3.84 Extending or changing the meaning of a verb: phrasal verbs

There is a special group of verbs which consist of two or three words. These are called phrasal verbs. They consist of

* a verb followed by an adverb:

• He sat down.
• Ralph stood on his head and fell over.
• The cold weather set in.

* a verb followed by a preposition:

• She looked after her invalid mother.
• She sailed through her exams.
• The other day I came across a letter from Brunel written in the last year of his life.

* or a verb followed by an adverb and a preposition.

• You may come up against unexpected difficulties.
• I look forward to reading it.
• Fame has crept up on her almost by accident.

By combining a verb and an adverb or preposition in this way, we can extend the usual meaning of the verb or create a new meaning, different from any that the verb has on its own. You cannot, therefore, always guess the meaning of a phrasal verb from the usual meanings of the verb and the adverb or preposition.

In the case of a few phrasal verbs, the first part is not found independently as a verb. For example, there are phrasal verbs 'sum up', 'tamper with', and 'zero in on', but no verbs 'sum', 'tamper', or 'zero'.

Note that phrasal verbs are never written as a single word or with a hyphen.

3.85

Most phrasal verbs consist of two words. These are explained below in paragraphs 3.86 to 3.111. Three-word phrasal verbs are explained in paragraphs 3.112 to 3.114.