What are Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb. So: In the sentence. "put down that bag." we don't have a phrasal verb. However, in the sentence: "The vegetables in my garden didn't grow well this year. I put that down to the dry weather" We have an example of a separated phrasal verb. put + (object) + down

Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs

phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable. They can take an object or not. Here is a guide to the basics of phrasal verbs.
  1. put your shoe on.
    OR
  2. put on your shoe.
When we learn a phrasal verb we should also learn whether the words can be separated. When we speak we can usually use the phrasal verb together but when the object is a personal pronoun then sometimes the phrasal verb must be split.
Eg. I will pick him up at half past eight. (Not I will pick up him)

Which of these are phrasal verbs?

  1. You can rely on him to get the job done on time.
  2. Would you please get off the table and sit on a chair?
  3. Carry on with what you were saying just now.

Answer

Only Carry on is a phrasal verb. rely on is an intransitive verb and get off has no new meaning and simply means stop being on the table and change your position. I regard get out ("Leave this room!) and get off to be within the normal usage of the verb get. We can't always be precise about this as this is a grey area. Check the definition to find out what a real phrasal verb is.

Form of phrasal verbs

Separable phrasal verbs MuST be separated when a pronoun is used.
  1. We picked him up at the station. NOT We picked up him at the station.
  2. They put them up. NOT They put up them.
Some phrasal verbs do not take objects. These phrasal verbs are ALWAYS inseparable. phrasal verbs which use more than two words are inseparable.

Get up
Look forward

Separable phrasal verb example

  1. put on your hat.
  2. put your hat on.
The example shows the phrasal verb To put on.
This phrasal verb has two forms. In the second sentence the phrasal verb words have been split and the object is inside the phrasal verb.

Formal and informal

Compare these sentences:
Let's put off the meeting until the boss comes back from Scotland.

Let's postpone the meeting until the boss returns from Scotland.

Which sentence is the most formal?
Do phrasal verbs usually make sentences sound more or less formal?
What will you sound like if you don't know many phrasal verbs?

Familiar (phrasal verbs) and Formal (Latin verbs).

Stress the main verb and not the preposition. Listen and repeat.