Feifei:  (Reading) Put off 推迟。 Put out 扑灭。 Put away 收好，拿开。Hmm. 

Do you put off going to the dentist?

 
Finn:  Oh hi, Feifei, what are you up to?
 
Feifei:  Oh hi Finn. Oh just checking up on my phrasal verbs, there are so many!
 
Finn:  I know – and we do use a lot of them in English. Well, good luck. 
 
Feifei:  Thanks Finn. 
 
短语动词 phrasal verbs，也就是一个动词和像  in, out, up这些词搭配后组成不同意思的短语。 
 
Finn:  Yes, and unfortunately for English learners you do hear a lot of these in spoken, informal English. Three common and seemingly similar endings are off, out and away.
 
Feifei:  我们的听友Rose 想知道是不是记住和off, out, away 搭配的短语动词的唯一方法就是死记硬背每一个词组的意思？有没有一些规则可以帮助我们区分这些短语动词呢？
 
Finn:  Well, sadly, Feifei I'm going to have to say right now that there are no rules and no shortcuts 没有规则没有捷径，sorry!
 
Feifei:  That's helpful Finn!
 
Finn:  Sometimes the same ending can even indicate very different things. For example, listen to this:
 
Example
 
Off.
 
Kick off.
 
The meeting kicked off at 2:30.
 
Feifei:    Kick off 的意思是开始。 
 
Finn:    So, can we say that phrasal verbs ending in off usually have something to do with beginning or starting? 
 
 
Example
 
Off.
 
Clock off.
 
The workers clocked off at 5pm.
 
Feifei:    Clock off 的意思就是下班。
 
Finn:    Ah so kick off means to start, or begin and clock off means quite the opposite – to finish working. So off can also indicate things like leaving, completing or success.
 
Feifei:  我明白你的意思了Finn, 就是说短语动词很难很不好掌握因为没有什么规则可循。So what about some tips to help people learn them?
 
Finn:  Well I do have three tips. The first one is to always remember each new phrasal verb in a good sentence. Now this also helps you get the grammar right. Look at these two different meanings of the phrasal verb put off:
 
Example
 
Put off 使某人摆脱某事
 
Tim really wanted to become a dancer, but he was put off by the idea of training so much.
 
Put off 推迟
 
Sheila hated going to the dentist so she put it off and put it off, until she couldn't put it off any longer.
 
Feifei:  在一个有上下语境的句中学习短语动词是一个很不错的方法。
 
Finn:  Tip two is to try to remember a few words that go with your phrasal verb.
 
Example
 
Put out 熄灭
 
Cigarette, fire. To put out a cigarette. He put out the fire.
 
Put away 把某事收起
 
Dishes, clothes. He put away his clothes. She put away the dishes.
 
Feifei:  还有就是在学习一个短语动词时可以记一些可以和这些动词搭配的词，尤其是第一次遇见这个词的时候。Now Finn, did you say you had one more tip?
 
Finn:  Yes. Ok one more tip, try to learn new phrasal verbs in groups, ok, by grouping them. So you could do this by the first verb:
 
Example
 
Go
 
Go out 离开，出去
Go away 离开，外出
Go off 不再喜欢，变质
 
Finn:  Or by the ending, as in these slang words:
 
Example
 
Out
 
Chill out 放松一下
Freak out 抓狂，疯掉了
Hang out 闲荡
 
Finn:  Or by theme, as in all of these phrasal verbs, which are to do with phoning:
 
Example
 
Hang up 挂电话
Call back 回电话
Hold on 稍等
 
Feifei:  短语动词使用起来比较复杂，不过千万不要泄气，多记多练，一定可以完全掌握。同时也希望这期节目对你有所帮助。
 
Finn:  Yes, as always, practise is the key. So try to get a feel for the different endings – even though as we've said they can mean some very different things.
 
Feifei:  如果你也有关于英语语法的问题，请发邮件到 questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.  
 
Finn:  That's right. So, until next time, good bye!
 
Feifei:  Bye. 

This week's question comes from Rose who wants some help learning phrasal verbs.

She noticed that some phrasal verbs have similar endings, such as off, out and away, and wonders whether this means phrasal verbs with these endings have similar meanings.

Finn said that unfortunately phrasal verbs with similar endings can mean very different things.

For example both these phrasal verbs end in off.

Kick off 开始
Clock off 下班

But they mean very different things. Kick off means to begin, while clock off means to finish working.

Tricky?

Sadly there are few shortcuts to learning phrasal verbs. But Finn offers three learning strategies to help you.

Here they are:

1. Learn new phrasal verbs in a sentence.

Put off 推迟

Sheila hated going to the dentist so she put it off and put it off, until she couldn't put it off any longer.

2. Try to learn words that go together with your phrasal verb.

Put out 熄灭

Cigarette, fire. To put out a cigarette. He put out the fire.

3. Learn phrasal verbs in groups, for example:

3.1 By first verb - GO

Go out 离开，出去
Go away 离开，外出
Go off 不再喜欢，变质

3.2 Or by ending - OUT

Chill out 放松一下
Freak out 抓狂，疯掉了
Hang out 闲荡

3.3 Or by theme - USING THE PHONE

Hang up 挂电话
Call back 回电话
Hold on 稍等

We hope this helps you with learning phrasal verbs. If you have any other questions, please email them to questions@chinaelt.bbc.co.uk

Glossary 词汇

phrasal verbs 短语动词
endings 结尾
tricky 困难
shortcuts 捷径
learning strategies 学习策略
theme 题目