EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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← Phrasal verbs

Lesson 05 / Communication

See friends.

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

Invite friends to hang out, visit and talk about new things.

After this lesson, you can

  • Choose an invitation that fits visiting a home, spending time together, or dating.
  • Describe a friendly relationship and exchange news with an old friend.
  • Distinguish catching up on news with a friend from reaching someone ahead of you.
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
Phúc shyly offers Vy, a girl his own age, a flower and invites her to walk with him in the school garden. The two children have an innocent crush on each other.
Phúc shyly offers Vy, a girl his own age, a flower and invites her to walk with him in the school garden. The two children have an innocent crush on each other.

ask out

He wants to ask her out for dinner.

Read the example again

He wants to ask her out for dinner.

I was nervous when I asked him out.

Read the example again

I was nervous when I asked him out.

View meaning & usage

Invite someone to go on a date

ask someone outask someone out for dinner

“Ask out” often means a date, not just any invitation to go out.

Cambridge Dictionary · ask out

Haven't studied yet
A friend stands at the door and waves to Phúc, who is welcoming the visitor.
A friend stands at the door and waves to Phúc, who is welcoming the visitor.

come over

Would you like to come over after work?

Read the example again

Would you like to come over after work?

My cousins are coming over for lunch.

Read the example again

My cousins are coming over for lunch.

View meaning & usage

Visit someone at home

come overcome over for a mealcome over to my place

“Come over” here means to visit, usually to the speaker's house.

Cambridge Dictionary · come over

Haven't studied yet
Two friends sat on a park bench, drinking water and chatting.
Two friends sat on a park bench, drinking water and chatting.

hang out

We hang out at the park on Saturdays.

Read the example again

We hang out at the park on Saturdays.

I like hanging out with my school friends.

Read the example again

I like hanging out with my school friends.

View meaning & usage

Spend relaxed time in a place or with other people

hang outhang out with someonehang out at a place

This is an informal way of talking about being together to relax, without needing a specific activity.

Cambridge Dictionary · hang out

Haven't studied yet
The two housemates happily cooperated in preparing a meal.
The two housemates happily cooperated in preparing a meal.

get along with

I get along with my new roommate.

Read the example again

I get along with my new roommate.

Do you get along with your neighbours?

Read the example again

Do you get along with your neighbours?

View meaning & usage

Have a friendly relationship with someone

get along with someoneget along well

Keep this three-word expression together. Put the person after “with”.

Cambridge Dictionary · get along with

Haven't studied yet
Two long-time friends met again, drinking coffee and looking at new photos on their phones.
Two long-time friends met again, drinking coffee and looking at new photos on their phones.

catch up with

I want to catch up with my old friends this weekend.

Read the example again

I want to catch up with my old friends this weekend.

We had coffee and caught up with each other.

Read the example again

We had coffee and caught up with each other.

View meaning & usage

Talk with someone and exchange recent news

catch up with someonecatch up over coffee

In the context of friends, this is a meeting to update new stories; different from the meaning of catching up.

Cambridge Dictionary · catch up with

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 7, 26, 61, 49, 20. 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

    Would you like to come over on Saturday?

    Read the example again

    Would you like to come over on Saturday?

  2. Alex

    Yes. We can hang out and catch up with each other.

    Read the example again

    Yes. We can hang out and catch up with each other.

  3. Mai

    My new flatmate will be there. We get along with each other very well.

    Read the example again

    My new flatmate will be there. We get along with each other very well.

  4. Alex

    Is Sam coming too?

    Read the example again

    Is Sam coming too?

  5. Mai

    No. He asked someone out, and they are having dinner together.

    Read the example again

    No. He asked someone out, and they are having dinner together.

Compare the uses

Invitations carry different meanings

“Come over” usually means visit a home; “hang out” means spend time together informally. “Ask someone out” often suggests a date, so it does not replace every invitation to friends.

Relationships and news

“Get along with someone” describes a friendly relationship. With an old friend, “catch up with someone” means exchange news since the last meeting; in a race, it can mean reach someone ahead of you.

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 neighbour invites three families to her flat. Separately, Ben wants a romantic dinner with Jo.

  1. Which invitation is a visit to someone’s home?

    Show the answer and explanation

    The neighbour is inviting the families to come over.

    The neighbour invites people to her own flat, so “come over” describes the home visit.

  2. Complete Ben’s request: May I ask you ___ on a date?

    Show the answer and explanation

    out

    “On a date” makes the romantic meaning of “ask you out” explicit; “you” precedes “out”.

  3. Write a group invitation without suggesting a date.

    Show the answer and explanation

    Would you like to hang out with our neighbours on Sunday?

    “With our neighbours” identifies a group activity; “hang out” does not suggest a private romantic date.

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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