PAGINA PRINCIPAL

LEARN MORE ABOUT PHRASAL VERBAL

LEARN MORE ABOUT PHRASAL VERBAL

It's the combination of a verb + a particle (preposition or adverb) resulting in a new word. The new unit is different from the two separate words.

Examples

• She's looking after the kids
• I've decided to give up smoking.
• What will she say when she finds out?

Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken and written English so we need them to understand and speak natural English. If you're in a hurry to learn just a few verbs, take a look at our .

VIDEO ABOUT  PHRASAL VERBS

WHAT IS A PHASAL BERV?

WHAT IS A PHASAL BERV?

Phrasal verbs are usually two-word phrases consisting of verb + adverb or verb + preposition. Think of them as you would any other English vocabulary. Study them as you come across them, rather than trying to memorize many at once. Use the list below as a reference guide when you find an expression that you don't recognize. The examples will help you understand the meanings. If you think of each phrasal verb as a separate verb with a specific meaning, you will be able to remember it more easily. Like many other verbs, phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning.

Verb Lists: Infinitives and Gerunds

Verb Lists: Infinitives and Gerunds

Verbs Followed by an Infinitive She agreed to speak before the game.
agree aim appear arrange ask attempt be able beg begin care choose condescend	consent continue dare decide deserve detest dislike expect fail forget get happen	have hesitate hope hurry intend leap leave like long love mean neglect	offer ought plan prefer prepare proceed promise propose refuse remember say	shoot start stop strive swear threaten try use wait want wish

Verbs Followed by a Preposition and a Gerund We concentrated on doing well.
admit to approve of argue about believe in care about complain about concentrate on confess to	depend on disapprove of discourage from dream about feel like forget about insist on object to	plan on prevent (someone) from refrain from succeed in talk about think about worry about

Verbs Followed by a Gerund They enjoyed working on the boat.
admit advise appreciate avoid can't help complete consider	delay deny detest dislike enjoy escape excuse	finish forbid get through have imagine mind miss	permit postpone practice quit recall report resent	resist resume risk spend (time) suggest tolerate waste (time)

Verbs Followed by an Object and an Infinitive Everyone expected her to win.
advise allow ask beg bring build buy challenge	choose command dare direct encourage expect forbid force	have hire instruct invite lead leave let like	love motivate order pay permit persuade prepare promise	remind require send teach tell urge want warn
Note: Some of these verbs are included in the list above and may be used without an object.

THE COMMON PHRASAL VERBS

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 do it over.
Verb	Meaning	Example
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. Write 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.

Phrasal Verbs

What are Phrasal Verbs? 

A phrasal verb is a combination of words (a verb + a preposition or verb +adverb) that when used together, usually take on a different meaning to that of the original verb.

1. break down, check in, tear up

When we use phrasal verbs, we use them like normal verbs in a sentence, regardless if it’s a regular or irregular verb.

1. Ella tore up the letter after she read it.
2. Their car broke down two miles out of town.
3. Did the manager deal with that customer’s complaint.

What are 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

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "TOO AND ENOUGH"

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "TOO AND ENOUGH"

TOO

too + adjective	This shirt is too expensive. It costs $30 and I have only $25.
too much + uncountable noun	I drank too much water; now I really need to go to the bathroom!
too many + countable noun	She put too many eggs into the cake. The recipe said 3 and she used 5.
verb + too much	He complains too much. He has such a negative attitude.

ENOUGH

enough + noun (countable or uncountable)	We don’t have enough people for a soccer team.We have 8 people and a team needs at least 11.
adjective + enough	Sorry kid, you’re not old enough to buy alcohol. You’re 19 and the minimum age is 21.
verb + enough	I don’t exercise enough. I need to go to the gym more than once a month.