Unit 68 – Separable phrasal verbs (B1)

Introduction

Phrasal verbs can feel unpredictable: the verb is familiar, the particle is small, and yet the meaning can change completely. In this unit, you will focus on a very practical question: when can you put the object between the verb and the particle? Understanding separable phrasal verbs will help you sound more natural, avoid common word-order mistakes, and choose the best structure in real conversation and writing.

Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you will be able to: identify common separable phrasal verbs; place noun objects correctly (either position); place pronoun objects correctly (only between the verb and particle); and choose the most natural word order in context.

1) What “separable” means

A separable phrasal verb is a verb + particle (often an adverb like up, off, out) where the object can go in two positions:

Option A: verb + particle + object
Example: I turned off the light.

Option B: verb + object + particle
Example: I turned the light off.

Important concept
With many separable phrasal verbs, both word orders are correct with a noun object. The difference is usually about style and clarity, not grammar.

2) The key rule: pronoun objects must go in the middle

When the object is a pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), it must go between the verb and the particle:

Correct: Turn it off.
Incorrect: Turn off it.

Correct: I’ll pick you up at 7.
Incorrect: I’ll pick up you at 7.

Warning
If you use a pronoun object, do not put it after the particle. This is one of the most common B1 mistakes with separable phrasal verbs.

3) Choosing the best position with noun objects

When the object is a noun, you can often choose either position. However, English speakers tend to separate the phrasal verb when:

a) The object is long
More natural: She put off the meeting.
Often clearer: She put the meeting with the new clients off.

b) You want to focus on the object
I looked the word up (focus on “the word”).

c) The object is a short noun and the sentence is informal
I turned the TV on.

4) Common separable phrasal verbs (B1 set)

Here are useful separable phrasal verbs you will meet often:

turn on / turn off (activate/deactivate)
pick up (collect; learn informally)
put off (postpone)
bring back (return; make someone remember)
throw away (dispose of)
look up (search for information)
fill in (complete a form)
take off (remove clothing; also “leave the ground” for planes, but that meaning is not separable with an object in the same way)

Notice how the same verb can appear in different situations, but the word order rule for pronouns stays stable:

Fill it in. / Fill in the form. / Fill the form in.

Practice

Practice section
Complete each item by choosing the correct word order. Answers are included.

Exercise	Answer
1) (turn off / it) Please ________. (Use the correct order.)	Please turn it off.
2) Rewrite using the other correct position: “I turned off the light.”	I turned the light off.
3) (pick up / them) I’ll ________ at the station. (Use the correct order.)	I’ll pick them up at the station.
4) Choose the correct sentence: A) She looked up it. B) She looked it up.	B) She looked it up.
5) Rewrite using a pronoun: “Please throw away these papers.”	Please throw them away.
6) Choose the most natural option for a long object: A) He put off the meeting with the international team. B) He put the meeting with the international team off.	B) He put the meeting with the international team off.
7) (fill in / it) Can you ________ now? (Use the correct order.)	Can you fill it in now?
8) Rewrite using the other correct position: “They brought back the old tradition.”	They brought the old tradition back.
9) Correct the mistake: “Turn on it, please.”	Turn it on, please.
10) Make one correct sentence with “look up” and the noun “address” (either correct position).	I looked up the address. / I looked the address up.

Unit 68

Exercises-Separable phrasal verbs

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