Phrasal verbs and prepositions
Common phrasal verbs, dependent prepositions and prepositions of time and place.
A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a particle (a preposition or adverb) that together create a new meaning, for example 'give up' (to stop trying) or 'look after' (to take care of). The particle can completely change the meaning of the base verb, so 'take after' (to resemble) is very different from 'take off'. English also uses dependent prepositions, which are fixed prepositions that follow certain verbs, adjectives and nouns: we say 'depend on', 'good at', 'afraid of', 'interested in' and 'the reason for'. These combinations must be learned as whole chunks because they rarely translate word-for-word from Azerbaijani. Finally, prepositions of time and place follow their own patterns: we use 'at' for a precise time (at 6 o'clock) and a point in space (at the door), 'on' for days and surfaces (on Monday, on the table), and 'in' for longer periods and enclosed spaces (in July, in the room). For example: 'She is very good at maths, but she gave up chess because she could not depend on her memory for the openings.'
Rules
- 1A phrasal verb = verb + particle and has a new meaning (give up = stop, look after = take care of, put off = postpone, take after = resemble).
- 2Many verbs take a fixed dependent preposition: depend on, listen to, wait for, look for, agree with, succeed in.
- 3Many adjectives take a fixed preposition: good at, afraid of, interested in, proud of, keen on, worried about.
- 4Some nouns take a fixed preposition: reason for, solution to, increase in, interest in, need for.
- 5Time and place: use 'at' for clock times and points (at 5 pm, at the bus stop), 'on' for days/dates and surfaces (on Friday, on the wall), 'in' for months/years and enclosed areas (in 2020, in the kitchen).
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard