Phrasal Verbs: How to use them.

PHRASAL VERBS:

The structure of a phrasal verb is:

verb

+

adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

• transitive (direct object)
• intransitive (no direct object)

Look at these examples of phrasal verbs:

	phrasal verb	meaning	example sentence
				direct object
transitive	put off	postpone	We will have to put off	the meeting.
	turn down	refuse	They turned down	my offer.
intransitive	get up	rise from bed	I don't like to get up.
	break down	cease to function	He was late because his carbroke 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 these example sentences:

✔	They turned down my offer.
✔	They turned my offer down.

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 these examples with the separable phrasal verb "switch on". Note that the last one is impossible:

✔	John switched on the radio.
✔	John switched the radio on.
✔	John switched it on.
✖	John switched on it.

Separable or inseparable?
Many dictionaries tell you when a phrasal verb is 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 "sthg/sby" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:

• get up
• break down
• break sthg off
• turn sthg/sby down

This tells you if the verb needs a direct object (and where to place it).

PREPOSITIONAL VERBS:

The structure of a prepositional verb is:

verb

+

preposition

Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects.

Look at these examples of prepositional verbs:

prepositional verb	meaning	example sentence
			direct object
believe in	have faith in the existence of	I believe in	God.
look after	take care of	He is looking after	the dog.
talk about	discuss	Did you talk about	me?
wait for	await	John is waiting for	Mary.

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":

✔	Who is looking after the baby?
✖	Who is looking the baby after?

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 the verb needs a direct object (and where to place it).

PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS:

The structure of a phrasal-prepositional verb is:

verb

+

adverb

+

preposition

Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

phrasal-prepositional verb	meaning	example sentence
			direct object
get on with	have a friendly relationship with	He doesn't get on with	his wife.
put up with	tolerate	I won't put up with	your attitude.
look forward to	anticipate with pleasure	I look forward to	seeing you.
run out of	use up, exhaust	We have run out of	eggs.

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:

✔	We ran out of gas.
✔	We ran out of it.
✖	We ran gas out of.
✖	We ran out gas of.

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 the verb needs a direct object (and where to place it).