Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a compound verb made up of the following combinations:

• a verb and a preposition (pick on)
• a verb and an adverb (take off, give in)
• a verb and both an adverb and a preposition (put up with)

Verb + Adverb

Some of these phrasal verbs do not require an object.

• The birds came back.
• The dog went away.
• We sat down.

Some of these phrasal verbs require an object. For these phrasal verbs the object can usually be put after the verb or after the adverb. If the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and adverb.

• The children put their toys away.
• The children put away their toys.

Verb + Preposition

These phrasal verbs always have an object and the object follows the preposition. Sometimes there will be two objects. The object of the verb and the object of the preposition.

• He asked for a new drink.
• He asked the bartender for a new drink.

Verb + Adverb + Preposition

These phrasal verbs have both an adverb and a preposition. They require an object, which follows the entire phrasal verb.

• Look out for the street we need to turn at.
• I won't put up with it anymore.

Common Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are very common in English, especially in informal and spoken English. Many phrasal verbs are replaced by verbs of latin origin in more formal writing.

Phrasal verbs can be very complicated for people learning English, since the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot always be guessed by looking at the individual words. Because phrasal verbs are very common, they are very important to master for anyone who wants to be fluent in English.

here is a list of some common phrasal verbs with examples of how to use them in a sentence.

back down

echarse atrás

• He refused to back down, even when he realized he was wrong.

be up to

estar haciendo

• What are you up to? I'm just watching a movie.

break down

averiarse, derribar

• My car broke down last night.
• The police broke down the door of their house.

carry on

continuar

• Carry on with what you're doing.

catch on

entender, hacerse popular

• It took me a while to understand what you were saying, but I finally caught on.
• My shirt caught on the thorns.
• The song never caught on when it was first released, but now it's a classic.

catch up with

• I'll catch up with you later.
• I can't leave yet, because I have too much work to catch up with.

come back

volver

• I'll come back for them later.

fill in

rellenar, poner al corriente

• Fill in the form then return it to me.
• I'll fill you in later.

get back

volver, recuperar

• What time will we get back?
• We'll get back before dinner.

get in

entrar, llegar

• What time did you get in?
• Get in the car.

get out of

salir de, librarse de

• He got out of the car and walked toward the house.
• How did you get out of doing your homework?

get over

sobreponerse, recuperarse de

• How can we get over the river.
• She just got over being sick.

get up

levantarse

• What time did you get up?
• I had to get up early this morning?
• Get up from the couch. We have to go.

give away

distribuir, repartir, regalar, entregar

• He gave away his old clothes.

give back

devolver

• Tomorrow I'll give you back the books I borrowed.

give up

abandonar, rendirse

• Don't give up!
• He gave up his seat for the injured passenger.

go away

irse, marcharse

• Why won't you just go away.
• The bear finally went away.

go on

continuar, ocurrir

• I'll go on working until I'm finished.
• What's going on?

go out

salir, apagarse

• We're going out now.
• They're going out for dinner.
• The fire went out.

go up

subir, acercarse

• The price of coffee keeps going up.
• Go up to the ticket booth and buy a ticket.

hold on

agarrarse bien, esperar

• Hold on tight!
• Hold on. We're almost there.

hold up

levantar, retrasar, soportar

• Hold up the present so everyone can see it.
• What's the hold up. We're in a hurry.
• How's your leg holding up? It's sore, but I can still walk.

hurry up

darse prisa

• Hurry up or we'll be late!

keep on

seguir, continuar

• If you keep on studying, you'll pass the course.

keep out

no entrar, no dejar entrar

• The fence will keep out the bears.

leave out

omitir, excluir

• Don't leave out any details.

look after

cuidar (de)

• She is looking after her brother until her parents come home.

look away

• He only looked away for a moment, but he missed the goal.

look for

buscar

• What are you looking for?
• I'm looking for my keys.

look forward to

esperar con anticipación

• I look forward to meeting you.
• I'm looking forward to my vacation.

look out!

Estar atento

• Look out! There's a car coming!

look out for

buscar, estar a la mira de

• Look out for the potholes in the road.

look up

levantar los ojos, buscar, mejorar

• The girl looked up when her mother called her.
• I had to look up her phone number before I could phone her.
• Things are looking up.

look up to

respetar

• She looks up to her older sister, and wants to be just like her.

make up

inventar

• You can't just make things up.
• He made up a terrible excuse.
• She made up a funny story.

pick up

recoger, coger

• Pick up the toys on the floor.
• I'll pick you up around seven.

pay back

devolver, pagar, hacer pagar a

• When will you pay back the money I lent you?

put away

poner en su sitio

• Put away the tools when you are done with them.

put off

posponer, disuadir

• I can't put it off any longer.
• He was put off by the smell.

put on

poner, presentar

• Don't forget to put on your jacket before you go outside.
• They put on a great show.

put out

apagar, sacar, publicar

• Put out the fire before you go to bed.

put up with

tolerar

• It's so loud here! How do you put up with all the noise?

set out

partir, proponerse

• They set out on a three day hike.

set up

montar, poner, fundar

• I went to the bank to set up a new account.
• I spent this afternoon setting up my new computer.

stay up

quedarse levantado, sostenerse

• I stayed up too late last night.
• The notice stayed up for three days.
• The statue stayed up even though it was hit by a car.

take after

tomar después

• He takes after his father. They both like to go hiking.

take down

bajar, descolgar, desmontar

• She took down the sign.
• We took down the tent in the morning.

take off

quitar, despegar, hacerce popular, tomarse, darse un día libre

• Take off your shoes at the door.
• The plane is taking off.
• Sales of the new software are really taking off!
• I'm not going to work tomorrow. I'm taking the day off.

take on

asumir, aceptar

• He took on too much work.

take up

ocupar, dedicarse a

• The furniture takes up too much room.
• Sarah took up swimming so she could improve her health.

turn out

apagar, producir, resultar, salir

• It turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

turn up

llegar, aparecer, descubrir, subir, doblar hacia arriba

• Your keys will turn up somewhere.
• Turn up the music.

work out

resolver, hacer ejercicio

• We can work it out.
• We worked out for an hour at the gym.