A phrasal verb is a verb that has two or more parts. It is made up of an ordinary verb such as carry, put or go, together with an adverb such as away or in, a preposition such as into or with, or sometimes both an adverb and a preposition. Put down is a phrasal verb; so are look into and get away with.

Phrasal verbs mostly behave in exactly the same way as ordinary verbs. They can be transitive (John put on his pullover) or intransitive (Mary ran away). They can have literal meanings (We went down in the lift) or figurative meanings (The price of petrol has gone down; Julia’s speech went down very well). Some transitive phrasal verbs that consist of a verb and an adverb do have a special ability, however. Their direct object can be put after the verb and adverb (John took off his shoes) or between the verb and the adverb (John took his shoes off). These are called separable phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are an important part of everyday idiomatic English. This book is intended to introduce students to them in the context of short, simple stories with illustrations. Each unit is either a complete little story or forms part of a longer story that comprises three or four units.

1. Burglars beware!
2. Fire, Fire!
4. Feeling tired
5. A lonely giant
6. Look where you're going
7. Early in the morning
8. The postman plays a trick
9. A celebrity arrives
10. Lucy's old dress
, etc.