Lista dei 170 phrasal verbs in inglese più comuni (con esempi e traduzione)

Parlare inglese fluentemente va oltre l’apprendimento della grammatica e del vocabolario: significa comprendere e usare espressioni reali, come i phrasal verbs.

Noi di Twenix lo vediamo ogni giorno: professionisti che capiscono l’inglese “classico”, ma vanno in crisi quando sentono un semplice “give up” o “look after”. Ecco perché imparare i phrasal verbs è fondamentale se vuoi parlare inglese in modo fluente nella vita reale.

Abbiamo quindi preparato una lista dei 170 phrasal verbs più comuni in inglese, con esempi d’uso e traduzione in italiano, così potrai iniziare subito a padroneggiarli.

Let’s go!

Cosa sono i phrasal verbs e perché sono così importanti in inglese?

Un phrasal verb è una combinazione di un verbo + una particella (preposizione o avverbio) che insieme formano un significato completamente nuovo.

Per esempio:

• “Give up” non significa “dare su”, ma arrendersi.
• “Look after” non significa “guardare dopo”, ma prendersi cura di qualcuno.

Sono usatissimi nella vita quotidiana: se lavori in un’azienda internazionale, partecipi a riunioni in inglese o vuoi semplicemente viaggiare senza sembrare un robot con il dizionario, devi saperli usare con disinvoltura.

Noi di Twenix abbiamo creato lezioni per imparare inglese online su misura proprio per aiutare gli studenti ad affrontare queste espressioni in modo naturale, parlando, non memorizzando.

Consigli per imparare i phrasal verbs

La chiave? Contesto e ripetizione attiva.

Un phrasal verb che leggi in una lista lo dimentichi il giorno dopo. Uno che usi per raccontare qualcosa della tua giornata ti resta impresso.

Ecco alcuni consigli pratici:

• Raggruppali per verbo base. Aiuta a trovare schemi e a ricordare significati simili, come vedrai più avanti.
• Crea le tue frasi con situazioni che ti suonano familiari. Più l’esempio è personale, più sarà facile ricordarlo.
• Ascoltali in serie, film o podcast. Quando li senti in una conversazione reale, capisci meglio come e quando si usano. Non è lo stesso vedere “break up” in una lista che sentirlo in mezzo a una scena di rottura nella tua serie preferita.
• Praticali ad alta voce. Non avere paura di sembrare strano all’inizio. Più li usi, più ti verranno naturali.

E ora sì, ecco la lista che cercavi.

Lista completa dei 170 phrasal verbs in inglese più usati

Phrasal verbs con GET

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Get up	Alzarsi	I usually get up at 7 a.m. even on weekends.
Get along (with)	Andare d’accordo (con qualcuno)	They really get along well despite their differences.
Get over	Superare (una situazione difficile o una malattia)	It took her months to get over the breakup.
Get by	Cavarsela, sopravvivere	I don’t earn much, but I manage to get by.
Get in	Entrare (in un veicolo o luogo chiuso)	She got in the car and drove away.
Get out	Uscire (da un veicolo o luogo chiuso)	Get out of the room, it’s not safe!
Get back	Tornare, rientrare	When did you get back from your trip?
Get away	Scappare, allontanarsi	We’re planning to get away for the weekend.
Get ahead	Progredire, avanzare professionalmente	You need to work hard to get ahead in this company.
Get through	Superare qualcosa di difficile / comunicare per telefono	I couldn’t get through the book – it was too long.
Get down to	Mettersi a fare qualcosa seriamente	Let’s get down to business and start the meeting.
Get around	Spostarsi / Evitare qualcosa	He gets around town by bike.
Get together	Incontrarsi, vedersi	Let’s get together for lunch next week.
Get off	Scendere da un mezzo / Cavarsela da una punizione	She got off the train at the last station.
Get on	Salire su un mezzo / Andare d’accordo	He got on the bus just in time.

Phrasal verbs con TAKE

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Take off	Decollare (aereo) / Togliersi (vestiti)	The plane took off on time. / He took off his jacket.
Take off (informale)	Avere un grande successo / Scappare	His career really took off last year. / He saw the police and took off.
Take up	Iniziare un’attività / Occupare spazio o tempo	I took up yoga last month. / This sofa takes up too much space.
Take over	Assumere il controllo	She took over the project after the manager left.
Take in	Capire / Accogliere / Assorbire	That’s a lot of information to take in. / They took in a stray cat.
Take out	Portare fuori / Invitare a uscire	Could you take the trash out? / I’ll take you out to dinner.
Take back	Restituire / Ritirare quanto detto	I need to take back this shirt. / I take back what I said.
Take on	Accettare una sfida / Assumere personale	She took on a new role at work. / We’re taking on new staff.
Take down	Annotare / Smontare	Let me take down your number. / They took down the decorations.
Take after	Assomigliare a (fisicamente o caratterialmente)	She takes after her father – same sense of humor.

Phrasal verbs con LOOK

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Look after	Prendersi cura di qualcuno	She looks after her little brother every afternoon.
Look up	Cercare informazioni (su libro, internet…)	I looked up the word in the dictionary.
Look for	Cercare qualcosa o qualcuno	I’m looking for my keys, have you seen them?
Look forward to	Non vedere l’ora di	I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
Look out	Fare attenzione, stare attento	Look out! There’s a car coming!
Look into	Investigare, esaminare qualcosa	The manager will look into the complaint.
Look up to	Ammirare qualcuno	She has always looked up to her older sister.
Look down on	Guardare dall’alto in basso, disprezzare	He looks down on people who don’t have a degree.
Look back	Guardare indietro, ricordare	When I look back on my childhood, I smile.
Look around	Guardarsi intorno, esplorare un posto	We looked around the old town before heading home.

Phrasal verbs con GO

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Go on	Continuare, andare avanti	Please, go on with your story.
Go out	Uscire (di casa, con qualcuno)	We’re going out for dinner tonight.
Go over	Rivedere, ripassare	Let’s go over the report before submitting it.
Go back	Tornare, ritornare	I have to go back to the office this afternoon.
Go through	Passare attraverso (un’esperienza difficile), esaminare a fondo	She went through a lot last year.
Go off	Suonare (allarme), esplodere, andare a male (cibo)	The alarm went off at 6 a.m. / This milk has gone off.
Go ahead	Procedere, andare avanti	If you have a question, go ahead and ask.
Go up	Salire (prezzi, temperatura), aumentare	Prices have gone up again this month.
Go down	Scendere, diminuire / Essere ricordato / Essere ben accolto	The temperature went down last night.
Go with	Abbinarsi / Accompagnare	This shirt goes with your jeans. / I’ll go with you.

Phrasal verbs con COME

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Come in	Entrare	Please, come in and have a seat.
Come out	Uscire / Diventare pubblico / Risultare	The truth finally came out.
Come up	Saltare fuori, sorgere (tema, opportunità)	That issue came up during the meeting.
Come across	Imbattersi per caso	I came across an old friend at the market.
Come over	Passare a trovare, venire a casa	Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?
Come back	Tornare	She came back from her trip last night.
Come down with	Ammalarsi di qualcosa	I think I’m coming down with a cold.
Come up with	Inventare, proporre un’idea	She came up with a great marketing plan.
Come off	Riuscire / Staccarsi	The plan came off better than expected. / The label came off easily.
Come through	Superare qualcosa di difficile / Mantenere una promessa	He really came through in the end and saved the deal.

Phrasal verbs con TURN

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Turn on	Accendere qualcosa	Can you turn on the light, please?
Turn off	Spegnere qualcosa	Don’t forget to turn off the TV before bed.
Turn up	Arrivare / Alzare il volume	He turned up late to the meeting. / Turn up the radio.
Turn down	Rifiutare / Abbassare il volume	She turned down the job offer. / Can you turn down the music?
Turn around	Girarsi / Migliorare drasticamente	Turn around and look at this. / The new manager turned the company around.
Turn into	Diventare, trasformarsi in	The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
Turn over	Girare / Consegnare	Please turn over the paper. / He turned over the keys to the landlord.
Turn out	Risultare / Presentarsi	It turned out better than we expected. / Thousands turned out to protest.
Turn to	Rivolgersi a qualcuno/qualcosa	In tough times, she always turns to her family.
Turn back	Tornare indietro	It’s getting dark, we should turn back now.

Phrasal verbs con MAKE

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Make up	Inventare (una storia, scusa) / Fare pace	She made up an excuse for being late. / They finally made up.
Make out	Capire, distinguere / Baciarsi appassionatamente	I couldn’t make out what he was saying. / They were making out in the movie.
Make over	Trasformare, rinnovare	They made over the living room completely.
Make up for	Compensare qualcosa	He worked extra hours to make up for his absence.
Make into	Trasformare qualcosa in qualcos’altro	They made the garage into a home office.
Make of	Pensare o interpretare qualcosa	What do you make of this situation?
Make do (with)	Accontentarsi, arrangiarsi	We didn’t have much food, but we made do with what we had.
Make out to be	Fingere di essere qualcosa/qualcuno	He makes himself out to be smarter than he is.
Make after	Inseguire, correre dietro	The dog made after the cat as soon as it saw it.
Make away with	Rubare e fuggire	The thieves made away with several valuable paintings.

Phrasal verbs con SET

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Set up	Organizzare, allestire	They set up the meeting room before the presentation.
Set off	Partire (per un viaggio) / Far esplodere / Attivare	We set off early in the morning. / The smoke set off the alarm.
Set out	Iniziare un viaggio o obiettivo / Esporre	He set out to become a doctor. / She set out her ideas clearly.
Set back	Ritardare / Costare (denaro)	The accident set us back several weeks. / The repairs set me back $200.
Set in	Iniziare (qualcosa di negativo)	Winter has set in early this year.
Set aside	Mettere da parte, riservare	He set aside some money for the holidays.
Set down	Appoggiare / Mettere per iscritto	She set the tray down carefully. / He set down his thoughts in a notebook.
Set against	Contrapporre, mettere uno contro l’altro	The story sets brother against brother.
Set upon	Attaccare	The hikers were set upon by wild animals.
Set forth	Esporre, presentare (in modo formale)	He set forth his vision during the conference.

Phrasal verbs con GIVE

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Give up	Arrendersi, smettere di fare qualcosa	I gave up trying to fix the printer.
Give in	Cedere, arrendersi (sotto pressione)	He finally gave in to their demands.
Give out	Distribuire / Esaurirsi	They gave out free samples at the store. / The batteries gave out.
Give away	Regalare / Rivelare un segreto	She gave away her old clothes. / Don’t give away the surprise!
Give off	Emettere (odore, luce, calore…)	The flowers gave off a lovely scent.
Give back	Restituire qualcosa	Don’t forget to give back the book you borrowed.
Give over to	Dedicare tempo/spazio a qualcosa	The entire room was given over to storage.
Give on to	Affacciarsi su (strada, giardino…)	My room gives on to the courtyard.
Give it to	Rimproverare severamente	The boss really gave it to him after the mistake.
Give way	Cedere il passo / Crollare	You must give way at the junction. / The bridge gave way.

Phrasal verbs con CUT

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Cut off	Tagliare, interrompere	The phone call was cut off suddenly.
Cut down on	Ridurre il consumo di qualcosa	I’m trying to cut down on sugar.
Cut out	Eliminare / Ritagliare qualcosa	Cut out the pictures from the magazine. / I cut out dairy.
Cut back	Ridurre (spese, consumi)	We had to cut back on our spending.
Cut in	Interrompere, intromettersi in una conversazione	She kept cutting in while I was speaking.
Cut up	Tagliare a pezzi	He cut up the vegetables for the salad.
Cut across	Prendere una scorciatoia	We cut across the field to save time.
Cut into	Interrompere / Ridurre	His comments cut into my time.
Cut out for	Essere adatto a qualcosa	I’m not cut out for office work.
Cut off from	Isolare, disconnettere	The village was cut off from the rest of the world.

Phrasal verbs con BRING

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Bring up	Menzionare un argomento / Crescere (un bambino)	She brought up an interesting point. / They brought up their children in Spain.
Bring about	Causare, provocare	The new law brought about many changes.
Bring out	Mettere in risalto / Pubblicare	That shirt really brings out your eyes.
Bring down	Abbattere / Rdurre	The scandal brought down the politician. / We need to bring down costs.
Bring in	Introdurre / Generare (denaro o persone)	The new product brought in a lot of revenue.
Bring forward	Anticipare (una data)	They brought the meeting forward to Monday.
Bring back	Restituire / Riportare alla memoria	Can you bring back my book? / This song brings back memories.
Bring along	Portare con sé	Don’t forget to bring along your ID.
Bring over	Portare qualcuno a casa	I’ll bring my friend over for dinner.
Bring together	Riunire, unire	The event brought people from all backgrounds together.

Phrasal verbs con CALL

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Call off	Annullare qualcosa	They called off the wedding at the last minute.
Call back	Richiamare (al telefono)	I’ll call you back in five minutes.
Call out	Richiamare l’attenzione / Sfidare pubblicamente	The manager called out the employee in front of everyone.
Call up	Chiamare al telefono / Ricordare	She called up her friend to share the news. / That smell calls up memories.
Call on	Invitare / Fare visita / Rivolgersi a	The teacher called on Tom to answer. / We called on our neighbors.
Call for	Richiedere, esigere	This situation calls for a quick response.
Call in	Chiedere che qualcuno venga / Chiamare per motivi di lavoro	They called in an expert. / I had to call in sick.
Call over	Chiamare per far avvicinare qualcuno	He called the waiter over to complain.
Call at	Fare tappa (treni, autobus)	The train calls at several stations.
Call by	Passare velocemente da un luogo	I’ll call by your office later today.

Phrasal verbs con PICK

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Pick up	Raccogliere / Imparare / Rimorchiare	I’ll pick you up at 8. / She picked up some Spanish in Mexico. / He tried to pick up someone at the bar.
Pick out	Scegliere, selezionare	She picked out a beautiful dress for the wedding.
Pick on	Prendere di mira, infastidire	The kids at school used to pick on him.
Pick at	Mangiare svogliatamente / Stuzzicare	He was just picking at his food. / Stop picking at that scab!
Pick over	Esaminare con attenzione (cibo o oggetti)	They picked over the fruit before buying.
Pick apart	Criticare pesantemente / Analizzare in dettaglio	The critics picked apart the film.
Pick yourself up	Rimettersi in piedi emotivamente o fisicamente	It’s time to pick yourself up and keep going.
Pick off	Eliminare uno per uno (bersagli)	The sniper picked off the targets one by one.
Pick up on	Cogliere, notare	She picked up on his nervousness.
Pick through	Rovistare, cercare tra le cose	He picked through the box looking for his keys.

Phrasal verbs con CARRY

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Carry on	Continuare	Carry on with your work, please.
Carry out	Eseguire, portare a termine	They carried out a detailed investigation.
Carry over	Trasferire, riportare	The balance will be carried over to the next month.
Carry off	Portare via / Riuscire con successo	She carried off the award with grace.
Carry around	Portare con sé	He carries around a notebook everywhere.
Carry through	Superare / Portare a termine con successo	Her determination carried her through the hard times.
Carry forward	Riportare (a un periodo successivo)	Unused vacation days will be carried forward.
Carry back	Riportare indietro nel tempo	This music carries me back to my childhood.
Carry on with	Continuare con qualcosa in particolare	Let’s carry on with the lesson.
Carry off (disease)	Portare via la vita (malattia)	The illness carried him off suddenly.

Phrasal verbs con BE

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Be in	Essere a casa o disponibile	I’ll be in all afternoon if you want to stop by.
Be out	Essere fuori / Non disponibile	She’s out right now, can I take a message?
Be up	Essere sveglio / Essere finito (tempo)	I was up until 2 a.m. / Time’s up!
Be over	Terminare	The movie is over now, let’s go.
Be off	Essere libero / Essere partito / Essere annullato	I’m off today. / The meeting is off.
Be into	Essere interessato a qualcosa	He’s really into jazz lately.
Be back	Tornare	I’ll be back in 10 minutes.
Be out of	Essere senza qualcosa	We’re out of milk again!
Be down	Essere giù di morale / Essere calato	He’s been down since the breakup. / Sales are down this quarter.
Be on	Essere acceso / in onda	The lights are on. / What’s on TV tonight? / That film is on at the cinema.

Phrasal verbs con SEE

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
See off	Salutare qualcuno che parte	We went to the airport to see them off.
See to	Occuparsi di qualcosa	I’ll see to the arrangements.
See through	Vedere attraverso / Non lasciarsi ingannare	She saw through his lies.
See out	Accompagnare all’uscita / Portare a termine qualcosa	I’ll see you out. / Let’s see out the final episode.
See over	Ispezionare	We went to see over the new house.
See about	Occuparsi di, prendere in considerazione	I’ll see about getting tickets.
See in	Accogliere qualcosa o qualcuno (specialmente a casa)	We always see in the New Year with fireworks.
See beyond	Vedere oltre qualcosa	She could see beyond the surface.
See out (illness)	Superare una malattia	He managed to see out the illness.

Phrasal verbs con KEEP

Phrasal verb	Significato	Esempio
Keep on	Continuare a fare qualcosa	He kept on talking even after everyone left.
Keep up	Tenere il passo / Continuare	Keep up the good work! / I couldn’t keep up with the pace.
Keep out	Stare fuori	Keep out of my room!
Keep in	Tenere dentro / Non lasciar uscire	They kept the children in during the storm.
Keep back	Trattenere / Stare indietro	Please keep back from the edge. / He kept back information.
Keep down	Abbassare la voce / Controllare / Trattenere	Try to keep your voice down. / She could barely keep the food down.
Keep off	Non calpestare / Evitare	Keep off the grass! / He was told to keep off alcohol.
Keep to	Attenersi a qualcosa	Please keep to the plan.
Keep from	Trattenersi dal fare qualcosa	I couldn’t keep from laughing.
Keep away	Stare lontano	Keep away from the fire.

Domande frequenti

Quanti phrasal verbs esistono in inglese?

Anche se non esiste un numero ufficiale, si stima che ci siano oltre 5.000 phrasal verbs in inglese.

È necessario imparare i phrasal verbs per parlare inglese?

Assolutamente sì. I phrasal verbs fanno parte dell’inglese quotidiano e padroneggiarli ti aiuterà a sembrare più naturale, capire meglio i madrelingua e esprimerti con sicurezza.

Dove posso esercitarmi con i phrasal verbs?

Ci sono molti siti web e app, ma se cerchi un’esperienza più guidata e su misura, piattaforme come Twenix ti aiutano a esercitarti con insegnanti in lezioni di 26 minuti basate su situazioni reali.

In più, su Twenix trovi microcorsi specifici sui Phrasal Verbs per impararli in modo chiaro e pratico.