phrasal verb

phrasal verb (partikkelverb): a multi-word verb consisting of a verb + adverbial particle, e.g. switch off, put aside . A phrasal verb may be transitive, and thus accompanied by a direct object. If the object is realized as a pronoun, it is placed between the verb and the particle, but if it is realized as a full noun phrase, it tends to be placed after the particle. E.g. I looked up this word (I looked this word up) - I looked it up. I found out what was wrong. -I found it out. Phrasal verbs can occur in the passive voice (The word was looked up; It was found out). The verb + particle form a close semantic unit, whose meaning is often not predictable from the meaning of the verb+ the meaning of the particle (e.g. give + up). Compare prepositional verb.