Phrasal Verbs

What are Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb that combines a normal verb with an adverb or a preposition to create an entirely new verbal phrase is called the phrasal verb.

A phrasal verb is a verb like pick up, turn on or get on with.

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a preposition or an adverb:

Verb	Preposition/adverb
get	up
go	through
write	down
take	after

Sometimes phrasal verbs consist of three elements:

Verb	Preposition / adverb 1	Preposition / adverb 2
look	forward	to
put	up	with
sit	in	for

You can see that there are three types of phrasal verbs formed from a single-word verb:

Single-word verb	Verb	Meaning	Example
	Look	direct your eyes in a certain direction	You must look before you leap.

Phrasal verb	Verb	Meaning	Example
verb + adverb	look up	to try to find a piece of information by looking in a book or on a computer	You can look up the word in a dictionary.
verb + preposition	look after	take care of	Who is looking after the baby?
verb + adverb + preposition	Look forward to	await eagerly	She is looking forward to visiting Paris.

Types of phrasal verbs

• There are four types of phrasal verbs, divided into two pairs: transitive and intransitive; separable and inseparable. 
• A phrasal verb can belong to only one of each pair, but keep in mind that all separable phrasal verbs are transitive.

Transitive phrasal verbs

Transitive phrasal verbs use a direct object, just like normal transitive verbs.

Examples:

1. She looked at the magazine and then put it down.
2. What a pretty dress! Why don’t you try it on?
3. If you’ve got a good idea, bring it up at the meeting.

Intransitive phrasal verbs

• Intransitive phrasal verbs do not use an object. 

Examples:

1. My colleague and I get on really well.
2. This car is terrible. It breaks down all the time!
3. I don’t like to get up.

Separable phrasal verbs

• With transitive phrasal verbs, you can sometimes put the direct object in between the words, for example, “made up.”
• Sometimes, the preposition/adverb is placed either after the verb or after the object.

Examples: 

1. Mary made up a really entertaining story.
2. They turned my offer down.
3. I really like this dress. Can I try it on?

Inseparable phrasal verbs

• Inseparable phrasal verbs cannot be split up and must be used together. 

Examples:

1. The wayward son carried on without his father.
2. I came across some old photos in a drawer.
3. I had to run to get on the train, but I made it!