As you continue to learn English, you’ll notice that prepositions are often used with verbs to form phrasal verbs or verb phrases (Some teachers call them idioms.) The combination of a verb and a preposition can have many different meanings.
| idiom / meaning | example |
|---|---|
get back = return | What time will you get back? |
get in = enter | She’s trying to get in the house. |
get by = pass | That truck wants to get by us. |
put on = dress | He’s putting on his shoes. |
put off = delay | Don’t put off your homework. |
put down = insult | His wife always puts him down. |
look up = find info. | Look the information up online. |
look at = watch | They’re looking at you. |
look out = beware | Look out for falling rocks! |
bring up = ask | Sam brought up a good question. |
| bring back = return | I have to bring these books back. |
bring along = carry | Bring along an umbrella. |
As you can see and hear from the examples above, there are many different combinations of verbs and prepositions that you have to remember. This takes years of practice, but it’s worth the effort because these phrasal verbs are very common in American and British English.
Sometimes a single combination of a verb and a preposition might have several different meanings. An example of that is go + by.
It’s cold outside.
8. It’s not a good idea to ________ ________ the sun for too long.
The answers are below.
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Next: Lesson Twenty-nine
will be
ANSWERS:
1. look….up; 2. get by; 3. Bring along; 4. put….off; 5. bring…up; 6. go by; 7. Put…on ; 8. look at