Phrasal Verbs: Comprehensive List and Usage

Have you ever noticed how English verbs can change meaning when paired with small words like "up," "down," or "on"? These combinations are called phrasal verbs in English, and they add depth to everyday language.

Phrasal verbs consist of a main verb combined with one or more particles (those small words). They often give verbs new meanings that you can't guess just from the words by themselves. 

For example, "look after" means to take care of someone or something, like looking after a little brother or grandmother, etc.

In this guide, we'll explore how these phrasal verbs function and provide clear examples to help you understand their usage. 

What is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or more particles—such as prepositions or adverbs—that together form a single semantic unit.

These particles can drastically change the meaning of the main verb, creating expressions that often convey idiomatic meanings not immediately obvious from the individual words alone.

For instance, take the phrasal verb with get i.e. “get over.” Individually, "get" and "over" are straightforward words, but together they mean to recover from something emotional or physical, such as "She struggled to get over her fear of flying."

Phrasal verbs, when used in sentences, function similarly to other verbs for conjugation and placement. However, they follow specific grammatical rules regarding word order. You can conjugate phrasal verbs into every verb form, allowing their use in any context where a regular verb would fit.

Phrasal Verbs Examples

Here are examples of phrasal verbs with the specified verbs:

1. Phrasal verbs with "take"

• Take off: "He took off his jacket before entering the house." / "The plane took off on time."
• Take on: "She took on extra work to help her team."
• Take up: "He took up painting in his spare time."

2. Phrasal verbs with "up"

• Come up: "A problem came up during the meeting."
• Fill up: "Can you fill up my glass with water?"
• Pick up: "She picked up the book from the table." / "His grades are picking up this semester."

3. Phrasal verbs with "put"

• Put off: "They put off the meeting until next week."
• Put up with: "She can't put up with his constant complaining anymore."
• Put on: "She put on her coat before leaving."

4. “Look” phrasal verbs

• Look after: "She looks after her little brother after school."
• Look forward to: "They look forward to their vacation next month."
• Look out: "Look out! There's a car coming."

5. “Turn” phrasal verbs

• Turn down: "Can you turn down the music? It's too loud."
• Turn up: "It's hard to hear you; could you turn up your microphone?"
• Turn off: "Don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave."

6. "Make" phrasal verbs

• Makeup: "She made up an elaborate excuse for being late."
• Makeover: "They made over the old house into a modern living space."
• Make off with: "The thieves made off with valuable jewelry from the store."

How to Conjugate Phrasal Verbs

Conjugating phrasal verbs follows similar rules as conjugating regular verbs in English, but they involve the main verb and its accompanying particle(s). 

Here's how it works:

• Infinitive Form: Phrasal verbs have an infinitive form that consists of the main verb and particle(s), such as "to pick up" or "to look after."
• Simple Present Tense: In the simple present tense, the phrasal verb is conjugated just like a regular verb. 
  • "He looks after the house when his parents are away."
• Simple Past Tense: To form the simple past tense, use the past tense of the main verb while keeping the particle(s) unchanged:
  • "He looked after the house while his parents were away."
• Present Continuous Tense: For the present continuous tense, conjugate the auxiliary verb "to be" along with the main verb, leaving the particle(s) intact:
  • "He is looking after the house while his parents are away."
• Past Continuous Tense: Similarly, in the past continuous tense, conjugate "to be" and the main verb, maintaining the particle(s):
  • "He was looking after the house while his parents were away last weekend."
• Future Tense: In the future tense, use "will" or "going to" with the main verb and particle(s):
  • "He is going to look after the house next weekend."
• Gerunds: When used as nouns, gerunds retain the particle(s) of the phrasal verb. For example:
  • "Looking after the house is his responsibility next weekend."

Types of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs can be categorized into several types based on their structure and usage. Here are the main types:

1. Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

These phrasal verbs do not take an object after them. 

• For example: "He suddenly showed up."

2. Transitive Phrasal Verbs

These phrasal verbs require an object after them. For example:

• For example: "He put off the meeting."

3. Separable Phrasal Verbs

These phrasal verbs can have their object placed between the verb and the particle or after the particle. 

• For example: "She turned the lights off."

4. Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

These phrasal verbs do not allow their object to be placed between the verb and the particle. The object must always come after the particle. 

• For example: "They ran into an old friend."

Word Order Rules with Phrasal Verbs

Understanding how to correctly order words when using phrasal verbs is essential for clear and effective communication in English. 

Here’s a breakdown of the rules:

Inseparable and Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

For inseparable and intransitive verbs, the verb and the particle must stay together and should never be split:

“She always looks after her little sister.”

Separable Phrasal Verbs

1. Separable phrasal verbs are always transitive, meaning they require a direct object. The direct object can be placed between the verb and the particle:

"I will never let you down."

2. With some separable phrasal verbs, placing the direct object between the verb and the particle is mandatory:

"The beginning of the Marvel movies get everyone down."

3. For other separable phrasal verbs, the direct object can come either in the middle or at the end:

"Pick up the pen and sign the document."

Pronouns with Separable Phrasal Verbs

When using pronouns as direct objects with separable phrasal verbs, the pronoun must always be placed between the verb and the particle:

"Pick it up and carry it to the kitchen."

Inseparable Transitive Phrasal Verbs

Some transitive phrasal verbs are inseparable, meaning the direct object always comes after the particle:

"We looked into the issue and found a solution."

List of 50 Phrasal Verbs with Meaning

Here's a list of 50 phrasal verbs along with their meanings:

1. Break down: to stop working (machinery), or to fail (plans or negotiations).

Example: "The car broke down on the highway."

2. Call off: to cancel something that was planned.

Example: "They called off the picnic due to bad weather."

3. Come across: to find or meet by chance.

Example: "I came across an old friend at the supermarket."

4. Cut off: to disconnect or stop the supply of something.

Example: "The storm cut off electricity to the entire town."

5. Do away with: to abolish or get rid of something.

Example: "They decided to do away with the old policy."

6. Figure out: to understand or solve a problem or mystery.

Example: "It took me a while to figure out how to use the new software."

7. Get along with: to have a good relationship with someone.

Example: "She gets along well with her colleagues."

8. Go through: to experience or endure a difficult or challenging period.

Example: "He's going through a tough time right now."

9. Hold on: to wait or pause.

Example: "Hold on a moment; I'll be right back."

10. Keep up with: to stay informed about or maintain the same pace as something.

Example: "It's hard to keep up with all the changes in technology."

11. Let down: to disappoint someone by failing to meet their expectations.

Example: "She felt let down by her friends' lack of support."

12. Look into: to investigate or examine something.

Example: "They promised to look into the matter."

13. Make up for: to compensate for a mistake or deficiency.

Example: "He tried to make up for being late by bringing flowers."

14. Pass away: to die.

Example: "Her grandfather passed away peacefully in his sleep."

15. Point out: to draw attention to something or someone.

Example: "She pointed out the mistake in the report."

16. Run into: to meet unexpectedly.

Example: "I ran into an old classmate at the mall."

17. Set up: to establish or arrange something.

Example: "They set up a new business in town."

18. Sort out: to organize or resolve a problem.

Example: "We need to sort out these issues before moving forward."

19. Stand by: to be ready or available to help or support someone.

Example: "She promised to stand by her friend through thick and thin."

20. Take after: to resemble a family member in appearance or behavior.

Example: "He takes after his father in terms of musical talent."

21. Turn into: to transform or change into something different.

Example: "The caterpillar turned into a butterfly."

22. Wake up: to stop sleeping and become awake.

Example: "I wake up early every morning to exercise."

23. Work out: to exercise or solve a problem successfully.

Example: "She works out at the gym three times a week."

24. Ask around: to ask several people for information or help.

Example: "I asked around but nobody had seen my keys."

25. Back up: to support someone or something.

Example: "He backed up his arguments with solid evidence."

26. Blow up: to explode or to become very angry.

Example: "The fireworks blew up in a spectacular display."

27. Bring up: to raise a topic or subject in conversation.

Example: "She brought up an interesting point during the meeting."

28. Call back: to return a phone call.

Example: "I'll call you back as soon as I finish this task."

29. Carry on: to continue doing something.

Example: "Despite the challenges, they carried on with their plans."

30. Check-in: to register one's arrival (at a hotel, airport, etc.).

Example: "We need to check in at the hotel before 3 PM."

31. Drop off: to deliver someone or something to a destination.

Example: "Can you drop off this package at the post office?"

32. Find out: to discover or learn something.

Example: "She finally found out the truth about her ancestry."

33. Give away: to give something to someone for free.

Example: "They gave away free samples of their new product."

34. Hand in: to submit something formally.

Example: "Make sure to hand in your assignments by Friday."

35. Keep on: to continue doing something.

Example: "Despite the setbacks, they kept on working."

36. Let in: to allow someone to enter a place.

Example: "He forgot his keys and had to be let in through the back door."

37. Look up: to admire or respect someone.

Example: "She has always looked up to her older sister."

38. Move on: to progress or continue with one's life.

Example: "After the breakup, he decided it was time to move on."

39. Pull over: to move a vehicle to the side of the road and stop.

Example: "The police officer asked him to pull over for speeding."

40. Put away: to tidy up or store something in its proper place.

Example: "Please put away your toys before dinner."

41. Run out of: to exhaust the supply of something.

Example: "We ran out of milk, so I need to go to the store."

42. Settle down: to become calm or stable; to establish a permanent residence.

Example: "After traveling for years, he decided to settle down in a small town."

43. Show up: to appear or arrive, especially unexpectedly or late.

Example: "He didn't show up for the meeting yesterday."

44. Try on: to put on clothing to see if it fits or looks good.

Example: "I need to try on these jeans before buying them."

45. Turn out: to result in a particular way.

Example: "The event turned out to be a huge success."

46. Come up with: to think of or produce an idea or plan.

Example: "She came up with a brilliant solution to the problem."

47. Go over: to review or examine carefully.

Example: "Let's go over the details of the proposal one more time."

48. Pull through: to recover from a serious illness or difficult situation.

Example: "Thanks to the doctor's efforts, he managed to pull through."

49. Back out: to withdraw from a commitment or promise.

Example: "He backed out of the agreement at the last minute."

50. Zip up: to fasten clothing with a zipper.

Example: "She zipped up her jacket as it started to rain."

In conclusion, phrasal verbs are an integral part of the English language, whether inseparable or separable, transitive or intransitive. By mastering phrasal verbs, you not only enhance your language skills but also deepen your understanding of how words can convey precise meanings in various contexts. 

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