Phrasal Verbs: 50 Common Examples With Meanings and Sentences

Phrasal verbs are everywhere in everyday English.

You may hear someone say “wake up”, “turn off the light”, “look after the children”, or “give up”. Each expression contains a verb combined with another small word, but together they often create a new meaning.

For example:

Give = to provide something

Give up = to stop trying or stop doing something

This is why phrasal verbs can be confusing for English learners. You may understand every individual word but still not understand the complete expression.

In this lesson, you will learn 50 common phrasal verbs with simple meanings, natural examples, important grammar rules and a short practice exercise.

You can also explore more English word lessons in the Eng Only Eng Vocabulary section.

What Is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with one or two particles, usually an adverb or preposition.

Together, the words act as one verb.

For example:

look + after = look after

“Look” normally means to direct your eyes towards something.

But:

look after = take care of

Example:

Priya looks after her younger brother after school.

Another example:

turn + down = turn down

turn down = refuse or reject

Example:

He turned down the job offer.

The British Council explains that phrasal verbs are very common in English, especially in informal communication, and that the particle can change the meaning of the original verb.

50 Common Phrasal Verbs With Meanings and Examples

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
break down	stop working	Our school bus broke down this morning.
bring up	mention a topic	She brought up an important question.
call back	return a phone call	I will call you back after class.
call off	cancel	They called off the meeting.
carry on	continue	Please carry on with your work.
carry out	perform or complete	The students carried out the experiment.
come across	find by chance	I came across an interesting English book.
come back	return	He came back from school at four.
come up with	produce an idea	We need to come up with a better solution.
cut down on	reduce	I am trying to cut down on screen time.
figure out	understand or solve	I finally figured out the answer.
fill in	complete a form	Please fill in this application form.
find out	discover	We need to find out what happened.
get along	have a good relationship	The two classmates get along well.
get back	return	What time did you get back home?
get over	recover	She quickly got over her disappointment.
get up	leave your bed	I get up at six every morning.
give back	return something	Please give my notebook back.
give up	stop trying	Do not give up when English seems difficult.
go on	continue or happen	Please go on with your explanation.
grow up	become an adult	Rahul wants to become a doctor when he grows up.
hand in	submit	Please hand in your homework tomorrow.
hold on	wait	Hold on for a moment, please.
keep on	continue	Keep on practising your pronunciation.
look after	take care of	She looks after her younger sister.
look for	try to find	I am looking for my dictionary.
look into	investigate	The teacher will look into the problem.
look up	search for information	Look up the word in a dictionary.
pick up	collect	My father will pick me up after school.
point out	draw attention to	The teacher pointed out my spelling mistake.
put away	return to its proper place	Put your books away after studying.
put off	postpone	They put off the test until Monday.
put on	wear	Put on your school uniform.
run out of	have none left	We have run out of paper.
set up	arrange or establish	They set up a new study group.
sit down	take a seat	Please sit down quietly.
take off	remove	Take off your shoes before entering.
take over	gain control	A new manager took over the department.
throw away	discard	Do not throw away useful notes.
try on	wear to check size	She tried on the new uniform.
turn down	reject	He turned down the invitation.
turn off	stop a device	Turn off the computer before leaving.
turn on	start a device	Please turn on the projector.
wake up	stop sleeping	I wake up early on school days.
work out	solve	Can you work out this maths problem?
write down	record in writing	Write down the new vocabulary words.
check out	examine	Check out this useful English resource.
move on	continue to the next thing	Let us move on to the next question.
pick out	choose	Can you pick out the correct answer?
speak up	speak more loudly	Please speak up so everyone can hear you.

Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

One important rule is that some phrasal verbs can be separated, while others cannot.

Separable Phrasal Verbs

With some phrasal verbs, an object can go between the verb and particle.

For example:

Turn off the light.

Turn the light off.

Both sentences are correct.

But when the object is a pronoun such as “it”, the pronoun normally goes between the two parts.

Correct:

Turn it off.

Incorrect:

Turn off it.

Another example:

Pick up the books.

Pick the books up.

Pick them up.

The British Council also highlights this pronoun rule when explaining separable phrasal verbs.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

Other phrasal verbs must stay together.

For example:

Look after the child.

Correct:

Look after her.

Incorrect:

Look her after.

“Come across”, “get over” and “look into” are other common examples of inseparable phrasal verbs.

One Phrasal Verb Can Have More Than One Meaning

Another reason phrasal verbs can be challenging is that the same expression may have different meanings.

Consider “pick up”.

It can mean to collect someone:

My father will pick me up from school.

It can also mean to learn something naturally:

She picked up some new English words while reading.

Similarly, “break down” can mean that a machine stops working:

Our car broke down.

It can also be used when something is divided into smaller parts:

Let us break the problem down into three steps.

Always learn phrasal verbs through complete sentences, not as isolated expressions.

Common Phrasal Verbs for Students

Students can start with phrasal verbs that appear naturally in school and everyday routines.

Get up:

I get up at 6:30 every morning.

Write down:

Write down the answer in your notebook.

Look up:

Look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary.

Hand in:

Please hand in your assignment before Friday.

Find out:

Find out the meaning of this word.

Go over:

Let us go over the lesson once more.

Keep up:

Keep up the good work.

Work out:

Try to work out the answer yourself.

These are easier to remember because you can connect them with situations you experience regularly.

Phrasal Verbs and Formal English

Phrasal verbs are especially common in everyday spoken English.

Sometimes a single-word verb sounds more formal.

For example:

find out = discover

put off = postpone

look into = investigate

come up with = develop or propose

However, this does not mean phrasal verbs are always incorrect in formal English. Expressions such as “carry out”, “point out” and “set up” also appear in professional and academic contexts.

The British Council notes that phrasal verbs are particularly common in informal English, although many are used more widely.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A common mistake is translating each part separately.

For example:

“Give up” does not normally mean “give something upwards”.

It means to stop doing something or stop trying.

Another mistake is separating an inseparable phrasal verb.

Incorrect:

I look my younger brother after.

Correct:

I look after my younger brother.

Learners also sometimes place pronouns incorrectly.

Incorrect:

Turn off it.

Correct:

Turn it off.

Finally, do not assume that every phrasal verb has only one meaning. Always check the context.

How to Learn Phrasal Verbs Faster

Do not try to memorise hundreds of phrasal verbs in alphabetical order.

Learn them in situations.

For example, for studying:

write down

look up

go over

hand in

find out

For daily routines:

wake up

get up

put on

take off

go out

Learning a phrasal verb inside a natural sentence is usually much easier than memorising only its definition.

You can also strengthen your spelling and vocabulary through the Eng Only Eng lesson on Silent Letters Words in English.

Practice Exercise

Choose the correct phrasal verb.

1. Please ________ your homework tomorrow.

a. hand in
b. break down

2. I need to ________ this unfamiliar word.

a. look up
b. give up

3. The meeting was ________ because the teacher was absent.

a. called off
b. picked up

4. Please ________ the lights before leaving.

a. turn off
b. grow up

5. Never ________ when learning something difficult.

a. give up
b. put on

6. We have ________ paper.

a. run out of
b. looked after

7. My father will ________ me from school.

a. pick up
b. throw away

8. Please ________ your answer.

a. write down
b. take over

Answers

1. hand in
2. look up
3. called off
4. turn off
5. give up
6. run out of
7. pick up
8. write down

Frequently Asked Questions

What are phrasal verbs?

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb and one or more particles that work together as a single verb.

What are five common phrasal verbs?

Five common examples are get up, look after, give up, turn off and find out.

What is an example of a separable phrasal verb?

“Turn off” is separable.

You can say:

Turn off the light.

Or:

Turn the light off.

What is an example of an inseparable phrasal verb?

“Look after” is inseparable.

Correct:

She looks after him.

Not:

She looks him after.

Why are phrasal verbs difficult?

Their meanings are not always obvious from the individual words, and some phrasal verbs also have several meanings.

How can I learn phrasal verbs easily?

Learn a few at a time, group them by situation and practise them in complete sentences.

Conclusion

Phrasal verbs are an important part of natural English.

Expressions such as “get up”, “find out”, “look after”, “turn off” and “give up” appear frequently in everyday conversations, school situations and written English.

Instead of memorising huge lists, start with common phrasal verbs that you can actually use. Learn their meanings, notice whether they are separable or inseparable and write your own example sentences.

A few minutes of regular practice can make phrasal verbs much easier to understand and use confidently.

For more simple English vocabulary and grammar lessons, visit Eng Only Eng.