150-Hour TEFL certification course

MODULE 5
TEACHING RECEPTIVE SKILLS
UNIT 5.1 GRAMMAR BREAK 4
5.1.4 THE ESSENTIALS: PHRASAL VERBS

Learning outcomes

• You will be able to identify transitive and intransitive phrasal verbs.

• You will be able to distinguish between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs.
• You will be able to use phrasal verbs correctly.

In this presentation, we will look at phrasal verbs. Can you identify the phrasal verb in the sentence you just
read? If not, come back after you finish this presentation and see if you can. This term may sound vaguely
familiar to you. Once you go over the presentation, you’ll recognize phrasal verbs and remember how to use
them.

PHRASAL VERBS

In English, there are a number of verbs that require an accompanying preposition or an adverb to make
proper sense. These are called phrasal verbs. Your students will need to learn the meanings of these
various phrases, as well as how they function grammatically.

It should be mentioned that the concept of phrasal verbs is one of the most challenging English learners will
come across, so it is important for you to have a solid understanding of them.

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE PHRASAL VERBS

One thing your students will need to learn is which phrasal verbs need a direct object, just like any other
transitive verb.

In this example, back up is the phrasal verb, and the object—the recipient of the action—is your car.

Some phrasal verbs are intransitive and, like other intransitive verbs, do not require an object, as in this
example:

I get up too early in the morning.

One way to test this is the same test we can do with regular intransitive verbs: Will it stand alone? We could
as easily say “I get up.” That is not as precise as adding the time phrase, but it still makes sense.

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Look at this example:

Cecelia and Frank broke up after a big argument last night.

In this case, there is no object, so break up is being used as an intransitive verb.

However, break up is one of many phrasal verbs that can also take a direct object and become a transitive
verb.

Arguments over money have broken up many couples.

Therefore, as you think about how you use these verbs and how you will teach them to your students,
remember that you have to think about meaning and use as well as construction, which we’ll look at next.

SEPARABLE AND INSEPARABLE TRANSITIVE VERBS

One other challenge when thinking about and teaching phrasal verbs is that some can be separated and
others can’t, as you can see from these examples:

I paid off my loan last year.

I paid my loan off last year.

In the first example, the phrasal verb stays together, and in the other, it is separated by the direct object.
Both sentences have the same meaning. One can argue that the first sentence is placing emphasis on
when the loan was paid off, while the second is placing slightly more emphasis on the fact that the loan
payments were completed.

There are some general rules about which phrasal verbs can be separated and which cannot. However, like
most rules, there are exceptions.

Let’s look at the easy rule first. Intransitive phrasal verbs cannot be separated.

He checked out of the hotel this morning.

We will try separating the verb and see what happens.

He checked of the hotel out this morning.

The sentence becomes nonsensical, supporting our rule that intransitive verbs cannot be separated.

As native speakers, we generally find it easy to tell which phrasal verb is right and which one is not.
However, because of the large number of phrasal verbs and the possible variations, this can be difficult for
nonnative speakers to sort out. Your students will need to practice with lots of repetition and memorization.
Therefore, it is best not to introduce too many phrasal verbs at once.

If you use the search term “phrasal verbs,” you will find many lists and exercises using phrasal verbs that
you can adapt for your students.

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LET’S REVIEW

In this presentation, we covered the basics of phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs may be transitive or intransitive.
If a phrasal verb is transitive, having a direct object, it can usually be separated. However, there are many
exceptions to this rule. Intransitive phrasal verbs cannot be separated.