I can't believe I'm going to talk about phrasal verbs!
While I'm not going to teach you the 10 most common phrasal verbs in English, or anything
like that, I am going to explain how to pronounce phrasal verbs like a native English speaker.
Specifically, we're going to talk about the stress patterns that you need to get right
in order to be understood when using phrasal verbs, as well as how to link them together
so that they flow and don't sound choppy.
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to say it, and why it matters.
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First things first, what is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb is a combination of words, a phrase, containing a verb and a particle,
which is a little short word that looks like a preposition.
Phrasal verbs are usually two or sometimes three words long.
Phrasal verbs you may be familiar with include wake up, get up, turn on, put away, look up
to, do over, give back, turn down, run into, just to name a few.
Phrasal verbs are incredibly common in American English, and using them correctly can help
you sound more like a native English speaker.
In fact, we often prefer phrasal verbs over their longer synonyms that have Latin roots.
Although they're called phrasal verbs, most of them can function as both a noun and a
verb, and sometimes even as an adjective.
It's important that you understand the difference because the stress on the phrasal verb will
vary depending on the part of speech.
If you want to use phrasal verbs correctly and be understood when you've made the effort
to use a phrasal verb, you want to make sure that you're stressing the right word.
When the phrasal verb is describing an action, the stress will be on the particle, the second word.
This means that the particle will be longer, louder and higher in pitch.
This is how we distinguish that the phrasal verb is being used as a verb.
The particle will be the most obvious word.
The stress on the particle helps you understand that it's a phrasal verb, because prepositions
aren't usually stressed.
On the other hand, when the phrasal verb is in noun or adjective form, the stress will
be on the first word.
That's how we indicate which part of speech we're using.
To pronounce phrasal verbs like a native English speaker, you need to make sure you're correctly
stressing the right word depending on the part of speech you're using.
To sound even more like a native speaker, you want to link the phrasal verbs together.
You'll see exactly what I mean in these examples.
Before we go into more depth about linking, let's look at some examples so that you can
hear exactly what's going on with stress and linking on these phrasal verbs.
We'll talk about how linking works at the end of the video.
If you find linking a little bit challenging, don't worry.
The stress is much more important than linking the words together.
You can work on that later on in your accent reduction journey.
So let's take a look at the examples.
Let's get started with turn off: turn off.
Turn off the light before you leave.
As you can hear in this example, I'm stressing the particle: turn off.
Turn off the light before you leave.
By stressing "off," I'm making it clear that the phrasal verb is being used to describe an action.
Turn off the light before you leave.
Now let's turn it into a noun.
His behavior is such a turn off.
His behavior is such a turnoff.
As you can hear, I'm stressing "turn" because it's being used as a noun.
His behavior is such a turnoff.
You can really hear the difference between "turn OFF" and "TURN off."
And in order to sound natural throughout the sentence, you want to make sure you're stressing
the right part of the phrasal verb, depending on the context.
Let's look at another example: take out.
I went to the library to take out some books.
As you can hear, I'm stressing "out": take out.
I went to the library to take out some books.
This indicates that I'm using the phrasal verb to describe an action.
I went to the library to take out some books.
Now let's turn it into a noun form.
Let's get takeout for dinner tonight.
Can you hear the difference between the verb and noun form?
In verb form, it's "take OUT"; in noun form, it's "TAKE out."
Let's get takeout for dinner tonight.
Here's another example: hang out.
Let's hang out this weekend.
As you can hear, I'm stressing "out": hang out.
Let's hang out this weekend.
Stressing "out" makes it really clear that I'm suggesting an action.
Let's hang out this weekend.
Let's turn it around and make it a noun form.
In college, that was our favorite hangout.
As you can hear, in noun form, I'm stressing the verb: HANG out, HANG out.
In college, that was our favorite hangout.
It's important to understand that when phrasal verbs appear in noun form, they're compound
nouns, which means they're either combined into one word or they're separated by a dash.
When you're reading a text out loud, that makes it easy to understand which word is
a verb and which word is a noun.
Here's another example: log in.
You need to log in to your account.
As you can hear, I'm stressing the particle "in" and that is indicating that this is an action verb.
You need to log in to your account.
Let's turn it around.
I forgot my login for this website.
When we're using the phrasal verb in noun form, you can hear I'm stressing "log."
I forgot my login for this website.
As you can hear in this example, it's very clear from the context, from the words that
appear around the phrasal verb, whether it's a verb form or a noun form.
Next, we have work out.
Are you going to work out after work?
As you can hear, I'm stressing the word "out" and that's making it clear that this is an action verb.
Are you going to work out after work?
I think this phrasal verb is even more common in noun form: workout.
We often describe our workouts.
For example, I really enjoyed my workout today.
I really enjoyed my workout today.
As you can hear, stressing the first word makes it really clear that this is in noun form.
I really enjoyed my workout today.
As you can hear from this example, the context makes it really clear which part of speech
we're using.
We don't usually use a verb after "my."
Next, let's talk about break up or breakup.
Once again, this one is equally common in both versions.
I heard they broke up last month.
As you can hear, I'm conjugating that word "break" into the past tense version "broke,"
but I'm still stressing the particle "up."
I heard they broke up last month.
Naturally, you can use phrasal verbs in all different tenses, and this example shows you
that the particle will still be stressed.
It doesn't matter what tense the verb is in.
I heard they broke up last month.
It may seem a little easier to identify phrasal verbs in past tense forms because you can
clearly hear that the particle is stressed and it sounds different from the noun version.
Here's an example of breakup being used as a noun.
He's been sad since his breakup last year.
In this example, "break" is being stressed.
He's been sad since his breakup last year.
Can you hear the difference when it's being used as a verb or a noun?
Moving on, let's look at check in.
Remember to check in online.
As you can hear, I'm stressing "in" because it's being used as a verb.
Remember to check in online.
Now let's turn it into an adjective.
Let's ask at the check-in counter.
As you can hear, in this example, we're stressing "check."
Let's ask at the check-in counter.
This distinguishes the part of speech and makes it really clear which word we're using.
Let's take a look at set up.
We have to set up the equipment.
As you can hear in the verb version of this phrasal verb, I am stressing up.
We have to set up the equipment.
It makes it really clear that this is an action.
On the other hand, the noun version will sound like this: I like this setup; it's really cool.
I like this setup; it's really cool.
As you can hear, in this case, we're stressing "set."
I like this setup; it's really cool.
Here's another one: take off.
We're waiting for the plane to take off.
As you can hear, we're stressing the word "off," the particle.
We're waiting for the plane to take off.
You probably are familiar with this in noun version as well.
Prepare for takeoff and turn off your phones.
Can you hear that bonus example inside that sentence?
In this case we're saying, "Prepare for takeoff, and turn off your phones."
I'm using takeoff in noun form, and turn off in verb form.
Correctly stressing these phrasal verbs makes it extra clear which word I'm using and what
it's supposed to mean.
Prepare for takeoff and turn off your phones.
Prepare for takeoff, and turn off your phones.
Last, let's look at the phrasal verb "move in."
My new roommate is going to move in this weekend.
As you can hear, I'm stressing "in."
My new roommate is going to move in this weekend.
Let's turn it into an adjective.
When's your move-in date for your new apartment?
As you can hear, changing the stress to "move" makes it an adjective form.
When's your move-in date for your new apartment?
Now that we've had a chance to look at all these examples, I want you to think about
what you heard going on between the two words.
Consider this an introduction to linking and connected speech.
I often emphasize that it's much more important to focus on stress before you worry about
linking and connected speech.
Linking happens as a result of stress, and if you can get stress correct, linking will
start to happen naturally as you continue along your accent reduction journey.
If linking seems a little too challenging at first, focus on the stress.
The stress will help make it easy to understand you.
The linking will help you sound more like a native speaker.
It will help reduce the choppiness in your speech.
But it's something that will come later.
It will come naturally over time the more you speak English.
Focusing on stress is absolutely essential to being understood by native English speakers.
So I encourage you to focus most of your attention there.
When we link words together, as you hear in many of the examples I just talked about,
the last consonant sound will link or join or blend with the vowel sound that follows it.
Instead of pronouncing the phrasal verb "turn on," with a separation between the two words,
turn on, we connect the two words, and it becomes turn on, turn on.
In verb form, turn on will sound like "turNON."
The "n" will join to the vowel sound that follows it, and that will become really clear
and easy to hear because of the stress: turn on, turn on, turn on.
You can hear that "turn" becomes reduced and a little more shortened, because it's not
the stressed syllable of this phrasal verb.
And "non" becomes really clear because the vowel sound should be the clearest and easiest
to understand.
Because of linking, the "n" sound is going to be more dominant than the "tur" part of
that phrasal verb: turn on, turn on, turn on.
Can you hear how those words blend together in order to sound like just one word?
As you get started practicing linking, it's helpful to start with phrasal verbs because
they're so common in speech.
You can hear this linking in the examples I gave earlier.
Turn off, turn off: it sounds like "turNOFF."
And then you may notice a characteristic of American English happening as we link these
words together.
In an example like get up, which has the "t" sound, the "t" sound will link to the following
syllable, and it will turn into a flap "t," like you hear in the word "water."
Get up, get up.
Instead of sounding like "get up," it sounds like "geDUP," like the "d" sound.
Get up, or set up: set up, set up.
You can also hear this in noun form: set up, set up, set up.
Even when we shift the stress, the linking still happens: set up.
Here's another example of linking: move in, move in.
As you can hear it sounds like "moVIN": move in, move in, move in.
Be sure to link the words together.
You don't want to pause between them.
They should sound like one blended word.
Move in, move in, take off, take off, take off, take off.
You can still hear the linking, no matter what part of speech it is.
So let's review what we talked about today.
We talked about how to stress phrasal verbs that are being used to describe actions.
In that case, we're going to stress the second word: give up, turn off.
You can hear the stress is on the particle.
When the phrasal verb is being used as a noun or an adjective, we stress the first word:
set up or workout.
Last but not least, you can hear that native speakers will naturally blend or link the
words together, so they'll sound like just one word: work out, work out, turn on, turn on.
As you can hear, it becomes really clear that the last consonant is linking to the vowel
sound that follows it.
When you have phrasal verbs that end in a consonant and begin in a consonant, there
will be a slight change to how the words are linked, but it's a little more advanced and
we can talk about that in another video.
And just to reiterate what I keep saying, it's so much more important to get the stress
correct than to worry too much about the linking at first.
Just be aware of it.
When you're more sensitive to how linking works, it's much easier to understand native
English speakers.
Now it's your turn!
In the comments, choose a phrasal verb or two that you use all the time.
Use that phrasal verb in a sentence and indicate its part of speech, whether it's a verb, a
noun, or an adjective, by capitalizing that particular word.
I'll let you know how you did.
If you have any other questions about the pronunciation of phrasal verbs, leave a comment
and let me know.
Be sure to check out my other resources on word and sentence stress listed in the description
below the video so that you can start stressing words like a native English speaker.
It will really help you sound that much more natural and be much easier for us to understand you.
Once again, I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
I'm your guide to the essential conversation skills you need to sound more natural in English.
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Have a good one.
Goodbye.