Phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs in English

Understand and use verbs with prepositions in English, and distinguish between them

Topics :

Transitive verbs

Intransitive verbs

Phrasal-prepositional verbs

Phrasal verbs, also called particle verbs, are reputed to be the hardest point of English grammar to master. Why does one say:

I looked it up on Google,  
   but    I looked for it on Google?

To answer this question, we first need to understand that with transitive verbs there are two different verb+particle combinations in English; on the one hand there are phrasal verbs; on the other hand prepositional verbs. One big problem here is that many guides to English use the expression "phrasal verb" indiscriminately to describe every situation in which a verb is followed by a preposition or a particle. To avoid this problem, let’s start by defining some terms.

• A phrasal verb (or particle verb) is a verb whose meaning is defined by a following a particle. The particle is part of the verb. Particles are prepositions or adverbs, depending on the circumstances: for example the adverb up is the particle in I looked it up on Google !
• A prepositional verb is a verb whose meaning is defined or determined by the prepositional phrase that follows it.  The preposition is not part of the verb. In the example above, for it defines the meaning of looked. Looked for it does not mean the same as looked at it.

 Look, as an intransitive verb, cannot be followed by an object. We cannot say I looked it on Google. In order to use it transitively, i.e. with an object, look must become part of a phrasal or prepostional verb, as in the two examples.

The fact that a verb is followed by a preposition does not necessarily mean that it is a phrasal or prepositional verb. It may be quite simply an ordinary verb that happens to be followed by a preposition. Phrasal and prepositional verbs are ones for which the particle (adverb or prepositions) affects or defines the meaning of the verb.
   The next problem is that unfortunately it may seem impossible to distinguish between a phrasal verb and a prepositional verb. Phrasal and prepositional verbs appear identical in active transitive statements in which they are followed by a noun. It is only when we replace the noun with a pronoun, or try to put the sentence into the passive, that the differences become more clear, and the problems arise.

With nouns as objects	With pronoun objects	(Passive - if possible  )
The car ran over the dog	The car ran it  over	The dog was run over by the car.
The soldiers ran over the field	The soldiers ran over it.	Impossible.
The editor quickly looked through  the new book.	He quickly looked it through	It was quickly looked through by the editor.
We looked  through the window into the garden.	We looked through it into the garden.	Impossible
I got off all the dirty marks.	I got them all off	All the dirty marks were got off by me. (Improbable, but possible)
I got off the train at Bristol.	I got off it at Bristol	Impossible

► The examples on the yellow lines use phrasal verbs (or particle verbs) . These verbs are in effect two-word verbs. A pronoun object must come between the verb and the particle
 Fortunately, verbs like those in the examples above, which can be either phrasal or prepositional verbs, are uncommon. With the vast majority of verbs, there is no choice. The verb is either a phrasal verb or a prepositional verb. The problem is to know which. Why is look up a phrasal verb but look for a prepositional verb? That is a very difficult question to answer.
Still, recognising that there are two different types of verb+particle structure should start to make things a bit easier…. but not completely clear. The real key to understanding the differences between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs is the principle of separability.

Separable or inseparable?

The principle of separability applies to transitive verbs only (verbs which can be followed by an object).
Can a transitive verb (i.e. make) and its particle (i.e. up)  be separated by a direct object ? 
  If the aswer is yes, it is separable, and is a phrasal verb.
  If the aswer is no, it is inseparable, and is a prepositional verb.

The key differences between separable verbs and inseparable verbs are:

• Separable  verbs are all transitive. They can be separated only by a direct object, but not normally by adverbs or adverb phrases..
• Inseparable verbs  which may be transitive or intransitive, can occasionally be separated by adverbs or adverb phrases, but not by their direct object.

	Transitive	Intransitive
Phrasal verbs	Separable I looked the word up or I looked up the word in the dictionary	Inseparable Please sit down
Prepositional verbs	Inseparable I looked for the word

1. Transitive verbs

Principal roots of separable verbs	Sample pronoun object	Main particles used
break,  bring,  call, check, cut,    give,  hold,  keep,   leave,  let,  look,  make,  put,  run, set, take,  think,  turn,  work,  write	it	down, in, over, off, on,  out,  over, round,  through,  up
Example:  Let me check it out.

Almost all possible combinations of these verbs with the particles indicated will be separable. Note that each root verb will only combine with certain particles, not all of them.

Transitive phrasal verbs -  examples in different contexts

With noun objects	With pronoun objects	(Passive )
The referee broke up (=stopped)  the fight  immediately. or:  The referee broke the fight up immediately.	He broke it up immediately.	The fight was immediately broken up by the referee.
The old lady made out (=wrote) the cheque very slowly. or:  The old lady made the cheque out very slowly.	She made it out very slowly	The cheque was made out by the old lady very slowly.
He took up (=started) golf when he retired. or:  He took  golf up when he retired.	He took it up when he retired	improbable
The robbers set off (=started) the alarm  as they entered the bank. or:  The robbers set  the alarm off as they entered the bank.	They set it off as they entered the bank	The alarm was set off as the robbers entered the bank.
The men managed to put out (=extinguish) the fire by themselves. or:  The men managed to put the fire out by themselves	They managed to put it out by themselves.	The fire was put out by the men, by themselves.
The soldiers got up (=erected) their tents in two minutes. or:  The soldiers got their tents up in two minutes.	They got them up in two minutes.	The tents were got up in two minutes.
I put down    (= attribute) your success to hard work or:  I put your success down to hard work.	I put it down to hard work.	His success was put down to hard work.

General features of prepositional verbs:

• The preposition defines or limits the meaning of the verb, and is an essential link between the verb and its stated or implied object. Compare: pay me or pay a bill with pay for lunch.
• Often, prepositions serve to form a transitive verb from an intransitive verb:
     Examples:  look / look at / look for  - wait / wait for  -  come / come through.
• With prepositional verbs the direct object must follow the {verb+particle} unit. It makes no difference whether the object is a pronoun or a noun.
  

Prepositional verbs can be formed from a large number of root verbs, and an almost full range of prepositions.

Sample root verbs	Main prepositions used	Sample  object
go, fall, look, think;agree, believe, are, consist, insist, laugh, look, pay, result, wait, work….  etc.	About, after, at,  before, by, for,  from,  on,  to,  down, in, over, of, off, on,  out,  round,  through,  up, without	it
Example:   We went (quickly) through it last night.

Note that this list  contains verbs and prepositions that are also used in transitive phrasal verbs, plus some additional prepositions , notably : by, for, on, and without. Take particular note of for :  if a verb is made using for, it must be a prepositional verb.  Examples ;  ask for, look for, search for,  pay for,  go for,  make for, etc.

Transitive prepositional verbs: more examples in context:

With noun objects	With pronoun objects	Passive
The climbers went up (=ascended) the mountain very slowly. or The climbers went very slowly up (=ascended) the mountain.	They went up it very slowly	Improbable
They came through (=passed) their exam very well.	They came through it very well	Improbable
We're depending on your support, totally.	We're totally depending on it.	Your support is being depended on. (possible but unlikely)
The students were looking intently at (= studying) the notice board. or The students were looking at  the notice board intently.	They were looking intently at it , or They were looking at it intently.

2. Intransitive verbs

With intransitive verbs there is no distinction between phrasal and prepositional verbs. All intransitive verbs with particles are inseparable.

Principle root verbs	Main particles used
come, do,  fall,  go, sit;  break,  bring,  call, check, cut,    give,  hold,  keep,   leave,  let,  look,  make,  put,  run, set, take, think, turn, work, write	About, after, at,  before, by, for,  from,  on,  to,  down, in, over, off, on,  out,  round,  through,  up, without
Example:   Please sit down.

• Intransitive verbs do not have a direct object, so the  {verb+particle} unit of an intransitive verb with a particle will by definition be unbroken.
• In intransitive verbs, the particle either narrows the sense of the verb (as in sit down), or else creates an idiomatic meaning which is different from that of the root verb (as in shut up).

Here are a few examples of intransitive verbs:

Flight BA04 to New York will take off at 12.33.
I slipped over on a banana skin and broke my leg.
Several students showed up late
Covid-19 first broke out in China
Tomorrow morning, we all have to get up at 5.30.
Once the Queen had taken her place, the guests all sat quietly down.
The alarm went off just as the bank was shutting.    

 Special cases and exceptions

General
Most verbs follow the rules outlined above; some do not. As with so many rules, there are exceptions. The most prolific exceptions are with the verb get (see below), but there are also a number of verbs, for example verbs with into or round, that do not reflect the general rules. We can say turn into something, or turn something into… but the meanings are different. We say to look round a house, but to take something round to someone’s house. Examples like these just have to be learned.

Verbs using get

The verb get is used in many phrasal and prepositional verbs. Some words, such as get off, are phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs according to their meaning. For more details see the page on uses of get.

3. Phrasal-prepositional verbs (or double particle verbs).

English has a good number of  verbs that appear to be formed on the structure verb+particle+particle.
In most cases, these are prepositional verbs in which the root verb is already a phrasal verb.
Phrasal prepositional verbs are transitive, and in reality, the structure of these verbs is actually  {phrasal-verb} + preposition.
Once this is understood, usage should not be hard to follow. They behave in the same way as ordinary prepositional verbs.

Using nouns	Using pronoun objects	(Passive )
Everyone looked forward to the event.	Everyone looked forward to it.	It was looked forward to by everyone.
The prisoners broke out of their cells.	They broke out of them.	The cells were broken out of.
The airline did away with tickets	The airline did away with them	Tickets were done away with.
The builders got on with the work	They got on with it.	The work was got on with by the builders.