All about English Phrasal Verbs: Articles and Lesson Plans

Phrasal verbs are periphrastic, which means that a phrase of two or more words expresses a grammatical relationship that could otherwise be expressed through the inflection of a single word, verbs unique to the English language. Unlike prototypical English verbs, a phrasal verb consists of a verb followed by at least one preposition that performs the grammatical function of particle such as throw up and look forward to. Phrasal verbs are also idiomatic, which means that the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot be determined by combining the meaning of the verb and the meaning of the preposition but must be learned as a single lexical item. A phrasal verb may be intransitive or transitive depending on the specific phrasal verb with the four types of phrasal verbs in English being intransitive, nonseparable transitive, optionally separable transitive, and obligatorily transitive. This verb guide provides articles and lesson plans for teaching the English phrasal verb to native English speakers and students of English as a second or foreign language.