Phrasal Verbs - Daily English
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A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a particle (a preposition or adverb) that together carry a meaning you often can't guess from the verb alone. For example, "carry out" means to perform or complete, and "bring up" means to raise a topic. They are everywhere in natural professional English, so learning the common ones makes your emails and meetings sound far more fluent. Some are transitive and separable, meaning the object can sit between the verb and the particle: "I'll set up the meeting" or "I'll set it up", but with a pronoun, separation is required ("set it up", never "set up it"). Others are inseparable: "We'll look into the issue" (not "look the issue into"). A few are intransitive and take no object: "The deal fell through." Two correct examples in context: "Could you follow up with the client after the call?" and "Sales picked up in the second quarter." A common pitfall is putting a pronoun after the particle with separable verbs. Say "Can you fill it in?" not "fill in it". When unsure whether a verb is separable, keep the object close to the verb and check it in a good dictionary.
Let's practise. Type each answer and press Enter, I'll check it with you.
- I usually (wake) up at 7:00 AM every morning.
- Please (turn) the lights off before you leave the room.
- My brother decided to (give) smoking for his health.
- We need to (look) the word in the dictionary to understand it.
- Don't (give) hope; everything will be fine soon.
- She (take) after her mother; they look exactly the same.
- Can you (pick) me up from the train station at 5:00 PM?
- I need to (look) my lost keys before I leave.
- The plane will (take) at exactly noon.
- They (get) on well with their new neighbors.
- He had to (fill) the application form to join the club.
- Please (put) your coat on; it is freezing outside.
- I (run) into an old friend at the supermarket yesterday.
- We should (set) the table before the guests arrive.
- She (bring) up three children all by herself.
- The meeting was (call) off because the manager was sick.
- I can't (put) with this loud noise any longer!
- Please (write) down my phone number so you don't forget it.
- He (grow) up in a small village in Italy.
- You should (try) on the jeans before you buy them.
- The car (break) down on the highway this morning.
- I will (call) you back in ten minutes.
- They (look) forward to their summer vacation.
- Please (turn) the volume up; I can't hear the news.
- She (go) out with her friends every Saturday night.
Common questions
What is the difference between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs?
With a separable phrasal verb, the object can go between the verb and particle: "turn the offer down" or "turn down the offer". If the object is a pronoun, you must separate them: "turn it down". Inseparable phrasal verbs keep the object after the particle: "deal with the complaint", never "deal the complaint with". A dictionary marks which type each verb is.
Which phrasal verbs are most useful in business English emails and meetings?
High-frequency ones include: follow up (check progress), carry out (perform a task), set up (arrange), bring up (raise a topic), look into (investigate), roll out (launch), point out (note), and put off (postpone). For example: "I'll follow up next week", "We rolled out the update on Monday", and "Let me look into it and get back to you." These sound natural and professional.
Why can't I always guess a phrasal verb's meaning from the words?
Many phrasal verbs are idiomatic: the combined meaning is not the sum of the parts. "Call off" means cancel, not telephone; "take on" means accept responsibility for, as in "She took on the new project." Some have several meanings too: "pick up" can mean collect, improve, or learn. Because of this, learn each phrasal verb as a whole unit, with an example sentence, rather than translating it word by word.