If you’ve ever been puzzled by phrases like “turn up,” “give in,” or “run out,” you’re not alone. These aren’t just random combinations of words – they’re phrasal verbs, and they carry meanings you can’t always guess from the individual parts.
Take the verb turn. On its own, it’s simple. But add a preposition – turn on, turn over, turn around, turn up, turn into – and suddenly it has multiple, sometimes wildly different meanings.
A phrasal verb is a phrase made up of a base verb and a preposition (technically called a particle). English has thousands of them, and while the differences between variations may seem small, their meanings can shift dramatically.
Here’s an example: A police officer turns up at a house where the mother answers the door. He says, “I’m letting you know that your son passed away this morning at school.” The mother faints.
The officer meant to say “passed out” (fainted) but said “passed away” (died). One tiny change created a major misunderstanding.
Why Are Phrasal Verbs So Important?
Phrasal verbs are hard to master because:
- They are extremely common in conversation and informal writing.
- They often don’t follow standard logic.
- They can have multiple meanings.
- New ones are being invented all the time.
But learning the most common phrasal verbs will significantly improve your understanding and fluency. Let’s look at some of the key features of phrasal verbs:
1. Stress Often Falls on the Preposition
When using a phrasal verb, we often stress the preposition (the particle), and this can affect the meaning.
Example:
- “LOOK out the window.” (literal: use your eyes to see what’s outside)
- “Look OUT! The window!” (warning: something dangerous is happening)
Stressing the preposition helps signal that this is a phrasal verb and not a literal verb-preposition combination.
2. Phrasal Verbs Can Be Separable or Non-Separable
Separable: You can put the object between the verb and the preposition.
- “Take out the garbage.” (Correct)
- “Take the garbage out.” (Correct)
Non-separable: You must keep the verb and preposition together.
- “Go on with your story.” (Correct)
- “Go with your story on.” (Incorrect)
3. Many Phrasal Verbs Have Multiple Meanings
Usually, the context will make the meaning clear, but often there are many diverse ways to use a phrasal verb.
Let’s take give away:
- “He gave away his old clothes to charity.” (give something for free)
- “Her face gave her away when she tried to lie.” (reveal someone’s intention)
- “The magician gave away the secret to the trick.” (reveal a secret)
- “The bride’s father gave her away at the wedding.” (tradition of officially handing over the bride to the groom)
4. Some Phrasal Verbs Include Two Prepositions
These are often non-separable and require both particles.
Examples:
- Weigh in on – to give your opinion or input on a topic, especially in a discussion or decision-making process
“We need to weigh in on the budget discussion.” - Zero in on – to focus closely and precisely on something, especially after considering other possibilities
“They zeroed in on the cause of the equipment failure.”
5. Be Careful with “TO”
Some phrasal verbs use “to,” but it’s not part of the infinitive verb (like “to go”). Instead, it’s part of the expression and must be followed by a noun or a gerund (verb+ing).
A common example of this is “look forward to”.
- “I look forward to our meeting.” (Correct)
- “I look forward to going on holiday.” (Correct)
- “I look forward to go on holiday.” (Incorrect)
Here, “going” is a gerund (a verb acting as a noun). Think of it like this:
- “I look forward to summer.”
- “I look forward to swimming.” (“swimming” is the activity – a noun in this case)
Yes, English can be confusing!
6. Many Phrasal Verbs Are Idiomatic
This means that their meanings cannot be guessed by the individual words.
For example:
- “Turn in” can mean “to submit” (a report) or “to go to bed.”
- “Run out of” means “to have no more of something.”
The Variety of Phrasal Verbs – Common and Less Common
Among the thousands of phrasal verbs, here’s a taste of some common, less common and business oriented phrasal verbs. Which do you know?
3 Common Everyday Phrasal Verbs
Wake up – to stop sleeping
“I usually wake up at 6 a.m.”
Turn on – to activate or start a device
“Can you turn on the lights, please?”
Sit down – to take a seat
“Let’s sit down and discuss the plan.”
3 Less Common Phrasal Verbs
Zone out – to lose focus or concentration
“I zoned out during the long meeting.”
Bounce back – to recover quickly from a setback
“She bounced back quickly after the failed launch.”
Drag on – to last longer than expected
“The meeting dragged on for hours.”
3 More Advanced Phrasal Verbs
Cut back on – to reduce the use or consumption of something
“We need to cut back on energy costs.”
Ramp up – to increase production or activity
“The company ramped up output to meet demand.””
Phase out – to gradually discontinue something
“They plan to phase out old equipment by next year.”
3 Business Phrasal Verbs
Drill down – to examine something in more detail
“We need to drill down into the survey data.”
Scale up – to increase the size or scope of operations
“They’re scaling up gold extraction operations.”
Shut down – to stop operations temporarily or permanently
“The plant shut down for maintenance.”