A. Intransitive Verbs with Prepositions
- Intransitive verbs on their own do not require an object to complete their meanings.
- Prepositions commence prepositional phrases that contain objects. That means that even though the verb itself does not need an object, all of the phrasal verbs in this section will refer to an object.
- The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its preposition.
- The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.
Example: To run across
Meaning: To encounter
Correct: I ran across my favorite teacher while visiting my old school.
Incorrect: I ran my favorite teacher across while visiting my old school.
To turn to
To stick to
To come to
To run over
To come over
To believe in
To try for
To turn into
B. Transitive Verbs with Prepositions
- Transitive verbs require an object to complete their meanings.
- Prepositions commence prepositional phrases that contain objects. That means that even though the verb itself does not need an object, all of the phrasal verbs in this section will refer to an object.
- The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its preposition.
- The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.
Example: To take after
Meaning: To emulate
Correct: Mark takes after his father when it comes to being sociable; both men love attending parties.
Incorrect: Mark takes his father after when it comes to being sociable; both men love attending parties.
To get over
To go into
To touch on
To go through
To go without
To part with
To take after
C. Intransitive Verbs with Particles AND Prepositions
- Intransitive verbs on their own do not require an object to complete their meanings.
- The particle precedes the preposition in these phrasal verbs.
- Since the last part of the phrasal verb is a preposition, all of the phrasal verbs in this section must refer to an object.
- The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its particle and preposition.
- The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.
Example: To live up to
Meaning: To satisfy an expectation.
Correct: Daria’s grandfather has such high hopes for her; she worries that she cannot live up to his expectations.
Incorrect: Daria’s grandfather has such high hopes for her; she worries that she cannot live his expectations up to.
Common Phrases:
To put up with
To look forward to
To come up with
To go in for
To get through to
To look up to
To cut down on
To live up to
To do away with
To run around with
To be in on
To look out for
To keep up with
To look back on
To work up to
D. Transitive Verbs with Movable Particles
- Transitive verbs require an object to complete the meaning of the sentence.
- Movable particles do not commence a phrase and do not need to be adjacent to the verb.
- That means that all of these phrasal verbs are separable, meaning that you can break them apart within a sentence.
- The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.
Example: To bring about
Meaning: To cause something to happen.
Correct: Hopefully, the new peace treaty will bring about an end of war between the two nations.
OR
Hopefully, the new peace treaty will bring an end of war about between the two nations.
Incorrect: Hopefully, the new peace treaty to bring an end about of war between the two nations.
To make up
To bring up
To clear up
To look up
To try out
To carry out
To point out
To make out
To put off
To call off
To take off
To think over
To talk over
To give away
To bring about
E. Adjustable Phrases - Intransitive Verbs with Particles (or Particles & Prepositions)
- Intransitive verbs do not require an object to complete their meanings.
- The meaning of some intransitive verb + particle phrasal verbs can be adjusted with the addition of a preposition.
- The particle precedes the preposition in these phrasal verbs.
- When the last part of the phrasal verb is a preposition, a noun must follow.
- The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its particle and, if necessary, preposition.
- The phrasal verbs in this section have an intransitive grammatical function if they end in a particle, but have a transitive grammatical function if they end in a preposition.
Example: To look back
Meaning: To reminisce
To look back + on
Meaning: (Same meaning)
Correct: People enjoy attending class reunions because these events provide them an opportunity to look back on their school days.
Incorrect: People enjoy attending class reunions because these events provide them an opportunity to look their school days back on.
Common Phrases:
To keep up
To keep up + with
To look out
To look out + for
To be in
To be in + on
To look up
To look up + to
To catch on
To catch on + to
To break in
To break in + on
To stand out
To stand out + from