In the first part of the exercise on 'Use of Phrasal Verbs' in English, we looked at how phrasal verbs are made of a verb and either one or two particles (an adverb or preposition). We also saw how the meaning of a phrasal verb can be very different from the verb or particles it is constructed from and how one phrasal verb can have a number of different meanings in different contexts.
In this second part of four online exercises, we will begin to look at how phrasal verbs are used grammatically. You will be introduced to two of the four different types of phrasal verbs and how they are used in English, those that need an object (transitive phrasal verbs) and those that don't have an object (intransitive phrasal verbs).
In addition, we will briefly look at the difference between a subject and object in a sentence. Understanding how phrasal verbs are constructed is fundamental to using them correctly in English.
It is recommended that you do all 4 exercises on the use of phrasal verbs in order. Click here to go to the first exercise on 'How to use English phrasal verbs'.
Click here to do the next part of this exercise on 'How to use English phrasal verbs'.
Every verb needs to have a subject. It's the part of the sentence that says what does the verb and always goes in front of the verb, for example,
He eats crisps.
In the above example, He is the subject. The thing that does the action of eating. It's impossible (with the exception of verbs used as orders) to have a verb without a subject. The subject can either be a noun (Sally, the car, cats etc...) or a subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
The object is the noun or object that receives the action of the verb and always goes after the verb, for example,
He eats crisps.
In the above example, crisps is the object. In English, objects always go after the verb. The object can either be a noun (Sally, the car, cats etc...) or an object pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).
But unlike subjects, which every verb and phrasal verb need in English, not all verbs need an object to be correct. In fact, there are many verbs where the use of an object after the verb is incorrect, for example,
The plane takes off.
The phrasal verb 'to take off' in this context means when a plane leaves an airport. It has a subject 'the plane', but doesn't have an object. In English, we call this type of verb/phrasal verb an intransitive verb. In dictionaries, these verbs are indicated by the following symbol vi.
Now let's look at the same phrasal verb, but this time it has a different meaning:
I took off my jacket.
In this case the meaning is to remove clothing. The phrasal verb 'to take off' has both a subject 'I' and an object 'my jacket'. In English, we call this type of verb/phrasal verb a transitive verb. In dictionaries, these verbs are indicated by the following symbol vt.
Although most learners of English think that phrasal verbs are completely illogical and disorganised, there are rules for using them correctly. In fact, there are 4 different grammatical structures for using phrasal verbs. In this exercise we will look at the first two:
As we saw above, there are phrasal verbs that never have an object after them. For example:
In the above examples, neither of the phrasal verbs have an object directly after them. In the second example, there is a separate preposition 'of' that connects the phrasal verb 'to check out' to the object 'the hotel'. It is not possible to have the object directly after this phrasal verb with the meaning of 'to leave a hotel'. For example, 'He checked out the hotel before 10am' is incorrect.
Remember, with this type of phrasal verb, if you want to connect it to an object, you need to use a separate preposition that is not part of the phrasal verb, e.g.
The plane took off from Heathrow.
In this example the preposition 'from' is not part of the intransitive phrasal verb 'to take off' and is used to connect it to the noun 'Heathrow'.
So, Type 1 phrasal verbs are intransitive and the verb only has one particle.
This is a phrasal verb that always has an object that directly follows it. The object is always a noun or an object pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them). This is formed by a verb and one particle. For example:
In both of the above examples, the object comes directly after the phrasal verbs. It is not possible to use these types of phrasal verbs without an object. Also, you can not separate the verb and the particle with the object. For example 'You do know that I care you about a lot', is incorrect.
So, Type 2 phrasal verbs are transitive, with a verb and only have one particle, and are inseparable.
So now do the below quiz to make sure you are using phrasal verbs correctly when you write or speak in English.
This quiz is divided into 2 parts.
For the first six questions, decide if the phrasal verb in bold in the sentence is a type 1 (Intransitive with one particle) or type 2 (Transitive and Inseparable with one particle) phrasal verb. Choose 'Type 1' from the question's selection box for type 1 phrasal verbs and 'Type 2' for type 2 phrasal verbs. Click on the "Check Answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.
When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the question. The first is an Additional Information Icon "". Click on this for extra information on the word/phrase and for a translation. The second is a Pronunciation Icon "". Click on this to listen to the pronunciation of the phrasal verb.
In the second part, you will find a phrasal verb in bold in each sentence with one gap after it. At the end of each sentence is an object in brackets ( ). Either fill the gap of each sentence with the object as it is written if you think it's a type 2 (Transitive and Inseparable with one particle) phrasal verb or leave it blank/empty if you think it's a type 1 (Intransitive with one particle) phrasal verb.
Click here to do the next part of this exercise on 'How to use English phrasal verbs'.
Now that you understand the meaning of the phrasal verbs and how to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the "" icon under each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.
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