Index
English phrasal verbs
Hi everyone! Today we dive into a appearance fundamentals of spoken and written English: i phrasal verbs or verbs phrasal. Don't let atethe name scare you! They simply are verbs combined with a preposition or an adverb (or sometimes both) that completely change their original meaning. Pensateci: we don't also use them in italian? “Leave”, “throw down”, “pull up”... They work more or less in the same way!
Understanding and using phrasal verbs is crucial to sounding more natural and fluent in English. They are ubiquitous, from everyday speech to movie, from canzones to books. Ignoring them means missing out on a piece of the language.
But as are they learned? There is no magic formula, other than practice and constant exposure. Today, however, I will help you understand some of the most common ones and see as they are used. Are you ready?
Separable and inseparable verbs: a small introduction
Before delving into actual phrasal verbs, it is useful to make an important distinction:
Separable verbs
With these verbs, the object of phrase can be between verb and the preposition/adverb, or after them. if The object is a pronoun (e.g. it, them, him), must always stay in the middle.
Inseparable verbs
In this caso, the verb and the preposition/adverb always remain together. The object always comes next.
Don't worry if it seems complicated at first! With the uso, it will become intuitive. Let's see some practical examples in the tables here.
Common phrasal verbs: our “Save your Life” table!
Here is a selection of phrasal verbs that you will encounter very often. For each, we will look at the significato, an example, and whether it is separable or inseparable.
| Phrasal Verb | Significato | Example | Separable / Inseparable |
|---|---|---|---|
Break down | 1. Break down (machine, machine) 2. Breaking down (emotionally) | 1. My car broke down on the way to work.(My car broke down on the way to the work.) 2. She broke down when she heard the news.(She collapsed when she heard the notinitia.) | Inseparable |
Bring up | 1. Educate, raise (a child) 2. Raise (a topic) | 1. My grandparents brought me up.(My grandparents raised me.) 2. Don't bring up that topic again.(Don't bring that topic up again.) | Separable |
Call off | Cancel | They had to call off the meeting due to bad weather.(They had to cancel the meeting due to bad weather.) | Separable |
As across | Come across, find for caso | The came across an old photo album while cleaning.(I socame across an old photo album while cleaning.) | Inseparable |
Find out | Discover | Did you find out what happened?(Did you find out what happenedso?) | Separable |
Get along (with) | Get along with | Do you get along with your siblings?(Do you get along with your siblings?) | Inseparable |
Give up | Give up, stop | Don't give up on your dreams!(Don't give up your sogni!) | Separable (when the object is "it", e.g. "Give it up!") |
Go on | Continue | Please, go on with your story.(Please continue with your story.) | Inseparable |
Look for | To seek | I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?(I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?) | Inseparable |
Look up | Look up (information in a book, dictionary) | If you don't know the word, look it up in the dictionary.(If you don't know the word, look it up in the dictionary.) | Separable |
Make up | 1. Invent 2. Make peace | 1. He made up an excuse for being late.(He made up an excuse for being late.) 2. Let's make up and be friends again.(Let's make up and be friends again.) | Separable (1), Inseparable (2) |
Put off | Postpone | Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.(Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.) | Separable |
Take off | 1. Take off (clothes) 2. Take off (airplane) | 1. Please take off your shoes before entering.(Please remove your shoes before entering.) 2. The plane took off on time.(The plane took off in schedule.) | Separable (1), Inseparable (2) |
Turn down | Rifhelp (an offer, an invitation) | She turned down the job offer.(He rifhelped the offer of work.) | Separable |
Turn up | Arrive, introduce yourself (unexpectedly) | He didn't turn up at the party.(He didn't show up to the party.) | Inseparable |
Examples of complex phrasal verbs
Let's see three verbs widely used phrasal phrases, with their most common signsificatand practical examples.
Give up
This verb phrasal is one of the most used and has two main signs:
Surrender, give up: when you stop trying to do something because it's too difficult.
I can't solve this puzzle, I give up. (I can't solve this riddle, i give up.)
Stop making a habit: when you stop a regular activity, you often turn into a harmful habit.
He gave up smoking last year. (He stopped smoking last year.)
Put off
This too verb has several uses:
Postpone, postpone: when you decide to do something later than you planned.
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. (Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.)
Discourage, disgust: when something makes you lose the desire or pleasure to do something else.
The smell of that food really put me off my dinner. (The smell of that food it made me not want to have dinner.)
Run out of
This is a verb three-part phrasal, very common, meaning “to run out” or “to use up a supply of something”.
Finish, exhaust: no longer avere something you needso.
We've run out of milk. I need to go to the store.(We're out of milk. I have to go to the store.)My car ran out of gas on the highway.(My car ran out of gas On the highway.)
Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs
An important feature to consider is whether the verb phrasal is separable or inseparable.
Separable
The object can essere messo between verb and the preposition/adverb.
The put off the meeting.Or:The put the meeting off.(I postponed the meeting.)
If the object is a pronoun, must always stay in the middle. The put it off. (You do not say "I put off it.")
Inseparable
The object must always come after the verb phrasal.
The ran out of money.(I ran out of soldi.)I ran out of it.(Correct,"it"is found after the whole phrase verbal.)
The best thing to learn i verbs phrasal is reading and listening to them in context, memorizing the significato of each individual expression. There is no set rule that tells you whether a verb it is separable or not, the only way is to learn it together with the verb stesso!
Phrasal verbs exercises
Try taking this quiz on verbs phrasal.
