One little verb, six different meanings
Phrasal verbs are the part of English that textbooks rush through and real conversations lean on constantly. Take the verb “look”. On its own it means to point your eyes at something. But bolt a small preposition or particle onto it and the meaning shifts completely. “Look up”, “look after”, “look for”, “look forward to”, “look like” — same verb, five different jobs. Many learners know every one of these words separately and still freeze when they have to pick the right pairing in a sentence. That’s normal. The trick is to stop translating and start collecting these as whole units.
Here’s how I sort them. Look at is the literal one: direct your eyes. “Look at that sunset.” Look for means search for something you want to find, usually because it’s lost or you need it: “I’m looking for my glasses.” Look up means search for information in a reference — a dictionary, a timetable, a website: “I looked up the word.” Look after means take care of a person, pet, or thing: “She looks after her grandmother.” Look forward to means to feel happy anticipation about a future event: “I’m looking forward to the holidays.” And look like means resemble: “You look like your dad.”
Notice how the small word changes everything. “I’m looking for the manager” (searching) is worlds apart from “I’m looking after the manager’s dog” (caring). Two of these also have grammar traps worth flagging now. Look forward to ends in “to”, but here “to” is a preposition, not part of an infinitive — so it’s followed by a noun or an -ing verb: “looking forward to seeing you”, never “looking forward to see you”. And look like is followed by a noun (“looks like rain”, “looks like her mother”), while “look” plus an adjective drops the “like” entirely (“you look tired”). Learn each phrasal verb as a single chunk with an example sentence attached, and they stop feeling random.
The answers, explained
1. “Can you look up this word in the dictionary?” A dictionary is a reference source, and searching a reference for information is exactly what look up means. The tempting wrong answer is look for, because you are technically searching — but look for is for finding a physical thing you’ve lost, not for finding facts. You look for your keys; you look up a word. Look at and look after don’t fit at all.
2. “I have to look after my younger brother while my parents are out.” Taking care of someone is look after. The trap here is look for — but you’re not searching for your brother, you’re minding him. Look after pairs with children, pets, elderly relatives, and even possessions you’re responsible for.
3. “I’m looking for my keys. Have you seen them?” The keys are lost and you want to find them, so this is look for. People often reach for look at here, but you can’t look at something you can’t find yet — that’s the whole point. If it’s missing and you’re searching, it’s look for.
4. “I’m really looking forward to the weekend!” Happy anticipation of a future event is look forward to. Nothing else comes close in meaning. And remember the grammar: because “to” is a preposition, the weekend (a noun) fits perfectly, and if you added a verb it would need -ing: “looking forward to relaxing.”
5. “She looks exactly like her mother.” The correct phrasal verb is look like, meaning she resembles her mother in appearance (and “exactly” simply strengthens the resemblance). The tempting option is looks at, but that would mean she is pointing her eyes at her mother — a totally different sentence. When you mean “resembles”, it’s always look like plus a noun.
Quick rules to remember
Store these five as whole units, each with a sentence you can actually picture. Look at = point your eyes. Look for = search for a lost or wanted thing. Look up = search a reference for information. Look after = take care of someone or something. Look forward to = happily anticipate — and watch that “to” takes a noun or -ing, never a base verb. Look like = resemble, followed by a noun. The two most common mistakes are confusing look for (things) with look up (information), and saying “looking forward to see you” instead of “looking forward to seeing you”. Nail those and you’ll sound noticeably more fluent.
My honest advice for learning phrasal verbs in general: don’t try to swallow long lists in one sitting. Pick one base verb — “look” is a great start — and learn its family together, each with a sentence from your own life. Say “I look after my little sister”, “I looked up the meaning last night”, “I’m looking forward to Friday”. When the example is about you, it sticks far better than a line from a textbook. Then, over the next week, actually listen for these in songs, films, and conversations. You’ll be surprised how often “look” and its little partners turn up once you’ve started noticing them. That noticing is where real fluency grows.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between “look for” and “look up”?
“Look for” means search for a physical thing you want to find — your phone, a shop, a person. “Look up” means find information in a reference like a dictionary or website. You look for your keys; you look up a phone number.
Why is “looking forward to see you” wrong?
The “to” in “look forward to” is a preposition, not the start of an infinitive. Prepositions take a noun or an -ing verb, so it must be “looking forward to seeing you.”
When do I use “look like” versus just “look”?
Use “look like” plus a noun to mean resemble: “You look like your brother.” Use “look” plus an adjective for how something appears: “You look tired.” Don’t mix them into “you look like tired.”
Are phrasal verbs really that common, or can I avoid them?
They’re everywhere in everyday English, especially in speech. You can survive with formal single-word verbs, but you’ll sound stiff and you’ll struggle to understand casual conversation. It’s worth learning the common ones.