What is the difference between separable and inseparable?

A separable phrasal verb allows you to place the object between the verb and the particle (turn the offer down). An inseparable phrasal verb always keeps the verb and particle together (look after the children).

Are phrasal verbs common on the TOEIC®?

Yes, very common. They appear in Part 5 (incomplete sentences), Part 6 (text completion), and in Part 3 dialogues. They are also frequent in business emails in Part 7.

How to tell a phrasal verb from a verb + preposition?

If the meaning changes completely with the particle, it is a phrasal verb (put off = postpone ≠ put = place). If the preposition keeps its normal spatial or temporal meaning, it is simply a verb followed by a preposition.

How many phrasal verbs should I know for the TOEIC®?

You should master at least 50 to 80 common phrasal verbs used in professional contexts. Focus on those related to meetings, business, and communication.

Phrasal Verbs for the TOEIC: List, Meanings & Traps

Q: What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a particle (preposition or adverb) that creates a new unit of meaning. For example, give up (to quit) has a different meaning from give (to hand over).

What Is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a short word such as in, on, up, off, out, away, down, or back. This combination creates a new unit of meaning, often very different from the verb alone.

Phrasal verbs are everywhere in everyday and business English. On the TOEIC®, they appear in all sections, especially in Parts 5, 6, and 7. If you are just starting, focus on the 10 most common business phrasal verbs in the table below first.

Separable or Inseparable? The Quick Rule

To tell whether a phrasal verb is separable, check if the object can sit between the verb and the particle. If both Turn down the offer and Turn the offer down are correct, the verb is separable. If the verb and particle must stay together (Look after the children, never *Look the children after), it is inseparable. Here are three reliable rules of thumb:

With a pronoun, a separable verb always splits: say turn it down, never *turn down it.
Most three-word phrasal verbs are inseparable: come up with, look forward to, and get back to keep their words together.
When in doubt, do not split: keeping the verb and particle together is correct for both types, except with a pronoun.

Worked example: call off is separable. You can say call off the meeting or call the meeting off, and with a pronoun you must split it: call it off. The "Type" column in the reference table below gives you the answer for each verb.

Common Phrasal Verbs by Category

Business and Office

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
carry out	to perform, to conduct	We need to carry out a survey.
set up	to establish, to create	She set up a new department.
take over	to assume control	He will take over as manager.
draw up	to draft (a document)	Please draw up a contract.
look into	to investigate	We will look into the complaint.

Meetings and Communication

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
bring up	to raise (a topic)	She brought up the budget issue.
call off	to cancel	They called off the meeting.
put off	to postpone	We had to put off the launch.
turn down	to reject	He turned down the offer.
come up with	to think of (an idea)	We need to come up with a solution.

Separable vs Inseparable

Some phrasal verbs are separable: you can place the object between the verb and the particle. Others are inseparable: the verb and particle must stay together.

Separable Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verb	Correct	Also Correct
fill in	Fill in the form.	Fill the form in.
turn down	Turn down the offer.	Turn the offer down.
call off	Call off the event.	Call the event off.

Important rule: with a pronoun, the object must always go between the verb and the particle: Turn it down. (never *Turn down it.)

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verb	Correct	Incorrect
look after	Look after the clients.	*Look the clients after.
look into	Look into the matter.	*Look the matter into.
come across	I came across an error.	*I came an error across.

The Most Tested Phrasal Verbs for the TOEIC®

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Type
carry out	to perform, to conduct	separable
fill in / fill out	to complete (a form)	separable
figure out	to understand, to solve	separable
put off	to postpone	separable
call off	to cancel	separable
turn down	to reject	separable
set up	to establish	separable
take over	to assume control	separable
look into	to investigate	inseparable
look forward to	to anticipate with pleasure	inseparable
come up with	to think of (an idea)	inseparable
bring up	to raise (a topic)	separable

Phrasal Verb vs Verb + Preposition

Not every "verb + small word" group is a phrasal verb. In a true phrasal verb, the particle changes the meaning of the verb (put off = postpone, very different from put = place). In a plain verb followed by a preposition, the preposition (in, at, on) keeps its normal spatial or temporal sense, and the verb keeps its own meaning.

Example	Type	Why
put off the meeting	phrasal verb	meaning changes: postpone, not place
put the file on the table	verb + preposition	on keeps its spatial sense (on top of)
call off the deal	phrasal verb	off = cancel, idiomatic sense

Common TOEIC® Traps

Misplaced pronoun: with a pronoun, a separable phrasal verb must be separated. Turn it down (never *Turn down it)
Confusing particles: look after (take care of) ≠ look for (search) ≠ look into (investigate)
look forward to + -ing: the to is a preposition, not an infinitive marker. Say I look forward to meeting you (not *to meet)
fill in vs fill out: both mean "to complete a form." Fill in is more British, fill out more American
Phrasal verb vs formal verb: on the TOEIC®, formal register often uses a single verb (postpone instead of put off)

These traps come up frequently in TOEIC® Part 5, which directly tests your knowledge of phrasal verbs and their structure.

Part 5 style sample question: "The manager decided to ____ the meeting until next week. (A) call off (B) call for (C) call on (D) call up." The correct answer is (A) call off (cancel / postpone), the only phrasal verb whose meaning fits the sentence.

Preparation Tips

Learn in context: memorize phrasal verbs in complete sentences from the business world
Group by base verb: study all phrasal verbs formed with take, then put, then turn, etc.
Note separability: knowing whether a phrasal verb is separable or not is essential for Part 5
Train on Part 5: this is the part where phrasal verbs are most frequently tested

Put this knowledge into practice with our free TOEIC® practice exercises. For a complete study method, see our TOEIC® preparation guide.

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