| Structure of phrasal verbs | ||
| A phrasal verb can be made up of: | a verb + adverb | throw away |
| a verb + adverb + preposition | put up with | |
| Structure of prepositional verbs | ||
|
A prepositional verb is made up of: |
a verb + preposition |
look after, look at wait for, think about talk about, complain about |
Position of the object: phrasal verbs vs. prepositional verbs
1. With a phrasal verb (verb + adverb), the position of the object (a noun) is flexible, i.e. it can sit either between the verb and the adverb or after the adverb:
She gave all her money away. [the object 'all her money' is between the verb and the adverb]
or
She gave away all her money. [the object 'all her money' is after the adverb]
! When the object is a pronoun (him, her, us, them, etc.), it must sit between the verb and the adverb:
She gave it away.
NOT
She gave away it.
2. With prepositional verbs (verb + preposition), the position of the object—regardless of whether it’s a noun or pronoun—is not flexible. The object must sit after the preposition:
We looked after the children.
We looked after them.
We looked the children after.
We looked them after.
See also:
Vocabulary section: Phrasal verbs with ‘put’
Vocabulary section: Phrasal verbs with ‘come’
