What are phrasal verbs?
Phrasal verbs are not words but phrases i.e. they can be two or three words.
However a phrasal verb like a normal verb has a specific meaning so is almost like a word.
Phrasal verbs are phrases which refer to different actions.
Verb + preposition(s)
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb then followed by one or maybe two prepositions or adverbs or in some grammar books ‘particles’.
Let us look at the word ‘take’ as an example.
TAKE + UP
Take up has different meanings including:
1. Accept an offer 2. Start a hobby.
Let us look at some examples.
“They’ve offered me a new job in Los Angeles and I’m going to take it up.” It means I am going to accept this job.
“I took up painting as a way to relax and have funs”. It means I started painting as a hobby.
TAKE + DOWN
Take down has different meanings including:
- To remove something
- To write something e.g. notes.
- To lower something including pieces of clothing.
Let us look at some examples.
“Please take that picture down from the wall, it’s horrible”. It means you should remove the picture from the wall.
“Dear students, please take down notes of everything I say to you, you will need them in the exam.” In this sentence the teacher is telling the students to write down notes.
“The doctor asked me to take my trousers down so he could check my thigh.”. This means the doctor asked the patient to lower his trousers.
The difficulty of phrasal verbs for foreign students or learners of English.
The problem with phrasal verbs is that sometimes people forget that it is a specific ‘phrase’ which must be learnt as one unit.
If you translate ‘take’ and then translate ‘up’ from other languages you will get a meaning in English which makes no sense.
Therefore you should learn it as one unit, one item, as essentially one word or as a phrase (phrasal verb) which acts like one word with a specific meaning.
Phrasal verbs are not difficult if they are learnt like other English words, one by one, step by step and with examples.
Phrasal verbs, separable and inseparable.
Some phrasal verbs are ‘inseparable’. This means the phrase consisting of the verb + preposition/adverb must be next to each other and there cannot not be another word in the middle.
The phrasal verb ‘look after’ is inseparable. It means to care for someone.
For example, we must say “He looks after Jimmy.”
We cannot say “He looks Jimmy after”
A separable phrasal verb is one where you can put the object in the middle.
‘Put up’ is separable.
One meaning of ‘put up’ is to increase.
So “I put up the volume.” is correct.
But we can also say “I put the volume up.”
Best way to learn phrasal verbs?
The best way to learn phrasal verbs is one at a time and with lots of examples.
For instance you can start one day with the word ‘get’. Look at all the phrasal verbs with ‘get’ such as ‘get on’, ‘get up’, ‘get down’ and so on. Then another day look at ‘take’ and keep on doing that until you are comfortable with more and more phrasal verbs.