| Phrasal verbs usually have two words (a verb + a particle). Particles are small words (about, over, on, in) that look like prepositions. Unlike prepositions, however, they give a different meaning to the verb they combine with. | Look out! There’s a dog in the road! Phrasal v I looked out the window. Verb + Prepositional Phrase |
| Phrasal verbs are often used instead of single-word verbs that express the same meaning | call off: cancel go over: review find out: discover hand in: submit get ahead: succeed talk over: discuss give up: quit |
There are two types of phrasal verbs:Transitive and Intransitive
Transitive Phrasal Verbs
| They are followed by a direct object (DO) and most of them are separable. | We called off the party. _____________ DO We called the party off. |
Intransitive Phrasal Verbs
| They are not followed by a direct object and cannot be separable. | Our car broke down. Nancy showed up. |
Transitive Phrasal Verbs: Separable and Inseparable
| Separable | Jack looked up the word. Jack looked the word up. He looked it up. |
| Inseparable | Jill thought about the essay. She thought about it. X She thought the essay about. X She thought it about. |
Worksheets for some common phrasal verbs
| Worksheet 1* | An activity for Phrasal Verbs ‘break’ and ‘get’ |
| Worksheet 2* | An activity for phrasal verbs ‘come’, ‘cut’, give’ and ‘fall’. |
| Worksheet 3* | An activity for phrasal verbs ‘put’, ‘stand’, ‘make’, ‘go’, ‘turn’, ‘run’ and ‘call’ |
| Worksheet 4* | An activity for phrasal verbs ‘take’ and ‘look’ |
| Worksheet 5* | Mixed phrasal verbs |
ESL world 