Course on Phrasal Verbs - TOEIC® Preparation
A phrasal verb is a verb to which a small word (often up, out, in, off, on, over, away, etc.) is added. For example, « to look » means « to watch », but « to look after » means « to take care of / to watch over » and « to look up to » means « to admire ».
These particles play an essential role: they can either completely change the meaning of the verb or give it a particular nuance. Here is a typical example:
- To break
- To break down
- To break in
- To break up
1. How are phrasal verbs formed?
The basic principle is simple: a verb and a particle are combined. The particle can be
- A preposition (in, on, at, by, after, for, etc.).
- To run into someone
- An adverb (up, down, away, off, etc.).
- To sit down
- To go away
Sometimes, two particles are used, forming what are called phrasal-prepositional verbs.
- To put up with something → here, the particle is « up with ».
2. The different categories of phrasal verbs
A. Transitive and intransitive phrasal verbs
- Transitive: They need a direct or indirect object.
- To put out a fire → « a fire » is the object.
- To hand in a paper → « a paper » is the object.
- Intransitive: They do not need an object.
- To break down → no specific mention of an object.
- To go away → nothing directly follows the verb.
The Direct Object (DO) directly completes the verb, without a preposition. It can be found by asking "what?" or "who?" after the verb. → I eat an apple. → I eat WHAT? an apple
The Indirect Object (IO) completes the verb with a preposition (to, from, for, etc.). It is found by asking "to what?", "to whom?", "from what?", etc. → I speak to my friend. → I speak TO WHOM? to my friend.
Exception with pronouns
If the object is a pronoun, then it MUST be placed between the verb and the particle.
- ✅ I turned it off.
❌ I turned off it. - ✅ She picked him up.
❌ She picked up him. - ✅ Can you put it on?
❌ Can you put on it?
B. Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs (for transitive verbs)
- Separable: The object can be placed between the verb and the particle or after the particle.
- To turn off the light
- Turn off the TV
- Pick up the phone
- Inseparable: The object cannot be inserted between the verb and the particle. It must always come after the particle.
- To look after someone
- You cannot say « To look someone after ».
- You will always say: « I look after my nephew every weekend ».
- To look after someone
C. Phrasal verbs with two particles (phrasal-prepositional verbs)
Some verbs combine two particles, and the object must always be placed after:
- To put up with something
- I can't put up with the noise anymore!
- To look forward to something
- I'm looking forward to the holidays.
- To get on with someone
- He gets on with his new colleagues really well.
4. Literal vs. figurative meaning
Phrasal verbs can have either a literal meaning, close to the meaning of the particle, or a figurative meaning that completely differs from the base verb. This is why it is essential to learn these verbs individually and to be well-acquainted with the most frequent ones.
- Meaning close to the verb and the particle:
- To come in
- To go out
- Figurative meaning (not always predictable):
- To bring up a topic: to introduce a topic in conversation
- To bring up a child: to raise a child
- To give up: to stop doing something
- To make up a story: to lie
- To take off: to have a big success, or to take off (for a plane)
- His career took off suddenly.
5. List of some common phrasal verbs
Here is an overview of frequently used phrasal verbs:
| Phrasal Verb | Example |
|---|---|
| Get up | I get up at 7 AM every day. |
| Wake up | He wakes up late on weekends. |
| Put on | She put on her jacket before going out. |
| Take off | She took off her shoes. / The plane took off at 9 AM. |
| Look for | I'm looking for my keys. |
| Look after | I look after my younger brother when my parents are away. |
| Look up to | I look up to my mother; she's my role model. |
| Look forward to | I'm looking forward to my birthday party. |
| Turn on / Turn off | Could you turn on the lights? / Turn off the TV, please. |
| Pick up | Pick up your clothes. / I'll pick you up at 8 PM. / He picked up Spanish. |
| Give up | I will never give up on my dreams. |
| Bring up | She was brought up by her grandparents. / He brought up the issue at the meeting. |
| Catch up (with) | I need to catch up on my reading. / You go ahead; I'll catch up with you later. |
| Carry on | Carry on with your work. |
| Run into | I ran into an old friend at the supermarket. |
| Hold on | Please hold on, I'll check the information. |
| Find out | I found out that he had moved to another city. |
| Work out | We need to work out a better strategy. / I work out at the gym three times a week. |
| Throw away | Don't throw away the receipts; you might need them. |
| Sort out | We need to sort out this issue before the deadline. |
| Give in | He finally gave in to the pressure. |
| Call off | They called off the meeting due to bad weather. |
| Break down | My car broke down on the highway. / She broke down in tears. |
| Break up | They broke up after five years together. |
| Set up | They set up a new company last year. |
| Put up with | I can't put up with this noise anymore. |
| Take over | The company was taken over by a competitor. |
| Back up | You should back up your files. / He backed up his friend during the argument. |
| Come across | I came across an interesting article online. |
| Hang up | She hung up before I could say goodbye. |
| Go over | Let's go over the details before the presentation. |
| Turn down | He turned down the job offer. |
| Bring in | The company brought in new regulations last month. |
| Run out of | We ran out of milk this morning. |
| Show up | He showed up late to the meeting. |
| Make up | He made up an excuse. / They made up after the argument. |
| Go through | She went through a tough time last year. |
| Drop in | She dropped in to say hello. |
| Fall through | Our vacation plans fell through due to bad weather. |
| Get in touch | I need to get in touch with my lawyer. |
| Keep up with | He walks so fast I can't keep up with him. |
| Look up | I looked up the meaning of the word online. |
| Make up for | She tried to make up for her mistake by apologizing. |
| Narrow down | We need to narrow down the candidates to three finalists. |
| Own up to | He owned up to breaking the vase. |
| Step down | The CEO decided to step down after ten years in office. |
Conclusion
Phrasal verbs are an essential element of mastering everyday English, and are ubiquitous in the TOEIC® Reading and Listening. Although they can be confusing at first due to their multiple meanings and complex structure (separable or not, transitive or intransitive), practice allows you to recognize and use them naturally