Hi. Welcome again to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam.
In today's lesson, we're going to look at phrasal verbs again. I know everybody likes
these. I've heard all the comments. So again, what are phrasal verbs? Phrasal verbs are
a combination of a verb and a preposition that together have a very different meaning
than the two words by themselves. Today's phrasal verbs are going to be with the verb
"fall". "Fall apart", "fall out", "fall behind", "fall for", "fall through", "fall in", "fall in
with", "fall back", "fall back on". Different meanings to "in" and "in with",
"back, and "back on". So let's start. "Fall apart" -- two meanings we're going to
look at today. The first one is, basically, come apart or disintegrate or break off. So
if any of you have ever cooked ribs -- do you like ribs? You know, like, big stack of
ribs. Boil them. Put them on the barbecue. Cook them really, really well. Then, the meat
just falls apart, just falls off the bone. Very, very delicious. Another meaning of "fall
apart" is to have a nervous breakdown. Excuse me. A "nervous breakdown" would be -- when
someone has a "nervous breakdown" -- I'm sorry -- we say they have "fallen apart". They have
lost control of themselves emotionally. So an example. When does a person fall apart? For
example, if I had a girlfriend for a very, very long time, and one day she comes home
and she says, "Bye. I'm leaving." Maybe I'll go crazy. I'll fall apart. I won't be able
to work. I won't be able to sleep. I won't be able to do anything. That's not necessarily
the way things would happen, but for some people, that's how it happens.
They just fall apart. Okay. "Fall out" -- so I'm walking down the
street. I'm happy. I'm bouncing around. Something falls out of my pocket. Basically, it comes
out and falls to the ground. That's the very basic term, "fall out". Another meaning for "fall
out" is when you have a fight or a quarrel with someone. You talk about something; you
get into a disagreement; you fight; and then, you don't speak to each other anymore. So
basically, you had a "falling out" -- if you want the noun of it. A "falling out", a fight.
Okay? So a "falling out", a fight. Another meaning -- a third meaning -- is basically
consequences. For example, in a war, there's a big bomb dropped somewhere, and then all
the fall out -- all the things that fell out -- then, all the results. "The fall out for
this attack was that many people were left homeless or that many people were killed or
that the fight extended." So the "fall out" means the result or the consequence of something
that happened, usually something bad. And then, the consequences,
of course, are also bad. "Fall behind" -- again, more than one meaning.
The first meaning of "fall behind" means to be a little bit behind. All my friends are
walking. I'm walking with my friends. They're walking fast, and I start to fall behind.
So another word is "lag". "Lag" means to be behind, not keep pace with. We also use this
when we talk about debts. Like, for example, you have to pay bills. Every month, the phone
company sends you a bill. Then you pay it and you pay it. But one month, you missed.
So then, the next month, you have to pay the last month's bill and this month's bill. But
you don't have enough money, so you let a little bit more go. Now, you're starting to
fall behind on your payments. Eventually, the bank will come and take your phone, take
your car, take your puppy -- whatever you have that's worth any money. That's basically
"fall behind". Of course, if I drop this here, it will fall behind me.
But that's too simple. "Fall for" -- a couple of interesting meanings.
"Fall for" -- one, when you "fall for something" or "fall for someone" means you basically
fall in love. Okay? I went to the bar. I met this girl. I just "fell for" her right then
and there. I fell in love. I lost control. I wanted this person. But then, her friend
came and told me that for $50, he will give me her phone number. So I gave him $50, and
he ran away. I "fell for" his trick. Okay? So "fall for" means believe something that
is not true. Okay? If you are that type of person, you are gullible. I think I spelled
that right. I'll have to check that later. "Fall for" means believe in a trick or believe
in something that is not true, or fall in love. "Fall through" -- "fall through" means when
you have a plan or you try to do something, but then at the end, it just didn't work.
Your attempt failed, so it "fell through". So last month, I made vacation plans to go
to Florida. And then, at the last minute, my boss told me, "No. You have to come into
work because there's an emergency. We need you to do something." So my plans "fell through"
-- fell through the floor, basically, and didn't come out. Now, if you're walking along
the street again and there's a sewer where the water goes in after the rain and you drop
your key and they "fall through" the hole -- so "fall through". That's
a simple explanation. "Fall in" -- this is more, like, military. When
a drill sergeant says, "Fall in", everybody stands in line in a straight line. We all
fall in line. It also basically means "get with the program" or do what you're supposed
to do. In a company, a boss, for example a supervisor, wants all his staff to "fall in
line" with the program. He wants everybody to understand and follow what is needed to
be done. "Fall in with" -- basically, it's the same idea. It means you follow something,
but you do it unintentionally. Okay? So for example, if you fall in with the wrong people,
you somehow joined these people that you didn't really want to, but somehow, it happened. So
when you hear about gangs in America, for example, a lot of these kids who join gangs
basically fell in with these people because that's what was around them, and now, they're
part of the gang; they're gangsters. They didn't want to be, but they fell in with the
wrong people who pulled them into the gang. "Fall back" -- again, I could fall back or
backwards -- both okay. "Fall back" and "fall back on" are two different things. "Fall back
on" -- for example, I'm a teacher. But if for some reason, I couldn't teach anymore,
I also went to chef school. I know how to cook. So I can always fall back on my cooking
skills to get a job. So it's like "rely", "rely on something". I always have a backup,
something that I can do if something else doesn't work. I can fall back on that. "Fall
back" also means, like, get behind, for example in bills, payments, or bills. "I fell back
on my payments. I have to catch up now." So there you go. Some phrasal verbs for "fall".
By the way, this was a request -- a couple of requests for this. And that's why we have
them here. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section on EngVid. Do
the quiz, and I'll see you again soon.
