Intransitive phrasal verbs

X subject X verb particle X.

Immediately he came over.

He immediately came over.

He came over immediately.

Separable phrasal verbs

X subject X verb particle object X.

X subject X verb object particle X.

Angrily she ripped up the paper.

Angrily she ripped the paper up.

She angrily ripped up the paper.

She angrily ripped the paper up.

She ripped up the paper angrily.

She ripped the paper up angrily.

Nonseparable phrasal verbs

X subject X verb X particle object X.

Slowly we headed into town.

We slowly headed into town.

We headed slowly into town.

We headed into town slowly.

Three-word phrasal verbs

X subject X verb? particle? object X.

Eventually I grew out of the sweater.

I eventually grew out of the sweater.

I grew out of the sweater eventually.

Placing adverbs within three-word phrasal verbs is sometimes possible, but it can be problematic. Sometimes an adverb between the verb and first particle sounds acceptable and other times it does not. Sometimes, an adverb placed between the two particles sounds acceptable, and other times it will not. This is more a matter of style than of what is correct or incorrect, so unless you are sure it sounds okay, it is better not to place adverbs within three-word verbs.

1. come over (to) p.v. When people move from one side of a place to the other, where you are, they come over or come over to where you are.

Come over here and say that again.

When he saw me, he immediately came over to my table and said hello.

2. come over (to) p.v. When people come to your house for a visit, they come over or come over to your house.

Would you like to come over tonight?

Jim comes over to my house every night.

3. come over p.v. When people cross a river or cross the ocean from east to west or west to east, they come over.

My grandparents came over from Sweden in 1904.

The ferry comes over to this side of the lake every day at 5:30 p.m.

1. fall apart p.v. When the parts of something become completely separated because it is old or in bad condition, it falls apart.

These old shoes are starting to fall apart.

There's no way to fix this thing. It has completely fallen apart.

2. fall apart p.v. When a plan, arrangement, system, or agreement fails, it falls apart.

After five difficult years, their marriage totally fell apart.

The peace agreement is slowly falling apart.

3. fall apart p.v. When people suddenly lose control and start laughing or become very upset or emotional, they fall apart.

Sally fell apart when she heard the tragic news.

Tom was so funny at the party last night that I just fell apart laughing.

1. get back at p.v. When you get back at people, you do something bad to them because they have done something bad to you.

John won't forget what you did to him. He'll definitely get back at you someday.

She wants to get back at her ex-husband for the way he treated her.

1. go about p.v. When you go about something or go about doing something, you begin or continue to follow all the steps necessary to do it.

I have no idea how to go about opening a restaurant.

Everyday he quietly went about his business and never caused any problems.

1..grow out of p.v. When people become too tall or too big to wear an item of clothing, they grow out of

the item of clothing.

I bought Susie's shoes one size too big, but she's quickly growing out of them.

Do you want these clothes for your daughter? Mine has grown out of them.

2. grow out of p.v. When people become too mature for a toy, for an interest, or for a form of behavior, they have grown out of it.

Judy had a big crush on a rock star when she was in high school, but after a while she grew out of it.

Jim's son is going through a difficult stage, but he'll grow out of it in a couple of years.

1. head into p.v. When you head into or are headed into a place or area, you begin to enter it.

I almost had an accident as I was heading into town.

We scared away the bear, and it headed slowly into the woods.

Jim was headed into Ashland when his car broke down.

1. rip ...up p.v. When you tear paper or cloth into many pieces, you rip it up.

Nancy was furious when she read Tom's letter, and she angrily ripped it up.

Always rip up a check before you put it in the wastebasket.

ripped up part.adj. After a piece of paper or cloth has been torn into many small piece, it is ripped up.

After the kids opened their Christmas presents, the floor was covered with ripped up paper.

1. wear... down p.v. When something wears down or when someone wears something down, the top or surface gradually disappears because of friction.

The feet of thousands of visitors a year have worn down the marble steps.

The mechanic told me that my car's brake pads have worn down badly and need to be replaced.

worn down part.adj. After the top or surface of something has gradually disappeared because of friction, it is worn down.

The marble steps are very old and worn down.

The tread on these tires is dangerously worn down.

2. wear ... down p.v. When people wear you down, they gradually persuade you, through persistent pressure, to change your mind about a decision.

He wouldn't tell me the answer, but little by little, I wore him down.

She still will not give us permission, but I think we're wearing her down.