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Hi, it’s a beautiful spring morning in Paarl, South Africa. I’m standing on
the site of the Afrikaans language monument, which is situated in Paarl.
Afrikaans is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa. I’m
sharing this space with a school group so there’s a lot of chatter and
laughter and enjoyment going on. Our three phrasal verbs today are ‘line
up’, ‘chip in’ and ‘pierce through’.

The phrasal verb ‘line up’ has three different meanings. The first meaning
is to arrange things or people in a straight line or a row. Let’s look at the
definitions. A straight line is the shortest distance between two points
and when you arrange people or things in a row then you try to put them
more or less in a straight line. The principle that underlies this practice of
lining up is fairness. Another principle would be order, because when
people queue, they line up, the first person who arrives gets served first
and the people who arrive later are served later. Or the first person who
arrives enters first and the others enter later. Here is a sample sentence:

The children line up in front of the monument before they enter.

The second meaning of ‘line up’ is to align. Now those of you who are
short as I am, may have the same problem. Whenever you have to enter a
gated parking lot and you have to get the ticket first, it’s difficult to line
up the car so that you can reach out and take the ticket comfortably.
Usually, it means I have to lean out of the window to get hold of the ticket
or I have to open the door, get out of the car, get the ticket, while the rest
of the impatient drivers are lining up behind me. That sentence that I’ve
just used illustrates both meanings of ‘line up’. The first line is to align.
To align the car with the ticket dispenser and the second one of course, is
lining up in a row, the cars are lining up in a row behind you when you
waste time trying to get a hold of the ticket.

MAIRO VERGARA ADVANCED PHRASAL VERBS COURSE

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Another sample sentence that illustrates ‘line up’ as in align, is the

following:

When you drill holes in a wall, make sure they line up; otherwise,
when you attach the curtain rail, the curtain rail will be skewed. So,
you have to make sure that the holes are in a straight line, otherwise
your curtain rail will not be in a straight line.

So, a sample sentence from the world of DYI – Do It Yourself.

The third meaning of ‘line up’ is to arrange for something to happen.

Sample sentence:

She has lined up two models to be part of the fashion show-judging

panel.

So, this person has arranged for two models to be judges at the fashion
show.

Now for our second phrasal verb ‘chip in’. We’re going to look at two
different meanings of the phrasal verb ‘chip in’. The first one is to
interrupt. Sample sentence one:

While I was filming this video, the children kept chipping in. I tried my
best to stop them. I’m trying my best to...they kept chipping in.

The second meaning of ‘chip in’ is to contribute to something that is

bought along with other people. For instance, you contribute to a gift, you
chip in on a gift, to buy someone a gift. Here’s another sample sentence:

All the guys who went to the beach in my car promised to chip in for
gas. Unfortunately, only two did and I was left paying the lions share.

The lion’s share is an idiom meaning paying the greatest part of

something. So, this poor guy was bargaining on getting some money back
for gas but unfortunately, those who had promised to chip in, to make a
donation towards the gas did not all do so.

MAIRO VERGARA ADVANCED PHRASAL VERBS COURSE

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Our third phrasal verb is ‘pierce through’ and we will look at three
different meanings. The first meaning of ‘pierce through’ is to make a
hole through something using a sharp object. Sample sentence one:
I had to stab the steak several times before the fork pierced through
it.

Sample sentence two:

The bull’s horn pierced through the matador’s cheek.

A matador is a bullfighter. And it’s important to realize that in fact ‘pierce

through’ is a tautology. Tautology is when you say the same thing twice.
Now why would you do that? For emphasis, because the word – verb
‘pierce’ already means to penetrate something or to go through it. So now
you’re adding another preposition which means ‘through’ so you’re
saying, ‘go through’ and the reason you do that as I just explained, is to
give more power to the verb ‘pierce’. When you make it a phrasal verb
‘pierce through’ you’re suggesting even greater force than the ‘pierce’
has on its own.

The second meaning of ‘pierce through’ is figurative. It means to

penetrate through in order to touch the heart of someone. Sample
sentence:

The woman’s screams failed to pierce through the indifference of her

neighbors.

Now ‘indifference’ is when you don’t care about someone else. In this
case the woman’s screams signaled that she was in trouble, yet they
could not touch the hearts of those around her. The people didn’t feel any
pity for her, they didn’t help her. Her screams could not penetrate
through their indifference, their hard heartedness.

The third meaning of ‘pierce through’ is to force a way through

something. Sample sentence:

MAIRO VERGARA ADVANCED PHRASAL VERBS COURSE

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The woman pierced through the veil of secrecy behind which the
company tried hide.

So, in this case, the company was telling lies, was trying to hide
something, but this woman conducted such a thorough investigation that
she managed to get through that veil of secrecy, managed to penetrate
the lies and reveal the truth.

Well, that’s all I have lined up for you today. I hope the week to come will
be great for you, that your friends will all chip in and buy you a fantastic
gift and finally, that you won’t get pierced through by a sharp object. Bye!

MAIRO VERGARA ADVANCED PHRASAL VERBS COURSE