First (FCE) B2 Key Word Transformations

Phrasal verbs are a huge challenge for English language learners, and for that reason, so are key word transformations with phrasal verbs. At the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) level, phrasal verbs are certain to appear in Use of English activities and key word transformations are no exception. The challenge when you come across these words isn’t only knowing the meaning of the vocabulary, but also knowing the grammar and syntax that surrounds them. The Cambridge Dictionary online defines a phrasal verb as “a phrase that consists of a verb with a preposition or adverb or both, the meaning of which is different from the meaning of its separate parts”. But how many phrasal verbs are there? And what about separable and inseparable phrasal verbs?

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How many phrasal verbs are there?

There are over 10,000 phrasal verbs in English. You might talk about what time you get up in the morning frequently, but you probably rarely discuss how the government is going to beef up security before a big event. At B2 level, you’d be expected to know all commonly used ones, and that’s what you need for key word transformations with phrasal verbs.

You can buy dictionaries with only phrasal verbs, but I’ve never been a big fan of dictionaries. If you’re looking for a list of the most important phrasal verbs in English, check out our post with the 120 most useful phrasal verbs.

Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs

Teaching students about separable and inseparable phrasal verbs can be a challenge. It’s easy to explain that there are two types of phrasal verbs, but it’s not easy to explain why. That’s because, as with many things in English, there is no why. It’s one of those things that, as a learner, you will start to memorise and learn with consistent use. I always tell my students to write an example sentence whenever they note down new vocabulary. With phrasal verbs, that’s especially important.

Separable phrasal verbs

Here is an example of a separable phrasal verb. Notice the word order in the example sentences and what is possible. Separable phrasal verbs can be separated with a direct object. However, if that direct object is a pronoun, we must separate the phrasal verb.

Take off (remove an article of clothing)
- She took off her jacket because she was hot. ✔️
- She took her jacket off because she was hot. ✔️
- She took off it because she was hot. ❌
- She took it off because she was hot. ✔️

Inseparable phrasal verbs

Here is an example of an inseparable phrasal verb. Notice the word order in the example sentences and what is possible. Inseparable phrasal verbs can never be separated with a direct object whether or not it’s a pronoun.

Look for (search)
- The police looked for the missing girl. ✔️
- The police looked the missing girl for. ❌
- The police looked for her. ✔️
- The police looked her for. ❌

A few phrasal verb rules

There are a few rules of phrasal verbs which we can easily teach our students. When it comes to such a challenging area of vocabulary, rules can be reassuring.

Simple phrasal verb rules:

Phrasal verbs with two particles are always inseparable.
- My father was always very hardworking, which is why I’ve always looked up to him.
If a phrasal verb is followed by another verb, that verb will always take the gerund (-ing) form.
- We ended up spending the whole weekend at home.
Phrasal verbs are never separated in the passive voice (because the object has become the subject of the passive sentence).
- The outdoor performance was called off due to bad weather.
Phrasal verbs are informal. In a formal context we tend to prefer the equivalent Latin word.
- My cat found out how to open the kitchen cupboard. – informal
- The scientists discovered how to cure cancer. – formal