A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb + a particle (preposition or adverb) that together create a new meaning, often very different from the base verb alone.
Separable phrasal verbs — the object can go between the verb and the particle or after them:
- "Turn on the light." / "Turn the light on."
- "Take off your shoes." / "Take your shoes off."
- "Pick up the book." / "Pick the book up."
Pronoun objects must go between the verb and particle: "Turn it on." (not "Turn on it.")
Inseparable phrasal verbs — the object always comes after the particle:
- "I look after my grandmother." — not "look my grandmother after"
- "She ran into an old friend."
- "He gets along with his coworkers."
Three-word phrasal verbs (verb + particle + particle):
- run out of — "We ran out of milk."
- look forward to — "I look forward to meeting you."
- put up with — "She puts up with a lot."
Common daily phrasal verbs:
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example | | ------------ | --------------- | -------------------------------- | | wake up | stop sleeping | "I wake up at 7 a.m." | | get up | leave bed | "He got up late." | | turn on | start a device | "Turn on the TV." | | turn off | stop a device | "Turn off the lights." | | put on | dress in | "She put on a jacket." | | take off | remove | "He took off his hat." | | pick up | lift / collect | "Pick up your toys." | | drop off | deliver / leave | "I dropped off the package." |
The meaning of a phrasal verb often cannot be guessed from the base verb alone, so it is best to learn them as vocabulary items.