EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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← Phrasal verbs

Lesson 01 / In the kitchen

A dinner at home.

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

From preparing food to cleaning the kitchen, talk about small everyday things in English.

After this lesson, you can

  • Use this lesson’s expressions to talk about the situation introduced above.
  • Distinguish “chop up” and “heat up” in context.
  • Use “turn off” 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
An chops tomatoes on a cutting board, with small pieces of tomato beside her.
How do tomatoes change on the cutting board?

chop up

I'm making a salad. Could you chop up these tomatoes?

Read the example again

I'm making a salad. Could you chop up these tomatoes?

Chop the onions up before you fry them.

Read the example again

Chop the onions up before you fry them.

View meaning & usage

Cut or chop into small pieces

chop up + somethingchop + something + upchop it / them up

This phrasal verb is separable. An object pronoun must go between the verb and particle: “chop them up”, not “chop up them”.

Cambridge Dictionary · chop up

Haven't studied yet
An stirs a steaming pot of soup on the stove, beside a container of leftover soup.
The soup is cold. What is An doing to prepare dinner?

heat up

The soup is cold. Can you heat it up?

Read the example again

The soup is cold. Can you heat it up?

I'll heat up the rice while you make the salad.

Read the example again

I'll heat up the rice while you make the salad.

View meaning & usage

Heat or warm up

heat up + somethingheat + something + upheat it up

“Heat it up” means to warm it up. In this context, “up” does not mean to move up.

Cambridge Dictionary · heat up

Haven't studied yet
An pressed the light switch when leaving the kitchen.
Dinner is finished. Why does An press the switch before leaving the kitchen?

turn off

Please turn off the kitchen light when you leave.

Read the example again

Please turn off the kitchen light when you leave.

The oven is still on. I'll turn it off.

Read the example again

The oven is still on. I'll turn it off.

View meaning & usage

Switch off a device or light

turn off + somethingturn + something + offturn it off

Antonym in device context: “turn on”. The pronoun “it” comes between the verb and “off”.

Haven't studied yet
An uses a sponge to wash dishes at the sink; Clean plates are stacked on shelves.
After dinner, what needs to be done to the plates?

wash up

You cooked dinner, so I'll wash up.

Read the example again

You cooked dinner, so I'll wash up.

We can wash up the plates after dessert.

Read the example again

We can wash up the plates after dessert.

View meaning & usage

Wash the dishes (British English)

wash upwash up + the disheswash the dishes up

The meaning of “washing dishes” is common in British English. American English often say “do the dishes”; “wash up” can refer to washing hands/face.

Haven't studied yet
An puts clean dishes in a cabinet with neat stacks of dishes.
The plates are clean and dry. Where does An put them?

put away

The plates are dry. Please put them away.

Read the example again

The plates are dry. Please put them away.

Let's put away the bowls before we sit down.

Read the example again

Let's put away the bowls before we sit down.

View meaning & usage

Put something back where it belongs

put away + somethingput + something + awayput it / them away

In this lesson, "put away" means to put things in their place, not to throw them away. With “them”, use “put them away”.

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 22, 63, 134, 138, 101. 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

    Could you chop up the carrots for our salad?

    Read the example again

    Could you chop up the carrots for our salad?

  2. Alex

    Yes. Shall I heat up the soup as well?

    Read the example again

    Yes. Shall I heat up the soup as well?

  3. Mai

    Please do, then turn off the cooker and put the bowls away.

    Read the example again

    Please do, then turn off the cooker and put the bowls away.

Compare the uses

chop up / heat up

“Chop up” makes ingredients into smaller pieces; “heat up” makes food hotter. Name the item clearly when asking for both tasks.

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

Your cousin is packing a picnic. The fruit pieces are too large and yesterday’s rice is cold.

  1. Give one instruction about the fruit.

    Show the answer and explanation

    Chop up the fruit before packing it.

    The fruit pieces are too large, so use “chop up” to make them smaller before packing.

  2. Replace “the rice” with “it”: Heat up the rice.

    Show the answer and explanation

    Heat it up.

    “It” refers to the cold rice and goes between “heat” and “up”: “heat it up”.

  3. Tell your cousin what to do with the unused plates.

    Show the answer and explanation

    Put the unused plates away in the cupboard.

    The unused plates go into the cupboard; “put away” means store them, not throw them away.

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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