Six that came out in the wrong order
Six sentences. One word-order error each.
1. I turned down it because the money was worse.
2. She looked it into and came back the next day.
3. I put up it with for two years.
4. We called off it on Wednesday.
5. He dealt it with quickly.
6. I am looking forward it to.
Four behaviours
Overheard, in one office
— The system broke down again on Tuesday. — It always does. Did anybody look into it?
— I turned the offer down. — You turned it down? — I turned down the only offer I have had in two years, yes.
— Can you go over the figures with me? — I went through them last night. I can go over them again.
— How do you put up with it? — I do not, particularly. I have got used to it, which is a different thing.
— Has anybody dealt with the complaint? — I dealt with it on Monday and I am still waiting to hear back.
Eight verbs from those exchanges. Match each to how it behaves.
Four types, and one rule that catches most of it
The four behaviours
| Type | Object | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · No object | None | break down · fall through · get by · take off · come round · turn up |
| 2 · Separable verb + adverb particle | Either side with a noun; must be in the middle with a pronoun | turn down · put off · sort out · write up · hand in · take on · call off · set up · bring up |
| 3 · Inseparable verb + preposition | Always after the preposition, pronouns included | look into · deal with · go over · go through · look after · come across · run into |
| 4 · Three-part verb + particle + preposition | Always right at the end; never separated | put up with · get round to · look forward to · come up against · cut down on · catch up with |
One rule catches most of the errors. A pronoun can never sit after a particle. turn down it, call off it, put off it — all impossible. If the verb is type 2, the pronoun goes in the middle: turn it down.
And the mirror: with types 3 and 4 the pronoun cannot go in the middle either, because there is no middle — the second word is a preposition and its object follows it. Look into it, put up with it.
You can hear which is which. Say the verb with it and listen for where the stress lands.
turn it DOWN — the second word is stressed, so it is an adverb particle, so the verb separates.
LOOK into it — the second word is weak, so it is a preposition, so it does not.
put UP with it — the middle word is stressed, so it is a three-part verb and nothing moves.
Say all three twice. This is quicker than remembering which list a verb is on.
And one thing that decides the order when both are legal
| Object | Preferred | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A pronoun | turn it down | Compulsory |
| A short noun | turn the offer down or turn down the offer | Both natural |
| A long noun phrase | turned down the offer that had taken six months to negotiate | End-weight — the heavy thing goes last, exactly as in Unit 27 |
Five questions.
1. Which is correct?
2. Which is correct?
3. Which is correct?
4. He turned down ___. Which is most natural here?
5. How do you tell a particle from a preposition?
Order, under a little pressure
Eight gaps. Choose the correct order.
The offer arrived on Monday and I on Wednesday. My manager asked whether I had properly, and I said I had. She said she would anyway. The system twice that week, which nobody could . I have for three years and I am not sure I can another one. On Friday I finally the email I had been avoiding.
Eight sentences. Seven contain an error; one is correct.
1. I handed in it on Friday.
2. She went through it with me line by line. — correct as written
3. They called off it because of the weather.
4. I cannot put with it up any longer.
5. He looked after them well. — no error of order; check the meaning of the verb
6. We set up it in an afternoon.
7. I am looking forward it to.
8. Nobody dealt it with.
Nothing but pronouns
Task card · Speaking · Pairs · 10 minutes
Talk about a piece of work you are in the middle of — but once something has been named, you may only refer to it as it or them.
Five minutes each. The pronoun rule forces every separable verb to separate.
- Name each thing once. After that it is it.
- Listener: mark every phrasal verb, and whether the pronoun went in the right place.
- Speaker: if you are corrected, say the whole phrase again rather than just the fix.
- Second round: the same conversation, but you may use nouns again. Notice which verbs you now avoid separating.
Why the pronoun rule is the task. With a noun object you can put it after the particle and never find out whether you know the verb separates. A pronoun removes that option, so ten minutes of pronouns tests every type-2 verb you use.
Where the pronouns went
Two questions.
1. Which type produced the most errors?
2. What is the quickest check?
A pronoun cannot follow a particle
Two questions. Twenty seconds.
1. Where does a pronoun go with a separable verb?
2. What does a stressed second word tell you?
Next. Twenty-six minutes of a real workplace scenario, where the verbs have to arrive while you are thinking about something else.