A phrasal verb

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition/adverb that has a meaning different from the original verb.

• He gave up smoking. He gave smoking up.

1 inseparable Verbs

You cannot separate the preposition and verb direct object must come after the preposition or adverb that makes up the phrasal verb.

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence

back out of (something) fail to keep a commitment The client backed out of the deal at the last minute.

come across (something) find accidentally While cleaning the house, I came across a check I had forgotten to deposit.

count on (something / someone) depend on, rely on I’m counting on you to send me the information by the end of the day – I need it as soon as possible.

fill in for (someone) substitute for The president of the company is traveling, so the vice-president is filling in for him at the meeting.

get rid of (something) eliminate, throw away We have rats in the house – we need to call the exterminator to get rid of them.

go over (something) review Before the test, let’s go over the topic of phrasal verbs.

look after (something / someone) take care of I can’t go out tonight because I’m looking after my sister’s children.

look forward to (something) feel happy/excited about something in the future I’m really looking forward to our family vacation in Florida – it’s going to be awesome!

look into (something) investigate I’m looking into the possibility of taking an intensive English course in Australia next year.

put up with (something / someone) tolerate something/someone unpleasant One of my colleagues is not very nice, but we put up with him because he does excellent work.

run into (someone) meet unexpectedly I ran into my ex-boyfriend at the supermarket – that was an unpleasant surprise.

settle on (something) decide on, choose I was debating what type of fitness class to take, and I finally settled on yoga.

take after (someone) resemble in looks or personality She’s very friendly and extroverted – she takes after her mother.

touch on (something) mention briefly during a speech or discussion We touched on the issue of employee satisfaction during the meeting, but we didn’t go into much detail.

turn into (something) become The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.

Separable Phrasal

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