24/09/2026
Phrasal verbs, sometimes called two-word-verbs or three-word-verbs, are set of words composed by the main verb and the particle, the particle has two functions, one is being prepositional, and the second is being non-prepositional. The particle cannot have the two functions at the same time.
It is important to understand that if the particle is prepositional, the meaning of the main verb remains unchanged. If the particle is non-prepositional, the meaning of the main verb changes completely.
A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Some examples of prepositions are words like "in, up, into, off, over, under, out, etc. Prepositions in English are highly idiomatic. Although there are some rules for usage, much preposition usage is dictated by fixed expressions. In these cases, it is best to memorize the phrase instead of the individual preposition.
There are two types of phrasal verbs, Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs, the transitive verbs are two-word-verbs that are separable, which means they can break from the middle and take the object pronoun, noun, or proper noun, the transitive verb can also take the object pronoun, noun, or proper noun right after the particle. On the other hand, the Intransitive verbs do not break and do not take any object pronoun, noun, or proper noun.
For example, the following two sentences contain the transitive phrasal verb “Talk into” which means convince. Both are correct and there is no difference in meaning.
➕ “George talked her into going to see that horrible movie.”
➕ “George talked into Monica to going to see that horrible movie.”
Notice that when the object is the Object Pronoun itself, (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them), this will always be in the middle. If the object is a noun or a proper noun, this can be in the middle of the intransitive phrasal verb, or right after the particle.