Can phrasal verbs be considered transitive or not? I have a grammar query for anoraks! Do some phrasal verbs take a direct object? 1. "I look after my wife when she is ill." (true phrasal) 2. "I care for my wife when she is ill." (prepositional, inseparable) 3. "I will take off my jumper because it is hot." (prepositional, separable). My view is that, in 1 and 2, there is a direct object, but not in 3. In 1. the meaning of "look after" is very different from "look" and the two words operate together. The synonym "tend" is also transitive (though I am not sure how relevant this is). In 3. the preposition "off" refers to the manner of the taking. In 2, "for" refers to the beneficiary of my caring. So, "take" and "care" should perhaps be considered as intransitive verbs used with prepositions. Perhaps there is a simpler analysis: every phrasal and prepositional verb is by definition an intransitive verb because the issue of transitiveness relates only to the main verb. Thanks for reading!