Vocabulary
Phrasal verbs: learn the meaning in context
A colleague says, "Can you look after my bag?" Looking is not the task. The whole phrase look after means take care of.
Recognise a phrasal verb, use a separable one with its object, and check its meaning from the sentence.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
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phrasal verb /ˈfreɪ.zəl vɜːb/
The short answer
A phrasal verb is a verb plus one or more short words that work together as one meaning. In look after, the phrase means take care of.
Could you look after my plants while I am away?
Why it works: Look after means care for here; it does not mean look in a particular direction.
3 more examples
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Please turn down the music while the baby is asleep.
Turn down means make the volume lower.
Not this:Please
turn the music downwhile the baby is asleep. What changes: Both orders are natural because turn down is separable when the object is a noun. -
Please turn it down while the baby is asleep.
It is a pronoun, so it goes between turn and down.
Not this:Please
turn down itwhile the baby is asleep. What changes: This order is not standard. Put a pronoun object in the middle of a separable phrasal verb. -
Mina looks after her neighbour's cat every weekend.
Look after means take care of.
Not this:Mina
looks at her neighbour's catevery weekend. What changes: Look at means direct your eyes towards something. It does not mean care for it.
Read the full guide
Read a phrasal verb with the words around it. The same verb can make different meanings with different particles: pick up can mean lift something, collect someone, or learn something without formal study.
Read the phrase as one unit
A phrasal verb is more than a verb followed by a small word. In find out, the whole phrase means discover. You cannot get that meaning by treating find and out as separate vocabulary items.
I found out that the library closes at six.
Find means locate something. Find out means learn information.
Use context to choose the meaning
One phrasal verb can have more than one meaning. Pick up a parcel means collect it. Pick up a new expression can mean learn it by hearing or using it. The noun after the phrase gives you a useful clue.
I will pick up the parcel after work.
She picked up several Italian phrases during her holiday.
Does pick up mean collect or learn in the sentence about Italian phrases?
It means learn. Phrases are learned; a parcel is collected.
Spot separable phrasal verbs
A separable phrasal verb lets a noun object come after the phrase or between the verb and particle. Turn down the radio and turn the radio down have the same meaning.
Turn down the radio. Turn the radio down.
Please write down your address before you leave.
Put pronouns in the middle when needed
With a separable phrasal verb, a short pronoun object goes in the middle. Say write it down, pick them up, or turn it off. Do not place it after the particle.
I wrote it down before I forgot the number.
Correct: I wrote it down. Incorrect: I wrote down it.
Keep inseparable phrases together
Some phrasal verbs do not allow the object in the middle. Look after, run into, and get over stay together before their object. Say look after the dog, not look the dog after.
Our neighbour looks after the dog when we travel.
Can you say look the dog after?
No. Look after stays together, so the dog comes after the whole phrase.
Build a useful record
When you meet a new phrasal verb, record the full phrase, its meaning, one natural example, and whether it is separable. This gives you information you can use when you speak or write.
Turn off: stop a machine or light; separable; Please turn the lamp off.
Before you go
Remember this
Learn a phrasal verb as a whole phrase, then notice its grammar. Check whether it can be separated, and place a pronoun object in the middle when the phrasal verb is separable.
Practice with the written examples
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Phrasal verbs: learn the meaning in context"
What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb combines a verb with a short word such as up, after, or down. The complete phrase has its own meaning, as in look after, which means take care of.
Please turn down the music while the baby is asleep.
How can I learn the meaning of a phrasal verb?
Learn the whole phrase with a natural example. Then read the words around it because the context can show which meaning is intended, especially when a phrase has more than one use.
Please turn the music down while the baby is asleep.
What does separable mean for a phrasal verb?
A separable phrasal verb allows a noun object in two positions. You can say turn down the music or turn the music down. Both sentences mean make the music quieter.
Please turn it down while the baby is asleep.
Where does a pronoun go in a separable phrasal verb?
Put a pronoun object between the verb and particle. Say turn it down or write it down. Do not put the pronoun after down in these separable patterns.
Please turn down it while the baby is asleep.
Are all phrasal verbs separable?
No. Look after is inseparable, so the phrase stays together before its object: look after the dog. Record the grammar pattern when you learn a new phrasal verb.
Mina looks after her neighbour's cat every weekend.