That the phrasal verb is used with the present participle, or –ing form, of a verb: end up doing something We ended up taking a taxi there. We always end up arguing.
That the phrasal verb is used with a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, or themselves):
SA
throw yourself into something To take her mind off her troubles, she threw herself into her work. Everyone threw themselves energetically into clearing up.
Fixed expressions with phrasal verbs
M
We include in this dictionary fixed expressions with phrasal verbs, for example, go for it and keep up appearances. If a fixed expression is closely linked with one of the meanings given of the phrasal verb, it appears below it, and is introduced by the symbol :
PL
•
E
If you call in, you telephone the place where you work, usually to say that you are not able to go there. He called in this morning to say he was ill. If you call in sick, you telephone the place where you work to say that you are ill and cannot come to work. She called in sick this morning.
U
SE
If there is not such a clear link to a meaning of the phrasal verb, it appears in a paragraph on its own:
N
O
If something comes in handy or comes in useful, it is a helpful thing to have in a particular situation. Savings may come in useful for holidays. A toothbrush would come in handy.
Examples
LY
The typical syntactical structures of each phrasal verb are further displayed in carefully chosen examples from the Collins Corpus. The examples show how speakers and writers of English actually use phrasal verbs. If an example demonstrates a preposition that typically follows a phrasal verb, or the use of the infinitive verb form after a phrasal verb, this is noted in square brackets immediately before the example: put something aside ❑ [+ to-infinitive] Many parents put money aside to help pay for their child’s education. ❑ [+ for] I’ve been putting money aside for a car.
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