Lesson Transcript

Hey, everybody! Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them, maybe!
Okay. Let’s get to your first question this week.
First question this week comes from Mari.
Hi, Mari!
Mari says…
“Could you please explain how to know when I can separate a phrasal verb by putting a noun between the verb and the preposition?”
Great question! Let’s think about this in two categories.
Phrasal verbs that you can split are phrasal verbs that take a direct object. These are called transitive phrasal verbs. But please note that just because a phrasal verb takes a direct object does not necessarily mean that you can split it.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
“I wrote down her phone number.”
“I wrote her phone number down.”
This is an example of a phrasal verb, “write down” or “wrote down” (in past tense) that can be split. The direct object here is “her phone number.” We can put “her phone number” after “wrote down” in the past tense or we can put it between “wrote” and “down.” This is one that we can split.
Let’s look at another example:
“He opened up the file and started working.”
“He opened the file up and started working.”
In this sentence, the phrasal verb is “open up,” (past tense) “opened up.” We can move “the file ” (the direct object) to the middle of the phrasal verb, if we want to. “Opened up the file” is fine. “Opened the file up” is also fine. So this is another example of a phrasal verb that we can split, a transitive phrasal verb that is splittable.
Let’s take a look now at a transitive phrasal verb that we cannot split.
“We got in the car.”
This is an example of a phrasal verb that we cannot split. So, “to get in (something)” means to put yourself into something, but we cannot move “the car” between “get” and “in.” We cannot say, “ We get the car in.” This is an example of a transitive phrasal verb that we cannot split.
So, how do we know which ones are splittable and which ones are not splittable, or separable and inseparable? Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy rule for distinguishing the two. It just takes time and practice.
Let’s now talk about intransitive phrasal verbs. So, phrasal verbs that do not take a direct object, which are intransitive phrasal verbs, cannot be split. We cannot move the noun after the phrasal verb to the middle of the phrasal verb.
Some examples of this:
“I like to work out.”
“My plan fell through.”
“She loved her trip to France, she’s planning to go back next year.”
“The interviewee never showed up.”
So, in each of these example sentences, the phrasal verb is in bold. In each of these examples as well, the phrasal verb does not take a direct object. That means that we cannot split the phrasal verb. So again, these are called intransitive phrasal verbs.
In sum, intransitive phrasal verbs cannot be split. Some transitive phrasal verbs can be split. Please take a look at inseparable transitive phrasal verbs to get a list of vocabulary words that you can study, so that you can remember which ones need to stay together. So, I hope that this helps you. Thanks very much for the question.
Okay. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Jose Elias.
Hello, Jose!
Jose says…
“Hi, Alisha! I would like to know how to use ‘wrap.’ For example, when people say, ‘Your life was a wrap’ or ‘You are a wrap.’ I would like to know other possible meanings, please.”
Generally, when we use the expression, “it’s a wrap” or “that’s a wrap,” it means that something is finished, it’s complete. We often use this word in like media, like film production, movie production, or TV production-related work. When someone has come to an end, we can say, “It’s a wrap” or “That’s a wrap,’ which means we’re finished or we’re done.
We might also hear this in business or professional settings to mean this is finished, as in this project is finished or this meeting is finished. You might say, “Let’s wrap up this meeting,” which means let’s finish this meeting or let’s conclude this meeting.
So, it tends to have this idea, this feeling of something being finished, something being completed. To look specifically at the examples that you provided here, while they’re not sentences I would say, maybe not phrases I would say, perhaps those would be used in very specific situations, like “He got in trouble with his parents and they said he couldn’t go out for a month.” “His social life was a wrap,” which means his social life is over as a result of something that happened. So, that might be a situation where you’d hear something like “his life was a wrap” or “her life was a wrap.”
If someone says, “You are a wrap,” it sounds like maybe I’m finished with you, I suppose. Again, these are not expressions that I personally would say, but that might be how someone would use this.
Okay. To end this question, let’s talk about one more very common use of “wrap.”
We have the expression, “to be wrapped up in (something)” or “to be wrapped up in (someone),” which means you are so involved or so interested in someone or something that you ignore things outside that or you don’t pay enough attention to those things.
So, for example:
“I’m so wrapped in this TV show, I forgot my friend’s birthday!”
Or, “Why are you so wrapped up in your new relationship? I never see you anymore.”
So it means that someone is too interested or too involved in something and they forget about the other things in their life. We also have this meaning associated with “wrap.” So, I hope that this helps you. Thanks for the question.
Okay. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Mariam Atef.
Hi, Mariam!
Mariam says…
“Hey, Alisha! What is the difference between ‘infectious’ and ‘contagious’?”
Good question! Something that is infectious is something that is capable of causing sickness. So, an infectious disease is a disease that can cause someone to become sick. So, that means that diseases are commonly called “infectious diseases.”
Some examples:
“Prevent the spread of infectious disease by washing your hands.”
“There was something infectious in my food and now I’m sick.”
“Contagious,” on the other hand, refers to something that can be passed to another person through contact.
Some example sentences:
“I’m sneezing a lot, but don’t worry, it’s just allergies, I’m not contagious.”
“There’s a highly contagious cold going around this year.”
So, to think about the relationship between these two words, something that is “contagious” is always infectious. So, for example, a cold. A cold is a germ, it’s a disease, and it can be passed between people, so it is contagious and it is infectious. However, something that is “infectious” is not always contagious. I gave the example of allergies in an earlier example sentence. Allergies are an example of something that is infectious, but not contagious, so we can’t pass allergies from person to person. One person just has this unfortunate relationship with like dust or maybe like cats or dogs or something. Something causes this unfortunate reaction in a person, but it is not contagious.
It’s the same idea with something like food poisoning. If you eat something and there’s an infectious germ in there, you can get sick, but you can’t pass that to another person through contact.
So, again, something that is contagious is also infectious, but something that is infectious is not necessarily contagious.
On a lighter note, we also use these words to talk about moods, feelings, and emotions.
Like you might say:
“Her laughter is infectious.”
Or, “His energy is contagious.”
So, we can use these words to talk about concepts as well, so I hope that this helps you. Thanks for the question.
All right. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Raisa.
Hi, Raisa!
Raisa says…
“Hi, Alisha! I’m trying to memorize some phrasal verbs, but sometimes, I don’t understand the need to use a preposition when the verb without the preposition means the same thing. For example, what’s the difference between ‘She called him’ and ‘She called him up’? Thanks!”
Yeah. This is a good question. In this example, the two have the same meaning, yes, as you said, but the one with “up” sounds a little more casual. So, “She called him” and “She called him up” are the same, but “She called him” sounds a little more formal. I would use “She called him” in a more polite situation and “She called him up” in a more casual situation. If you’re not sure, just use, “She called him.”
Another example of this might be something like “closed down.”
So, for example, if we say:
“The store closed down.”
Or, “The store closed.”
The two have the same meaning and depending on the context, it could mean, the store closed for the day or the store closed permanently. But again, the one with the preposition, “closed down” sounds a little bit more casual. So, if I want to make sure that I’m being polite, in a polite situation, I would probably choose to say, “The store closed.” If I wanna sound a little bit more casual, a little more conversational, I might say, “closed down.”
So, this is an imperfect rule. Actually, this is not a rule. It’s just a guide, really. If you’re not sure which to use and you think that the two verbs might have the same meaning, so that means just the regular verb and the verb with the preposition, if you think the two have the same meaning and you’re not sure which to choose, choose the one that doesn’t have the preposition attached to it. So, it’s better to sound a little bit more polite and then you won’t be in any trouble ever than to sound a little bit too casual, sometimes.
So, this is kind of a general guide that I hope helps you make decisions with verbs like this. Thanks for the question!
Okay. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Eduardo Bottrel.
Hello, Eduardo!
Eduardo says…
“Hi, Alisha! You are a great teacher. I learned a lot with you.”
Thanks! Cool.
Eduardo says…
“My question is, is the expression ‘bear with me’ used a lot in everyday life and when can I use it?”
It’s a common expression, yes, but whether it’s commonly used in everyday life depends on the person.
So, first, let’s talk about what this expression means.
“Bear with me” means please tolerate me or please be patient with me. We use this expression like when we know we’re being difficult or when we know maybe we’ve caused a problem or we’re related to a problem and we’re asking for the other person’s patience or the other person’s kindness.
So, you might hear this if someone is trying to solve a problem and it’s taking a long time. Like on the phone, if I’m like a technical support person, I might say, “Bear with me, I’m working on a solution,” like to try to solve someone’s problem. So, that means please be patient with me, I’m trying to solve this issue. Or maybe if someone made a mistake, you might say, “I’m really sorry I messed up. Please bear with me, I won’t let it happen again.” So, it’s like asking for someone’s patience. So, if maybe you’re the type of person that messes up a lot or you know that you’re being really difficult or something, you might say a lot, “Please bear with me.” But hopefully, you don’t have to use this expression so much.
So, yes, it is natural to use in everyday conversation. Hopefully, you don’t have to use it that much, but I hope that this helps you understand some situations in which you might need to use it. So, thanks very much for this question.
All right. That is everything that I have for this week. Thank you, as always, for sending your question. Thanks very much for watching this week’s episode of Ask Alisha and I will see you again next week. Bye-bye!

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