Explanation — Advanced phrasal & prepositional verbs

💼 Why it matters at work

We cannot put up with delays, so let us do away with the old process. Three-part phrasal verbs are everywhere in fluent business talk, and the wrong particle gives you away instantly.

At C1, phrasal verbs include many three-part verbs and pairs where the same verb + different particle changes meaning completely.

Verb + adverb + preposition, always inseparable: put up with (tolerate), look forward to, come up with, cut down on, look down on, get on with, run out of, do away with, face up to, catch up on.

The particle changes the meaning: give up (quit) vs give in (surrender); take off (leave the ground) vs take after (resemble); put off (postpone) vs put up with (tolerate).

Phrasal verbs are common in speech; formal writing often prefers a Latinate synonym.

→ do away with = abolish; come up with = propose; cut down on = reduce; find out = discover.

⚠️ Watch out

• Three-part verbs are inseparable: put up with it (not put it up with).
• After the final preposition use a noun or -ing: look forward to seeing you.
• Learn the whole chunk — the meaning is rarely literal.