Elementary 📐 Grammar · #84 of 305

Phrasal Verb Basics

A verb plus particle forms a new meaning.

Examples

  • turn on the light
  • give up smoking

Key rules

  • A phrasal verb is a verb + particle with a new meaning: give up
  • Some can be separated: turn the light on
  • With a pronoun, separate them: turn it on
  • Some cannot be separated: look after her

Common mistakes

  • Turn on it → Turn it on
  • Give up it → Give it up
💡 Tip: Learn phrasal verbs in full phrases, not as single words.
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Related Elementary topics

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Past Simple: Regular Verbs

Add -ed to finish actions in the past.

Past Simple: Irregular Verbs

Many common verbs have special past forms.

Past Simple: Negatives and Questions

Use did/didn't + base verb.

Was and Were

Past forms of be.

Past Continuous

was/were + -ing for actions in progress in the past.

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Use continuous for background; simple for interrupting events.