Separable phrasal verbs

Separable phrasal verbs (which are always transitive) are usually accented on the particle:

The British soldiers tried toburn DOWN the White House.

The teacher passed themOUT.

As the examples above show, a single phrasal verb can belong to more than one cat­egory depending on its meaning.

1. breakdown p.v. When something mechanicalbreaks down, it does not function.

/ was late for work because my carbroke down.

This photocopier is a piece of junk — itbreaks down every day.

broken-down part.adj. When something is old, in bad condition, or not functioning properly, it isbroken-down.

My car is abroken-down piece of junk.

breakdown n. A breakdown is a situation in which something mechanical hasbroken down.

After that lastbreakdown, I decided it was time for a new car.

2. breakdown p.v. When an arrangement, agreement, negotiation, plan, or marriage breaks down, one or more persons involved is not cooperating or participating because of a disagreement or problem.

After he started drinking heavily, their marriage started tobreak down.
The peace negotiationsbroke down because neither side was willing to compromise.

breakdown n. A situation in which an arrangement, agreement, negotiation, plan, or marriage hasbroken down is abreakdown.

Neither side would give an inch, and there was abreakdown in the negotiations.

3. breakdown p.v. When youbreak down, you lose self-control and become emotionally or mentally confused.

When the judge sentenced Jones to life in prison, hebroke down and begged for mercy.
Tombreaks down whenever he thinks of the tragedy.

breakdown n. A situation in which someone hasbroken down and is very upset or confused is abreakdown.

Marvin had a complete mentalbreakdown and started to see invisible people.

4. break down p.v. When something decomposes or reduces to its smallest parts or is reduced by someone to its smallest parts, itbreaks down.

After the poisonbreaks down, it's quite harmless.

Anticoagulant drugs are used tobreak down blood clots.

5. break... down p.v. When you reduce a process, situation, problem, plan, or idea to its basic parts to make it easier to understand, youbreak itdown.

The professor's plan seemed really complicated, but after hebroke itdown for us, we understood it a little better.

If youbreak the manufacturing processdown into steps, it's easier to train new workers.

6. break ... down p.v. When you use force to go through a door that is locked, youbreak itdown.

The policebroke the doordown and arrested the bank robbers.

A door had to bebroken down to rescue the people trapped by the fire.

1. burn ... down p.v. When a building or other structureburns down or someone burns itdown, it is completely destroyed by fire.

Though most of Chicagoburned down in 1871, a few buildings survived.

The owner was arrested for deliberatelyburning his factorydown.

1. call in p.v. When you call your place of employment to say you cannot work that day because you are sick, youcall in orcall in sick.

The manager was angry when her secretarycalled in three days in a row.

Calling in sick too often is a good way to get fired.

2. call... in p.v. When you request the help of people or of an organization with more experience, power, or knowledge to help with a problem or difficult project, you call themin.

When the local police couldn't handle the riot, the National Guard wascalled in.
The local police chief consideredcalling the FBIin to help solve the crime.

1. find ... out p.v. [not usually separated — the object can be a noun, a noun clause, or a complete sentence] When youfind out information or a fact, you learn or become aware of that information or fact.

If you don't know when the movie starts, look in the newspaper tofind out.

I met a nice man at the party, but I neverfound out his name.

I met a nice man at the party, but I neverfound out what his name was.

I was surprised when Ifound out that he can speak fourteen languages.

I was surprised when Ifound out he can speak fourteen languages.

I tried to get the information, but I couldn'tfind itout.

1. hand... back (to) p.v. When you return things to people by holding them in your hand and extending your arm, youhand themback orhand themback to them.

The teacher willhand the testsback in third period.
The guardhanded my ID cardback to me.

1. look at p.v. When you focus your eyes on people or things, youlook at them.

/ looked at her and told her I loved her.
Look at me when I talk to you!

2. look at p.v. When you examine something or a situation and decide what to do about it, youlook atit.

The mechaniclooked at my car but couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Your finger might be broken; you should have Dr. Smithlook at it.

3. look at p.v. When you think a certain way or have an opinion about something, that is the way youlook at it.

The way Ilook at it, Congress is to blame for this mess, not the President.
What should be done about this situation depends on how youlook at it.

4. look at p.v. [informal — always continuous] When you say that people arelooking at an amount of money or a length of time, you mean that this is how much they think something will cost or how long something will take.

That was a serious injury. You'relooking at months and months of physical therapy.
Putting a new roof on this house isn't going to be cheap. You'relooking at at least $15,000.

1. pile... up p.v. When things increase in number and start to form a pile, theypile up. When people add things to a pile, theypile themup.

Thesnow piled up so high that I couldn't open my door. In the fall wepile the dead leavesup in the driveway and burn them.

piled up part.adj. When things are in a pile, they arepiled up.

A lot of dirty laundry ispiled up in the basement.

2. pile up p.v. When work or something else that must be done increases faster than you can do it, itpiles up.

I'm really worried about money. My bills arepiling up faster than I can pay them.
My work really piled up white I was on vacation.

1. set... up p.v. When you arrange the parts of something so that they are in their proper position and can function, youset itup.

The kids got a swing set for Christmas, and Dad had toset itup in the snow.

When you're camping, be sure to set your tentup before it gets dark.

set up part.adj. After the parts of something are in their proper position and function properly, they areset up.

The party is starting in one hour. Are the tablesset up?

setup n. A collection or arrangement of parts or equipment necessary for a certain procedure or task is asetup.

The nurse preparedsetups for the hospital emergency room.

2. set... up p.v. When you plan and organize an activity or project, youset itup.

I set up a 4:00 meeting with Jones and his lawyer.
Setting up a meeting of all fifty governors took a lot of planning.

set up part.adj. When an activity or project is planned, arranged, or organized, it isset up.

The arrangements for the wedding were very complicated, but everything isset upnow.

setup n. How an activity or project is planned or arranged is thesetup.What's thesetup for the Fourth of July picnic?

3. set... up p.v. [informal] When you commit a crime but make it appear that another, innocent person is guilty of the crime, youset the innocent personup.

Joe robbed the bank and tried toset meup by leaving some of the stolen money in my apartment and then telling the police about it. The detective didn't believe me when I told him I wasset up.

setup n. [informal] An attempt by someone to make it appear that an innocent person is guilty of a crime is asetup.

/ told the detective it was asetup and that I could prove I had been at the racetrack when the bank was robbed.

EXERCISE 5a — Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

1. When he heard that his brother had been killed, he ________ ________ and cried.

2. We're expecting company. Can you ________________ the card table in the dining room?

3. Can you help wash the dishes, please? They're really beginning to ________ ________.

4. I gave the cashier my credit card, and then she ________ it ________ to me.

5. I don't know the answer, but I'll try to ________ ________.

6. We were very busy at work today. Two people ________ ________ sick.

7. Raul _______ ________ his watch and told me he had to leave.

8. My car is a real piece of junk. It ________ ________ at least once a week.

9. I'm a little confused about your theory. Would you mind ________ it ________ for me?

10. I'll tell the judge that I'm innocent and that Ned Kelly________me________.

11. Hey, any way you ________ ________ it, one thing's for sure — we have to get more crooks off the streets and into the jails.

12. This is the FBI — open the door or we'll ________ it ________!

13. Maybe I can fix your computer. I'll________________it after dinner.

14. The family doctor has never seen a case of malaria before, so he is ________ _______ a specialist.

'15. Some chemical compounds start to ________ ________ after only a few hours.

16. The arsonist tried to ________ ________ several houses in the neighborhood.

17. The secretary is ________ ________ a meeting.

18. The civil war started again after the peace talks ________ ________.

19. Jim buys a newspaper every day, but he never puts it in the garbage when he is finished. Newspapers are slowly ________ ________ in his basement.

20. The mechanic said, "To fix a car after an accident that bad, I'd say you're ________ _______ at least $4,000."

EXERCISE 5b— Review the explanation at the beginning of this section of how two-word phrasal verbs are pronounced. Then, say each sentence in Exercise 5a aloud and circle the verb or particle that is accented.

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