Phrasal Prepositional Verbs: A Guide to Mastering Them

 

Phrasal Prepositional Verbs

 A Guide to Mastering Them

Introduction

Phrasal prepositional verbs are a combination of a verb, a particle (adverb), and a preposition. Unlike simple phrasal verbs, these require all three components to convey a specific meaning. They are commonly used in everyday English, making them essential for fluency. Understanding their structure and meaning will help improve your communication skills. Below is a list of some commonly used phrasal prepositional verbs, along with their meanings and examples.

Common Phrasal Prepositional Verbs

1. Put up with – Tolerar, soportar

   • I can’t put up with his bad behavior anymore. (No puedo tolerar su mal comportamiento más.)

2. Look forward to – Esperar con ansias

   • She is looking forward to her vacation next month. (Ella espera con ansias sus vacaciones el próximo mes.)

3. Run out of – Quedarse sin

   • We ran out of milk, so I need to go to the store. (Nos quedamos sin leche, así que necesito ir a la tienda.)

4. Come up with – Idear, proponer

   • He came up with a great idea for the project. (Él ideó una gran idea para el proyecto.)

5. Get along with – Llevarse bien con

   • She doesn’t get along with her new coworkers. (Ella no se lleva bien con sus nuevos compañeros de trabajo.)

6. Catch up with – Ponerse al día con

   • I need to catch up with my reading assignments. (Necesito ponerme al día con mis lecturas.)

7. Put down to – Atribuir a

   • He put his success down to hard work. (Él atribuyó su éxito al trabajo duro.)

8. Make up for – Compensar por

   • He bought her flowers to make up for forgetting their anniversary. (Él le compró flores para compensar por haber olvidado su aniversario.)

9. Come down to – Reducirse a, depender de

   • It all comes down to how much effort you put in. (Todo se reduce a cuánto esfuerzo pongas.)

10. Go through with – Llevar a cabo

• She finally went through with her plan to start a business. (Finalmente, llevó a cabo su plan de iniciar un negocio.)

Short Story: The Big Presentation

Mark had been looking forward to his big presentation for weeks. However, the night before, he realized he had run out of time to prepare properly. In a panic, he called his colleague, Lisa, who always came up with great ideas. She reassured him and helped him catch up with the missing details.

The next morning, Mark was nervous, but he reminded himself that it all came down to confidence. As he stood in front of his audience, he knew he had to go through with it. Though he stumbled a bit, he managed to make up for his mistakes with humor. After the presentation, his boss congratulated him, putting his success down to determination and hard work. Mark was relieved and grateful that he had people around him to help him get along with difficult situations.

Conclusion

Mastering phrasal prepositional verbs will significantly improve your English fluency. Try using these verbs in sentences to reinforce your understanding. What other phrasal prepositional verbs do you know? Share them in the comments below!

Now, read the story in Spaish.

La Gran Presentación

Mark había estado esperando con ansias su gran presentación durante semanas. Sin embargo, la noche anterior, se dio cuenta de que se había quedado sin tiempo para prepararse adecuadamente. Preso del pánico, llamó a su colega, Lisa, quien siempre ideaba grandes ideas. Ella lo tranquilizó y lo ayudó a ponerse al día con los detalles que faltaban.

A la mañana siguiente, Mark estaba nervioso, pero se recordó a sí mismo que todo se reducía a la confianza. Cuando se paró frente a su audiencia, supo que tenía que llevarlo a cabo. Aunque tropezó un poco, logró compensar sus errores con humor. Después de la presentación, su jefe lo felicitó, atribuyendo su éxito a la determinación y el trabajo duro. Mark se sintió aliviado y agradecido de tener personas a su alrededor que lo ayudaran a sobrellevar situaciones difíciles.

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Ana