Did they blow the bridge up? (¿Explotaron el puente?)
Forms: blow up, fall out, listen to, look forward to.
Often the meaning of a phrasal verb is not obvious from the meaning of the two parts, just as in Spanish the meaning of, for example, influir is not simply in + fluir.
Grammatically, there are four types of phrasal verbs.
Type 1: these consist of two parts, and the sentence has an object. There are normally two possible orders, e.g.:
| Did they blow up the bridge? (¿Explotaron el puente?) Did they blow the bridge up? (¿Explotaron el puente?) |
| We have to hand in the projects tomorrow. (Debemos entregar los trabajos mañana.) We have to hand the projects in tomorrow. (Debemos entregar los trabajos mañana.) |
| Would you like to take off your coat? (¿Quiere quitarse el abrigo?) Would you like to take your coat off? (¿Quiere quitarse el abrigo?) |
When the object is a long expression, it goes after both parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| Did they blow up that bridge that was built in the 18th century? (¿Explotaron el puente que se construyó en el siglo XVIII?') (Not: |
| We have to hand in the projects dealing with the history of the Roman empire. (Debemos entregar los trabajos sobre la historia del Imperio Romano.) (Not: |
| Would you like to take off any items of clothing that contain metal? (¿Se puede quitar todas las piezas de ropa que contengan metal?) (Not: |
When the object is a pronoun, it goes between the two parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| Did they blow it up? (¿Lo hicieron explotar?) |
| We have to hand them in tomorrow. (Debemos entregarlos mañana.) |
| Would you like to take it off? (¿Se lo quiere quitar?) (Not: Did they |
Type 2: these consist of two parts, and the sentence has no object, e.g.:
| They used to be friends but they've fallen out. (Antes eran amigos pero han discutido.) |
| How did the prisoner get away? (¿Cómo escapó el prisionero?) |
| Almost half the students dropped out. (Casi la mitad de los estudiantes se marcharon.) |
Type 3: these consist of two parts, and the sentence has an object, e.g.:
| I'll call for your parents at 4 o'clock. (Pasaré a por tus padres a las 4.) |
| My cousin looked after the dog. (Mi primo vigilaba al perro.) |
| Yesterday I ran into Helen. (Ayer me encontré con Helen.) |
When the object is a pronoun, it goes after both parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| I'll call for them at 4 o'clock. (Pasaré a por ellos a las 4.) |
| My cousin looked after it. (Mi primo lo vigilaba.) |
| Yesterday I ran into her. (Ayer me la encontré.) |
Type 4: these consist of three parts, and the sentence has an object, e.g.:
| I'm looking forward to your visit. (Espero con ilusión su visita.) |
| I don't get on with Peter. (No me llevo bien con Peter.) |
| She tries to live up to her promise. (Procura vivir de acuerdo con su promesa.) |
When the object is a pronoun, it goes after all three parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| I'm looking forward to it. (La espero con ilusión.) |
| I don't get on with him. (No me llevo bien con él.) |
| She tries to live up to that. (Procura vivir de acuerdo con ello.) |
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