In this English lesson, I'll teach you
12 phrasal verbs that you can use at work. The first phrasal verb
that I want to teach you that you can use at work
is to run something by someone. Now, this does not involve
running in any way. Instead, what this means is
maybe you have an idea or you want to change
how something is done at work. But before you can use that idea,
you need to get permission from your manager or your boss. You need to run it by them. So in English,
when you run something by someone, you go to someone
like your boss or manager and you explain your idea
or you explain what you want to change. And then they say, Go ahead. Sounds like a great idea. Or maybe they say, No bad idea. So to run something by
someone is to explain a new idea or a change
you want to make to seek their permission. The second phrasal verb that you can use
at work is to look after something. At work there are little jobs and tasks
that need to be done, and the person who looks after something
is the person who does that actual work. Sometimes at school we go on field trips. In order to go on a field trip
someone needs to order a bus. Someone needs to call the bus company
and say we need a bus next week Tuesday for 45 students. So in a meeting,
someone might say, I'll look after that. I will be the person who calls the bus
company. I will do that small job or small task. So in English, when you look after
something, it means you're the person who's going to do that job. So the third phrasal verb you can use at
work is to fill in for someone. When you fill in for someone,
you do their job for them because they can't make it to work
that day, or maybe because they're sick. So maybe your boss comes to you and says,
I know you have Saturday off, but can you fill in for John on Saturday
because he can't make it in for his shift? At my job, sometimes the boss comes
and says, Can you fill in for Fred today? He is at home sick. So I might have to teach
Fred's class as well as my own. It's a lot of extra work. So in English,
when you fill in for someone at work, it means you're doing their job for them
because they can't make it to work for some reason. The fourth phrasal verb that you can use at work
is to reach out to someone. And this simply means to contact someone. Maybe you need to phone them
or text them or send them an email. Maybe you work at a company that has
offices in different parts of the world. And during a meeting,
someone says someone should tell the people in the office in France
about this new idea. And you could say,
Oh, I'll reach out to them. That means you will contact them. You will give them a phone call. You will send them a text message
or you will send them an email and give them an update about
some new idea that you were talking about. So in English, the phrasal verb
to reach out to someone simply means to contact them. The fifth phrasal verb you can use at work
is to deal with something. When you deal with something, it means you are going to fix something
or solve a problem. Maybe two employees are fighting. They're arguing with each other. You could go and deal with it. You could say, Hey, please calm down. Let's talk nicely to each other
and get back to work. Maybe a machine has broken on the factory
floor and someone has to go fix it. You could say, Oh, I'll go deal with it. That means you're going to go. You're going to figure out
what the problem is and you're going to solve it. So in English, when you use the phrasal
verb to deal with something, it means you're going to be the person
that solves the problem or fixes it. The sixth phrasal verb you can use at work
is to take on. When you take on something,
it means you agree to do it. Sometimes people will call Jen
and ask if she will provide flowers for their wedding. Jen needs to decide if she has the time
and if she has enough flowers to take on that job. Maybe at your work someone has called and
asked your company to build ten houses. You need to decide if you have the time
and the resources and enough people to take on that project. So in English, when you take on something,
it means that you agree to do it. So let's do phrasal verbs
number seven and eight together. They are to fall behind and to catch up. When you fall behind, it means
you're not getting enough work done. Maybe you need to have a job
done by Friday and it's Thursday night and you realize you need two more days to finish it
because you have started to fall behind. Then you need to catch up. To catch up means to work longer hours
or to work faster to get a job done. This happens to be at school sometimes. Sometimes I fall behind in my grading. I have a stack of tests
that I need to grade, and then I need to stay up
late to catch up because I know that
I need to get them done by the next day. So when you fall behind,
it means a job isn't going as fast as you wanted it to and you
probably won't get it done on time. And to catch up means to work harder
so that you do get something done on time. The ninth phrasal verb that you can use at
work is to wrap something up. When you wrap something up, it doesn't
mean you're putting wrapping paper on it like a Christmas present. It means you're finishing something. When I'm grading tests, when I get to
the last test, I can wrap up my grading. I'm done all of my grading. When you're working on a project at work,
when you get to the last two or three things, it's fun to wrap it up
by finishing those last things. You'll hear me use this during my live
English lessons as well. At the end
I'll say, okay, I'm going to wrap this up. I'm going to answer
one or two more questions and then we are going to hit the stop
button. So when you wrap something up,
it means that you're going to finish it. The 10th phrasal verb that you can use at
work is to slack off. I do not like it when people slack off. If you slack off at work,
it means you're not working hard or you're not working at all. When I was younger, I used to work with
someone who would slack off all the time. I would be working really hard
and they would just be sitting and drinking a coffee
when they were supposed to be working. I do not like it when coworkers slack off. So in English, if you are at work
and you see someone who's not working hard or not working at all
when they're supposed to be working, you would
then say that they are slacking off. The 11th phrasal verb you can use at work
is to follow through. When you follow through with something,
it means you do it from start to end. You are very diligent,
you are hardworking, and you do a good job
from the beginning to the end. It's very important when people order flowers from us
that we follow through with the order. That we take the order. We communicate well and we deliver
all the flowers they wanted at the end. Jen has a very good reputation for being someone
who follows through with all her orders. She doesn't ever cancel orders
or forget things in her orders. She's very, very diligent. She's very good at following through. The 12th phrasal verb you can use at work
is to point out, and this means to mention something or say
something in a meeting or conversation. Maybe at your work
you make boxes, and in a meeting someone says, we're going to produce twice
as many boxes next month and sell more. You might point out that the box
making machines are really old and they might break more
if the company decides to do that. Maybe someone says, we're going to start
selling our boxes in another country. And you might point out that that country
has very strict import laws and it might be difficult
to get the boxes to that country. So at work, if you point something out,
it simply means that you say something or you mention something in a conversation
or in a meeting. Well, thank you so much for watching this
English lesson about phrasal verbs you can use at work. I hope you learned a few new phrases
that you can use in your next English conversation. If this is your first time here, don't
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