Let's look at ...phrasal verbs separable. A phrasal verb is a verb + a particle (a preposition or an adverb). You can use the same verb with different particles to change the meaning of the verb.
Look + out = be careful! Look out! There’s a hole.
Look + for = try to find something or someone. I’m looking for the head librarian.
Look + up = try to find information. Why don’t you look it up online?
These verbs don’t have objects. They describe actions of states:
I got up really early this morning.
Let’s eat out tonight – I don’t want to cook.
Many phrasal verbs are transitive and they need an object. Transitive verbs can be separable or inseparable. With separable phrasal verbs, the object can come either before or after the particle:
You can put out the fire now.
You can put the fire out now.
If the object is a pronoun, then it must go before the particle:
You can put it out now.
Common separable phrasal verbs include:
bring out, call off, drop off, give up, look up, make up, pass around, pick up, put across, put out
Sometimes the object can only come between the verb and the particle:
I’ll call Jane back later.
Other verbs that behave like this include:
bring round, call (someone) over, invite out, talk (someone round, tell (two or more things) apart.
With inseparable phrasal verbs, the object has to go after the particle. You can’t put it between the verb and the particle.
Here are some common inseparable phrasal verbs:
call for, come after, count on, get over, go into, look after, look for, look through, make of, run after, side with.