❖ Unit 6 ❖ Culture ❖ Grammar ❖

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb = verb + particle (preposition or adverb). The meaning is often different from the literal verb. Phrasal verbs are everywhere in spoken and written English.

What is a phrasal verb?

① Literal phrasal verbs (meaning = verb + particle)

go out, come in, run away, sit down, stand up

② Non-literal phrasal verbs (idiomatic — meaning is totally different)

give up = stop / quit

turn down = refuse

look up = search in a dictionary

③ Separable vs non-separable

Separable: the object can come between the verb and the particle.

Put on your jacket. = Put your jacket on. ✓

Non-separable: the verb and particle stay together.

She looks after her brother. ✓ (NOT: She looks her brother after.)

Essential phrasal verbs to memorise

Phrasal verb	Meaning
put on	wear, get dressed
stand for	represent, mean
take off	depart (plane); remove (clothes)
give up	stop a habit/activity
hand in	submit (homework)
apply for	send a request (job, visa)
look up	search in a dictionary/book
find out	discover, learn
check in	register (hotel, airport)
turn down	refuse, reject
make up	invent (a story)
set up	start (a business)
fill in	complete (a form)
take after	resemble (a parent)
put off	postpone, delay
break down	stop working (machine)
bring up	raise (children)
eat out	eat at a restaurant
come back	return
look after	take care of
look forward to	anticipate with pleasure
log on / log in	connect (social media, account)
call for	demand, require
bring about	cause, produce
write down	note in writing
pay attention	concentrate
run into	meet by chance

Practice 1 — Match verbs and meanings

Match the phrasal verbs

put on → wear, get dressed
stand for → represent
take off (plane) → depart, leave the ground
give up → stop a habit / activity
hand in → submit
apply for → send a request
look up → search in a dictionary
find out → discover, learn
check in → register (hotel/airport)
turn down → refuse

Practice 2 — Replace the underlined words

Use: make up · set up · fill in · take after · put off · breaks down · bring up · take off · eat out · come back

This car is old. It always stops working. → breaks down
My friend will return from Canada next year. → come back
Many people like to eat in a restaurant at the weekend. → eat out
Some people get a loan to start a business. → set up
The students asked the teacher to postpone the exam. → put off
You must remove your shoes when entering a mosque. → take off
"Don't invent a story," the father told his son. → make up
It's hard to differentiate between the twins because they look like each other. → take after
Parents usually educate their children according to local principles. → bring up
"Please complete this form with your details," the clerk said. → fill in

Practice 3 — Add the right preposition

Use: out · down · off · after · in · into · up · about · for · on

The ministry launched a program to bring about a change in education.
The flight will take off tomorrow at 10.
If you want a visa, you need to fill in an application form.
When I don't understand a word, I look it up in a dictionary.
Mrs. Lee will check out from the hotel tomorrow.
Student: What does NGO stand for?
I don't log on to my Facebook very often these days.
Bob applied for a job, but they turned him down.
When both parents work, they need a maid to look after their children.
I ran into one of my old exam papers.

National Exam items

Past Bac questions

Judy is looking forward to her sister's marriage ceremony.
The kids are having a lot of fun in the zoo.
Leila needs to look after her little sister. She will join us when her parents come back from the dentist's.
They found out how the criminals stopped the alarm, and how they got into the bedroom.
It isn't necessary to look up every new word in a dictionary.
Many NGOs often call for laws to protect children from violence.
Don't forget to write down the doctor's phone number.
The pupils were not really paying attention to the lesson.
I can't turn down the invitation. It's an opportunity.
These washing machines are cheap, but they quickly break down.
Connecting schools to the internet will certainly bring about important changes.
"I'll be back. Just keep working." The teacher said.
Ali decided to give up smoking when he became a father.
I rarely log on to social networks.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Memorise them as wholes

Don't translate word by word. Look up ≠ "look + up". Learn the verb + particle + meaning together.

② Watch for context

Some phrasal verbs have multiple meanings: take off = depart (plane) OR remove (clothes). Context decides.

③ Separable or not?

With pronouns (it, them, him), the pronoun ALWAYS goes between: put it on, NOT put on it.

❖ Exam tip

The phrasal verbs exercise is a major source of points in the National Exam. Make flashcards with the 30 most common ones — review them daily before the exam.