16/05/2020
What Is a Phrasal Verb?
A phrasal verb is a phrase that’s made up of a verb and another word or two, usually a preposition but sometimes an adverb.
So before we can talk about English phrasal verbs, it’s important to understand what verbs, prepositions and adverbs are.
A verb is an action word.
It describes something happening (e.g. hearing, seeing), a state of being (e.g. to live, to sleep), or an action being done (e.g. to read, to sing).
A preposition is a word
that describes the relationship between two words. For example, the bees are above the table or under the table, but not inside the table (hopefully). Prepositions mainly deal with location or direction (e.g. on, through, around) and time (e.g. “by” or “around” a certain time).
An adverb is a word that
describes a verb. For example, you can run quickly or slowly and arrive to class early or late.
Now that you know what verbs and prepositions are, you’re ready to start putting them together into phrasal verbs.
Phrasal verbs work by changing the verb’s meaning based on the preposition that follows them.
It’s easier than you think—you probably already know a number of phrasal verbs. For example, read the last sentence before this section: “So come on, let’s learn some phrasal verbs.” The words “come on” in that sentence are a phrasal verb!
The word “come,” on its own, means to move towards something. Together with the preposition “on,” though, the phrase “come on” becomes a phrase of encouragement.
