What a phrasal verb is
A phrasal verb has two parts, sometimes three: a verb, like get, take or look, and one or two small words after it, like up, after or forward to. Grammar books call the small word a particle. The two parts work as one word with one meaning.
- look + aftertake care ofShe looks after her little brother.
- put + offdo it laterWe put off the trip until May.
- run + out ofhave none leftWe ran out of milk.
English has thousands of them, and dictionaries list over five thousand. You don’t need all of them: a few hundred cover most of what you will hear. Our list of 300 starts with the most useful ones.
Why they are hard
The meaning is often not the sum of the parts. Give and up say nothing about stopping, yet give up means stop. And one phrasal verb can have several meanings. take off has 4:
Remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body A2
Please take off your shoes at the door.
Leave the ground and start flying A2
Our plane took off an hour late.
Suddenly become successful or popular B2
Her online shop really took off last year.
Have time away from work B2
I’m taking Friday off to move house.
That is why every meaning in our list has its own level and its own examples: you learn take off for a plane at A2, and take off for an idea that suddenly becomes popular at B2.
The three types
Grammar books name four types, but in practice one question matters: where does the object go?
Separable
The object can go after the phrasal verb or in the middle.
turn off the lightturn the light off
Not separable
The object always comes after the whole phrasal verb.
look after the babylook the baby after
No object
Nothing comes after it.
I get up at seven.The car broke down.
With a separable phrasal verb, a pronoun like it, them or me must go in the middle: turn it off, never turn off it. This is the mistake learners make most.
Phrasal verbs of three words, like look forward to and put up with, are never separable.
What the small words mean
The small word is not random. Each one has a few meanings it adds again and again, and knowing them makes new phrasal verbs easier to guess.
up
more, higher, or all the way to the end
get up, wake up, look up, pick up
All 65 with upout
away from inside, to the end, or found
go out, find out, get out, take out
All 55 with outoff
away, removed, or stopped
get off, take off, turn off, put off
All 24 with offdown
lower, less, or on paper
sit down, come down, lie down, write down
All 25 with downon
continuing, started, or worn
get on, put on, turn on, carry on
All 22 with onin
inside, arriving, or joining
stay in, get in, put in, go in
All 21 with in
Phrasal verbs and idioms
An idiom is any fixed phrase whose meaning you can’t guess from its words, like break the ice. Many phrasal verbs work like idioms, but most idioms are not phrasal verbs. A verb with a preposition that keeps its normal meaning, like walk into the room, is not a phrasal verb either; run into an old friend is.
The 20 to learn first
These are A1 and A2: everyday phrasal verbs you will meet in your first months of English.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- get onA2go onto a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get offA2leave a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get backA2return home or to a place where you were before
- get inA2enter a car, a taxi, a building or a small space
- get outA2leave a car, a room or a building
- get intoA2go inside a car, a building or a small space
- take offA2remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body
- take outA2remove something from a bag, a box, a pocket or a place
- put onA2dress yourself in clothes, shoes or glasses
- go outA1leave your home to do something fun
- go backA1return to a place where you were before
- come fromA1be born in, or live in, a place
- look forA1try to find someone or something
- put inA2put something inside a container, a machine or a drink
- go inA2enter a room or a building
- go intoA2enter a place
- come backA2return to the place where you are or the speaker is
- come inA2enter a room or building, towards the speaker
- come downA2move down to a lower place, towards the speaker
How to learn them
One family at a time
Take one verb, like get, or one small word, like up. Five to ten at a time is enough.
Each meaning with its example
A real sentence is easier to remember than a definition. Say the example out loud.
Test, don’t just reread
Trying to remember before you look is what makes words stay. The phrasal verbs test shows which ones you miss.
Use them in conversation
A phrasal verb you have said in a real conversation is one you keep. Print a list and use five of them this week.
Check yourself
Six questions on common phrasal verbs. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The new law _____ power to local towns.
Give back: let someone have something again. More on give back
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2Short hair for women came _____ in the 1920s. (start to be used, like a law or a fashion)
Come in: start to be used, like a law or a fashion. More on come in
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3Which is correct? (put something in the place where it is kept)
Put away is separable here, and a pronoun must go in the middle. More on put away
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4What do you want to be when you _____?
Grow up: change from a child into an adult, or spend your childhood somewhere. More on grow up
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5The heavy rain slowed us down on the way home. What does it mean here?
Slow down: go or happen more slowly, or make something do this. More on slow down
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6We went _____ the cheaper flat in the end. (choose something)
Go for: choose something. More on go for
Questions
What are phrasal verbs?
Phrasal verbs are verbs made of two or three words: a verb and a small word like up, off, out or after. Together they have their own meaning. Give up means stop doing something, and look after means take care of someone.
What are the four types of phrasal verbs?
Grammar books often name four: transitive (with an object), intransitive (no object), separable (the object can go in the middle) and inseparable (the object goes after). In practice you need to know one thing: where the object goes. Each card here says Separable, Not separable or No object.
Is a phrasal verb the same as a verb phrase?
No. A phrasal verb is one unit with its own meaning, like give up. A verb phrase is the verb and the words around it in a sentence, like has been waiting for hours.
What is the difference between phrasal verbs and idioms?
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word, like put off. An idiom is any fixed phrase whose meaning you can’t guess from its words, like break the ice. Many phrasal verbs work like idioms, but most idioms are not phrasal verbs.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport