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English · Phrasal verbs · B1–B2

English phrasal verbs: how do you actually learn them?

A verb plus a small word that together mean something new. "Give up" isn't give plus up, it's quit. The real question when you use one: can the object split it, or not?

01
The one idea

Separable or inseparable. That's the word-order rule.

Some phrasal verbs let an object sit in the middle. Some never do. Getting the order right is what makes them sound native.

separable→splits
A noun can go in the middle or the end. A pronoun must go in the middle.
Turn the light off.= turn off the light
inseparable→stays
The verb and particle never come apart, whatever the object.
Look after them.never "look them after"
02
The pronoun test

A pronoun tells you which kind it is.

Swap the noun for a pronoun. If the pronoun goes in the middle, it is separable. If it stays after the particle, it is inseparable.

Separable

splits
turn it offnot turn off it
pick it upnot pick up it
throw it awaynot throw away it
fill it innot fill in it

Inseparable

stays
look after themnot look them after
run into hernot run her into
look for itnot look it for
get over itnot get it over

One phrasal verb can carry several meanings: pick up is collect someone, learn a skill, or answer the phone. Only the sentence around it tells you which.

03
Worked examples

Read the word order, then tap to check.

The phrasal verb is highlighted. Notice where the object sits, then reveal what it means and why.

1
Can you turn it off, please?
Please switch it off.
Why the middle
Turn off is separable, and the object is a pronoun. A pronoun must go in the middle: turn it off, never turn off it.
2
I'll look after the dog this weekend.
I'll take care of the dog.
Why it stays together
Look after is inseparable. Verb and particle never split, so the object always follows: look after the dog, look after it.
3
She picked up Italian in a year.
She learned Italian in a year.
Why this meaning
Here pick up means learn informally. Same verb, different sense from collect or answer, the sentence decides.

Tap any sentence to reveal · tap the star to save

04
Questions

Frequently asked

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle (like up, off, or after) whose combined meaning is often not literal. For example, "give up" means to quit, not to give something upward.

There is no perfect rule, but a reliable test is the pronoun: if you can say "turn it off," the verb is separable. Inseparable verbs like "look after" cannot be split, so "look it after" is wrong.

Because the meaning is often unpredictable from the individual words, and one phrasal verb can have several meanings. Learning them in context, with lots of examples, works far better than memorizing lists.

Yes. GrammarWerk teaches English as well as German, Spanish, and French, is free, has no tracking, and offers a free phrasal verbs sample drill with no signup.

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