Phrasal verbs

Hi
I'm actually a french speaking who wants to improve his english. I've noticed that there are many expressions that sometimes don't give a hint of their meaning. They generally are composed by a verb in the infinitive followed by the word "off", "up", "out", "down", or "in", such as "let off", "call in", "put off", "turn out" and many others. What are their meanings? Are they useful and needed in the common language? If yes, can anyone help me in learning them, their meaning,and how to use them in a sentence, or in a letter.?

Thank you.

Thank you very much for accepting me on this forum. I learnt something new, that is, those words' name is Phrasal word, or two/three-word.

As you mentionned it, I just "came across" some examples , from your last post : TAKE ON, GO OVER...What do the mean? I mean, I knew about run across, help out,and look up, but i didn't really grab the meaning of take on and go over...Perhaps GO OVER, because of the context. Could have we used "LOOK OVER" or "GO THROUGH" in stead of GO OVER?

You may not believe it but I didn't really learn English using a standard book. I happened to read some of them but I never went above two or three chapters. But this time I really am in the need, so if you can provide me with the title of a book, or an author's name, so that I can "look it up" (is it properly used here?) in a library, it will be very goog for me.

I'm "looking forward" (is it properly used here? ) for your answer.

Practical Idioms, Using Phrasal Verbs in Everyday Contexts: Over 1000 Useful Idioms
by Louis A. Berman and Laurette Kirstein

Examples:

In an attempt to lose weight, I decided to pass up bread and desserts.
.... de me passer de pain ...

After a hard day's work I don't feel up to having people over.
... je n'ai pas tres envie d'inviter ...

The newspaper reporter found out that some officials accepted bribes.
Le journaliste a decouvert que ...

Robert - Collins Dictionnaire Francais-Anglais.

Example:

Try to hold him off a little longer.
Essayez de le faire patienter encore un peu.

Good luck with English!

Hi Adomi,

No upset here, we're all happy campers!

'To help (doing something)' means to avoid or prevent doing it. She didn't like writing, so she avoided it; she 'couldn't help it', so she had to do it.

I guess if you don't know the verb at all, you're stuck, Lana. There are no prescriptive rules, only guidelines. Greenbaum & Quirk list five differences:

(1) The particle of a prepositional verb must precede the object, but the particle of a phrasal verb can either precede or follow the d.o.

(2) When the object is a personal pronoun, it follows the particle of a prepositonal verb but precedes that of a phrasal verb.

(3) An adverb adjunct can often be inserted between verb and particle of a prepositional verb, but not in the case of a phrasal.

(4) The particle of a phrasal cannot precede a relative pronoun or wh-interrogative.

(5) The particle of a phrasal is normally stressed; that of the prepositional normally unstressed.


Try 'em out, let me know how you like 'em.