Phrasal verbs aren’t as difficult as you probably think they are! In this post, we look at some of the most common problems with phrasal verbs and show you how to deal with them.
Problem 1: Separating the verb and the particle
With many phrasal verbs, you can choose whether to put the object after the verb and the particle or between the verb and the particle: I put on my coat. I put my coat on. There is no difference in meaning. However, most phrasal verb books include ‘prepositional verbs’ (verbs that don’t have other meanings but always need a particular preposition) as well as classic phrasal verbs. These always have the object after the verb and particle: You can’t rely on Joanne. Books like ours show very clearly whether you can separate a phrasal verb or not, with examples, but if you’re not sure, the safest thing is always to put the object after the verb and particle (except for pronouns – see point 2!).
Problem 2: Where to put pronouns
With classic phrasal verbs, pronouns (words like him, it, them) always go between the verb and the particle: She put it on. It is an error to put the pronoun after the particle. With prepositional verbs, the pronoun comes afterwards: You can’t rely on her. Again, our book, and many good learner dictionaries, give clear information on this.
Problem 3: Missing out a particle
Sometimes, students miss out the particle in a phrasal verb, particularly in 3-word verbs such as look forward to or put up with. Make sure you learn the whole phrasal verb – think of it as one single vocabulary item.
Problem 4: Using the wrong particle
It’s difficult to remember the correct preposition in lots of situations, including with phrasal verbs. There isn’t a magic answer to this problem – again, you need to learn the verb and the particle(s) together as one item.
Problem 5: Using the wrong verb pattern after a phrasal verb
This can be a problem for phrasal verbs in just the same way as it is for ‘normal’ verbs. For instance, you need an -ing verb after end up: We ended up catching a later train. It would be an error to use an infinitive instead. Good learner dictionaries and books like ours give clear information about this.
Problem 6: Using the wrong preposition after a phrasal verb
Again, just like ‘normal’ verbs, some phrasal verbs are followed by particular prepositions. For instance, although we can say ‘The food has run out’, we need to use the preposition of to say ‘We ran out of food’, and any other preposition would be wrong. Again, there is clear information about this in our book.
For more information on phrasal verbs, see our post Everything you need to know about phrasal verbs
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