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What Is A Phrasal Verb

What Is A Phrasal Verb

Transitive and Intransitive Phrasal Verbs Verbs in English can be divided into two groups: Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs. TRANSITIVE VERBS. Transitive verbs require an object to complete their meaning. Imagine that I say: I need. This sentence is incomplete. There is information that is missing.

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 doitover.
  • VerbMeaningExample
    blow upexplodeThe terrorists tried to blow up the railroad station.
    bring upmention a topicMy mother brought up that little matter of my prison record again.
    bring upraise childrenIt isn't easy to bring up children nowadays.
    call offcancelThey called off this afternoon's meeting
    do overrepeat a jobDo this homework over.
    fill outcomplete a formFill out this application form and mail it in.
    fill up fill to capacityShe filled up the grocery cart with free food.
    find outdiscoverMy sister found out that her husband had been planning a surprise party for her.
    give awaygive something to someone else for freeThe filling station was giving away free gas.
    give backreturn an objectMy brother borrowed my car. I have a feeling he's not about to give it back.
    hand insubmit something (assignment)The students handed in their papers and left the room.
    hang upput something on hook or receiverShe hung up the phone before she hung up her clothes.
    hold updelayI hate to hold up the meeting, but I have to go to the bathroom.
    hold up (2)robThree masked gunmen held up the Security Bank this afternoon.
    leave outomitYou left out the part about the police chase down Asylum Avenue.
    look overexamine, checkThe lawyers looked over the papers carefully before questioning the witness. (They looked them over carefully.)
    look upsearch in a listYou've misspelled this word again. You'd better look it up.
    make upinvent a story or lieShe knew she was in trouble, so she made up a story about going to the movies with her friends.
    make outhear, understandHe was so far away, we really couldn't make out what he was saying.
    pick outchooseThere were three men in the line-up. She picked out the guy she thought had stolen her purse.
    pick uplift something off something elseThe crane picked up the entire house. (Watch them pick it up.)
    point outcall attention toAs we drove through Paris, Francoise pointed out the major historical sites.
    put awaysave or storeWe put away money for our retirement. She put away the cereal boxes.
    put offpostponeWe asked the boss to put off the meeting until tomorrow. (Please put it off for another day.)
    put onput clothing on the bodyI put on a sweater and a jacket. (I put them on quickly.)
    put outextinguishThe firefighters put out the house fire before it could spread. (They put it out quickly.)
    read overperuseI read over the homework, but couldn't make any sense of it.
    set upto arrange, beginMy wife set up the living room exactly the way she wanted it. She set it up.
    take downmake a written noteThese are your instructions. Write them down before you forget.
    take offremove clothingIt was so hot that I had to take off my shirt.
    talk overdiscussWe have serious problems here. Let's talk them over like adults.
    throw awaydiscardThat's a lot of money! Don't just throw it away.
    try onput clothing on to see if it fitsShe tried on fifteen dresses before she found one she liked.
    try outtestI tried out four cars before I could find one that pleased me.
    turn downlower volumeYour radio is driving me crazy! Please turn it down.
    turn down (2)rejectHe applied for a promotion twice this year, but he was turned down both times.
    turn upraise the volumeGrandpa couldn't hear, so he turned up his hearing aid.
    turn offswitch off electricityWe turned off the lights before anyone could see us.
    turn off (2)repulseIt was a disgusting movie. It really turned me off.
    turn onswitch on the electricityTurn on the CD player so we can dance.
    use upexhaust, use completelyThe gang members used up all the money and went out to rob some more banks.

    Adverb
    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?'
    VerbMeaningExample
    call onask to recite in classThe teacher called on students in the back row.
    call on (2)visitThe old minister continued to call on his sick parishioners.
    get overrecover from sickness or disappointmentI got over the flu, but I don't know if I'll ever get over my broken heart.
    go overreviewThe students went over the material before the exam. They should have gone over it twice.
    go throughuse up; consumeThey country went through most of its coal reserves in one year. Did he go through all his money already?
    look aftertake care ofMy mother promised to look after my dog while I was gone.
    look intoinvestigateThe police will look into the possibilities of embezzlement.
    run acrossfind by chanceI ran across my old roommate at the college reunion.
    run intomeetCarlos ran into his English professor in the hallway.
    take afterresembleMy second son seems to take after his mother.
    wait onserveIt seemed strange to see my old boss wait on tables.

    Verb
    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.'
    VerbMeaningExample
    break in oninterrupt (a conversation)I was talking to Mom on the phone when the operator broke in on our call.
    catch up withkeep abreastAfter our month-long trip, it was time to catch up with the neighbors and the news around town.
    check up onexamine, investigateThe boys promised to check up on the condition of the summer house from time to time.
    come up withto contribute (suggestion, money)After years of giving nothing, the old parishioner was able to come up with a thousand-dollar donation.
    cut down oncurtail (expenses)We tried to cut down on the money we were spending on entertainment.
    drop out ofleave schoolI hope none of my students drop out of school this semester.
    get along withhave a good relationship withI found it very hard to get along with my brother when we were young.
    get away withescape blameJanik cheated on the exam and then tried to get away with it.
    get rid ofeliminateThe citizens tried to get rid of their corrupt mayor in the recent election.
    get through withfinishWhen will you ever get through with that program?
    keep up withmaintain pace withIt's hard to keep up with the Joneses when you lose your job!
    look forward toanticipate with pleasureI always look forward to the beginning of a new semester.
    look down ondespiseIt's typical of a jingoistic country that the citizens look down on their geographical neighbors.
    look in onvisit (somebody)We were going to look in on my brother-in-law, but he wasn't home.
    look out forbe careful, anticipateGood instructors will look out for early signs of failure in their students
    look up torespectFirst-graders really look up to their teachers.
    make sure ofverifyMake sure of the student's identity before you let him into the classroom.
    put up withtolerateThe teacher had to put up with a great deal of nonsense from the new students.
    run out ofexhaust supplyThe runners ran out of energy before the end of the race.
    take care ofbe responsible forMy oldest sister took care of us younger children after Mom died.
    talk back toanswer impolitelyThe star player talked back to the coach and was thrown off the team.
    think back onrecallI often think back on my childhood with great pleasure.
    walk out onabandonHer husband walked out on her and their three children.

    What Is A Phrasal Verbs For Emotion


    Intransitive Phrasal Verbs
    The following phrasal verbs are not followed by an object: 'Once you leave home, you can never really go back again.'
    VerbMeaningExample
    break downstop functioningThat old Jeep had a tendency to break down just when I needed it the most.
    catch onbecome popularPopular songs seem to catch on in California first and then spread eastward.
    come backreturn to a placeFather promised that we would never come back to this horrible place.
    come inenterThey tried to come in through the back door, but it was locked.
    come toregain consciousnessHe was hit on the head very hard, but after several minutes, he started to come to again.
    come overto visitThe children promised to come over, but they never do.
    drop byvisit without appointmentWe used to just drop by, but they were never home, so we stopped doing that.
    eat outdine in a restaurantWhen we visited Paris, we loved eating out in the sidewalk cafes.
    get bysurviveUncle Heine didn't have much money, but he always seemed to get by without borrowing money from relatives.
    get upariseGrandmother tried to get up, but the couch was too low, and she couldn't make it on her own.
    go backreturn to a placeIt's hard to imagine that we will ever go back to Lithuania.
    go oncontinueHe would finish one Dickens novel and then just go on to the next.
    go on (2)happenThe cops heard all the noise and stopped to see what was going on.
    grow upget olderCharles grew up to be a lot like his father.
    keep awayremain at a distanceThe judge warned the stalker to keep away from his victim's home.
    keep on (with gerund)continue with the sameHe tried to keep onsinging long after his voice was ruined.
    pass outlose consciousness, faintHe had drunk too much; he passed out on the sidewalk outside the bar.
    show offdemonstrate haughtilyWhenever he sat down at the piano, we knew he was going to show off.
    show uparriveDay after day, Efrain showed up for class twenty minutes late.
    wake uparouse from sleepI woke up when the rooster crowed.

    What Is An Idiom

    Autocad 2010 crack only. 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.