Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs behave differently when they meet an object. Some let the object sit between the verb and the particle; others insist the object stay after the particle. Getting this word order right is the hardest part of using phrasal verbs naturally.

Before the rules make sense, two smaller distinctions need to be clear.

Transitive and intransitive

A phrasal verb is intransitive when it takes no object. Nothing follows it — the action is complete on its own.

A phrasal verb is transitive when it takes an object — a thing or person the action is done to.

Word order only becomes a question for transitive phrasal verbs. Intransitive ones have nothing to move around.

Separable phrasal verbs

A separable phrasal verb lets the noun object stand in either of two positions — after the particle, or between the verb and the particle.

Both orders are correct and mean the same thing. Long or complex objects usually sound better after the particle; short, familiar ones sound natural in either position.

Common separable phrasal verbs:

Inseparable phrasal verbs

An inseparable phrasal verb keeps its two parts welded together. The object can only come after the particle.

Breaking them apart produces an ungrammatical sentence:

Common inseparable phrasal verbs:

There is no pattern that tells you in advance which verbs are separable and which are not. They have to be learned one by one, the same way irregular past forms are learned.

The pronoun rule

This is the single most common error with phrasal verbs, so it gets its own section.

When the object of a separable phrasal verb is a pronoun — it, them, him, her, us, me, you — the pronoun must go between the verb and the particle. The position that was optional with a noun becomes fixed with a pronoun.

Compare the same verb with a noun and with a pronoun:

All three are correct. The noun has two possible slots; the pronoun has only one.

This rule applies only to separable phrasal verbs. With inseparable ones, the pronoun stays after the particle, just like any other object:

Three-part phrasal verbs

Some phrasal verbs have three parts: a verb, a particle, and a preposition. These are always inseparable. The object — whether noun or pronoun — comes after the whole group.

Common three-part phrasal verbs:

The three parts never split. A pronoun cannot slide in between them the way it can with separable two-part verbs:

Common mistakes

Separating inseparable verbs

Pronoun in the wrong place (separable)

Three-part verbs split apart

Object missing after a preposition