Phrasal Verb Lesson

I’m going to let you in on a little secret…
An intermediate phrasal verb lesson
1. Do this questionnaire with a partner. You don’t have to tell anything that is secret!
THE SECRECY QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Are you a secretive person? Do you keep a lot of secrets?
2. If you had a secret, which of the following people would you tell it to? Imagine
that the secret was not directly connected to them.
a. A parent
b. A brother or sister
c. Your partner (husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend)
d. A colleague at work
e. A classmate

3. Now imagine that the secret involved WAS connected to them. Who would you
tell?
4. Do people tell you their secrets?
5. Are you someone people trust with their secrets?
6. Have you ever told a secret by accident?
7. Think of the place where you study or work. Do people often know each other’s
secrets?
8. Is there someone at your work or school who knows, or wants to know, secrets
about everybody?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2. Now look at what some other English speakers said about these questions. What questions
were they answering

• My mum, definitely. I can´t keep anything from her
• Oh yes. Things get around all the time at the office.

• Yes, I would say so. People confide in me a lot. I don´t know why.

• That would be Jason. He picks up things all th time and fills us in on gossip.

• Well, there was one time when I let it out that my friend was pregnant. She was very angry with me

• I´ll let you in on a secret: I tell everybody my secrets .

• No, I can´t keep things to myself

• My husband and I share everything. We don´t hold anything back.

3. Look back at the phrasal verbs in bold. Match them to their definitions.

-To keep something secret and not tell anyone else about it.

- To not tell someone something.

-To decide not to say something.

- To tell someone secrets.

- To say something that was supposed to be a secret

- To learn some interesting or useful information.

- To give someone details about something.

- If this happens with some news, it means that lots of people hear it.

4. Look at the questionnaire. What questions can you rewrite using the phrasal verbs you have


just learnt. When you have finished, work with a new partner. Ask your questions.