Business idioms and phrasal verbs: It’s all connected

As professional English language trainers, we will always have a variety of positions available. Nevertheless, people still seem to have doubts about the differences between general everyday English and business English. Although there is substantial overlapping going both ways, there are some clear differences. The objective of business English classes is to enable students to feel more comfortable in one’s working environment, where specialized English is the norm. The common business idioms used in the corporate world are often phrases that confuse a lot of people, as direct translation often makes no sense.

Communicating with native English speakers in a business setting means you will hear phrasal verbs at least once, if not several times, during a conversation. Phrasal verbs can make the conversation confusing and complicated to follow for non-native English speakers. As defined in the Grammarly handbook, phrasal verbs are verbs used with another word (an adverb or preposition) to create a commonly used phrase.

Phrasal verbs are idiomatic — you can’t deduce the meaning of a phrasal verb by interpreting each of the words it contains literally. For example, if you say, “I’ll look into the mirror,” you are going to direct your sight to a mirror. In this case, look into is not a phrasal verb; it’s simply a verb followed by a preposition. On the other hand, if you say, “I don’t know what phrasal verbs are, but I’ll look into it,” you are not directing your sight into phrasal verbs—you are going to find out more about them. Reviewing phrasal verbs and their definitions will help with your comprehension.

Conoce: English training for business

Business English and General English

The first clear difference between general English and business English is that the vocabulary is rarely used outside a business setting but is, in fact, commonplace in the corporate world. Without getting too technical, we could mention financial vocabulary such as bonds, bankruptcy, broker, commodity, depreciation, dividend, gross domestic product (GDP), margin call, short sell, wager, and so on. All rather habitual terms in the business world, but seldom used outside it.

Business English and General English have much more in common when it comes to common business idioms, expressions, and phrases. For non-native speakers, it is essential to understand some of the most familiar expressions used by us Anglophones to reach and maintain an advanced level of English.

For businessmen and women on the move needing effective one-to-one lessons with trained professionals specialized in business English, Skype English Classes with qualified native teachers are quickly becoming a sought-after option thanks to their flexibility, personalization, and affordability when compared to conventional group lessons in physical academies.

Conoce: English for life

Business idioms: Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs, on the other hand, can be tricky for English learners, because you may understand the words individually but not as a phrase. After learning common phrasal verbs used in business and hearing them repeatedly, you will become more comfortable with them. Gaining a clear understanding and practicing them will help you to integrate them into your own vocabulary.

Learn some phrasal verbs in a business context with CAC-EUROCENTRES.

• Start up: Create (a business or other organization)
• Set up: Start (a company or an organization)
• Hire out: Allow people to use something for a short time in exchange for money.
• Run into: Reach a particular level
• Sell up: Sell a business (or house) in order to go and do something else  (or live somewhere else)
• Take over: Get control of a company by buying most of its shares.
• Wind down:  Gradually reducing the amount of work being done until it closes completely. 
• Go under: Fail financially. 
• Run to: Reach a particular amount, usually a large amount.
• Take out: Get money from a bank. Withdraw
• Cut back: Decrease the amount of money that is being spent on something.
• Pay back: Pay someone the money that you owe them.
• Come to: Be a particular total when amounts or numbers are added together.

At CAC-Eurocentres, we include the use of phrasal verbs and idioms to make our students understand the language in a real context. We are convinced that there are many different ways to practice a language, and we are in charge of finding the best way to learn it. If you want to know more about our methodology, join one of our specialized programs.

Carlos Santiago

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