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Phrasal Verbs You Hear Every Day at Work

10 min
B1

Why phrasal verbs matter at work

French speakers tend to use formal single-word verbs: postpone, investigate, cancel. Native English speakers at work use phrasal verbs constantly: put off, look into, call off. Both are correct, but if you only use the formal versions, you'll sound like a textbook — and you'll miss half of what your colleagues say.

The essentials

"Look into" = investigate — examiner, se pencher sur
"I'll look into it and get back to you." Your most useful office phrase.
"Follow up" = continue contact after initial interaction — faire le suivi, relancer
"I'll follow up with the client on Monday." Essential for email and meetings.
"Put off" = postpone — reporter, remettre à plus tard
"Can we put off the meeting until next week?" More natural than "postpone" in speech.
"Come up with" = create/invent — trouver, imaginer
"We need to come up with a solution by Friday." Informal but used at all levels.
"Sort out" = resolve/organise — régler, organiser
"I'll sort out the logistics." Very British. Means "I'll handle it."
"Set up" = arrange/establish — mettre en place, organiser
"Can you set up a meeting for next week?" Common in every office.
"Call off" = cancel — annuler
"They called off the launch." Slightly informal but used in all contexts.
"Run by" = check with someone — soumettre à, vérifier avec
"Let me run this by my manager." Means "let me check with them before deciding."

Watch out

Phrasal verbs change meaning completely with different particles. "Look into" (investigate) ≠ "look after" (take care of) ≠ "look up" (search for). Don't guess — learn each combination as a fixed phrase.

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Fix these French-influenced restaurant phrases:

  1. ‘I take the salmon, please.’
  2. ‘Can we have the addition?’
  3. ‘I am allergic at nuts.’

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