Grammar · Sentence structure
Phrasal verbs
Formula: verb + particle (up, on, off, in, out…)
B2
Quick answer
The 4 main uses
1. Phrasal verbs with no object
Nothing comes after the particle. Other examples: get up, take off, sit down.
“Get up at 7. The plane took off.”
2. Separable phrasal verbs
Verb + particle + object, OR verb + object + particle. With a pronoun, the pronoun goes in the middle: Turn it off (not Turn off it).
“Turn off the light. / Turn the light off.”
3. Inseparable phrasal verbs
Verb + particle + object. You cannot separate them. Other examples: depend on, get over.
“Look after the baby. (not Look the baby after)”
4. Literal and non-literal meaning
Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning, and the context tells you which one. Pick up can mean to lift something from the floor, or to go and collect someone.
“Pick up the ball. / I'll pick you up at 6.”
Common mistakes to avoid
Pronoun always between verb and particle
With a separable phrasal verb, a pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: Turn it off ✓ / Turn off it ✗. With a noun, both orders are correct: Turn off the light / Turn the light off.
Separable or inseparable?
You need to learn it. Look after, look for and depend on are inseparable (nothing goes in the middle). Turn off, pick up and take off are separable. There is no simple rule: learn it like vocabulary.
A different particle, a different meaning
The meaning changes completely: look at (to turn your eyes to something), look for (to try to find), look after (to take care of), look up (to find a word in a dictionary), look out (to be careful).
Related pages: Phrasal verbs
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
What's next?
Phrasal verbs: you understand the rule. Now practise it.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a phrasal verb?+
A verb + a particle (a preposition or an adverb), with a meaning that is often different from the verb alone. Get up = to leave your bed, look after = to take care of, take off = to leave the ground (for a plane). They are very common in spoken English.
What are the most common phrasal verbs?+
Get up (to leave your bed), wake up (to stop sleeping), turn on/off (to start/stop a light or a machine), pick up (to lift; to collect someone), look after (to take care of), give up (to stop trying), take off (to leave the ground; to remove clothes), look for (to try to find).
How do you know if a phrasal verb is separable?+
You need to learn it. Separable: you can put the object between the verb and the particle (turn the light off). Inseparable: you cannot (look after the baby, not look the baby after).
Where does the pronoun go with a phrasal verb?+
With a separable phrasal verb, a pronoun ALWAYS goes in the middle: Turn it off ✓ / Turn off it ✗. With an inseparable one, the pronoun goes after the particle: Look after him ✓.
What is the best way to learn phrasal verbs?+
Learn them in context and in families. For example, the phrasal verbs with look: look at, look for, look after, look up, look out, look forward to. Learn them in groups, with one example sentence for each meaning.
Updated on 6 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 6 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/grammar/phrasal-verbs
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.