The syntactic behaviour of
phrasal verbs
by Elizabeth Potter

• Types of phrasal verbs
• The behaviour of intransitive phrasal verbs
• The behaviour of transitive phrasal verbs
• Phrasal verbs that are both transitive and intransitive
• What decides the position of the object in separable phrasal verbs?
• Phrasal verbs in the passive

Types of phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb and a particle. A particle can be:

Phrasal verbs with a preposition are sometimes called prepositional verbs. Some phrasal verbs have two particles, both an adverb and a preposition: for example get on with or stand up for. Verbs with an adverb and preposition are sometimes called phrasal-prepositional verbs. Like other verbs, phrasal verbs can be:

The most important thing to learn about the grammar of phrasal verbs is where to place the object. Should it go before or after the particle? What happens when there are two particles? And what happens if the object is a pronoun? In Phrasal Verbs Plus, the way each verb behaves is shown by a combination of a pattern and an example. For example, the entry for the verb bring along gives the following information:

In this case, the patterns and examples show that you can place the object either before or after the particle. So you can say 'I'll bring some friends along' or 'I'll bring along some friends'. However, if the object of bring along is a pronoun it must always go between the verb and particle, so that you have to say 'Can I bring her along too?'.

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The behaviour of intransitive phrasal verbs

Because they do not have objects, the behaviour of intransitive phrasal verbs is straightforward. The verb and particle always stay together:
We've recorded a new album, and it's coming out in the spring.
I had the chance to change jobs, but I let it slip by.

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The behaviour of transitive phrasal verbs

Transitive phrasal verbs can be divided into four groups according to where the object goes in relation to the particle:

1 With most transitive phrasal verbs, the object can go either between the verb and the particle, or after the particle. These verbs are known as separable phrasal verbs:
Just pack your bags and load up the car.
I'll load the car up while you lock the door.
Trim and cut up all the vegetables into fine slices.
She cut the cake up into twelve pieces.

However, if the object is a pronoun (= a word such as me, it, this, or them), it must go between the verb and the particle, and it cannot go after the particle:
You bring the car round and I'll load it up.
You bring the car round and I'll load up it.
Let's cut it up into twelve pieces.
Let's cut up it into twelve pieces.

2 With a few transitive phrasal verbs, the object must go between the verb and the particle, whether it is a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun:
The two women are so similar that only their husbands can tell them apart.
I could hardly tell the two women apart.
I could hardly tell apart the two women.

3 With some transitive phrasal verbs, the object must go after the particle or particles, whether it is a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun. This group includes all prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs:
I bumped into your mother at the supermarket.
I bumped into her in the city centre.
He shouldn't be allowed to get away with such appalling behaviour.
They have repeatedly broken the law and got away with it.

This group also includes a small number of phrasal verbs where the particle is an adverb, but verbs of this type cannot have a pronoun as an object:
The victim wasn't able to put up much resistance.
The victim wasn't able to put up it.

4 A small group of three-word phrasal verbs has two objects, one of which goes after the verb, the other after the particle or particles:
She played one boy off against another.
That guy at the garage did me out of £50.
I've decided to take you up on that job offer.

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Phrasal verbs that are both transitive and intransitive

As with other verbs, some phrasal verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. When these verbs are intransitive, they behave like all other intransitive phrasal verbs:
I'm not very good at adding up in my head.
I don't like children who answer back.
His hat blew away on the roller coaster.

When they are transitive, they behave in one of the ways described above:
Now add up the number of calories you have eaten.
If you add all that up, it comes to about three million.
We didn't dare answer the teacher back.
She switched on the fan to blow away the smoke.

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What decides the position of the object in separable phrasal verbs?

As we saw above, the objects of most transitive phrasal verbs can go either between the verb and the particle, or after the particle, with no difference in meaning or emphasis:
He picked the phone up and dialled.
You can pick up the phone and give me a call.
Will you turn the television off, please?
It is now safe to turn off your computer.
Celia's immediate reaction was to turn down the offer.
Was it possible that he had actually wanted her to turn his offer down?

However, the choice of whether to put the object before or after the particle is not always a completely free one. If the object contains information that the reader or listener already knows, it is more likely to come between the verb and the particle. But if the object presents new information, it is more likely to come after the particle. This is because we normally give more emphasis to new information than to information that is already known, and putting the object after the particle gives it a little more emphasis. For example, consider these two sentences:
Ann slipped the jacket on to see what it looked like.
She slipped on some flat sandals and made her way downstairs.

In the first example, the jacket has been previously mentioned, so the object comes between the verb and the particle. In the second example, the object refers to something that has not been mentioned before (some flat sandals), so it comes after the particle.

If the object consists of more than three or four words, it usually goes after the particle, rather than between the verb and the particle:
Officials are trying to pin down the cause of widespread power cuts in the western states.
Officials are trying to pin the cause of widespread power cuts in the western states down.
The doctors could knock out all of the pain that he's experiencing pretty easily.
The doctors could knock all of the pain that he's experiencing out pretty easily.

This happens even when the object has already been referred to, as in the following example:
If smog is hurting everybody everywhere, why not just clean up these smog-emitting power plants?

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Phrasal verbs in the passive

Most transitive phrasal verbs can be used in the passive, while a few are always or almost always used in the passive:
Personal phone calls are frowned on at work.
First you will be kitted out with a safety helmet.
The brochure is beautifully laid out and illustrated.

Even if the verb is normally 'separable', when it is in the passive the verb and the particle always stay together:
I've cleaned the place up a bit.
The place had been cleaned up.
Will you turn the television off, please?
The television had been turned off.

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