EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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← Phrasal verbs

Lesson 64 / Hobbies & choices

Choose a new club.

5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.

Sign up for activities, opt in, and realize missed opportunities.

After this lesson, you can

  • Use this lesson’s expressions to talk about the situation introduced above.
  • Distinguish “opt out” and “miss out” in context.
  • Use “fill out” in a sentence connected to your own situation.
Practice and check your answers →

Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →

A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.

Phrase 1 / 5Understand context
Khoa filling out club registration form, with Minh next to him.
Khoa filling out club registration form, with Minh next to him.

fill out

Fill out this form to join the art club.

Read the example again

Fill out this form to join the art club.

I filled the registration form out with my teacher’s help.

Read the example again

I filled the registration form out with my teacher’s help.

View meaning & usage

Fill in the form

fill out somethingfill something out

Close to the meaning of “fill in” in the previous lesson; “fill out” is often used in American English for filling out a form.

Haven't studied yet
Khoa actively chooses not to play noisy games and chooses to be quieter.
Khoa actively chooses not to play noisy games and chooses to be quieter.

opt out

I opted out of the noisy game and chose a quiet activity.

Read the example again

I opted out of the noisy game and chose a quiet activity.

You can opt out if this activity is not for you.

Read the example again

You can opt out if this activity is not for you.

View meaning & usage

Choose not to participate in an activity

opt outopt out of something

Emphasize the active choice not to participate; different from accidentally missing in “miss out”.

Cambridge Dictionary · opt out

Haven't studied yet
Khoa arrives after the craft session has ended and feels disappointed about missing the opportunity.
Khoa arrives after the craft session has ended and feels disappointed about missing the opportunity.

miss out

I arrived too late and missed out on the craft workshop.

Read the example again

I arrived too late and missed out on the craft workshop.

Book a place early so you do not miss out.

Read the example again

Book a place early so you do not miss out.

View meaning & usage

Missed opportunities / interesting things

miss outmiss out on something

You don't get good opportunities or experiences; not necessarily actively refused.

Cambridge Dictionary · miss out

Haven't studied yet
Khoa finally chose the art club after comparing three picture cards.
Khoa finally chose the art club after comparing three picture cards.

settle on

After trying three clubs, I settled on the art club.

Read the example again

After trying three clubs, I settled on the art club.

We have settled on a name for our club.

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We have settled on a name for our club.

View meaning & usage

Finally choose after consideration

settle on someone / something

Emphasize coming to the final choice after consideration; Close to the meaning of “decide on”, not the emotional stability in “settle down”.

Haven't studied yet
Khoa was explained by his friend and agreed to try the art club.
Khoa was explained by his friend and agreed to try the art club.

talk into

My friend talked me into trying the art club.

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My friend talked me into trying the art club.

I talked my brother into joining our drawing game.

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I talked my brother into joining our drawing game.

View meaning & usage

Convince someone to agree to do something

talk someone into somethingtalk someone into doing something

The person being persuaded stands between “talk” and “into”. After “into” use a noun or -ing form.

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 45, 92, 87, 115, 130. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.

OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH

Match phrases to pictures

Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.

Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.

A conversation in context

Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.

  1. Mai

    Can I opt out of the overnight trip?

    Read the example again

    Can I opt out of the overnight trip?

  2. Alex

    Yes. You will not miss out on the daytime activities.

    Read the example again

    Yes. You will not miss out on the daytime activities.

  3. Mai

    Thanks. I have settled on the art club instead.

    Read the example again

    Thanks. I have settled on the art club instead.

Compare the uses

opt out / miss out

“Opt out” means choose not to participate; “miss out” means lose an enjoyable or useful opportunity. Not participating may be a choice rather than a lack of opportunity.

Practice and check your answers

Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.

The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.

A situation to apply what you have learned

A club offers optional camping and a daytime workshop. A member refuses camping but wants the workshop place.

  1. Describe the camping decision.

    Show the answer and explanation

    She opts out of the camping trip.

    Camping is optional, so “opts out of” expresses a decision not to participate.

  2. Complete: I do not want to miss ___ on the workshop.

    Show the answer and explanation

    out

    “Miss out on the workshop” means lose the chance to attend; keep “out on” before the activity.

  3. Write a clear preference using settle on.

    Show the answer and explanation

    I have settled on the daytime workshop instead of camping.

    “Settled on” confirms the daytime workshop instead of camping, rather than declining all club activities.

The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.

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