When was the last time you needed to express ideas in English to solve a problem
at work? Make a decision about an upcoming family vacation?
Address a challenge at your child's school?
Help your kids with math homework?
Prepare a budget with a spouse or a partner or consider a career
change?
Every single day there are situations that arise that require us to
generate and express ideas.
And idea-generation conversations in English are full of phrasal
verbs,
those idiomatic phrases that combine a verb with an adverb or
preposition. Now,
I know that you know phrasal verbs are notoriously difficult
precisely because of those idiomatic meanings. Plus,
there are more than 5,000 phrasal verbs in the English language.
Given that number and the reality that they're used extensively in daily
English conversations, phrasal verbs are impossible to avoid,
but there is a method that can help you easily learn and remember new
phrasal verbs.
I always recommend learning phrasal verbs around a theme,
for example, phrasal verbs that help you to express ideas in English.
Focusing on a theme highlights the similarities among a specific number
of phrasal verbs and it allows you to make connections that are relevant to
your daily life. In this Confident English lesson today,
we're going to focus on three key phases in the process of
idea activation and expression. Along the way,
you'll learn 18 phrasal verbs you can use to express your
ideas in English.
Now first, if you don't already know,
I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident in English.
Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your
life and work in English.
One way I do that is by sharing my weekly Confident English lessons where I
share my top fluency and confidence-building strategies,
targeted grammar lessons and advanced-level vocabulary lessons.
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Now,
let's get right to it with the first phase in idea activation and
expression, the brainstorming phase,
this is the phase when our mind focuses on generating, creating,
or building ideas and nothing is off the table.
I don't know about you, but I sometimes struggle with the brainstorming phase.
I like my ideas to be fully formed before I share them.
If you have the same frustration,
I totally get it and I have two recommendations for you after
you watch this lesson.
I have two more at the Speak Confident English website for you.
The first one is focused on helping you think out loud in English,
and the second is brainstorming tips for introverts.
As I said,
you can find both of those lessons at the Speak Confident English website and
I'll leave quick links for you in the notes below this video.
And now let's get to Common phrasal verbs we can use during the brainstorming
phase of idea activation. For the first five phrasal verbs,
I want you to consider this scenario.
Imagine your team needs to think of a quick solution to an issue
with a client in the discussion.
You could use the following phrasal verbs to problem solve.
The first is to figure out this means to completely
and fully understand all the aspects of something
or someone. For example,
we should figure out the root of the issue so that we can respond in the
most appropriate way. The second phrasal verb is to work out. Now,
you may have heard this one before in the context of going to the gym and
exercising or engaging in fitness, however,
there's a second meaning to the phrasal verb to work out.
It can also mean to resolve through reasoning and
calculation. For example,
I think our first step is to work out the issues with our product
before contacting the client.
Number three is to run up against how many times have
you expressed an idea,
started to execute it and then encountered a problem.
This is the perfect time to use the phrasal verb to run up against.
It means to unexpectedly encounter a difficult situation.
For example,
we might run up against more problems if we respond to the client
with half-baked ideas. Now, of course, in the brainstorming phase,
it's perfectly appropriate to discuss and consider half-baked ideas.
However, when it's time to present a solution to a client,
you want something that's fully formed.
Number four on the list is to zero in on.
I want you to imagine looking at a large landscape and
everything's a bit blurry. However,
as you allow your focus to narrow and to become sharper on one
singular area, your vision is focused. It's clear.
This is a great way to picture what it means to zero in on something.
It means to focus or direct all your attention toward something or someone.
For example. I know there are several problems we need to address,
but I I think for now we need to zero in on the budgeting issue.
In other words,
you're going to ignore everything else for the moment and bring your focus,
your attention to one specific element or one specific issue.
And number five,
for this phase of brainstorming and idea activation is to stumble upon.
This means to find or learn something unexpectedly.
For example, I stumbled upon a potential problem area,
but I'm not sure if it's a big deal.
Before we go on to the second phase of idea activation,
let's change the scenario slightly for two more phrasal verbs.
I want you to imagine you're speaking with a friend who needs your help in
finding a new job as you brainstorm and express possible actions.
Here are two phrasal verbs you can use.
Number one to look into this simply means to explore
or to consider a variety of options. For example,
have you looked into a virtual assistant role? That might be a better option.
And number two, to run something by someone.
This means to present information or to inform someone in order
to get an evaluation or an opinion. For example,
perhaps I could run my resume by my manager. Maybe there's an opening.
Now, during or after the brainstorming phase,
there may be a moment when you enter phase two, which is asking for time,
asking for time to reflect whether you're reflecting on someone else's idea
or your own,
when you need time to collect your thoughts or generate
more ideas.
Here are several phrasal verbs you can use and we're going to use a new
scenario.
Imagine your son or daughter wants to travel and work abroad for the summer.
They ask you for help in considering the pros and cons.
If you need time to think about your answer and how you want to respond,
here are four phrasal verbs you can use.
Number one to think about this means to consider.
For example, I need some more time to think about the pros and cons.
Number two, to mole over.
This also means to consider or to ruminate on.
For example, I need some time to mull this over. Number three,
to touch base. This means to communicate or follow up.
For example, I need some time to think about this.
Could I touch base with you tomorrow morning?
And the last one for this scenario is to sleep on.
What this means is to think about something overnight and give yourself
the opportunity to make a decision later, for example.
That sounds like a good course of action, however,
let me sleep on it and I'll get back to you tomorrow. Tomorrow. Now,
in this same scenario,
you might need more details to truly evaluate the pros and cons.
If you need more details,
here are three phrasal verbs you can use to request them. Number one,
to fill in this means to give someone extra or missing
information. For example,
could you fill me in on what you've thought about so far?
The next one to circle back to this means to get back to or
return to something.
In the conversation you have on the pros and cons of traveling and working
abroad, you might say, let's circle back to your cons list.
Could you tell me more about them?
You could also combine this phrasal verb to circle back to with
the phrasal verb.
Think about in a request to get more time to think and provide
a specific timeline. For example,
I'll think about it and circle back to you later today.
And now the last phrasal verb for this scenario is to take in this means
to process or understand information.
It's particularly helpful when there are many details that need to be
considered. For example, I'm still taking in everything you're saying.
This is a lot of new information. What else is on your list?
And now the last phase of idea generation is to share
a complete idea.
After brainstorming and having time to reflect,
you might be ready to express your idea in English.
For our final four phrasal verbs,
I want you to imagine you're leading a team and you're ready to share
your ideas on taking on another project to express your
firm thoughts. You can use these phrasal verbs. Number one,
to weigh in this means to make a statement of opinion.
For example,
I'd like to weigh in with my thoughts and the pros and cons of
taking on this project.
Number two is to put across this means to convey your
ideas effectively and maybe even forcefully.
For example,
I believe it's necessary to put across the fact that taking on this project
would be beneficial for us. Number three,
to take on this means to adopt or accept
responsibility for something. For example,
we have the skills and the resources needed to take on this project
and phrasal verb 18 to focus on.
This means to concentrate and focus all your attention on something or
someone. For example.
Let's focus on the steps we need to take to finish this project
successfully. Now, of course I have some practice questions for you,
but before I get there, I have one final recommendation for you.
If you'd like to know more about how to express your ideas in English,
I have a full lesson on that topic that not only includes phrasal verbs,
but also phrases and sentence starters you can use to introduce
and share your ideas. I'll leave a link to that lesson in the notes below.
And now my first practice question for you, I'm curious,
which of the phrasal verbs you learned today are new for you?
I want you to select two or three of those phrasal verbs and try using them in
your own example sentence. You can use my examples to help you.
As always, you can share your examples with me in the comments below.
And now question number two,
are there other phrasal verbs you've heard before that I didn't mention today
that are related to brainstorming,
asking for time to think or expressing ideas? If so,
I would love for you to share them in the comments below,
or if there's a phrasal verb you've heard and you're not really sure about it,
again,
share it with me below and I'd be happy to help you understand that phrasal
verb fully so you can use it in English conversations.
Thank you so much for joining me today,
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