UNIT 134. Phrasal Verbs 1 Introduction

A

We often use verbs with the following words:

in
on
up
away
around
about
over
by
out
off
down
back
through
along
forward

So you can say look out / get on / take off / run away, etc. These are phrasal verbs.

We often use on/off/out, etc. with verbs of movement. For example:

We often use on/off/out, etc. with verbs of movement. For example:

get on – The bus was full. We couldn’t get on.
drive of – A woman got into the car and drove off.
come back – Sally is leaving tomorrow and coming back on Saturday.
turn around – When I touched him on the shoulder, he turned around.

But often the second word (on/off/out, etc.) gives a special meaning to the verb. For example:

break down – Sorry I’m late. The car broke down. (= the engine stopped working)
take off – It was my first flight. I was nervous as the plane took off. (= went into the air)
run out – We don’t have any more milk. We ran out. (= used it all)
get along – My brother and I get along well. (= are friendly with each other)
get by – My French isn’t very good, but it’s enough to get by. (= manage)

For more phrasal verbs, see Unit 135 – 142.

B

Sometimes a phrasal verbs is followed by a preposition. For example:

C

Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object. Usually these are two possible positions for the object.

So you can say:

I turned on the light. or I turned the light on.

the light – object

If the object is pronoun (it/them/me/him, etc.), only one position is possible:
I turned it on. (not I turned on it)

Some more examples:
– Could you
{ fill out this form? }
{ fill this form out? }
but They gave me a form and told me to fill it out. (not fill out it)

• Don’t
  { throw away this postcard }
  { throw this postcard away. }
  but I want to keep this postcard, so don’t throw it away. (not throw away it)

• I’m going to
  { take off my shoes. }
  { take my shoes off. }
  but These shoes are uncomfortable. I’m going to take them off. (not take off them)

• Don’t
  { wake up the baby. }
  { wake the baby up. }
  but The baby is asleep. Don’t wake her up. (not wake up her)