You’ve been studying for weeks. You know your phrasal verbs. But then — you’re invited to a dinner party, people start chatting away, and suddenly… your mind goes blank. You want to join in, speak up, and bring up something interesting, but all the expressions you studied seem to vanish. Sound familiar?
It’s normal. Phrasal verbs are everywhere in spoken English, but they rarely come out when we need them most — especially in real-time conversations. You might hold back because you’re afraid of making a mistake. Or you might just be trying to keep up with the pace, while silently thinking: “How do they pull this off so effortlessly?”
The key is to push through the awkwardness. Don’t wait for the perfect moment or perfect grammar — jump in, even if it’s messy. The more you reach out, the easier it becomes to pick up natural rhythm. Fluency doesn’t come from memorizing — it comes from showing up, getting stuck, and trying again. Even at the dinner table.