Phrasal verbs: learn the sense and the pattern

Use the pattern in context

Turn down can mean reduce a setting or reject an offer. Learn a short situation with the sense: Please turn down the music; She turned down the job offer. For many separable transitive phrasal verbs, a pronoun object comes between the verb and particle: turn it down. Other expressions keep a different pattern, such as look after someone.

Examples to compare

• Reduce: Please turn the volume down.
• Pronoun: Please turn it down.
• Care for: I look after my neighbor’s cat.

Limits and useful distinctions

Do not assume that every combination separates, or that one translation covers every sense. A dictionary entry should show whether an object is needed and where it can go. Keep a short example in your notes rather than memorizing a particle as if it had one fixed meaning.

Check your understanding

Choose the natural pronoun order: turn down it or turn it down.

Try a new example with the same purpose. Check that your version keeps the intended meaning and grammatical pattern.