Learn verb + particle combinations used in everyday English. Master common phrasal verbs and understand when they are separable or inseparable.
Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a particle to create new meanings. Learn to recognise, form, and use them naturally in daily conversation.
Phrasal verbs = verb + particle (preposition or adverb). The combined meaning is often completely different from the individual words.
Why they're hard
You cannot always guess the meaning from the parts. 'Give up' has nothing to do with giving or direction. Each phrasal verb must be learnt as a single vocabulary item.
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with one or two particles (a preposition or adverb) that together create a completely new meaning. They are extremely common in spoken English.
Regular verb: I wake at 7 AM.
Phrasal verb: I wake up at 7 AM.
Regular verb: Please activate the light.
Phrasal verb: Please turn on the light.
✓ Verb + particle = new meaning
✓ Particles: up, down, on, off, out, in
✓ Often used in informal English
✓ Essential for natural conversation
When a verb combines with a particle, the meaning often changes completely. Understanding this pattern is key to learning phrasal verbs.
✓ "get" (receive) + "up" = get up (rise from bed)
✓ "turn" (rotate) + "on" = turn on (activate)
✓ "look" (see) + "up" = look up (search for information)
Tom woke up late and quickly got up from bed.
He put on his jacket, picked up his bag, and ran out of the house.
On the bus, he ran into his friend Sarah who was looking for her phone.
They found out the bus was going the wrong way, so they got off at the next stop.
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Study this chart to learn the most common A2 phrasal verbs, their meanings, examples, and whether they are separable or inseparable.
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| get up | rise from bed | I get up at 7 AM. | inseparable |
| turn on | activate (light, TV) | Turn on the light. | separable |
| turn off | deactivate | Turn off your phone. | separable |
| look up | search for information | Look up the word. | separable |
| take after | resemble (family) | She takes after her father. | inseparable |
| give up | stop trying | Don't give up! | inseparable |
| pick up | collect | Pick up the children. | separable |
| put off | postpone | Put off the meeting. | separable |
| Particle | Common Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| up | complete, increase | wake up, fill up, go up |
| down | decrease, reduce | sit down, calm down, turn down |
| on | activate, continue | turn on, go on, put on |
| off | deactivate, cancel | turn off, put off, take off |
| out | distribute, reveal | find out, hand out, go out |
| in | enter, arrive | check in, give in, get in |
✓ Separable: You can separate the verb and particle with an object: "Turn the light on."
✓ Inseparable: Cannot separate: "I get up at 7" (NOT "I get at 7 up")
✓ With pronouns, separable phrasal verbs must be separated: "Turn it on" (NOT "Turn on it")
✓ Many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings: "take off" = remove clothing OR airplane departure
Complete these sentences with the correct phrasal verb:
1. I _____ at 7 AM every morning. (get up / turn on)
2. Can you _____ the light? It's dark. (turn on / give up)
3. She _____ her mother. They look the same. (takes after / turns off)
4. Don't _____! Keep trying! (give up / get up)
1. get up
2. turn on
3. takes after
4. give up
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One of the most important things to learn about phrasal verbs is whether they are separable or inseparable. This affects word order in your sentences.
✓ "Turn on the light." OR "Turn the light on."
✓ "Pick up the children." OR "Pick the children up."
✓ "Look up the word." OR "Look the word up."
✓ "Turn it on." (CORRECT)
✓ "Turn on it." (WRONG)
✓ "Pick them up." (CORRECT)
✓ "Pick up them." (WRONG)
✓ "I get up at 7." (CORRECT)
✓ "I get at 7 up." (WRONG)
✓ "She takes after her mother." (CORRECT)
✓ "She takes her mother after." (WRONG)
✓ get up, give up, look after, take after
✓ come across, run into, get over
✓ These are usually verb + particle combinations where the particle is essential to the meaning
✓ Transitive phrasal verbs (with objects) are often separable
✓ Intransitive phrasal verbs (no object) are always inseparable
✓ If it has three parts (verb + particle + particle), it's usually inseparable
✓ "Turn on the light" → "Turn the light on" ✓ (separable)
✓ "Get up early" → "Get early up" ✗ (inseparable)
✓ When in doubt, don't separate - it's usually safer!
Want to try a Phrasal Verbs quiz?
Practice with multiple choice questions
Phrasal verbs are used constantly in everyday English. Here are common phrasal verbs organised by daily life situations.
"I wake up at 7 AM."
"Then I get up from bed."
"I put on my clothes."
"I turn on the coffee maker."
"After I wake up, I get up, put on my clothes, and turn on the coffee maker."
"I turn on my computer."
"I look up information online."
"I fill out forms."
"I hand in my homework."
"At work, I turn on my computer, look up information, and fill out necessary forms."
"She takes after her father."
"I look after my little sister."
"We get together on weekends."
"Let's meet up for coffee."
"We go out on Fridays."
"I ran into an old friend."
"Yesterday I ran into an old friend, so we decided to meet up for coffee this weekend."
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Ready to test your Phrasal Verbs knowledge?
Challenge yourself with fill-in-the-blank exercises
❌ I get up at 7 o'clock morning.
✓ I get up at 7 o'clock in the morning.
Add preposition 'in' before 'the morning'
❌ Turn on it, please.
✓ Turn it on, please.
With pronouns, separable phrasal verbs MUST separate: pronoun goes in middle
❌ I wake up and get up from bed.
✓ I wake up and get out of bed.
We say 'get out of bed', not 'get up from bed'
❌ Look up it in the dictionary.
✓ Look it up in the dictionary.
'Look up' is separable with pronouns: pronoun goes in middle
❌ She takes her mother after.
✓ She takes after her mother.
'Take after' is inseparable - cannot separate verb and particle
❌ I give smoking up.
✓ I give up smoking.
'Give up' is inseparable when followed by -ing form
Master Phrasal Verbs sentence building!
Drag and drop words to form correct sentences
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To practice your pronunciation, listen to the native speaker audio first. Then 'Record' yourself repeating what you heard, then use the 'Playback' button to compare your pronunciation with the native speaker. If you want to record yourself again, simply click 'Delete'!
I get up at 7 AM every morning.
Could you turn on the light, please?
We should look up this word in the dictionary.
She takes after her mother.
I need to fill out this form.
He gave up smoking last year.
Can you pick me up from the airport?
Let's put off the meeting until next week.
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