As someone who is very interested in how language evolves, changes and adapts to different situations; this pandemic has been a very sad but interesting time. Especially if I put myself in the shoes of an English language learner.
Over the course of just a few months, a whole new set of vocabulary has entered the public dialogue.
There are some words and acronyms which may not have been overly familiar to native English speakers, so I know that there must be at least some which were completely new for English learners!
Take a look at these:
Epidemiological
Mitigate
Cluster
Hot spot
Stockpile
PPE
Herd immunity
Underlying
Asymptomatic
These are just a few examples of the language which we have all had to get used to, very quickly!
Aside from the scientific vocabulary, there has also been a pattern of phrasal verbs which has emerged.
I know that many of you reading this blog are between the intermediate - advanced levels of English and so phrasal verbs are an integral part of your improvement. They are just so useful and help you to sound very natural!
So, today let's investigate six phrasal verbs which you will have heard during this pandemic. The aim is to ensure that you feel comfortable and confident both listening to and using these in your own conversations!
#1 Stay away
TOP TIP: Remember that you will need to conjugate the verb depending on which tense you are using but you don't need to change 'away'. Luckily it's easy to use the perfect tenses with this one because the past participle of 'stay' is stayed!
Stay / Stayed / Stayed
Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
We are staying away from shopping centres.
We had stayed away from each other for two months until the restrictions were relaxed.
I will have to stay away from there for a few days.
#2 Get back to
You will also hear people say 'go back to' however this puts more emphasis on the place you are leaving whereas 'get back to' puts more emphasis on the place you will be going.
Examples:
I hate this hotel, let's go back to the first one we saw online.
I want to get back to skiing when this pandemic is over.
#3 Put on
The examples in the image above demonstrate how some phrasal verbs are separable, we can split them and put the direct object in the middle.
Examples:
Please put your gloves on before you enter the shop.
Please put on your gloves before you enter the shop
#4 Pull through
Something else which may be new here for you is the expression 'touch and go'. We use this expression to talk about outcomes which are possible but unlikely. Often if someone is severely ill, the medical staff might describe the situation as 'touch and go'. They are not sure if the sick person will make it.
Some synonyms of pull through are:
To recover
To make it
To get better
To get well
#5 Crack down on
This is an interesting phrasal verb and one that I have heard many many times since this pandemic began!
To what extent the police should crack down on people who are breaking the lockdown rules has been a controversial subject over the last few weeks. One way that the police in Spain have been cracking down on people is by making them pay fines if they are caught socialising in groups where or when they shouldn't be.
What do you think?
#6 Check in with
In one of my recent blog posts we discussed the common idiom 'every cloud has a silver lining'. I think that one of the silver linings of this pandemic has been that many people have shown kindness to others.
I have heard stories of people helping the elderly with their online shopping, checking in with neighbours through their windows and sending heart warming messages to friends and family.
I hope these phrasal verbs have been helpful and that you will use them yourself in the near future!
Good luck!
Your English teacher,
Mitch
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