Phrasal Verbs in English: Meanings, Grammar and 100 Examples

Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a particle, as in wake up, turn on and give up. Learning them as complete patterns helps you understand everyday English and choose the right word order when you speak or write.

This guide teaches 100 useful multi-word verb entries through meanings, examples, grammar notes and exercises. It includes common phrasal verbs as well as closely related prepositional verbs and expressions that learners often study with them. The difference matters: “turn it on” and “look after it” place the pronoun in different positions.

Begin with a few expressions you need for real situations. A student might start with look up, hand in and catch up; a traveler might need get on, get off and check in. Learn one meaning and one sentence pattern at a time. A verb such as take off has several meanings, and its grammar can change with the meaning.

Quick Index

What is a phrasal verb? | Word order: separable, fixed and without an object | Everyday routines, devices and movement | Study, work and getting things done | People, conversation and relationships | Problems, decisions and change | Activities, places and practical tasks | Why one phrasal verb can have several meanings | Common confusions worth comparing | Tense, pronunciation and register | Phrasal verbs in realistic conversations | Build a useful practice routine | Practice: choose, correct and explain | Answer key with explanations | Your productive task

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb contains a verb and an adverb particle: “The alarm went off.” Some meanings are fairly transparent, such as sit down; others cannot be predicted from the separate words, such as give up meaning stop trying. The particle is part of the expression, so replacing it can change the meaning completely.

A prepositional verb contains a verb followed by a preposition and its complement: “She looked after the children.” A phrasal-prepositional verb has both a particle and a preposition: “We put up with the noise.” Learning materials often group all three under “phrasal verbs”. This lesson uses the broader group for practical study while showing the actual pattern of each example.

Not every phrase beginning with a verb is a phrasal verb. “Take care of” is a related expression built around the noun care, not a strict verb-plus-particle phrasal verb. It is included because it is useful to compare with look after. Similarly, a literal direction phrase may look like a phrasal verb without having a special dictionary meaning.

Word order: separable, fixed and without an object

Pattern	What happens	Example
Separable, marked S	A noun object can often go between the verb and particle or after the particle.	Turn the lamp on. / Turn on the lamp.
Fixed object position, marked F	The object follows the whole expression in the meaning shown.	Look after the children. / Look after them.
No direct object, marked I	The expression is used without a direct object in the example.	The plane took off.
Related expression, marked R	Learn the complete phrase and its own pattern.	Please take care of the plants.

With a separable verb, an unstressed personal pronoun normally goes in the middle: “Turn it on”, “Write it down” and “Give them back”. Do not use “turn on it” for switching on a device. With a fixed expression such as look after, the pronoun stays after the preposition: “Look after her”, not “look her after”.

A transitive use takes an object: “They called off the match.” An intransitive use does not: “The car broke down.” Separability matters only when there is an object to position. Some verbs have both uses or several senses. “Wake up” can stand alone, while “wake someone up” takes an object. The table labels below apply to the stated meaning and example, not every possible use of that verb.

The words someone and something can be replaced with the actual object. A dictionary pattern such as “put something off” shows a separable use; “put up with something” shows the object after with. For additional explanation of this distinction, see the British Council’s word-order lesson.

Everyday routines, devices and movement

Expression	Pattern	Meaning in this example	Example sentence	Usage note
wake up	I	Stop sleeping	I wake up before the alarm most days.	For waking another person, use wake someone up.
get up	I	Rise from bed or stand	I got up at seven and opened the curtains.	Wake up can happen before you get up.
turn on	S	Start a device or supply	Could you turn the desk lamp on?	With a pronoun: turn it on.
turn off	S	Stop a device or supply	Please turn the heater off when you leave.	Turn someone off can also mean make them lose interest.
turn up	S	Increase a level	Can you turn the volume up a little?	A separate intransitive sense means arrive.
turn down	S	Reduce a level or reject an offer	She turned the invitation down politely.	The object can be it: turned it down.
put on	S	Place clothes on your body	Put your jacket on before going outside.	Put on weight is another fixed common use.
take off	S	Remove an item of clothing	He took his wet coat off in the hallway.	The plane took off uses a different, intransitive sense.
get on	F	Board a bus, train or similar vehicle	We got on the train at the next station.	For a car, get in is normally more natural.
get off	F	Leave a bus, train or similar vehicle	Get off the bus opposite the library.	Keep the vehicle after off in this meaning.
get in	I	Enter or arrive	What time did you get in last night?	Get in the car is a common vehicle pattern.
get out	I	Leave an enclosed place	Everyone got out before the doors closed.	Add of before a named enclosure: get out of the car.
get back	I	Return	We got back earlier than expected.	Get something back means recover possession.
get around	I	Travel between places	She gets around town by bicycle.	Get around a rule can mean find a way past it.
get away	I	Leave for a break or escape	We hope to get away for the weekend.	Add from to name what someone escapes.
come back	I	Return to a place or activity	Please come back after lunch.	Come back to the question means return to that topic.
go back	I	Return toward a previous place or situation	I went back to the shop for my receipt.	Come and go reflect the speaker’s viewpoint.
sit down	I	Move into a sitting position	We sat down near the window.	Sit someone down is a separate transitive pattern.
stand up	I	Move into a standing position	Everyone stood up when the music began.	Stand someone up has a different social meaning.
lie down	I	Move into a horizontal position	He lay down on the sofa after the journey.	Past: lay down; past participle: lain down.

Study, work and getting things done

Expression	Pattern	Meaning in this example	Example sentence	Usage note
look up	S	Find information in a reference source	I looked the unfamiliar word up in a dictionary.	Use look it up, not look up it.
look for	F	Try to find something or someone	I am looking for my keys.	Looking does not mean you have found the object.
find out	S	Discover information	We found out the opening time online.	Also followed by a clause: found out that it was closed.
figure out	S	Understand or solve something	Can you figure this problem out?	With a pronoun: figure it out.
work out	S	Calculate or find a solution	We worked out the total before paying.	Work out without an object can mean exercise.
write down	S	Record in writing	Please write the reference number down.	Write it down keeps the pronoun in the middle.
hand in	S	Submit work or an item	The students handed their essays in on Friday.	Hand it in, not hand in it.
fill in	S	Complete information in a form or gap	Fill in your name at the top of the form.	Fill out a form is also common.
set up	S	Arrange or establish	They set a new study group up.	The noun is often setup; the verb remains two words.
carry out	S	Perform a task or plan	The team carried out the scheduled checks.	Common in professional and formal contexts.
carry on	I	Continue	She paused briefly and then carried on.	Carry on with the task; carry on working.
go on	I	Continue	The discussion went on for another hour.	Go on to do something can introduce a later action.
get on with	F	Continue a task	Let us get on with the next exercise.	The task comes after with.
put off	S	Postpone	We put the meeting off until Thursday.	Put off doing something uses an -ing form.
call off	S	Cancel	They called the outdoor event off.	Cancellation is different from postponement.
wrap up	S	Finish or bring to a close	We wrapped the discussion up before lunch.	Also literal: wrap a present up.
use up	S	Consume the entire supply	The printer used all the paper up.	The focus is that none of that supply remains.
catch up	I	Reach the expected progress or exchange news	I need to catch up on my reading.	Catch up with a person; catch up on work.
get through	F	Finish or deal with a quantity of work	We got through all the applications today.	Get through to someone can mean make contact.
get around to	F	Finally do a delayed activity	I finally got around to answering the email.	To is a preposition here: answering, not answer.

People, conversation and relationships

Expression	Pattern	Meaning in this example	Example sentence	Usage note
get along	I	Have a good relationship	The two colleagues get along well.	Add with before a person: get along with her.
get together	I	Meet socially	We get together once a month.	Get-together can be a hyphenated noun.
hang out	I	Spend relaxed time somewhere or with someone	We hung out at a café after class.	Informal; use with before a person.
bring up	S	Mention a topic	He brought the budget question up.	Another sense is raise a child.
come up	I	Be mentioned or occur unexpectedly	A useful question came up during the meeting.	The question is the subject; no direct object follows.
call up	S	Telephone someone	I called my cousin up after work.	Call her up keeps the pronoun in the middle.
hang up	I	End a telephone call	She said goodbye and hung up.	Hang up on someone means end their call abruptly.
speak up	I	Speak more loudly or express a view	Could you speak up so everyone can hear?	Speak up about a problem emphasizes expressing a view.
get across	S	Communicate an idea successfully	The diagram got the main point across.	With a pronoun: get it across.
make up	S	Invent a story or explanation	He made an excuse up because he was late.	Make up without an object can mean become friendly again.
break up	I	End a romantic relationship or separate	They broke up after several years together.	Break something up can mean divide it into pieces.
fall out	I	Have a disagreement affecting a relationship	The friends fell out over a misunderstanding.	Use fall out with someone or over something.
get over	F	Recover from a difficulty or experience	It took her time to get over the disappointment.	The object follows over.
cheer up	S	Make someone feel happier	The message cheered her up.	Cheer up can also stand alone.
let down	S	Disappoint someone	I promised to help and do not want to let you down.	The person goes in the middle when it is a pronoun.
show off	I	Try to impress people with your abilities or possessions	He was showing off during the demonstration.	Show something off is a transitive pattern.
show up	I	Arrive or appear	Only six people showed up for the meeting.	Often implies that attendance was expected.
turn up	I	Arrive, appear or be found	My missing notebook turned up in the kitchen.	Different from turn something up for volume.
get back at	F	Do something in revenge	The character wanted to get back at his rival.	A negative interpersonal intention, not a neutral synonym for reply.
put up with	F	Tolerate an unpleasant situation	We could not put up with the noise any longer.	Keep all three words before the object.

Problems, decisions and change

Expression	Pattern	Meaning in this example	Example sentence	Usage note
break down	I	Stop functioning or become overwhelmed emotionally	Our car broke down outside the village.	She broke down in tears illustrates the emotional sense.
fall apart	I	Break into pieces or fail badly	The old folder fell apart in my hands.	Plans can also fall apart.
blow up	I	Explode	The abandoned vehicle blew up in the film.	Blow something up can also mean inflate or enlarge it.
add up	S	Calculate a total	Add the figures up and check the result.	The figures do not add up can mean they are inconsistent.
back up	S	Make a copy or provide support	Back your files up before changing the computer.	Back someone up means support their account or action.
cut down on	F	Reduce consumption or frequency	We are trying to cut down on unnecessary printing.	The activity can be an -ing form after on.
give up	S	Stop an activity or stop trying	She gave up the expensive hobby.	Give up trying uses an -ing form; give up can stand alone.
give in	I	Stop resisting	After a long discussion, he finally gave in.	Give in to pressure names what overcomes the resistance.
run out of	F	Have none left of a supply	We ran out of printer paper.	Run out can stand alone when the supply is the subject.
come up with	F	Think of an idea or solution	The group came up with a simpler plan.	The idea follows with.
look into	F	Investigate	The manager is looking into the delay.	Different from look up information in a reference source.
come across	F	Find or meet by chance	I came across an old photograph in the drawer.	The discovery is not necessarily planned.
run into	F	Meet unexpectedly or encounter a problem	I ran into a former teacher at the station.	Also: run into difficulties.
get by	I	Manage with limited resources or knowledge	We can get by with one laptop for now.	Get by on a small budget emphasizes resources.
get ahead	I	Make progress or become more successful	Regular practice helped her get ahead in the course.	Often used about studies or a career.
get down	S	Make someone feel unhappy	The repeated delays were getting him down.	Get something down can separately mean write it down.
get into	F	Become interested or involved	He got into photography during college.	Can also mean enter a place or be accepted into a course.
get out of	F	Avoid a duty or leave an enclosure	She tried to get out of doing the extra task.	Use an -ing form for the avoided activity.
get away with	F	Avoid consequences for something wrong	The story asks whether the thief will get away with it.	Use a noun, pronoun or -ing form after with.
pass away	I	Die, expressed indirectly	Her grandfather passed away last year.	An indirect expression; tone and context matter.

Activities, places and practical tasks

Expression	Pattern	Meaning in this example	Example sentence	Usage note
check out	S	Examine or investigate informally	Check the course description out before enrolling.	Check out of a hotel is a different pattern.
check in	I	Register your arrival	We checked in at reception at three.	Use check in for a flight or at a hotel.
pick up	S	Collect, lift or learn informally	Could you pick the parcel up on your way home?	Other objects create other meanings: pick up a language.
put out	S	Extinguish something burning	The firefighters put the small fire out.	Put someone out can also mean inconvenience them.
break in	I	Enter a place illegally by force	Someone broke in during the night.	Break into a building names the place after into.
look out	I	Be careful of an immediate danger	Look out! There is a low branch ahead.	Look out for something names what to watch for.
hold on	I	Wait or maintain a grip	Hold on a moment while I check the address.	Hold on to the rail names what you grip.
give away	S	Distribute without payment or reveal a secret	They gave the old books away.	Do not give the ending away means do not reveal it.
take up	S	Start an activity or occupy time or space	She took up painting last winter.	The spare desk takes up space illustrates another sense.
grow up	I	Develop from childhood toward adulthood	He grew up in a small coastal town.	Usually refers to childhood, not merely increasing in size.
clean up	S	Make a place clean and tidy	We cleaned the kitchen up after the party.	Clean it up uses the middle pronoun position.
fill up	S	Make something full	She filled her water bottle up.	The room filled up is an intransitive use.
dress up	I	Wear special, formal or costume clothing	The children dressed up as storybook characters.	Use as for the character represented.
hold up	S	Delay, support or rob in different contexts	Traffic held the delivery up.	A shelf holds books up; a criminal holds up a bank.
warm up	I	Prepare for activity or become warmer	The musicians warmed up before the concert.	Warm something up can mean make it warmer.
look forward to	F	Anticipate something with pleasure	I look forward to hearing your ideas.	To is a preposition: use a noun or -ing form.
look after	F	Care for someone or something	Our neighbor looked after the cat.	With a pronoun: looked after it.
take care of	R	Care for or deal with something	Could you take care of the plants while I am away?	A related expression with the noun care, not a strict phrasal verb.
put back	S	Return something to its previous place	Please put the books back on the shelf.	Use put them back with a pronoun.
give back	S	Return something to its owner	I gave the borrowed charger back.	With a pronoun: gave it back.

Why one phrasal verb can have several meanings

Do not transfer the grammar of one meaning automatically to another. “The plane took off” has no object and means departed from the ground. “She took her shoes off” has an object and means removed them. “His business took off” is another intransitive meaning: it became successful. A sentence about shoes, a plane or a business gives important clues about the intended meaning.

Turn off shows a different contrast. “Turn the television off” is an instruction about a device. “The aggressive advertising turned me off” means it made the speaker lose interest or feel dislike. Both can be separable, but they describe different events. Learning only “turn off = stop” does not prepare you for the second sentence.

Bring up can mean mention a topic or raise a child: “They brought the issue up” and “She brought her children up in two languages.” Make up can mean invent an excuse, but “They argued and then made up” describes reconciliation. The table gives starting points; a learner dictionary can show additional senses and their patterns.

Common confusions worth comparing

Compare	Difference	Examples
wake up / get up	Waking is stopping sleep; getting up is leaving bed or rising.	I woke up at six but got up at seven.
look for / find	Looking is searching; finding is the successful discovery.	I looked for the receipt and finally found it.
look up / look into	Look up retrieves information; look into investigates a matter.	Look up the address; look into the complaint.
put off / call off	Postponing moves something later; cancelling means it will not happen as arranged.	We put it off until Friday; later we called it off entirely.
get on / get in	Get on commonly goes with buses and trains; get in commonly goes with cars.	Get on the bus; get in the taxi.
turn up / show up	Both can mean arrive; turn up also has other senses such as increase a level.	She showed up at noon; turn the volume up.
give up / give in	Give up concerns stopping an effort or activity; give in concerns yielding to pressure.	He gave up chess; she gave in to their request.
come across / run into	Both can describe chance encounters; come across also often concerns discovered things.	I came across a letter; I ran into a colleague.

Tense, pronunciation and register

Change the main verb for tense and agreement, while keeping the particle: get up, gets up, got up; take off, takes off, took off; look after, looks after, looked after. In the present perfect, use the appropriate participle: “The meeting has been called off” and “She has given up the course.” The particle does not become a past-tense form.

With an -ing activity after a preposition, keep the -ing form: “I look forward to meeting you”, “She got away with arriving late” and “He finally got around to replying”. The word to is not always an infinitive marker. In look forward to, it belongs to the expression and is followed by a noun or noun-like -ing phrase.

Phrasal verbs are not automatically informal. Hang out and check out, meaning investigate casually, have an informal feel. Carry out an assessment and bring about a change can appear in professional writing. Choose the expression for its meaning and context rather than replacing every phrasal verb with a longer single word.

Listen to the whole phrase in a sentence. Prominence changes with emphasis, contrast and the position of the object, so a single stress rule will not fit every utterance. Compare “Turn it OFF” with “Turn the KITCHEN light off, not the hall light.” Practice a recording, then change the object and the tense while keeping the sentence natural.

Phrasal verbs in realistic conversations

A study problem

Learner A: I missed two classes and need to catch up.
Learner B: Start by looking up the assignment on the course page.
Learner A: I checked it out, but I could not figure out the final question.
Learner B: Write it down and bring it up with the tutor.
Learner A: Good idea. I do not want to put the work off again.

Changing a plan

Organizer: The venue has called. We cannot use the room tomorrow.
Colleague: Should we call the meeting off?
Organizer: I would rather put it off until Thursday.
Colleague: I will find out whether the other room is available.
Organizer: Thanks. Once we know, we can get on with the invitations.

A practical favor

Friend A: Could you look after my plants while I am away?
Friend B: Of course. When do you get back?
Friend A: Sunday evening. I will write the details down.
Friend B: Leave them on the table. I can pick the key up tomorrow.
Friend A: Thanks. I will give your spare charger back then too.

Build a useful practice routine

Choose five expressions with different functions, not five near-synonyms you cannot yet distinguish. For example: get up for routine, look up for study, put off for planning, look after for responsibility and run into for chance meetings. Write a realistic sentence for each, then replace the noun object with a pronoun where the pattern permits it.

On the next day, retrieve the expression from its meaning without looking at the list. Change the sentence into the past and into a question. “I looked the word up” becomes “Did you look it up?” The exercise tests meaning, tense and object position together. If you remember the translation but cannot form a sentence, return to the pattern.

Finally, use the expressions in an unscripted task. Explain a changed plan, describe a busy morning or ask a friend for help. Do not force every expression into one sentence. Your goal is to choose a phrase because it suits the message, not because it appears on this page.

Practice: choose, correct and explain

1. Replace “the lamp” with a pronoun: “Please turn the lamp on.”

2. Replace “the children” with a pronoun: “She looks after the children.”

3. Choose a verb: “The venue is unavailable, so we moved the meeting to next week. We ___ it ___.”

4. Choose a verb: “There will be no match today or on another planned date. They ___ the match ___.”

5. Correct: “I look forward to meet you.”

6. Explain the meanings of take off in “The plane took off” and “He took his jacket off”.

7. Complete: “She finally got around to ___ the message.” Use reply with the necessary preposition.

8. Correct: “Can you look up it in the dictionary?”

9. Complete the past form: “Yesterday I ___ up at seven.”

10. Which means search rather than successfully discover: look for or find?

11. Complete: “The car broke ___ on the journey.”

12. Correct: “We ran out paper.”

13. Choose: “I am trying to get on/get in the taxi.”

14. Explain “The exaggerated sales pitch turned me off”.

15. Correct: “He got away with arrive late.”

16. Does take care of have exactly the same grammatical structure as turn on?

17. Make a question in the past: “You handed the form in.” Replace the form with a pronoun.

18. Use make up once to mean invent and once to mean reconcile.

19. Which expression fits continuing after an interruption: get on with or get back at?

20. Give one formal or professional context where a phrasal verb fits naturally.

Answer key with explanations

1. Please turn it on. In this separable meaning, the personal pronoun goes between the verb and particle.

2. She looks after them. The object stays after after in this fixed pattern.

3. Put it off. The meeting was postponed. Call it off would describe cancellation.

4. Called the match off. This describes cancellation.

5. I look forward to meeting you. To is a preposition in this expression and takes an -ing form here.

6. Departed from the ground; removed clothing. The first has no direct object; the second is separable and transitive.

7. Replying to. Get around to takes an -ing activity, and reply takes to before the message.

8. Can you look it up in the dictionary? Look up is separable in this information-search meaning.

9. Got. The past of get is got; the particle remains up.

10. Look for. You can look for something without finding it.

11. Down. Break down is intransitive in the meaning stop functioning.

12. We ran out of paper. Of is required before the named supply in this expression.

13. Get in. Get in is the common pattern for cars and taxis; get on is common for buses and trains.

14. It made the speaker lose interest or feel dislike. This is not the device-switching meaning.

15. He got away with arriving late. The activity follows with in an -ing form.

16. No. Take care of contains the noun care and is a related multiword expression. Learn its complete pattern.

17. Did you hand it in? Did carries the past tense, and it goes in the middle.

18. He made an excuse up. They argued but later made up. The first example has an object; the second does not.

19. Get on with. Get back at describes revenge, not resuming a task.

20. The team carried out an assessment. Phrasal verbs are not limited to casual conversation.

Your productive task

Tell a two-minute story about a day when your plans changed. Include a routine, a problem, a decision, help from another person and an outcome. Use eight expressions from at least three tables. Include one separable pronoun example, one fixed-pattern example and one verb without a direct object.

After speaking, write a shorter version from another person’s viewpoint. Check every past-tense form and underline each object. Where a verb has more than one meaning, ask whether the context makes the intended meaning clear. Replace any expression you cannot use naturally with plain English, then study that expression again separately.

For a different kind of fixed expression, explore common English idioms. For dictionary-style explanations of multiword verb categories, see Cambridge English Grammar Today.