Tom bought into the young man's elevator pitch. The phrasal verb 'buy into' is used in a figurative sense in this example to mean "Tom believed what the young man said in his short presentation." Phrasal verbs can be used in both a literal and figurative sense. Take the phrasal verb 'pick up' for example:
Janet picked up her daughter's clothes from the floor.
Mary picked up some Chinese when she was there on business.
In the first case, the 'pick up' is used literally, in the second case 'pick up' is used figuratively to mean 'learn'. Phrasal verbs can be real challenge to students. Start by learning a limited list of phrasal verbs, and then move on to taking note of phrasal verbs as you come across them in context. You can also purchase a phrasal verb dictionary to help.
Comments
This is always a difficult subject. The first key is to tell students not to translate a word directly. I have found, for many older students that it can be a real challenge to forget the literal definitions. A few phrases a little at a time works for most.
The lesson is very interesting
Phrasal verbs are the most of the best part when we use English. Thanks
An important lesson for us. Thank you very much Sir.
Damayanthi,
from Sri Lanka
good but i need some practice exrecises for this english topics