137 : Phrasal verbs 1 Introduction

   A   

We often use verbs with the following words:

 

in        on        up        away        by        about        over        round or around     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:

 

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

 

 

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)
look out	Look out! There's a car coming. (= be careful)
take off	It was my first flight. I was nervous as the plane took off. (= went into the air)
get on	How was the exam? How did you get on? (= How did you do?)
get by	My French isn't very good, but it's enough to get by. (= manage)

 

For more phrasal verbs, see Units 138-145.

 

 

   B   

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

 

phrasal verb	preposition
run away	from	Why did you run away from me?
keep up	with	You're walking too fast. I can't keep up with you.
look up	at	We looked up at the plane as it flew above us.
look forward	to	Are you looking forward to your trip?

 

 

   C   

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

 

So you can say:

 

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

 

 

If the object is a pronoun (it/them/me/him etc.), only one position is possible:

     I turned it on. (not I turned on it)

 

Some more examples:

• Can you fill in this form?  or  Can you fill this form in?
  but  They gave me a form and told me to fill it in. (not fill in it)
• Don't throw away this box.  or  Don't throw this box away.
  but  I want to keep this box, so don't throw it away. (not throw away it)
• I'm going to take off my shoes.  or  I'm going to 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.  or  Don't wake the baby up.
  but  The baby is asleep. Don't wake her up. (not wake up her)

 

 

 

 

 (American English -> Appendix 7) 

 

137A

British speakers use both round and around: He turned round.  or  He turned around.

American speakers use around (not usually 'round'): He turned around.

 

137C

British speakers use both fill in and fill out: Can you fill in this form?  or  Can you fill out this form?

American speakers use fill out: Can you fill out this form?