The Verb Phrase:
What You Should Know About Them
Should
you study verb phrases to learn English better?
Yes and No.
Yes, you should study then to gain an awareness of English.
But no, you don't need to study them.
... instead of studying grammar, we should do it: say it, read it, repeat it, shadow it, over and over again. This is the fastest way to become a better speaker and listener.
What are they?
Verb phrases are phrases that have:
You can find more detailed grammatical information about verb phrases at this site (warning: this site is difficult and technical; simply memorizing the English like I suggest is much easier).
I recommend you study the verb phrases in each story by reading and listening to the story, then by shadowing the story, and finally memorizing the story. This should take one to two weeks per story. Then move on to the next story.
Here are some more ways to study these expressions. One way you can do right now is:
Yes and No.
Yes, you should study then to gain an awareness of English.
But no, you don't need to study them.
Why not study them?
Well, our brains learn grammar by doing better than by studying. We remember and use grammar via something called procedural memory. And we add to procedural memory by doing. That means... Read More »... instead of studying grammar, we should do it: say it, read it, repeat it, shadow it, over and over again. This is the fastest way to become a better speaker and listener.
Why Study Them?
Why study them? To gain an awareness of the language you are learning. If you know what verb phrases are, then you know if they are easy or difficult for you. If they are difficult, then you should study them as mentioned above; find sample sentences with your weak points and say them, read them, shadow them over and over again.1. a main verb
2. helping verbs or
3. verbal particles.
English
listening World Phrasal verbs section can help you study phrasal verbs,
which are one kind of verb phrase. They have the verb (#1
above) and
the verbal particle (#2 above). 2. helping verbs or
3. verbal particles.
You can find more detailed grammatical information about verb phrases at this site (warning: this site is difficult and technical; simply memorizing the English like I suggest is much easier).
I recommend you study the verb phrases in each story by reading and listening to the story, then by shadowing the story, and finally memorizing the story. This should take one to two weeks per story. Then move on to the next story.
Here are some more ways to study these expressions. One way you can do right now is:
- write down the verbs (below): try to guess the meanings.
- look at the meanings and write them down.
- listen to the story.
- Guess the meaning of the story.
- write the story in your own words.
Highway Garden
Verb list1. Turn down: to reject or refuse something such as an offer or application
2. Save up: accumulate (money); collect or store something for future use
3. Figure out: to find a solution or explanation for something
4. Get over: to overcome or cope with a difficulty
5. Let down: to disappoint somebody by not meeting expectations
This text will be replaced
Read the story here: »
Without the money she needed, Anna had no way to get out of her bleak life. They turned her down at the job interview, saying she didn't have enough training. And Anna knew she could do a better job than the other women who worked for that company. The worst part was when she asked her husband for the money to get training and he let her down by saying no. But she knew that she could get over this problem. All she had to do was figure out a way to get the money for her training. Now she is growing vegetables on a small plot of land under the freeway. She sells them in the market on Saturday, and saves the money for her training. She is a great problem solver.
You can get your own copy of this recording in mp3 format here - (at no charge).
