Phrasal Verbs  

Phrasal verbs are verb phrases that have idiomatic meanings—that is, the meaning is not obvious from the individual words that make up the phrase. Because of this, we have to learn what they mean by understanding them in context.

In this section, we’ll look at how phrasal verbs are formed and how they are distinct from prepositional verbs, and then look at a list of common phrasal verb examples.

Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb + a preposition, an adverbial particle, or both, and their definitions are uniquely tied to the particular combinations used to create them.

A particle is very similar to a preposition—in fact, they are almost always identical in appearance. (There are a few words that will only function as particles in verb phrases: away, back, out, backward, forward, upward, and downward.)

However, particles are used more like adverbs, modifying and uniquely expanding the meaning of the verbs they are paired with. For this reason, particles are sometimes referred to as adverbial particles, or even just adverbs. The key difference between particles and prepositions, however, is that particles do not (and cannot) introduce a prepositional phrase, while the preposition in a phrasal verb always will.

Below, we’ll look at some examples of phrasal verbs that use particles, prepositions, and combinations of both.

Takes up is made up of the verb take + up. Up changes the meaning of the verb, but it does not introduce a prepositional phrase expressing direction, location, time, or possession—therefore, it is functioning as a particle.

Again, the particle over is changing the meaning of the verb look, but it is not introducing a prepositional phrase.

Here are some other examples of phrasal verbs formed with particles:

As we’ve seen, a phrasal verb can be formed from a preposition when that preposition acts as the head of a prepositional phrase, followed immediately by its object. For example:

We can see that, in each of the above, the phrasal verb comprises a verb + a preposition—the preposition always forms a prepositional phrase with the object of the phrasal verb.

Some phrasal verbs have both a particle and a preposition. These are sometimes known as particle-prepositional phrasal verbs. All three elements—verb, particle, and preposition—act together to form a unique meaning.

For example:

In this context, across functions as a particle, while as functions as a preposition, introducing the prepositional phrase as a really confident person.

The phrasal verb here is made up of the verb keep + the particle up + the preposition with. Up changes the meaning of the verb keep, while with introduces the prepositional phrase with you.

Let’s look at some other examples.

Because a preposition in a phrasal verb must always form a prepositional phrase, the phrasal verb must be transitive because it requires a direct object. Therefore, if a phrasal verb is intransitive, we can assume that it is formed from a verb and a particle. For example:

None of the above phrasal verbs has a direct object, and so each one is intransitive and a particle phrasal verb.

When phrasal verbs are transitive, they always take direct objects. This can make it difficult to tell whether a particle or prepositional phrasal verb is being used. However, there is a quick test that we can perform to be sure. First, we substitute a personal pronoun for the object of the phrasal verb. If it can be arranged before the particle/preposition and still make sense, then a particle is being used; if it has to come after to make sense, then a preposition is being used. Phrasal verbs that can be divided by objects are commonly referred to as being separable; those that cannot be divided are known as being inseparable.

Let’s look at this in one of our previous examples:

It might seem as though over does in fact introduce a prepositional phrase: over the proposal. However, if we substitute the personal pronoun it for the proposal, we can see that the object can come immediately after the verb:

Therefore, look over is a particle phrasal verb and is considered separable.

Let’s look at another example to see when this can’t be done:

Using the personal pronoun her instead of his mother, the sentence now reads:

Now let’s try rearranging it in the sentence:

We can see that the sentence no longer makes sense: the object, her, must follow the phrasal verb and form a prepositional phrase to be logically complete. Therefore, look after is a prepositional phrasal verb and is inseparable.

Finally, some phrasal verbs can be both transitive and intransitive, depending on which idiomatic meaning is being used.

Consider these sets of examples that use the same phrasal verb:

Sometimes, a prepositional verb may be mistaken for a phrasal verb. Although both combinations appear to be very similar, you can differentiate them by examining their meaning. Prepositional verbs use the literal meanings of verbs, whereas phrasal verbs tend to be idiomatic.

For example, the meaning of the verb ask doesn’t change when combined with the preposition for; however, it changes dramatically when combined with the particle out:

We can see this difference even more clearly with a set of examples that use the same verb-preposition pairing:

Both examples use the verb sail + the preposition through. However, because the first sentence uses the literal meaning of sail, we know it is a prepositional verb—the preposition is merely describing the movement of the verb, without changing the meaning of the verb itself. If, for instance, we change the sentence to “They sailed along the coast,” the meaning of sail does not change.

The verb phrase of the second sentence, however, has the idiomatic meaning of “to complete with ease and speed.” It can only have this meaning if sail and through are paired together. Changing the preposition would also completely change the meaning of the verb phrase; therefore, it is functioning as a phrasal verb in this context.

The only way to truly feel comfortable with phrasal verbs is to recognize them in everyday writing and speech, understand their unique meanings, and then begin to use them in the same way in your own writing and speech.

With that in mind, head to the section on Common Phrasal Verbs to see an extensive list of examples of common phrasal verbs as they are used in both spoken and written English.