Verb–Object Split in English

Verb–Object Split in English 

Hello English learners! Today, we will explore one of the most interesting (and sometimes confusing) features — the verb–object split in English. You’ve probably noticed that some verbs can be separated from their objects, while others can’t.

For example: 

• She turned the radio off.
• She turned off the radio.

Both are correct! But if you say:

• She explained it the problem. — that’s wrong.

So, when is a verb–object split possible? Let’s find out.

What is a verb–object split?

A verb–object split happens when a verb and its object are separated by another word — often a particle, such as up, off, out, in, or on.

It is common in phrasal verbs:

Pick it up → verb (pick) + pronoun (it) + particle (up).

Turn them off → verb (turn) + pronoun (them) + particle (off).

When you must split the verb and the object

When the object of a phrasal verb is a pronoun (it, him, her, us, them, me), it must go between the verb and the particle — never after it.

Let’s look closely at why and how this works.

✅ Correct Order

Verb + Pronoun + Particle

• Put it on.
• Turn them off.
• Take it out.
• Hand them in.

❌ Incorrect Order

Verb + Particle + Pronoun

• Put on it. ✗
• Turn off them. ✗
• Take out it. ✗
• Hand in them. ✗

These sound wrong to native speakers — almost like a record skipping! That’s because, in English, the pronoun object always splits the verb and particle when it’s part of a separable phrasal verb.

English prefers short words (like pronouns) to come earlier in a sentence — it just “flows” more naturally.

Compare these two:

• Pick the book up.
• Pick it up.

Do you see how the second one sounds smoother? That’s the natural rhythm English speakers follow.

Also, if you put the pronoun at the end (Pick up it), it sounds foreign because English speakers expect the object to come right after the verb — not after the particle.

If you ever have to choose between Put it on or Put on it, remember this:

Short objects (like pronouns) go in the middle.

Longer objects (like nouns) can go either before or after the particle.

For example:

• Turn off the light. ✅
• Turn the light off. ✅
• Turn it off. ✅
• Turn off it. ❌

Verb–Object Split in English

When You Can Split

If the object is a noun, you have a choice:

• She looked up the word.
• She looked the word up.

Both are fine — though in spoken English, the second form (split) often sounds more natural.

When you can’t split

Some multi-word verbs can’t be separated, because the preposition is not really a particle — it’s part of a prepositional verb:

 ❌ He ran the hill up.

 ✅ He ran up the hill.

Other examples:

Look after → She looks after her children. (❌ She looks her children after.)

Depend on → It depends on the weather. (❌ It depends the weather on.)

Verb–Object Split in English

Tips:

• If the object is a pronoun, always split.
• If the object is a noun, both forms are usually correct.
• Learn which verbs cannot be split (e.g. look after, depend on, consist of).
• Remember: phrasal verbs are more flexible than prepositional verbs.

Do the quiz to perfect your knowledge:

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