Phrasal verbs
What are phrasal verbs?
1. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb.
Example
I ran into my teacher at the movies last night. run + into = meet
He ran away when he was 15. run + away = leave home
2. Some phrasal verbs are intransitive. An intransitive verb cannot be followed by an object.
Example:
He suddenly showed up. "show up" cannot take an object
3. Some phrasal verbs are transitive. A transitive verb can be followed by an object.
Example:
I made up the story. "story" is the object of "make up"
4. Some transitive phrasal verbs are separable. The object is placed between the verb and the preposition. In this Phrasal Verb Dictionary, separable phrasal verbs are marked by placing a * between the verb and the preposition / adverb.
Example:
I talked my mother into letting me borrow the car.
She looked the phone number up.
5. Some transitive phrasal verbs are inseparable. The object is placed after the preposition. In this Phrasal Verb Dictionary, inseparable phrasal verbs are marked by placing a + after the preposition / adverb.
Example:
I ran into an old friend yesterday.
They are looking into the problem.
6. Some transitive phrasal verbs can take an object in both places. In this Phrasal Verb Dictionary, such phrasal verbs are marked with both * and + .
Example:
I looked the number up in the phone book.
I looked up the number in the phone book.
7. WARNING! Although many phrasal verbs can take an object in both places, you must put the object between the verb and the preposition if the object is a pronoun.
Example:
I looked the number up in the phone book.
I looked up the number in the phone book.
I looked it up in the phone book. correct
I looked up it in the phone book. incorrect
Separable
Separable Phrasal Verbs
The object may come after the following phrasal verbs or it may be separated
Verb Meaning Example Sentence
blow up explode The terrorists tried to blow up the railroad station
bring up mention a topic My mother brought up that little matter of my prison record again.
bring up raise children It isn't easy to bring up children nowadays.
call off cancel They called off this afternoon's meeting.
do over repeat a job Do this homework over.
fill out complete a form Fill out this application form and mail it in.
fill up fill to capacity She filled up the grocery cart with free food.
find out discover My sister found out that her husband had been planning a surprise party for her.
give away give something to someone else for free The filling station was giving away free gas.
give back return an object My brother borrowed my car. I have a feeling he's not about to give it back.
hand in submit something (assignment) The students handed in their papers and left the room.
hang up put something on hook or receiver She hung up the phone before she hung up her clothes.
hold up delay I hate to hold up the meeting, but I have to go to the bathroom.
hold up (2) rob Three masked gunmen held up the Security Bank this afternoon.
leave out omit You left out the part about the police chase down Asylum Avenue.
look over examine, check The lawyers looked over the papers carefully before questioning the witness. (They looked them over carefully.)
look up search in a list You've misspelled this word again. You'd better look it up.
make up invent a story or lie She knew she was in trouble, so she made up a story about going to the movies with her friends.
make out hear, understand He was so far away, we really couldn't make out what he was saying.
pick out choose There were three men in the line-up. She picked out the guy she thought had stolen her purse.
pick up lift something off something else The crane picked up the entire house. (Watch them pick it up.)
point out call attention to As we drove through Paris, Francoise pointed out the major historical sites.
put away save or store We put away money for our retirement. She put 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.)
put on put clothing on the body I put on a sweater and a jacket. (I put them on quickly.)
put out extinguish The firefighters put out the house fire before it could spread. (They put it out quickly.)
read over peruse I read over the homework, but couldn't make any sense of it.
set up to arrange, begin My wife set up the living room exactly the way she wanted it. She set it up.
take down make a written note These are your instructions. Take them down before you forget.
take off remove clothing It was so hot that I had to take off my shirt.
talk over discuss We have serious problems here. Let's talk them over like adults.
throw away discard That's a lot of money! Don't just throw it away.
try on put clothing on to see if it fits She tried on fifteen dresses before she found one she liked.
try out test I tried out four cars before I could find one that pleased me.
turn down lower volume Your radio is driving me crazy! Please turn it down.
turn down (2) reject He applied for a promotion twice this year, but he was turned down both times.
turn up raise the volume Grandpa couldn't hear, so he turned up his hearing aid.
turn off switch off electricity We turned off the lights before anyone could see us.
turn off (2) repulse It was a disgusting movie. It really turned me off.
turn on switch on the electricity Turn on the CD player so we can dance.
use up exhaust, use completely The gang members used up all the money and went out to rob some more banks.
Inseparable Phrasal Verbs
Verb Meaning Example Sentence
call on ask to recite in class The teacher called on students in the back row.
call on (2) visit The old minister continued to call on his sick parishioners.
get over recover from sickness or I got over the flu, but I don't know if I'll ever get over my broken heart.
disappointment
go over review The students went over the material before the exam.
They should have gone over it twice.
go through use up; consume They country went through most of its coal reserves in one year.
Did he go through all his money already?
look after take care of My mother promised to look after my dog while I was gone.
look into investigate The police will look into the possibilities of embezzlement.
run across find by chance I ran across my old roommate at the college reunion.
run into meet Carlos ran into his English professor in the hallway.
take after resemble My second son seems to take after his mother.
wait on serve It seemed strange to see my old boss wait on tables.
Three Word Phrasal Verbs
A Dream From Beyond
I was sound asleep. My grandfather appeared in a dream. He asked why I had never visited him and grandma at the cemetery. He said that even my mom hadn't visited since October 4 (grandma's birthday). He told me that, when I was young, I had walked out into a pond and slipped under water. He had rescued me. He said grandma was supposed to be watching me, but that she had gotten sick all of a sudden and was throwing up. It was probably the fresh blackberries they had picked and eaten earlier. Grandma had a bad stomach.
My parents were out on a boat in the pond. They did not know that grandpa had saved me until they got back to shore. I was in a towel and my clothes were drying on bushes. My brown and white Buster Brown shoes were also soaked. I was only three years old, grandpa said. My parents were angry at first, but when they saw that grandma was still feeling sick, they forgave her.
Grandpa told me that we had a picnic after that. The four of us ate some chicken, potato salad, and homemade cookies. We drank lemonade. Then grandpa took me for a walk in the woods (I sat on his shoulders). I saw some daisies, and we picked them. When we returned, I presented three daisies to mom and three to grandma, who was finally feeling better. Grandpa said to bring some daisies to the gravesite. Then I woke up.
Tom Smith’s Unhealthy Habits
by Yen-Ling Teresa Ting (Adapted)
Here are some phrasal verbs related to food and eating. Guess what they mean as you read.
Tom Smith usually has only 15 minutes to eat at work so he bolts down his lunch. He doesn’t eat a lot for lunch; he just has a deli sandwich and a coffee. His wife Sharon, however, loves cooking and she always whip up a wonderful dinner. That is why Tom is overweight. He pigs out every evening on a full course dinner – a roast with potatoes, bread and butter, some pasta, and to top it off, a big dessert which Sharon picks up on the way home from school where she is a teacher. Sharon is quite petite, so it is not a surprise that she only picks at the food she prepares and just gnaws a carrot or some other vegetable while she listens to Tom talk about his day at work.
For breakfast, Tom sometimes gorges himself on fried eggs, bacon and toast or he warms up the left-overs, and then he leaves for another long and stressful day at work. This is a bad habit and the doctor told Tom that he should think about cutting back on meat and eggs to bring down his cholesterol. Actually, John, his brother also has high cholesterol, and he has just begun to cut out meat and eggs from his diet. Now, he tries to eat only fish and steamed vegetables. John asked Tom to join him on his diet, but Tom doesn’t want to give up the foods that he loves. He says he would rather die happy and fat, than live unhappy and thin.