This is an all English podcast episode, 1495, sort out these phrasal verbs for talking out problems.

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How can you sound like a native during phone conversations?

Use phrasal verbs. Listen in today as we discussed seven brazel verbs to use while talking on the telephone.

Hey, how's it going today? Hey, Lindsay, I am great, how are you? Great. I'm excited because today we're on video. So guys, this episode is also on YouTube, which we are doing this occasionally. So you guys can see us recording these episodes as well. So exciting. Yes, I know.

It's fun to have the videos on YouTube. So many of our listeners comment that they really love to be able to see it as they listen. Some people are just more visual learners. Exactly.

So I think it's great to have that option. It's really cool. We've never done it before, so we're experimenting here really good. But today we're getting into something that a series. Right, that we've done the last couple of weeks. What are we doing today?

That's right. We have been talking about phrasal verbs. We've done a couple episodes. The last one was fourteen ninety two, if you missed it. We talked about phrasal verbs you would use when taking a class. So check that one out. And we're doing the third part of our series today.

And mostly we're talking about how phrasal verbs can be very difficult to learn if you just take a verb and all the different forms of it when they have such different meanings and instead take a situation and learn all of the verbs that you will use in that situation.

And that's easier to remember them and then use them. Exactly.

That's why we're so against, you know, lists of vocabulary words from the Internet or learning in a textbook or memorizing. That is not how we learned, guys. We learned based on a situation and associating certain experiences with certain words. Right? Obree Yes.

Exactly right. So today we're going to talk about problems. If you're wanting to discuss a problem or a struggle, a difficulty you're having, if you want to talk it out with a friend. There are a lot of phrasal verbs that we use in this type of situation.

We're going to share them with you guys today with example sentences so that you can use them in that situation.

Exactly. And if you want to work on your vocab guys, the iOS app is the place to go. Why, Aubrey, why is that so important to use the app when you can look at?

Right.

Because you can listen to the episode and follow along with the transcripts and then you can make your own personal power vocabulary list. You can choose those more difficult new, less common vocabulary words to add to your list so that you can then refer to them, study them, use them.

Exactly.

And this is the list that's helpful. Yes.

These are words that you will have your own experience with because you will have already listened to an episode where you've learned about it with us. So you learn about it, you see it in the transcript in real time. Then you tap on it and you save it in your personal list. So it's not the same as going online and just downloading a huge list of phrasal verbs. Right, right.

Because it's all about context when it comes to vocabulary. If you're learning it in context, in a way that you remember and then use it immediately in context, that's how a vocabulary really sticks. You can use just like these phrasal verbs if you learn that list. Right.

If you have talk up, talk down, talk out, talk over, talk through, talk with there are so many is too many.

You're stressing me out and they all have a totally different meaning and you'll never be able to use any of them if you just memorize that list basically.

Yeah. So it'd be really hard. I don't want to do that.

So then what do we do instead? Let's get into how we're going to introduce these to our listeners today. The right way. Obree, what are we going to play? Write. So imagine you're having some kind of struggle. Difficulty, a problem. Yeah. You don't feel like you can handle on your own. You need a friend's advice. You want to talk over what you can do to fix the problem. OK, and there are a lot of phrasal verbs we use.

So the first one is that talk over or talk out to you if you want to discuss with someone before deciding on a course of action.

That's what we would say, that I need to talk it out. We use this all the time.

Yeah, this is interesting. I find that, you know, there are two types of people. There are people that really when they want to work out a problem in their mind, they do need to talk it over or they need to talk it out. Just hear themselves talk about it, you know, if it's something in their own head and other people that do it internally. So which type of person are you? Obree, do you work things out in your own mind?

And then just all of a sudden one day you have the answer or do you actually need to say it, which I definitely have to talk things out with someone.

I can at times sort of talk it out with myself, just like thinking. But inevitably, it always pours out in like a conversation with my sister or my husband. I really have to talk things over with someone before I can really make a decision. What about you? It is true. People are either one or the other. They really are. And I'm the same way. I'm pretty verbal. I think we all at all are probably pretty, all because that's how we make our living is by podcasting and talking.

But yeah, I do. And it's hard when your partner is the opposite because they don't want to hear all those things coming out of your head. But you need to hear yourself say it right.

That's definitely the situation with my husband. He's something else we kind of like just decide just like figure it out. He doesn't need to talk it out or hear it so often. I do. I'll call my sister instead because I know, you know, she's a better she's more like, oh yeah. Tell me.

Yeah. That makes me wonder if it's very gender based too if like our society has trained men. And to work through things in their head and women to verbalize it and talk through it and come to a like a consensus with someone else, I don't know could be I'd be really curious to pull our listeners and and kind of compare gender results, because I'm sure there are, depending on how someone is raised, I think would have a lot to do with it, because I have known men who are very verbal about their difficulties and they'll say, like, my mom raised me to be really open and vocal about my emotions and my feelings.

So, yeah, it depends on society some, but also a lot how someone's raised.

Yeah, that would be cool for a pull guys, that you should be over an Instagram channel over there. We should run a poll when this episode comes out to see what people like to do. What is their style. I love that mix up is so cool. OK, every so so talk out and talk over. Those are the first two phrasal verbs, right, for today. Yes.

And this is an interesting one to take over because we do use it this way. I'm going to talk over a problem, but there is a second meaning for talk over that you need to be aware of, which is talking while someone else is talking. We say they were talking over me, meaning they are interrupting and talking over you as natives do. Right. So you'll have to keep track because that phrasal verb has two totally separate, separate meanings.

Interesting.

And the key difference there is that the pronoun can only go after when you're talking about talking over someone. Right. And then when the pronoun goes in the middle is talk, it's talking it over the problem, right? Yeah. So that's kind of the only way to really know that difference. And then, of course, the context. Exactly right.

Yeah. So just keep that in mind. Be aware of that one. Right. But yeah. And then another one is think through which is similar to talk over or talk.

Talk out. But you can do this without verbally talking to someone. Some people this is the way they, you know, they could just think through a problem and decide what to do. Exactly.

Exactly. So for example, I need to think through how I'm going to get everything on my to do list done.

So you're running through your week and when and how are you going to do these things?

Exactly. Yeah. And that's true. That's something I do. I wouldn't need to discuss with another person how I'm going to get everything on my to do list. That's something that I would think through on my own. For sure.

For sure. For sure. For me, like the talking through is just the big decisions in the big things like decision strategies, what to do, how to do something right. It's not.

We use it for something bigger where it's hard to decide on your own just with the, you know, facts you have. You're like, I feel like I need someone else's opinion or advice. Exactly. Exactly. Love it. OK, so, so good.

So think through, talk out, talk over, run up against. This would be the next one. What does this mean. Yeah.

So that's if you are facing something that is sort of an unexpected problem or difficulty, you would say like oh I have run up against this problem. I don't know what to do.

I like it. I like it. Yeah.

We often hear this with sports. I think like I would say, oh, my daughter's soccer team ran up against a fierce competitor Saturday morning.

Yeah, good one. Good on it. Makes me think of the term to be up against the deadline, but I guess that's a little bit different, right. This is to run up. We're focusing on the phrasal verb here. Right. So any kind of adversity when you face some kind of problem. Adversity, right.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And definitely collocated with that, with being a little bit unexpected to say like, oh, I ran up against this. I didn't see it coming.

So not to complicate this any more, but I in this situation, my personal style would be to use I ran into a problem. We ran through I ran into a snag. We hit a snag. Right. We encountered this problem. But we all have a different style.

You know, I think a lot of people do. A lot of people would say that as well. I definitely hear both.

I do hear like in business meetings or on TV. You'll hear people say this like, oh, we've run up against some problems at work that we need to talk over. Right. But in just day to day life, it's a little more informal way. Instead, just to say, oh, I ran into a problem. Yeah, interesting. OK, yeah, I like it.

So you can distinguish sometimes guys certain phrasal verbs are definitely used more like I look forward to speaking to you.

That's very business oriented.

Today, Obree is on the show for this phrasal verb series. You can catch more of Aubrey and Jessica over on our other podcast called Wild's Energy Podcast From All Ears English, where they show you how to get your seven or higher on the Eilts exam. Go over and subscribe to the child's energy podcast. See you over there.

All right, let's go into the next one. What's next? OK, the next one is a wrestle with Sue. If you're attempting to solve a problem, you could say you're wrestling with it. And this is really evokes a physical image because of the actual you know, the sport of wrestling is very physical. And so this would be more probable.

You wouldn't say I'm wrestling with what to do. You know, how to figure out my to do list. It has to be a bigger problem that is difficult.

And you're trying to solve it. Yeah.

And it's taking energy out of you. Right. You're trying to resolve it. Yeah. Yes, exactly. So what are some examples of like things that you've been wrestling with or that you could encounter?

I would say I wrestled with when to talk to my daughters about puberty or not doing drugs. Right. It's tricky to know at what age to discuss these things because you you you know, you want them to have talk to you about it before friends. But it's also are they ready? Are they do they want to talk to you about it? You don't want to make awkward situations, right? Yeah.

I can't imagine all these decisions you have to make as a parent. It can't be easy. And it really depends on the kid. My my older daughter was ready much younger, much earlier. And then I sort of tried to broach the subject with my daughter, who's now 12, and she was like, la la la la la.

Actually did not want to hear about it. It still doesn't like.

No, I don't wanna hear about it right now cause they're not the I mean, it can be embarrassing talking to these things about their parents or the like, what to do with hands on their personality.

I know for sure awesome to wrestle with.

You know, I bet that this phrasal verb, you know, and these ones we're learning today, these are not common. Like these aren't ones that you're going to learn in a classroom. These are really kind of niche phrasal verbs, very specific and native dance.

Yes, exactly right. You wouldn't learn these in a textbook. This is this is the way natives speak. And honestly, textbooks would probably just give you that list. We said like talk over, talk through, talk and talk with and expect you to learn the meaning for each one and the totally different situations you'd use them in. That's not helpful. Right? But if you learn a situation, think about the situation, imagine discussing a problem and all you do is all of these in one conversation.

Exactly.

I mean, guys write down right now what is something that you're wrestling with? They use this right now. That's your homework. As we are doing this in this moment, stop the episode and write down an example for yourself, because that's how you're going to learn this and be able to use it, don't you think? Yes.

And come back to the blog and comment.

I would love to know. What are you wrestling with? Use that in a sentence and share with us what's going on. What are you what have you come up against lately?

Yeah, for sure. And so we have two more. Right. Two more about organizing and getting clear and clarity on things. Right.

So yeah, these are very related, sought out and figure out how kind of the same meaning and similar to wrestle with. You're attempting to solve a problem. You're trying to decide what you're going to do.

Yeah, super common figure out. Right. I use this one all the time. A problem that we have to work through and find the answer and sort out. What does that mean? Yeah, it's very similar, right.

You'd say I need to sort out how I'm going to accomplish the goals I've set. I think this is similar. Like you were saying, it depends on your own style. Some people will say figure out and some people say sort out. I've heard both, but I feel like people either use one or the other and not both, which is interesting.

I don't know, maybe it's like a West Coast thing or a middle of the I don't know. Who do you here figure out more? I would say so, yeah.

Yeah. And I personally use it a lot more and I'm from the East Coast. Maybe it is that I'm just grasping at ideas of how to figure out, like how to know how we get our personal style. It's it's sort of a.. Said growing up. It's what our friend said. Right.

It's so this might be a little generational if I think about it. I do feel like it's my parents' generation that says sort out a lot, or at least on the West Coast, you know, I'll hear them. My parents said sort out all the time, like you need to sort out what you're going to do or you need to sort yourself out.

They would say, whereas I would more likely say figure out as well. I feel like sort yourself out.

That could be a little bit of an insult that you as a person are disorganized and you're a mess. OK, maybe don't say that to your friends guys.

You could say like you need to sort out this problem, but you say you need to sort yourself out. I mean, you. Yeah, but definitely has a negative connotation of like you don't have it figured out. You need to you need to get it figured out.

So let's do a role play for our listeners so they can see this guys.

And again, if you have the that you can log in and watch the transcripts in real time as you listen, which is the optimal way to learn. So, yes, definitely.

So this I was kind of imagining that you were having a problem with a neighbor, Lindsey. So you get to start this out and talk, OK with me.

Cool. All right.

Hey, I've run up against a problem with a neighbor. Can I talk it over with you? Yes, for sure. What's going on? Well, it's a younger couple and they're just so loud at all hours of the night playing loud music and just yelling. I'm wrestling with whether I should talk. To them about it now, that would be really frustrating, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. How long has that been happening? It's been since they moved in about two months ago.

I wonder if they're just not thinking through how it's affecting their neighbors.

Yeah, that's possible. It's definitely something that you need to sort out if it's keeping you awake at night.

We have a lot of these phrasal verbs. Oh, man, I had a problem with my puppy when we first got our puppy. He was so loud, he was barking every time we left the house and our neighbor next door just was it was so bad.

So your neighbor was the one in the situation? The one we were the loved ones.

When I lived in New York City, we had the neighbors below us would sometimes hit the ceiling with like a broomstick or something because we had little kids and they would run around.

It would be really loud them like stomping.

Oh, my God, are you sorry? Yeah.

And all those New York apartment buildings are like fourth floor walk ups where you've got, like, neighbors all over you.

You've got the fire. It's like there's no way out. There's no right.

And I think the walls are very thin or the floors are very thin because you could hear everything in everyone's apartment. Oh, man.

That's city living for you. Right? Right. All right, let's go.

Over these years, the first one saying I've run up against a problem. And I'm curious because you were saying normally you would say I've run into a problem.

Did it feel unnatural for you to use run up against?

Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But that doesn't mean it's not native and natural for you. Right. Like, we all we all have our own style. Yeah. It wouldn't be within my reach as a vocab word, but for sherd one for our listeners.

Yeah. You guys will definitely hear it. Yeah. It's common but yeah it's just kind of depends on you know which you would choose but yeah. Which not one just means you have encountered a problem and you're not.

I'd probably say something like I'm having a problem or Yeah. We've been having a problem or something OK.

And then we and I said, can I talk it over with you. So that's really common. Right.

Can I talk, talk through it with you or talk back and notice that you can split it here and it goes between talk over. So a lot of these, as you learn them in context, do pay attention if you if they can be split or not with that object, actually.

Exactly. And then what did I say next. So then you're saying I'm wrestling with whether I should talk to them about it, just like your neighbor wrestled with whether to talk to you about your new puppy. Right. This is the one that means you're really struggling with how to respond.

Exactly. Exactly. And then you said that would be frustrating, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. That one super common. I probably used that one twenty five times a day. I don't know. I just feel so true. Most common words that I use. Yeah, yeah.

We would never say, oh, I'm trying to decide what to do. We just don't we say I got to figure this out. Yeah.

And phrasal verbs are sort of what make English little hard, a little tricky. But this is how you nail them guys.

This is how you do it, right? Yeah, it is. What makes you sound more like a native.

This is a huge part of it using phrasal verbs the way natives do. Huge.

OK, what else.

So then here I said I wonder if they're not thinking through how it's affecting their neighbors as performance is the same when we're if it's a problem.

That's not this big decision that you need to talk about. It's just something that you're thinking through on your own.

Yeah.

And this is a great one to use, contemplating or really thinking of all the possibilities, all the permutations of situations that could be happening.

Right, exactly right. Permutations is a great word. Right. All the different aspects. Yeah. That's a good. Yeah. All the different potential situations. Exactly. OK, and then you said it's definitely something you need to sort out if it's keeping you awake, right. Yeah.

So and this is where you're at, I mean you could use figure out or sort out very interchangeably, whichever feels more natural, whichever you're hearing the most often, both of them will sound very normal and native to natives.

Yeah, I love it. And then if we're going outside of phrasal verbs just for a bonus for Alissa's, maybe you would say resolve. You need to resolve. Yes. If it's keeping you awake. So good. Oh, my gosh.

So Aubury today we've got a lot of phrasal verbs. Could be overwhelming, but we've done it in a situation based way. What should we leave our listeners with?

Yeah, I just feel like this is such a great way to learn phrasal verbs because they can be so difficult if you try to learn a list and they're all so different and unrelated. But this really makes it doable if you take a situation and then brainstorm all the phrasal verbs you might use in that situation and practice them, then when you're in that scenario, you have them. They make sense in context and you're able to actually access them and sound like a native.

Yeah, exactly.

It's reflect on this for yourself, guys. Maybe think about a recent problem you had and what did you do? How did you work through it? How did you figure it out and then maybe write a summary of what you actually did? Who did you sit down with to talk through it, to talk it over, use these phrasal verbs? I'd be kind of cool.

Yes, definitely. And the next time you have a problem, you want to talk over with a friend, use this as your just you know, I have something I'm really wrestling with. Can we talk it out together? Yeah.

Don't shy away from U.S.. Right. Don't shy away another phrasal verb. All right. Let's start with the phrasal verbs.

Let's finish up for today. All right, all right, great to hang out with you again and have a good one. Yes, you too, Silenzi. Bye bye. Thanks for listening to all ears English. If you are taking ILT this year, get your estimated bancor with our two minute quiz. Go to all ears English dotcom slash my score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit. Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.

See you next time.