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  • Hi, I'm Kasia. Welcome to Oxford Online English!

  • In this lesson you can learn several business  English phrasal verbs. Although you'll see  

  • these phrasal verbs in a business context, you  can also use many of them in everyday life.

  • You'll hear two dialogues each  containing twelve phrasal verbs.  

  • After each dialogue you'll see  the meaning of the phasal verbs.  

  • At the end of each section, there's a  short quiz to test your understanding.

  • Before we go on, don't forget to  turn on the subtitles for this video  

  • if you need them! All our  videos have English subtitles.  

  • You can turn them on now: just click the 'CCbutton in the bottom right of the video player.

  • Now, let's look at the first part of your lesson

  • Listen to the dialogue, where  two people are talking about  

  • setting up a new business. Try  to find the twelve phrasal verbs!

  • I hear that you're setting up  your own business. How exciting

  • That's right! I'm taking over the  antique shop on the high street

  • So, you're opening an antique shop?  I didn't know you dealt in antiques

  • Not exactly. The owners wanted  to sell up as they're moving on,  

  • so I'm going to turn it into a zero waste shop. Wow! So, what exactly are you going to sell

  • Well, I think that lots of people are trying to  cut down on plastic packaging, so the idea is  

  • that they bring their own containers and fill them  up with anything from pasta to washing up liquid

  • What a great idea! It must be  difficult to find suppliers though

  • No, not at all. In fact, I'm hoping to buy all  my stock locally. I'm in the process of firming  

  • up arrangements with some more local suppliers  today. If it all goes to plan, I should be able  

  • to launch next month. That quickly

  • Yes, I've already stocked up on bathroom items  such as unpackaged soap and bamboo toothbrushes,  

  • but I still need to kit out the shop floor  with some more shelving to display everything

  • Well, good luck with everything! Thank you. Hey,  

  • you should come to the launch! Great! I'll look forward to it!

  • So, did you get all twelve phrasal verbs

  • Here's a challenge for you. Look at the  definitions of four verbs you heard

  • Can you match the definitions to the  phrasal verbs in the dialogue? If not,  

  • why not go back and listen again? You can also  pause the video if you want some time to think.  

  • Otherwise, you'll see the  answers in a few seconds

  • Here are the answers

  • In the dialogue, you heard  them in these sentences

  • In this case, 'take over' suggests  buying a business from someone else

  • 'Stock up' has the idea of buying a large amount  in order to prepare for something. For example,  

  • if you run a shop, and you know that  your busiest season is coming soon,  

  • you might stock up on supplies so that you're  ready for an increase in customer numbers.

  • Next, look at another sentence you heard

  • Here, we've replaced three phrasal verbs with  different verb phrases. Can you remember the  

  • original phrasal verbs? Again, pause the  video if you need time to think about it

  • Here is the original text, with the phrasal verbs

  • 'Sell up' is similar to 'sell', but not exactly  the same. 'Sell up' means to complete a large,  

  • important transaction, like selling a house orbusiness. 'Sell up' can't be used with an object.

  • Similarly, 'move on' is similar to 'move', but  not exactly the same. 'Move on' has the idea  

  • of starting something new, so it has  a more specific meaning than 'move'.

  • Finally, here are five more phrasal verbs  and definitions used in the dialogue.  

  • Can you match them? Here are the answers

  • Did you get the right answers? Let's look  at a couple of these verbs in more detail.

  • First, where might you use the word 'firm up'? You might use 'firm up' to talk about agreements  

  • or plans which you've made, but not in detailWhen you firm up an agreement or a plan,  

  • you work out the details, so that  your agreement or plan is clear.

  • What about 'kit out'; can you think of  another situation where you could use it

  • 'Kit out' is commonly used with things like carsvehicles, buildings or rooms. It can be used with  

  • an object or not. So, you can say 'We spent  $50,000 kitting out the new office,' or 'We  

  • spent $50,000 kitting out the new office with  desks, computers, equipment and other furniture.' 

  • So, we have considered all twelve  phrasal verbs from dialogue one.

  • Don't forget that you can go back and review  the dialogue and explanations if you need.  

  • If you feel confident, why not test your  skills with a short quiz? Take a look

  • You need to fill in the blanks using  phrasal verbs from dialogue one.  

  • Don't forget to use the right verb  form! Pause the video and try it now

  • Ready? Here are the answers

  • If you're ready to move  on, let's look at part two.

  • In our dialogue, one person has just started a new  job and the other has been promoted. Just like the  

  • first dialogue, you'll hear twelve phrasal verbsTwo of them were already introduced in the first  

  • dialogue. Can you spot all twelve? Let's listen! How are things? You look a little tired

  • Oh… I'm OK. I guess I am a bit tiredWork is quite stressful as I've just  

  • been taken on by Ascendant. You know, the new  insurance company that just opened an office

  • Oh really? What are you doing? Well, I'm heading up the insurance  

  • fraud department, which is a really exciting  opportunity for me, but I'm basically setting  

  • up the department from scratch, so I have to draw  up loads of new procedures and it's taking ages….  

  • Anyway, how's everything in the legal world? Good thanks. In fact, I've been promoted!  

  • We've had a full restructure and the litigation  department where I work has been hived off, and  

  • I'm now looking after some of our biggest clients. That's great news

  • Thanks. It was all a bit sudden, so it's been  really busy as we've had to move premises,  

  • rebrand and change our name. We  brought in a consultancy agency to help  

  • and that side of things is all sorted out now. So, where have you moved to

  • We've taken over the old library  building in the centre of town.  

  • The previous tenants needed  to move out pretty quickly,  

  • so we were able to move in last week. In  fact, We've pretty much settled in now

  • Great! Well good luck with everything. Thanks. You too!

  • So, how did you get on? Did you get them all

  • First question: which two phrasal verbs in  this dialogue did you already hear in part one

  • You heard 'set up' – meaning to  start or create somethingand  

  • 'take over' – meaning to  take control of a business.

  • What about the other ten? Let's look together.  

  • Here are the definitions of four  new phrasal verbs you heard

  • Can you find the phrasal verbs in the  dialogue which match these definitions?  

  • Remember that you can go back  and listen again if you need

  • Done? Here are the answers

  • Here, 'head up' has a slightly more  specific meaning than 'be in charge  

  • of' or 'be responsible for'. If you head  something up, then you're the leader.

  • 'Bring in' can be used in many  different ways. In the dialogue,  

  • you heard 'We brought in a consultancy  agency.' If you head up a team, and you 

  • don't have enough people to do your work, you'll  need to *bring in* new workers, maybe from other  

  • departments, or maybe from outside the company. 'Draw up' is commonly used with contracts,  

  • proposals and similar documents which  you might need during a negotiation.

  • Let's look at two more phrasal verbs  from the dialogue. Look at a sentence

  • You heard something similar in the  dialogue, but here we've replaced the  

  • phrasal verbs with different wordsCan you remember the phrasal verbs

  • Here's the answer

  • 'Hive off' has a very specific meaningYou use it when part of a larger company  

  • is separated into a smaller, independent  organisation. 'Hive off' suggests that  

  • part of a larger company is made  into a legally separate business

  • Instead of 'look after', you  could also say 'take care of';  

  • both have the same meaning, and  in fact both are phrasal verbs

  • Finally, let's look at the  four remaining phrasal verbs

  • We put two together – 'move in' and 'move out'  – because they're two sides of the same idea.

  • So, what's your job now?

  • Imagine you're an English teacher. You want to  explain what these words mean to someone who  

  • doesn't know them. You need to be a good teacher  and make your explanations as clear as possible!

  • Pause the video and think about your  explanations now. Say them out loud

  • Could you do it? There's more than one  right answer, but here are some examples.

  • 'Sort out' means to find a solution to  something. If you sort something out,  

  • maybe you solve a problem, or maybe you  find a way to deal with a complex situation

  • 'Move in' and 'move out' mean  to change physical location.  

  • You can use it with houses or apartmentsbut companies can also move in or move out,  

  • for example when they move todifferent shop, or a different office

  • 'Settle in' means to get  used to a new environment.  

  • If your company moves to a new locationyou might need some time to adjust  

  • to the new location and learn where  everything isyou need to settle in

  • OK, now you've seen explanations for all  the phrasal verbs in the second dialogue.  

  • Ready for a short quiz? Let's look! Pause the video and think about your  

  • answers. Remember that the missing  words are all phrasal verbs,  

  • so you need to put two words in each gap. Alsodon't forget to put the verb in the correct form

  • Could you do it? Let's see the answers. That's all for this lesson. Thanks for watching!

  • See you next time!

Hi, I'm Kasia. Welcome to Oxford Online English!

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