PHRASAL VERB

It’s a phrase that combines a verb with a preposition or

adverb or both.
It functions as a verb whose meaning is different from the
combined meanings of the individual words

It is a special kind of verb that consists of two (or three) parts.

The first part is always a verb.

The next part is a word such as across, after, away, back, down,
in, into, off, on, out, over, or up. In a phrasal verb, this second
part is called a particle.
10 Common Phrasal Verbs in Spoken and Written English
Phrasal Verb Example Sentence
1. go on What’s going on?
2. carry out They carried out the boss’s plan.
3. set up It is expensive to set up a new business.
4. pick up Can you pick me up at the airport next Monday?
5. go back When did Pierre go back to France?
6. come back What time will you come back?
7. go out The lights went out around ten.
8. point out The teacher pointed out the most important pages.
9. find out When did you find out about the accident?
10. come up His divorce did not come up in our conversation.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
break down stop functioning Our car broke down at the side of
(vehicle, the highway in the snowstorm.
machine)
break down get upset The woman broke down when the How many times had your car broke down
police told her that her son had died. This month? My car had broke down 4 times
break something down divide into smaller Our teacher broke the final this month.
parts project down into three separate
parts.
break up end a relationship My boyfriend and I broke up before I They broke (on/off/up) their relationship a
moved to America. few days ago.
break up start laughing The kids just broke up as soon as the I am bringing my little brother (up/in/down)
(informal) clown started talking. because my parents died last year.
bring somebody up raise a child My I will call you (off/down/back) tomorrow.
grandparents brought me up after They called the party (down/back/off) because
my parents died. of the weather.
bring something up start talking about a My mother walks out of the room
subject when my father brings up sports.
bring something up vomit He drank so much that he brought his
dinner up in the toilet.

call somebody back return a phone call I called the company back but the
offices were closed for the weekend.
call something off cancel Jason called the wedding off because
he wasn't in love with his fiancé.
come from some place originate in The art of origami comes from Asia.
cut in interrupt Your father cut in while I was
dancing with your uncle. Maria comes (across/down/from) India
cut in pull in too closely in The bus driver got angry when that
front of another car cut in. The accountant cut (up/in/away) the meeting
vehicle when I was showing the slides.
cut in start operating (of an The air conditioner cuts in when the
engine or electrical temperature gets to 22°C. We ended (away/back/up) renting the movie
device)
instead of going to the cinema.
drop somebody/ something off take somebody/ I have to drop my sister off at work
something before I come over. I had to drop my sister (on/back/ off) at school
somewhere and leave
them/it there
this morning.
end up eventually We ended up renting a movie
reach/do/decide instead of going to the theatre.
I had to filled (on/in/up) a form with
my name and ID number at the banck.
fill something in to write information Please fill in the form with your
in blanks, as on a name, address, and phone number.
form (BrE) They fill (out/back/on) the forms in capital
letters for you.
fill something out to write information The form must be filled out in capital
in blanks, as on a form letters.
(AmE) Please, fill my glass (up/out/in)
fill something up fill to the top I always fill the water jug up when it
is empty.
Rule 1. With separable phrasal verbs, it is possible to move the
particle after a noun object. However, this movement is not
common in formal writing.

Rule 2. With separable phrasal verbs, you must separate the

verb and particle when a pronoun is used as the object.

Rule 3. Separable phrasal verbs often use these nine particles:

up, down, on, off, in, out, away, back, over. (An easy way to
remember the first six is that they are pairs of opposites: up ≠
down, on ≠ off, in ≠ out.)

Rule 4. Be careful with phrasal verbs using on because some

are separable but others are non-separable. For example, put
on is separable, but call on is non-separable. The only way to
know which is which is to check a dictionary for every phrasal
verb using on.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

get along/on like each other I was surprised how well my new
Do you get along with your parents?
girlfriend and my sister got along/on.
give something up quit a habit I am giving up smoking as of January
1st. Have you ever given up somthing?
give up stop trying My mathhomework was too difficult
so I gave up. How many times have you had to put
up with somebody?
hang up end a phone call He didn't say goodbye before
he hung up.
Did you see the plane taking off?
pay somebody back return owed money Thanks for buying my ticket.
I'll pay you back on Friday.
Do you want to think about your
put up with somebody/ tolerate I don't think I can put up with three problem over?
something small children in the car.
run into somebody/ something meet unexpectedly I ran into an old school-friend at the
mall.
take off start to fly My plane takes off in five minutes.
take something off remove something Take off your socks and shoes and
(usually clothing) come in the lake!
think something over consider I'll have to think this job
offer over before I make my final
decision.
work out exercise I work out at the gym three times a Do you ever work out?
week.
work out be successful Our plan worked out fine.
work something out make a calculation We have to work out the total cost
before we buy the house.