What Are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb is a verb + a small word like up, down, on, off, out, back. That small word is the particle. Together they often mean something new.
NEW MEANINGgive up = stop trying
Don't give up! You're nearly there.
WITH A NOUNin the middle or after
It's cold. Can you turn the air conditioner off?
WITH A PRONOUNalways in the middle
Sure, I'll turn it off.
Learn the meaning of the whole phrase, not the verb on its own.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"This jacket looks nice. Can I try blank?"
The forms
SPLITS + NOUN
verbparticlenoun·verbnounparticle
Take off your shoes. / Take your shoes off.
Both are fine.
SPLITS + PRONOUN
verbit / him / her / themparticle
I'll pick you up at the airport.
Never pick up you.
NEVER SPLITS
verbparticlenoun / pronoun
Who looks after the kids at the weekend?
NO OBJECT
Sverbparticle
I grew up in Cần Thơ.
Wake up, grow up, break down.
THREE PARTS
verbparticleprepositionnoun
We've run out of rice.
Run out of, get on with, look forward to. They stay together.
With a verb that splits, it, him, her, them never go after the particle.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"My aunt looks blank while my parents are at work."
- Question 2
"The printer has run blank paper again."
60 Common Phrasal Verbs
Here are 60 of the most common phrasal verbs, grouped by 8 base verbs. Each group ends with one question. Learn one group at a time.
Get · 8 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| get up | leave your bed | My dad always gets up before everyone else. |
| get on | enter a bus, train or plane | We got on the train in Huế at midnight. |
| get off | leave a bus, train or plane | Get off at the next stop for the market. |
| get into | enter a car or taxi | Get into the car. It's starting to rain. |
| get back | return, arrive home | What time did you get back last night? |
| get on with | have a good relationship with | Does Minh get on with his new classmates? |
| get over | recover from (an illness, bad news) | It took her a month to get over the flu. |
| get together | meet as a group | Our whole family gets together at Tết. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"This is our stop. Let's blank the bus."
Take · 8 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| take off | remove (clothes, shoes); (a plane) leave the ground | He took off his jacket. · Our plane takes off at 9:15. |
| take back | return something you bought | This shirt is too big. I'll take it back tomorrow. |
| take after | look or act like an older family member | Lan takes after her mother. They both love singing. |
| take up | start a hobby or sport | My mum took up yoga last year. |
| take out | carry outside; remove | Can you take out the rubbish after dinner? |
| take over | take control of | My brother took over the family shop in 2020. |
| take apart | separate into pieces | He took the old radio apart to fix it. |
| take down | remove from a wall; write down | Let's take down the Tết decorations today. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"I want to do more sport, so I'm going to blank tennis."
Put · 8 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| put on | start wearing | Put on your helmet before you ride. |
| put off | move to a later time | We put off the trip because of the storm. |
| put away | put in its usual place | Put your toys away before dinner. |
| put back | return to where it was | Please put the books back on the shelf. |
| put down | place on a surface | Put your phone down and listen to me. |
| put out | stop a fire burning | The firefighters put out the fire in ten minutes. |
| put up | build (a tent); hang (a picture) | We put up our tent near the beach. |
| put up with | accept something annoying | I can't put up with the noise from next door. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"I'm not ready for the test. Can we blank until next week?"
Look · 8 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| look after | take care of | Grandma looks after the baby in the mornings. |
| look for | try to find | We're looking for a cheap hotel near the beach. |
| look up | find information (in a dictionary, online) | Don't know a word? Look it up in the dictionary. |
| look forward to | feel happy about something coming (+ noun or -ing) | I'm looking forward to the summer holiday. |
| look out | be careful | Look out! There's a car coming. |
| look into | try to find out about a problem | The manager will look into your problem. |
| look around | walk around and see a place | We have an hour to look around the old town. |
| look through | read quickly | I looked through the menu but couldn't decide. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"I'm blank my glasses. Have you seen them?"
Turn · 7 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| turn on | start (a light, a machine) | I turn on my computer as soon as I get to work. |
| turn off | stop (a light, a machine) | Don't forget to turn off the gas. |
| turn up | make louder | Turn up the music. I love this song! |
| turn down | make quieter; say no to | She turned down the job because the pay was low. |
| turn into | become | The small café turned into a big restaurant. |
| turn around | face the other way | Turn around and smile at the camera. |
| turn out | end up being | The test turned out to be easy. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Grandpa can't hear the TV. Can you blank a bit?"
Come · 7 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| come in | enter | Come in and sit down. |
| come back | return | When are you coming back to Đà Nẵng? |
| come on | hurry up; try harder | Come on! We'll miss the bus. |
| come over | visit someone's home | Come over to my house after school. |
| come out | be published or released | Her new song comes out on Friday. |
| come across | find or meet by chance | I came across an old photo of my grandparents. |
| come up with | think of (an idea) | She came up with a great idea for the class party. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"We need a name for our team. Who can blank a good one?"
Go · 8 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| go out | leave home to have fun | We usually go out for dinner on Saturday. |
| go back | return | I want to go back to my hometown next summer. |
| go on | continue | Go on, I'm listening. |
| go up | increase | Petrol prices went up again this month. |
| go down | decrease | The temperature goes down quickly at night. |
| go off | (an alarm) ring; (food) go bad | My alarm goes off at 5:30. |
| go over | check again, review | The teacher went over the homework in class. |
| go away | leave; disappear | My headache went away after a short sleep. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Before the test, let's blank last week's notes."
Give · 6 phrasal verbs
| MEANING | EXAMPLE | |
|---|---|---|
| give up | stop (a habit); stop trying | My uncle gave up smoking last year. |
| give back | return | I'll give the book back tomorrow. |
| give away | give for free | We gave our old clothes away to a charity. |
| give in | stop arguing and agree | My son cried until I gave in and bought the toy. |
| give out | hand to many people | They gave out leaflets in front of the market. |
| give off | send out (a smell, smoke) | Durian gives off a very strong smell. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"The man at the door blank free tickets to everyone."
Want more practice? Try the phrasal verb exercises with answers.
Learn them by situation
At the airport
We need to check in two hours before the flight.
Planning a family trip.
Common verbs: check in · get on · get off · set off
When things go wrong
My motorbike broke down on the way to work.
Calling your boss to say you'll be late.
Common verbs: break down · run out of · find out
Phrasal Verb or One-Word Verb?
Many phrasal verbs have a one-word partner with the same meaning. The phrasal verb sounds natural in speech. The one-word verb suits formal writing.
| PHRASAL VERB | ONE-WORD VERB | |
|---|---|---|
| learn a fact | Did you find out his name? | Scientists have discovered a new kind of frog. |
| move to later | Let's put the meeting off till Friday. | The meeting has been postponed until Friday. |
| Best for | chats and messages | work emails, notices, news |
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Turn off it, please.
Correct:Turn it off, please.
It is a pronoun. Put it in the middle.
Incorrect:I'll pick up her at 6.
Correct:I'll pick her up at 6.
Pick Lan up or pick up Lan. But only pick her up.
Incorrect:Can you look my bag after for a minute?
Correct:Can you look after my bag for a minute?
Look after never splits.
Incorrect:My phone has run out battery.
Correct:My phone has run out of battery.
Run out of something. Keep the of.
Incorrect:Wait, I need to wear my shoes.
Correct:Wait, I need to put on my shoes.
Wear is having them on. Put on is the action.
Quick check · 5 questions
Choose the correct words:
These shoes are too small. I'll take them back to the shop.
- A. take them back — Correct
- B. take back them
Answer: A. take them back
Them is a pronoun, so it sits between take and back.
Choose the correct words:
When I'm sick, my sister always looks after me.
- A. looks after me — Correct
- B. looks me after
Answer: A. looks after me
Look after stays together, even with a pronoun.
Choose the correct words:
Do you get on well with your new boss?
- A. well with — Correct
- B. well
- C. with well
Answer: A. well with
Well comes before with. With cannot be dropped.
Choose the correct word:
The test was very hard, but Linh didn't give up.
- A. give up — Correct
- B. give
- C. give it
Answer: A. give up
Give alone needs something to give. Give up takes no object here.
Choose the correct words:
Our bus broke down in the mountains, so we waited two hours for help.
- A. broke down — Correct
- B. broke it down
- C. broke
Answer: A. broke down
A vehicle that stops working breaks down.
See whether it really stuck.
Start the quiz · 14 questions