Dictionary phrasal verbs enabling enhanced English

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition, any of which are part of the syntax of the sentence.

Phrasal verbs often arise from casual uses of the language and eventually work themselves into the mainstream of language use. Phrasal verbs can be both intransitive (The children were sitting around, doing nothing. The witness finally broke down on the stand.) and transitive in meaning (Our boss called off the meeting. She looked up her old boyfriend.) The word that is joined with a verb in this construction (often a preposition) is called a particle.

The meaning of the phrasal verb often has no relation to the meaning of either the verb or the particle which is used with it. This means that phrasal verbs can be difficult both to understand and to remember. Also, many phrasal verbs have several different meanings.

There are many verbs in English that can be followed by prepositions and/or adverbs (also known as adverb (particles). Different authors give them different names: phrasal verbs; prepositional verbs; two-word verbs; multi-word verbs.

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English. A multi-word verb is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words. The other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multi-word verbs form a short "phrase" - which is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".

The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They do not have the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like any other verb.

Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. (The more formal a conversation or text, the fewer phrasal verbs are found.)

There are no rules that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed correctly, all you can do is look them up in a good dictionary and study their meanings.

Examples:

• Turn down: refuse
  I thought I could borrow some money from Joe, but when I asked, he turned me down.
• Pick up: refresh; revitalize.
  He was feeling a little tired, so he drank a glass of orange juice. It picked him up enough to finish his work.
• Look up to: respect
  Everyone looks up to Joyce because she always makes time to help others.