اللغة الإنجليزية — Phrasal Verbs: Common Separable and Inseparable — 2ثانوي — شعبة آداب — Algerian Curriculum

Phrasal Verbs: Common Separable and Inseparable

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb + preposition/adverb that create a new meaning. They are very common in English and essential for BAC exams. Phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable.

What are Phrasal Verbs?

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and one or more particles (prepositions or adverbs). The meaning is often different from the original verb. For example: “look” means to see, but “look after” means to take care of.

Separable Phrasal Verbs

With separable phrasal verbs, the object can go between the verb and the particle OR after the particle. BUT if the object is a pronoun (it, him, her, them), it MUST go between the verb and the particle.

• Turn off: Turn off the light. / Turn the light off. / Turn it off. (NOT Turn off it)
• Put on: Put on your jacket. / Put your jacket on. / Put it on.
• Take off: Take off your shoes. / Take your shoes off. / Take them off.
• Pick up: Pick up the book. / Pick the book up. / Pick it up.
• Throw away: Throw away the rubbish. / Throw the rubbish away. / Throw it away.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

With inseparable phrasal verbs, the object MUST come after the particle. The verb and particle cannot be separated.

• Look after: She looks after her younger brother. (NOT She looks her younger brother after)
• Get along with: I get along with my classmates.
• Run into: I ran into an old friend yesterday.
• Look forward to: I am looking forward to the holiday.
• Put up with: I cannot put up with this noise.

Common Phrasal Verbs for BAC

• Give up = quit: He gave up smoking.
• Carry out = perform: The scientists carried out experiments.
• Bring up = raise: They brought up their children well.
• Find out = discover: I found out the truth.
• Set up = establish: They set up a new company.
• Break down = stop working: My car broke down.
• Come across = find by chance: I came across an interesting article.
• Deal with = handle: We must deal with this problem.

Examples

Example 1: Please turn off the lights when you leave the classroom. (separable)

Example 2: I am looking forward to meeting you next week. (inseparable)

Example 3: She takes after her mother; they look very similar. (inseparable)

Example 4: He put on his uniform quickly and left. (separable)

Example 5: The meeting was called off because of the strike. (separable)

Exercises

1. Rewrite the sentences using a pronoun: a) Turn off the computer. → _____ b) Pick up your bag. → _____
2. Choose the correct form: a) She looked after her grandmother / She looked her grandmother after.
3. Replace the underlined words with a phrasal verb: a) I cannot tolerate this noise. b) He discovered the answer.
4. Write 5 sentences using different phrasal verbs.

Summary

Phrasal verbs are essential for natural English. Remember: separable verbs allow the object between verb and particle (especially with pronouns), while inseparable verbs keep the object after the particle. Practice them in context.