Grammar Topic
Phrasal Verbs
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Explanation
Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a preposition or adverb to create a new meaning different from the original verb.
Separable phrasal verbs: the object can go between or after. 'Give up' (quit): She gave up smoking. She gave smoking up. 'Turn down' (reject): He turned down the offer.
Inseparable phrasal verbs: the object must come after. 'Look after' (take care of): She looks after her children. 'Run into' (meet by chance): I ran into my friend.
Common phrasal verbs: give up (quit), look after (care for), run into (meet by chance), turn down (reject), put off (postpone), get along (have good relationship), bring up (mention/raise children), find out (discover), give in (surrender), look for (search), make up (invent/reconcile), pick up (collect/learn), set up (establish), take off (remove/launch), work out (exercise/solve).
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Examples
Give up: She gave up smoking. Don't give up hope.
Look after: She looks after her children. Who will look after the cat?
Run into: I ran into my old friend at the market.
Turn down: He turned down the job offer. Turn down the music.
Put off: They put off the meeting until next week.
Get along: She gets along well with her neighbors.
Bring up: He was brought up in Dhaka. Don't bring up that topic.
Find out: I need to find out the truth. She found out the secret.
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What does the phrasal verb 'give up' mean?
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