Phrasal verbs are main verb phrases that have combined with a verb particle—or a preposition-like word—at the end in order to form a new meaning that cannot be predicted from the parts.

For example, “take after” consists of the verb take and the word after. Individually, the two words have distinct meaning (i.e. take means “lay hold of something,” and after means “behind” or “later”), and from a cursory glance, we may presume that take after means “to lay hold of something later.” (We would be wrong.) Instead, take after means “to resemble.” Consider the following:

1. She (thankfully) takes after her mother, who is a marksman sniper.
2. She (thankfully) takes after resembles her mother, who is a marksman sniper.
3. She won’t put up with these zombies any longer.
4. She won’t put up with tolerate these zombies any longer.
5. She’s plans to get rid of them one at a time.
6. She’s plans to get rid of eliminate them one at a time.

Notice in the above examples how we can easily replace the phrasal verb with a single word and still preserve the meaning of the sentence. Furthermore, sentence (4) contains complex phrasal verbs, or more than one verb particle; however, it operates in the same manner as the standard ones. In most cases, however, if you have two preposition-like words in a row following a main verb phrase, you should suspect that the first one is a verb particle.

(The Common Phrasal Verbs web page provides an extensive list of phrasal verbs and their definitions; however, always analyze in context by considering that some “phrasal verbs” are arguably verbs with prepositions and/or adverbs. )

Distinguishing from Other Parts of Speech

Phrasal verbs are often confused with verbs that are followed by prepositional phrases or adverbs. Consider the following:

1. She looked up the best procedure to deal with her zombie problem.
2. She looked up the stairs to the abandoned house.
3. She looked up.

In sentence (1) the particle is part of a phrasal verb; however, in sentence (2), the particle is actually the preposition for the preposition phrase up the stairs. Furthermore, sentence (3) depicts up as an adverb (it describes where she looked).

1. She came by other survivors.
2. She came by the house, hoping for other survivors.
3. She came by later that afternoon.

By in sentence (1) is also part of a phrasal verb (c ome by can be replaced with “found”) while the by in sentence (2) is part of the prepositional phrase by the house . If we look at sentence (3), by is an adverb. We can remove it without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

Distinguishing between verb particles, prepositional phrases, and adverbs can be tricky. The easiest way to manage these parts of speech is through a systematic approach. First, we can attempt to replace the preposition/adverb/verb particle with another word or phrase:

1. She looked up researched the best procedure to deal with her zombie problem.
2. She looked up researched the stairs to the abandoned house.
3. She looked up researched and noticed she was surrounded.

Sentence (1) makes sense; however, sentence (2) and sentence (3) are awkward. This is because sentence (2) is a verb followed by a preposition and sentence (3) is a verb followed by an adverb. If we can’t replace the phrasal verb with a synonym, then it likely isn’t a phrasal verb.

Here’s another example:

1. She came by found other survivors.
2. She came by found the house, hoping for other survivors.
3. She came by found later that evening

In these examples, sentence (1) makes sense; however, sentence (2) also seems to makes sense. But notice how sentence (2) changes the meaning of the sentence. Instead of indicating arrival, it indicates discovery; thus, by is either a preposition or an adverb. Furthermore, sentence (3) doesn’t make sense. (Now, if you want to flex your grammatical skills and determine which sentence has the preposition and which has the adverb, consider that prepositional phrases ALWAYS contain a preposition and a nominal—such as in by the house; adverbs do not.)

Checking for Prepositions

If we are unsure if a structure is a preposition or a verb particle, we can try moving the preposition/verb particle in the sentence. Prepositions, themselves, cannot move unless they move with the objects of the preposition; however, some verb particles are able to move:

1. She looked up the best procedure up to deal with her zombie problem.
2. She looked up the highway up to see the approaching zombie horde.

Notice in sentence (1) the preposition/verb particle is moved after the object (i.e. “the best procedure”), but the meaning is still retained—the subject is still searching for the best means to solve her zombie problem. We know that we are dealing with a verb particle. Compare sentence (1) with sentence (2): the sentence doesn’t make sense when we move the preposition/verb particle, so we know that this example is probably a preposition.

Here’s a trickier one:

1. She came by other survivors by.
2. She came by the house by, hoping for other survivors.

In this example, neither sentence seems to make sense. As previously mentioned, some verb particles cannot be separated from their verbs, which may require you to fall back on substitutions.

Checking for Adverbs

It is often difficult to differentiate phrasal verbs from verbs that are followed by adverbs—especially as many verb particles are adverbs (in form, at least). We can approach this issue in a few different ways:

First, adverbs are often optional, so we can first attempt to omit the adverb/verb particle from the sentence. In many cases, the adverb can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence, as in (2) below:

1. She called off to her fellow survivors
2. She called to her fellow survivors

If removal of the adverb/verb particle changes the meaning of the sentence, it is likely we removed a verb particle:

1. She called off the ambush attack
2. She called the ambush attack

In this context, removing off creates an entirely new sentence, which sounds quite awkward. Thus, we know we’re dealing with a verb particle.

Another method is to try moving the adverb/verb particle to different places in the sentence—typically before the verb (since some verb particles can move behind their objects, as previously demonstrated). Consider the following:

1. Up she jumped up at the sight of the creatures.
2. Up she looked up the best procedure to deal with her zombie problem.

In sentence (1), the verb particle can be moved before the verb and still preserve the meaning of the sentence, making it an adverb. We can’t say the same for sentence (2), which makes little sense with the particle moved forward.

We can also try to change the adverb/verb particle to another adverb. Since adverbs modify other words by providing information regarding time, place, and manner, they can be replaced with another word without affecting the flow of the sentence as in sentence (2) below:

1. She called off to her fellow survivors
2. She called loudly to her fellow survivors

Since particles are a part of the verb and do not modify any words, changing the particle will either change the meaning or make the sentence awkward:

1. She called off the ambush attack
2. She called loudly the ambush attack

Notice that sentence (2) not only has a different meaning than sentence (1), but it also sounds awkward. Obviously, off—in this context—is acting as a verb particle.

Finally, we can always question the nature of the structure by seeing if it answers a typical adverb question:

1. Where did she call to her fellow survivors? She called off to her fellow survivors
2. Where did she call the ambush attack? She called off the ambush attack

Notice that sentence (1) makes sense; however, posing the same question to sentence (2) is awkward.

In summary, here are three questions to ask when attempting to separate verb particles from prepositions / adverbs:

1. Does the verb with its verb particle have a meaning that is different from just the verb itself? (If yes, phrasal verb!)
2. If an object is present, can the particle move? If no, it’s a preposition*. If yes, it’s a verb particle (*Again, consider that this does not apply to all phrasal verbs.)
3. Can the particle be removed or replaced with another adverb? Can it move before the verb? Can it answer the question that an adverb typically can? If no, it’s a verb particle. If yes, it’s an adverb.

As always, analyze in context and determine who is hanging out with whom.