phrasal verbs
B1-
Phrasal verbs
What’s a phrasal verb?
an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically either an adverb, as in break down, or a preposition, for example see to, or a combination of both, such as look down on.
Go to <https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/phrasal-verbs>
Separable phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs made with adverb particles are usually separable. As the name itself indicates the two parts of a separable phrasal verb are separable. The particle in a separable phrasal verb can go before or after noun objects.
Separable phrasal verbs can be separated by an object, usually a pronoun:
We set up a tent to sleep.
We set it up near the river.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place answer the questions where? or in what direction?. They too are very common:
More examples
She switched off the light. OR She switched it off.
He paid back the debt. OR He paid it back.
Tea companies have put up the prices. OR Tea companies have put them up.
I have to clean up this mess. OR I have to clean it up.
Please switch off the lights before you leave. OR Please switch it off.
Note that if the object is a pronoun, the particle goes after it.
(NOT Please switch off it.) Here the object ‘it’ is a pronoun. Therefore the particle goes after it.
Other separable phrasals
Hand in: submit work for appraisal
Hand out: distribute
Look up: consult a reference book, like a dictionary
Pick up: collect, learn quickly
Put away: put something away in its correct place
Put down: stop holding something and put it on another place.
Switch on: to make something start working by pushing a button or a switch
Take off: plane leaves the earth, make great progress, reduce the price, remove
Throw away: discard
Turn off: stop a machine
Wake up: stop sleeping
Write down: make notes
For an exhaustive list of separable phrasal verbs, go to <https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/two_part_phrasal_verbs_idioms/separable_phrasal_verbs.html>
Let’s practice!
Click on the links to go to some phrasal vebs practice.
Inseparable phrasal verbs
Some verbs are two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases). They consist of a verb and a particle:
Often this gives the verb a new meaning:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/phrasal-verbs
Some transitive phrasal verbs (phrasal verbs which require an object) do not allow an object to be placed between the verb and particle. The object MUST follow the complete verb. These verbs are called Inseparable phrasal Verbs.
Example:
I know I can count on you.
NOT
I know I can count you on.
Inseparable phrasal verbs
Call on: visit, challenge, ask someone to do something.
Come across: find by accident, the way other people see you.
Find out: discover
Get off: leave a bus,train; finish work
Get on: enter a bus, train; continue doing something
Go over: look at something, revise; visit, clean
Pass away: die
Put off: postpone, stop liking something or someone
Run into: meet by accident, cost
https://www.easypacelearning.com/all-lessons/grammar/1219-phrasal-verbs-list-meanings-and-examples
Tom Smith bolts it down
Tom Smith usually has only 15 minutes to eat lunch so he bolts it down (1). This does not mean he eats much for lunch since he only has a sandwich and a coffee. However, his wife Susan loves cooking and she always whips up (2) a wonderful dinner. This explains why Tom is not so thin. He pigs out (3) every evening on a full course dinner - a roast with vegetables and a pasta side and to top it off (4), a big dessert which Susan picks up (5) on the way home from school where she is a teacher. Susan is quite petite, so it is not surprising that she only picks at (6) all the food she prepares and just gnaws at (7) a carrot or some other vegetable while she listens to Tom speak about his day. For breakfast, Tom sometimes warms up (8) Susan's left-overs and then he runs off for another day of work. This is against the doctor's advice so Tom should think about cutting back (9) on meat and eggs to bring down (10) his cholesterol. Actually, Mary, the woman who helps them with their house also has high cholesterol, even though she has cut out(11) meat and eggs and is on a diet of fish and steamed vegetables. Recently, however, Susan has noticed that the whiskey bottle is emptying out quite quickly so she suspects that Mary is knocking it back (12) now and again. This would be OK except for the fact that this is Susan's favourite bottle of whiskey!
Check your answers
So, what did the phrasal verbs mean?
Eat something quickly
Make food quickly
Eat a lot
Finish something in a special way
Collect
Eat unwillingly
Bite something gradually
Apply heat
Reduce
Diminish something
Exclude
Drink
https://www.easypacelearning.com/all-lessons/grammar/1219-phrasal-verbs-list-meanings-and-examples
Sarah had a problem
For a long time Sarah wanted to go out with a very handsome man called James, and then one day he turned up at her door. Just like that! She asked him in. James took his coat off and sat down. Then he explained that while driving past her house his car broke down. It was outside. Sarah said James could call out a mechanic and she looked up the nearest garage in the phone book. She offered him a cup of tea. He accepted. But then she realized there was no milk. “We’ve run out of milk” she said and popped out to buy some more. While Sarah was away the mechanic turned up. He got on with mending the car and James watched. When it was mended James got in his car and drove away. In the shop Sarah suddenly remembered her little baby sister who she was looking after was at home. She ran back to the house and saw that James had left. Her little sister was crying inside, and she had no keys!
From the story Sarah had a problem, identify phrasal verbs.
-Which are separable and which ones are inseparable? Make two lists.
-Can you retell the story? Use your own words.
-Can you give the meaning of some phrasal verbs used in the story?
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/making-it-phrasal-verb-stories
An Imperfectly Perfect Day
When I set off for work this morning, my car broke down, so I ended up taking the bus. As soon as I got off, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Mark. While we were talking, he brought up something I had already found out from some mutual friends- that he had come into some money and had set up his own business. He told me that there was a lot to sort out, and offered to take me on, but I turned him down straight away.
When I clocked in, my boss had a go at me, telling me off in front of everyone. When I got over the initial shock, I told her I’d make up for being late, but it turned out that she had blown up over a deal that had fallen through, after a client of mine had pulled out of a contract. She told me that I wouldn’t get away with it, that I’d let everybody down, and just went on and on….
Eventually, I ran out of patience and answered back– I said I was not going to put up with it anymore, and if she wanted to lay me off, she should go ahead. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I stormed out, phoned Mark’s secretary, who put me through to him. I told Mark I’d like to take him up on his offer. So, in the end, everything has worked outperfectly!
Listen to the story here: http://profesornativogratis.com/phrasal-verbs-1/