Verb patterns · CEFR B2 · Confident
turn it off, look after it — English verb patterns
Some phrasal verbs can be split by their object and some cannot. When the object is a pronoun, a separable one MUST be split.
The shape
turn the light off · look after the baby
Know where the object goes in a phrasal verb.
In Hindi
कुछ phrasal verbs बीच में कर्म ले सकते हैं, कुछ नहीं। सर्वनाम हो तो बीच में रखना ही पड़ता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I am looking my brother after. | I am looking after my brother. "Look after" cannot be split at all, even by a pronoun. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the turn it off, look after it used for?
- Some phrasal verbs can be split by their object and some cannot. When the object is a pronoun, a separable one MUST be split. In practice: know where the object goes in a phrasal verb.
- How do you form the turn it off, look after it?
- turn the light off · look after the baby.
- What is the most common mistake with the turn it off, look after it?
- Saying “I am looking my brother after.” instead of “I am looking after my brother.”. "Look after" cannot be split at all, even by a pronoun.
Where turn it off, look after it fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
turn it off, look after it is a CEFR B2 structure — the confident band — and it belongs to verb patterns. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
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