So, why are phrasal verbs important?

3. You’ll learn how English is actually spoken

Let me share a funny story with you. I have this friend who studied English at school and also attended English classes with a private tutor. He has a good knowledge of the language, and he’s familiar with phrasal verbs even though he wasn’t confident enough to use them. My friend went on a trip to North Carolina recently, and the first time he had the chance to make some small talk, he noticed that the other person was looking at him strangely. So, he apologized for his ‘bad English’, assuming it was the reason for the guy’s confusion. But the guy said to him jokingly, “Dude, how old are you? You sound like my grandfather!” My friend realized that he was coming across as too formal when speaking in English because of the vocabulary he was using.

Sounding too formal when speaking English

Part of the reason some English learners sound too formal is that they often choose to learn the single-word alternative of the phrasal verb. A lot of the time, the single-word alternative is derived from Latin, which might make it easier for speakers of Romance languages to remember. The thing is, the phrasal verb is almost always more common and less formal than the single-word alternative. That’s why devoting some time to learning phrasal verbs is essential for higher levels of fluency and better communication skills in English.