Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are a key part of English language fluency, combining verbs with prepositions or adverb to create new meanings. They are essential for everyday communication and understanding, often used in idiomatic expressions. Learning phrasal verbs enhances vocabulary and comprehension, allowing for more natural and effective interactions. Mastering these can significantly improve both spoken and written English skills.

What is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or more particles (prepositions or adverbs) that together create a new meaning distinct from the original verb. Examples include “give up” (quit), “run into” (encounter), and “break down” (stop functioning). These verbs are essential for everyday English fluency and comprehension.

Phrasal Verb Functions

Phrasal verbs serve various functions in English, enhancing the language’s expressiveness and specificity. Here are key functions:

1. Convey Actions: They describe actions precisely, such as “turn on” (activate) or “put off” (postpone).
2. Express States: They indicate states or conditions, like “be over” (end) or “calm down” (relax).
3. Indicate Changes: They show changes in state or condition, e.g., “break down” (malfunction) or “grow up” (mature).
4. Provide Direction: They give directions or locations, such as “come in” (enter) or “go out” (exit).
5. Add Emphasis: They add emphasis or clarity, like “look out” (beware) or “speak up” (speak louder).

Types of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are categorized based on their structure and how they function in sentences. Understanding these types helps in using them correctly and enhances communication skills. Here are the main types:

1. Transitive Phrasal Verbs

These verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning. The action is done to something or someone.

Example:

• “Give up” – She gave up smoking. (Smoking is the direct object.)

2. Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

These verbs do not require a direct object. The action is complete without needing to specify what it is done to.

Example:

• “Wake up” – He woke up early. (There is no direct object needed.)

3. Separable Phrasal Verbs

For these verbs, the particle (preposition or adverb) can be separated from the verb and placed after the object. This type can be tricky, as placement can change without altering the meaning.

Example:

• “Turn off” – She turned off the light.
• Or: She turned the light off.

4. Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

These verbs cannot have their particle separated from the verb. The particle must stay directly after the verb.

Example:

• “Look after” – She looks after her siblings. (The verb and particle cannot be split.)

5. Three-Part Phrasal Verbs

These consist of a verb and two particles. They are always inseparable, and the particles must stay in the given order.

Example:

• “Put up with” – I can’t put up with the noise. (The structure “put up with” must stay together.)

Use of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are widely used in English to make communication more expressive and dynamic. Here’s how and why they are used:

1. Everyday Conversation

Phrasal verbs are integral to everyday spoken English, making conversations sound natural and fluent.

Examples:

• “Pick up” – Can you pick up some groceries on your way home?
• “Put off” – They decided to put off the meeting until next week.

2. Describing Actions

They often describe specific actions more vividly than single-word verbs.

Examples:

• “Turn on” – Please turn on the lights.
• “Break down” – The car broke down on the highway.

3. Expressing Emotions and States

Phrasal verbs can effectively express emotions and states.

Examples:

• “Calm down” – He needed a few minutes to calm down after the argument.
• “Cheer up” – Cheer up! Everything will be okay.

4. Giving Directions

They are useful for providing clear and concise directions.

Examples:

• “Come in” – Come in and have a seat.
• “Go out” – We usually go out on Fridays.

5. Indicating Changes

Phrasal verbs can indicate changes in state, condition, or status.

Examples:

• “Grow up” – He grew up in a small town.
• “Fall apart” – The old house is falling apart.

6. Adding Emphasis

Using phrasal verbs can add emphasis and clarity to statement.

Examples:

• “Look out” – Look out for the cars!
• “Speak up” – Please speak up; I can’t hear you.

7. Idiomatic Expressions

They often form idiomatic expressions that convey meanings not immediately obvious from the individual words.

Examples:

• “Get along” – They get along well with each other.
• “Run into” – I ran into an old friend at the mall.

8. Informal Writing

While commonly used in speech, phrasal verbs also appear in informal writing, such as emails, letters, and social media posts.

Examples:

• “Catch up” – Let’s catch up soon!
• “Check out” – Check out this new movie.

Rules of Phrasal Verbs

Understanding the rules of phrasal verbs is crucial for proper usage. Here are the key rules to keep in mind:

1. Placement of Objects with Separable Phrasal Verbs

When using separable phrasal verbs, you can place the object between the verb and the particle or after the particle.

Examples:

• “Turn off” – She turned off the light.
• Or: She turned the light off.

2. Inseparability of Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

For inseparable phrasal verbs, the verb and particle must stay together. The object always follows the phrasal verb.

Example:

• “Look after” – She looks after her siblings. (Not: She looks her siblings after.)

3. Position of Objects with Pronouns

When the object is a pronoun (e.g., him, her, it), it must go between the verb and the particle in separable phrasal verbs.

Example:

• “Turn off” – She turned it off. (Not: She turned off it.)

4. Handling Three-Part Phrasal Verbs

Three-part phrasal verbs (verb + particle + preposition) are always inseparable. The particles must remain in the specified order, and the object follows them.

Example:

• “Put up with” – I can’t put up with the noise. (Not: I can’t put the noise up with.)

5. Meaning Changes with Different Particles

The meaning of a phrasal verb can change significantly with different particles. Learning each combination is essential.

Examples:

• “Take off” (remove clothing or become airborne)
• “Take in” (absorb or deceive)
• “Take over” (assume control)

6. Context Determines Meaning

The context in which a phrasal verb is used often determines its meaning. Pay attention to the surrounding words and the overall sentence.

Example:

• “Break down” can mean to stop functioning (The car broke down) or to become emotional (She broke down in tears).

7. Use in Formal and Informal Contexts

Phrasal verbs are common in informal English. In formal writing, it’s often better to use a single-word verb when possible.

Example:

• Informal: “The meeting was called off.”
• Formal: “The meeting was canceled.”

Phrasal Verbs List

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Break down	Stop functioning	The car broke down on the highway.
Bring up	Mention a topic	She brought up an interesting point.
Call off	Cancel	They called off the meeting.
Carry on	Continue	Carry on with your work.
Come across	Find by chance	I came across an old photo.
Cut down	Reduce	He needs to cut down on sugar.
Find out	Discover	I found out the truth.
Get along	Have a good relationship	They get along well.
Give up	Quit	She gave up smoking.
Go on	Continue	Go on with your story.
Look after	Take care of	She looks after her siblings.
Look forward to	Anticipate with pleasure	I look forward to the weekend.
Make up	Invent (a story or lie)	He made up a silly excuse.
Pick up	Collect	Can you pick up some groceries?
Put off	Postpone	They put off the meeting.
Run into	Meet by chance	I ran into an old friend.
Set up	Arrange, establish	They set up a new business.
Take off	Remove or leave the ground	He took off his jacket.
Turn down	Reject	She turned down the job offer.
Wake up	Stop sleeping	He woke up early today.

100 Most Common Phrasal Verbs List

Phrasal Verb	Meaning
Break down	Stop functioning or lose control emotionally
Bring up	Mention a topic
Call off	Cancel
Carry on	Continue
Come across	Find by chance
Cut down	Reduce
Find out	Discover
Get along	Have a good relationship
Give up	Quit
Go on	Continue
Look after	Take care of
Look forward to	Anticipate with pleasure
Make up	Invent (a story or lie)
Pick up	Collect or lift
Put off	Postpone
Run into	Meet by chance
Set up	Arrange, establish
Take off	Remove or leave the ground
Turn down	Reject
Wake up	Stop sleeping
Break up	End a relationship
Bring out	Publish or release
Call back	Return a phone call
Carry out	Perform or conduct
Check in	Register at a hotel or airport
Come back	Return
Cut off	Stop providing or remove
Fall apart	Break into pieces or become emotionally upset
Get back	Return
Give in	Surrender or yield
Go out	Leave home for social activities
Hold on	Wait or grip tightly
Look up	Search for information
Make out	Understand or see clearly
Put on	Wear or gain (weight)
Run out	Exhaust supply
Set off	Start a journey or trigger
Take over	Assume control
Turn up	Appear or increase volume
Work out	Exercise or find a solution
Break into	Enter forcibly
Bring about	Cause to happen
Call in	Summon for help or consult
Carry on with	Continue with something
Check out	Leave a hotel or verify information
Come down with	Become ill
Cut back	Reduce
Fall for	Be deceived or fall in love
Get over	Recover from
Give away	Distribute for free or reveal a secret
Go through	Experience or examine
Hang up	End a phone call
Look into	Investigate
Make up for	Compensate for
Put up with	Tolerate
Run over	Hit with a vehicle or review quickly
Set up	Establish or arrange
Take back	Return or retract a statement
Turn off	Stop a device or repulse
Work on	Focus efforts on something
Break through	Overcome an obstacle
Bring in	Introduce or earn
Call off	Cancel
Carry off	Succeed in doing something difficult
Check up on	Investigate or verify
Come up with	Think of an idea or plan
Cut down on	Reduce the amount of something
Fall behind	Fail to keep up with
Get by	Manage to survive or cope
Give up on	Lose faith in someone or something
Go ahead	Proceed
Hang out	Spend time relaxing
Look out for	Be vigilant for
Make off with	Steal and escape
Put out	Extinguish or inconvenience
Run away	Escape or leave unexpectedly
Set about	Start doing something
Take in	Absorb or deceive
Turn in	Submit or go to bed
Work through	Deal with a problem or situation
Break off	End abruptly
Bring up to	Raise to a certain standard
Call out	Shout or summon for action
Carry away	Be overly excited or enthusiastic
Check out of	Leave a place or situation
Come out	Be published or revealed
Cut out	Remove or stop using something
Fall out	Argue or quarrel
Get down	Depress or start doing seriously
Give back	Return something to someone
Go off	Explode or become spoiled
Hold back	Restrain or delay
Look over	Review or inspect quickly
Make out with	Kiss passionately
Put down	Criticize or euthanize (an animal)
Run down	Hit and injure or criticize severely
Settle down	Start a stable life or calm down
Take up	Start a new hobby or fill space
Turn around	Reverse direction or improve situation
Work out for	Have a good result for

Phrasal Verbs A to Z with Meanings and Sentences

A

1. Account for
Meaning: Explain or justify
Sentence: He couldn’t account for his absence at the meeting.

2. Add up
Meaning: Make sense or total
Sentence: Her story just doesn’t add up.

B

3. Back up
Meaning: Support or reverse
Sentence: She always backs up her arguments with facts.

4. Break down
Meaning: Stop functioning or analyze in detail
Sentence: The car broke down on the way to work.

C

5. Call off
Meaning: Cancel
Sentence: They called off the event due to bad weather.

6. Carry on
Meaning: Continue
Sentence: Despite the interruption, she carried on with her presentation.

D

7. Deal with
Meaning: Handle or manage
Sentence: She had to deal with many problems at once.

8. Drop out
Meaning: Leave school or a program
Sentence: He dropped out of college in his second year.

E

9. End up
Meaning: Finally reach a state or condition
Sentence: They ended up staying at a hotel.

10. Eat out
Meaning: Dine at a restaurant
Sentence: We decided to eat out tonight.

F

11. Figure out
Meaning: Understand or solve
Sentence: She finally figured out the solution to the problem.

12. Fill in
Meaning: Complete or substitute
Sentence: Can you fill in this form?

G

13. Get along
Meaning: Have a good relationship
Sentence: They get along well with each other.

14. Give up
Meaning: Quit or surrender
Sentence: She gave up smoking last year.

H

15. Hold on
Meaning: Wait or grasp tightly
Sentence: Hold on for a moment, please.

16. Hurry up
Meaning: Rush or move quickly
Sentence: We need to hurry up if we want to catch the train.

I

17. Iron out
Meaning: Resolve or smooth out
Sentence: They had a meeting to iron out the details.

18. Invite over
Meaning: Ask someone to come to your house
Sentence: Let’s invite over some friends for dinner.

J

19. Join in
Meaning: Participate
Sentence: Would you like to join in our game?

20. Jump in
Meaning: Enter quickly or interrupt
Sentence: He jumped in with a solution to the problem.

K

21. Keep up
Meaning: Maintain or continue
Sentence: It’s hard to keep up with the news these days.

22. Knock out
Meaning: Defeat or render unconscious
Sentence: The boxer knocked out his opponent in the second round.

L

23. Look after
Meaning: Take care of
Sentence: She looks after her younger brother.

24. Look up
Meaning: Search for information
Sentence: She looked up the word in the dictionary.

M

25. Make up
Meaning: Invent (a story or lie)
Sentence: He made up an excuse for being late.

26. Move on
Meaning: Continue to a new topic or place
Sentence: After the meeting, we decided to move on to other issues.

N

27. Nod off
Meaning: Fall asleep
Sentence: He nodded off during the lecture.

28. Narrow down
Meaning: Reduce the number of options
Sentence: We need to narrow down the choices to three.

O

29. Opt out
Meaning: Choose not to participate
Sentence: She decided to opt out of the project.

30. Own up
Meaning: Admit or confess
Sentence: He owned up to his mistakes.

P

31. Pass out
Meaning: Faint or distribute
Sentence: He passed out from exhaustion.

32. Pick up
Meaning: Collect or improve
Sentence: I’ll pick up the kids from school.

Q

33. Quiet down
Meaning: Become silent or less noisy
Sentence: The teacher asked the students to quiet down.

34. Quarrel with
Meaning: Argue or dispute
Sentence: She often quarrels with her siblings.

R

35. Run out
Meaning: Exhaust supply
Sentence: We’ve run out of milk.

36. Rule out
Meaning: Eliminate as an option
Sentence: The police ruled out foul play.

S

37. Set up
Meaning: Arrange or establish
Sentence: They set up a new business.

38. Show up
Meaning: Arrive or appear
Sentence: He didn’t show up for the meeting.

T

39. Take off
Meaning: Remove or leave the ground
Sentence: The plane took off on time.

40. Turn down
Meaning: Reject
Sentence: She turned down the job offer.

U

41. Use up
Meaning: Consume completely
Sentence: We used up all the flour.

42. Urge on
Meaning: Encourage
Sentence: The coach urged on his team.

V

43. Vouch for
Meaning: Support or guarantee
Sentence: I can vouch for his honesty.

44. Vault over
Meaning: Jump over something
Sentence: He vaulted over the fence.

W

45. Wake up
Meaning: Stop sleeping
Sentence: She woke up early today.

46. Wind down
Meaning: Relax or conclude
Sentence: We need to wind down after a busy day.

X

47. X out
Meaning: Delete or cancel
Sentence: Just X out that mistake.

Y

48. Yearn for
Meaning: Desire strongly
Sentence: She yearns for a vacation.

49. Yield to
Meaning: Give way to
Sentence: He yielded to the temptation.

Z

50. Zip up
Meaning: Fasten with a zipper
Sentence: Don’t forget to zip up your jacket.

51. Zone out
Meaning: Lose focus
Sentence: He often zones out during meetings.

52. Zero in on
Meaning: Focus closely on
Sentence: They zeroed in on the main issue.

How to Conjugate Phrasal Verbs

Conjugating phrasal verbs involves changing the verb part to match the subject, tense, and grammatical mood. The particle (preposition or adverb) remains unchanged. Here’s a step-by-step guide to conjugating phrasal verbs with examples in different tenses and forms.

Present Simple

Structure: [Subject] + [Base Verb/Verb-s/es] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She takes off her coat. (singular subject)
• Look after: They look after the children. (plural subject)

Past Simple

Structure: [Subject] + [Past Verb] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She took off her coat.
• Look after: They looked after the children.

Present Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Am/Is/Are] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She is taking off her coat.
• Look after: They are looking after the children.

Past Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Was/Were] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She was taking off her coat.
• Look after: They were looking after the children.

Present Perfect

Structure: [Subject] + [Have/Has] + [Past Participle] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She has taken off her coat.
• Look after: They have looked after the children.

Past Perfect

Structure: [Subject] + [Had] + [Past Participle] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She had taken off her coat.
• Look after: They had looked after the children.

Future Simple

Structure: [Subject] + [Will] + [Base Verb] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She will take off her coat.
• Look after: They will look after the children.

Future Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Will Be] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She will be taking off her coat.
• Look after: They will be looking after the children.

Present Perfect Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Have/Has Been] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She has been taking off her coat.
• Look after: They have been looking after the children.

Past Perfect Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Had Been] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She had been taking off her coat.
• Look after: They had been looking after the children.

Future Perfect

Structure: [Subject] + [Will Have] + [Past Participle] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She will have taken off her coat.
• Look after: They will have looked after the children.

Future Perfect Continuous

Structure: [Subject] + [Will Have Been] + [Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She will have been taking off her coat.
• Look after: They will have been looking after the children.

Modal Verbs

Structure: [Subject] + [Modal Verb] + [Base Verb] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She can take off her coat.
• Look after: They should look after the children.

Imperatives

Structure: [Verb] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: Take off your coat.
• Look after: Look after the children.

Negative Form

Structure: [Subject] + [Do/Does/Did/Will/Have/Has/Am/Is/Are/Was/Were/Modal Verb] + [Not] + [Base Verb/Past Participle/Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: She does not take off her coat.
• Look after: They did not look after the children.

Questions

Structure: [Do/Does/Did/Will/Have/Has/Am/Is/Are/Was/Were/Modal Verb] + [Subject] + [Base Verb/Past Participle/Verb-ing] + [Particle]

Example:

• Take off: Does she take off her coat?
• Look after: Did they look after the children?