In English, a phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition or adverb that modifies or changes the meaning; '
give up' is a phrasal verb that means 'stop doing' something, which is very different from 'give'. The word or words that modify a verb in this manner can also go under the name
particle.The verb and the particle and/or a preposition together form a single semantic unit.
Typically, their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the individual words themselves. For example:
She has always looked down on me.
Fighting broke out among a group of 40 men.
I’ll see to the animals.
Don’t put me off, I’m trying to concentrate.
For instance, in the first example, the phrasal verb
‘to look down on someone’ doesn’t mean that you are looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means that you think that you are better than someone.
Phrasal verbs can be divided into groups:
Intransitive verbs These don't take an objectThey had an argument, but they've made up now.
Inseparable verbs The object must come after the particle.They are looking after their grandchildren.
Separable verbs
With some separable verbs, the object must come between the verb and the particle:
The quality of their work sets them apart from their rivals.
With some separable verbs, the object can before or after the particle, though when a pronoun is used it comes before the particle:
Turn the TV off.
Turn off the TV.
Turn it off.
Click on the image above to learn new phrasal verbs.
Phrasal Verbs exercises 1
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Separable and inseparable list
