Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs
made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all
multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between
three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal-prepositional
verbs.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:
verb + adverb + preposition
Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:
| phrasal-prepositional verbs |
meaning |
examples |
| |
direct object |
| get on with |
have a friendly relationship with |
He doesn't get on with |
his wife. |
| put up with |
tolerate |
I won't put up with |
your attitude. |
| look forward to |
anticipate with pleasure |
I look forward to |
seeing you. |
| run out of |
use up, exhaust |
We have run out of |
eggs. |
Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there
is always a direct object. And, like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional
verbs cannot be separated. Look at these examples:
| phrasal-prepositional verbs are
inseparable |
 |
We |
ran out of |
fuel. |
|
We |
ran out of |
it. |
| EnglishClub.com Tip |
| It is a good idea to write
"something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new
phrasal-prepositional verb, like this: |
- get on with
somebody
- put up with
sthg/sby
- run out of
something
This reminds you that this verb
needs a direct object (and where to put it). |
|
Now check your
understanding >> |
