Recommended Level: Intermediate (B1) to Advanced (C1)
This page is intended to be a resource for English learners and teachers. You can practice answering these phrasal verb conversation questions by yourself or with a partner. You can also write the answers in a notebook, in a digital document, or in the comments section below. To help learners feel more confident and to develop grammatical accuracy, the warm-up questions have some suggested answer beginnings, which makes them ideal for students who are practicing phrasal verbs for the first time. For more challenging questions, move on to the "Let's go!" section.
Warm-up
What time did you wake up this morning? (become awake; stop sleeping)
This morning, I woke up at...
What time do usually get out of bed on the weekend? (leave)
On the weekend, I usually get out of bed at/around...
What do you usually put on first in the morning? Your socks or your shirt? (place on your body)
Usually, I put on my _____ first.
In your culture, are people expected to take off their shoes when they enter someone's home? (remove)
Yes, they are. / Yes, people are expected to...
No, they aren't. / No, people don't have to...
When was the last time you got on an airplane? (entered)
The last time I got on an airplane was...
How often do you plug in your phone to charge it? (connect to an electrical outlet)
I plug in my phone to charge it...
Do you shut down your phone before you go to sleep, or do you just put it on silent mode? (turn off the power; also, "shut off")
Do you need to pick up anything from the grocery store this week? (acquire/buy)
Yes, I need to pick up...
No, I don't. / No, I don't need to pick up anything.
Do you plan to go out or to stay in this weekend? (go outside of your home for pleasure, or stay at home)
This weekend, I plan to...
What is an event or day that you are looking forward to right now? (anticipating with pleasure; feeling excited about something in the future)
I'm looking forward to [the weekend / my vacation / tomorrow...].
Let's go! Phrasal Verb Conversation Questions!
When you were a teenager, how late did you stay up on weekends? (remain awake)
Do you ever sleep in? (wake up at a later time than usual)
In terms of character, whom do you take after more: your mother, your father, or someone else in your family? (resemble or follow)
How quickly do you get back to people when they message you? (reply to)
How did you find out about this page? (learn)
Do you ever give away your old clothes? (donate or give to someone for free)
When you were in [primary/elementary] school, did you have to stand up for a song, poem, or prayer at the beginning of the day? (stand)
Have you ever driven a car until it was completely out of gas? (empty of; the state of having nothing because it has been depleted or fully used)
What's going on in the news these days? (happening)
Turn around! What or who do you see? (turn 180 degrees; look behind you)
Picture Practice! What are they doing?
Use these phrasal verbs to describe the pictures: get over (recover from), put on (place on one's body), hang out (spend time casually), look forward to (anticipate), save up (save money for a purpose), clean up (clean, tidy, organize), take off (remove from one's body), take out (take outside), put away (put in the appropriate place), pick out (pick, choose, select from multiple options).
Use the structure "He/She is [verb+ing]," or "They are [verb+ing]," as in "She is putting on her shoes" for the first picture.
Childhood
Where did you grow up? (spend the majority of your childhood)
Who took care of you when you were a child? (kept you safe and provided for you)
Did anyone drop you off at school when you were younger, or did you go to school on your own? (bring and leave you)
Who did you look up to when you were a kid? (admire; want to be similar to)
Did you ever make up games or stories by yourself or with your friends when you were a child? (create; invent; imagine; produce)
Did you ever hand in schoolwork that was late? (submit)
Health
When was the last time you came down with an illness, such as a cold or flu? (became sick with)
How long does it take you to get over a cold? (recover from)
Have you ever given up something because it was bad for your health? (quit; stopped doing or using something)
How do you deal with stress? (manage; handle; address)
Are you able to calm down easily if you're feeling angry? (become calm)
Are there any bad foods that you would like to cut down on? (reduce usage or consumption of; same as "cut back on")
Habits
Do you think you should cut back on your screen time? (reduce usage or consumption of; same as "cut down on")
What time do you usually turn in? (go to bed)
Do you pick out what clothes you're going to wear for the day in the morning or the night before? (choose; select)
What's an activity that you started doing several years ago, and that you have stuck with? (continued doing; also, "kept up with")
Are you currently trying to build up any positive habits? (develop)
Relationships
How often do you hang out with your friends? (spend time together in a relaxed environment)
Who's a friend or family member that you should call up more often? (call; also, "phone up")
Have you called anyone to catch up with them recently? (hear news since the last time you talked)
Do you get along with everyone in your family? (have a good relationship with; British English: "get on")
Have you ever hit it off immediately with someone? (made a friendly connection; connected well because your personalities were a good match)
Around the House
Who puts away the clean dishes in your home? (puts in the appropriate place)
Do you always clean up after yourself? (If you make a mess, you clean it.)
How often do you throw food away because it has gone bad in your fridge? (put in the garbage or organic waste bin; dispose of or discard)
When do you have to take out the garbage in your neighbourhood? (take outside so the waste management service can take it away)
Which topics should never be brought up at the dinner table? (introduced into conversation)
What is something that runs out quickly in your home? (is used until there is nothing left)
Do you always put things back where you found them? (return to their original place)
Interests, Hobbies, and Activities
What kind of music were you into when you were younger? Are you still into this kind of music today? (interested in; passionate about)
How often do you clean up your bedroom? (organize and tidy)
Do you own anything that you'd like to throw out? (discard; put in the garbage)
What's a hobby that you'd like to take up one day? (start practicing a new activity regularly)
What's a sport or other activity that you would like to try out? (try; do)
What's a book, movie, or game that you would like to check out? (experience or try)
Making an Impression
What can a person do to stand out in a job interview? (be more visible than others; make a memorable impression)
Did you know anyone who liked to show off in school? (display their skills in a way that was meant to attract attention)
When is it important to speak up? (say what is on your mind in an open and honest way)
Have you ever let yourself down? (disappointed yourself)
What is something that turns you off when you see someone doing it in public? (causes you to feel dislike, disinterest, or disgust)
Money and Shopping
Are you saving up for anything right now? (saving money for a purpose)
Have you ever had to take back an item to the store because it wasn't what you expected? (return)
Do you have a credit card? Do you pay it off every month? (pay completely so you don't owe anything)
Do you always try on clothes before you buy them? (put on your body to see if it fits and looks good on you)
Before you commit to buying something, do you shop around? (look at different stores to compare prices and items)
How quickly do you pay people back if you borrow money from them? (return an amount of money which you borrowed)
Embarrassing Experiences
Have you ever thrown up in public? (vomited)
Have you ever fallen off a bike? What about a chair? (fallen from; fallen down from)
Has someone ever broken up with you in public? (ended a romantic relationship)
Have you ever messed up badly on a test? (done poorly; made a mistake)
Have you ever blurted out something you weren't supposed to say? (said something accidentally and without thinking)
Work
What time do you usually show up for work? (appear)
Are there work tasks that you try to put off because you don't like doing them? (delay; postpone)
Do you have to come up with ideas or creative solutions to problems at your job? (create; invent; think of; produce)
How often do you run into problems at your job or at school? (encounter; have to manage)
What are you working on these days? (giving attention to; focusing on)
The Big Finish!
Do you try to keep up with the news? (follow; maintain pace with)
Do you think you would be able to get on a horse? (mount)
What do you use to get around these days? (travel; go from one place to another place)
What did you end up doing last night? (decide to do after considering possibilities or letting time pass)
What's a song, video, or movie that's really blowing up right now? (becoming popular and/or successful)
What's a machine that has recently broken down in your life? (stopped working; ex. car, refrigerator, computer, microwave...)
Has anyone ever broken into your car or home? (entered by force; forcibly entered)
When was the last time you checked into a hotel? (arrived at the front desk and announced your arrival)
Do you ever have to push back or call off appointments? (push back = delay/postpone. Call off = cancel)
Is anyone going to come over to your house this weekend? (come)
Have you ever had to do over an assignment because it wasn't done right the first time? (do again; start from the beginning)
Can you figure out the meaning of "figure out"? (find the solution to; do work to find an answer)
Which app, site, or book do you use when you need to look up the meaning of a word? (search and find online or other database or list)
What is something that you don't like setting up? (arranging; organizing; configuring; preparing for use)
Have you run into anyone you didn't expect to see recently? (meet in public by accident)
When you look back on your life, what are you most proud of? (think of the past)
That's it! To learn MORE about phrasal verbs, get my book, 100 Practical English Phrasal Verbs. It has over 900 example sentences, and it includes multiple meanings and uses of 100 high-frequency phrasal verbs. It is available in PDF, e-book, and physical formats. Thanks for clicking, and keep practicing!
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