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Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "mmulti-word verbs".
Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs,
including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English.
A multi-word verb is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many people refer to all
multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words. The other
word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multi-word verbs form a
short "phrase" - which is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".
The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get up", is also a verb,
a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They do not have the same meaning. So you should
treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like any other verb.
There are three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs:

phrasal verbs;

prepositional verbs;

phrasal-prepositional verbs..

Analyse the table:

SINGLE-WORD VERB look direct your eyes in a certain You must look before you leap.
direction

MULTI- prepositional verbs look for search for something or I lost my keys. I must look for
WORD someone them.
VERBS look at look in the direction of I was looking at him when he
something or someone smiled.

phrasal verbs look up search for and find You can look up my number in
information in a reference the telephone directory.
book
look after take care of Who is looking after the baby?

phrasal-prepositional look anticipate with pleasure I look forward to meeting you.

verbs forward to

PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are made of verb + adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

• intransitive (no direct object)
• transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

phrasal verbs meaning examples

direct object

intransitive get up rise from bed I don't like to get up.

phrasal
verbs break down cease to function He was late because his carbroke down.

transitive put off postpone We will have to put off the meeting.
phrasal
verbs turn down refuse They turned down my offer.

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SEPARABLE PHRASAL VERBS

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the two parts. For
example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: "turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down".
Look at this table:

transitive phrasal verbs are They turned down my offer.

separable
They turned my offer down.

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and insert the
pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the separable phrasal verb "switch on":

direct object John switched on the radio. These are all possible.
pronouns
must go
between the John switched the radio on.
two parts of
transitive
phrasal verbs John switched it on.

John switched on it. This is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs?

Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know
that the phrasal verb "look up" is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a
good idea to write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal
verb, like this:
• get up
• break down
• put something/somebody off
• turn sthg/sby down
This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

Prepositional verbs are made of: verb + preposition

Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects, so all the prepositional
verbs are transitive.
Here are some examples of prepositional verbs:

EXAMPLES
PREPOSITIONAL VERBS MEANING
direct object

believe in have faith in the existence of I believe in God.

look after take care of He is looking after the dog.

talk about discuss Did you talk about me?

wait for await John is waiting for Mary.

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Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object between the two parts.
For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say "look the baby after":

Who is looking after the baby? This is possible.

prepositional verbs are inseparable
Who is looking the baby after? This is not possible.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new prepositional
verb, like this:
• believe in something/somebody
• look after sthg/sby
This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words..
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of: verb + adverb + preposition
Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

phrasal-prepositional verbs meaning examples

direct object

get on with have a friendly relationship with He doesn't get on with his wife.

put up with tolerate I won't put up with your attitude.

look forward to anticipate with pleasure I look forward to seeing you.

run out of use up, exhaust We have run out of eggs.

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object. And, like prepositional
verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these examples:

phrasal-prepositional verbs are We ran out of fuel.

inseparable

We ran out of it.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal-
prepositional verb, like this:
• get on with somebody
• put up with sthg/sby
• run out of something
This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
Source: englishclub.com

On the next page you can learn more about the prepositional verbs.
Try to match each verb to the preposition, and then, using a dictionary, try to explain the meaning they convey (or
translate them into Portuguese). Use the prepositions from each box placed above to fill in the table. Note that there
may be more than one possibility.
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from at of for to in

Verb Preposition Meaning

1) Abstain
2) Approve
3) Aim
4) Ask
5) Attend
6) Benefit
7) Believe

into to with on

Verb Preposition Meaning

8) Bump
9) Belong
10) Begin
11) Chat
12) Comment
13) Concentrate
14) Cope

of with about from on in

Verb Preposition Meaning

15) Consist
16) Deal
17) Depart
18) Experiment
19) Fail
20) Fill
21) Forget

of with about from on in

Verb Preposition Meaning

15) Consist
16) Deal
17) Depart
18) Experiment
19) Fail
20) Fill
21) Forget

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at on to about for

Verb Preposition Meaning

22) Glance
23) Hear
24) Hope
25) Insist
26) Look
27) Mention

about to with from in for

Verb Preposition Meaning

28) Occur
29) Prepare
30) Prevent
31) Provide
32) Succeed
33) Worry

Source: On-line Reloaded, Porto Editora

Now you have to memorise them, but not all at once!!!! You should do it in phases… ☺

G☺☺D W☺RK!!!!

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