Phrasal Verbs in Work Emails: Which Sound Pro, Which Don't

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: Yes, you can use phrasal verbs in work emails. Choose neutral ones like follow up, set up, look into and get back to, and avoid casual ones like mess up, freak out or hit up. In formal emails, swap some for one-word verbs: put off becomes postpone, find out becomes learn.↗ Share on X

You can use phrasal verbs in professional emails, and you should. The trick is to pick the ones that are neutral, not casual. "Follow up," "set up," "carry out" and "point out" sound normal in any office. "Hang out," "mess up" and "freak out" do not. When a phrasal verb feels too relaxed, swap it for a one-word verb: "find out" becomes "learn," "put off" becomes "postpone," "look into" becomes "investigate." Keep the tone of the whole email in mind, and use no more than two or three phrasal verbs in a short message.

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word like *up*, *out*, *off* or *on*. The small word changes the meaning. "Look" means to see. "Look into" means to investigate. Native speakers use these all day, at work too. So avoiding them completely makes your English sound stiff, like a textbook. The goal is balance.

Which phrasal verbs are safe in any work email?

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These are the workhorses. You will see them in emails from managers, clients and HR teams. They are polite and clear.

If you only learn these twelve, you can write most routine work emails naturally.

Which phrasal verbs make you sound too casual?

Some phrasal verbs belong to chats with friends. In a work email, they can make you look careless or even rude. Avoid these, or replace them.

Notice that some, like "figure out" and "come up with," are not wrong. They are just a little informal. With your own team, they are fine. With a new client or a senior person, choose the one-word verb.

How do you decide: phrasal verb or one-word verb?

READ ALSO50 English Collocations That Make You Sound Like a Native →At, On or In: Prepositions of Time for Business Emails →Relative Clauses: Join Your Ideas Like a Native Speaker →

Ask yourself three quick questions before you hit send.

1. Who is reading? Your teammate of two years can get "Can you check out the file?" A client you have never met should get "Could you review the file?"

2. How serious is the topic? A lunch plan can be relaxed. A complaint, a contract or a mistake needs a more formal tone.

3. Does the phrasal verb have a clear one-word version? If yes, and the email is formal, use the one-word version. If no simple version exists, keep the phrasal verb. "Follow up" has no perfect one-word match, so everyone uses it.

Here is a short list of easy swaps for formal moments:

• find out → learn, discover
• put off → postpone, delay
• look into → investigate, examine
• go up → increase, rise
• go down → decrease, fall
• think about → consider
• ask for → request
• talk about → discuss
• get rid of → remove, eliminate
• turn down → decline, reject
• set up → arrange, establish
• call off → cancel

You do not need to swap all of them. One or two in a formal email is enough to raise the tone.

What does the same email look like in casual and professional tone?

Seeing both versions side by side helps more than any rule.

Too casual:

Hi Mark,

Just wanted to check in. We messed up the shipping dates, sorry! I'll figure out what happened and hit you up later. Can we push back the meeting?

Cheers

Professional, still natural:

Hi Mark,

I'm following up on the shipment to your Denver office. We made an error with the delivery dates, and I apologize for the trouble. I'm looking into what happened and will get back to you by 3 p.m. today. Would it be possible to postpone our meeting to Thursday?

Best regards

The second version still uses three phrasal verbs ("following up," "looking into," "get back to"). It does not sound robotic. It just removed the slang ("messed up," "figure out," "hit you up") and chose "postpone" over "push back."

Where do people make mistakes with phrasal verbs in emails?

These are the most common slips English learners make at work.

1. Putting the object in the wrong place. Some phrasal verbs can be split. You can say "send over the report" or "send the report over." But when the object is a pronoun like *it* or *them*, it must go in the middle: "send it over," never "send over it."

2. Using the wrong small word. "Fill in" and "fill out" both work for forms. But "fill up" means to make something full, like a gas tank. "Look into" means investigate. "Look up" means search for information, like a word in a dictionary. "Look after" means take care of. One letter changes everything.

3. Stacking too many. "I'll look into it, follow up with the team, set up a call, and get back to you once we sort it out" is grammatically fine but tiring to read. Mix in plain verbs: "I'll investigate, speak with the team, and reply by Friday."

4. Using phrasal verbs as nouns without the hyphen or spacing rule. As a verb, it is two words: "Please follow up." As a noun, it is usually one word or hyphenated: "This is a follow-up to my last email." The same goes for "set up" (verb) and "setup" (noun), "check in" (verb) and "check-in" (noun).

5. Translating directly from your own language. Many languages do not have phrasal verbs, so learners invent them. "Discuss about" is a classic error. The verb "discuss" already includes "about." Say "discuss the plan," not "discuss about the plan."

Which phrasal verbs work best in each part of an email?

Emails have a predictable shape. Each part has its favorite phrasal verbs.

Opening line:

• "I'm reaching out about…"
• "I'm following up on…"
• "I'm writing to follow up on our call."

Making a request:

• "Could you send over the latest version?"
• "Would you be able to fill out this short form?"
• "Could you look over the draft before Friday?"

Giving an update:

• "We have set up the new account."
• "The team carried out the review yesterday."
• "I've gone through your comments."

Closing line:

• "I'll get back to you by Monday."
• "Please reach out if anything is unclear."
• "I look forward to hearing back from you."

Note: "look forward to" is followed by a noun or a verb ending in *-ing*. Write "I look forward to hearing from you," not "I look forward to hear from you." This is one of the most frequent mistakes in business English.

How can you practice this week?

Reading about phrasal verbs is easy. Using them correctly takes a little practice. Try this simple five-day plan.

1. Day 1: Open your sent folder. Find three old emails. Circle every phrasal verb you used.

2. Day 2: Check each one against the "too casual" table above. Rewrite any that do not fit.

3. Day 3: Pick five safe phrasal verbs from the first table. Write one sentence with each about your real job.

4. Day 4: Read three emails from native-speaking colleagues or clients. Copy any phrasal verb you see into a notebook, with the full sentence.

5. Day 5: Write a real email using at least two phrasal verbs from your notebook. Read it out loud before sending. If a sentence sounds like something you would say at a party, change it.

Your next step: take the last work email you wrote, find one phrasal verb that sounds too casual, and replace it with a neutral one from the tables above. Then save the "safe" table somewhere you can see it while you write.

FAQ

Is it unprofessional to use phrasal verbs in emails?

No. Neutral phrasal verbs like follow up, set up and reach out are used in professional emails every day. Only casual or slang phrasal verbs, like mess up or freak out, sound unprofessional.

Is 'reach out' too informal for a client email?

No. 'Reach out' is widely used in business emails, especially in closings like 'Please reach out if you have questions.' If you want a more formal option, use 'contact us.'

Should I write 'follow up' or 'follow-up'?

Use two words when it is a verb (Please follow up with the client) and the hyphenated form when it is a noun or adjective (This is a follow-up to my last email).

How many phrasal verbs should a short email have?

Two or three is a good amount for a short message. More than that can make the email feel chatty and harder to read, so mix in plain one-word verbs.