Phrasal verb

A phrasal verb consists of verb + adverb, for example, give up. The two words form an idiom; it's called a phrasal verb only if the adverb changes the meaning of the verb.

English has many phrasal verbs. We will find their meanings in a dictionary.

There're two kinds of phrasal verbs: Group A has no object, and Group B has an object.

Most of the adverbs in phrasal verbs are related to prepositions, so they are known as "prepositional adverbs". Some people call them "particles".

1. Phrasal verb, prepositional verb, and Phrasal-prepositional verb

We can add prepositions and adverbs to verbs in three different ways.

1.1. Prepositional verb

Verb	Preposition	Noun phrase
Listen	to	the radio.
Run	into	the forest.
Go	to	the market.

The purpose of the preposition here is to link the noun phrase to the verb.

1.2. Phrasal verb

Verb	Adverb
Carry	on
Break	down
Look	up
Set	off

The purpose of the adverb here is to change the meaning of the verb.

1.3. Phrasal-prepositional verb

Verb	Adverb	Preposition	Noun phrase
Put	up	with	the noise.
Cut	down	on	hamburgers and other greasy food.
Come	up	with	a wonderful idea.

The purpose of the adverb is to change the meaning of the verb and the purpose of the preposition is to link the noun phrase to the verb (+ adverb). (Put up with means "tolerate".)

2. Phrasal verbs are common in informal English

We can often replace them with one word, which is more formal.
Ex:
(1) The oil tank blew up. (= "exploded")
(2) They decided to carry on. (= "continue")
(3) Don't give away any information. (= "reveal")
(4) Sam's turned down an excellent job. (= "refused")

3. Words that can be used in phrasal verbs

The verb is usually a common English verb.
Ex: ask, be, break, come, fall, find, get, give, go, keep, let, look, make, put, run, set, take, turn

The adverb is usually an adverb of place.
Ex: about*, across*, along*, around*, away, back, by*, down*, forward, in*, off*, on*, out, over*, through, under*, up*

Most of these words (the ones marked * ) can also be prepositions, so it is possible to confuse them with the second word of a prepositional verb.

4. Group A: phrasal verbs without an object

These are easy: they are like intransitive verbs. Let's see some examples below:
(1) My car has broken 'down. (= "stopped working")
(2) Sam turned 'up at the last moment. (= "arrived")
(3) Our children are growing 'up fast. (= "becoming adults")
(4) Go 'on! We're all listening. (= "continue what you were saying")

Unlike prepositions, adverbs are usually stressed. This is why they have a stress mark in the examples.

Note: Many imperatives have the pattern of Group A.
Ex: Wake up, Come in, Come on, Get up, Go away, Shut up, Stand up, etc.

5. Group B: phrasal verbs with an object

These are easy: they are like transitive verbs. Let's see some examples below:
(1) Try to find out whether he's coming. (= "discover")
(2) I'll fix up the meeting tomorrow. (= "arrange")
(3) Don't give away all my secrets. (= "reveal")
(4) You should give up smoking cigarettes. (= "stop")
(5) You can fill in/out this form. (= "complete")

5.1. If object is a noun phrase or personal pronoun

If the object is a noun phrase, we can move the adverb after it.

Adverb before noun phrase

Subject	Verb	Adverb	Noun phrase
She	brought	up	the children

Adverb after noun phrase

Subject	Verb	Noun phrase	Adverb
She	brought	the children	up

If the object is a personal pronoun, it must come before the adverb.
Ex: She brought them up.

This means that the phrasal verb is separated into two parts. Let's compare the following patterns.

(1)

Verb + adverb + object
Please turn on the light.
Please turn on it.

(2)

Verb + object + adverb
Please turn the light on.
Please turn it on.

Let's compare the order of words below:
(1) "Have you looked up those words in the dictionary?" "Yes, I looked them up last night."

(2) "Have they put off the meeting?" "Yes, they've put it off until next month." (= "postponed")

(3) "Has the army taken over the airport?" "No, they haven't taken it over yet."

5.2. The difference between phrasal verb and prepositional verb

Group B phrasal verbs often look like prepositional verbs: verb + preposition. However, we can see the difference when we use a pronoun as an object.

(1) phrasal verb: I looked up the word in a dictionary.
-> I looked it up.
-> I looked the word up.

(2) prepositional verb: I looked at the painting.
-> I looked it at.
-> I looked at it.

Sometimes, also, a phrasal verb uses the same words as a verb + preposition.
(1) phrasal verb (idiom):
Ex: Sam turned off the TV. (= "switched it off") -> Sam turned it off.

but:

(2) prepositional verb (not an idiom):
Ex: They turned off the road. (on to a side track) -> They turned it off.

6. Literal meaning vs idiomatic meaning

There is sometimes also a difference between a literal meaning and an idiomatic meaning. Let's see examples below.
(1) Please don't bring up that table! (= "carry it up")
(2) Please don't bring up that problem! (= "introduce it, as a topic for discussion")

I hope this article helps. If you have any question, please leave a comment below.