LESSON 14

Vocabulary – phrasal verbs (2)

Grammar – Asking questions
Pronunciation – resources and tips for improving your pronunciation
Vocabulary review

Mansión Intermedio Audio

Hello and welcome to Lesson 14 of Mansión Intermedio Audio, an audio

course from La Mansión del Inglés.

Listen to this lesson as many times as necessary and repeat the words and
expressions aloud in order to practise pronunciation. Repeating the words
will also help you to remember them. Try to imitate my pronunciation and if
you hear something you don’t understand, read the text in the pdf
document.

Lesson 14 – vocabulary – phrasal verbs (2)

Let’s see what you remember from last lesson’s section on phrasal verbs. I’ll
say some statements about phrasal verbs. Are they true or false?

Phrasal verbs always have a literal meaning. True or false? – Los phrasal
verbs siempre tienen un significado literal. – That’s false. Normally, the
meaning of a phrasal verb is idiomatic. For example, ‘The plane takes off at
6’ – idiomatic or ‘I look after my mother.’ – idiomatic.

Next statement: Phrasal verbs never have more than two different
meanings. - Los phrasal verbs nunca tienen más que dos significados
diferentes. True or false? – Also false. For example, in lesson 13 we saw that
the phrasal verb ‘to go off’ can mean pasarse, deteriorarse – ‘This milk has
gone off’, or it can mean sonar – ‘Your alarm clock is going off’, or it can
mean irse, marcharse – ‘She stood up, picked up her bag and went off
quickly without looking at me’.

Here’s the next statement, true or false? Phrasal verbs are usually more
informal than normal verbs. - Normalmente los phrasal verbs son más
informal que los verbos normales. True or false? – That’s true! We often use
phrasal verbs in spoken English and informal writing.
Here’s the next statement: Sometimes a verb can change its meaning when
it’s combined with a phrasal verb particle. - Un verbo a veces cambia su
significado cuando está junto con una partícula de un phrasal verb. What do
you think, true or false? It’s true. For example, ‘carry out’ which means
llevar a cabo, ‘come about’ which means suceder and ‘break up’ which is
terminar una relación. – ‘I’ve broken up with my girlfriend’.

The next statement is: A phrasal verb can be made up of 2 or 3 words.

‘Made up’ is a phrasal verb which means ‘to consist of’ – compuesto de or
formado por, What do you think? True or false? - Un phrasal verb consiste
en dos o tres palabras. True! Some examples of three-word phrasal verbs
are ‘get away with’, ‘look forward to’, ‘get away from’, ‘get off with’, ‘put up
with’ and ‘look up to’.

Next one: A phrasal verb particle can be an adverb or a pronoun. - La

partícula de un phrasal verb puede ser un adverbio o un pronombre. True or
false? That’s false because the particle can be an adverb or a preposition.

You can’t separate the verb and the particle of a phrasal verb. - No puedes
separar el verbo y la partícula con el objeto y poner el objeto (un nombre o
un pronombre) en medio. – That’s false, of course. You can say ‘Try it on’ -
‘Try the shirt on’

Here’s another example: ‘I took off my jacket.’ My jacket is the object. So, I
can also say, ‘I took my jacket off’, and you can say ‘take your clothes off’ –
‘take them off’.

But remember, if the object is a pronoun (un pronombre – Like it, them, me,
you, him, her, us), it always goes between the verb and the particle. For
example: ‘I took it off.’ (‘it’ is the jacket). - I took it off. I cannot say
X I took off it X. Repeat: I took it off – take them off – try it on.

Let’s look at another example, the verb to throw away (tirar, deshacerse
de), we can say ‘I threw away the chicken.’ or ‘I threw the chicken away.’
or ‘I threw it away.’ (because ‘it’ is the chicken) – ‘Where’s the chicken?’ –
‘Oh sorry, I threw it away.’ Repeat: Oh sorry, I threw it away.

Here are some more examples:

(turn on = encender)
Could you turn on the TV? Could you turn the TV on? Could you turn it on?
Repeat: Could you turn it on?

(throw away = tirar a la basura)

Please throw away the food. Please throw the food away. Please throw it
away. Repeat: Please throw it away.

(fill in = rellenar)
We have to fill in these forms. We have to fill these forms in. We have to fill
them in. Repeat: We have to fill them in.

There are some phrasal verbs that we cannot put the object between the
verb and the particle. Some phrasal verbs do not behave like ‘throw away’. -
existen phrasal verbs que no se puede insertar el objeto entre el verbo y su
partícula.

For example, the phrasal verb ‘to look for’. We can say. ‘I’m looking for a
flat.’ but we cannot say XI’m looking a flat for.X – That’s wrong!

(grow up = crecer)
I can say ‘I grew up in London’. But I can’t say XMy parents grew me upX to
grow up is an inseparable phrasal verb. No se puede inserter el pronombre
entre el verbo y la partícula. I can say, ‘My parents brought me up in
London.’ To bring up’ means criar, educar. Repeat: My parents brought me
up in London. – I was brought up in Madrid.

Here are some more examples of inseparable phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs
that you cannot separate:

To hold on is esperar – Listen: Hold on a minute. Repeat: Hold on a minute.

To carry on – continuar - Listen: Carry on with the project. Repeat: Carry on

with the project. Listen: I can’t carry on without you! Repeat: I can’t carry
on without you!

To break down – estropearse – Listen: My car broke down yesterday.

Repeat: My car broke down yesterday.

To look for – buscar – Listen: What are you looking for? Repeat: What are
you looking for?

To talk about – hablar – Listen: You shouldn’t talk about him behind his
back. Repeat: behind his back – talk about him – talk about him behind his
back - You shouldn’t talk about him behind his back.

To look forward to – tener ganas de algo/tener ganas de hacer algo – Listen:

I’m really looking forward to my holiday. Repeat: I’m really looking forward
to my holiday.
Do you know the meaning of the following phrasal verbs?

To try on – probarse Repeat: try on – I tried on the jacket – I tried it on. I

tried on the sunglasses – I tried them on. - Why don’t you try them on?

To write down – anotar – Repeat: write down – Write down my phone

number. - Did you write it down? - Don’t forget to write it down.

To take back – devolver – Repeat: take back – take the jacket back – It’s
too small - take it back to the shop. - Why don’t you take it back?

To give up – dejar – Repeat: give up – give up smoking – you should give it

up – When did you give it up? - Have you given up drinking?

To cut down – talar – cut down – cut down that tree. Repeat: cut down - cut
down that tree. - We need to cut it down – When are they going to cut it
down?

To wash up – fregar – Repeat: wash up – Wash the dishes up – Have you

washed the dishes up? – Have you washed them up - Please wash them up.

To take up - To take up means empezar, dedicarse Repeat: take up – take

up photography – take up golf – When did you take it up? - I think I’ll take it
up.

To put off – to ‘put off’ is posponer – Repeat: put off – I had to put the
meeting off. I put it off until Friday. - Why did you put it off?

Pay back – to ‘pay back’ means devolver el dinero – Repeat: pay back –
Thanks for the money. - I’ll pay you back soon. - I’ll pay you back at the end
of the month. Repeat: at the end of the month – I’ll pay you back - I’ll pay
you back at the end of the month. - When will you pay me back? – Has she
paid you back yet?

Put up with – to ‘put up with’ is tolerar, aguantar – Repeat: put up with –

Why does she put up with him? – He’s such a bad husband! – Would you put
up with him? – I don’t know why I put up with you.

To hurry up – darse prisa, apurarse – hurry up! Repeat: hurry up! – hurry
up! Come on! I haven’t got all day! Hurry up will you? – Tell him to hurry up
for God’s sake! – If you don’t hurry up, we’ll miss the train.
Keep up with - to keep up with is estar al tanto de, seguir el ritmo – keep up
with - I can’t keep up with technology. - It’s changing to fast – You’re
walking too fast – I can’t keep up with you.

Grow up - to grow up is crecer – grow up – Where did you grow up? I grew
up in London. – My wife grew up in Valencia. – Did you grow up here?

We said before that some phrasal verbs have two particles - Existen algunas
phrasal verbs con dos partículas.
For example, to look forward to - tener ganas de algo o tener ganas de
hacer algo – I’m really looking forward to my birthday. What are you looking
forward to?

This type of phrasal verb has an idiomatic meaning and cannot be separated
by the object. - Este tipo de multi-word verb tiene significado idiomático y el
objeto no se puede cambiar de posición. So we can’t say XI’m looking
forward my birthday to.X and we can’t say, XI’m looking my birthday
forward to.X We must say, ‘I’m looking forward to my birthday.’ Repeat:
looking forward to – I’m looking forward to - I’m really looking forward to -
I’m really looking forward to my birthday. - What are you looking forward
to? – I’m looking forward to the weekend. – I’m really looking forward to
meeting you.

Here are some more examples of multi-word phrasal verbs:

To get on with (llevarse bien con) - I get on with my boss very well. Do you
get on with your sister? Repeat: get on with – Do you get on with her? – I
don’t get on with our neighbours – Do you get on well?

To run out of (quedarse sin) – We’ve run out of coffee. Repeat: run out of –
Have we run out of beer? - Oh no! We’ve run out of beer! – The printer’s run
out of paper.

To keep up with (seguir el ritmo), I can’t keep up with the other students.
Repeat: keep up with – Slow down, I can’t keep up with you. – Can he keep
up with the other kids?

To go out with (salir con) - I used to go out with a Russian girl. Repeat: go
out with – Would you go out with me? - Did she go out with him? – Are you
going out with someone? – Who are you going out with?

To put up with (tolerar, aguantar) – I can’t put up with your mother

anymore! – I don’t know why you put up with me, darling! Repeat: I can’t
put up with your mother. – Why do you put up with me? – How does she put
up with him?

To cut down on – (reducer, economizar). Listen: If I cut down on chocolate,

cakes and biscuits, I should be able to lose some weight. Repeat: cut down
on – I need to cut down on chocolate – I’ve cut down on coffee. – I’m trying
to cut down.

To look up to – (admirar, respetar) – I’ve always looked up to you. You’re

my hero! – Repeat: look up to – Who do you look up to? – I’ve always
looked up to my dad.

Grammar – Asking questions

Asking questions is probably one of the best ways to start, and continue, a
conversation. So it makes sense to practise question formation and the
different ways that we can ask questions in English.

Do you remember the basic question formation rule that you need to invert
(dar la vuelta) the order of the subject and the auxiliary verb. For example,
if the statement is ‘It is raining’ the question is ‘Is it raining?’
‘She can speak Chinese.’ changes to ‘Can she speak Chinese?’ – ‘She can…’
(subject/auxilicary verb) changes to ‘Can she…? (auxiliary verb/subject).
Easy!

If there is no auxiliary verb, use ‘do’, ‘does’ or ‘did’. For example,

I speak Spanish (is the statement) I speak Spanish. What’s the question? –
‘Do you speak Spanish?’
‘She teaches online.’ What’s the question? - ‘Does she teach online?’

Ok, I’ll say some statements now like ‘It’s raining’, ‘She can speak Chinese’,
and you change the statement to ask a question. Then I’ll say the question
for you to check, but please, please, please repeat it after me so that you
can practice the intonation. Ready?

I drive to work. Question? – Do you drive to work? Repeat: Do you drive to

work?

They’re coming with us. Question? – Are they coming with us? Repeat: Are
they coming with us?

She’s from Madrid. Question? – Is she from Madrid? Repeat: Is she from
Madrid?
I’ve lived here a long time. Question? – Have you lived here a long time?
Repeat: Have you lived here a long time?

He’s paying for lunch. Question? – Is he paying for lunch? Repeat: Is he

paying for lunch?

I can see the screen. Question? – Can you see the screen? Repeat: Can you
see the screen?

All of these questions are ‘yes/no’ questions, which means the answer is
‘yes’ or ‘no’. “Can you see the screen?” – ‘Yes’, ‘Yes, I can’ or ‘No’ ‘No, I
can’t’.

Another type of question is a ‘Wh-‘ question. Wh- questions use words like
‘Where’, ‘When’, ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘Which’, ‘Who’ and ‘Whose’ – question words
which begin with ‘Wh’. For example, ‘Where does you wife work?’ ‘Why are
you leaving?’ ‘What do you want to drink?’

Now listen and repeat some example questions with these ‘Wh-‘ words.

Listen: What’s your phone number? Repeat: What’s your phone number?

Listen: When did you get here? Repeat: When did you get here?

Listen: Which train did you catch? Repeat: Which train did you catch?

Listen: Who’s giving the talk? Repeat: Who’s giving the talk?

Listen: Sorry, what did you say? Repeat: Sorry, what did you say?

Listen: Why do you say that? Repeat: Why do you say that?

Listen: Where’s the hotel from here? Repeat: Where’s the hotel from here?

Listen: Why don’t we take a taxi? Repeat: Why don’t we take a taxi?

Listen: When is he coming? Repeat: When is he coming?

Listen: What’s the name of the restaurant? Repeat: What’s the name of the
restaurant?

Remember, you can see these questions written in the PDF document that
comes with this audio.
Listen: Whose phone is this? Repeat: Whose phone is this?

Listen: Where are we meeting them? Repeat: Where are we meeting them?

Listen: What would you like to drink? Repeat: What would you like to drink?

Listen: Which hotel are they staying in? Repeat: Which hotel are they
staying in?

Be careful about the difference between a subject and an object question.

What do I mean by ‘a subject and an object question’?

Well, what’s the difference between ‘Who phoned Pepito?’ and ‘Who did
Pepito phone?’ Well, in the first question ‘Who phoned Pepito?’ I’m asking
about the subject – the person who phoned Pepito. If the answer is Juan,
‘Juan phoned Pepito’, then Juan is the subject. Get it? OK? Juan phoned
Pepito (subject – verb – object).

But the question ‘Who did Pepito phone?’ asks about the object – the person
who Pepito phoned. If Pepito phoned Maria, then Maria is the object. Who
did Pepito phone? - Pepito phoned Maria. (subject – verb – object).

If I say ‘Craig made a video’, the object question is ‘What did Craig make?’
The subject question is ‘Who made the video?’

Why is this important’ Well, there’s no auxiliary verb in a subject question:

- ‘Who made the video?’

But there IS an auxiliary verb in the object question:

- ‘What DID Craig make?’ - The auxiliary verb is ‘did’.

Most questions are object questions in English, so we usually need an

auxiliary verb like did, do, does, have, has etc.

Listen and repeat some subject and object questions:

Listen: Who phoned you? - Who did you phone? Repeat: Who phoned you? -
Who did you phone?

Listen: Who lives there? – Where do you live? Repeat: Who lives there? –
Where do you live?
Listen: What happened last night? – When did the accident happen? Repeat:
What happened last night? – When did the accident happen?

Listen: Who made the cake? – Which cake did Amparo make? Repeat: Who
made the cake? – Which cake did Amparo make?

Listen: Who told you? – Who did you tell? Repeat: Who told you? – Who did
you tell?

We can also use ‘how’ for asking different types of questions.

Listen: How are you? Repeat: How are you?

Listen: How was the trip? Repeat: How was the trip?

Listen: How old are you? Repeat: How old are you?

Listen: How do you say ‘de nada’ in English? Repeat: How do you say ‘de
nada’ in English?

Listen: How long have you lived here? Repeat: How long have you lived
here?

Listen: How was your flight? Repeat: How was your flight?

Listen: How often do you go to the UK? Repeat: How often do you go to the
UK?

Listen: How much is this sandwich? Repeat: How much is this sandwich?

Listen: How far is it? Repeat: How far is it?

Listen: How long will it take? Repeat: How long will it take?

Listen: How many people work there? Repeat: How many people work
there?

Pronunciation – resources and tips for improving your pronunciation

Have you ever heard the expression ‘to have an ear for languages’? It’s like
having an ear for music. You listen and you can reproduce or copy the
sounds. Some people are good at this. Some people can sing really well, and
some people can imitate accents and copy the pronunciation of a language.

In this course we’ve studied the basics. We’ve learned the sounds of English
phonetics, stress and intonation. We’ve practised weak forms, linking and
connected speech. Now you need to go and listen to English – a lot! Really
listen and focus on the music, the sounds and the rhythm of English.

Focus on your mouth, your tongue and your lips. If you can’t get the sound
you want, move your tongue more to the back or the front of the mouth.

How does your mouth move to make the sound? If you change the shape of
your mouth, does it change the sound? You need to experiment until you’re
happy with the sound. Until it sounds close to the native English you’re
listening to.

Use a mirror and try to copy the mouth movements of the teachers in the
YouTube videos I’m going to recommend.

Record yourself speaking English on your phone and play it back. Try to get
a bit closer to the native sound each time you record. Notice any mistakes
you’re making when you play back your recording and try to improve them.

Listen to songs, read the lyrics and compare the written word with the way
the words actually sound. Then, sing the song yourself and copy the singer.

Here are some resources to help you practise and improve your
pronunciation. You can find the links in the PDF document that goes with this
audio.

British English
English Language Club:
https://www.youtube.com/user/EngLanguageClub/videos
MmmEnglish:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRiVfHqBIIvSgKmgnSY66g

American English
Rachel’s English:
https://www.youtube.com/user/rachelsenglish
Pronuncian.com:
https://pronuncian.com/podcasts/
The Accent’s Way:
https://www.youtube.com/user/accentsway

Vocabulary Review

Now it’s time to review some of the phrasal verbs you’ve learned in this
lesson. As usual, I’m going to say some words in Spanish and I want you to
say the phrasal verb in English before I do and then repeat them, and the
example sentences, to practise pronunciation. Here we go!

probarse - try on – Can I try this on? Repeat: Can I try this on?

anotar - write down – Did you write down his email address? Repeat: Did
you write down his email address?

devolver - take back – You should take this back to the shop. Repeat: You
should take this back to the shop.

dejar - give up – Don’t give up. Keep practising! Repeat: Don’t give up. Keep
practising!

talar - cut down – They’ve cut down that old tree. Repeat: They’ve cut down
that old tree.

fregar - wash up – When are you going to wash up the dinner plates?
Repeat: When are you going to wash up the dinner plates?

empezar, dedicarse - take up – I’ve taken up cycling. Repeat: I’ve taken up

cycling.

posponer - put off – The meeting’s been put off until next week. Repeat: The
meeting’s been put off until next week.

devolver el dinero - pay back – When do you intend paying me back?

Repeat: When do you intend paying me back?

tirar a la basura - throw away – I threw away your old tennis racket.
Repeat: I threw away your old tennis racket.

encender - turn on – Could you turn on the light, please? Repeat: Could you
turn on the light, please?

crecer – grow up – Where did you grow up? Repeat: Where did you grow
up?
estar al tanto de, seguir el ritmo – keep up with – I can’t keep up with
technology. Repeat: I can’t keep up with technology.

darse prisa, apurarse – hurry up! – Hurry up or we’ll be late! Repeat: Hurry
up or we’ll be late!

tolerar, aguantar – put up with – I refuse to put up with your nonsense!

Repeat: I refuse to put up with your nonsense!

esperar - hold on – Hold on a second I’m just coming! Repeat: Hold on a

second I’m just coming!

continuar - carry on – I think you should carry on with it. Repeat: I think
you should carry on with it.

estropearse - break down – Sorry I’m late, my car broke down. Repeat:
Sorry I’m late, my car broke down.

buscar - look for – I’m looking for a personal assistant. Repeat: I’m looking
for a personal assistant.

criar, educar - bring up – I was brought up in Barcelona. Repeat: I was

brought up in Barcelona.

tener ganas de algo/tener ganas de hacer algo - look forward to – I’m

looking forward to catching up with you. Repeat: I’m looking forward to
catching up with you.

What do you say when you’re trying to work and the TV is disturbing you
because it’s too loud? You say, Please can you ….turn the TV off or turn
the TV down or switch the TV off? Repeat: Can you turn it down? – Can
you switch it off?

What do you say when you’re in a clothes shop looking at a dress or a shirt,
but you’re not sure if it’s the right size. - You say to the shop assistant, ”Can
I…..try it on?” Repeat: Can I try it on?

You’re at the airport and you don’t know when your flight leaves for London.
What do you say? - “Excuse me. What time does the plane …..take off?”
Repeat: What time does the place take off? - What times does it take off?

What do you say if you have a bad memory and you need to write
information on paper?
Just a second please, “I’d like to…. write it down.” Repeat: I’d like to write
it down.

Your friend borrowed $200 two weeks ago and hasn’t said anything about
the money. You say to your friend…”When are you going to ….pay me
back?” Repeat: When are you going to pay me back?

You want to know if the relationship is good between your friend and her
boss. You say, “Do you ….get on with your boss?” Repeat: Do you get on
with your boss? – Do you get on well with your boss?

You want someone to move more quickly or so something more quickly

because you’re late. So it’s darse prisa in Spanish. You say, Come on
….hurry up or we’ll be late! Repeat: Hurry up or we’ll be late! – Come on!
Hurry up or we’ll be late.

You speak to someone on the phone just before you meet them. (tengo
muchas ganas de conocerte) – “I’m ….looking forward to meeting you.”
Repeat: I’m looking forward to meeting you. - I’m really looking forward to
meeting you.

And we are looking forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions
or comments about this audio course, please get in touch. Even if you just
want to say ‘hello’, we’d love to hear from you.

You can contact us at correo@mansioningles.net or

mansionteachers@yahoo.es.

You can find those email addresses in the PDF document.

You can also find us on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/mansioningles and on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/mansiontwit

We also have a free, weekly podcast available at

http://www.inglespodcast.com/

Thank you very much for studying with La Mansión del Inglés.