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Phrasal verbs essenziali

Verbo + preposizione = significato nuovo. Sono ovunque nel parlato. Qui i più usati con esempi reali e tutti i tip per non sbagliare separazione.

Cosa sono i phrasal verbs

Un phrasal verb è un verbo + 1 (a volte 2) particelle (preposizioni o avverbi) che insieme assumono un significato spesso diverso dal verbo originale.

to look = guardare → to look up = cercare (un'info)"Look up the word in the dictionary."
to give = dare → to give up = arrendersi"Don't give up!"
to run = correre → to run out (of) = finire/esaurire"We ran out of milk."

Perché impararli: il parlato inglese li usa al posto dei verbi "alti" (to ascertain → to find out; to postpone → to put off). Senza phrasal verbs suoni libresco e capisci a metà.

Separabili vs inseparabili — la regola d'oro

Separabili: oggetto può andare prima o dopo la particella. "Turn the light off" = "Turn off the light". MA se l'oggetto è un pronome (it, them, him, her), DEVE andare in mezzo: "Turn it off" ✓ — "Turn off it" ✗

Inseparabili: verbo + particella restano sempre incollati. "Look after the kids" ✓ — "Look the kids after" ✗

Phrasal verb	Tipo	Pronome dove va
turn off / on (spegnere/accendere)	separabile	`turn it off`
pick up (raccogliere/passare a prendere)	separabile	`pick him up`
look after (badare a)	inseparabile	`look after them`
look for (cercare)	inseparabile	`look for it`
get over (superare)	inseparabile	`get over it`
put off (rimandare)	separabile	`put it off`

Trick: nel dubbio se è separabile, usa la forma "incollata" (verbo+particella+oggetto). Funziona in ~90% dei casi tranne quando l'oggetto è un pronome — lì DEVI separare se il verbo è separabile.

I 20 phrasal verbs essenziali (li senti ogni giorno)

to wake up — svegliarsi"I wake up at 7 every day."
to get up — alzarsi (dal letto)"I get up at 7:15."
to find out — scoprire"I just found out about it."
to figure out — capire (risolvere)"Let me figure this out."
to look forward to — non vedere l'ora"I'm looking forward to the weekend." Sempre seguito da -ing!
to come back — tornare"When are you coming back?"
to go on — continuare/succedere"What's going on?"
to hang out — passare tempo insieme"Wanna hang out tonight?"
to show up — presentarsi/arrivare"He didn't show up."
to set up — configurare/organizzare"I'll set up a meeting."
to bring up — sollevare (un argomento)"She brought up an interesting point."
to back up — sostenere / fare backup"I'll back you up." / "Back up your files."
to check in / out — fare check-in / out"We'll check in at 3."
to drop off — lasciare (qcs/qcn)"I'll drop you off at the station."
to pick up — passare a prendere / migliorare"Pick me up at 8." / "Sales are picking up."
to run into — incontrare per caso"I ran into Mark yesterday."
to put off — rimandare"Don't put it off any longer."
to count on — contare su"You can count on me."
to go through — affrontare/esaminare"She's going through a tough time."
to take care of — prendersi cura"I'll take care of it."

Phrasal verbs con UP

UP spesso suggerisce: completare, aumentare, migliorare, alzare. È la particella più usata.

to give up — arrendersi"Never give up."
to look up — cercare (info nel dizionario / online)"Look it up on Google."
to make up — inventarsi / fare la pace"He made up an excuse." / "They made up after the fight."
to clean up — pulire/sistemare"Clean up your room!"
to grow up — crescere (diventare adulto)"I grew up in Milan."
to cheer up — tirare su di morale"Cheer up, it's not that bad!"
to shut up — stare zitto (informale, scortese)"Shut up!"
to fill up — riempire"Fill up the tank, please."
to end up — finire (con un risultato)"We ended up staying home."
to come up with — proporre/inventare"I came up with a great idea."
to show up — presentarsi (ripetuto)"He showed up late."
to stand up — alzarsi in piedi / difendere"Stand up for yourself."

Phrasal verbs con DOWN

DOWN spesso suggerisce: ridurre, abbassare, completare verso il basso, rifiutare, abbattere.

to calm down — calmarsi"Calm down, it's fine."
to slow down — rallentare"Could you slow down?"
to write down — annotare"Write it down so you don't forget."
to break down — guastarsi / crollare"My car broke down."
to turn down — rifiutare / abbassare il volume"They turned down my offer." / "Turn the music down."
to shut down — spegnere (computer/sistema)"Shut down the PC."
to cut down (on) — ridurre"I'm cutting down on sugar."
to let down — deludere"Don't let me down."
to settle down — sistemarsi (vita)"He wants to settle down and have a family."

Phrasal verbs con OUT

OUT spesso suggerisce: uscire, finire/esaurire, rivelare, distribuire.

to find out — scoprire"I'll find out tomorrow."
to figure out — capire/risolvere"I can't figure it out."
to work out — allenarsi / risolvere / funzionare"I work out three times a week." / "Things will work out."
to run out (of) — esaurire"We're running out of time."
to go out — uscire (sera) / spegnersi"Let's go out tonight." / "The lights went out."
to hang out — uscire/stare insieme"Want to hang out later?"
to check out — fare check-out / dare un'occhiata"Check this out!"
to point out — far notare"He pointed out the mistake."
to fill out — compilare (modulo)"Fill out this form, please."
to sort out — sistemare/risolvere"I'll sort it out."
to stand out — distinguersi"Her work stands out."
to eat out — mangiare fuori"Let's eat out tonight."

Phrasal verbs con ON / OFF

ON = continuare, attivare, addosso. OFF = staccare, spegnere, partire, allontanarsi.

to turn on / off — accendere / spegnere"Turn on the light. Turn it off."
to put on — indossare"Put on your jacket."
to take off — togliere (vestiti) / decollare"Take off your shoes." / "The plane took off at 8."
to get on / off — salire / scendere (treno, bus)"Get on the bus. We get off at the next stop."
to hold on — aspettare un momento"Hold on a second."
to go on — continuare / succedere"Go on, I'm listening. What's going on?"
to call off — annullare"They called off the meeting."
to show off — mettersi in mostra/vantarsi"Stop showing off."
to set off — partire/iniziare un viaggio"We set off at dawn."
to take off — decollare / partire all'improvviso (US: avere successo)"His career took off."

Phrasal verbs con IN / BACK

to check in — fare check-in"Check in at the front desk."
to fill in — compilare (UK) / sostituire"Fill in this form." / "Can you fill in for me?"
to drop in — passare brevemente"I dropped in to say hi."
to give in — cedere/arrendersi"I won't give in."
to plug in — collegare alla corrente"Plug it in."
to come back — tornare"I'll come back later."
to call back — richiamare"I'll call you back."
to get back — tornare / ricevere indietro"I'll get back to you on this." (ti faccio sapere)
to look back — guardare indietro"Looking back, it was the right choice."
to pay back — restituire (soldi)"I'll pay you back next week."

Phrasal verbs per il lavoro

Questi compaiono in ogni email e meeting. Saperli ti fa suonare madrelingua nel business English.

to follow up — dare seguito"I'm following up on my email."
to reach out (to) — contattare"Feel free to reach out."
to set up — organizzare/configurare"Let's set up a call."
to roll out — lanciare (prodotto/feature)"We're rolling out the new version next week."
to run by — sottoporre per opinione"Let me run this by my manager."
to come up — emergere / spuntare"Something came up."
to wrap up — concludere"Let's wrap up the meeting."
to kick off — iniziare (formale)"We kicked off the project."
to push back (on) — contestare/rinviare"I'd push back on that."
to circle back — riprendere un argomento"Let's circle back next week."
to loop in — includere (in conversazione)"I'll loop you in on the email."
to opt out / in — uscire da / entrare in"You can opt out anytime."

Errore comune italiani: dire "I follow up your email". Corretto: "I'm following up on your email". La preposizione on è obbligatoria.