BREAK THROUGH – Phrasal Verb
What is the Meaning of the English Phrasal Verb
BREAK THROUGH?
English teaching for English Language Learners (ELL) who are learning to speak English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as an Additional Language (EAL)
break through
break through something
Definition 1:
to force a way through something that is blocking the way
Examples of BREAK THROUGH (definition 1) in Sentences:
1. Rioters broke through the police barricade.
Definition 2
to find a way through a problem, or a situation that is stopping you from moving forward
Examples of BREAK THROUGH (definition 2) in Sentences:
1. They are beginning to break through some barriers that have held them back for centuries.
2. He is a very intelligent man. If he could break through his shyness he would do much better in his career.
Definition 3
something appears which was previously hidden, such as the light from the sun or the moon.
Although it is less common, the phrasal verb break through is occasionally used to describe an emotion or characteristic (sentence examples 3 & 4). When you use BREAK THROUGH for emotions or characteristics, you typically omit the Object.
Examples of BREAK THROUGH (definition 3) in Sentences:
1. The sun broke through and filled the room with light.
It is unspoken, but understood, that the sun broke through the clouds.
2. Look! The full moon is starting to break through the clouds over there.
3. Although the author is writing about a serious topic, her sense of humour regularly breaks through, which helps readers process the difficult material.
4. He worked hard not to let his emotions break through when the doctor gave them the sad news.
Note: You can combine the two words BREAK + THROUGH to create a commonly used noun. e.g., He had a wonderful breakthrough in his physical therapy. Breakthrough is the name of a movie that was released in 2019.
BREAK is an irregular verb. The forms for the different tenses do not follow a predictable pattern. Irregular Verbs must be memorized.
| present | – BREAK THROUGH |
| present participle | – BREAKING THROUGH |
| past | – BROKE THROUGH |
| past participle | – BROKEN THROUGH |
LEARN MORE ABOUT PHRASAL VERBS
What are Phrasal Verbs?
DEFINITION
PHRASAL VERBS are sometimes called two-word or three-word verbs, or verb phrases.
A Phrasal Verb is a verb plus a particle. A particle is a small word. Usually, but not always, the particle is a preposition.
Many Phrasal Verbs are idiomatic. This means that if you know the meaning of the individual words, it will not help you understand the meaning of the Phrasal Verb. When the words are put together, the meaning changes.
For example, an English speaker says the sun is breaking through the clouds. You know that break usually means to strongly separate into pieces, and that through means to move in one side and out the other. You are confused! Knowing the meaning of break and the meaning of through doesn’t help you clearly understand what break through means.
But if you know that the Phrasal Verb break through means to force a way through something that is blocking the way, then you know that the English speaker means that the sun is beginning to shine in spaces between the clouds.
