Phrasal verbs
المؤلف:
EVELYNP.ALTENBERG & ROBERTM.VAGO
المصدر:
English Grammar Understanding the basics
الجزء والصفحة:
P38-C2
2025-11-03
23
Phrasal verbs
While most verbs are single words, some are phrasal: they contain two words. In phrasal verbs, the first word is a verb and the second word is called a particle. Here are some examples, with the phrasal verbs underlined:
1. She looked up the answer.
2. We will just drop off the files.
3. The professor pointed out the correct answer.
Notice that the meaning of a phrasal verb is often similar to the meaning of a single verb:
4. She looked up the answer.
She researched the answer.
5. We will just drop off the files.
We will just deliver the files.
6. The professor pointed out the correct answer.
The professor identified the correct answer.
Quick tip
If you can substitute a single verb for a verb and the word following it, you probably have a phrasal verb. For example, you can say, She pointed out the truth to us or She showed the truth to us. Point out is a phrasal verb.
We can also still identify phrasal verbs using our to ______ or should _________ Quick tips:
Answers
In many cases, the two parts of a phrasal verb, the verb and its particle, can be separated:
7. She looked the answer up.
8. We will just drop the files off.
9. The professor pointed the correct answer out.
Even when the two parts are separated, it’s still a phrasal, or multi-word, verb. When you can separate the two parts in this way, you know that you’ve got a phrasal verb.
Quick tip
If you can move a particle away from its verb, you have a phrasal verb. For example, since you can say both She looked up the answer and She looked the answer up, look up is a phrasal verb.
Vowel
In some cases, a particle cannot be separated from its verb:
10. She asked for the receptionist.
11. The lawyer objected to the defendant’s statement.
12. He will look into the judge’s decision.
In these cases, you cannot say:
13. *She asked the receptionist
14. *The lawyer for. Objected the defendant’s statement to.
15. *He will look the judge’s decision into.
So the last Quick tip is not useful in these cases; you have to rely on the verb substitution test and the to and should tests.
Answers
To enhance your understanding
Take a look at these groups of sentences:
16. She looked up the answer. She looked the answer up.
*She looked up it. She looked it up.
17. We will just drop off the children. We will just drop the children off.
*We will just drop off them. We will just drop them off.
18. He pointed out the other girl. He pointed the other girl out.
*He pointed out her. He pointed her out.
As you can see, in some cases (those with an asterisk), a particle cannot be next to its verb; the two parts must be separated. As a matter of fact, this is true in all of those cases where the direct object of the verb (what the verb is acting upon) is one of the following words: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. You might recognize these words as pronouns.
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