Shadowing Practice: A Fun Way to Learn 25 English Phrasal Verbs! Acted Out! With Examples! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi. Welcome to this English lesson on phrasal verbs where I'm going to act out over 25 phrasal verbs.
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By the way, act out is already your first phrasal verb for this video.
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When you act something out, you use all of your skills to demonstrate through actions what the word means.
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So hopefully I can act out these verbs really, really well for you.
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I think though, before we kick off this video, by the way, that's your second phrasal verb already.
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When you kick something off, it means that you start or begin it.
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But before we kick off this video, if you are new here, don't forget to subscribe by clicking that red button below.
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And as you watch this video, if it helps you learn a little bit of English, give me a thumbs up.
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So ever since I had heart surgery, I feel like it's very important to work out as much as I can.
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I usually lift some weights.
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But when I work out, I also do some walking, and I do some running.
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You want to be careful though when you're working out because if you work out too hard, you might black out.
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I'm okay. So my friend Nao from China gave me this gift and I’ve been practicing quite a bit and I thought today I would show off a little bit.
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When you show off it’s when you do something so that people will admire you.
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So thanks a lot for this gift Nao.
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The whole family has been playing with it a lot.
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So this tire is a little bit flat so I need to pump up this tire.
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In order to pump up this tire though, I need to bend over so I can reach down here and I will put this on and I will pump up the tire.
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I don't want to pump it up too much though.
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If I put too much air in, the tire might blow up and we don't want that to happen.
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So sometimes I need to pick things up that won't fit in my van.
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When that happens, I need to hook up my trailer.
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When I hook up my trailer, I can take it where I need to go and I can pick up really big things.
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So a couple of days ago we had a really bad wind storm and it knocked some branches off this tree.
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Some though, are still partially attached, so I'm going to have to cut off this branch because it's dead.
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Luckily though the tree is still alive.
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I'm very happy about that because I certainly don't want to cut down the whole tree, so I'm really happy the tree is still alive.
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But when I look at this job, it seems like a lot of work.
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I wonder if I should call up my brother and see if he can come and help.
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I really hope though, when I'm cutting branches off this tree that there aren't any bees.
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If there are, I might need to run away.
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You know cutting branches off that tree was a lot of hard work.
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I might just nod off for a little bit on this bench.
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So sometimes we will have a hose across our driveway because we're watering flowers, but we don't want anyone to drive across it.
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So we will block off this area by putting a few things there that will stop people from doing that.
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Now the driveway is blocked off.
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So is there someone you know that you want to cheer up?
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Sometimes buying someone something, will cheer them up.
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I highly recommend if you need to cheer someone up that you buy them flowers.
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These are called lisianthus if you were wondering, and these certainly cheer people up.
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Go kids go, run really fast.
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Sometimes my kids have races and I like to cheer them on.
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When you cheer on someone it means to give them encouragement for what they're doing.
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Good job. So Jen grows a lot of different kinds of flowers and every once in a while I come across a flower that I didn't actually know that we grew.
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This flower here, I think it's called a Cosmo.
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It's really fun to sometimes come across new flowers out in the flower field.
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Come on, hurry up, run, hurry up.
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We need to get this video done fast because my kids want me to take them to the pool this afternoon so I need to hurry up and I need to get this video done.
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So sometimes at work we have events where we need to dress up, where we need to wear clothes that are a little nicer than our everyday clothes.
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Usually for a guy that means wearing a shirt and tie, but we have other days where we don't have to dress up where we are allowed to ....
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..dress down. Sometimes at work we have a dress down day where we're allowed to wear more casual clothes, like a T-shirt.
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When you dress down it means you wear clothes that are more casual than what you would normally wear.
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And if you're wondering, yes, almost every shirt I own has a little bit of blue in it somewhere.
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So the other day I threw my car keys in this box and now I have to go through this box to see if I can find them.
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I need to go through this box so that I can find my car keys.
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So sometimes when my kids are outside having a snack, there will be a cat that will hang around.
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This cat's name is Tigger and this cat likes to hang around because it thinks that some food might fall on the ground.
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This store has a great coupon that lets me get 50% off my next purchase.
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So I am going to cut out this coupon and I'm going to put it in my wallet.
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Well it's lunchtime.
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So I'm going to cut up some cucumber.
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I like to eat cucumber every day, but I like to cut up the cucumber so that it's easier to eat.
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So after we use the flower pails once, we usually line up the pails to get ready to wash them.
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We need to wash the pails each time.
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So it's nice to line up the pails so you know what order to wash them in.
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So this is Jen's flower studio and we put these lights in to light up this area.
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It used to be a little bit darker in here and it was hard to make bouquets and it was hard to arrange flowers.
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So this light works really well to light up the area where Jen has to work.
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Well, hey that was 25 phrasal verbs acted out as best as I could.
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I hope this English lesson helped you learn just a little bit more English that you can use in your daily life.
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Bob, the Canadian here, you are learning English with Bob the Canadian.
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Thank you so much for watching this video.
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Don't forget to click the subscribe button if you are new here and give me a thumbs up and stick around and watch another video if you have time.
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Thanks for this gift Nao.
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It’s been a hit with my family.
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Everyone has been playing with it.
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And it’s fun to kind of show off a little bit the trick, the one trick, that I know how to do.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Want to level up your English speaking fast? This video is your secret weapon! It’s packed with real-life phrasal verbs acted out in everyday scenarios—perfect for shadow speak (or shadowspeak), where you mimic the speaker’s tone, rhythm, and pronunciation. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS speaking practice or just want to sound more natural, this video turns learning into a game. You’ll pick up 25+ phrasal verbs without feeling like you’re studying—win-win! Plus, acting out the verbs helps you remember them longer, so you’ll use them confidently in conversations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker uses simple, powerful structures that make phrasal verbs easy to grasp. Here are 3 key takeaways:
- Phrasal verbs with objects: Verbs like "pump up" (e.g., "I need to pump up the tire") show how two-word verbs work with nouns. Notice how the object can come between the verb and preposition ("pump it up")—a common pattern in casual speech.
- Present perfect for recent actions: "I’ve been practicing quite a bit" and "I’ve come across a new flower" link past actions to the present, a must for IELTS speaking. This tense sounds natural when talking about experiences.
- Imperatives for instructions: "Hurry up!" and "Cut off the branch" are direct and common in daily interactions. Mimicking these helps you sound more confident when giving or following directions.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Even native speakers trip over these—let’s avoid their mistakes!
- "Phrasal verbs" vs. "phrasal verbs": The speaker often reduces "phrasal" to "fray-zul" in fast speech. Practice saying it smoothly to keep up with conversational pace.
- "Black out" vs. "blackout": The verb "black out" (to faint) is two words, but the noun "blackout" is one. Listen for the stress: "black OUT" (verb) vs. "BLACKout" (noun).
- "Hurry up": The "r" in "hurry" is soft, and "up" is often pronounced "uhp" in casual speech. Use shadowing to nail this relaxed tone—your ears (and listeners) will thank you!
Ready to start? Grab your phone, hit play, and shadow speak along. You’ll be using these phrasal verbs like a pro in no time—progress feels amazing, right?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been practicing · has been playing |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is blocked · are called · are allowed |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might black · might blow · might need |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | nicer than · more casual than |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.