Phrasal Verbs Phrasal verbs adalah bagian dari kata kerja yang disebut juga dengan istilah multi-word verbs (kata kerja multikata).

Multi-word verbs, termasuk phrasal verbs, adalah hal yang umum dipakai dalam berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Inggris. Umumnya banyak orang menyebut semua multi-word verbs dengan sebutan phrasal verbs. Beberapa contoh phrasal verbs: pick up, turn on, get up, look up, break down, etc.

Phrasal verbs terdiri dari basic verb + another word or words. Kata lain yang menyertai kata kerja dasar bisa berupa preposisi dan/atau adverbia. Gabungan dua atau tiga kata yang menjadi kata kerja multikata (multi-word verbs) disebut frase (phrase). Itulah mengapa kata kerja ini disebut dengan istilah phrasal verbs.

Hal penting untuk diperhatikan adalah bahwa phrasal verbs tetaplah disebut kata kerja, misalnya kata get dan get up adalah sama-sama kata kerja. Tetapi get dan get up mempunyai arti yang berbeda. Meskipun berbeda arti, phrasal verbs tetap diperlakukan dan dipelajari sebagaimana umumnya kata kerja. Dan masalah yang sering dihadapi adalah ketidakjelasan makna dalam suatu kalimat karena phrasal verbs memiliki beberapa arti yang berbeda.

Phrasal verbs juga dapat berupa intransitive dan transitive.- The witness finally broke down on the stand. (Intransitive)- She looked up her old boyfriend. (Transitive)

Verb + preposition (prepositional phrasal verbs)[4]a. Who is looking after the kids? after is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase after the kids.b. They pick on Joseph. on is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase on Joseph.c. I ran into an old friend. into is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase into an old friend.[5]d. She takes after her mother. after is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase after her mother.e. Sam passes for a linguist. for is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase for a linguist.f. You should stand by your friend. by is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase by your friend.Verb + particle (particle phrasal verbs)a. They brought that up twice. up is a particle, not a preposition.b. You should think it over. over is a particle, not a preposition.c. Why does he always dress down? down is a particle, not a preposition.d. You should not give in so quickly. in is a particle, not a preposition.e. Where do they want to hang out? out is a particle, not a preposition.f. She handed it in. in is a particle, not a preposition.Verb + particle + preposition (particle-prepositional phrasal verbs)a. Who can put up with that? up is a particle and with is a preposition.[6]b. She is looking forward to a rest. forward is a particle and to is a preposition.c. The other tanks were bearing down on my panther. down is a particle and on is a preposition.d. They were really teeing off on me. off is a particle and on is a preposition.e. We loaded up on Mountain Dew and chips. up is a particle and on is a prepositionf. Susan has been sitting in for me. in is a particle and for is a preposition.