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8 Phrasal Verbs with BREAK: break in, break up, break through…
Native English speakers use phrasal verbs all the time! A phrasal verb is a phrase with a common verb that often means something you might not expect. Take a break for a few minutes, and watch this lesson on phrasal verbs withbreak. Whether you need to break up with someone, break into a new career, or break up a fight, these expressions will help you break away from the pack. Start using these common expressions today after testing yourself in the quiz at the end of the video.
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Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.Levels
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122 COMMENTS
Hello Adam! Thank you for the lesson. By the way, what’s the difference between Nervous breakdown & Mental breakdown?
Hi Feles,
I think they are essentially the same thing. People don’t like to say ‘mental’ these days, so nervous seems a little less harsh.
Hi Adam.
I think You forgot to explain about breakthrough? could u give us some more example of using this verb/noun?
Hi Haman,
A breakthrough is a discovery or a major step forward in a process. For example, scientists who research cures for diseases sometimes have a breakthrough and find the right medicine to treat the disease.
Does this help?
Thanks
aaaw yeaah….perfect..it helped a lot…thank u so much
Thanks Adam. Very interesting and useful lesson.
A smile.
Thank you Adam!!!
Phrasal verbs are always hard to remember, but every time you upload a video about them, you make it easier.
Thanks ;)
Adam you’re an awesome teacher. Your lessons are incredible and extremely useful. More phrasal verbs and advanced lessons in general, please!
Thank you! I like it!
Hello, Adam!
I want to ask – do you have some lessons about Sequences of Times? I’ve searched, and I couldn’t find any. May be in English there is some different name for this grammar theme?
Oh, I am sorry, I don’t know how to edit messages here. I meant Sequence of Tenses, not Times ) Sorry)
Hi Uluna,
I’m not sure what you mean exactly. Do you mean from past to future?
The tenses are
past, present, future; simple, perfect, continuous
infinitive
Can you give me an example if this is not what you meant?
Present:
no, I mean – how to create a sentence, when you retell some situation.
For example yesterday I saw my friend, and she told me
– I saw this movie!
And today I want to tell my sister about it. I must tell something like this:
“I met my friend yesterday, and she SAID to me, that she HAD SEEN this movie”
So in direct speech my friend told me “I have seen” and when I am retelling this information to my sister, I change Present Perfect to Past Perfect.
In our classbooks theme, that describes this rules (how one time changes to another) is called Sequence of Tenses
I know, my answer is very long, but I don’t know how else to explain it=) sorry)
The general rule is “one tense back’– in reported speech, you will go back one tense when retelling.
However, you also need to be careful about the difference between tell and say.
She told that — one tense back
she said “same as original tense”.
If you don’t use a quote “_”, then it’s the same as tell:
she said that — one tense back.
She will go to the store — she told me she would go…
she is going — she told me she was going
etc.
Does this help?
Thank you, Adam! that does help)
Tkank you Adam. It’s Always a pleasure to learn with you.
Hi Adam. Your lessons always clear and I like your style. Keep it up!
you are right my friend
Thank you Adam.
Thank you teacher….!!
Thank you Adam for an interesting lesson.love how you teach have a great weekend .
Phrasal verb was very hard to remember….but thanks a lot for the tutorial video..?
Thank you for this lesson!
Hello, Adam, thanks. Please tell me if I was trading a stake on the stock exchange today at zero, I can say that I am at a break-even point. If my drawdown today was minus two percent, how can I call it in English with a phrasal verb? If I did plus three percent then what phrasal verb can I use
Hi Tanushka,
The verb is break even (I broke even on my investment.) Breakeven is the noun.
As for up and down movement, there is go up and go down (my stocks went down/up 2 points today).
If they fall really fast and by a lot, they took a nosedive.
Does this help?
thanks, Adam. you’re super!
thank you teacher
Good tips about these phrasal verbs! Thanks Adam!
I have a question for you. “Break into one’s savings”, what does it mean? Thanks for all your lessons.
Hi Emmolina,
It means to to take money that you were saving for the future. If you have a piggy bank then you break it to get he money.
Hope this helps.
Thank you so much sir for this lesson and I’m looking forward to your next lesson.
Thank you Adam, this lesson has helped me to clear old doubts.
Hello Adam thanks for this interesting lesson . Have a great time .good bye .
The best teacher! Thanks!
I failed
That’s okay, just keep trying!
I failed too
It takes time and practice Alesia. Keep at it ;)
It takes time and practice Romnick. Keep at it ;)
There is not such thing. You have not succeeded yet. In Indonesia, it is apparently a kind of grammactical mistake to say you are not married. Every stanger I met would ask me about it, and every time I answered “tidak”, i.e. “not”, they would say “belum”, “not yet”. While I do not agree at all with their marriage philosophy, I think it is the right learning philosophy.
Good video, Adam. I love the phrasel verb videos.
By the way, I have question. In School I read that you don’t say “Good day”, but I heard it quite a lot. So, is it fine to use Good day in a normal conversation?
Sure, Jim. It’s actually not uncommon.
Yeah, I think we want to know more about breakthrough… ;)
Hi Emanuela,
A breakthrough is a discovery or a major step forward in a process. For example, scientists who research cures for diseases sometimes have a breakthrough and find the right medicine to treat the disease.
Hope this helps.
Explained beautifully and yes it helps a lot! That’s why I adore you! ☺️
Hi Adam, I’m new student! And I’m training my English! Hope you help me! :D
Welcome Sherly :). I’ll do my best.
Sir I am from India present I prepared for competitive exams.I that exams having English section this section is very tough to me and in this section comprehension is very lengthy giving time 7-9 minutes 10 questions given. Passages based on economy and modern technology how to solved please guide me “ADAM” sir.
Hi Nraju,
The best advice I can give is to build your vocab base. Read every day and make sure you know how to understand the questions so that you can go through them fast and get to the answers quickly.
Thank you sir !
Thank you Adam i got eight out of ten
Hi, Adam. Can you make a video about the difference between another, other, others, the other and the others?
Hi Alex,
Let me know if this helps:
https://www.engvid.com/other-another-otherwise/
Thank you very much. It really helped.
Thank you for this lesson.
how to solve comprehension in 7-9 minutes answered 10 questions that comprehension based on economy, country’s GDP and modern technology please guide me ADAM sir
Thank you very much Adam! You are so kind and your lessons are so interesting! I will try to study more and more))
I like it!
Hi Adam! You are simply Awesome professor of the language! Wowwwwww! I would always like to have your fantastic teaching procedures and OUTSTANDING classes on a regular basis covering all the probable topics ! Thanks a lot to you and intend to show you gratitude for your unparalleled and unmatched guidance towards success! Stay always blessed !
Why don’t you make a lesson about how to divide a word at the end of the line?
For example: hap-py, beauti-ful, cup-board, splen-dour.
Hi Emmolina,
You mean syllable breaks? Ideally, try to avoid having these in your text. Otherwise, make sure that you break the word on a syllable. For example, happy shouldn’t be broken at all because it’s a short word, but cup-board is ok because you have the two nouns split into wholes.
Ultimately, it depends on the style guide you are using.
hey thank you very much .learn any word in albanaian cuz is beautiful language
Thank you Adam!
hey adam thanks for this great lesson about phrasal verbs
How to go to the next lesson?
Hi Yenglee,
On the homepage are all the recent lessons. You can also do a search for other topics.
thank you adam
Thank a lot Adam for your good lessons!!!
Why answer to 6 is (breakthrough) not (breakout)?
Hi OmrHsn,
Breakthrough means a discovery, or a way to get over a difficulty. If he had slow sales, but suddenly his sales went up very quickly, that would be a breakout.
Hello Adam! Need your advice. Sometimes dictionaries suggest that the word is both countable and uncountable, sometimes it’s more confusing when it has only one meaning. How should I use these words? For example the word “computation”. Longman and Cambridge show that it’s noun [countable, uncountable].
Hi Alexander,
Take notice of the context. Computations are what computers do to solve a problem. (1+1=2 is a computation)
The uncountable is the process of computing.
Most dictionaries will give you situations for the countable and uncountable.
Does this help?
I have been watching your videos for almost a year and the learning process have never been better than now! :) I just want to express my gratitude to you! My finals are coming up and your lessons are very helpful for me! I watch any of your videos or other teacher’s ones when I want to practice my English and it’s definitely my favourite method to study! Anyway, sorry for my mistakes, I swear that I will not stop watching your videos and taking quizs. Thanks again!
Good luck Zayana :)
Brake explanation very excellent Mr.ADAM.
Thank you very much.
Great lesson Adam, COME TO SEE WORLD CUP IN OUR HOME!
Thanks Adam, very clear lesson with good teacher
Thank you so much Adam. You lesson helps me a lot. I appreciate it.
Thanks everyone :)
Guru please let me know the meaning of the idiom you are on top of the world
Hi Srija,
It means you are very happy about something. When you get married, get a job, have a child, etc. you feel like you’re on top of the world.
Thanks ever so much
Thank you Adam
Hey, Adam you r superb teacher. I become happy while I watch you on engvid I love your videos and contents.
Thanks Adam, I was practising two times this quiz and seeing the video, and finally I get a 70% score. Surely, I must to practice more.
Omg I failed this type of lesson is a bit hard for me
Keep trying Issam ;)
what does break in for good mean (quiz number 9)
Adam ?it’s difficult for me to find you here. I like your teaching method.it’s clear and easy to understand.i’m from China and studying English in Ireland now.thanks a million.
Different meanings but the same senses about break or stopping something, I guess it difficult to know what’s the correct situation for each phrasal verb.
Thank you Sir!
Hello
What should I do to learn the phrasal verbs very well
they are many and for me they are close in their meaning not all of them
Thank you very muck I like you way in teaching , well done if I can say
Thanks Adam… the kind of lesson is great!!!
it’s a nice lesson
Hello, Adam
could u plz tell me what is the difference in meaning if we separate the phrasal verb
for example, breakout and break out and so on
thanks
whether its separated or joined
Hello teacher, just want to say thank you for your superb videos! it’s very useful and I’ve gained a lot! + I write down everything you say on a notebook =D
awesome lesson.. thans alot
7/10 Not fully enjoyed on the result. So i tried to memorise and decided to watch repeatly until it become easy to remember. Thank you Teacher alex,you are one of the key person who unlock my learning potential into new advance level.
Hi Adam what’s the difference between Breakout and break out they are the same meaning in the Quiz I can’t undestand
Very good lessons and quizzes. It’s a big pleasure to learn.
Well 9 out of 10, I won’t forget the break through meaning.
Hi Adam, your lesson is briliant as usual. I have obtained so much information that I had to watch this video five or even six times. And it’s likely that I will do it again. I want to share with another useful reference which can help learners to know somethig more about phrasal verbs https://www.ldoceonline.com/exercise/vocabulary-phrasal-verbs-with-break-exercise/
Adam thanks a lot I’m going with you futher.
Thanks a lot we are all appreciate what you are offering to us. Our best wishes for you.
thank u
Hi Adam. Great your lessosn! Thanks. About this one, I understood brake up and brake down having the same meaning. Could you helpe me?
Thank you! Can you do a lesson to vs too?
Hello!
It’s not clear to me what’s the difference between BREAK IN and BREAK INTO. Can somebody help me with this?
Thanks a lot!
Hello
Thanks for your efforts,I need to know what the deference between “break up & break down
Thanks again for your help
Man, I just cannot believe that I scored 9, I thought that was hard, but then, became easy… Thanks Adam for your help.
I just failed. I’m little bit confused to answer it….
Thank you Mr. Adam.
Oh, Adam!! I just love your video and you’re my roll model of a great teacher! You helped me a lot and I’m really appreciated all your works! I can’t wait to see your other video and will keep watch all yours tho! Have a fantastic day and thank you again!! :D
This lesson was great. I learned new phrasel verbs. Thanks Adam.
As always, thank you for a helpful lesson. I could strengthen my vocabulary though I forget many things. Repetition and using them in real life seem to be the solution.
To recap:
“Break away” means to take a lead, to separate from a group.
“Break down” means to stop working, to become broken.
“Break even” means equal expenditures and income — no profit or loss.
“Break in” means to adjust, to make comfortable.
“Break out” means to escape. “Break out” also means to spread.
“Breakout _______” means the thing that makes a person successful.
“Breakthrough” means overcoming an obstacle.
“Break up” means to stop, to separate.
“Break up” means to separate into smaller pieces.
Dear Adam,
Thank you.
Among test, you used the phrase “polish marathon racer”. May I ask why “polish”? “Ethiopian” should be better, I guess.
8/10! Break phrasal verbs are my first understanding of whole means.
Sir Adam;
I wonder whether “break up” and “break away” have the same meaning of the verb to separate. don’t they?
it would be appreciated if you give me an answer.
Thank you Adam break phrasal verbs iam quiz got out 10%10 result quiz thank
You agian mr adam
I got 90 out of 100.Thank you Adam sir.
you are the best