Focused listening library
Business English listening
Practice the phrases and phrasal verbs that make workplace conversations easier to follow.
28 Phrasal Verbs With Take
Take off, take over and take up share one short verb but describe very different actions. Grouping them by idea makes the expressions easier to retrieve than learning a random list.
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Add up
A colleague says the receipts add up, but the explanation does not. The same two words describe two very different judgements.
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Back down
A manager changes a policy after staff challenge it. She does not move backwards, but people say she backed down.
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Back up
A colleague backs you up, research backs up a claim, and software backs up a file. What changes when the object changes?
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Blow away
A performance blows the audience away while a gust blows the programmes away. Emotion and wind create different meanings with the same form.
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Break up
A couple breaks up, a meeting breaks up, and a phone call starts breaking up. Only one involves a romantic relationship.
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Bring about
A small decision can produce a large result. Bring about connects the cause to the change that follows.
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Bring up
You can bring up a difficult topic, bring up a child, or bring up a file on a screen. Context tells you which action is happening.
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Bump into
If you bump into an old friend, you meet unexpectedly. If you bump into a table, the surprise may hurt a little more.
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Burn out
A worker, a campfire and a motor can all burn out, but each one reaches a different kind of end.
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Call off
You can call off a match before it starts, call off a search already in progress, or call a threatening dog off.
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Catch up
Fall behind on a walk, at work or in a friendship, and catch up helps you close the gap in three different ways.
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Chip away
A huge task may not disappear at once, but each small action can chip away at it.
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Come across
You may come across an old photograph, come across as confident, or make sure your main idea comes across clearly.
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Come down with
A scratchy throat and sudden tiredness may make you say, I think I am coming down with something.
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Come up with
When a problem needs a plan, a name or some money, someone has to come up with what is missing.
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Count on
When a plan depends on a reliable person or an expected event, you are counting on them.
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Cut down
You can cut down on coffee, cut a report down to one page, or cut down a damaged tree.
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Cut off
A failed signal can cut off a call, while deep snow can cut off an entire village.
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Do up
Before leaving a renovated house for a party, you might do up your coat and do up a present.
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Drop off
A driver can drop you off, you can drop off during the journey, and traffic can drop off after rush hour.
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Drop out
Starting something does not guarantee finishing it; a student, runner or bidder may drop out before the end.
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Face up to something
Ignoring a problem may delay a decision; facing up to it is the moment you accept that it is real.
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Fill out
You can fill out an application with information, while a young person's face may naturally fill out over time.
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How this practice helps
Practise expressions used when people discuss work, make decisions, or explain a problem.
Choose a workplace topic, read the examples, and listen for the details in a complete sentence.
