Wit and Humour
Phrasal verbs
Learn phrasal verbs, a verb followed by a small word.
Look at three phrases from 'A Funny Man': walking down, taking out, sat down. Each is a verb + a small word (a preposition or adverb), working together as one unit.
These are phrasal verbs. The key thing: their meaning is often different from the separate words. And the same verb with different small words can mean completely different things!
The 'take' family, where no two mean the same:
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| take up | start doing or learning something | Arjun decided to take up painting as a hobby. |
| take after | look or act like (a family member) | Sheela takes after her father; they have the same smile. |
| take in | understand | I tried hard to take in what the writer wanted to say. |
| take over | take control or charge | New technology is set to take over old ways of communicating. |
| take off | become popular quickly (also: leave the ground) | The smartphone quickly took off. |
'Look' works the same way:
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| look after | take care of |
| look up | search for (in a book or dictionary) |
| look into | investigate |
| look out | beware, be careful |
So when you meet a phrasal verb, don't just add up the two words; learn the whole phrase as one meaning.
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