Phrasal verbs, which combine a verb with an adverb or preposition to create one meaning, are essential for conversation and reading. Here we organize 30 common ones at once.
Basic Rules
Verb + adverb（separable）: The object can be placed between the verb and the adverb.
- give up“quit” / “Don't give up your dream.” / “Don't give it up.”
- put off“postpone” = postpone “Let's put off the meeting.” / “Let's put it off.”
- turn down“refuse / lower the volume” “She turned down the offer.”
- look up“look up（in a dictionary）” “Look up the word in the dictionary.”
- pick up“pick up / go to pick someone up” “I'll pick you up at 7.”
Verb + preposition（inseparable）: Do not place the object between them.
- get over“overcome / recover from” “She got over her illness.”
- look after“take care of” = take care of “Can you look after my dog?”
- come across“meet by chance / find by chance” “I came across an old photo.”
- look forward to + gerund“look forward to” “I'm looking forward to seeing you.”
Three-word phrasal verbs（verb + adverb + preposition）: Inseparable.
- look up to“respect” “I look up to my father.”
- look down on“look down on” “Don't look down on others.”
- put up with“tolerate” = tolerate “I can't put up with this noise.”
- come up with“think of” “She came up with a great idea.”
- catch up with“catch up with” “Run! Catch up with them!”
- get along with“get along well” “I get along with my classmates.”
She finally got over her fear of flying.
I came up with a new idea while taking a shower.
We put off the picnic because of the rain.
I look forward to hearing from you.← to is followed by a gerund
Points to Note
① When the object is a pronoun, separation is required: “× turn down it → ○ turn it down,” “× pick up me → ○ pick me up.”
② The to in look forward to is a preposition, so it is followed by a gerund（-ing）. “× look forward to see → ○ look forward to seeing.”
③ The meaning can change greatly with the adverb: give up（quit）/ give in（yield）/ give out（distribute）/ give away（give for free）.
④ Translating a phrasal verb word by word makes its meaning unclear. Do not translate “look down on others” literally; memorize it as one meaning: “despise.”
- Verb + adverb is separable（give up / put off / pick up）
- Verb + preposition is inseparable（look after / come across）
- Three-word phrasal verbs: look up to / look down on / put up with / come up with
- With a pronoun, place it between the verb and the adverb
- look forward to + gerund（to is a preposition）
Practice
- Fill in the blanks with the appropriate phrasal verb: I can't ___ ___ his rude attitude.（cannot tolerate, three-word phrasal verb）
- Translate “He respects his grandfather very much” using look up to.
- Correct the error: I'm looking forward to see you next week.