbs

Understanding and using phrasal verbs correctly.

  • Prevent something FROM happening.
  • Wait FOR someone/something.
  • Apply FOR a job.
  • Run AWAY from home.
  • Give UP smoking.
  • Get ON with your sister.
  • Break UP with your friend.
  • Put ON weight.
  • Figure OUT a solution.
  • Come DOWN with a cold.
  • Succeed IN math.
  • Argue WITH a friend.
  • Drop OUT of school.
  • Speak UP at a meeting.
  • Based ON a novel.
  • Get AROUND by bus.

English Grammar Points and Corrections

Common Mistakes and Usage Notes

  • Use such as for examples (instead of places as).
  • Number format: 2,500.
  • Abbreviations: Use etc. or and so on.
  • Use in spite of or despite (Note: despite of is incorrect).
  • Use despite the fact that + clause.
  • Use due to + noun or due to the fact that + clause.
  • Conjunctions: but, so, however.

Relative Pronouns

  • Who = people
  • Which = things
  • When = time
  • Where = place
  • Whose = possession
  • That = people/things

Prepositional Phrases and Usage

  • I often dreamed OF/ABOUT…
  • The decision will depend ON…
  • We received a letter FROM…
  • Finish the report BY yourself / ON your own.
  • He never thinks ABOUT/OF…
  • Violence ON television.
  • By the time we arrived AT (a place) / IN (a city/country, e.g., Moscow)…
  • The magazine is responsible FOR…
  • My family consists OF…
  • The government spends too much money ON…
  • We had to wait IN/INSIDE…
  • You can find practically everything ON the internet.
  • We chose a sofa that was THE SAME color AS…

Verb Tenses

  • Present Perfect Simple: have/has + past participle (3rd column).
    Example: Her English has improved since she joined EF classes. (Connects past event to present result)
  • Past Perfect Simple: had + past participle (3rd column).
    Example: I had studied in India before last year. (Action completed before another past action)
  • Present Perfect Continuous: have/has + been + verb-ing.
    Example: They have been talking for 3 hours. (Action started in the past and continues, or recently stopped with present result)
  • Past Perfect Continuous: had + been + verb-ing.
    Example: I had been studying English for 2 years when I went to London. (Action was ongoing before another past action)
  • Future Tenses:
    • WILL (predictions, spontaneous decisions, promises)
    • BE GOING TO (plans, intentions, predictions based on evidence)

English Vocabulary Lists

Adjectives and Personality Traits

  • Reliable: confiable (trustworthy)
  • Awesome: incredible
  • Daft: tonto (silly, foolish)
  • Outstanding: destaca (excellent, remarkable)
  • Weird: raro (strange)
  • Sneaky: no pots confiar (sly, deceitful)
  • Easy-going: fàcil de tractar (relaxed, tolerant)
  • Infamous: mala persona (having a bad reputation)
  • Motivated: motivació (having motivation)
  • Spoilt: mimat (spoiled)
  • Adventurous: aventures (willing to take risks)
  • Dishonest: deshonest (not honest)
  • Dull: soso (boring)
  • Thoughtful: amable (considerate)

Compound Words and Phrases

  • User-friendly: easy to use
  • Cold spell: a period of cold weather
  • Cutting-edge: innovador (very modern, advanced)
  • Waste of time: pèrdua de temps
  • Named after: nomenat després (given the same name as someone/something else)
  • Brand-new: nou de trinca (completely new)
  • Return ticket: devolució de tiquet (ticket for travel to a place and back again)
  • Bored to death: super avorrida (extremely bored)
  • Round-the-clock: al voltant del dia (all day and all night)
  • Ahead of time: abans d’hora (earlier than expected)
  • Under the weather: feeling slightly ill
  • Invasion of privacy: invasió de la privacitat
  • Good for a laugh: amusing, funny

General Vocabulary (Mixed)

  • Surrounded: envoltat
  • Deep: profund
  • Chance: opportunity (also importància in some contexts)
  • Giggling: riure nerviosament (laughing nervously or foolishly)
  • To warm up: relaxar-se (prepare for exercise; become friendlier)
  • Nephew: sobrino
  • Employee: empleado
  • Fiancé: prometido (male) / Fiancée (female)
  • Sibling: hermano/a (brother or sister)
  • Belly: vientre (stomach)
  • Reject: rechazar
  • Blame: culpa
  • Worship: adoración
  • Cheating: hacer trampa
  • Courage: valor
  • Ability: capacidad
  • Effort: esfuerzo
  • Cut down on: reducir en (reduce consumption)
  • Fit in: encaixar (be accepted by a group)
  • Get rid of: desfer-se de (eliminate)
  • Delete: eliminar
  • Youth hostel: albergue juvenil
  • Campsite: càmping
  • Resort: tourist accommodation complex
  • Achievement: logro
  • Endurance: resistencia
  • Self-discipline: autodisciplina
  • Disease: illness (Note: ‘pasatiempo’ means hobby)
  • Threat: amenaza
  • Shade: sombra
  • Fury: furia
  • Get over: superar-se (recover from)
  • Deal with: tractar amb (handle, manage)
  • Strengthen: fortalecer
  • Encourage: animar
  • Enable: habilitar
  • Tease: molestar (make fun of playfully or unkindly)