How to Learn Phrasal Verbs (Without Memorising Lists)

To learn phrasal verbs, stop studying them in lists sorted by verb. Learn a few at a time from one situation, each inside a full sentence with its object, and note two things: whether the verb can be split, and which meaning you're learning. Then test yourself by filling in the missing particle.

Phrasal verbs feel impossible because of how they're usually taught: a page of get up, get on, get off, get over, get by, get away with, all looking the same and meaning unrelated things. The verbs aren't the problem. The page is.

Why lists of phrasal verbs don't work

A phrasal verb is a verb plus one or two small words (particles) that together mean something new: give up means stop trying, which you can't work out from give and up. If the idea itself is new to you, start with the lesson on phrasal verbs.

A list sorted by verb puts the most confusable items side by side. Get over, get through, get by and get along share a verb and differ by one short word, so your memory mixes them. You wouldn't learn through, though, thought, tough on the same day either.

Lists also remove everything that helps you remember: who is doing it, to what, and in which situation.

Learn them by situation

Group phrasal verbs by where you'd use them. The verbs are then different from each other, and the situation holds them together.

A morning

• "I wake up at six, but I don't get up until half past."
• "I put on a jacket and set off for work."

On the phone

• "Sorry, I can't talk now. Can I call you back?"
• "She hung up before I could explain."
• "We got cut off in the tunnel."

At work

• "We've put off the meeting until Friday."
• "Can you deal with this customer?"
• "I need to catch up on my emails."

Plans with friends

• "Do you want to come over on Saturday?"
• "Let's eat out tonight."
• "He didn't turn up until nine."

Five or six from one situation is enough for a day. If you already build vocabulary sets around situations, add the phrasal verbs to the same set. The guide to learning vocabulary by topic shows how.

Always learn the sentence, with the object

A phrasal verb on its own (put off = postpone) leaves out what you need to use it. Write it with a real object and a real subject:

• put off: "We put off the meeting until Friday."
• look after: "My mother looks after the children on Mondays."
• run out of: "We've run out of coffee."

The sentence tells you what kind of thing gets put off (an event, a decision, a job you don't want to do) and gives you something to picture.

Learn the word-order pattern with it

This is the part most learners skip, and it causes most of the mistakes. There are three patterns.

1. Can be split. The object can go after the particle or in the middle. If the object is a pronoun (it, them, me, him), it must go in the middle.

• "Turn off the light." ✓
• "Turn the light off." ✓
• "Turn it off." ✓
• "Turn off it." ✗

2. Can't be split. The object always comes after the particle.

• "I'm looking after my sister's dog." ✓
• "I'm looking after it." ✓
• "I'm looking it after." ✗

3. No object. Nothing comes straight after the particle, though a time or a place can.

• "The plane took off on time."
• "My car broke down on the motorway."

Phrasal verbs with two particles (look forward to, run out of, put up with, get on with) are never split: "I'm looking forward to it."

You don't need to memorise a rule for each verb. Write the pronoun version in your note, and the pattern is stored with the sentence:

• pick up: "I'll pick you up at seven."
• look for: "I'm looking for them."

Use the particle as a clue, not a rule

Particles often carry a rough meaning, and noticing it makes new phrasal verbs easier to guess.

• up often means completely or more: eat up, use up, tidy up, speed up, turn up (the volume).
• down often means less or onto paper: slow down, turn down (the volume), cut down on sugar, write down.
• on often means continuing: carry on, go on, keep on.
• off often means leaving or disconnecting: set off, take off, turn off, cut off.
• back means returning: call back, give back, come back, pay back.

Treat these as hints. They help with many phrasal verbs and fail with others: nothing about up explains give up or make up (invent). When the particle doesn't help, the sentence has to do the work.

One meaning at a time

Common phrasal verbs often have several meanings:

• "The plane took off." (left the ground)
• "Take off your shoes." (remove)
• "Her business really took off last year." (became successful quickly)

Don't try to learn all three at once. Learn the one you met, with its sentence. When you meet the second meaning, give it its own note or card, as if it were a new word. Two notes with one meaning each are easier to remember than one note with three.

Test yourself with the particle missing

Reading your notes shows you whether you recognise a phrasal verb. To find out whether you can use one, hide part of it.

• "We've run ________ ________ coffee." (out of)
• "Can you turn the music ________? It's too loud." (down)
• "I'll pick ________ ________ at seven." (you up)

Or go the other way: look at a plain verb and produce the phrasal one.

• postpone → put off
• continue → carry on
• discover → find out
• tolerate → put up with

Gap sentences like these fit well on cards. See how to make vocabulary flashcards for the layout, and space your reviews over days and weeks as described in how to remember new English words.

Know when to use them

Phrasal verbs are the normal choice in conversation and informal writing. The one-word verb is often more formal:

• "We need to find out what happened." (everyday)
• "We need to discover what happened." (more formal)
• "They put off the launch." / "They postponed the launch."

So if you want to sound natural when you speak, phrasal verbs matter more than rare, formal words. In a formal report or an academic essay, the single verb is usually the safer choice.

When you listen to English, phrasal verbs are also why familiar words suddenly make no sense. If put, up and with are all easy words and the sentence still isn't clear, you've probably met a phrasal verb. Write the whole sentence down and look up the three words together.

Common mistakes

• Learning ten with the same verb in one day. Mix the verbs. Keep the situation the same.
• Leaving out the object. Look after what? Put off what?
• Putting a pronoun at the end. It's "turn it off", "pick me up", "give them back".
• Adding a particle that isn't needed. "Let's discuss about it" and "I returned back" are wrong. Discuss and return already carry the meaning.
• Avoiding them. Using postpone and tolerate in a chat with friends is correct, but it sounds stiff, and you'll still need phrasal verbs to understand the reply.

Recap

• Don't learn phrasal verbs in lists sorted by verb. Group them by situation.
• Save each one in a full sentence with its object.
• Note the pattern by writing the pronoun version: "turn it off", "look after it".
• Use the particle as a hint, and learn one meaning at a time.
• Test yourself with the particle missing.