What are phrasal verbs?

1. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different
from the original verb.

Example:
I ran into my teacher at the movies last night. RUN + INTO = MEET
He ran away when he was 15. RUN + AWAY = LEAVE HOME

2. Some phrasal verbs are intransitive. An intransitive verb cannot be followed by an

object.

Example:
He suddenly showed up. "SHOW UP" CANNOT TAKE AN OBJECT

3. Some phrasal verbs are transitive. A transitive verb can be followed by an object.

Example:
I made up the story. "STORY" IS THE OBJECT OF "MAKE UP"

4. Some transitive phrasal verbs are separable. The object is placed between the verb
and the preposition. In this Phrasal Verb Dictionary, separable phrasal verbs are marked
by placing a * between the verb and the preposition / adverb.

Example:
I talked my mother into letting me borrow the car.
She looked the phone number up.

5. Some transitive phrasal verbs are inseparable. The object is placed after the
preposition. In this Phrasal Verb Dictionary, inseparable phrasal verbs are marked by
placing a + after the preposition / adverb.

Example:
I ran into an old friend yesterday.
They are looking into the problem.

6. Some transitive phrasal verbs can take an object in both places. In this Phrasal Verb
Dictionary, such phrasal verbs are marked with both * and + .

Example:
I looked the number up in the phone book.
I looked up the number in the phone book.

7. WARNING! Although many phrasal verbs can take an object in both places, you must
put the object between the verb and the preposition if the object is a pronoun.
Example:
I looked the number up in the phone book.
I looked up the number in the phone book.
I looked it up in the phone book. CORRECT
I looked up it in the phone book. INCORRECT

Source: http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/phrasaldictionary.html

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make
a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.

Phrasal verbs are made of:

verb + adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

 intransitive (no direct object)

 transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

phrasal meaning examples

verbs
direct
object

intransitive get up rise from bed I don't like to get up.

phrasal
verbs break cease to He was late because his
down function car broke down.

transitive put off postpone We will have to put off the

phrasal meeting.
verbs
turn down refuse They turned down my offer.
Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually
separate the two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say:
"turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table:

transitive phrasal verbs are They turned down my offer.

separable
They turned my offer down.

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the
phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the
separable phrasal verb "switch on":

direct object John switched on the These are all

pronounsmust go radio. possible.
between the two
parts of transitive John switched the on.
phrasal verbs radio

John switched it on.

John switched on it. This

is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are
separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look
up" is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a good
idea to write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn
a new phrasal verb, like this:

 get up
 break down
 put something/somebody off
 turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Source: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-phrasal-verbs_2.htm
Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make
a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs.

Prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + preposition

Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects. Here
are some examples of prepositional verbs:

prepositional verbs meaning examples

direct object

believe in have faith in the existence of I believe in God.

look after take care of He is looking after the dog.

talk about discuss Did you talk about me?

wait for await John is waiting for Mary.

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object
between the two parts. For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say
"look the baby after":

prepositional verbs Who is looking after the This is possible.

areinseparable baby?

Who is looking the This

babyafter? is notpossible.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a
new prepositional verb, like this:

 believe in something/somebody
 look after sthg/sby

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Source: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-phrasal-verbs_1.htm
Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus
another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these
pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs,
phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal-
prepositional verbs.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + adverb + preposition

Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:

phrasal-prepositional meaning examples

verbs
direct
object

get on with have a friendly He doesn't get on his wife.

relationship with with

put up with tolerate I won't put up with your

attitude.

look forward to anticipate with pleasure I look forward to seeing you.

run out of use up, exhaust We have run out of eggs.

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object.
And, like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these
examples:

phrasal-prepositional verbs are We ran out of fuel.

inseparable
We ran out of it.

Source: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-phrasal-verbs_3.htm