Collins Cobuild English Grammar (78 page)

cases where the object is always placed after the first word of the verb

3.105
  With a small number of phrasal verbs, the object is always placed between the first and the second words of the verb. For example, you can say
I can’t tell your brothers apart
but not
I can’t tell apart your brothers
.

Captain Dean
was
still
ordering
everybody
about
.
I
answered
my father
back
and took my chances.

Note that most of these verbs take a human object.

Here is a list of phrasal verbs that always belong in this group when they are used with an object:

answer back

ask in

bash about

bind over

book in

bring round

bring to

brush off

call back

carry back

catch out

churn up

count in

drag down

dress down

drop round

feel out

get away

hear out

help along

invite in

invite out

invite over

jolly along

keep under

knock about

mess about

move about

muck about

order about

play along

play through

pull about

pull to

push about

push around

push to

run through

see through

send ahead

send away

send up

shut up

sit down

slap around

stand up

stare out

string along

talk round

tear apart

tell apart

tip off

truss up

turf out

Some phrasal verbs have more than one transitive sense, but belong in this group when they are used with one particular meaning. For example,
take back
belongs in this group when it means
remind someone of something
but not when it means
regain something
.

The smell of chalk
took
us all
back
to our schooldays.
…his ambition of
taking back
disputed territory.

Here is a list of phrasal verbs that belong in this group when used with a particular meaning:

bowl over

bring down

bring out

buoy up

cut off

do over

draw out

get back

get out

give up

have on

hurry up

keep up

kick around

knock out

knock up

nail down

pass on

pin down

pull apart

push around

put down

put out

see out

set up

shake up

show around

show up

start off

straighten out

take back

take in

take off

throw about

toss about

trip up

turn on

ward off

wind up

objects with prepositions

3.106
  Remember that when a phrasal verb consists of an intransitive verb followed by a preposition, the noun phrase always comes after the preposition, even when it is a pronoun.

A number of reasons
can account for
this change.
They
had dealt with
the problem intelligently.
If I went away and left you in the flat, would you
look after
it?

There is a list of phrasal verbs that consist of an intransitive verb and a preposition in paragraph
3.88
.

transitive phrasal verbs with prepositions:
She talked me into buying it

3.107
  Some phrasal verbs consist of a transitive verb and a preposition. They have one noun phrase after the first word, as the object of the verb, and a second noun phrase after the second word, as the object of the preposition.

They agreed to
let
him
into
their secret.
The farmer threatened to
set
his dogs
on
them.
They’
ll hold
that
against
you when you apply next time.

3.108
  Here is a list of phrasal verbs that consist of a transitive verb and a preposition:

build into

build on

draw into

drum into

frighten into

hold against

keep to

lay before

leave off

let into

lumber with

make of

put on

put onto

put through

read into

set against

set back

set on

talk into

thrust upon

write into

preposition or adverb:
I’ll cross you off, I’ll cross you off the list

3.109
  In the case of some transitive phrasal verbs, the second word is a preposition if the third thing involved needs to be mentioned, but it is an adverb if the third thing involved is clear from the context.

Rudolph
showed them around the theatre
.
Rudolph
showed them around
.

3.110
  Here is a list of transitive phrasal verbs whose second word can be a preposition or an adverb:

cross off

dab on

hawk around

hurl about

keep off

knock off

lop off

push around

scrub off

show around

shut in

sink in

intransitive three-word phrasal verbs:
look forward to
,
catch up with

3.111
  Most phrasal verbs consist of two words: a verb and an adverb, or a verb and a preposition. However, some phrasal verbs consist of three words: a verb, an adverb, and a preposition. This type of verb is sometimes called a
phrasal-prepositional verb
.

Most three-word phrasal verbs are intransitive. The preposition at the end is followed by its own object.

His girlfriend
walked out on
him.
You’re not going to
get away with
this!
She sometimes finds it hard to
keep up with
her classmates.
The local people have to
put up with
a lot of tourists.
Terry Holbrook
caught up with
me.

3.112
  Here is a list of intransitive three-word phrasal verbs:

be in for

be on to

bear down on

boil down to

break out of

brush up on

bump up against

burst in on

call out for

catch up with

chime in with

clamp down on

clean up after

come across as

come down on