Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs – Differences

What do Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs have in common and what are the differences?

Two-word verbs can be Phrasal Verbs or Prepositional Verb.

Phrasal Verbs often have a very different (idiomatic) meaning.

• verb: look
• adverb: in
• Phrasal Verb: look in

1. What is the difference between a preposition and an adverb and why this distinction is important.

An object can go before or after an adverb – but it can only go after a preposition. So:

• Phrasal Verbs can be separated
• Prepositional Verbs must not be separated.

1.1. Phrasal Verbs

• correct: verb + object + adverb → I switch the computer on.
• correct: verb adverb + object → I switched on the computer.

1.2. Prepositional Verbs

• correct: verb + preposition + object → The cat jumped on the computer.
• incorrect: verb + object + preposition → The cat jumped the computer on.

Note: Some adverbs can be also used as a preposition. You should use a good dictionary to find out whether the word is an adverb or a preposition. We decided to put Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in one list.

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