Introduction to Phrasal verbs

We often use verbs with:

So you can say look out / get on / take off / run away etc. These are phrasal verbs.
We often use on/off/out etc. with verbs of movement. For example:

get on                                                 The bus was full. We couldn’t get on.
drive off                                              A woman got into the car and drove off
come back                                         Sarah is leaving tomorrow and coming back on Saturday.
turn round                                          When I touched him on the shoulder, he turned round.

Often the second word (on/off/out etc.) gives a special meaning to the verb. For example:

Sometimes a phrasal verb is followed by a preposition. For example

Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object. For example:

I turned on the light. (the light is the object)

Usually there are two possible positions for the object. You can say:

I turned on the light. or I turned the light on.

                              object                            object

But if the object is a pronoun (it/them/me/him etc.), only one position is possible:

I turned it on. (not I turned on it)

In the same way, you can say:

 

I’m going to	take off my shoes
	take my shoes off.

but These shoes are uncomfortable. I’m going to take them off. (not take off them)

             

Don't	wake up the baby
	wake the baby up

but The baby is asleep. Don’t wake her up. (not wake up her)

         

Don't	throw away the box.
	throw this box away.

but I want to keep this box, so don’t throw it away. (not throw away it)

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Language Level