Phrasal verbs are combinations of ordinary verbs, like put, take, come, and go, and
words like in, out, on, and off. In other situations, the words like in, out, on, and off are
called prepositions and adverbs, but in phrasal verbs we call them particles because they
are not doing the job of prepositions and adverbs (but sometimes we also use
prepositions with phrasal verbs). Phrasal verbs are a very important part of English.
Every student of English needs a basic understanding of common phrasal verbs and also
common nouns and adjectives that are made from phrasal verbs.
Most phrasal verbs are not informal, slang, or improper for educated speech or formal
writing. Exactly the opposite is true—most phrasal verbs are acceptable at all levels of
spoken or written English. In fact, for many of the phrasal verbs in this book, there is no
alternative to the phrasal verb—there is no other way to say it.
However, a few phrasal verbs in this book are identified as informal, and it is better not
to use them in serious, formal speech or in writing. But these informal phrasal verbs are
still important because they are very common in everyday informal speech and writing.
Some phrasal verbs are very easy to understand. For example, it is not difficult to
understand cut off or eat up because their meanings are obvious. But many phrasal verbs
are idiomatic. Idiomatic means that there is no way to know what the verb and particle
mean together by knowing what the verb and particle mean separately. For example,
every beginner-level student learns what call, run, off, and out mean, but that does not
help the student to know that call off means cancel or that run out means use all of
something.
Each unit of this book starts with a FOCUS ON section, an explanation of something
important about phrasal verbs or about general grammar as it is used with phrasal verbs.
Then eight phrasal verbs and an explanation of each important meaning of each phrasal
verb are presented, along with one or more example sentences for each meaning.
Following that are several exercises to help you understand and remember what the
phrasal verbs mean and how to use them in a sentence. And like real conversation,
questions asked with I or we are answered with you, and questions asked with you are
answered with I or we.
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