Phrasal Verbs

Look

Look after – could you look after the children while I go shopping

Look at – could you look at my essay before I hand it in

Look for – I am looking for size 36 in light blue

Look forward – I am looking forward to a holiday now

Look into – I have written a letter of complaint and they have promised to look into the matter

Look round – do you want to look round the school before enrolling your children

Look up – if you don’t know the meaning , look them up in a dictionary

Care

Care about (think that somebody /something is important)-  He doesn’t care about other people

Care what/where/ how- I don’t care what you do

Care for somebody/something ( like something)- would you care for some tea?

 Take care of (look after) –Take care of yourself

Verb+ at

Look at / Have a look at/ glance at/ stare at

Why are you looking at me like that?

Can I have a look at that book?

She was staring at me.

Laugh at/ smile at

I look stupid. Everybody will laugh at me.

Aim at/ point (something) at  shout /fire at ( in the direction of)

Don’t point the knife at me. It is dangerous

We saw some people with guns shooting at guns

Verb +to

Talk to / speak to

Can I speak to John

Listen to

I am listening to a song

Write to

I haven’t written to you for a long time

Invite ( somebody)  to ( party/ wedding)

they only invited to a limited people to a party

Explain to/ describe to/ apologize to

Can you explain this to me?

I will describe this to you

You must apologize to him   But (phone somebody  / thank /ask somebody for something)

  

Verb at/to

Shout at somebody (when you are angry)- She was angry and started shouting at me

Shout to somebody (so that they can hear you)-she shouted to me from the other side of the road

Throw something at somebody ( in order to hit)-somebody threw an egg at the minister

Throw something to somebody ( in order to catch)- Throw the ball to me

Verb + about

Talk about / read about /tell somebody about/ have a  discussion about

We talked about a lot of things at the meeting

tell me about you

             But discuss something

We discussed a lot of things at the meeting

Do something about something

If you are worried about the problem, You must do something about that

Verb + for

Ask somebody for

I wrote to the company asking them for more information about the job

But- I asked her a question. They asked me the way to the station

Apply to ( a person or company) for a job

why don’t you apply for it. I think this job would suit you

Wait for.. / wait for.. something to happen

Don’t wait for me. I will join you later

I am not going out yet. I am waiting for the rain to stop

Search  ( a person/ place/ bag) for something

I have searched the house for my keys. But still I can’t find it

Leave a place for another place

I haven’t seen her since she left (home) for work this morning

Verb + about /of /from

Dream about 
I dreamt about you last night

Dream of (imagine) 
I often dream of being rich

Don’t tell anyone what I said. I wouldn’t dream of it ( I would never do it)

Hear about (be told about something)

 Did you hear about the fight in the club on Saturday night

Hear of ( know that somebody /something exist)

 I have no idea. I have never  heard of him

Hear from (receive a letter or phone call from somebody)

Have you heard from Jane recently?  I got a letter from her a few days ago

Think about 
You look serious. What are you thinking about?

 He told me his name but I can’t think of it now

Remind somebody about (tell somebody not to forget)

 I am glad you reminded  me about the meeting.
I had completely forgotten it

Remind somebody of (cause somebody to remember)

This house reminds me of the one I lived in when I was a child

Look at the photograph of Maria. Who does she remind you of?

Complain ( to somebody ) about (say that you are not satisfied)

we complained to the manager about the food

Complain of a pain or illness (say that you have a pain)

We called a doctor because George was complaining of a pain in a stomach

Warn somebody of/about a danger, something bad which might happen

I warned him of/about the dangers of smoking

Verb + of

Accuse /suspect something of

She accused me of being selfish

Three students were suspected of cheating in the examination

Approve of

He parents don’t approve of what he does

Die of

What did he die of? a heart attack

Consist of

We had an enormous meal. It consisted of seven courses

Verb + for

pay (somebody) for

I didn’t have enough money to pay (the waiter) for the meal

But (pay a bill / pay a fine / pay a tax / pay a fare / pay a rent /pay a sum of money)

Thank / forgive somebody for

I will never forgive them for what they did

Apologize to somebody for

When I realized I was wrong, I apologized to them for my mistake

Blame somebody for something

everybody blamed me for the accident

Also  “ somebody is to blame for “

everybody said that I was to blame for the accident

“blame something on”

everybody blamed the accident on me

Verb + from

Suffer from an illness

the number of people suffering from heart disease has increased

Protect somebody/something from

the sun oil can protect the skin from the sun

Verb + on

Depend on/ rely on

what time will you arrive? I don’t know. It will depend on the traffic

you can rely on Jill. She can always keep her promises

Depend + when /where/how etc with /without on

Are you going to buy it? It depends how much it is

Live on

George’s Salary is very low. It is not enough to live on

Congratulate someone on/ compliment  somebody on

I congratulated  her on her success in the exam

Verb + in

Believe in

Do you believe in god?

I believe in saying what I think

Specialize in

She specializes in mathematics

Succeed in

I hope you succeed in finding the job you want

Verb + into

Break into

Our house was broken into a few days ago but nothing was stolen

Crash /drive / bump / run into

he lost control of the car and crashed into a wall

Divide / cut / split  something into

the book is divided into three parts

Cut the meat into small pieces before frying it

Translate from on language into another

His books have been translated into many languages

Verb + with

Collide with

There was an accident this morning. A bus collided with a car

Fill something with

take this saucepan and fill it with water

Provide/supply somebody with

the school provides the students with books

Verb +to

Happen to

what happened to your watch?

Prefer one thing /person to another

I prefer tea to coffee

Verb + on

Concentrate on

Don’t look out of the window. Concentrate on your work

Insist on

I wanted to go alone. But they insisted on coming with me

Spend (money) on

How much money do you spend on food each week.