Phrasal Verbs

Look on its own refers to directing your eyes towards something. But look for means “try to find”, and look after means “take care of”. The particle is not decoration: changing it changes the meaning.

Many base verbs form whole groups of combinations: turn on and turn off, put on and take off, come in and go out. Paired particles often have opposite meanings, but not always, so learn each combination separately.

Some textbooks distinguish phrasal verbs from prepositional verbs. At A2, the more important point is that the combination has its own meaning and we learn it as a whole.

Some combinations are transparent: sit down, stand up, come in, go out. The particle shows direction, and you can work out the meaning from the parts.

Other combinations are non-transparent: give up, find out, look after, turn up. Their meanings have to be learnt because the separate words do not reveal them.

One combination can have several meanings. Take off means “remove” with clothes but “leave the ground” with an aircraft. The sentence context therefore determines the meaning.

Only the verb changes in a phrasal verb: gets up, got up, getting up. The particle stays unchanged.

In negatives and questions, the auxiliary carries the ending or tense, and the main verb returns to its base form: does not wake up, did you find out.

The verb and particle usually stand together. Cases where an object goes between them are a separate topic that comes later.

Not every word after a verb belongs to a phrasal verb. In sit on the chair, on introduces a location and answers “where?”. In sit down, down changes the action itself.

The combination’s meaning helps you recognise it, but this is not a foolproof test: phrasal verbs can also have transparent meanings. For a new word, check its meaning and object position in a dictionary.

In I get up at six, up belongs with get, while at six is a separate time phrase.

Many phrasal verbs have single-word equivalents: give up — quit, find out — discover, get up — rise. These combinations are very common in conversation.

The single word usually sounds more formal or has a narrower meaning. A phrasal verb often conveys a familiar everyday action more vividly.

A replacement does not always match in nuance or in the words it combines with, so learn the combinations in sentences.

Learn the whole combination with a short example: not just turn, but turn on the radio. In a dictionary, look for the combination under the main verb.

Do not learn too many at once. Start with the common particles up, down, on, off, out, in, away and back, and verbs you use every day.

Next, study object position: turn off the light and turn the light off. Check pronouns separately: turn it off. This is the topic of separable phrasal verbs.

If the object is a noun or short noun phrase, such as the toys, her scarf or the kitchen, it can follow the particle or go between the verb and particle. The meaning stays the same; only the phrase's rhythm changes.

Do not split the noun phrase: your new scarf stays together as one unit. A very long phrase is more naturally placed after the particle than between the verb and particle.

In a neutral sentence, put a short unstressed personal pronoun such as it, them, me, him, her or us between the verb and particle: turn it off. Other pronoun types and special contrastive stress can behave differently; this lesson practises the ordinary order.

A pronoun usually replaces something already mentioned: first the lamp, then it.

These are object forms: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. Do not confuse them with subject forms: I, he, she, we, they. Use wake me up, not wake I up.

Choose the pronoun according to what or whom it replaces: one thing → it, several things → them, yourself → me, yourself with others → us. Them can also refer to one person who uses they; context matters.

Some multi-word verbs keep the second word with its object and cannot be separated: look for, look after. The object always follows for or after, even when it is a pronoun: look for it, look after them.

The pronoun-in-the-middle rule therefore applies to separable verbs. When learning a new phrasal verb, learn whether it separates together with an example containing an object.

The object's position does not depend on the sentence type. In commands, negatives and questions, the verb follows the usual rules, such as didn't, do you and can you, while the object and particle retain their positions.

After did, don't, can and infinitive to, the verb takes the base form: Did you tidy it up?, not Did you tidied it up?

In a narrative, an object is first named with a noun and then replaced by a pronoun. This sounds natural and avoids repeated wording.

This is an easy point to make a mistake: the first sentence with its noun allows two orders, but the second, with an ordinary pronoun, allows only one.

Before placing the particle, ask what the object is. For a separable verb, put an ordinary personal pronoun between the verb and particle. A noun can go in either position.

Do not apply this rule to inseparable verbs: look for and look after stay together.

In these morning examples, wake up, get up, go out, and come back do not need objects: wake up means stop sleeping, get up means leave bed, go out means leave an indoor place, and come back means return. Other senses can take an object: wake someone up means cause someone to stop sleeping.

You can wake up but stay in bed for a long time. Wake up and get up let you name these separate events.

Do not put to before home: come back home, like come back here or come back later. Other place expressions need to: come back to the office, come back to Kyiv.

Turn on means switch on, while turn off means switch off. Without the particle, turn the TV can mean physically rotate the television; to express switching it on, you need on.

Put on means dress yourself in something, such as a jacket, scarf, or glasses. In British English it can also mean switch on, as in put the light on or put some music on. Turn on is the safer general choice for appliances. Put off has a completely different meaning: postpone. To remove clothes, use take off, not put off.

Pick up means lift something from a floor or table, and also collect someone or something from a place: pick up a friend from the airport. These combinations take an object, and with a noun the particle can come before or after it. A separate rule on separable phrasal verbs explains particle placement in relation to the object.

Look for means search for: a process whose outcome is not yet known. What is being sought follows directly, without another preposition: look for a hotel. Look by itself means direct your eyes towards something; look for means search.

Find out means learn or obtain information: find out the time, find out who called. When you locate an object you were searching for, use find alone: found my keys. Do not use find out to mean locating a physical object.

Give up can mean stop trying or stop a habit: Don’t give up! / give up sugar / give up smoking. To name the action being stopped, use an -ing form in this pattern.

Only the first word—the verb itself—changes. The particle stays the same: wake up, wakes up, woke up, waking up. In the present with he, she, or it, add -s to the first word: gets up, goes out, picks up.

Common past forms include wake — woke, get — got, go — went, come — came, find — found, and give — gave. Regular forms include turned, picked, and looked. Put has the same base form, past form, and past participle, but it also has puts and putting.

Form negatives and questions using the ordinary rules: an auxiliary such as does / did / do, followed by the first word in its base form. Do not add -s or -ed to the particle.

Wake up or get up? Wake up means you are no longer asleep; get up means you are no longer in bed. About a Saturday morning, you can say I woke up at eight, but I got up at ten.

Look for, find out, or find? Look for means search; find means locate a thing or person; find out means learn information. Use look for and find for keys, and find out for information about train times.

Turn on, put on, or put off? Turn on switches on an appliance; put on means dress in clothes, or switch something on in a conversational British pattern; put off means postpone. The opposites are turn on — turn off and put on — take off for clothes.

These combinations help you describe a day, ask someone to do something, or encourage someone. Always check the meaning against the situation.

A typical sequence for describing a day is wake up, get up, go out, come back. Add one or two appliances or objects, and you have a connected account of a few sentences.

Choose the combinations that fit your meaning and check the form of the first word: tense, the -s ending, and any irregular form.