Usage of phrasal verbs

[Pooh]

Some phrasal verbs are separable but others are not.
I am wondering how can you tell if a certain one is separable or not.
There are some explanations but they are not fully explained
and not aplicable for all of them, which confuses me a lot!
Furthermore, there are some which can be separable or not depending
on by the context!!
Isn't there any perfect rule I can apply for everything?

Or if you know a site where is a list of all separable phrasal verbs
I need to check it out!!

[Alan]

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Hi Pooh,

You have to make a distinction between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. Phrasal verbs can be transitive or intransitive - in other words they can take an object or not take an object and the object can come before and after the particle. Take the phrasal verb 'break up'. You can say that the ship has broken up (fallen to pieces) You can say: We have broken up the cake into small pieces (object after the particle) or we can say: We have broken the cake up into small pieces (object before the particle.) Prepositional verbs differ because they do not allow an object between the two parts such as: refer to/consist of/account for/start with and so on. As for knowing which is which, that has to be learnt.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Pooh]

Hi, Alan. Right, as far as they are intransitive, we don't need to worry
about it since there is no object followd by.
However, if they are transitive, we have to think about it.
But it is hard to distinguish if it is functioned as a preposition or an adverb
because they look exactly same!!!
Some said that I have to think about the meaning by the context
then, it will be known if the particle is function as preposion or an adverb.
Here, you mentioned "break up", "up" could be a prepositon or an adverb.
By the context, you know it is functioned as an adverb therfore separable.
It is easy for you to distinguish without any rule but for us it is not.
As you said if we have to learn one by one since there is no perfect rule on this,
where can I have a list of all those separable "transitve-adverbial-phrasal verbs"?
It could help. Thanks!

[Milanya]

Deleted by author.
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Milanya]

Phrasal Verbs which Take Objects
Phrasal verbs which take objects can be separable or inseparable:
Separable phrasal verbs can remain together when using an object that is a noun or noun phrase.
• I picked Tom up. OR I picked up Tom.
• They put their friends up. OR They put up their friends.
Separable phrasal verbs MUST be separated when a pronoun is used:
• We picked him up at the station. NOT We picked up him at the station.
• They put them up. NOT They put up them.
Inseparable phrasal verbs always remain together. It makes no difference if a noun or pronoun is used.
• We set off for the beach. / We set off for it.
• They are looking after the children. / They are looking after them.

Phrasal Verbs which Don't Take Objects
Some phrasal verbs do not take objects. These phrasal verbs are ALWAYS inseparable.
• They thieves got away.
• The bus broke down on the way to work.
• She got up early.
TIP!
If you are not sure whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable, ALWAYS use a noun or nouns phrase and DO NOT separate. In this manner, you will always be correct!

Separable Phrasal Verbs: bring up, take off
• They brought up their children to respect others.
• She took off her jacket before she began the lesson.
Inseparable Phrasal Verbs: look for, set off
• She was looking for her books when he arrived.
• They set off for a wonderful holiday in Hawaii.
http://esl.about.com/cs/intermediate/f/f_phrasal.htm
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Alan]

Hi,

But remember that some of what you are calling 'phrasal verbs' are in fact 'prepositional verbs' and the whole point is that they form part of the verb and so they cannot come between the verb and the particle.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms

[Pooh]

Thank you for the site linked here, I checked it out.
And the red lines you writen are very helpful so that I can't make any mistakes!
But, you said that "take off" is separable, if it was used
as intransitive verb, it always comes together - such as;
"The airplain took off on time."
So it is really depends on what it ment.

And, Alan again, I know if it is preoptional verb, it is always non-separable
because the preposition must always comes before the noun.
But my problem is that it is hard to know if it is an prepositonal or adverbial.
That's the point.

Here are some example, can I separate all of them below? Thanks!

1 You are too busy. You don’t need to take on any extra responsibility!
2 If she need a place to stay, I can put up your sister.
3 Don’t put off your homework .
4 He always isn’t serious. He’s putting on averyone all the time.
5 I can’t figure out this problem .
6 My brother takes after my father, but I resemble my mother.
7 Joe has a new hobby. He’s taken up rock-climbing.
8 He gets off work at 5:30.
9 Oh, no! My computer crashed and I didn’t back up my work!
10 What a bargain! This shirt is marked down 40 percent!
11 Please put out your cigarette. This is a no-smoking area.
12 Could I try out this computer before I buy it?
13 When will you find out the results of your test?

[Milanya]

[Milanya]

Here are some example, can I separate all of them below? Thanks!

1 You are too busy. You don’t need to take on any extra responsibility! Yes
2 If she need a place to stay, I can put up your sister. Yes
3 Don’t put off your homework . Yes
4 He always isn’t serious. He’s putting on averyone all the time. Yes
5 I can’t figure out this problem . Yes
6 My brother takes after my father, but I resemble my mother. No
7 Joe has a new hobby. He’s taken up rock-climbing. Yes
8 He gets off work at 5:30. No
9 Oh, no! My computer crashed and I didn’t back up my work! Yes
10 What a bargain! This shirt is marked down 40 percent! Not in the passive voice, but "to mark down" is separable
11 Please put out your cigarette. This is a no-smoking area. Yes
12 Could I try out this computer before I buy it? Yes
13 When will you find out the results of your test? Yes
_________________
con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Gkukreti]

Alan,

I found this thread very useful. Would it be possible to enable an option wherein favourite threads could be saved in users profile for future use?

[Pooh]

Thank you, Milanya.

"take after", "after" here is preposition, NOT adverb
thus non-separable. I learnd!! :shock: