‫شـــــروحا‬

] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word

verbs
Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called
"multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs and other multi-word
verbs are an important part of the English language.
Multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very
common, especially in spoken English. A multi-word verb
is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For
convenience, many people refer to all multi-word verbs as
phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb +
another word or words. The other word(s) can be
prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that
make up multi-word verbs form a short "phrase" - which
is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".

The important thing to remember is that a multi-word

verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get up", is also a
verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different
verbs. They do not have the same meaning. So you
should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and
learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You
can see that there are three types of multi-word verb:

single-word verb look direct You

your eyes must look befor
in a e you leap.
certain
direction

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

multi preposition look take care Who is looking

- al verbs after of after the baby?
word
verbs phrasal look up search for You can look
verbs and find up my number
informatio in the telephone
n in a directory.
reference
book

phrasal- look anticipate I look forward

preposition forwar with to meeting you.
al verbs d to pleasure

In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word

verbs, including phrasal verbs, followed by a quiz to check
your understanding:

• Phrasal Verbs
• Prepositional Verbs
• Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
• Phrasal Verbs Quiz

Like many grammar books, we

divide multi-word verbs into:

• prepositional verbs
• phrasal verbs
• phrasal-prepositional
verbs

Other grammars, however,

call allmulti-word verbs
"phrasal verbs".

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

Phrasal Verbs Reference

Hundreds of phrasal verbs listed in EnglishClub's language
reference. With definitions, example sentences, quizzes
and answers.

1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context is a self-study guide for

intermediate to advanced students. It contains 1,000
phrasal verbs with 2,000 example sentences plus 1,000
quiz questions and answers.

Designed to help learners of English improve their

knowledge of phrasal verbs, this e-book can be used as a
self-study guide by learners, or the material can be used
by teachers in class.

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from
a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to
all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we
make a distinction between three types of multi-word
verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-
prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal
verbs proper.

Phrasal verbs are made of:

verb + adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

• intransitive (no direct object)

• transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

phrasal meaning examples

verbs
direct
object

intransitive get up rise from I don't like

phrasal bed to get up.
verbs
break cease to He was late
down function because his
carbroke
down.

transitive put off postpone We will have the

phrasal to put off meeting.
verbs
turn refuse They turned my offer.
down down

Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a

direct object), we can usually separate the two parts. For
example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We
can say: "turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down".
Look at this table:

transitive They turned down my

phrasal verbs offer.
are
separable They turned my down.
offer

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have

no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and insert
the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example
with the separable phrasal verb "switch on":

direct object J switch o the These are

pronounsmu oh ed n radi all
st go n o. possible.
between the
two parts of J switch the o
transitive oh ed radi n.
phrasal n o
verbs
J switch it o
oh ed n.
n

J switch o it. This

oh ed n is not poss
n ible.

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

Separable or inseparable phrasal

verbs? Some dictionaries tell you
when phrasal verbs are separable.
If a dictionary writes "look
(something) up", you know that
the phrasal verb "look up" is
separable, and you can say "look
something up" and "look up
something". It's a good idea to
write "something/somebody" as
appropriate in your vocabulary
book when you learn a new
phrasal verb, like this:

• get up
• break down
• put something/somebody of
f
• turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb

needs a direct object (and where
to put it).

Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made
from a verb plus another word or words. Many people
refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these
pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-
word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look
at prepositional verbs.

Prepositional verbs are made of:

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

verb + preposition

Because a preposition always has an object, all

prepositional verbs have direct objects. Here are some
examples of prepositional verbs:

prepositional meaning examples

verbs
direct
object

believe in have faith in I believe in God.

the existence
of

look after take care of He the dog.

is looking
after

talk about discuss Did you talk me?

about

wait for await John Mary.

is waiting
for

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that

we cannot put the direct object between the two parts.
For example, we must say "look after the baby". We
cannot say "look the baby after":

prepositional verbs Who This is

areinseparable is looking possible.
after the
baby?

Who This
is looking the is notpossible.
babyafter?

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

It is a good idea to write

"something/somebody" in your
vocabulary book when you
learn a new prepositional verb,
like this:

• believe
in something/somebody
• look after sthg/sby

This reminds you that this verb

needs a direct object (and
where to put it).

Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-
word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words.
Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal
verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between
three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs,
phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this
page we look at phrasal-prepositional verbs.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + adverb + preposition

Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

phrasal- meaning examples

prepositional
verbs direct
object

get on with have a He his wife.

friendly doesn't get
relationship on with
with

put up with tolerate I won't put your

up with attitude.

look forward anticipate I look seeing

to with pleasure forward to you.

run out of use up, We have run eggs.

exhaust out of

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a

preposition, there is always a direct object. And, like
prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be
separated. Look at these examples:

phrasal-prepositional verbs We ran out fuel.

are of
inseparable
We ran out it.
of

Now check your understanding »

esku86@msn.com 1
‫شـــــروحا‬
] Xplover [ ‫ت عاشق الكس بي‬

It is a good idea to write

"something/somebody" in your
vocabulary book when you
learn a new phrasal-
prepositional verb, like this:

• get on with somebody

• put up with sthg/sby
• run out of something

This reminds you that this verb

needs a direct object (and
where to put it).

esku86@msn.com 1