The hidden language of phrasal verbs
If you’ve ever tried to explain English to someone learning it for the first time, you’ll know that phrasal verbs are everywhere — and that they’re maddeningly unpredictable. We “pick up” a language, “take off” on a journey, “turn down” an offer, and “get by” on little sleep. Each combination of verb and particle creates a new, often idiomatic meaning that can’t be guessed from the parts alone.
For native speakers, these expressions pass unnoticed. But for English learners, they can feel like a secret code — one that requires constant decoding and memorisation.
In my teaching practice, I often see how pervasive phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions are in everyday English. Even learners who have mastered grammar and vocabulary can stumble when they hear a phrase like hit and miss or get the hang of it. These expressions don’t follow logical rules; they must be unpacked, explained, and remembered through repeated exposure and practice.
Exploring these phrases in class is one of the pleasures of teaching English. They offer a window into how language really works — not as a fixed system of rules, but as a living, flexible tool shaped by culture and habit. And once learners begin to recognise and use phrasal verbs naturally, they start to sound not just fluent, but genuinely at home in the language.
Did you know?
Phrasal verbs come in two main types — separable and inseparable — and the difference depends on whether the particle functions more like an adverb or a preposition.
- Separable phrasal verbs (where the particle is an adverb) can take their object between the verb and the particle:
Turn off the light → Turn it off.
The pronoun it must go in the middle. - Inseparable phrasal verbs (where the particle acts as a preposition) keep the object after the whole phrase:
Look after the children → ✗ Look them after.
The distinction is subtle but powerful — and it’s one of those grammar details that helps learners understand why English sometimes feels the way it does.
