A. Intransitive Verbs with Prepositions

• Intransitive verbs on their own do not require an object to complete their meanings.
• Prepositions commence prepositional phrases that contain objects. That means that even though the verb itself does not need an object, all of the phrasal verbs in this section will refer to an object.
• The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its preposition.
• The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.

Example: To run across

Meaning: To encounter

Correct: I ran across my favorite teacher while visiting my old school.

Incorrect: I ran my favorite teacher across while visiting my old school.

To turn to

To stick to

To come to

To run over

To come over

To believe in

To try for

To turn into

B. Transitive Verbs with Prepositions

• Transitive verbs require an object to complete their meanings.
• Prepositions commence prepositional phrases that contain objects. That means that even though the verb itself does not need an object, all of the phrasal verbs in this section will refer to an object.
• The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its preposition.
• The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.

Example: To take after

Meaning: To emulate

Correct: Mark takes after his father when it comes to being sociable; both men love attending parties.

Incorrect: Mark takes his father after when it comes to being sociable; both men love attending parties.

To get over

To go into

To touch on

To go through

To go without

To part with

To take after

C. Intransitive Verbs with Particles AND Prepositions

• Intransitive verbs on their own do not require an object to complete their meanings.
• The particle precedes the preposition in these phrasal verbs.
• Since the last part of the phrasal verb is a preposition, all of the phrasal verbs in this section must refer to an object.
• The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its particle and preposition.
• The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.

Example: To live up to

Meaning: To satisfy an expectation.

Correct: Daria’s grandfather has such high hopes for her; she worries that she cannot live up to his expectations.

Incorrect: Daria’s grandfather has such high hopes for her; she worries that she cannot live his expectations up to.

Common Phrases:

To put up with

To look forward to

To come up with

To go in for

To get through to

To look up to

To cut down on

To live up to

To do away with

To run around with

To be in on

To look out for

To keep up with

To look back on

To work up to

D. Transitive Verbs with Movable Particles

• Transitive verbs require an object to complete the meaning of the sentence.
• Movable particles do not commence a phrase and do not need to be adjacent to the verb.
• That means that all of these phrasal verbs are separable, meaning that you can break them apart within a sentence.
• The phrasal verbs in this section have a transitive grammatical function, meaning that they require an object.

Example: To bring about

Meaning: To cause something to happen.

Correct: Hopefully, the new peace treaty will bring about an end of war between the two nations.

OR

Hopefully, the new peace treaty will bring an end of war about between the two nations.

Incorrect: Hopefully, the new peace treaty to bring an end about of war between the two nations.

To make up

To bring up

To clear up

To look up

To try out

To carry out

To point out

To make out

To put off

To call off

To take off

To think over

To talk over

To give away

To bring about

E. Adjustable Phrases - Intransitive Verbs with Particles (or Particles & Prepositions)

• Intransitive verbs do not require an object to complete their meanings.
• The meaning of some intransitive verb + particle phrasal verbs can be adjusted with the addition of a preposition.
• The particle precedes the preposition in these phrasal verbs.
• When the last part of the phrasal verb is a preposition, a noun must follow.
• The phrasal verbs in this section are inseparable, meaning that the verb is always connected to its particle and, if necessary, preposition.
• The phrasal verbs in this section have an intransitive grammatical function if they end in a particle, but have a transitive grammatical function if they end in a preposition.

Example: To look back

Meaning: To reminisce

To look back + on

Meaning: (Same meaning)

Correct: People enjoy attending class reunions because these events provide them an opportunity to look back on their school days.

Incorrect: People enjoy attending class reunions because these events provide them an opportunity to look their school days back on.

Common Phrases:

To keep up

To keep up + with

To look out

To look out + for

To be in

To be in + on

To look up

To look up + to

To catch on

To catch on + to

To break in

To break in + on

To stand out

To stand out + from