Phrasal Verbs: The Grammar (separable or not?)

B2 Grammar

1. Simple explanation

A phrasal verb is a verb (an action word like turn, look, pick) joined with a small word called a particle (up, off, out, after). A particle is just the grammar name for these little words. Together they make a NEW meaning: 'turn' alone means rotate, but 'turn off' means stop a machine. Phrasal verbs come in three families: some take no object ('The car broke down'), some are separable — the object can move ('Turn the light off'), and some are inseparable — the object never splits them ('Look after the kids'). One golden rule: with a pronoun (it, them, me), a separable verb MUST split: 'Turn it off.'

2. Detailed explanation

Start with the pieces. A verb is a word for an action — turn, look, pick, break. A particle is a small word like up, off, out, or after — 'particle' is the grammar name for these little words when they join a verb. Joined to a verb, a particle often creates a completely new meaning: 'turn' means rotate, but 'turn off' means stop a machine. The pair is not verb + particle added together; it is a brand-new word. That unit is a phrasal verb: get up, put off, look after, run out of.

Phrasal verbs come in three families, and the family decides where the object can go. An object is the person or thing that receives the action. Family one has NO object: 'The car broke down.' 'I got up at seven.' Nothing receives the action, so nothing can split. Family two is separable — the object can sit in two places. With a full noun (lamp, homework, the meeting), both positions work: 'Turn off the light' and 'Turn the light off.' But with a pronoun — a short word (it, them, me) that replaces a noun — only ONE position works: the pronoun goes in the middle. 'Turn it off,' never 'Turn off it.' Why? Pronouns are old, light information that English pushes early in the phrase.

Family three is inseparable — the object always stays after the whole verb: 'She looks after the children,' 'She looks after them,' never 'looks the children after.' Common members: look after, come across, get over, run into. A special group adds a third word: three-word verbs like look forward to, run out of, get along with. Treat all three words as one block; the object follows the block: 'We ran out of time.' Now take two apart, word by word. 'She turned it off': She (the doer) + turned (past of turn) + it (the machine — a pronoun, so it splits the verb) + off (the particle). 'She looks after them': She + looks after (one inseparable unit) + them (the object, after the unit).

In speech, the particle carries the stress — the strongest beat: 'Turn it OFF.' 'Pick it UP.' Stress it, and listeners hear the whole meaning at once. Learn these verbs inside full sentences, grouped by topic — travel, office, family — not from lists: a sentence shows you the family, since the moment a pronoun sits inside the verb, you know it is separable. One warning: formal writing often prefers single formal verbs — 'postpone' for 'put off.' In conversation, the phrasal verb is almost always the natural choice.

3. Formula / structure

no object:

separable — with a noun:

separable — with a pronoun:

inseparable:

three-word:

Step by step — how to build a sentence:

4. When to use it

• Everyday speech: phrasal verbs are the normal, natural way native speakers talk — 'Get up, we're late!'
• Instructions and requests: 'Please turn off your phones.' / 'Fill out this form.'
• Stories and news about daily events: 'The meeting was put off.' / 'Firefighters put out the fire.'
• Work and office English: 'Let's bring up the budget.' / 'She carried out the plan.'
• Describing problems and changes: 'My car broke down.' / 'Prices went up.'
• Social language: 'We get along with our neighbors.' / 'I'm looking forward to the trip.'

5. When NOT to use it

• Don't split an inseparable verb: ✗ 'She looks the children after' → ✓ 'She looks after the children.'
• Don't put a pronoun after the particle in a separable verb: ✗ 'Turn off it' → ✓ 'Turn it off.'
• Don't split a three-word verb: ✗ 'We ran it out of' → ✓ 'We ran out of it.'
• Don't use very informal phrasal verbs in formal academic writing when a single formal verb exists: 'put off' → 'postpone', 'find out' → 'discover' (in essays and reports).
• Don't translate phrasal verbs word by word from your language — the pair is one unit with one meaning: 'look up' (search) has nothing to do with looking at the sky.

6. Positive examples

• Please turn off the lights before you leave.
• She picked up the baby and rocked her gently.
• Can you pick it up on your way home?
• The plane took off an hour late.
• We ran out of coffee this morning.
• He looks after his elderly parents.
• I'm looking forward to the weekend.
• They put off the meeting until Monday.
• She turned down the job offer.
• The baby finally fell asleep after lunch.
• He came up with a brilliant idea.
• Please write down your name and address.

7. Negative examples

• Don't turn it off — I'm still watching!
• She didn't get up until nine o'clock.
• We can't put up with this noise anymore.
• He doesn't look after his health at all.
• They never hand in their homework on time.
• I don't get along with my new manager.

8. Questions

• Did you turn off the stove?
• Can you pick me up at the airport?
• What time did the plane take off?
• Have you filled out the form yet?
• Who looks after the dog when you travel?
• Shall we put the meeting off until Friday?

9. Short answers

• Yes, I turned it off. / No, I didn't.
• Yes, I'll pick you up at six. / No, I can't.
• Yes, it took off on time. / No, it was delayed.
• Yes, she looks after them. / No, a neighbor does.
• Yes, we've run out. / No, there's some left.

10. Common mistakes

11. American English notes

12. Similar grammar — comparison

13. Natural spoken English

• 'Hang on a second — I'll figure it out.'
• 'Can you turn it down a bit? The baby's sleeping.'
• 'We ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere.'
• 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' (a cousin of the three-word family)
• 'She really takes after her mom.'
• 'Let's not put it off again — just do it.'

14. Real-life examples

• At the airport: 'Your flight takes off at 6:40. Please check in by 5:30.'
• At the office: 'Could you look into the billing problem and get back to me?'
• At home: 'Kids, pick up your toys before dinner.'
• At the mechanic: 'Your car broke down because the battery died.'
• On the phone: 'Sorry, we got cut off — can you say that again?'
• At the doctor: 'You should give up smoking and take up some exercise.'

15. Mini dialogue

16. Summary

17. Practice exercises

Warm up with the first questions, then take the full quiz — every answer has a detailed explanation (parts 19–20 of this lesson: answer key + explanations live inside the quiz feedback).

18. The full quiz

50 questions, mixed formats, in difficulty order: easy → medium → intermediate → challenging → advanced.

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