Advice for Using Phrasal Verbs This is the most important thing to know about phrasal verbs: The meaning of the phrasal verb might not be the same as the meaning of the main verb. It is a good idea to think of every phrasal verb as a completely different verb from the main verb it uses. Using the example above, you can think of “look,” “look into” and “look after” as three completely different verbs. The wonderful thing about phrasal verbs is that sometimes they are the exact, perfect word you need in a sentence. They give you more ways to express yourself. For example, the word “look into” is more general and less formal than words such as “research” and “investigate.” You can use it in more casual situations.
It can also be used in a lot of different situations than it synonyms, so that makes it a great phrasal verb to remember and use. Another good example of how phrasal verbs can help your business English is the difference between “looking at” paperwork and “looking through” paperwork. Both of these phrasal verbs involve “looking.” However, each one is a little different. Looking through paperwork means to carefully read through the words of the documents and all the details.
Looking at the paperwork is much lighter, and means that you are not reading the paperwork as carefully. Looking at papers means just glancing (looking very quickly) at the title and paper itself. Different Types of Phrasal Verbs There are two good ways to divide phrasal verbs. One way is based on if the phrasal verb needs an object or not. The grammatical terms for these are transitive (verbs that need an object) and intransitive (verbs that don’t need an object).