A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word (a particle), and the pair means something different from the verb alone. Look means "direct your eyes". Look after means "take care of". Look for means "try to find".
English speakers use phrasal verbs constantly in speech and in informal writing. The good news is that the most useful ones are short, and they follow three patterns. The bad news is that the meaning is not always guessable, so each verb needs to be learned as a phrase.
This page shows the three patterns, 20 common verbs in real sentences, and the mistakes that mark a learner most clearly. Then the drill tests all three patterns with 20 questions.
The rule
What a phrasal verb is
- A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle: get up, turn on, look after.
- The particle can be an adverb or a preposition. It changes the meaning of the verb.
- Some phrasal verbs are literal: sit down means take a seat. Others are idiomatic: give up means stop trying.
- Learn the whole phrase, including the usual object: "look after a child", "run out of milk".
Type 1: no object
- Some phrasal verbs never take an object. Use them alone or with a place or time.
- get up, sit down, stand up, come back, go out, grow up, break down, wake up, hurry up, show up.
- "The car broke down on the motorway." "She grew up in Canada."
- Do not put an object after these verbs: "I woke up the alarm" is wrong. Say "The alarm woke me up".
Type 2: the object comes after the particle
- Some phrasal verbs are inseparable. The object must follow the whole phrase.
- look after someone, look for something, deal with something, get on with someone, run into someone, come across something, look forward to something.
- "She looks after her little brother." Not "She looks her little brother after".
- "I ran into an old friend." Not "I ran an old friend into".
Type 3: separable verbs
- With separable verbs, the object can go before or after the particle: "turn off the light" or "turn the light off".
- common separable verbs: turn on, turn off, pick up, put on, take off, throw away, write down, fill in, switch off, wake up.
- A pronoun must go between the verb and the particle: "turn it off", never "turn off it".
- The same rule applies to pick it up, put it on, take it off, write it down and throw it away.
How to learn them without pain
- Learn five at a time inside a full sentence. A bare list does not stick.
- Group them by verb: get up, get on, get off, get back, get over. Then group them by topic: travel, money, relationships.
- Note the register. "Put off" is normal in speech but sounds casual in a formal report; "postpone" fits there.
- Use the drill on this page twice: once today and once after two days. The second pass is where the memory forms.
Examples
- I wake up at seven every morning.No object. Wake up is type 1.
- She looks after her little brother on Fridays.The object comes after the particle. Look after is inseparable.
- Please turn on the light. Please turn the light on.Both orders are correct with a noun object.
- The radio is loud. Please turn it off.A pronoun goes in the middle: turn it off, never turn off it.
- I look forward to seeing you next week.The "to" here is a preposition, so the next verb takes -ing.
- He gave up smoking last year.Give up plus an -ing verb is a common pattern.
- Do you get on with your neighbours?Get on with somebody means have a good relationship.
- We have run out of milk.Run out of something means have none left. Do not drop "of".
- Put your coat on. It is cold outside.Put on is separable: put your coat on or put on your coat.
- I found out the answer at the end of the film.Find out means discover. It is separable, so "I found it out" also works.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Please turn off it. Right: Please turn it off.
- When the object is a pronoun (it, them, him, her), it must go between the verb and the particle.
- Wrong: I look forward to see you. Right: I look forward to seeing you.
- In this phrase "to" is a preposition, so the verb after it takes -ing.
- Wrong: She looks her brother after. Right: She looks after her brother.
- Look after is inseparable. The object follows the particle.
- Wrong: We ran out milk again. Right: We ran out of milk again.
- This phrasal verb keeps its preposition: run out of something.
- Wrong: He gave up it last year. Right: He gave it up last year.
- Give up is separable, and a pronoun must sit between the verb and the particle.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
Please turn ___ the music. It is too loud.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. down Turn down means make quieter. "Turn of" is not a phrasal verb; turn off means stop it completely.
I ran ___ an old friend at the station.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. into Run into somebody means meet them by chance. It is inseparable, so the object follows the whole phrase.
The car ___ on the motorway, so we called for help.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. broke down Break down means stop working. A car breaks down; a relationship breaks up.
Can you ___ my keys while I park the car?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. look after Look after means take care of. Look for means try to find, which does not fit a request to hold them.
The radio is too loud. Can you turn ___?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. it down A pronoun must go between the verb and the particle: turn it down. "Turn down it" and "turn off it" are wrong.
She ___ her coat and left the house.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. put on Put on clothes means dress in them. Put off means postpone; put out means extinguish.
We have ___ sugar, so I will buy some.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. run out of Run out of something means have none left. The preposition "of" cannot be dropped.
I do not ___ my new boss very well.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. get on with Get on with somebody means have a good relationship. Without the object, "get on" can also mean manage, but here the object needs "with".
Do not throw that box away. I need to ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. write it down Write down is separable, and the pronoun goes in the middle: write it down.
He ___ smoking after twenty years.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. gave up Give up something means stop doing it. Give in means surrender; give out means distribute.
I need to ___ when the next train leaves.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. find out Find out means discover information. "Find" alone means locate an object.
We ___ the meeting until next week.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. put off Put off means postpone. Put on has the opposite sense of arranging an event to happen sooner or to dress.
Please ___ your shoes before you come in.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. take off Take off clothes means remove them. Take out means remove something from a place.
The alarm clock ___ me ___ at six.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. woke ... up Wake someone up means make them stop sleeping. Wake up is separable, so the pronoun goes in the middle: woke me up.
I ___ your message on the kitchen table.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. came across Come across something means find it by chance. Come over means visit.
She is very organised. She ___ every detail.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. deals with Deal with something means handle it. The "with" is part of the phrase.
Can you ___ the form before Friday?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. fill in Fill in a form means complete it. In American English, fill out a form is also common.
The children ___ in the countryside.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. grew up Grow up means spend your childhood. It has no object, so nothing goes between "grew" and "up".
I am ___ to meeting your family.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. looking forward Look forward to something means feel happy about a future event. The "to" is a preposition, so the next verb takes -ing: meeting.
He ___ late for the meeting again.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. showed up Show up means arrive. Show off means try to impress people.
Questions learners ask
Are phrasal verbs informal?
Some are informal, like "hang out" or "chill out". Many are the normal way to say something: "find out", "get up", "look after" and "run out of" are neutral and appear in business English every day. Formal writing often replaces them with a single Latin verb, for example "discover" for "find out" and "postpone" for "put off".
How many phrasal verbs does English have?
There are thousands, but around 100 cover most everyday situations. Start with the verbs you already know well, such as get, take, put, turn, look and come, and learn five combinations of each.
How do I know whether a phrasal verb is separable?
Dictionaries mark it. As a working rule, verbs with turn, put, take, pick, throw, write and switch are usually separable. Verbs with after, for, with, into, across and forward are usually inseparable. When in doubt, put the object after the particle: that order is safe with almost every phrasal verb, except with pronouns.
More grammar topics
Phrasal verbs with get
One small verb, a score of meanings: the get phrasal verbs learners meet every day.
Conditional sentences (type 1, 2 and 3)
If plus the right verb pattern: real, unreal and impossible situations, with the comma rule.
First conditional
If plus the present simple, will plus the base verb: a real possibility in the future.
Take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.