English Grammar Online

Phrasal Verbs with Look, Work, and Run

LOOK, WORK, and RUN phrasal verbs form essential combinations for expressing investigation, operation, and movement in English, creating versatile expressions that describe everything from visual attention and research activities to employment situations and unexpected encounters. These dynamic verbs combine with particles to express complex ideas about examination, functionality, and motion that are fundamental to precise, engaging communication.

Understanding LOOK phrasal verbs enables you to discuss observation, investigation, anticipation, and care using natural expressions that native speakers employ constantly for both literal vision and metaphorical examination. WORK combinations help you express employment, exercise, problem-solving, and operational success with professional precision. RUN phrasal verbs allow you to describe encounters, operations, shortages, and various forms of movement and management.

These verb families extend from concrete physical actions like looking around spaces and running towards destinations to abstract concepts like looking into problems, working out solutions, and running businesses or organisations. This versatility makes them indispensable for discussing investigation, problem-solving, professional activities, and unexpected life encounters across all communication contexts.

Mastering LOOK, WORK, and RUN phrasal verbs will significantly enhance your ability to express investigation and operation with natural fluency, enabling you to discuss research, employment, exercise, management, and encounters using the authentic language patterns that native speakers use instinctively in academic, professional, and personal communication throughout all aspects of modern life.

LOOK Phrasal Verbs

Visual Attention and Physical Observation

Direction of Vision:

  • look at - direct eyes towards
    "Look at this beautiful sunset."
  • look up - direct eyes upward
    "Look up at the stars tonight."
  • look down - direct eyes downward
    "Don't look down from the bridge."
  • look around - examine surroundings
    "Let's look around the museum."

Searching and Seeking:

  • look for - search for someone/something
    "I'm looking for my car keys."
  • look through - examine contents
    "Look through these documents carefully."
  • look over - examine briefly
    "Could you look over my essay?"
  • look out for - watch for/be alert
    "Look out for pickpockets in crowded areas."

Investigation and Research

Detailed Investigation:

  • look into - investigate thoroughly
    "The police will look into the matter."
  • look up - search for information
    "I need to look up this word."
  • look back on - remember/review past
    "Looking back on my childhood fondly."
  • look ahead - plan for future
    "We need to look ahead to next year."

Expectations and Anticipation:

  • look forward to - anticipate with pleasure
    "I'm looking forward to the holidays."
  • look out - be careful/watch out
    "Look out! There's a car coming."
  • look on - watch without participating
    "She looked on as they argued."
  • look to - depend on/expect from
    "We look to you for leadership."

Care and Appearance

Taking Care:

  • look after - take care of
    "Can you look after my cat this weekend?"
  • look out for - protect/care about
    "Big brothers look out for their siblings."
  • look to - rely on for support
    "Children look to parents for guidance."
  • look up to - admire/respect
    "I've always looked up to my teacher."

Appearance and Perception:

  • look like - resemble in appearance
    "You look like your mother."
  • look down on - consider inferior
    "Don't look down on others."
  • look good/bad - appear attractive/poor
    "This colour looks good on you."
  • look well/ill - appear healthy/sick
    "You look well after your holiday."

WORK Phrasal Verbs

Problem Solving and Solutions

Finding Solutions:

  • work out - solve/calculate
    "Can you work out this maths problem?"
  • work through - solve methodically
    "Let's work through this step by step."
  • work around - find alternative solution
    "We'll work around the scheduling conflict."
  • work on - focus effort on
    "I'm working on improving my English."

Understanding and Development:

  • work up - develop gradually
    "She worked up the courage to speak."
  • work towards - progress towards goal
    "We're working towards a solution."
  • work at - make effort to improve
    "You need to work at your pronunciation."
  • work over - examine thoroughly
    "The editor worked over the manuscript."

Exercise and Physical Activity

Physical Exercise:

  • work out - do physical exercise
    "I work out at the gym three times a week."
  • work up - build up gradually
    "Work up a sweat during your exercise."
  • work off - remove through exercise
    "I need to work off this extra weight."
  • work in - include in routine
    "Try to work in some cardio exercise."

Function and Operation:

  • work - function properly
    "Does this machine work properly?"
  • work well - function effectively
    "This system works well for us."
  • work against - operate in opposition
    "The wind is working against us."
  • work with - cooperate/function together
    "This software works with our system."

Employment and Professional Activity

Career and Employment:

  • work for - be employed by
    "She works for a technology company."
  • work with - collaborate with
    "I work with talented colleagues."
  • work under - be supervised by
    "He works under a strict manager."
  • work up - advance in career
    "She worked up from an intern."

Time and Effort:

  • work overtime - work extra hours
    "I had to work overtime this week."
  • work late - work beyond normal hours
    "She often works late on projects."
  • work hard - put in great effort
    "Success requires working hard."
  • work smart - work efficiently
    "It's better to work smart than just hard."

RUN Phrasal Verbs

Encounters and Meetings

Unexpected Meetings:

  • run into - meet unexpectedly
    "I ran into my old friend at the shops."
  • run across - find by chance
    "I ran across this interesting article."
  • run up against - encounter problem
    "We ran up against unexpected difficulties."
  • run through - encounter while searching
    "Let me run through my contacts."

Collision and Impact:

  • run into - collide with
    "The car ran into a tree."
  • run over - hit with vehicle
    "Be careful not to run over that cat."
  • run down - knock down with vehicle
    "The cyclist was nearly run down."
  • run through - pierce completely
    "The sword ran through his armour."

Operations and Management

Business Operations:

  • run - manage/operate business
    "She runs a successful restaurant."
  • run through - review/practice
    "Let's run through the presentation."
  • run up - accumulate costs
    "Don't run up a huge phone bill."
  • run down - reduce gradually
    "The company is running down stock."

Supply and Resources:

  • run out of - exhaust supply
    "We've run out of coffee."
  • run low on - have little remaining
    "The car is running low on petrol."
  • run short - not have enough
    "We're running short of time."
  • run dry - be completely empty
    "The well has run dry this summer."

Movement and Escape

Departure and Escape:

  • run away - flee/escape
    "The child ran away from home."
  • run off - leave quickly
    "The thief ran off with my bag."
  • run for it - escape quickly
    "When we saw the bull, we ran for it."
  • run out - leave quickly
    "She ran out of the meeting angrily."

Time and Duration:

  • run on - continue longer than expected
    "The meeting ran on for three hours."
  • run over - exceed time limit
    "The presentation ran over by ten minutes."
  • run behind - be late/delayed
    "The trains are running behind schedule."
  • run to - extend to/reach amount
    "The repair bill runs to thousands."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗ "I'm looking forward for the weekend."

✓ "I'm looking forward to the weekend."

"Look forward to" always uses "to", never "for"

✗ "I work out the problem."

✓ "I worked out the problem."

Use past tense for completed actions

✗ "We have run out from coffee."

✓ "We have run out of coffee."

"Run out of" always uses "of", never "from"

✗ "Can you look after to my cat?"

✓ "Can you look after my cat?"

"Look after" doesn't need "to"

✗ "I ran into to my friend."

✓ "I ran into my friend."

Don't add extra prepositions to complete phrasal verbs

Separability Patterns

LOOK - Mostly Inseparable:

  • look after - Look after them (never separate)
  • look into - Look into it (never separate)
  • look for - Look for it (never separate)
  • look up to - Look up to her (3-word, inseparable)
  • Exception: look up (information) - can separate

WORK - Mixed Patterns:

  • work out - Work it out (separable)
  • work on - Work on it (inseparable)
  • work through - Work through it (inseparable)
  • work up - Work it up (separable)
  • work towards - Work towards it (inseparable)

RUN - Mostly Inseparable:

  • run into - Run into them (never separate)
  • run out of - Run out of it (3-word, inseparable)
  • run through - Run through it (inseparable)
  • run up - Run up costs (can separate)
  • run over - Run over time (inseparable)

Multiple Meanings: Context Determines Usage

LOOK UP - Different Meanings:

  • Search information: "Look up the word in a dictionary."
  • Visit someone: "I'll look you up when I'm in town."
  • Direct eyes upward: "Look up at the beautiful stars."
  • Improve: "Things are finally looking up."

WORK OUT - Different Meanings:

  • Exercise: "I work out at the gym daily."
  • Solve problem: "Work out this maths equation."
  • Calculate: "Work out the total cost."
  • Develop successfully: "I hope things work out well."

RUN INTO - Different Meanings:

  • Meet by chance: "I ran into my teacher at the shops."
  • Collide with: "The car ran into a lamp post."
  • Encounter problems: "We ran into unexpected difficulties."
  • Cost approximately: "The repairs will run into thousands."

Formality and Professional Usage

Professional/Business Appropriate:

  • look into - investigate matters professionally
  • work out - solve business problems
  • run through - review presentations/procedures
  • look over - examine documents/reports
  • work towards - progress toward business goals
  • run - manage/operate businesses

Casual/Informal Usage:

  • look after - take care of family/pets
  • work out - exercise at gym
  • run into - meet friends unexpectedly
  • look forward to - anticipate social events
  • run out of - exhaust household supplies
  • look up - visit friends casually

LOOK, WORK, RUN Across All Tenses

LOOK Examples:

Present: I look after my siblings daily.
Past: She looked into the problem yesterday.
Present Perfect: We've looked forward to this.
Future: I'll look up the information.
Continuous: I'm looking for my keys.
Modal: You should look into this.

WORK Examples:

Present: I work out every morning.
Past: He worked through the problem.
Present Perfect: It's worked out perfectly.
Future: We'll work on it tomorrow.
Continuous: She's working towards her goal.
Modal: This might work out well.

RUN Examples:

Present: She runs the family business.
Past: I ran into an old friend.
Present Perfect: We've run out of time.
Future: The meeting will run over.
Continuous: We're running low on supplies.
Modal: You could run through the plan.

Advanced Usage Patterns

LOOK + Adjective Patterns:

  • look good/bad/tired/well: Describe appearance or health
  • look busy/free/available: Describe current state or accessibility
  • look promising/doubtful: Express probability or likelihood
  • look familiar/strange: Describe recognition or unfamiliarity

WORK + Preposition Combinations:

  • work with/for/under: Employment and collaboration relationships
  • work on/at/towards: Focus and direction of effort
  • work against/around: Opposition and problem-solving strategies
  • work in/into/through: Integration and process completion

RUN + Time/Money Expressions:

  • run late/early/on time: Time management and scheduling
  • run to/into costs: Expense amounts and financial implications
  • run short/low/dry: Supply levels and resource availability
  • run behind/ahead of schedule: Project timing and deadline management

Essential LOOK, WORK, RUN Combinations

Top LOOK phrasal verbs:

look for - search for
look after - take care of
look into - investigate
look up - search information, visit
look forward to - anticipate
look out - be careful
look around - examine surroundings
look through - examine contents
look over - review quickly
look back on - remember past
look up to - admire, respect
look down on - consider inferior
look out for - watch for, protect
look ahead - plan for future
look like - resemble

Top WORK phrasal verbs:

work out - exercise, solve, calculate
work on - focus effort on
work for - be employed by
work with - collaborate with
work through - solve methodically
work towards - progress toward
work up - develop, build courage
work at - make effort to improve
work around - find alternative
work off - remove through exercise
work in - include in routine
work under - be supervised by
work over - examine thoroughly
work against - oppose
work back - calculate backwards

Top RUN phrasal verbs:

run into - meet unexpectedly, collide
run out of - exhaust supply
run - manage, operate
run through - review, practice
run over - exceed time, hit with vehicle
run away - flee, escape
run up - accumulate costs
run down - reduce gradually
run across - find by chance
run off - leave quickly
run on - continue too long
run low on - have little remaining
run behind - be late
run to - extend to amount
run up against - encounter problems

Effective Learning Strategies

Memory techniques:

  • Semantic grouping: LOOK (investigation), WORK (effort), RUN (encounters)
  • Context association: Link to specific situations (gym, office, street)
  • Visual imagery: Picture yourself doing the actions literally
  • Frequency focus: Start with the most common combinations first

Practice methods:

  • Daily situations: Use LOOK/WORK/RUN for describing routine activities
  • Problem description: Practice explaining how you investigate and solve issues
  • Future plans: Use "look forward to" and "work towards"
  • Story narration: Describe unexpected encounters with RUN combinations

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