English Phrasal Verb – Eduma English

Summary

Phrasal verbs are verbs that combine with prepositions or adverbs to create new meanings. They are common in informal and conversational English.

In-depth Explanation

Phrasal verbs usually have two parts:

Verb (e.g., turn, look)
Particle (a preposition or adverb, like on, up or for)

For example, in the phrasal verb work out (to exercise, to solve a problem, to calculate) work is the verb and out is an adverb. Sometimes, phrasal verbs have three parts, where an extra particle is added:

Put up with = to tolerate (e.g., She can’t put up with the noise.)

How to Use Phrasal Verbs

With phrasal verbs, the particle never changes and always comes after the verb. Only the verb part of the phrasal verb is conjugated. So with the phrasal verb work out, we conjugate just the verb work while the particle out stays the same:

He works out every day.

I worked out yesterday.

She will work out tomorrow.

I have worked out for six months now.

My sister is working out right now.

Common Phrasal Verbs

Here are some common examples of phrasal verbs:

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
get up	To get out of bed	I get up around 7 a.m. most days.
sleep in	To sleep until later than usual	I was tired, so I slept in until 11 a.m.
go on	To continue or proceed	Please go on with your story.
come back	To return to a place	She’ll come back tomorrow.
find out	To discover or learn something	I need to find out what happened.
eat out	To eat in a restaurant	Should we eat out tonight or cook at home?
hang out	To relax or spend time together	My friends and I usually hang out on the weekends.
meet up	To get together with someone, usually pre-planned	We’re meeting up later tonight.
go out	To have an evening out	They went out last night so they’re tired today.
stay in	To remain at home	She’s going to stay in tonight and rest.
give up	To quit or stop trying	Don’t give up on your dreams.
turn on	To activate or start (usually an electrical device)	Could you turn on the light?
pick up	To lift something or someone, or to collect someone	I’ll pick you up at 8.

Types of Phrasal Verbs

Some phrasal verbs require an object. These phrasal verbs can either be separable or inseparable.

– Separable Phrasal Verbs

With separable phrasal verbs, the verb and the particle can be separated by an object. So with the phrasal verb turn off (to deactivate or stop an electrical device), you can say:

I turned off the computer. or I turned the computer off.

If the object is a pronoun (him, her, it, them, etc.) the pronoun must be between the verb and the particle:

I turned it off.

Here are some more examples:

Put on: to place a piece of clothing on one’s body

I’m going to put on my coat.

I’m going to put my coat on.

I’m going to put it on.

Wake up: to move from a state of sleep to being awake

Don’t wake up your father.

Don’t wake your father up.

Don’t wake him up.

Fill in: to complete a form or document

Could you please fill in the form?

Could you please fill the form in?

Could you please fill it in?

– Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

Inseparable phrasal verbs can never be separated. In other words, the object cannot separate the verb and the particle even if the object is replaced by a pronoun. Here are some examples:

Look for: to search for/try to find someone or something

I’m looking for my car keys.

I’m looking for them.

Run into: to meet someone by chance

I ran into my cousins at the mall.

I ran into them at the mall.

Look after: to take care of someone or something

Look after your sister!

Look after her!