What are Phrasal Verbs?
Phrasal verb is the name given to an English verb which is composed of two or three words. One verb is combined with a preposition (like on, in, under) or an adverb (like up, down, away). Sometimes a phrasal verb can have a meaning that is very different to the meaning of at least one of those two or three words separately. Some text books call these verbs multi-word verbs. Phrasal verbs are used more frequently in everyday speech than in formal, official writing or speaking.
Here are some examples:
- To Think Up
- I need to think up an excuse for not going to her party.
- To Come Into
- He came into a large sum of money when his aunt died.
- To Tire Out
- Speaking english all day tires me out.
- To Look Up To
- He looks up to his father.
- To Carry On With
- I want you to carry on with the project while I am out of town.