Phrasal Verbs: Complete Guide with Rules and Examples – 3rd Year Secondary School (Bac) English

الثالثة ثانوي, تربية وتعليم, دروس الثانوي ضع تعليق

Phrasal Verbs: Complete Guide with Rules and Examples – 3rd Year Secondary School (Bac) English

📚 What are Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb + a preposition or adverb (called a particle) that together create a new meaning different from the original verb. For example, give up means “to quit” (not simply “to give” + “up”). Phrasal verbs are extremely common in English, especially in spoken language and informal writing. Mastering them is essential for the Bac English exam and for achieving fluency in English communication.

🔢 Types of Phrasal Verbs

1️⃣ Intransitive Phrasal Verbs (No Object)

These phrasal verbs do not take a direct object. The verb + particle forms a complete meaning by itself.

Get up – I usually get up at 7 AM. ✅
Break down – The car broke down on the highway. ✅
Grow up – She grew up in a small village. ✅
Show up – He didn’t show up to the meeting. ✅
Go away – Please go away and leave me alone. ✅

2️⃣ Transitive Phrasal Verbs (With Object)

These require a direct object to complete their meaning. They can be further divided into separable and inseparable.

🔸 Separable Phrasal Verbs

The object can come either between the verb and the particle or after the particle. When the object is a pronoun (it, him, her, them), it MUST go between the verb and the particle.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example (Object at end)	Example (Object in middle)
Take off	Remove (clothing)	Take off your jacket.	Take your jacket off. / Take it off. ✅
Put on	Wear	Put on the coat.	Put the coat on. / Put it on. ✅
Turn off	Switch off	Turn off the TV.	Turn the TV off. / Turn it off. ✅
Pick up	Collect	Pick up the book.	Pick the book up. / Pick it up. ✅
Throw away	Discard	Throw away the garbage.	Throw the garbage away. / Throw it away. ✅

🔸 Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

The object MUST come after the particle. The verb and particle cannot be separated.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Look after	Take care of	She looks after her grandmother. ✅ (NOT: looks her grandmother after ❌)
Get over	Recover from	He got over the illness. ✅
Run into	Meet unexpectedly	I ran into an old friend. ✅
Take after	Resemble (family)	She takes after her father. ✅
Look for	Search for	I’m looking for my keys. ✅

📖 Common Phrasal Verbs by Verb

🔹 Phrasal Verbs with GET

Get up – to rise from bed: “I get up at dawn every day.”
Get over – to recover from: “She got over the flu quickly.”
Get along with – to have a good relationship: “Do you get along with your classmates?”
Get by – to manage financially: “They get by on a small salary.”
Get through – to survive or complete: “I need to get through this exam.”
Get together – to meet socially: “Let’s get together this weekend.”

🔹 Phrasal Verbs with TAKE

Take off – to remove / (plane) to leave the ground: “The plane takes off at 3 PM.”
Take over – to assume control: “The company was taken over by a rival.”
Take after – to resemble: “He takes after his mother.”
Take care of – to look after: “Who will take care of the children?”
Take up – to start a hobby: “She took up painting last year.”
Take part in – to participate: “All students took part in the competition.”

🔹 Phrasal Verbs with LOOK

Look after – to take care of: “He looks after his younger brother.”
Look for – to search for: “I’m looking for my glasses.”
Look forward to – to anticipate eagerly: “We look forward to meeting you.”
Look into – to investigate: “The police are looking into the matter.”
Look up – to search for information: “Look up the word in a dictionary.”
Look out – to be careful: “Look out! There’s a car coming!”

🔹 Phrasal Verbs with PUT

Put off – to postpone: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
Put on – to wear: “Put on your coat, it’s cold.”
Put up with – to tolerate: “I can’t put up with this noise anymore.”
Put out – to extinguish: “Put out the fire before leaving.”
Put away – to store in its place: “Put away your toys.”
Put together – to assemble: “Can you put together this furniture?”

✅ Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete with the correct phrasal verb (choose from: get up, put off, look after, take off, give up).

Please _______ your shoes before entering the mosque. (remove)
She _______ her sick mother every weekend. (takes care of)
Don’t _______ your homework until the last minute. (postpone)
I _______ at 6 AM every day to pray Fajr. (rise)
Never _______ your dreams. (quit)

Answers: 1. take off, 2. looks after, 3. put off, 4. get up, 5. give up

Exercise 2 (Bac-style exam question): Rewrite the following sentences replacing the underlined words with a phrasal verb.

She resembles her grandmother. ➡ She _______ her grandmother.
I can’t tolerate this rude behavior. ➡ I can’t _______ this rude behavior.
We anticipate eagerly the holidays. ➡ We _______ the holidays.

Answers: 1. takes after, 2. put up with, 3. look forward to

📝 Tips for the Bac English Exam

Memorize phrasal verbs in thematic groups (e.g., daily routine, emotions, studies)
Pay attention to whether the phrasal verb is separable or inseparable
Remember: pronouns ALWAYS go between the verb and the particle in separable phrasal verbs
Use a phrasal verbs dictionary to check meanings and usage
Practice by reading English articles and identifying phrasal verbs in context

📌 Mastering phrasal verbs will significantly improve your English level and help you achieve a high score in the Bac English exam. Keep practicing every day!

Phrasal Verbs: Complete Guide with Rules and Examples – 3rd Year Secondary School (Bac) English