A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb and 1 or 2 prepositions or adverbs, which are called particles, to a create a word with a new or added meaning.
Phrasal verbs are used a lot in English, so you must learn them. Before you begin learning specific phrasal verbs, there are two main properties of phrasal verbs that you should know.
Transitivity
One property is whether a phrasal verb is transitive or not. This means whether the phrasal verb can take an object or not.
~ ~ She gave the document back to me.
For example, the phrasal verb give back is transitive. It means to return something. We can add an object, specifically the thing that is returned.
I gave the pen back to Jen.
She will give back your umbrella to you tomorrow.
After the exam the teacher will give back the students’ phones.
A phrasal verb that is not transitive is called intransitive. For example, the phrasal verb pan out is intransitive. It means to result in a particular way.
The party panned out really nicely. A lot of people came and the food was delicious!
Our software release panned out very well. Customers found the program easy and fun to use.
The outdoor concert didn’t pan out. It rained heavily and the main singer wasn’t good.
In each of these cases, there is no object with panned out.
Separability
The other property of a phrasal verb that you must know is separability. The means whether the verb and particle can be separated by an object in between them or not.
For example, give back is a separable phrasal verb. In the sentence:
I gave the pen back to Jen.
“the pen” separates gave and back.
NOTE: If the object of a transitive verb is a pronoun, then the pronoun must go between the verb and particle.
~ ~ She will give it back tomorrow.
I gave it back to Jen. (NOT I gave back it to Jen.)
She will give it back to you tomorrow. (NOT She will give back it to you tomorrow.)
After the exam the teacher will give them back. (NOT …the teacher will give back them.)
In contrast, the phrasal verb go over is inseparable. Go over means to review or discuss a subject. It is also transitive, so it can take an object. But that object cannot be put in between the verb and the particle.
I will go over the report after lunch. (NOT I will go the report over)
Today we will go over the second chapter. (NOT go the second chapter over)
During the meeting I want to go over our sales plan. (NOT go our sales plan over)
If a phrasal verb is intransitive, it is also inseparable. Since intransitive phrasal verbs do not have an object, there is no object to possibly separate the verb and particle(s) of a phrasal verb.
Otherwise, a single phrasal verb can have different combinations of transitivity or separability, so pay close attention when learning each phrasal verb.
Summary
The infographic below summarizes the key ideas about phrasal verbs explained above.
Practice
Use the infographic above to do this exercise and strengthen your knowledge about phrasal verbs!
If you would like get more speaking and listening practice using phrasal verbs, and receive professional feedback to check whether you are using the phrasal verbs correctly, you can email me at contact@englishtutordia.com to schedule your first free online consultation.
