Phrasal verbs 2 intermediate








video exercises here


A We often use verbs with the following words:

in       on       up          away       round       about       over       by
out     off       down     back        through    along        forward



So you can say look out   get on   / take off   / run away etc. These are phrasal verbs.

  
get on              The bus was full. We couldn't get on.
  
drive off           A woman got into the car and drove off.
  
come back       Sally is leaving tomorrow and coming back on Saturday.
  
turn round        When I touched him on the shoulder, he turned round.


But often the second word (
on / off / out etc.) gives a special meaning to the verb. For example:

  
break down        Sorry I'm late. The car broke down. (= the engine stopped working)  
  
look out               Look out! There's a car coming. (= be careful)
  
take off              It was my first flight. I was nervous as the plane took off. (went into the air)
  
get on                How was the exam? How did you get on? (How did you do?)
  
get by                My French isn't very good, but it's enough to get by. (= manage)



B Sometimes a phrasal verb is followed by a preposition. For example:

phrasal verb            preposition          
run away               from                  Why did you run away from me?         
keep up                 with                   You're walking too fast. I can't keep up with you.
look up                  at                       We looked up at the plane as it flew above us.
look forward          to                       Are you looking forward to your holiday?



C Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object. Usually there are two possible positions for
    the object.

So you can say:

    I
turned on the light.      or       I turned the light on.

If the object is a pronoun (it / them / me / him etc.), only one position is possible:

                                                   I
turned it on. (not I turned on it)

Some more examples:

    Could you
fill in this form?
                   
fill the form in?

but: They gave me a form and told me to
fill it in.



    Don't
throw away this postcard.
           
throw this postcard away.

but: I want you to keep this postcard, so don't
throw it away.  



    I'm going to
take off my shoes.
                     
take my shoes off.

but: These shoes are uncomfortable. I'm going to
take them off.



    Don't
wake up the baby.
            wake the baby
up.

but: The baby is asleep. Don't
wake her up.

exercises

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