Phrasal verbs: verbos formados por un verbo y una partícula (up, out, off, on…). Juntos tienen un significado nuevo que muchas veces no se deduce de las palabras: give up = rendirse.
1 · Concepto
¿Qué es un phrasal verb?
Un phrasal verb combina un verbo con una o dos partículas (adverbios o preposiciones). La partícula cambia el significado del verbo, a veces de forma lógica (sit down = sentarse) y a veces de forma idiomática (put up with = soportar).
Son la base del inglés hablado. Un nativo casi siempre dirá find out en lugar de discover, y give up en lugar de abandon. Por eso entenderlos es clave para la conversación, las series y los exámenes.
Turn off the lights before you leave.
Apaga las luces antes de irte.
I finally found out the truth.
Por fin descubrí la verdad.
Don't give up!
¡No te rindas!
2 · Tipos
Los cuatro tipos
Separables
El objeto puede ir en medio o al final. Si el objeto es un pronombre (it, them, her…), va obligatoriamente en medio.
Turn off the TV. / Turn the TV off. / Turn it off.
Apaga el televisor. / Apágalo.
Inseparables
El objeto siempre va después de la partícula.
She looks after her grandmother. / She looks after her.
Ella cuida a su abuela. / Ella la cuida.
Intransitivos
No llevan objeto.
The car broke down on the highway.
El carro se accidentó en la autopista.
De tres palabras
Verbo + partícula + preposición. Son inseparables.
I'm looking forward to the trip.
Tengo muchas ganas del viaje.
3 · Lista
Más de 80 phrasal verbs frecuentes
Mostrando 82 de 82
| Phrasal verb | Significado | Ejemplo | Tipo | Verbo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| back up | respaldar; hacer copia de seguridad | Always back up your files. | Separable | back |
| break down | averiarse; derrumbarse | My car broke down again. | Intransitivo | break |
| break into | entrar a robar | Someone broke into the office. | Inseparable | break |
| break up | terminar una relación | They broke up last year. | Intransitivo | break |
| bring up | criar; sacar un tema | She brought up an interesting point. | Separable | bring |
| call back | devolver la llamada | I'll call you back in five minutes. | Separable | call |
| call off | cancelar | They called off the meeting. | Separable | call |
| calm down | calmarse | Calm down and tell me what happened. | Intransitivo | calm |
| carry on | continuar | Carry on with your work. | Intransitivo | carry |
| carry out | llevar a cabo | The team carried out a survey. | Separable | carry |
| catch up with | ponerse al día con; alcanzar | I need to catch up with my emails. | Tres palabras | catch |
| check in | registrarse (hotel, aeropuerto) | We checked in at noon. | Intransitivo | check |
| check out | salir del hotel; echar un vistazo | Check out this video! | Separable | check |
| come across | encontrar por casualidad | I came across an old photo. | Inseparable | come |
| come back | volver | When are you coming back? | Intransitivo | come |
| come in | entrar | Come in and sit down. | Intransitivo | come |
| come up | surgir | Something came up at work. | Intransitivo | come |
| come up with | idear; ocurrírsele | She came up with a great idea. | Tres palabras | come |
| cut down on | reducir el consumo de | I'm cutting down on sugar. | Tres palabras | cut |
| deal with | lidiar con; encargarse de | I'll deal with the problem tomorrow. | Inseparable | deal |
| figure out | descifrar; entender | I can't figure out this exercise. | Separable | figure |
| fill in | rellenar (un formulario) | Please fill in this form. | Separable | fill |
| find out | averiguar; enterarse | How did you find out? | Separable | find |
| get along with | llevarse bien con | I get along with my coworkers. | Tres palabras | get |
| get away with | salirse con la suya | He got away with cheating. | Tres palabras | get |
| get back | regresar | We got back late last night. | Intransitivo | get |
| get by | arreglárselas | I get by with very little money. | Intransitivo | get |
| get off | bajarse (de un transporte) | Get off the bus at the next stop. | Inseparable | get |
| get on | subirse (a un transporte) | She got on the plane. | Inseparable | get |
| get over | superar; recuperarse de | It took her weeks to get over the flu. | Inseparable | get |
| get rid of | deshacerse de | I want to get rid of these old clothes. | Tres palabras | get |
| get up | levantarse | I get up at six every day. | Intransitivo | get |
| give back | devolver | Give me back my pen. | Separable | give |
| give in | ceder; darse por vencido | Her parents finally gave in. | Intransitivo | give |
| give up | rendirse; dejar (un hábito) | He gave up smoking. | Separable | give |
| go off | sonar (alarma); explotar | My alarm went off at five. | Intransitivo | go |
| go on | continuar; pasar | What's going on? | Intransitivo | go |
| go out | salir (a divertirse) | Let's go out tonight. | Intransitivo | go |
| go over | repasar | Let's go over the plan again. | Inseparable | go |
| go through | pasar por; revisar | She went through a difficult time. | Inseparable | go |
| grow up | crecer; criarse | I grew up in Puerto La Cruz. | Intransitivo | grow |
| hang out | pasar el rato | We hang out at the mall on Saturdays. | Intransitivo | hang |
| hang up | colgar (el teléfono) | Don't hang up! | Intransitivo | hang |
| log in | iniciar sesión | Log in with your student ID. | Intransitivo | log |
| look after | cuidar | Can you look after my dog? | Inseparable | look |
| look for | buscar | I'm looking for my keys. | Inseparable | look |
| look forward to | esperar con ansias | I look forward to hearing from you. | Tres palabras | look |
| look into | investigar | We will look into your complaint. | Inseparable | look |
| look out | tener cuidado | Look out! A car is coming. | Intransitivo | look |
| look up | buscar (en un diccionario o internet) | Look up the word in the dictionary. | Separable | look |
| look up to | admirar | I look up to my older sister. | Tres palabras | look |
| make out | distinguir; entender | I can't make out what he's saying. | Separable | make |
| make up | inventar; reconciliarse | He made up an excuse. | Separable | make |
| pick up | recoger; aprender sin estudiar | I'll pick you up at eight. | Separable | pick |
| point out | señalar | She pointed out a mistake. | Separable | point |
| put away | guardar | Put away your toys. | Separable | put |
| put off | posponer | Don't put off your homework. | Separable | put |
| put on | ponerse (ropa) | Put on your jacket. | Separable | put |
| put out | apagar (fuego, cigarro) | The firefighters put out the fire. | Separable | put |
| put up with | soportar; aguantar | I can't put up with this noise. | Tres palabras | put |
| run away | huir; escaparse | The dog ran away. | Intransitivo | run |
| run into | toparse con alguien | I ran into my teacher at the mall. | Inseparable | run |
| run out of | quedarse sin | We ran out of milk. | Tres palabras | run |
| set off | salir de viaje | We set off at dawn. | Intransitivo | set |
| set up | montar; establecer | They set up a new business. | Separable | set |
| show up | aparecer; llegar | He showed up two hours late. | Intransitivo | show |
| sort out | resolver; organizar | Let's sort out this problem. | Separable | sort |
| stand out | destacar | Her work really stands out. | Intransitivo | stand |
| take after | parecerse a (un familiar) | She takes after her father. | Inseparable | take |
| take care of | cuidar; encargarse de | I'll take care of the tickets. | Tres palabras | take |
| take off | despegar; quitarse (ropa) | The plane took off on time. | Separable | take |
| take over | asumir el control | A new manager took over the company. | Separable | take |
| take up | empezar (un hobby) | I took up yoga last year. | Separable | take |
| throw away | botar | Don't throw away that box. | Separable | throw |
| try on | probarse (ropa) | Can I try on these shoes? | Separable | try |
| turn down | rechazar; bajar (volumen) | She turned down the job offer. | Separable | turn |
| turn into | convertirse en | The caterpillar turned into a butterfly. | Inseparable | turn |
| turn off | apagar | Turn off your phone, please. | Separable | turn |
| turn on | encender | Turn on the air conditioning. | Separable | turn |
| turn up | subir (volumen); aparecer | Turn up the music! | Separable | turn |
| wake up | despertarse; despertar a alguien | Wake me up at seven. | Separable | wake |
| work out | hacer ejercicio; resolver | I work out three times a week. | Separable | work |
4 · Registros
Phrasal verb (informal) vs. verbo formal
| Informal: phrasal verb | Formal: verbo de origen latino | Español |
|---|---|---|
| find out | discover | descubrir |
| put off | postpone | posponer |
| go up | increase | aumentar |
| go down | decrease | disminuir |
| carry out | conduct | llevar a cabo |
| look into | investigate | investigar |
| call off | cancel | cancelar |
| put up with | tolerate | tolerar |
| get in touch with | contact | contactar |
| set up | establish | establecer |
| give up | abandon | abandonar |
| come back | return | regresar |
En una conversación o un mensaje usa el phrasal verb. En un informe, un correo corporativo o un ensayo académico, el verbo formal suena más profesional.
5 · Reglas
Reglas y notas
Regla 1
Con los separables, un pronombre siempre va en medio: turn it off, nunca turn off it.
Regla 2
Si la partícula final es una preposición (to, of, with), el verbo que sigue va en -ing: I look forward to seeing you.
Regla 3
Un mismo phrasal verb puede tener varios significados según el contexto: take off = despegar o quitarse la ropa.
Regla 4
Se conjugan como el verbo principal: give up → gave up → given up.
6 · Cuidado
Errores comunes
Turn off it.
Turn it off.
I look forward to see you.
I look forward to seeing you.
Can you look my dog after?
Can you look after my dog?
I'll pick up you at eight.
I'll pick you up at eight.
We run out of milk yesterday.
We ran out of milk yesterday.
She gived up smoking.
She gave up smoking.
7 · Práctica
Practica
Completa con la partícula o la forma correcta del phrasal verb.
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