Can phrasal verbs just be learn from memory?

Question

To learn phrasal verbs has been a problem I should deal with everyday. Sometimes the meaning of these verbs change completely. So, it's hard to me to memorize them properly. I wonder if there is a way to learn them quickly.

what do you think about my question? I think some phrasal verbs are deducible. aren't they?

Answer 1

Do you mean verbs used as commands. Im not familiar with the term phrasal verbs but from what it sounds like they would have to be just memorized or else you might use a verb improperly. For example in Spanish you dont use jugar for the guitar but tocar. In English, that would make sense for us to use jugar. So when I was learning spanish I just had to do a lot of memorization and practice a lot.

Answer 2

Hmm. Don't we all love phrasal verbs. Dealing with them on a daily basis does help. Especially in memorizing them. Properly.

Honestly, man, what are you talking about?

Answer 3

Yes, I use phrasal verbs a lot. I don't think they're that easy to memorize (for example with flash cards, if that's what you meant), either, because so many of them are so similar and/or depend on the context.

for example:

get over it=stop worrying or being upset about something, it's in the past now

go over it=to review (for example to proofread a paper, to reread your class notes, or to try to remember a conversation you had to better understand what the other person was thinking/feeling)

I think for phrasal verbs you just have to try them and hope the other person will understand and correct you if needed. (I suspect that native English speakers are more inclined to correct phrasal verbs than most other learner errors.)

Answer 4

In spoken English, we tend to use phrasal verbs much more than their actual counterparts, especially in informal contexts.  This is often difficult for learners who are accustomed to the longer Latin-derived verbs in everyday speech, since the phrasal verbs are usually **made up** (comprised) of Germanic-derived particles.

For example, instead of "I returned from Paris on Thursday" we would tend to say "I got back from Paris on Thursday."

If someone were at my front door, I would be more inclined to say "Come in" than "Enter."

Some of them may be decipherable, like the phrasal verbs that use "get".  Usually these phrasal verbs imply some sort of change of status or state.

Get in:  change from being "out" of something to being "in" something, meaning "enter"

Get up:  change from being "down" to being "up", meaning "rise"

Others would be quite difficult to guess:

-make up:  "fabricate", "invent", "comprise", or "apply cosmetics" (at least, there are probably more meanings)

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For the others who may be confused about what a phrasal verb is:  phrasal verbs are verbs made up of more than one 'particle', like a verb and a preposition or a verb and an adverb.  When used together those "phrases" can have a totally different meaning than what the 'particles' would if they were apart.  An example of a phrasal verb is "make out".  By looking at the two words "make" and "out", it would be nearly impossible to infer (**figure out**) that together they might mean "kiss passionately" or "succeed".