Phrasal verb is a verb that is made up

of a main verb together with

an adverb or a preposition, or both.
Typically, their meaning is not obvious
from the meanings of the individual
words themselves. For example:
Separable Phrasal Verbs
The object may come after the following
phrasal verbs or it may separate the two parts:
 You have to do this paint job over.
 You have to do over this paint job.
When the object of the following phrasal
verbs is a pronoun, the two parts of the phrasal
verb must be separated:
 You have to do it over.
Verb Meaning Example
The terrorists tried to blow
blow up explode
up the railroad station.
 My mother brought up that
mention a
bring up little matter of my prison
topic
record again.
raise It isn't easy to bring
bring up
children up children nowadays.
They called off this
call off cancel
afternoon's meeting
do over repeat a job Do this homework over.
complete a Fill out this application
fill out
form form and mail it in.
fill to She filled up the grocery
fill up
capacity cart with free food.
My sister found out that
her husband had been
find out discover
planning a surprise party
for her.
give give The filling station
away something was giving away free gas.
 to someone
else for free
My brother borrowed my
return an
give back car. I have a feeling he's
object
not about to give it back.
submit
The students handed
something
hand in in their papers and left the
(assignment
room.
)
put
She hung up the phone
something
hang up before she hung up her
on hook or
clothes.
receiver
I hate to hold up the
hold up delay meeting, but I have to go
to the bathroom.
hold up rob Three masked
(2) gunmen held up the
Security Bank this
 afternoon.
You left out the part about
leave out omit the police chase down
Asylum Avenue.
The lawyers looked
over the papers carefully
examine, before questioning the
look over
check witness.
(They looked them over ca
refully.)
You've misspelled this
search in a
look up word again. You'd
list
better look it up.
She knew she was in
invent a trouble, so she made up a
make up
story or lie story about going to the
movies with her friends.
make out hear, He was so far away, we
understand really couldn't make
 out what he was saying.
There were three men in
the line-up. She picked
pick out choose
out the guy she thought
had stolen her purse.
lift
something The crane picked up the
pick up off entire house. (Watch
something them pick it up.)
else
As we drove through
call Paris, Francoise pointed
point out
attention to out the major historical
sites.
We put away money for
save or
put away our retirement. She put
store
away the cereal boxes.
put off postpone We asked the boss to put
off the meeting until
 tomorrow.
(Please put it off for
another day.)
I put on a sweater and a
put clothing
put on jacket.
on the body
(I put them on quickly.)
The firefighters put out the
house fire before it could
put out extinguish
spread.
(They put it out quickly.)
I read over the homework,
read over peruse but couldn't make any
sense of it.
My wife set up the living
to arrange,
set up room exactly the way she
begin
wanted it. She set it up.
These are your
take make a
instructions. Write them d
down written note
own before you forget.
 remove It was so hot that I had
take off
clothing to take off my shirt.
We have serious problems
here.
talk over discuss
Let's talk them over like
adults.
throw That's a lot of money!
discard
away Don't just throw it away.
put clothing She tried on fifteen dresses
try on on to see if before she found one she
it fits liked.
I tried out four cars before
try out test I could find one that
pleased me.
turn lower Your radio is driving me
down volume crazy! Please turn it down.
turn reject He applied for a promotion
down (2) twice this year, but he
was turned down both
 times.
Grandpa couldn't hear, so
raise the
turn up he turned up his hearing
volume
aid.
We turned off the lights
switch off
turn off before anyone could see
electricity
us.
turn off It was a disgusting movie.
repulse
(2) It really turned me off.
switch on
Turn on the CD player so
turn on the
we can dance.
electricity
The gang members used
exhaust,
up all the money and went
use up use
out to rob some more
completely
banks.
She has always looked down on me.
Fighting broke out among a group of
40 men.
Inseparable Phrasal Verbs
(Transitive)
With the following phrasal verbs, the
lexical part of the verb (the part of the
phrasal verb that carries the "verb-
meaning") cannot be separated from
the prepositions (or other parts) that
accompany it: "Who will look after my
estate when I'm gone?"
Verb Meaning Example
The
ask to recite in teacher called
call on
class on students in
the back row.
call on visit The old
(2) minister
continued
to call on his
 sick
parishioners.
I got over the
flu, but I don't
recover from
know if I'll
get over sickness or
ever get
disappointment
over my broken
heart.
The
students went
over the
material before
go over review
the exam. They
should
have gone
over it twice.
go use up; They
through consume country went
through most of
its coal reserves
 in one year. Did
he go
through all his
money already?
My mother
promised
look
take care of to look after my
after
dog while I was
gone.
The police
will look
look
investigate into the
into
possibilities of
embezzlement.
I ran across my
run old roommate at
find by chance
across the college
reunion.
run into meet Carlos ran
 into his English
professor in the
hallway.
My second son
take
resemble seems to take
after
after his mother.
It seemed
strange to see
wait on serve my old
boss wait
on tables.

Three-Word Phrasal Verbs

(Transitive)
With the following phrasal verbs, you
will find three parts: "My
brother dropped out of school before
he could graduate."
Verb Meaning Example
 I was talking to
Mom on the
break in interrupt (a
phone when the
on conversation)
operator broke in
on our call.
After our month-
long trip, it was
time to catch up
catch up
keep abreast with the
with
neighbors and the
news around
town.
The boys
promised
to check up
check examine,
on the condition
up on investigate
of the summer
house from time
to time.
come to contribute After years of
 giving nothing,
the old
(suggestion, parishioner was
up with
money) able to come up
with a thousand-
dollar donation.
We tried to cut
cut down on the
curtail
down money we were
(expenses)
on spending on
entertainment.
I hope none of
drop out my students drop
leave school
of out of school this
semester.
I found it very
get have a good hard to get along
along relationship with my brother
with with when we were
young.
 Janik cheated on
get
the exam and
away escape blame
then tried to get
with
away with it.
The citizens tried
to get rid of their
get rid
eliminate corrupt mayor in
of
the recent
election.
When will you
get
ever get through
through finish
with that
with
program?
It's hard to keep
up with the
keep up maintain pace
Joneses when
with with
you lose your
job!
look anticipate I always look
 forward to the
forward
with pleasure beginning of a
to
new semester.
It's typical of a
jingoistic country
look that the
down despise citizens look
on down on their
geographical
neighbors.
We were going to
look in on my
look in visit
brother-in-law,
on (somebody)
but he wasn't
home.
Good instructors
will look out
look out be careful,
for early signs of
for anticipate
failure in their
students
 First-graders
look up
respect really look up
to
to their teachers.
Make sure of the
student's identity
make
verify before you let
sure of
him into the
classroom.
The teacher had
to put up with a
put up
tolerate great deal of
with
nonsense from
the new students.
The runners ran
run out exhaust out of energy
of supply before the end of
the race.
take be My oldest
care of responsible sister took care
 of us younger
for children after
Mom died.
The star
player talked
talk answer
back to the coach
back to impolitely
and was thrown
off the team.
I often think back
think on my childhood
recall
back on with great
pleasure.
Her
husband walked
walk
abandon out on her and
out on
their three
children.

Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

The following phrasal verbs are not
followed by an object: "Once you leave
home, you can never really go
back again."
Verb Meaning Example
That old Jeep
had a tendency
break stop to break
down functioning down just when
I needed it the
most.
Popular songs
seem to catch
catch become
on in California
on popular
first and then
spread eastward.
come return to a Father promised
back place that we would
never come
 back to this
horrible place.
They tried
to come
come in enter in through the
back door, but it
was locked.
He was hit on
the head very
hard, but after
regain
come to several minutes,
consciousness
he started
to come
to again.
The children
promised
come
to visit to come over,
over
but they never
do.
 We used to
just drop by, but
visit without they were never
drop by
appointment home, so we
stopped doing
that.
When we visited
Paris, we
dine in a
eat out loved eating
restaurant
out in the
sidewalk cafes.
Uncle Heine
didn't have much
money, but he
always seemed
get by survive
to get by without
borrowing
money from
relatives.
get up arise Grandmother
 tried to get up,
but the couch
was too low, and
she couldn't
make it on her
own.
It's hard to
imagine that we
return to a
go back will ever go
place
back to
Lithuania.
He would finish
one Dickens
go on continue novel and then
just go on to the
next.
go on happen The cops heard
(2) all the noise and
stopped to see
what was going
 on.
Charles grew
grow up get older up to be a lot
like his father.
The judge
warned the
keep remain at a
stalker to keep
away distance
away from his
victim's home.
He tried to keep
keep on
continue with on singing long
(with
the same after his voice
gerund)
was ruined.
He had drunk
lose too much;
pass out consciousness, he passed out on
faint the sidewalk
outside the bar.
show demonstrate Whenever he sat
 down at the
piano, we knew
off haughtily
he was going
to show off.
Day after day,
Efrain showed
show
arrive up for class
up
twenty minutes
late.
I woke up when
wake arouse from
the rooster
up sleep
crowed.
Many of these verbs and definitions (but
by no means all) are adopted
from Grammar Context by Sandra N.
Elbaum. Second Edition, Book 2.
(Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Boston,
1996.) The examples are our own.