Prepositional verbs + Phrasal verbs (Verb + word) [Full Lesson with videos]

One of the many hard things in a language, is how to speak / write freely without any grammar mistake, prepositional verbs are one of these things that we must pay attention to, if you have ever asked about the reason why some verbs take a unique or an assorted list of prepostions? or why some verbs makes you flunk out in tests? Don't glum, because it's the right moment to bring these things up.
"English is very agglutinative when it comes to verbs."
Before that, one big problem should be mentioned here, what's the difference between a phrasal verb and a prepositional one ?

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I - The difference : Phrasal verb vs. Prepositional verb :
First of all, let's take a look at prepositions & adverb particles :
1) Prepositions vs. Adverb particles:
- A preposition is usually a short word (neither a verb nor a noun) that clarifies the relation between two words. Ex : The cat is on the tree

The most known prepositions are : on, in, at, since, for, ago, before, to, past, till/until, by, under, below, over, above, through, across, into, towards, onto, from, of, out of, off, about...
The problem is many of these prepositions act like adverb particles, except : back, away (only adverb particles) - from, during (only prepositions). But how can we know whether it's a preposition or an adverb particle?
The main difference is that :

Prepositions take an object after them.
Adverb particles usually do not take any object after them.
Ex :
- She jumped down the stairs. (preposition)
- I have to sit down. (adverb particle) [it may seem that this is a phrasal verb, but it's not in this case, the stress is on the verb].
* But when they are attached to verbs, they act differently.

2) Prepositional verbs :

...if you have ever asked about the reason...

Look carefully at this verb. Indeed, it's not only a verb; but a combination of a verb and a short word, there is a rule that says :

Prepositional verbs are those which accept the passive and/or the pronominal question, but not the adverbial question form.

Let's apply this on the above sentence :
Passive : "The reason has been asked about" (correct !).
adverbial question : How/where/when/to what degree have you ever asked about?! (incorrect !).

3) Phrasal verbs :

...because it's the right moment to bring these things up.

Look now at the verb "bring up" and how the object "things" intercalated the verb. We say that a verb is a phrasal verb, when the short word placed afterwards is an adverb particle. Now look only at the word "bring" which means "to carry, to convey", but when the adverb particle "up" is added, it modified the meaning of the whole verb, which became "to mention". This meaning changes often occur to phrasal verbs. In order to understand the meaning, one has to refer to the dictionary. One more thing to say, that - unlike separate adverb particles - phrasal verbs can or cannot take an object depending on the phrasal verb itself. In this case we can say that :

Phrasal verbs can be intransitive (not followed by a direct object) or transitive (followed by a direct object).

4) The differences :
Until now, we have just brought the definitions of each term. Now, we are going to show the differences which separate a phrasal verb from a prepositional verb, a chart would be much better to compare the differences :

Phrasal Verb	Prepositional Verb
The accent is on the particle, not on the verb. Ex : I'll put 'ON my trousers.	The accent is on the verb, not on the particle. Ex : I'll 'LOOK after the children.
An adverb cannot be placed between the verb and the particle. Ex : I'll put CAREFULLY on my trousers.	It is grammatically acceptable to include an adverb between the verb and the preposition. Ex : I'll look CAREFULLY after the children.
The particle cannot be placed before the relative pronoun. Ex : The trousers ON which I put.	The preposition can be placed before a relative pronoun. Ex : These are the children AFTER WHOM I looked.
If the complement is a pronoun, it cannot be placed after the particle. Ex : I'll put on THEM.	If the object (substantive) is substituted by a pronoun, it must be placed after the preposition. Ex : I'll look after THEM.
The object (substantive) can be placed between the verb and the particle. Ex : I'll put MY TROUSERS on.	The object cannot intercalate the verb and the preposition. Ex : I'll look THEM after.
The pronoun (object) must be placed between the verb and the particle. Ex : I'll put THEM on.	-

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II - More focus on phrasal verbs :
Since phrasal verbs are the only ones to be shown in the Bac's exam. We will focus more on these verbs and how can we place them in a correct and meaningful sentence.

1) Phonological & syntactic aspects :
- As we've already seen, a phrasal verb has its particle stressed. Moreover, the particle of a phrasal verb can often stand either before or after the noun, this makes it a bit harder to follow. Yet, there are some general rules which help us recognize the place of the particle. Another thing to add, is that some verbs, not only take a simple particle, but a double one. These verbs are fewer regarding to the whole phrasal verb list. However, these verbs are not indeed phrasal verbs but prepositional ones (they're complicated, thus they will be excluded from the lesson), their form looks like :

Radical verb + adverb particle + preposition .
Ex :
- To put up with.
- To check up on.

A phrasal verb accepts three syntactic criteria which are listed below :

Passivization : The whole sentence can be turned into passive form : The man was called up.
Pronominal question form : The sentence answers to the questions "who(m)" and "what" : Who(m) did John call up?
Adverbial question form : The sentence answers to the questions "where", "when", "how", "to what degree"... : Where did John call from?

2) Position of a phrasal verb :
A phrasal verb is obviously taking the place of the main verb in a sentence. But the particle can move around in the sentence with some precised restrictions.
The first rule is :

When a phrasal verb has a direct object (a noun), the two parts of the verb can usually be separated: the adverb particle can be put before or after the object.
Ex :
- We'll have to put off the party.
=> We'll have to put the party off.
- Why don't you throw away that stupid hat?
=> Why don't you throw that stupid hat away?
- Could you put up my sister for three nights?
=> Could you put my sister up for three nights?

However, the 2nd rule is :

When the object is substituted by a pronoun, the adverb particle can only go after the object.
Ex :
- We'll have to put it off.
=> We'll have to put off it .
- Could you put her up?
=> Could you put up her?

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III - Exercises :
1) Look at the dictionary and decide whether the statment is true or false :
1. If you use these verbs, you are talking about money:
pay up, rattle through, club together, tamper with, settle up, splash out, shop around.

2. If you use these verbs, you're talking about food or drink:
opt out, dine out, drink to, dispose of, boil over, stock up, romp through.

3. If you use these verbs, you are talking about sleep or rest:
butt in, doze off, sit down, lie in, sit back, lash out, flake out.

2) Rewrite these sentences in the passive form :
1. He woke her up. She ____________________________ .
2. He wakes his wife up at 8am. His wife _________________________________ .
3. They have closed down the old cinema. The old cinema __________________________ .
4. They will check passengers in at 1.30. Passengers ____________________________ .

2) Put the correct preposition or adverb particle :
1. I don't care (in - off - about)_______the expense; I want the party to be a real success.
2. I can't account (for - during - about)______the disappearance of the pictures; they were all
there yesterday.
3. They set (off - up - about)______on their camping trip with great enthusiasm.
4. When you have thought (from - over - by)______what I have said, you will understand.
5. You can throw (aside - away - across)_______the packet; it's empty.
6. They set (up - about - off)______at six and reached their destination before dark.
7. I don't know how she manages to care (in - along - for)______ten children without help.
8. My children are picking (out - up - with)_______English very quickly but I find it more
difficult.
9. Einstein passed (by - down - away)______ in 1955.
10. You need capital before you can set (up - above - beyond)______on your own in any kind of
business.
11. We faced a problem, but our genius friend sorted it (in - out - below)_____ .
12. Don't make up your mind at once; talk it (along - over - in)_______with your lawyer first.
13. We live in a friendly neighborhood, where everybody drops (out - until - in)_____ .
14. The factory will have to close (down - onto - in)______ if every worker gave (forward - back - away) _______.
15. His final argument brought me (about - aside - around)_______to his point of view.
16. I don't like the look of these men hanging (out - at - on)_______outside my gate.
17. He picked (off - of - up)_______all the biggest ones for himself.
18. We should get rid (with - in - of)______all these useless stuff.
19. I pulled my car aside, when a herd of cattle showed (up - back - through)______ .
20. Dang! My bicycle is acting (in - up - under)_____ again !

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More exercises will be posted in the exercises' section, hoping that you will figure out everything by your own !
I'll leave you with interesting videos about phrasal verbs. Enjoy