English Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb.
The combination creates a meaning different from the original verb.

Commonly-used phrasal verbs.

Phrasal Verbs with LOOK

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Look after	Take care of	A babysitter looks after the children when we go out.
Look around	Visit a place	Several potential buyers came to look around the house.
Look at	Pay attention to something you see	Look at this picture of my grandfather when he was young.
Look at	Read in order to give an opinion	Have you got time to look at my business plan?
Look at	Examine closely	That's a bad bruise. You should ask a doctor to look at it.
Look at	Consider or study carefully	We're going to look at all possible options.
Look ahead	Think of the future	It's time to forget the past and look ahead.
Look away	Turn your head away	The scene was so horrible that I had to look away.
Look back on	Remember the past	Older people tend to look back on the « good old days ».
Look down on	Consider as inferior	He looks down on anyone who is not successful.
Look for	Try to find something	Jane went shopping to look for a pair of shoes.
Look forward to	Await with pleasure	I look forward to seeing you next week.
Look in	Visit for a short time	Sue promised her mother she'd look in on her way home.
Look into	Examine or investigate	I'll look into the matter and call you back.
Look on	Be a spectator at an event	Bill didn't take part in the fight. He just looked on.
Look out	Be careful; pay attention	Look out! There's a car coming!
Look over	Examine; review	The editor will look over the article before it is published.
Look round/around	Inspect a building or area	Sophie is interested in history. You should take her to look round the ruins of the old castle.
Look through	Examine, usually quickly	I'll look through my mail to see if I can find your message.
Look to	Expect help, advice, etc.	Children generally look to their parents for guidance.
Look up	Check or find	You can look up the meaning of new words in the dictionary.
Look up	Improve	Since the new plant opened, business is starting to look up in the town.
Look up to	Respect or admire	He was a great teacher. The students looked up to him.
Look upon	Consider	I look upon this country as my home now.

Try this exercise

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