Prepositional Verbs vs Phrasal Verbs | English Grammar Guide for French Students

• 1 Verb + preposition combination that forms a unit
• 2 Preposition cannot be separated from the verb
• 3 Object comes after the preposition
• 4 New meaning different from individual words

1 Structure: Verb + particle (adverb or preposition)
2 Separability: Some can be separated by an object
3 Meaning: Often completely different from individual words
4 Examples: "turn off", "pick up", "look after"

• 1 "Turn off the lights" (can be separated: "Turn them off")
• 2 "Pick up the book" (can be separated: "Pick it up")
• 3 "Look after the children" (can be separated: "Look after them")
• 4 "Run into problems" (cannot be separated: "Run problems into")

Feature	Prepositional Verbs	Phrasal Verbs
Structure	Verb + Preposition	Verb + Particle (adverb/preposition)
Separability	Never separable	Some separable, some not
Object Position	After preposition only	Between verb and particle OR after particle
Examples	look after, depend on, believe in	turn off, pick up, run into
Meaning Change	Idiomatic but predictable	Often completely different meaning

1 Depend on: rely on someone/something
2 Look after: take care of
3 Believe in: have faith in
4 Consist of: be made up of
5 Deal with: handle, manage
6 Look forward to: anticipate with pleasure

• 1 "We depend on our parents for support."
• 2 "She looks after her elderly grandmother."
• 3 "I believe in hard work and dedication."
• 4 "The salad consists of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions."
• 5 "He deals with customer complaints daily."

1 Turn off: "Turn off the TV" OR "Turn the TV off"
2 Pick up: "Pick up the book" OR "Pick the book up"
3 Put on: "Put on your coat" OR "Put your coat on"
4 Take off: "Take off your hat" OR "Take your hat off"

1 Run into: "I ran into my friend yesterday" (cannot separate)
2 Look into: "The police looked into the matter" (cannot separate)
3 Go over: "Let's go over the plan again" (cannot separate)
4 Get along: "They get along well with each other" (cannot separate)

1 Some verbs have both a particle and a preposition
2 Examples: "look forward to", "put up with", "get away with"
3 These are inseparable (the object comes at the end)
4 "I look forward to meeting you" (not "look meeting forward to")

1 With noun objects: "Turn the lights off" OR "Turn off the lights"
2 With pronoun objects: "Turn them off" (must go between verb and particle)
3 When the object is long: "Turn off the lights in the living room"
4 When emphasizing the object: "Turn the lights off, not the TV"

• 1 Separating prepositional verbs: "look the children after" (incorrect)
• 2 Not separating separable phrasal verbs: "turn on the TV" (correct) vs "turn the TV on" (also correct)
• 3 Using objects between verb and preposition in prepositional verbs
• 4 Confusing the meaning of prepositional and phrasal verbs

1 ✓ Correct: "I look after my pets"
2 ✗ Incorrect: "I look my pets after"
3 ✓ Correct: "Please turn off the lights" OR "Turn the lights off"
4 ✓ Correct: "We depend on your support" (cannot separate)

1. "She _______ _______ her little brother." (take care of)

2. "Please _______ _______ the lights." (switch off)

3. "We _______ _______ the weather forecast." (rely on)

4. "Can you _______ _______ this package?" (collect, can be separated)

5. "They _______ _______ well with their neighbors." (get along with)

6. "I _______ _______ _______ your help." (am grateful for)

7. "She _______ _______ the book on the table." (placed, can be separated)

8. "We _______ _______ _______ the project." (are responsible for)

9. "He _______ _______ the problem." (investigated)

10. "They _______ _______ _______ the news." (are interested in)

1. looks after (prepositional verb)

2. turn off (phrasal verb, separable)

3. depend on (prepositional verb)

4. pick up (phrasal verb, separable: "pick up this package" or "pick this package up")

5. get along (phrasal verb, inseparable)

6. am grateful for (prepositional verb)

7. put down (phrasal verb: "put it down" or "put down the book")

8. are responsible for (prepositional verb)

9. looked into (phrasal verb, inseparable)

10. are interested in (prepositional verb)

1 English: Distinct separation between prepositional and phrasal verbs
2 French: Verb + preposition combinations are more predictable
3 English: Separable phrasal verbs offer flexibility in sentence structure
4 French: More consistent verb-preposition relationships

• 1 English prepositional verbs don't have direct French equivalents
• 2 Pay attention to separability rules in English
• 3 French verb + preposition combinations are more consistent
• 4 English phrasal verbs often have multiple meanings

1 Prepositional verbs: Think "preposition stays attached" (never separates)
2 Phrasal verbs: Check if you can insert an object between verb and particle
3 Separable test: Can you say "verb it particle"? If yes, it's separable
4 Practice with real examples: Use both types in daily conversations

• 1 Group similar verbs together (all "look" verbs)
• 2 Practice with real-life scenarios
• 3 Read English texts to see natural usage patterns
• 4 Focus on the most common prepositional and phrasal verbs first

• Prepositional verbs: verb + preposition that cannot be separated
• Phrasal verbs: verb + particle (sometimes separable, sometimes not)
• Prepositional verbs: object always comes after the preposition
• Phrasal verbs: object can come between verb and particle or after particle
• Both create idiomatic meanings different from individual words

Remember: Prepositional verbs stay together, phrasal verbs may separate!

• Start with the most common examples
• Focus on separability rules for phrasal verbs
• Practice with both types regularly