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Formation and meaning of phrasal verbs.
A phrasal verb consists of a verb and one or more particles that function together as a single lexical unit.
The meaning may be literal, idiomatic or somewhere in between.
Please sit down.
Пожалуйста, сядьте.
"Sit down" combines the verb "sit" with the particle "down" to form a single phrasal verb.
I need to look up this word.
Мне нужно найти это слово.
"Look up" means to search for information, especially in a dictionary or reference source.
The children ran outside.
Дети выбежали на улицу.
"Ran outside" has a largely literal meaning: the particle "outside" indicates movement out of a building or enclosed space.
She gave up smoking last year.
Она бросила курить в прошлом году.
"Give up" has an idiomatic meaning: it means to stop doing something.
Phrasal verbs may be intransitive, transitive or ditransitive.
Their grammatical behavior depends on whether they require objects.
The baby woke up at six.
Ребёнок проснулся в шесть.
"Wake up" is intransitive here because it does not take a direct object.
Please turn off the television.
Пожалуйста, выключи телевизор.
"Turn off" is transitive because it takes the direct object "the television".
She handed in her application.
Она подала своё заявление.
"Hand in" is transitive because it takes the object "her application".
I'll send the form back to you.
Я отправлю форму обратно вам.
"Send back" can take both a direct object and an indirect object, giving it a ditransitive pattern in this sentence.
Some phrasal verbs have transparent meanings, while others are idiomatic.
Compare sit down with give up.
He sat down on the sofa.
Он сел на диван.
"Sit down" has a transparent, literal meaning: "down" describes the resulting position.
Please pick up the box.
Пожалуйста, подними коробку.
"Pick up" has a literal meaning when it means to lift something from a lower position.
She gave up her job.
Она бросила свою работу.
"Give up" is idiomatic here and means to stop doing something or abandon it.
Don't give up.
Не сдавайся.
"Give up" is idiomatic here and means to stop trying.
Some phrasal verbs do not take a direct object.
Examples include wake up, grow up and show up.
I usually wake up at seven.
Я обычно просыпаюсь в семь.
"Wake up" does not require a direct object.
The plane took off on time.
Самолёт вовремя взлетел.
"Take off" is intransitive when it means to leave the ground.
Everyone showed up for the meeting.
Все пришли на встречу.
"Show up" is intransitive and means to arrive or appear.
Her son grew up in London.
Её сын вырос в Лондоне.
"Grow up" does not take a direct object when it means to develop from a child into an adult.
Many phrasal verbs require a direct object.
Examples include turn off the light and put on a jacket.
Please turn off the light.
Пожалуйста, выключи свет.
"Turn off" is followed by the direct object "the light".
She put on her coat.
Она надела пальто.
"Put on" requires an object when it means to put clothing onto your body.
I need to fill in this form.
Мне нужно заполнить эту форму.
"Fill in" takes "this form" as its direct object.
He threw away the old newspapers.
Он выбросил старые газеты.
"Throw away" is transitive because it takes the object "the old newspapers".
Some transitive phrasal verbs allow the object to appear before or after the particle.
Compare turn off the light and turn the light off.
Turn off the radio.
Выключи радио.
"Turn off" allows the noun object to come after the particle.
Turn the radio off.
Выключи радио.
With a noun object, "turn off" can also be separated.
She picked up the children.
Она забрала детей.
"Pick up" is separable when it has a noun object.
She picked the children up.
Она забрала детей.
The noun object "the children" can occur between the verb and particle.
Some phrasal verbs do not allow the object to separate the verb and particle.
Examples include look after someone and run into a friend.
She looks after her younger brother.
Она заботится о своём младшем брате.
"Look after" is inseparable; the object cannot normally come between "look" and "after".
I ran into an old friend yesterday.
Вчера я случайно встретил старого друга.
"Run into" is inseparable when it means to meet someone unexpectedly.
We're waiting for the bus.
Мы ждём автобус.
"Wait for" does not allow its object to be placed between the verb and preposition.
She came across an interesting article.
Она наткнулась на интересную статью.
"Come across" is inseparable in this meaning.
When a separable phrasal verb has a pronoun object, the pronoun normally comes between the verb and the particle.
For example: turn it off, pick them up.
Turn it off.
Выключи это.
With the separable phrasal verb "turn off", the pronoun "it" must come between the verb and particle.
Please pick them up.
Пожалуйста, забери их.
The pronoun "them" comes between "pick" and "up".
She put it on.
Она надела это.
The pronoun "it" must occur before the particle "on" with the separable phrasal verb "put on".
Don't throw it away.
Не выбрасывай это.
The pronoun "it" is placed between "throw" and "away".
Some phrasal verbs consist of a verb followed by two particles.
Examples include put up with, look forward to and get away with.
I can't put up with this noise.
Я не могу терпеть этот шум.
"Put up with" means to tolerate something unpleasant.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Я с нетерпением жду выходных.
"Look forward to" is followed by a noun phrase or a gerund, not a to-infinitive.
He got away with cheating on the test.
Ему сошло с рук списывание на экзамене.
"Get away with" means to do something wrong without being punished.
She came up with a great idea.
Она придумала отличную идею.
"Come up with" means to think of or produce an idea.
Particles such as up, down, out, in, on, off and away often contribute predictable meanings.
Recognizing particle meanings helps learners understand unfamiliar phrasal verbs.
Please sit down.
Пожалуйста, сядьте.
The particle "down" can indicate movement to a lower position.
The plane took off.
Самолёт взлетел.
The particle "off" can indicate separation or movement away from a surface.
The children ran out of the house.
Дети выбежали из дома.
The particle "out" commonly suggests movement from an enclosed place to the outside.
Please come in.
Пожалуйста, входите.
The particle "in" commonly indicates movement into a place.
The meeting is over, so you can go away now.
Встреча закончилась, так что теперь можешь уйти.
The particle "away" often suggests movement from a particular place.
Phrasal verbs are especially common in spoken and informal English.
Single-word Latin-based verbs are often preferred in formal writing.
We need to find out what happened.
Нам нужно выяснить, что произошло.
"Find out" is very natural in everyday spoken English.
The company carried out a detailed investigation.
Компания провела подробное расследование.
"Carry out" is common in both general and formal English, especially with nouns such as "investigation", "research" and "analysis".
The meeting was cancelled because of the storm.
Встреча была отменена из-за шторма.
In formal writing, "cancelled" is often preferred to the phrasal verb "called off".
The meeting was called off because of the storm.
Встречу отменили из-за шторма.
"Called off" is natural and common, especially in less formal communication.
Many transitive phrasal verbs can be used in passive constructions.
For example: The meeting was called off.
The meeting was called off.
Встречу отменили.
"Call off" is transitive and can therefore be used in the passive.
The old building was torn down.
Старое здание снесли.
"Tear down" can form a passive construction when its object becomes the subject.
The stolen car was picked up by the police.
Украденную машину забрала полиция.
"Pick up" is transitive in this meaning and can be used in the passive.
All the lights were switched off before we left.
Перед уходом все светильники были выключены.
"Switch off" can be used in the passive because it takes a direct object.
Adding different particles to the same verb often creates different meanings.
Compare take off, take over, take in, take up and take back.
The plane took off at noon.
Самолёт взлетел в полдень.
"Take off" means to leave the ground when used about an aircraft.
She took over the family business.
Она взяла на себя управление семейным бизнесом.
"Take over" means to take control of something.
I couldn't take in everything he said.
Я не смог осмыслить всё, что он сказал.
"Take in" can mean to understand or absorb information.
She took up tennis last summer.
Она начала заниматься теннисом прошлым летом.
"Take up" can mean to start a new activity or hobby.
I take back what I said.
Я беру назад свои слова.
"Take back" can mean to withdraw or retract something that was said.
The pronunciation and stress of phrasal verbs may differ depending on context.
Correct stress contributes to natural spoken English.
Please turn OFF the light.
Пожалуйста, выключи свет.
In "turn off", the particle "off" commonly carries strong sentence stress when the speaker contrasts it with another action.
I said PICK it up, not put it down.
Я сказал: подними это, а не положи.
Contrastive stress can fall on the particle "up" or on another key part of a phrasal verb.
She LOOKED after the children while I was away.
Она присматривала за детьми, пока меня не было.
In connected speech, the main stress pattern of a phrasal verb depends on the information structure of the sentence.
Dictionaries indicate whether phrasal verbs are separable, inseparable or transitive.
Learning dictionary notation helps learners use phrasal verbs correctly.
She looked after her grandmother.
Она заботилась о своей бабушке.
A dictionary may mark "look after" as a transitive, inseparable phrasal verb.
He turned the computer off.
Он выключил компьютер.
A dictionary may indicate that "turn off" is transitive and separable.
The children grew up quickly.
Дети быстро выросли.
A dictionary may mark "grow up" as an intransitive phrasal verb.
She came across an old photograph.
Она наткнулась на старую фотографию.
Dictionary information about "come across" helps show that it is used transitively and is normally inseparable.
Many particles have recurring semantic patterns.
For example, up often indicates completion, while out frequently suggests removal or disappearance.
She drank up all the water.
Она выпила всю воду.
The particle "up" can suggest completion of an action.
He used up all the paper.
Он израсходовал всю бумагу.
"Use up" indicates that something has been completely consumed or exhausted.
Please clean up the kitchen.
Пожалуйста, убери кухню.
The particle "up" can suggest bringing an activity to a satisfactory or completed state.
The fire went out.
Огонь погас.
The particle "out" can indicate disappearance or cessation.
She wiped out the old files.
Она удалила старые файлы.
The particle "out" can suggest complete removal or elimination.
Phrasal verbs should be distinguished from prepositional verbs.
Although they may look similar, they follow different grammatical rules.
She looked after the children.
Она заботилась о детях.
"Look after" is a phrasal verb and is normally treated as an inseparable unit.
She listened to the children.
Она слушала детей.
"Listen to" is a prepositional verb; the preposition "to" introduces its complement.
I ran into an old friend.
Я случайно встретил старого друга.
"Run into" is commonly analyzed as a phrasal-prepositional verb in this meaning because the combination functions as a lexical unit.
We depend on our suppliers.
Мы зависим от наших поставщиков.
"Depend on" is a prepositional verb and does not allow the complement to move between the verb and preposition.
Pay attention to meaning, word order and transitivity.
Common mistakes include separating inseparable phrasal verbs, placing pronouns incorrectly, confusing particles and using the wrong register.
Please turn it off.
Пожалуйста, выключи это.
With the separable phrasal verb "turn off", the pronoun "it" must come between the verb and particle.
She looks after her children.
Она заботится о своих детях.
"Look after" is inseparable, so the object cannot normally be placed between "look" and "after".
I'm looking forward to seeing you.
Я с нетерпением жду встречи с тобой.
In "look forward to", "to" is a preposition, so it is followed by the gerund "seeing", not an infinitive.
The meeting was called off.
Встречу отменили.
"Call off" means "cancel"; learners should not assume that its meaning can be predicted from "call" and "off" separately.
She picked the book up.
Она подняла книгу.
The noun object "the book" can occur between the verb and particle because "pick up" is separable.