Learn 30 phrasal verbs in 30 days!

Jumpstart your vocabulary in 2017.

Today is Day 12 and we're studying phrasal verbs with “break”.

This topic is so big I've had to break it into two different videos.

Today is Day 1.

Earlier in this series we did CUT phrasal verbs.

There were so many I had to cut the video in two.

Break is the same way.

There are so many phrasal verbs, I have to break this topic into two videos.

Break away: this is when something is being held in place, tied in place, and then it gets separated.

The boat may break away from the dock in the storm.

Also, a person who is being held can break away.

The girl broke away from her father and jumped into the pool.

It can also mean to move away from a group.

She has broken away from the pack and is now the lead.

This would be in a race.

Everyone was running in a group, and she broke away, separated herself from them.

Break down. We have several meanings here.

Your car can break down, your washing machine can break down.

This is when something stops working correctly, stops functioning.

My car broke down on a long road trip.

It can also refer to something more abstract, like a marriage or a negotiation.

Their marriage broke down after their kids left the house.

The negotiations broke down quickly.

We also use this phrasal verb in the phrase ‘break down and cry’.

It means to have your emotions take over, to be uncontrollable.

I just broke down and cried when I saw the violence on TV.

Or, it can mean to dismantle something:

break down the cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycling bin.

It also means to divide something into smaller parts.

I’m gonna break down the old shed in my yard.

The meat will break down as you cook it.

This is a big problem. Let’s break it down into manageable parts.

Put the two words together and it becomes a noun.

A mental breakdown is a mental disorder.

An event, not an ongoing problem,

but a specific event when someone cannot function normally due to stress, depression, or anxiety.

Break in has a couple of very different meanings.

First, it can mean to enter illegally.

Let’s break into Mary’s vacation house when she’s not there.

It can also mean to use something a while to make it more comfortable.

These shoes hurt, I need to break them in.

Or, a new baseball glove. The leather is very stiff.

You have to use it a while to break it in.

It can mean to do something suddenly.

She broke into a smile when she saw the puppy.

The audience broke into applause as soon as the star walked on stage.

Have you ever heard someone talk about a big break?

That means a moment of discovery in a competitive field.

The child star had her big break when the Broadway producer saw her singing on the street corner.

We use ‘break in’ this way too: It’s tough to break into show business.

Break away, break down, break in.

Just three phrasal verbs here, but a lot of meanings!

Tomorrow we’ll learn break off, break out, break through, break up, and break with.

Break’ begins with the BR consonant cluster.

Your tongue can be in position for the R, as you start the B.

The position for the R is: front of tongue pulled back and up.

Rr, lips flare.

Br-r-r.

Some language groups mix this up with the L,

bl-, bl-, where th tongue tip is at the roof of the mouth, ll--

rr, we want the tip pulled back and up. Br-. Break.

Then we have the AY as in SAY diphthong. Ay.

For this, the jaw drops more for the beginning of the sound, and less for the end of the sound.

Ayy-- Brea---

At the end, keep your tongue tip down, but arch the front of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth.

Ayy-- Brea---kk---

And to end, a K sound. Back of the tongue lifts up and touches the soft palate, then pulls away.

Kk-- Break. Break.

The word sounds just like this word, brake.

They are homophones.

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