Phrasal Verbs Separable

Respuesta correcta: A) off the light

• A) off the lightCorrect! A transitive phrasal verb can be separated, so the object 'the light' goes between the verb and the particle.
• B) the light offNo. The object cannot come before the verb; the particle must stay attached to the verb.
• C) off turn the lightNo. 'Off turn' reverses the order of the verb and the particle.
• D) the off lightNo. 'The off light' would make 'off' part of the noun phrase, which changes the meaning entirely.

Respuesta correcta: B) She picked the book up from the table.

• A) She picked up book the from the table.No. 'Up book the' scrambles the object and the particle and breaks the sentence.
• B) She picked the book up from the table.Correct! The direct object 'the book' is placed between the verb and the particle, which is the separable pattern.
• C) She picked the up book from the table.No. 'The up book' would turn 'up' into part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) She picked book the up from the table.No. 'Book the up' puts the object before the verb, which English does not allow here.

Respuesta correcta: C) the names down

• A) down the namesNo. The particle cannot come before the object in a separated transitive phrasal verb.
• B) the down namesNo. 'The down names' would make 'down' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• C) the names downCorrect! 'Write down' is separable, so the object 'the names' goes between the verb and the particle.
• D) names down theNo. 'Names down the' leaves no verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: D) When the particle itself is a pronoun, such as in 'pick it up'.

• A) When the verb is followed by an article, such as in 'turn the off'.No. 'Turned off the light' would separate the object, which is fully allowed for a noun object.
• B) When the object is longer than two words, such as in 'clean the whole kitchen up'.No. 'Clean the whole kitchen up' is a perfectly normal separation, since the object is a noun phrase.
• C) When the verb is in the past tense, such as in 'looked after her up'.No. The past tense of the verb has no effect on whether the object can be separated.
• D) When the particle itself is a pronoun, such as in 'pick it up'.Correct! A pronoun object has to stay in front of the particle, so 'pick it up' and not 'pick up it'.

Respuesta correcta: A) The plane took the passengers off at the second stop.

• A) The plane took the passengers off at the second stop.Correct! The object 'the passengers' sits between the verb and the particle 'off', which is the separable pattern.
• B) The plane took off passengers the at the second stop.No. 'Off passengers the' scrambles the three parts and breaks the sentence.
• C) The plane took the off passengers at the second stop.No. 'The off passengers' would make 'off' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) The plane took passengers the off at the second stop.No. 'Passengers the off' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: B) the old chairs

• A) away the old chairsNo. The particle cannot come before the object in a separated transitive phrasal verb.
• B) the old chairsCorrect! The object 'the old chairs' is placed between 'threw' and the particle 'away'.
• C) the away old chairsNo. 'The away old chairs' would make 'away' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) old the chairs awayNo. 'Old the chairs away' breaks the order of the adjectives in the noun phrase.

Respuesta correcta: C) She turned it off before leaving the room.

• A) She turned off it before leaving the room.No. 'Turned off it' separates a pronoun, which is not allowed in English.
• B) She turned it before off leaving the room.No. 'Turned it before off' uses a preposition in place of the particle and breaks the verb.
• C) She turned it off before leaving the room.Correct! A pronoun object has to be placed before the particle, which gives the order 'turn it off'.
• D) She turned before it off leaving the room.No. 'Turned before it off' inserts a preposition that does not belong in this phrasal verb.

Respuesta correcta: D) The manager put the meeting off until Friday.

• A) The manager put off meeting the until Friday.No. 'Put off meeting the' scrambles the object and the particle and breaks the sentence.
• B) The manager put the off meeting until Friday.No. 'The off meeting' would make 'off' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• C) The manager put meeting the off until Friday.No. 'Meeting the off' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.
• D) The manager put the meeting off until Friday.Correct! 'Put off' is separable, so the object 'the meeting' goes between the verb and the particle.

Respuesta correcta: A) Please fill in your name at the top of the form.

• A) Please fill in your name at the top of the form.Correct! When the object follows the particle, the phrasal verb is in its normal joined form: 'fill in your name'.
• B) Please fill your name in at the top of the form.No. 'Fill your name in' would work only if the object were a pronoun; with a noun phrase the particle normally follows it.
• C) Please fill in your name of at the top of the form.No. 'In your name of' adds a preposition that does not belong after the object.
• D) Please fill your name of in at the top of the form.No. 'Fill your name of in' inserts a preposition that breaks the two word verb.

Respuesta correcta: B) the heavy boxes

• A) up the heavy boxesNo. The particle cannot come before the object in a separated transitive phrasal verb.
• B) the heavy boxesCorrect! The object 'the heavy boxes' goes between the verb and the particle 'up'.
• C) the up heavy boxesNo. 'The up heavy boxes' would make 'up' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) heavy the boxes upNo. 'Heavy the boxes up' breaks the order of the adjectives and nouns in the object.

Respuesta correcta: C) My neighbour looks the dog after every afternoon.

• A) My neighbour looks after dog the every afternoon.No. 'Looks after dog the' scrambles the object and the particle and breaks the sentence.
• B) My neighbour looks the after dog every afternoon.No. 'The after dog' would make 'after' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• C) My neighbour looks the dog after every afternoon.Correct! The direct object 'the dog' is placed between the verb and the particle 'after'.
• D) My neighbour looks dog the after every afternoon.No. 'Dog the after' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: D) The object is a pronoun, so it must go before the particle: 'She picked it up'.

• A) The sentence is correct, because any object can be placed between the verb and the particle.No. Only pronoun objects are restricted; noun objects such as 'pick the book up' are perfectly normal.
• B) The verb 'picked' is wrong, because a separable phrasal verb cannot be used in the past tense.No. The tense has no bearing on the position of the object in this verb.
• C) The particle 'up' is wrong, because 'pick' does not combine with it.No. 'Pick up' is a standard separable phrasal verb, so the particle itself is correct.
• D) The object is a pronoun, so it must go before the particle: 'She picked it up'.Correct! Pronoun objects cannot be separated from the particle, so the correct order is 'pick it up'.

Respuesta correcta: A) He gave the money back to the person who found it.

• A) He gave the money back to the person who found it.Correct! The object 'the money' sits between the verb and the particle 'back'.
• B) He gave back money the to the person who found it.No. 'Gave back money the' scrambles the three parts and breaks the sentence.
• C) He gave the back money to the person who found it.No. 'The back money' would make 'back' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) He gave money the back to the person who found it.No. 'Money the back' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: B) the engine

• A) away the engineNo. The particle cannot come before the object in a separated transitive phrasal verb.
• B) the engineCorrect! The object 'the engine' is placed between the verb and the particle 'away'.
• C) the away engineNo. 'The away engine' would make 'away' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) engine the awayNo. 'Engine the away' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: C) They have already cleaned the whole kitchen up twice this week.

• A) They have already cleaned up the whole kitchen of twice this week.No. 'The whole kitchen of' adds a preposition that does not belong before 'twice'.
• B) They have already cleaned the up whole kitchen twice this week.No. 'The up whole kitchen' would make 'up' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• C) They have already cleaned the whole kitchen up twice this week.Correct! A long noun phrase can be separated from the particle without any problem in English.
• D) They have already cleaned up whole the kitchen twice this week.No. 'Up whole the kitchen' scrambles the words of the object and breaks the phrase.

Respuesta correcta: D) Please pass the message on to your mother.

• A) Please pass on message the to your mother.No. 'Pass on message the' scrambles the object and the particle and breaks the sentence.
• B) Please pass the on message to your mother.No. 'The on message' would make 'on' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• C) Please pass message the on to your mother.No. 'Message the on' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.
• D) Please pass the message on to your mother.Correct! The object 'the message' goes between the verb and the particle 'on'.

Respuesta correcta: A) They set it up in the corner of the room.

• A) They set it up in the corner of the room.Correct! A pronoun object has to be placed before the particle, giving the order 'set it up'.
• B) They set up it in the corner of the room.No. 'Set up it' separates a pronoun, which is not allowed in English.
• C) They set it before up in the corner of the room.No. 'Set it before up' replaces the particle with a preposition and breaks the verb.
• D) They set before it up in the corner of the room.No. 'Set before it up' inserts a preposition that does not belong in this phrasal verb.

Respuesta correcta: B) down all the names

• A) down the all namesNo. 'The all names' breaks the determiner order, and 'down' cannot come first before the object.
• B) down all the namesCorrect! The object 'all the names' is placed between the verb and the particle 'down'.
• C) the down names allNo. 'The down names' would make 'down' part of the noun phrase instead of the particle.
• D) names all the downNo. 'Names all the down' leaves the sentence without a verb for the object to follow.

Respuesta correcta: C) We used up all the paper in the printer.

• A) We used up all the paper of in the printer.No. 'Used up all the paper of' adds a preposition that does not belong at the end.
• B) We used during all the paper in the printer.No. 'During' is a preposition of time and cannot function as a verb particle.
• C) We used up all the paper in the printer.Correct! 'Use up' means to finish a supply completely, which is what happened to the paper.
• D) We used beside all the paper in the printer.No. 'Beside' is a preposition of place and does not express finishing a supply.

Respuesta correcta: D) With a noun object, the particle normally follows the object in formal English.

• A) Because the particle 'off' cannot be separated from the verb in any case.No. 'Take off' is fully separable, which is exactly what makes both orders possible.
• B) Because a noun object must always come before the verb in a phrasal verb.No. The object cannot come before the verb; the verb has to come first in English.
• C) Because 'took off' can only be used with pronoun objects.No. 'Take off' works with both pronoun objects and noun objects, as this sentence shows.
• D) With a noun object, the particle normally follows the object in formal English.Correct! Separating a noun object sounds informal, so the particle follows it in careful written English.