Phrasal Verbs for Work Emails: 30 That Sound Natural

Priya Sharma

Priya Sharma writes English learning guides for ESL students. Pune-based language enthusiast.

Visual representation of the voice · not a photographic portrait

Quick answer: Use phrasal verbs in the body of the email, not the subject line, and keep it to one or two per paragraph. Most common ones like 'look into', 'follow up' and 'get back to' are polite enough for clients and managers. Save formal words for complaints and legal topics.↗ Share on X

To use phrasal verbs naturally in a work email, pick the ones that make a sentence shorter and friendlier, put them in the middle of the message (not in the subject line), and keep a formal word ready for the moments when you need to sound serious. "Can you look into this?" sounds natural. "Can you investigate this matter?" sounds like a legal letter. Most native speakers mix both styles in the same email, and you can learn to do the same with about 30 well-chosen verbs.

What is a phrasal verb, in plain words?

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A phrasal verb is a normal verb plus a small word like *up*, *out*, *on*, *off*, *back* or *in*. The small word changes the meaning.

• *Look* means to see. *Look into* means to check or study a problem.
• *Get* means to receive. *Get back to* means to reply later.
• *Set* means to put. *Set up* means to organize or arrange.

Are phrasal verbs too informal for work emails?

No. This is the biggest myth. Most common phrasal verbs are neutral. You can send "I'll follow up next week" to your boss, a client or a manager in another country, and nobody will think it is rude.

What changes is the *tone* of the whole email. Here is a simple guide:

A good rule: in a normal work email, one or two phrasal verbs per paragraph sounds natural. Five in one sentence sounds like slang.

Which 30 phrasal verbs should you learn first?

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These are grouped by what you are trying to do in the email.

Starting and organizing

1. Set up – to organize. "Can we set up a call on Tuesday?"

2. Put together – to prepare or create. "I put together a short report."

3. Draw up – to write a formal document. "Legal will draw up the contract."

4. Fill in / fill out – to complete a form. "Please fill out the attached form."

5. Sign up – to register. "You can sign up for the training here."

6. Kick off – to start a project or meeting. "We'll kick off the project on Monday."

Replying and following up

7. Get back to – to reply later. "I'll get back to you by 3 p.m."

8. Follow up (on) – to check again. "I'm following up on my email from last week."

9. Reach out (to) – to contact. "Feel free to reach out if you have questions."

10. Hear back (from) – to receive a reply. "I haven't heard back from the supplier yet."

11. Touch base – to talk briefly. This one is an idiom, not a phrasal verb, but it is very common. "Let's touch base on Thursday."

Checking and solving problems

12. Look into – to investigate. "I'll look into the delay."

13. Figure out – to understand or solve. "We need to figure out why the numbers don't match."

14. Sort out – to fix. "IT sorted out the login problem."

15. Go over – to review. "Can we go over the slides before the meeting?"

16. Point out – to mention something important. "Thanks for pointing out the error."

17. Find out – to discover information. "I'll find out who is responsible."

Changing plans

18. Put off – to delay. "We had to put off the launch."

19. Push back – to move to a later date, or to disagree. "Can we push back the deadline to the 20th?"

20. Bring forward – to move to an earlier date. "The meeting was brought forward to 9 a.m."

21. Call off – to cancel. "The client called off the visit."

22. Fall through – when a plan fails. "The deal fell through."

Sending and sharing

23. Send over – to send. "I'll send over the files this afternoon."

24. Pass on – to give information to someone else. "Could you pass this on to Maria?"

25. Hand in – to deliver work. "Please hand in your reports by Friday."

26. Run by – to show someone for approval. "Let me run this by my manager."

Ending and closing

27. Wrap up – to finish. "Let's wrap up the meeting at 4."

28. Sign off (on) – to give final approval. "The director signed off on the budget."

29. Carry out – to do or complete a task. "The team carried out the tests."

30. Close out – to finish something completely. "We need to close out the project by December."

Where in the email should phrasal verbs go?

Think of a work email in four parts. Each part has its favorite phrasal verbs.

1. Opening line. Short and direct.

• "I'm reaching out about the invoice from March."
• "I'm following up on our call yesterday."

2. Main message. Explain the problem or request.

• "We found out that two orders were sent twice."
• "Could you look into it and let me know?"

3. Next steps. Say what will happen.

• "I'll send over the corrected file today."
• "Can we set up a quick call to go over the details?"

4. Closing. Keep it friendly.

• "Feel free to reach out with any questions."
• "Looking forward to hearing back from you."

Avoid phrasal verbs in the subject line. Subject lines work best with nouns and clear words: "Invoice correction – Order 4521" is better than "Sorting out the invoice thing."

What does a full email look like?

Here is a real-style example. The phrasal verbs are in bold.

Subject: Delivery delay – Order 4521

>

Hi Daniel,

>

I'm reaching out about order 4521. Our warehouse told us it is still waiting for the second box.

>

Could you look into this and find out when the box was shipped? Our client needs the full order by the 15th, so we may have to push back the installation.

>

I'll put together a short list of the missing items and send it over this afternoon.

>

Thanks for your help. I'll follow up on Thursday if I haven't heard back by then.

>

Best regards,

Ana

Which mistakes make phrasal verbs sound wrong?

These are the errors that non-native writers make most often. Each one is easy to fix.

1. Wrong small word

• Wrong: "I'll get back you tomorrow."
• Right: "I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Some phrasal verbs need an extra word. *Get back to*, *follow up on*, *reach out to*, *look forward to*. Learn them as one block.

2. Wrong word order with "it" or "them"

Some phrasal verbs can be split. When the object is a pronoun (*it*, *them*, *this*), the pronoun must go in the middle.

• Wrong: "I'll send over it."
• Right: "I'll send it over."
• Wrong: "Can you fill out them?"
• Right: "Can you fill them out?"

With a noun, both orders are fine: "send over the files" or "send the files over."

But some phrasal verbs can never be split: *look into*, *go over*, *get back to*. You say "look into it," never "look it into."

3. "Look forward to" + base verb

• Wrong: "I look forward to hear from you."
• Right: "I look forward to hearing from you."

Here, *to* is a preposition, so the next verb needs *-ing*. This is one of the most common errors in professional emails.

4. Using a phrasal verb with two meanings in a risky place

*Push back* can mean "delay" or "disagree." "The client pushed back" is unclear. Did they delay or did they say no? When the meaning matters, choose the clear word: "The client asked for a later date" or "The client disagreed with the price."

How can you practice so they come out naturally?

Reading a list does not make you fluent. Use this simple four-week plan. It takes about ten minutes a day.

1. Week 1 – Pick 8 verbs. Choose the ones from the "Replying and following up" and "Checking and solving problems" groups. These are the most useful in daily emails.

2. Write one real sentence for each. Use your job, your company, your projects. "I'll look into the shipping cost for the São Paulo client." A sentence about your real life is easier to remember.

3. Week 2 – Rewrite three old emails. Open emails you already sent. Find formal verbs like *investigate*, *contact*, *review*, *postpone*. Try replacing one per paragraph with a phrasal verb.

4. Week 3 – Add 8 more verbs. Use the "Changing plans" and "Sending and sharing" groups.

5. Week 4 – Read your email aloud before sending. If a sentence sounds stiff, try one phrasal verb. If it sounds too casual, change one back to a formal word.

Your next step

Open the last email you wrote in English. Find one formal verb like *investigate*, *contact* or *postpone*. Replace it with its phrasal verb and read the sentence aloud. If it sounds like something a coworker would say, keep it. Do this with one email a day for the next two weeks, and by the end you will use these verbs without stopping to think.

FAQ

Are phrasal verbs too informal for professional emails?

No. Most common phrasal verbs, like 'follow up', 'look into' and 'set up', are neutral and used every day in business emails. Avoid them mainly in legal letters, formal complaints and subject lines.

How many phrasal verbs should I use in one email?

One or two per paragraph usually sounds natural. If one sentence has three or more, it starts to sound casual. Replace one with a formal word.

Is it 'look forward to hear' or 'look forward to hearing'?

It is 'look forward to hearing'. In this phrase, 'to' is a preposition, so the next verb takes -ing: 'I look forward to hearing from you.'