Phrasal Verbs
Learn how verbs and particles combine to form new vocabulary units — and how to use them accurately, not just recognise them.
More than verb plus preposition
A phrasal verb is a verb and a particle working as one unit.
A phrasal verb combines a verb with one or more particles — words like up, off, into or along. The resulting meaning can stay close to the original verb, become extended or metaphorical, or turn into something completely different from the individual words.
Once a combination is established with its own meaning, it’s worth treating it as a single vocabulary item — not as a verb you happen to be using alongside a preposition.
Meaning is only half the picture. A phrasal verb also has its own grammatical behaviour — where the object goes, whether it can be split, and whether it needs an object at all. This lesson looks at both.
More ways to explore vocabulary
This page focuses on the verb-particle unit itself.
For natural word combinations more broadly, or for idiomatic and fixed expressions, explore the pages below.
The central idea
Using a phrasal verb naturally is a four-step process.
01
Recognise it
Notice that a verb and particle are functioning together as one vocabulary unit.
02
Understand the meaning
Work out whether the meaning is fairly transparent or genuinely needs to be learned as a unit.
03
Notice the grammatical pattern
Check whether it takes an object, and if so, whether that object can move.
04
Use it naturally
Put the verb, particle and object in the pattern that’s actually used in English.
How meaning works
Meaning ranges from transparent to completely established.
Not every phrasal verb needs the same amount of attention. Some are close to their literal meaning; others have to be learned as a whole.
Fairly transparent
sit down
The meaning is close to what “sit” and “down” already suggest.
Less predictable
find out
The meaning — discover information — isn’t obvious just from “find” and “out”.
Established as one unit
give up
The meaning — to stop trying — can’t be built from “give” plus “up” at all.
The particle matters too, and it doesn’t attach a single predictable meaning to every verb. One verb can form several unrelated phrasal verbs:
take off
Remove something, or leave the ground, or become successful quickly.
take over
Take control of something from someone else.
take up
Start a new hobby or activity, or occupy space or time.
take back
Return something, or withdraw something you said.
Patterns can help you notice possibilities, but they don’t let you reliably guess a meaning — established usage ultimately decides it. And a single phrasal verb can carry more than one meaning: take off can mean removing clothing (“She took off her coat”), leaving the ground (“The plane took off on time”), or becoming successful quickly (“The new product really took off”). Context tells you which one is meant.
Separable and inseparable
Where the object goes depends on the phrasal verb.
Separable
turn off the light / turn the light off
With a full noun, both orders are possible.
Inseparable
look after someone
The object always comes after the whole phrasal verb — it can’t sit between the verb and particle.
With look after, only “look after the children” is correct — “look the children after” doesn’t work.
Pronoun placement
With separable phrasal verbs, an object pronoun goes in the middle.
This is one of the most practically useful rules for phrasal verbs. With a separable phrasal verb, a full noun can go either in the middle or at the end — but a pronoun (it, him, her, them…) can only go in the middle.
Turn off it before you leave.
Turn it off before you leave.
With a pronoun, the object must sit between the verb and the particle — it can’t follow the particle.
Phrasal verbs with no object
Not every phrasal verb takes an object at all.
The separable/inseparable distinction only applies to phrasal verbs that take an object. Many common phrasal verbs simply don’t.
wake up
Meaning: stop sleeping. No object.
“I woke up early this morning.”
sit down
Meaning: move into a sitting position. No object.
“Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable.”
show up
Meaning: arrive, especially somewhere expected. No object.
“He didn’t show up to the meeting.”
Three-word phrasal verbs
Some phrasal verbs use two particles together.
These normally behave as a single, complete unit. The goal here is recognising them, not classifying every possible type.
look forward to
Meaning: feel pleased and excited about something that’s going to happen.
“I’m really looking forward to the trip.”
put up with
Meaning: tolerate something unpleasant without complaining.
“I don’t know how she puts up with the noise.”
get along with
Meaning: have a friendly relationship with someone.
“She gets along with everyone on the team.”
Category: Daily actions
Common phrasal verbs for everyday routines
wake up
Meaning: stop sleeping. Pattern: intransitive — no object.
“I usually wake up at seven.”
turn on
Meaning: start a device or light working. Pattern: separable — turn on the lamp / turn the lamp on / turn it on.
“Can you turn on the heating?”
turn off
Meaning: stop a device or light working. Pattern: separable — turn off the light / turn the light off / turn it off.
“Don’t forget to turn off the stove.”
pick up
Meaning: collect someone or something. Pattern: separable — pick up the kids / pick the kids up / pick them up.
“I’ll pick up some groceries on the way home.”
Category: Communication & information
Common phrasal verbs for sharing and discovering information
find out
Meaning: discover information.
“I found out the results this morning.”
“She wants to find out what time the train leaves.”
bring up
Meaning: introduce a topic into a conversation. Pattern: separable — bring up the issue / bring the issue up / bring it up.
“I didn’t want to bring up the budget again.”
point out
Meaning: draw attention to a fact or detail. Pattern: separable — point out the mistake / point the mistake out / point it out.
“She pointed out a small error in the report.”
get back to
Meaning: contact someone again, usually to give an answer. Pattern: three-word, inseparable — get back to someone.
“I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”
Category: Work & study
Common phrasal verbs for tasks and progress
hand in
Meaning: submit something, such as work or a form. Pattern: separable — hand in the assignment / hand the assignment in / hand it in.
“Please hand in your essays by Friday.”
catch up
Meaning: reach the same level as others after falling behind. Pattern: intransitive, often followed by “on” — catch up on the reading.
“I need to catch up on my emails.”
fall behind
Meaning: fail to keep up with progress or a schedule. Pattern: intransitive, often followed by “in” or “on”.
“He fell behind on his coursework after being sick.”
look into
Meaning: investigate or examine something. Pattern: inseparable — look into the issue, not “look the issue into”.
“The committee will look into the complaint.”
Category: Decisions & plans
Common phrasal verbs for planning and deciding
put off
Meaning: postpone something. Pattern: separable — put off the meeting / put the meeting off / put it off.
“They put off the decision until next week.”
carry on
Meaning: continue doing something. Pattern: intransitive, often followed by “with”.
“Let’s carry on with the plan as it is.”
give up
Meaning: stop trying, or stop doing something. Pattern: separable when it has an object — give up smoking / give it up — or used with no object at all.
“Don’t give up now — you’re almost finished.”
go ahead
Meaning: proceed, or begin without waiting. Pattern: intransitive.
“We decided to go ahead with the original plan.”
Category: Relationships & interaction
Common phrasal verbs for how people relate to each other
get along with
Meaning: have a friendly relationship with someone. Pattern: three-word, inseparable.
“He gets along with most of his coworkers.”
look after
Meaning: take care of someone or something. Pattern: inseparable — look after someone, not “look someone after”.
“She looks after her grandmother most weekends.”
run into
Meaning: meet someone unexpectedly. Pattern: inseparable.
“I ran into an old friend at the station.”
fall out with
Meaning: have a disagreement that damages a relationship. Pattern: three-word, inseparable.
“She fell out with her roommate over the bills.”
Useful comparisons
Small changes in the particle produce different meanings.
The particle can’t simply be swapped — each combination has its own established meaning.
look for
Search for something you don’t currently have.
look after
Take care of someone or something.
look into
Investigate or examine something more closely.
pick up
Collect someone, or something, from a place.
drop off
Deliver someone, or something, and then leave.
give up
Stop trying, or stop doing something.
carry on
Continue doing something without stopping.
put off
Postpone something to a later time.
go ahead
Proceed with something, often without waiting.
Register
Phrasal verbs aren’t automatically informal.
Phrasal verbs are extremely common in everyday spoken and written English, and many have a more formal single-word alternative. But that doesn’t make the phrasal verb informal — plenty are completely natural in professional and written English too. Register is one thing to consider, not a rigid rule.
find out → discover
put off → postpone
look into → investigate
Common problems
Meaning and grammar both need attention.
I’ll pick off the kids at 3.
I’ll pick up the kids at 3.
The wrong particle produces a phrase that isn’t an established phrasal verb at all.
Turn off it before you leave.
Turn it off before you leave.
A pronoun object has to sit between the verb and the particle with a separable phrasal verb.
Look the children after this weekend.
Look after the children this weekend.
Inseparable phrasal verbs never allow the object between the verb and the particle.
Open the light, please.
Turn on the light, please.
Translating a similar phrase word-for-word from another language often produces something that isn’t the English phrasal verb at all.
I need to look into my keys — I lost them.
I need to look for my keys — I lost them.
“Look into” means investigate; “look for” means search for something missing. They’re easy to confuse but serve different functions.
Avoiding “look into” in a formal report because it seems too casual, and using an awkward workaround instead.
The committee will look into the matter further.
Many phrasal verbs are completely natural in formal writing — assuming they’re all informal leads to unnecessarily stiff English.
Misreading “The new product really took off last year” as being about removing something.
Here, “took off” means became successful quickly.
Forgetting that one phrasal verb can carry several meanings can lead to misreading a sentence entirely.
I’m waiting my friend for.
I’m waiting for my friend.
“Wait for” is an ordinary verb + preposition combination, not a separable phrasal verb — not every verb-plus-preposition sequence behaves the same way.
Your turn
Practise both meaning and word order.
These activities are part of the learning process. There are no scores, no grades and no limit on how many times you may try.
Your friend has been coughing all week. You say: “You should see a doctor and ___ what’s wrong.”
✅ Exactly! “Find out” means discover information — exactly what a doctor’s visit would do here.
❎ Not quite. Think about which phrasal verb specifically means “discover information”.
The others are about raising a topic, noting a detail, or replying later — not discovering something new.
“I need to ___ the TV before we leave.”
✅ Exactly! “Turn off” means stop a device working — the right particle for this meaning.
❎ Not quite. Each particle changes the meaning of “turn” — think about which one means “switch off”.
“Turn up” means increase volume or appear somewhere — not what’s needed here.
Which is correct?
✅ Exactly! With a pronoun object, a separable phrasal verb must be split — the pronoun goes between the verb and the particle.
❎ Not quite. A pronoun object can’t follow the particle — it has to go in the middle.
This rule applies specifically to pronouns like it, him, her and them.
“The new app really took off after the update.” What does “took off” mean here?
✅ Exactly! With products, businesses or trends, “take off” means to become successful quickly.
❎ Not quite. This is the same phrasal verb used for planes and clothing, but the context here points to a different meaning.
An app can’t literally leave the ground — think about what “success” would look like here.
Try it another way
Complete each short exchange.
Type the missing word to finish the phrasal verb.
✅ Exactly! “Put off” means postpone — and with a pronoun, the particle follows it.
❎ Not quite. Think about the particle that pairs with “put” to mean “postpone”.
✅ Exactly! “Catch up on” means reach the same level after falling behind.
❎ Not quite. This particle pairs with “catch” here, not “on” alone.
✅ Exactly! “Look after” means take care of someone or something.
❎ Not quite. This particle pairs with “look” to mean “take care of”.
Notice the difference
Correct the word order or word choice.
Rewrite each sentence so the phrasal verb is used naturally.
Turn off it before you leave.
✅ Exactly! A pronoun object must go between the verb and the particle with a separable phrasal verb.
❎ Not quite. Move “it” so it sits right after “turn”.
Look the children after this weekend.
✅ Exactly! “Look after” is inseparable — the object always comes after the whole phrasal verb.
❎ Not quite. This phrasal verb can never be split.
Open the light, please.
✅ Exactly! English uses “turn on” for lights and devices, not “open”.
❎ Not quite. Think of the phrasal verb used to start a light or device working.
Quick review
Meaning and grammar both matter.
Recognise it — notice the verb and particle working as one unit
Understand the meaning — check whether it’s transparent or genuinely established
Notice the grammatical pattern — check whether an object can move, and where a pronoun must go
Use it naturally — put the pieces in the pattern that’s actually used
Remember
The particle is part of the meaning.
Knowing the verb alone is not enough. The particle, the object pattern and the context are all part of how a phrasal verb actually works.