English · Stage 5

Phrasal Verbs

Vocabulary — a verb + a little particle teams up to make a brand-new meaning

✦ English📘 Stage 5 · S5⏱ ~10 min🧒 Ages 9–10★ Free to start

I can understand and use common phrasal verbs such as give up and look after.

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Kavi and the Teaming-Up Words

"Something funny is going on with these words!" said Kavi. "Someone told me, don't give up — but nobody gave anything! And my friend looks after her puppy, yet she never looks behind her. These are phrasal verbs: a verb grabs a little word — a particle like up, after or off — and together they make a whole new meaning. Give up = quit. Look after = take care of. The trick is: don't read the two words on their own — read them as one team!"

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What your child will learn

1Verb + particle = a new meaning (not the literal words)A phrasal verb is a verb joined to a little word called a particle (up, after, off, out, on, away…). Together they team up to make a new meaning. Do NOT read the two words separately — 'give up' is not 'give' + 'up'. Read them as ONE word with ONE meaning.

2Five phrasal verbs you'll use every dayTap each card to hear it. Each one is a verb + a particle that team up to mean something new.

3give up vs give backBoth start with the verb 'give', but the little particle changes everything. Tap each card.

4Hear the team-up meaningTap each line to hear it. Spot the phrasal verb and think about the new meaning it makes.

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A peek inside

In the sentence 'Please look after my dog,' what does 'look after' mean?

'look after' is a phrasal verb → read it as a team, not as 'look' + 'after'. The team means take care of.

Try this at home: A phrasal verb is a verb plus a little particle. Does it mean the two words added up, or a new meaning?

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Part of English · Stage 5 · S5 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.