English Phrasal Verbs | Online English Lessons – Part 4

To flag down somebody or something (or flag somebody or something down) is to signal or wave at the driver of a vehicle to get them to stop.   Examples of use: 1. Our camper van broke down on a quiet country road, and we had to flag down a passing motorist and ask for help. 2. It was pouring with rain so we decided to flag down a taxi. 3. The police officer … [Read more…]

To sneak up is to approach a person or an animal without them seeing or hearing you. Often used with ‘on’ – sneak up on   Examples of use: 1. The cat sneaked up on the bird. 2. Don’t sneak up on me like that – you scared me! 3. They sneaked up behind him and nearly gave him a heart attack. 4. Only a Ninja can sneak up on another Ninja If something … [Read more…]

The phrasal verb ‘die back’ is an expression you might hear often in autumn and winter. When a plant dies back, the parts that are above the ground die, but the roots stay alive and the plant grows again in the spring.   Examples of use: 1. Does this plant die back in winter? 2. The garden always looks so untidy when the plants are dying … [Read more…]

1. In autumn or winter, when it gets dark earlier and the days are shorter, it’s common to hear people comment that “the nights are drawing in”. When the days, evenings or nights draw in, it gets dark earlier in the day. Examples of use: a) The evenings are really drawing in now. b) The leaves are changing colour, the nights are drawing in, winter is … [Read more…]

Updated September 2013. Autumn has arrived here in the UK and a new academic year is well under way. I love autumn – it’s my favourite season of the year 🙂 In the northern hemisphere, autumn is the months of September, October and November. In North America and Canada ‘autumn’ is usually called ‘fall’. In the UK the weather becomes colder and leaves start to … [Read more…]