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Grammar Exercises

Phrasal Verbs: Common List, Rules + 30 Exercises

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with one or two particles (adverbs or prepositions) to form a single unit whose meaning is often not predictable from its parts. Give up means stop, look after means take care of, and run out of means have none left.

Written by Raheel AshrafAbout 14 min read

Free practice: Free English grammar exercises online (with answers)

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle — up, down, out, off, in, on, over, away, back — and sometimes a preposition as well, working together as one verb: give up (quit), turn down (refuse, or lower the volume), put up with (tolerate). Because the meaning often cannot be worked out from the separate words, phrasal verbs have to be learned like vocabulary.

They also follow word-order rules: with separable verbs, a pronoun object goes in the middle (pick it up, not pick up it), while inseparable verbs keep the verb and particle together (look after them). The 30 exercises below cover meanings, word order, three-word phrasal verbs, and formal one-word alternatives, with instant answers.

Phrasal Verbs Quiz: 30 Questions

Warm-up · common meanings

1.What does give up mean in “She gave up smoking last year”?
2.Fill in: Can you ___ the music? I’m trying to sleep.
3.Fill in: Please ___ the form and return it by Friday.
4.Fill in: We’ve ___ milk. Can you buy some?
5.What does look after mean?
6.Fill in: I’m looking forward ___ the holidays.
7.What does put off mean in “They put off the meeting until Monday”?
8.Fill in: Our car ___ on the highway, so we called a tow truck.
9.Fill in: I ___ an old friend at the station yesterday — what a surprise!
10.What does find out mean?

Core · separable, inseparable, word order

11.Choose the correct sentence.
12.Choose the correct sentence with turn down.
13.Which sentence is correct? (look after is inseparable)
14.Which sentence is incorrect?
15.In which sentence is the phrasal verb intransitive (no object)?
16.Fill in: I can’t ___ his rudeness any longer.
17.Fill in: She ___ her mother — they have the same smile.
18.Choose the correct sentence. (come across is inseparable)
19.What does carry on mean in “Carry on — I didn’t mean to interrupt”?
20.Fill in: The fire alarm ___ during the meeting.

Challenge · three-word verbs and formal alternatives

21.Formal alternative: “We need to put off the launch.” → “We need to ___ the launch.”
22.Formal alternative to find out: “We need to ___ the cause of the outage.”
23.Formal alternative to set up: “They set up a new committee.” → “They ___ a new committee.”
24.Formal alternative to look into: “We will ___ your complaint.”
25.Formal alternative to get in touch with: “Please ___ our support team.”
26.Fill in: I don’t get ___ my new manager — we argue constantly.
27.Fill in: She came ___ a brilliant idea during the meeting.
28.Which sentence is correct?
29.Choose the correct word order for a three-word phrasal verb.
30.Which sentence uses a phrasal verb rather than a verb + ordinary preposition?
Answer key and explanationsOpen after you finish the quiz.
  1. 1. stopped doingGive up + -ing means stop doing something, usually a habit, for good. It is followed by a gerund (gave up smoking), never an infinitive.
  2. 2. turn downTurn down means lower the volume, which fits someone trying to sleep. Turn up raises it, turn on starts it, and turn over means flip something.
  3. 3. fill inFill in a form means complete it with the required information (American English also uses fill out). Fill up means make a container full, and fill with needs a material.
  4. 4. run out ofRun out of is a three-word phrasal verb meaning have none left, and it needs of before its object: run out of milk. Without an object you can say We’ve run out.
  5. 5. take care ofLook after means take care of: She looks after her grandmother. Search for is look for, and examine is closer to look at or look into.
  6. 6. toThe fixed phrasal verb is look forward to. Its to is a preposition, so it takes a noun or an -ing form: looking forward to the holidays, looking forward to seeing you.
  7. 7. postponedPut off means postpone: the meeting will still happen, just later. Until Monday confirms this — a cancelled meeting would not have a new day.
  8. 8. broke downBreak down means stop working (for machines and vehicles). Break up means end a relationship, break out means start suddenly (a fire, a war), and break in means enter by force.
  9. 9. ran intoRun into someone means meet them by chance, which fits what a surprise. Ran out and ran off mean left quickly, and ran up (a bill) means accumulated.
  10. 10. discoverFind out means discover a fact or piece of information: I found out the truth. It is used for information, not for physical objects — you find your keys, not find out your keys.
  11. 11. Can you pick it up?Pick up is separable, and a pronoun object must go between the verb and the particle: pick it up. With a noun both orders work: pick up the box / pick the box up.
  12. 12. She turned it down.Turn down (refuse) is separable, so the pronoun it goes in the middle: turned it down. Turned down it is a very common error with pronouns.
  13. 13. I look after the kids on Fridays.Inseparable phrasal verbs keep verb and particle together, with the object after both: look after the kids, look after them. The object also stays next to the verb, before on Fridays.
  14. 14. Turn off them.Turn off is separable: a noun can go before or after the particle, but a pronoun must go in the middle. Turn off them breaks that rule; Turn them off is correct.
  15. 15. The plane took off at noon.Took off meaning left the ground has no object, so it is intransitive. Took off her coat (removed) and picked up the box are transitive — they act on an object.
  16. 16. put up withPut up with is a three-word phrasal verb meaning tolerate, and it needs all three words. Put up alone means build, display, or host someone, which does not fit here.
  17. 17. takes afterTake after means resemble an older family member, which fits the same smile. Take up means start a hobby, take over means take control, and take off means remove or leave the ground.
  18. 18. I came across this photo in a drawer.Come across (find by chance) is inseparable, so the object follows the particle directly: came across this photo, came across it. Putting the object in the middle is wrong.
  19. 19. continueCarry on means continue what you were doing. It can take a noun or -ing: carry on working, carry on with the meeting.
  20. 20. went offGo off means start ringing or sounding (alarms) or explode (bombs). Go out is used for lights and fires that stop burning, go over means review, and go by means pass.
  21. 21. postponePostpone is the one-word formal equivalent of put off. Cancel means it will not happen at all, advance moves it earlier, and release means launch, which changes the meaning.
  22. 22. determineDetermine means establish or find out the facts, so it is a standard formal replacement for find out. Decide means choose, and defer means postpone.
  23. 23. establishedEstablished means created or founded, the formal equivalent of set up for organizations. Raised, settled, and posted do not mean create when used with committee.
  24. 24. investigateLook into means examine the facts of something, and investigate is the formal one-word equivalent. Oversee means supervise, and regard means consider or look at.
  25. 25. contactContact is the standard formal replacement for get in touch with. Contract means make smaller or agree formally, and convene means call a meeting.
  26. 26. on withGet on with someone (British) means have a good relationship; American English prefers get along with. Both need with before the person, so along and on alone do not fit before an object.
  27. 27. up withCome up with means think of or produce an idea or plan. Come down with means catch an illness, and come up without with cannot take the object a brilliant idea.
  28. 28. I look forward to meeting you.The to in look forward to is a preposition, so the verb after it takes -ing: look forward to meeting you. I look forward to meet you is a common email error.
  29. 29. We ran out of it.Three-word phrasal verbs are inseparable: the object, even a pronoun, goes after all three words. Ran out of it, put up with him, look forward to it.
  30. 30. She ran up a huge bill.Ran up a bill means accumulated it, a non-literal meaning, and it passes the separation test: she ran it up. In the others the preposition keeps its literal meaning and cannot move (not she ran the hill up).

What Is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb combines a verb with a particle (and sometimes a preposition) into one unit of meaning. Some are literal and easy to guess (sit down, go out, come back). Many are idiomatic, so the meaning has to be learned: give up (quit), turn up (arrive), make up (invent, or reconcile).

The same verb can form many phrasal verbs, and one phrasal verb can have several meanings. Take off can mean remove clothing, leave the ground, or suddenly become successful, depending on context.

  • Literal: sit down, stand up, go out, come in, look up (at the sky).
  • Idiomatic: give up, turn down, put off, look after, bring up (raise a topic, or a child).
  • Three-word: look forward to, put up with, run out of, get on with, come up with, catch up with.

Learn phrasal verbs in a full example sentence with their object, so you remember both the meaning and the word order.

Separable vs Inseparable: Where the Object Goes

Transitive phrasal verbs (those with an object) come in two kinds. With separable verbs, a noun object can go before or after the particle, but a pronoun object must go in the middle. With inseparable verbs, the verb and particle always stay together and the object follows.

The pronoun rule exists because English generally puts short, already-known information (it, them, her) before the particle and new information at the end. That is why pick it up is correct and pick up it is not.

  • Separable: pick up, turn down, turn off, put off, fill in, give back, set up, call off — pick the box up / pick up the box / pick it up.
  • Inseparable: look after, come across, get over, run into, take after, go through — look after the kids / look after them.
  • All three-word phrasal verbs are inseparable: put up with it, run out of them, look forward to it.
  • Intransitive phrasal verbs take no object: The plane took off; The car broke down; Prices went up.

If a dictionary shows a phrasal verb as “pick sth up,” the sth in the middle means it is separable. Pronouns always go in that slot.

Common Phrasal Verbs by Particle

Particles often carry a general idea that helps you guess new combinations. Up can mean increase or completion, down can mean decrease or refusal, out can mean removal or discovery, and off can mean departure or stopping.

  • up: set up (start), bring up (mention), turn up (arrive), back up (support or copy), follow up (check later), sum up (summarize).
  • down: turn down (refuse), cut down on (reduce), break down (stop working), slow down, write down, let down (disappoint).
  • out: find out (discover), point out (mention), figure out (understand), carry out (perform), work out (solve, or exercise), run out of (have none left).
  • off: put off (postpone), call off (cancel), take off (leave the ground), turn off, lay off (dismiss workers), drop off (deliver).
  • on / over / back: carry on (continue), take on (accept work), go over (review), take over (take control), get back to (reply later), call back.

At work, the most useful ones are follow up, set up, go over, point out, carry out, and get back to — they appear constantly in emails and meetings.

Formal One-Word Alternatives for Business Writing

Phrasal verbs are normal in everyday English, emails, and conversation. In formal reports, contracts, and academic writing, a single Latin-based verb often sounds more precise. Both are correct; choose by register.

  • put off → postpone; call off → cancel.
  • find out → determine, discover; look into → investigate, examine.
  • set up → establish; carry out → conduct, perform.
  • get in touch with → contact; get back to → reply to, respond to.
  • point out → note, indicate; go up / go down → increase / decrease.
  • put up with → tolerate; come up with → devise, propose.

Don’t replace every phrasal verb. “We will follow up next week” is natural in a business email; “We will pursue the matter subsequently” is not clearer.

Keep practicing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a particle such as up, out, off, or down (and sometimes a preposition) that works as a single verb, often with a meaning you can’t guess from the parts. Examples: give up (quit), look after (take care of), run out of (have none left).

Why do we say “pick it up” and not “pick up it”?

Pick up is a separable phrasal verb, and with separable verbs a pronoun object must go between the verb and the particle: pick it up, turn it off, put them away. A noun object can go in either position: pick up the box or pick the box up.

Should I avoid phrasal verbs in formal writing?

Not entirely. Phrasal verbs are standard English, but in very formal documents a one-word verb is often more precise: postpone instead of put off, investigate instead of look into, establish instead of set up. In emails and everyday business writing, common phrasal verbs are fine.

Check Phrasal Verbs in Your Own Emails

Paste an email or report into PromGee’s free grammar checker to catch word-order slips like “turn off it” and other grammar errors, with a short explanation of each correction.

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Sources & References

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