What is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is an idiomatic phrase that consists of a verb and another particle (such as a preposition or an adverb) that combine to form a complete semantic unit – i.e., a complete verb. For example, break up or come out.

What is a Phrasal Verb?

In English grammar, a phrasal verb combines a verb and a particle (such as an adverb or preposition) to form a single phrase. The particle often changes the meaning of the verb. For example:

Adding the preposition ‘after’ changes the meaning of the verb ‘to look,’ so now it’s a phrasal verb ‘to look after’ that means to care for or watch over.

They’re common in English, often in more informal, conversational contexts. They tend to be used in everyday speech.

Types of Phrasal Verbs

There are two types of phrasal verbs: separable and inseparable.

Separable

The verb and particle can be placed together or apart in these phrasal verbs.

The phrasal verb becomes separated if you use a pronoun instead of the subject.

Inseparable

Some phrasal verbs can’t be separated when you use them in a sentence.

This phrasal verb would no longer make sense if you separated the verb and the particle, so they must remain together in the sentence.

Phrasal Verbs with Two Particles

Phrasal verbs, which have two particles, are always inseparable. Therefore, pronouns are always placed after the particles.

The Meaning of Phrasal Verbs

Sometimes it can be challenging to determine the meaning of phrasal verbs. Some have a literal sense and can be easily understood. Others are idiomatic, meaning their meaning is figurative, so it can be tough to know when you’re learning them.

Literal Meanings

In this phrasal verb, she is walking across to the other side of the street. It suggests she is crossing the road. The meaning is literal and easy to understand.

Idiomatic Meanings

While this phrasal verb also uses ‘across,’ it’s not literal. The person in the sentence didn’t move anywhere. ‘Come across’ means to appear a certain way or to give a particular impression.

How do you identify Phrasal Verbs?

To identify phrasal verbs, you have to look at the whole sentence.

If the words can be taken literally and you can understand the meaning straight away, then chances are that it’s a regular verb and a preposition. (However, there can be exceptions to this, such as the ‘walking across’ example).

If the words have to be understood alongside a meaning that has little or nothing to do with the original verbs, then it’s most likely a phrasal verb.

How many phrasal verbs are there in English?

There are over 10,000 phrasal verbs in the English language! That means it’s impossible to list them all, let alone memorize them all.

The best way to approach phrasal verbs is to learn the meanings of the most common ones and then learn the definitions of others when you encounter them.

Otherwise, you could spend ages learning phrasal verbs alone. And there’s plenty more in the English language to know other than these verbs.

What are the most common Phrasal Verbs?

• Calm down -relax after being angry. ‘He calmed down after we explained the situation.’
• Give up – stop trying, quit, or sacrifice something. For example, ‘I’m going to give up chocolate for Lent.’
• Pass out – faint or lose consciousness. ‘It was so hot I thought I would pass out.’
• Throw away – put something in the rubbish. For example, ‘I should throw away my old shoes.’
• Turn up – appear suddenly. ‘She thought it was lost forever, but it turned up suddenly.’
• Wake up – awaken from sleeping. For example, ‘I must wake up at 7 am.’
• Work out – be successful. ‘It should work out in the end.’

More Examples of Phrasal Verbs