Phrasal verb:

  1. call someone back
    Transitive, Separable
    Meaning: return a phone call
    Example: I called my friend back, but she didn’t answer.

When someone calls you and you miss the call, and then you call back and they don’t answer, we call this “phone tag.”

Phrasal verb: hang up

  1. hang up
    Intransitive / Transitive, Separable
    Meaning: end a phone call
    Example: He was so angry that he hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Did you know that the average person talks on the phone for about 450 minutes per month.  That’s almost 8 hours.  Which means that on average a person speaks on the phone for 2 hours per week, and 25 minutes per day.  Do you think that you speak more or less than that?

Phrasal verb: work out

  1. work out
    Intransitive
    Meaning:
    to exercise
    Example: She works out at the gym three times a week.

If you don’t have enough time to work out, you can do these activities for 30 minutes instead!

Raking leaves = 147 calories
Gardening = 153 calories
Vacuuming = 119 calories
Kissing = 6 calories per minute!
Sitting and watching television even burns 40 calories an hour!

2.  work out
     Intransitive
     Meaning: to be successful, to solve a problem
     Example: Don’t worry.  Everything will work out fine.

3.  work something out
     Transitive / Separable
     Meaning: to make a calculation
     Example: I need to work out my finances before I purchase the house.

Phrasal verb: break up

  1. break up (with someone)
    Intransitive
    Meaning: end a romantic relationship
    Example: My boyfriend and I broke up after 2 years of dating.

Did you know that two weeks before Christmas and mid-March are the most common times for couples to break up?  And interestingly, more couples break up on Mondays than any other day of the week!

Phrasal verb: break in

  1. break in (to something)
    Intransitive
    Meaning:
    force entry to a building
    Example: Somebody broke in last night and stole our television.

When I was a child, someone broke into my parent’s garage and stole the lawn mower!

2.   break something in
          Transitive / Separable
          Meaning: wear something a few times so that it doesn’t look/feel new
          Example: I need to break in my new sneakers before I run the marathon!

Did you know that a good way to break in soccer cleats is to wear them in the shower?  It seems strange, but it works!