Hello to everybody, welcome to grammar for ESL, this blog was created to help students to increase their abilities in some areas of the Englis language,also you can see videos and add your comments.


Introduction: Phrasal verbs are verbs form of two particles. these verbs are very difficult to learn for ESL students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLeNXRHBnpA



There are different types of phrasal verbs. Some of them can be sapareble and inseparable and can take and object or not.

Separable phrasal verbs can remain together when using an object that is a noun or noun phrase.

• I picked Tom up. OR I picked up Tom.
• They put their friends up. OR They put up their friends.

Separable phrasal verbs MUST be separated when a pronoun is used:

• We picked him up at the station. NOT We picked up him at the station.
• They put them up. NOT They put up them.

Inseparable phrasal verbs always remain together.

http://esl.about.com/cs/intermediate/f/f_phrasal.htm

Phrasal verbs that do not take objects: these type of phrasal verbs are always inseparable.

Ex. I broke down my car.

Now i will show you a list of phrasal verbs that can be separable or inseparable.

ask around		ask many people the same question	I asked around but nobody has seen my wallet.
add up to something		equal	Your purchases add up to $205.32.
back something up		reverse	You'll have to back up your car so that I can get out.
back someone up		support	My wife backed me up over my decision to quit my job.
blow up		explode	The racing car blew up after it crashed into the fence.
blow something up		add air	We have to blow 50 balloons up for the party.
break down		stop functioning (vehicle, machine)	Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm.
break down		get upset	The woman broke down when the police told her that her son had died.
break something down		divide into smaller parts	Our teacher broke the final project down into three separate parts.
break in		force entry to a building	Somebody broke in last night and stole our stereo.
break into something		enter forcibly	The firemen had to break into the room to rescue the children.
break something in		wear something a few times so that it doesn't look/feel new	I need to break these shoes in before we run next week.
break in		interrupt	The TV station broke in to report the news of the president's death.
break up		end a relationship	My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved to America.
break up		start laughing (informal)	The kids just broke up as soon as the clown started talking.
break out		escape	The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards weren't looking.
break out in something		develop a skin condition	I broke out in a rash after our camping trip.
bring someone down		make unhappy	This sad music is bringing me down.
bring someone up		raise a child	My grandparents brought me up after my parents died.
bring something up		start talking about a subject	My mother walks out of the room when my father brings up sports.
bring something up		vomit	He drank so much that he brought his dinner up in the toilet.
call around		phone many different places/people	We called around but we weren't able to find the car part we needed.
call someone back		return a phone call	I called the company back but the offices were closed for the weekend.
call something off		cancel	Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in love with his fiancé.
call on someone		ask for an answer or opinion	The professor called on me for question 1.
call on someone		visit someone	We called on you last night but you weren't home.
call someone up		phone	Give me your phone number and I will call you up when we are in town.
calm down		relax after being angry	You are still mad. You need to calm down before you drive the car.
not care for someone/something		not like (formal)	I don't care for his behaviour.
catch up		get to the same point as someone else	You'll have to run faster than that if you want to catch up with Marty.
check in		arrive and register at a hotel or airport	We will get the hotel keys when we check in.
check out		leave a hotel	You have to check out of the hotel before 11:00 AM.
check someone/something out		look at carefully, investigate	The company checks out all new employees.
check out someone/something		look at (informal)	Check out the crazy hair on that guy!
cheer up		become happier	She cheered up when she heard the good news.
cheer someone up		make happier	I brought you some flowers to cheer you up.
chip in		help	If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by noon.
clean something up		tidy, clean	Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside.
come across something		find unexpectedly	I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet.
come apart		separate	The top and bottom come apart if you pull hard enough.
come down with something		become sick	My nephew came down with chicken pox this weekend.
come forward		volunteer for a task or to give evidence	The woman came forward with her husband's finger prints.
come from somewhere		originate in	The art of origami comes from Asia.
count on someone/something		rely on	I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out.
cross something out		draw a line through	Please cross out your old address and write your new one.
cut back on something		consume less	My doctor wants me to cut back on sweets and fatty foods.
cut something down		make something fall to the ground	We had to cut the old tree in our yard down after the storm.
cut in		interrupt	Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle.
cut in		pull in too closely in front of another vehicle	The bus driver got angry when that car cut in.

This list of phrasal verbs was taken from this web side

I hope this class help you to understand more the phrasal verbs and its different uses. In next posts I will be teaching you more interesting topics.