English Grammar | LearnEnglish | British Council | phrasal verbs

phrasal verbs

Some verbs are two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases). They consist of a verb and a particle:

grow + up

>> The children are growing up.

Often this gives the verb a new meaning:

take + after

>> She takes after her mother

= She looks like her mother, or She behaves like her mother.
count + on

>> I know I can count on you

= I know I can trust you, or I know I can believe you.

Some transitive two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases) have only one pattern:

N (subject) + V + p + N (object)

[Note: N = noun; V = verb; p = particle]

N (Subject)	Verb	Particle	N (Object)
She I My father	takes can count comes	after on from	her mother you Madrid

Some transitive two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases) are phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs have two different patterns:

• The usual pattern is: N + V + N + p

N (Subject)	Verb	(N) Object	Particle
She He We	gave knocked will be leaving	the money the glass our friends and neighbours	back over behind

• But sometimes these verbs have the pattern: N (subject) + V + p + N (object)

N (Subject)	Verb	Particle	N (Object)
She He We	gave knocked will be leaving	back over behind	the money the glass our friends and neighbours

When the object is a personal pronoun,these verbs always have the pattern:

N + V +N + p:

~~She gave back it~~

>> She gave it back
~~He knocked over it~~

>> knocked it over
~~We will be leaving behind them~~

>> We will be leaving them behind

• Phrasal verbs are nearly always made up of a transitive verb and a particle. Common verbs with their most frequent particles are:

bring:	about, along, back, forward, in, off, out, round, up
buy:	out, up
call:	off, up
carry:	off, out
cut:	back, down, off, out, up
give:	away, back, off
hand:	back, down, in, on out, over, round
knock:	down, out, over
leave:	behind, out
let:	down, in, off, out
pass:	down, over, round
point:	out
push:	about, around, over
put:	across, away, down, forward, off, on, out, through, together, up
read:	out
set:	apart, aside, back, down
shut:	away, in, off, out
take:	apart, away, back, down, in, on, up, over
think:	over, through, up

ENGLISH PAGE - Verb + Preposition Dictionary

Verb + Prep	Example
account for	He accounted for such problems.
accuse SO of ST	He accused her of stealing the money.
adapt to	They adapted to the new culture.
add SO/ST to SO/ST	She added milk to the grocery list.
add to	Translation problems added to the confusion.
adjust to	They adjusted to their new environment.
admit ST to SO	She admitted her real age to everybody.
admit to	She admitted to cheating on the test.
agree on	We agreed on the price.
agree to	He agreed to the new conditions.
agree with	I agree with you.
apologize to SO for ST	I apologized to her for being rude.
appeal to SO for ST	The nation appealed to the UN for assistance.
approve of	The parents approved of the marriage.
argue with SO about SO/ST	Timmy argued with his father about his curfew.
argue with SO over ST	The customer argued with the salesman over the store's return policy.
arrange for SO (to do something)	They arranged for an interpreter to be present.
arrest SO for ST	The police arrested the man for stealing the car.
arrive at (a place)	They arrived at home.
ask for	She asked for help.