Do you know what a phrasal verb is and how it is used? Professor Roly Sussex explains language in simple terms.
A phrasal consists of a verb and another bit, sometimes called a preposition.
But it is not as straight forward as the description suggests; the English language has a way of making simple meanings hard to understand.
As demonstrated in the following examples:
You lock people up in prison but if there is trouble you lock them down.
You turn in and out when square dancing, but to turn someone in is to tell the authorities about them, and if that's a surprise it's a turn up for the books.
Roly explains that while the phrases are useful, some have many meanings that can be confusing.
Each week, Professor Roly Sussex's language segment with 612 ABC Brisbane's Kelly Higgins-Devine is available as a podcast.
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