Phrasal Verbs: CoreA2–B1
Verb + particle with a new meaning: get up, turn it off, look for, run out of. A pronoun goes between the verb and the particle of a separable verb: Turn it off. Pick it up.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA2–B1
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Phrasal verb | verb + a particle; the particle gives the verb a new meaning | I'm looking for my keys. |
| Separable | a noun goes before or after the particle | Turn off the light. / Turn the light off. |
| Inseparable | the object always follows the particle | Look after the baby. |
| Daily routine | wake up, get up, put on, take off, turn on | She puts on her coat. |
| Going and coming | go out, come in, come back, pick up | I pick up the children at three. |
| Looking and finding out | look for, look after, look up, find out, fill in | Look up the word. |
| B1Continuing and stopping | carry on, run out of, get on with, look forward to | We ran out of milk. |
| Trap | a separable verb takes a pronoun in the middle | Turn it off. |
| B1Trap | look forward to takes a noun or the -ing form | I look forward to seeing you. |
OverviewA2
- A phrasal verb is a verb + a particle: get + up, turn + off, look + for.
- The particle (up, off, on, out, back, down, in, for, after) gives the verb a new meaning.
- Phrasal verbs are very common in everyday speech.
Form: with an objectA2–B1
| Type | With a noun | With a pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| Separable | Turn off the light. / Turn the light off. | Turn it off. |
| Inseparable | Look after the baby. | Look after him. |
| No object | Sit down, please. | — |
| Type | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Separable | wake sb up, put on, take off, turn on, turn off, try on, pick up, drop off, look up, fill in, write down, work out, give up |
| Inseparable | look for, look after, get on with, look forward to, run out of |
| No object | wake up, get up, sit down, stand up, go out, come in, come back, set off, grow up, go on, carry on |
- With a separable verb, a pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: pick it up.
- A noun goes before or after the particle: pick up the bag / pick the bag up.
- With an inseparable verb, the object always follows the particle: look after them.
- find out usually takes its object after the particle: find out the price.
- B1look forward to and give up are followed by a noun or the -ing form: I look forward to seeing you. / He gave up smoking.
Pronunciation: stressA2
| Type | Stress | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Particle with its own meaning | on the particle | get up /ˌɡet ˈʌp/ · turn off /ˌtɜːn ˈɒf/ · pick up /ˌpɪk ˈʌp/ |
| Verb + preposition | on the verb | look for /ˈlʊk fə/ · look after /ˈlʊk ˌɑːftə/ |
Daily routineA2
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wake up | stop sleeping | I wake up at six. |
| get up | leave your bed | We get up at seven. |
| put on | start wearing clothes | She puts on her coat. |
| take off | remove clothes | He takes off his shoes. |
| try on | wear clothes to check them | Can I try on this jacket? |
| turn on | start a light or a machine | Turn on the TV. |
| turn off | stop a light or a machine | Turn the light off. |
| sit down | move to a seat | Please sit down. |
| stand up | move to your feet | Everyone stands up. |
Going and comingA2–B1
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| go out | leave home to do something | We go out on Fridays. |
| come in | enter | Come in, please. |
| come back | return | I come back at six. |
| pick up | collect a person or a thing | I pick up the children at three. |
| B1set off | start a journey | We set off at eight. |
| B1drop off | leave a person or a thing somewhere | I drop the kids off at school. |
| B1grow up | become an adult | She grew up in Leeds. |
Looking and finding outA2–B1
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| look for | try to find | I'm looking for my keys. |
| look after | take care of | She looks after her gran. |
| look up | search in a dictionary or online | Look up the word. |
| find out | learn a fact | I want to find out the price. |
| fill in | write information on a form | Fill in this form. (US: fill out) |
| write down | put on paper | Write down my number. |
| B1work out | solve or calculate | I can't work out the answer. |
Continuing and stoppingA2–B1
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| go on | continue | Please go on. |
| give up | stop trying or stop a habit | I give up! / He gave up smoking. |
| B1carry on | continue | Carry on working. |
| B1run out of | have no more | We ran out of milk. |
| B1look forward to | wait for with pleasure | I look forward to the weekend. |
| B1get on with | have a good relationship with | I get on with my sister. |
Typical errorsA2–B1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Turn off it. | Turn it off. | separable verb + pronoun: the pronoun goes in the middle |
| Can you wake up me at seven? | Can you wake me up at seven? | the pronoun goes between wake and up |
| She looks them after. | She looks after them. | inseparable verb: the object follows the particle |
| B1We ran out milk. | We ran out of milk. | run out of needs of |
| B1I look forward to see you. | I look forward to seeing you. | to is a preposition: noun or -ing |
| B1He gave up to smoke. | He gave up smoking. | give up + -ing |