Enjoy a funny English story and learn lots of phrasal verbs and expressions for traveling while you watch.
Here are some of the phrasal verbs and expressions you’ll see in action: stop by, stop off, pick someone up, drop someone off, give someone a ride/lift, touch down, check in, set off, hurry up and take off.
Click here to learn more phrasal verbs for: computers and technology, food and eating, organizing things.
Click here to learn phrases for checking in at an airport.
Click here to learn how to use the words: travel, trip and journey.
Phrasal Verbs and Common Expressions for Talking about Traveling
The best way to learn English phrasal verbs is to see them in action. So today, we’re going to show you lots of phrasal verbs in a story, a funny story. You’ll love it.
We’re looking at phrasal verbs to do with travelling, so verbs to do with travel, trips, and journeys. Do you know how to use these words? If you’re not sure, don’t worry. We’ve made another video about them that you can see here. We make a new lessons every week at Simple English Videos, so make sure you subscribe to our channel and click the notification bell. That way you’ll know when there’s a new video waiting for you.
But this lesson’s about phrasal verbs we use to talk about travelling. Your task is to watch a story, enjoy it, and see how many phrasal verbs you can spot. When it’s finished we’ll check your answers and explain what all the verbs mean. Ready?
I’ve got an important job for you Jay.
Yeah?
Mrs. Clarkson’s stopping by today.
Mrs. Clarkson of Clarkson Industries?
Yes.
She’s coming here?
Yes. She’s flying to Chicago and she’s stopping off to see us on the way.
Wow!
I need you pick her up at the airport and bring her to the office.
Great!
Her plane gets in at three. She only has a couple of hours between flights.
Don’t worry. When her plane touches down, I’ll be there waiting.
Good.
Oh no!
What?
I don’t have my car with me today. Vicki gave me a ride to work.
Argh! You can use my car.
Your new Volvo?
Yes, but be very careful.
I will. Thank you, Kathy.
Whose car key is this?
Oh, it’s Kathy’s
The key to her new Volvo?
Yes, I’m going to pick up an important customer at the airport.
It’s got wi-fi and all kinds of gadgets.
I know.
How fast can it go?
Oh, I have no idea.
I’ll find out.
But I have to be at the airport at three.
I’ll be back in ten minutes. I’ll bring you some doughnuts.
Kathy will kill me if I’m late. Oh, hurry up Vicki. Where have you been?
Out and about.
Give me the key.
Jay. Why weren’t you at the airport?
I’m setting off now, Kathy.
You’re too late. Mrs. Clarkson just checked in for her next flight.
I can be there ten minutes.
She’s getting on the plane now.
But it’s not my fault. Vicki took your car key and then she took off.
Jay wanted me to get him some doughnuts. Would you like one?
Jay! In my office. Now!
Let’s look at some of the phrasal verbs you heard. The first two were stop by and stop off.
Mrs Clarkson’s stopping by today.
Mrs Clarkson of Clarkson Industries?
Yes.
She’s coming here?
Yes. She’s flying to Chicago and she’s stopping off to see us on the way
Wow!
Stop by and stop off have very similar meanings. If you stop by a place you make a short visit there. Stop off is very similar, but it’s a short visit during a journey, so when you’re going to a place you might stop off somewhere else on the way.
OK, the next verb you heard was pick up.
I need you pick her up at the airport and bring her to the office.
Great!
Pick someone up means going to a place to collect them. So we might go to an airport in our car to collect someone who will be waiting for us. We can pick up things too – collect them when they’re ready.
The opposite of picking up is dropping off. That’s when you take someone to a place by car, and then you leave them there. So maybe you’re on your way somewhere and your route takes you past a place that the other person needs to be. You drop them off.
OK, the next two verbs we heard were get in and touch down.
Her plane gets in at three. She only has a couple of hours between flights.
Don’t worry. When her plane touches down, I’ll be there waiting.
Good.
Get in is a really useful verb. It means to arrive at a place. When you want to know what time someone’s plane, train or bus is arriving you can say, when does it get in?
Touch down is specific to planes and it’s the action of landing. When a plane makes contact with the ground it touches down. Great. Next one.
Oh no!
What?
I don’t have my car with me today. Vicki gave me a ride to work.
Argh! You can use my car.
Your new Volvo?
Yes, but be very careful.
I will.
To give someone a ride is American English expression and it means to take someone somewhere in your car. In British English we’d say give someone a lift. It means the same thing. It’s a free ride to a place they want to get to.
OK, the next phrasal verb you heard wasn’t specifically about travel, but it’s very useful. See if you can spot it.
How fast can it go?
Oh, I have no idea.
I’ll find out.
But I have to be at the airport at three.
It was find out. To find out means to discover – to get information about something.
The next phrasal verb was easy.
Kathy will kill me if I’m late. Oh hurry up Vicki.
Say ‘hurry up’ when you want someone to do something faster. It means do something quickly because there isn’t much time.
OK. The next two….
Jay. Why weren’t you at the airport?
I’m setting off now, Kathy.
You’re too late. Mrs. Clarkson just checked in for her next flight.
To set off – this means to begin a journey, so to start to go somewhere.
And to ‘check in’ means to register. When you go to an airport or a hotel, you go to a desk to tell them that you’ve arrived.
We’ve made another video with useful phrases for checking in at an airport. Click here to see it.
OK, just two more verbs.
I can be there ten minutes.
She’s getting on the plane now.
But it’s not my fault. Vicki took your car key and then she took off.
When we get on a plane, we board the plane. We get inside it. And then the plane takes off. It rises into the air. Planes and rockets take off. Now that’s one meaning of take off but there’s another one. Take off can also mean to leave somewhere in a hurry. If someone disappears quickly, we can say they took off – it means they left suddenly.
And that’s all the phrasal verbs you heard. Phew! There were a lot. Let’s watch the story again, and this time you can see the words.
I’ve got an important job for you Jay.
Yeah?
Mrs. Clarkson’s stopping by today.
Mrs. Clarkson of Clarkson Industries?
Yes.
She’s coming here.
Yes. She’s flying to Chicago and she’s stopping off to see us on the way
Wow!
I need you pick her up at the airport and bring her to the office.
Great!
Her plane gets in at three. She only has a couple of hours between flights.
Don’t worry. When her plane touches down, I’ll be there waiting.
Good.
Oh no!
What?
I don’t have my car with me today. Vicki gave me a ride to work.
Argh! You can use my car.
Your new Volvo?
Yes, but be very careful.
I will. Thank you, Kathy.
Whose car key is this?
Oh, it’s Kathy’s.
The key to her new Volvo?
Yes, I’m going to pick up an important customer up at the airport.
It’s got wifi and all kinds of gadgets.
I know.
How fast can it go?
Oh, I have no idea.
I’ll find out.
But I have to be at the airport at three.
I’ll be back in ten minutes. I’ll bring you some doughnuts.
Kathy will kill me if I’m late. Oh hurry up Vicki. Where have you been?
Out and about.
Give me the key.
Jay. Why weren’t you at the airport?
I’m setting off now, Kathy.
You’re too late. Mrs Clarkson just checked in for her next flight.
I can be there ten minutes.
She’s getting on the plane now.
But it’s not my fault. Vicki took your car key and then she took off.
Jay wanted me to get him some doughnuts. Would you like one?
Jay, in my office. Now!
If you enjoyed this story and you like this way of learning, please share this video with a friend who’s also learning English. See you next Friday. Bye!
Click here to learn more phrasal verbs for: computers and technology, food and eating, organizing things.
Click here to learn phrases for checking in at an airport.
Click here to learn how to use the words: travel, trip and journey.