English Phrasal Verbs: 300 With Grammar and Examples

Knowing what it means is not enough. You also have to know where the object goes.

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Front	Back
bring about	to cause something to happen. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: The new rule brought about a big change.
bring back	to reintroduce; to return. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: The photo brought back memories of that summer.
bring out	to release a product. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: They brought out a new model in spring.
call on	to visit; to ask someone to act. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: The teacher called on me to answer.
check in	to register at a hotel or airport. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: We checked in two hours before the flight.
cheer up	to become happier. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: Cheer up, it is not that bad.
come across	to seem; to find by chance. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: He comes across as very confident.
cut back on	to reduce. Three-part: the object always follows both particles. Example: We are cutting back on travel costs.
draw up	to prepare a document. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: The lawyer drew up the contract.
fall behind	to fail to keep pace. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: I fell behind with the coursework.
find out	to discover. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: I found out about it by accident.
get in	to enter; to arrive. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: The train gets in at six.
get through	to finish; to make contact. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: I could not get through to the office.
go after	to pursue. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: She went after the promotion hard.
go out	to leave home socially; to be extinguished. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: We went out for dinner.
hand out	to distribute. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: The teacher handed out the papers.
keep out	to stay outside. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: Keep out of the kitchen while I cook.
let off	to excuse; to detonate. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: The judge let him off with a fine.
look into	to investigate. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: We will look into the complaint.
move in	to start living somewhere. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: They moved in last month.
put down	to write; to criticise; to set down. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: Put your name down on the list.
set out	to begin a journey; to state clearly. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: The letter sets out the conditions.
take after	to resemble a relative. Inseparable: the object always follows the particle. Example: She takes after her mother.
try on	to test clothing for fit. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: Can I try on the blue one?
write off	to dismiss as worthless; to cancel a debt. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: Do not write him off yet.
boil down to	to be essentially. Three-part: the object always follows both particles. Example: It boils down to money in the end.
clear out	to empty; to leave. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: We cleared out the garage on Sunday.
dress up	to wear formal clothes. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: You do not need to dress up.
hold off	to delay; to keep at a distance. Separable: an object can sit between the verb and the particle, and a pronoun object must. Example: Let us hold off until we know more.
open up	to become communicative; to start trading. Intransitive: it takes no object. Example: He opened up after a while.

About this deck

Phrasal verbs are the point where advanced learners still sound wrong. Not because the meanings are hard to look up, but because each one carries a grammar rule that no dictionary entry makes obvious. You can turn the lights off or turn off the lights, but you can only turn them off — never turn off them. You look after a child, and you can never look a child after. Get away with takes its object after both particles. Learn the meaning without the pattern and you will produce sentences that are understandable and audibly non-native. This deck covers 300 phrasal verbs. Every card gives the meaning, states in one line whether the verb is separable, inseparable, intransitive or three-part, and shows an original sentence with the object in its correct place. Cards are tagged by that grammatical type and by theme — work, communication, relationships, money, travel, problems, daily life — so you can drill only the separable ones, or only what an office day needs. Import it and the deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule, and what stays in rotation is the set whose word order you still have to think about.

Frequently asked

Does importing this deck use AI credits?: No. Importing uses the saved deck as published; it does not run AI generation or use AI credits. The complete deck can therefore be imported on the free plan.
What happens if I import the deck twice?: Nothing is duplicated. Cards you already have are skipped and only newly added cards come across. Including re-imports after deleting, each official deck can be imported three times per account.
Can I use it on the web app and the phone app?: Yes. The deck is added to your account, so the same cards and the same progress are available in the web app, the iOS app and the Android app.
Can I edit the cards after importing?: Yes. Imported cards are yours: you can edit both sides, delete cards you do not need, change tags, and move cards to another deck.
What is in the deck?: 124 separable verbs, 50 inseparable verbs, 94 intransitive verbs and 32 three-part verbs, 300 in total. One phrasal verb per card, so nothing appears twice.
Why does separability matter so much?: Because it is the one thing you cannot guess and cannot avoid. With a separable verb a pronoun object must go in the middle: turn it off, not turn off it. With an inseparable verb it must not: look after them, never look them after. Get it wrong and the sentence is ungrammatical, however good your vocabulary is.
What about verbs with several meanings?: The card carries the meanings that share the same grammar, separated by a semicolon, so you learn them as one item rather than as unrelated cards. Where a second sense behaves differently enough to need its own pattern, it is written into the meaning line rather than split off, keeping one phrasal verb to one card.
Which exams is this useful for?: Phrasal verbs appear across IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, Cambridge B2 and C1, and every business English test, because they are how fluent English actually talks. The deck is organised by grammar and theme rather than by exam, so the same 300 verbs serve whichever one you are sitting.

Meanings, usage notes and example sentences are written by Memly and describe standard British and American usage, with no material reproduced from any dictionary or coursebook. Scope reviewed 2026-08-17.