phrasal verbs
Some verbs are two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases). They consist of a verb and a particle:
- grow + up
>> The children are growing up.
Often this gives the verb a new meaning:
- take + after
>> She takes after her mother
= She looks like her mother, or She behaves like her mother. - count + on
>> I know I can count on you
= I know I can trust you, or I know I can believe you.
Some transitive two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases) have only one pattern:
N (subject) + V + p + N (object)
[Note: N = noun; V = verb; p = particle]
| N (Subject) | Verb | Particle | N (Object) |
| She I My father |
takes can count comes |
after on from |
her mother you Madrid |
Some transitive two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases) are phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs have two different patterns:
• The usual pattern is: N + V + N + p
| N (Subject) | Verb | (N) Object | Particle |
| She He We |
gave knocked will be leaving |
the money the glass our friends and neighbours |
back over behind |
• But sometimes these verbs have the pattern: N (subject) + V + p + N (object)
| N (Subject) | Verb | Particle | N (Object) |
| She He We |
gave knocked will be leaving |
back over behind |
the money the glass our friends and neighbours |
When the object is a personal pronoun,these verbs always have the pattern:
N + V +N + p:
She gave back it
>> She gave it backHe knocked over it
>> knocked it overWe will be leaving behind them
>> We will be leaving them behind
• Phrasal verbs are nearly always made up of a transitive verb and a particle. Common verbs with their most frequent particles are:
| bring: | about, along, back, forward, in, off, out, round, up |
| buy: | out, up |
| call: | off, up |
| carry: | off, out |
| cut: | back, down, off, out, up |
| give: | away, back, off |
| hand: | back, down, in, on out, over, round |
| knock: | down, out, over |
| leave: | behind, out |
| let: | down, in, off, out |
| pass: | down, over, round |
| point: | out |
| push: | about, around, over |
| put: | across, away, down, forward, off, on, out, through, together, up |
| read: | out |
| set: | apart, aside, back, down |
| shut: | away, in, off, out |
| take: | apart, away, back, down, in, on, up, over |
| think: | over, through, up |
English Grammar
- Pronouns
- Determiners and quantifiers
- Possessives
- Adjectives
- Adverbials
- Nouns
- Verbs
- irregular verbs
- question forms
- verb phrases
- present tense
- past tense
- perfective aspect
- continuous aspect
- active and passive voice
- to + infinitive
- -ing forms
- talking about the present
- talking about the past
- talking about the future
- verbs in time clauses and if clauses
- wishes and hypotheses
- the verb be
- link verbs
- delexical verbs like have, take, make and give
- Modal verbs
- double object verbs
- phrasal verbs
- reflexive and ergative verbs
- verbs followed by to + infinitive
- verbs followed by -ing clauses
- verbs followed by that clause
- Clause, phrase and sentence
Search
Tags for teachers
- No terms applicable.
A - Z of Content
- 1 of 6
- ››
Grammar Support
Read more about these areas of grammar:
Comments
Hello there,
Suggest some easy way to remember the Phrasal verbs.
I am an iPad user, what shall I do to download the stuff both in adults and kids teaching??
Thanks a lot
I can't deal with Particles, they are horrible. how can i remember these phrase? and what they mean?
Hi everyone.
I like your website but it's incompatible with ipad :(
team
Hi Arita -
Sorry to hear you're having difficulties! First of all, we have games, apps and downloads specifically for the iPad available from the iTunes store or direct from our apps page - check them out!
On the website itself, we know that iPad users have some problems. We are working on making our exercises visible to iPad users and others who can’t see Flash content.
However, lots of our pages will also let you download exercises and transcripts as pdf files so you can read them on your tablet. Look at our Elementary Podcasts, for example, under the link that says instructions and downloads.
If you have specific errors or problems on a page, let us know, and we'll try to help you!
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
hi
Yay 144 out of 144 ! I think I'm ready to take my English examination at uni next Tuesday :) Thank you !
team
Hello Marie,
Well done! Good luck with your exam on Tuesday...
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team
Goog evening The LearnEnglish Team
I'd like to know how we can distinguish if we have to use the fist pattern or the second one, please.
Thank you
team
Hello Carlos!
Phrasal verbs are a difficult area! However, in general we prefer the first pattern
N + V + N + p (She switched the TV off).
We use the second pattern
N (subject) + V + p + N (object) (She switched off the TV) less often, although some people say you should use it in formal writing if it is at the end of the sentence – we don't like leaving a preposition hanging – or if the noun phrase is very long:
She switched (the new flatscreen TV she had just bought) off.
is not as easy to understand as
She switched off (the new flatscreen TV she had just bought.)
And remember – if you use a pronoun, it is always
She switched it off. (N + V + N + p )
Hope that's useful!
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The Learn English Team