Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a particle to create a brand new meaning that is often idiomatic.
- The meaning is usually different from the individual words (e.g., 'give up' means stop).
- Only the verb part changes for tense (e.g., 'get up' becomes 'got up').
- If the object is a pronoun, it must go in the middle of separable verbs.
Overview
Phrasal Verbs(구동사)는 마치 넘기 힘든 거대한 벽처럼 느껴지곤 합니다. get, take, look처럼 이미 잘 알고 있는 쉬운 단어들인데, 뒤에 up, off, out 같은 작은 단어들이 붙으면서 전혀 예상치 못한 뜻으로 변하기 때문이죠. 예를 들어, get은 '얻다'라는 뜻이지만, get up은 '일어나다'가 되고, get over는 '극복하다'가 됩니다.회식을 취소했어라고 하기보다
회식 때려치웠어나
회식 안 하기로 했어처럼 상황에 따라 다양한 어감을 사용하는 것과 비슷합니다. 원어민들은
extinguish라는 단어 대신 put out을 쓰고, postpone 대신 put off를 훨씬 더 자주 사용합니다.up, on, off 같은 소사들이 동사의 원래 의미를 완전히 비틀어버리는 '관용적(Idiomatic)' 성격이 강하기 때문입니다.- 1자동사적 구동사 (Intransitive Phrasal Verbs):
- 예:
The plane took off.(비행기가 이륙했다.) - 여기서
took off는 '이륙하다'라는 뜻으로, 뒤에 무엇을 이륙시켰는지 목적어가 올 수 없습니다. 한국어의 '일어나다', '졸다'처럼 행동의 주체에게만 집중하는 동사들입니다.
- 1타동사적 구동사 (Transitive Phrasal Verbs):
- 분리 가능한 구동사 (Separable): 목적어의 위치가 소사 앞이나 뒤 모두 가능합니다.
Turn on the light.(O)Turn the light on.(O)- 분리 불가능한 구동사 (Inseparable): 동사와 소사가 항상 붙어 있어야 하며, 목적어는 반드시 소사 뒤에 옵니다.
I am looking for my keys.(O)I am looking my keys for.(X)
it, them, him 등)일 때입니다. 분리 가능한 구동사에서 목적어가 대명사라면, 반드시 동사와 소사 사이에 위치해야 합니다.Turn it on.(O)Turn on it.(X)
I woke up at 7. |Can you pick me up? |I ran into an old friend. |I'm looking forward to it. |up: 위로 향하는 이미지뿐만 아니라 '완전히', '끝까지'라는 강조의 의미도 있습니다. (eat up- 다 먹어 치우다)off: '분리'나 '이탈'의 이미지입니다. (take off- 옷을 벗다, 이륙하다)out: '안에서 밖으로' 혹은 '끝까지'의 의미입니다. (work out- 운동하다, 문제를 해결하다)
look at: ~을 보다rely on: ~에 의존하다deal with: ~을 다루다
put up with: ~을 참다 (Tolerate)run out of: ~이 다 떨어지다get along with: ~와 잘 지내다
I ran out of milk처럼 세 단어의 구동사가 하나의 동사 덩어리로 작동한다는 점을 기억하세요.Let's hang out this weekend.(이번 주말에 놀자.) -socialize보다 훨씬 자연스럽습니다.I'll pick you up at the station.(역으로 마중 나갈게.) -collect보다 일상적입니다.Hold on a second.(잠깐만 기다려.) -wait보다 구어체적인 표현입니다.
I get up at 6 AM.(나는 6시에 일어난다.)I put on my coat.(코트를 입는다.)I turn off the TV.(TV를 끈다.)
I'll get back to you.(나중에 다시 연락할게.)Check out this video!(이 영상 좀 봐봐!)The battery ran out.(배터리 다 됐어.)
We need to look into this issue.(이 문제를 조사해 봐야 합니다.) -investigate보다 덜 딱딱합니다.Can we put off the meeting?(회의를 미룰 수 있을까요?) -postpone보다 구어적입니다.
- 잘못된 예:
Please turn off it.(X) - 옳은 예:
Please turn it off.(O) - 이유: 영어에서 대명사는 정보 가치가 낮아 문장 끝에 강조되어 나오는 것을 피하려는 경향이 있습니다. 그래서 동사와 소사 사이에 쏙 들어가는 것이죠.
wake up이나 grow up 같은 자동사 구동사 뒤에 습관적으로 목적어를 붙이는 경우가 있습니다.- 잘못된 예:
I woke up my brother.(동생을 깨웠다는 뜻이 아니라, 내가 깼다는 뜻으로 쓰려 할 때) - 주의:
wake up은 내가 일어나는 것이고, 누군가를 깨울 때는wake (someone) up으로 타동사 패턴을 써야 합니다. 한국어의 '일어나다'와 '깨우다'의 차이를 명확히 인지해야 합니다.
- 잘못된 예:
I'm looking forward to meet you.(X) - 옳은 예:
I'm looking forward to meeting you.(O) - 이유: 여기서
to는 부정사가 아니라 전치사입니다. 따라서 뒤에 명사나 동명사(-ing)가 와야 합니다. 한국인들은to만 보면 동사원형을 쓰려는 습관이 있어 주의가 필요합니다.
call off | cancel | 취소하다 |put off | postpone | 미루다 |look into | investigate | 알아보다/조사하다 |turn down | reject | 거절하다 |find out | discover | 찾아내다/알게 되다 |put up with | tolerate | 견디다/참다 |I decided to cancel the meeting이라고 한다면 의미는 통하지만, 약간 딱딱하게 들릴 수 있습니다. 반면 I decided to call off the meeting이라고 하면 훨씬 원어민들이 일상적으로 쓰는 자연스러운 어감이 됩니다. 반대로 대학교 레포트나 공식적인 보고서에서는 call off보다는 cancel을 쓰는 것이 더 전문적으로 보입니다.get, take, go, come, look, put) 10개와 핵심 소사(up, down, in, out, on, off, away, back)의 조합부터 시작하세요. 소사가 가진 '이미지'를 이해하면 훨씬 쉽습니다. 예를 들어 off는 '분리'의 이미지이므로 take off(옷을 몸에서 분리), set off(길을 떠나 현재 장소에서 분리) 등으로 확장해 생각할 수 있습니다.Verb + Adverb 조합(방향이나 상태 강조)은 주로 분리 가능하고, Verb + Preposition 조합(대상을 직접 가리킴)은 분리 불가능한 경우가 많습니다. 학습할 때 turn it on처럼 아예 대명사를 넣어서 입으로 익히는 것이 가장 좋은 방법입니다.look forward to, get back to, fill out 같은 표현들은 비즈니스 이메일에서도 매우 흔하게 사용됩니다. 다만, 너무 속어적인 느낌의 구동사(chill out, mess up 등)는 친한 사이가 아니라면 피하는 것이 좋습니다.Conjugating 'Wake up'
| Tense | Subject | Verb Form | Particle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Present Simple
|
I
|
wake
|
up
|
I wake up at 8.
|
|
Present Continuous
|
She
|
is waking
|
up
|
She is waking up now.
|
|
Past Simple
|
They
|
woke
|
up
|
They woke up late.
|
|
Present Perfect
|
He
|
has woken
|
up
|
He has just woken up.
|
|
Future (will)
|
We
|
will wake
|
up
|
We will wake up early.
|
|
Gerund
|
-
|
waking
|
up
|
Waking up is hard.
|
Pronoun Placement (Separable Verbs)
| Object Type | Structure | Correct Example | Incorrect Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Noun
|
Verb + Object + Particle
|
Turn the light off
|
-
|
|
Noun
|
Verb + Particle + Object
|
Turn off the light
|
-
|
|
Pronoun
|
Verb + Pronoun + Particle
|
Turn it off
|
-
|
|
Pronoun
|
Verb + Particle + Pronoun
|
-
|
Turn off it
|
Meanings
A phrasal verb is a combination of a standard verb and a preposition or adverb (a particle) that functions as a single semantic unit.
Literal Movement
The particle indicates a physical direction or position.
“Please sit down on the chair.”
“He walked out of the room.”
Idiomatic/Figurative
The combination creates a completely new meaning unrelated to the original words.
“Don't give up on your dreams!”
“We ran out of milk this morning.”
Aspectual/Completion
The particle indicates that an action is finished or done thoroughly.
“Eat up your vegetables!”
“Drink up, we have to leave.”
Reference Table
| 구동사 | 의미 | 예문 (분리 가능?) | 유형 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
get up
|
침대에서 일어나다
|
I `get up` early. (Inseparable)
|
자동사
|
|
turn on
|
작동시키다 (기기)
|
Please `turn on` the TV. (Separable)
|
타동사
|
|
look for
|
찾다
|
She's `looking for` her keys. (Inseparable)
|
타동사
|
|
give up
|
노력을 멈추다 / 항복하다
|
Don't `give up`! (Separable, sometimes intransitive)
|
타동사/자동사
|
|
take off
|
벗다 (옷) / 이륙하다 (비행기)
|
He `took off` his jacket. (Separable)
|
타동사/자동사
|
|
call off
|
취소하다
|
They `called off` the meeting. (Separable)
|
타동사
|
|
put off
|
연기하다
|
Don't `put off` your homework. (Separable)
|
타동사
|
|
break down
|
작동을 멈추다 (기계) / 감정적으로 통제력을 잃다
|
My car `broke down`. (Intransitive)
|
자동사
|
격식 수준 스펙트럼
The committee decided to cancel the scheduled meeting. (Business/Social)
They decided to call off the meeting. (Business/Social)
They've scrapped the meeting. (Business/Social)
The meeting's been binned. (Business/Social)
구동사의 세계
예시
- `get up` 침대에서 일어나다
- `turn on` 작동시키다
- `look for` 찾다
유형
- Separable 목적어가 동사와 전치사 사이에 올 수 있음
- Inseparable 목적어가 전치사 뒤에 와야 함
- Intransitive 목적어 없음
전치사의 역할
- Preposition 예: `for`, `on`, `at`
- Adverb 예: `up`, `off`, `out`
핵심 아이디어
- Idiomatic 부분의 의미로 예측 불가
- Context 이해에 필수적
분리 가능 vs. 분리 불가능 구동사
분리 가능한 구동사인가요?
동사 + 전치사가 새롭고 관용적인 의미를 만드나요?
구동사가 목적어를 가지나요?
목적어가 대명사인가요? (예: `it`, `them`)
현대 생활 속 구동사
기술 및 디지털
- • `turn on` the computer
- • `log in` to an account
- • `back up` your files
- • `scroll down`
사교 활동
- • `hang out` with friends
- • `catch up` on news
- • `chill out`
- • `meet up`
일상 업무
- • `get up` in the morning
- • `fill out` a form
- • `put away` clothes
- • `take out` the trash
학습 및 업무
- • `look up` a word
- • `work out` a solution
- • `hand in` an assignment
- • `go over` notes
수준별 예문
Please sit down.
Por favor, siéntate.
I get up at 7 AM.
Me levanto a las 7 AM.
Stand up, please.
Levántate, por favor.
Go away!
¡Vete!
Can you turn on the TV?
¿Puedes encender la tele?
I am looking for my keys.
Estoy buscando mis llaves.
Pick up your clothes.
Recoge tu ropa.
He took off his hat.
Él se quitó el sombrero.
I need to look the word up in the dictionary.
Necesito buscar la palabra en el diccionario.
We ran out of coffee.
Nos quedamos sin café.
She gets along with her sister.
Ella se lleva bien con su hermana.
Don't give up now!
¡No te rindas ahora!
The meeting was called off due to the rain.
La reunión fue cancelada debido a la lluvia.
I'll look into the matter and call you back.
Investigaré el asunto y te devolveré la llamada.
He really stands out in a crowd.
Él realmente destaca entre la multitud.
We need to come up with a better plan.
Necesitamos idear un plan mejor.
The company is trying to phase out old technology.
La empresa está intentando retirar gradualmente la tecnología antigua.
I was completely taken aback by his comments.
Me quedé completamente sorprendido por sus comentarios.
You should brush up on your French before the trip.
Deberías repasar tu francés antes del viaje.
The deal fell through at the last minute.
El trato fracasó en el último minuto.
The evidence doesn't quite bear out his theory.
La evidencia no confirma del todo su teoría.
He's always harping on about his glory days.
Él siempre está insistiendo pesadamente sobre sus días de gloria.
We need to iron out the remaining details of the contract.
Necesitamos resolver los detalles restantes del contrato.
The effects of the medication are starting to wear off.
Los efectos de la medicación están empezando a desaparecer.
혼동하기 쉬운
Both start with 'look' but have opposite meanings: searching vs. caring.
One is about lifting/collecting, the other is about choosing.
One is for electronics, the other is for transformation.
자주 하는 실수
I getted up.
I got up.
Sit you down.
Sit down.
I look my keys.
I am looking for my keys.
He standed up.
He stood up.
Turn off it.
Turn it off.
I am looking my cat.
I am looking for my cat.
She is wake uping.
She is waking up.
I'll look the baby after.
I'll look after the baby.
We ran out milk.
We ran out of milk.
I look forward to meet you.
I look forward to meeting you.
The plane took off the ground.
The plane took off.
He brought the issue out.
He brought the issue up.
I'm worn outed.
I'm worn out.
문장 패턴
I usually ___ (verb) up at ___ (time).
Can you please turn ___ (object) ___ (particle)?
I've ___ (verb) out of ___ (noun).
I'm really looking forward to ___ (verb-ing).
Real World Usage
Hey, what are you up to?
I'm looking for a role where I can grow.
What time does the plane take off?
The driver will drop off your food soon.
Check out my new vlog!
Try to log in again after resetting.
문맥 속에서 배우기
대명사 위치 주의보!
시각 자료 활용하기
캐주얼함을 즐기세요
Smart Tips
Keep the verb and particle together. It is almost always grammatically safe to say 'Turn off the light', but it is risky to say 'Turn the light off' if you aren't sure.
Always put them in the middle if the verb is separable. This is a non-negotiable rule of English rhythm.
Check if it means 'completely'. If someone says 'clean up', they don't mean clean in an upward direction; they mean clean the whole thing.
Scan for phrasal verbs and try to replace them with single-word synonyms to sound more professional.
발음
Stress on the Particle
In phrasal verbs, the stress usually falls on the particle, not the verb.
Linking
If the verb ends in a consonant and the particle begins with a vowel, they link together.
Rising on Particle
Did you wake UP? ↗
Standard yes/no question intonation emphasizing the action.
암기하기
기억법
The 'Pronoun Sandwich': The pronoun is the meat, and the verb and particle are the bread. The meat always goes in the middle!
시각적 연상
Imagine a light switch. When you 'turn it on', you are physically connecting two parts. When you 'turn it off', you are separating them. This helps remember the 'on/off' logic of many phrasal verbs.
Rhyme
If it's a pronoun like 'it' or 'them', Put it in the middle, again and again!
Story
I woke up (1) and put on (2) my shoes. I went out (3) to look for (4) a cafe. I ran out of (5) money, so I had to go back (6) home.
Word Web
챌린지
Look around your room. Find 5 objects and say a sentence for each using a phrasal verb (e.g., 'I need to put away my laptop').
문화 노트
Americans say 'fill out' a form, while British speakers usually say 'fill in' a form.
The phrasal verb 'faff around' is common in the UK to mean wasting time, but rarely used in the US.
Australians often use 'reckon' in phrasal-like structures or 'give it a go' for trying something.
Phrasal verbs are a core feature of Germanic languages (like Old English, German, and Dutch).
대화 시작하기
What time do you usually get up on weekends?
Have you ever given up a hobby? Why?
Who do you look up to the most in your life?
How do you come up with new ideas for your work or studies?
일기 주제
자주 하는 실수
Test Yourself
Can you please `turn ___` the lights when you leave?
Find and fix the mistake:
I can't `look my keys for` anywhere.
Choose the correct sentence:
Translate into English: 'Ella se levantó temprano para ir a trabajar.'
Answer starts with: ["S...
Score: /4
연습 문제
8 exercisesWhich of these is correct?
I need to look ___ my lost keys.
Find and fix the mistake:
He is get uping at 6 AM.
Rewrite: 'The meeting was cancelled.'
Give up
Look after (the baby)
A: Where is the milk? B: Sorry, we ___.
In the past tense, you add -ed to the particle (e.g., 'get uped').
Score: /8
Practice Bank
12 exercisesPlease `fill ___` this form before you enter the building.
I don't know the word. I'll `look it up in` the dictionary.
Which sentence is correct?
Translate into English: 'No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy.'
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Match the phrasal verbs with their meanings:
I need to `___ my homework` before I can `hang out` with friends.
She couldn't `figure out the problem`.
Which sentence is correct?
Translate into English: 'Ella siempre se lleva bien con sus compañeros de trabajo.'
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Match the phrasal verb with its opposite:
Score: /12
자주 묻는 질문 (8)
Unfortunately, there is no perfect rule. You must check a dictionary. However, most phrasal verbs with an object are separable, except for three-word ones like `look forward to`.
It's better to avoid them in very formal contexts (like a legal contract). Use single-word verbs like `investigate` instead of `look into`.
`Wake up` means to stop sleeping. `Get up` means to physically leave your bed.
The particle `up` is very productive. It often means 'completely' (eat up) or 'increasing' (speak up).
Technically, it's a prepositional verb. The meaning of `look` doesn't change; `at` just points to the object.
Yes! `Take off` can mean a plane leaving the ground, or removing clothes, or becoming successful suddenly.
Mostly, yes. There are small differences like `fill in` (UK) vs `fill out` (US), but they will understand both.
It's a verb + two particles, like `get along with`. These are always inseparable.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Single verbs (e.g., 'subir' for 'go up')
English uses particles to change meaning; Spanish uses different verb roots.
Single verbs (e.g., 'entrer' for 'go in')
French lacks the 'particle' concept entirely.
Trennbare Verben (Separable Verbs)
Word order rules for the particle differ significantly between the two.
Compound Verbs (V+V)
Japanese uses Verb+Verb; English uses Verb+Particle.
Verb + Prepositional Phrase
English particles create entirely new, non-literal meanings.
Resultative Verb Compounds
Chinese complements are more grammatically rigid than English particles.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
관련 동영상
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라이브 아카데미
Related Grammar Rules
구동사 'Face up to' (현실을 직시하다)
Overview 이 구동사는 회피에서 인정으로의 심리적 변화에 관한 것입니다. 특히 어렵거나 불쾌하거나 때로는 약간 당혹스러운 일...
시간 전치사: in, on, at 완벽 가이드
Overview 오후 5시에 도착하겠다는 문자를 보낼 때 `in` 5 PM이라고 썼다가 당황한 이모티콘을 받은 적 있나요? 영어에서 작은...
구동사: Take off (벗다 & 이륙하다)
### Overview 영어 학습을 하다 보면 가장 먼저 마주치는 벽 중 하나가 바로 '구동사(Phrasal Verbs)'입니다. 한국어는 '벗다',...
잠깐만! 'Hold on' 사용하기
### Overview 영어를 배우는 한국인 학습자들에게 `hold on`은 단순히 '기다리다'라는 의미 이상의 뉘앙스를 가진 아주 매력적...
차려입기: 정장 및 의상 (Dress up)
### Overview 영어를 배우다 보면 단순히 '옷을 입다'라는 행위를 넘어서, 그 행위 뒤에 숨겨진 '의도'나 '목적'을 표현해야 할...
