Hi, welcome to a new episode of The Art of Business English. This week we have the first part of a mini-series on phrasal-prepositional verbs, also known as phrasal verbs with two particles, which will help you enrich your vocabulary and your understanding of native speakers.
In the first episode we will be covering three-word phrasal verbs with the preposition “with”. This means that the last word in the three-word structure is “with”. Keep reading on and you will understand.
Phrasal verbs are very common in English, especially in more informal contexts. They are made up of a verb and a particle or, sometimes, two particles. The particle often changes the meaning of the verb.
In terms of word order, there are two main types of phrasal verbs: separable and inseparable. With separable phrasal verbs, the verb and particle can be apart or together. Phrasal verbs with two particles are inseparable. Even if you use a pronoun, you put it after the particles.
So, let’s see what we’ve got!
Catch up with
Meaning:
To reach, to join, to communicate with someone.
Example:
“His lies will catch up with him one day.”
“Ken’s just about to finish a meeting. He’ll catch up with us in a minute.”
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Get on with
Meaning:
To start or continue doing something, especially work.
Example:
“I suppose I could get on with doing my expenses while I wait for the computer system to restart.”
Do away with
Meaning:
To get rid of or destroy something.
Example:
“The governor is proposing to do away with the state transportation department.”
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Put up with
Meaning:
To be willing to accept someone or something that is unpleasant or not desirable.
Example:
“Parents often have to put up with their teenager’s erratic and sometimes disrespectful behaviour.”
Get away with
Meaning:
To escape blame or punishment.
Example:
“I can’t believe the CEO got away with stealing the investors’ money, he must have good lawyers.”
Go along with
Meaning:
To support an idea, or to agree with someone's opinion.
Example:
“Many employees go along with their bosses so as not to cause any problems.”
Go through with
Meaning:
To do something unpleasant or difficult that has already been agreed or promised.
Example:
“The company has decided not to go through with the forced redundancies after negotiating with the union.”
Come up with
Meaning:
To suggest or think of an idea or plan.
Example:
“We need to come up with a name for our new product.”
Fall out with
Meaning:
To argue with someone and stop being friendly with them.
Example:
“John and Chris have fallen out with each other, and no longer talk.”
Hang around with
Meaning:
To spend time with someone.
Example:
“Brian keeps hanging out with the staff from the other department and doesn’t seem to be getting much work done.”
Keep up with
Meaning:
To continue to be informed about something; to continue to do or pay something.
Example:
“He’s never made an effort to keep up with current events.”
“They are struggling to keep up with the mortgage repayments.”
Be through with
Meaning:
To finish doing or using something.
Example:
“Let me know when you are through with the photocopier.”
Final thoughts
Well, there you have it folks. I hope you found this episode interesting and useful. If you have any questions or would like to add your own three-word phrasal verbs to the list, then why don’t you send me a message on Speakpipe or drop me a comment on the blog.
If you're interested in expanding your knowledge of vocabulary, download your copy of my eBook, "500 business English collocations for everyday use" which also includes the pronunciation in mp3 format for free.
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See you next week. Take care.
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