Sencence framework - phrasal verbs

Question

I've been learning phrasal verbs for quite some time and I found one thing really confusing.

In some sentences there is the verb separated from the preposition. Between them is put an object. Other times the whole phrasal verb is together.

Example:

I had to sit through the boring lecture OR I had to sit the boring lecture through.

I would like to know if there's some rule that determines whether the phrasal verb should be together or not. If there is no rule, is there any difference?

Thank you.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

modern file 591I had to sit through the boring lecture OR I had to sit the boring lecture through.

'sit through' is not a phrasal verb in your sentence, just as 'sit in' is not a phrasal verb in "I had to sit in a very uncomfortable chair". It's a matter of a verb and a prepositional phrase.

I had to sit [through the boring lecture].
I had to sit [in a very uncomfortable chair].

So the first part of any analysis of these constructions is to determine whether you have a phrasal verb at all.

Another trick is to recognize that most phrasal verbs end with in, out, on, off, up, down, away, or back— sometimes together or apart. Sometimes these last two, or even the last four, are considered adverbs rather than parts of the verb.

bring in, take out, turn on, run off, pull up, sit down, go away, come back, put together, fall apart

If the phrasal verb is intransitive, there won't be an object, so it's always together.

Steve got mad and ran off. / As soon as I touched it, it fell apart.

It's the cases where there's an object that can present a problem.

If the object is a pronoun (me, them, it, him, etc.), it must be positioned between the two components of the phrasal verb.

We took them out for dinner.
There was a TV there, so they turned it on.
His parents brought him up to be honest.

Otherwise, in the general case, you can position the object between the components of the verb or after them.

Please take the garbage out. / Please take out the garbage.

Unfortunately for the learner, in some cases native speakers have a strong preference for one or the other of these two alternatives. In other cases the preference is just that of an individual speaker. For example, I'm more likely to say The police broke up the fight than The police broke the fight up.

For more on phrasal verbs, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasal_verb

CJ

Sencence framework - phrasal verbs

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