Phrasal verb
Phrasal verbs with give
By EasySay. Published . Updated .
Give changes its meaning with the small word after it.
Give up means to stop trying, give back means to return a thing, and give out means to hand things around. This page explains eight meanings of give, with a pattern and an example for each, and a five-question check.
Written for EasySay, in our own words.
In short
- Patterngive sth up
- Patterngive sth back
give: what it is, and what it is not
- IS
- give sth up: stop trying, or quit a habit.
- IS
- give sth back: return a thing you borrowed or took.
- IS
- give sth out: hand an item to every person in a group.
- IS
- give sth up: the object can go between give and up.
- IS NOT
- give in: the object cannot go in the middle; it stays after the small words.
- IS NOT
- The plain verb: give with a small word takes a new meaning, such as stop trying, or quit a habit.
Meaning: Give is a common verb for handing things over. With small words it can mean to quit, to return, to hand around, to collapse and more.
How do people say it?
- Stop trying, or quit a habit:
He gave the cigarettes up last winter and never looked back.
- Return a thing you borrowed or took:
She gave the keys back the next day.
Check yourself
What should I know?
What does it mean, and how is it used?
| Meaning | Object in the middle? | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stop trying, or quit a habit | Yes | give sth up |
|
| Return a thing you borrowed or took | Yes | give sth back |
|
| Hand an item to every person in a group | Yes | give sth out |
|
| Give something free, asking nothing in return | Yes | give sth away |
|
| Stop resisting; admit that you lost | No | give in |
|
| Produce a smell, light, heat or sound | No | give off sth |
|
| Stop hoping that a person or plan will improve | No | give up on sb/sth |
|
| Break or fall down under weight | No | give way |
|
Map of the small words
- giveup
- Stop trying, or quit a habitgive sth upObject can go in the middle
- giveback
- Return a thing you borrowed or tookgive sth backObject can go in the middle
- giveout
- Hand an item to every person in a groupgive sth outObject can go in the middle
- giveaway
- Give something free, asking nothing in returngive sth awayObject can go in the middle
- givein
- Stop resisting; admit that you lostgive inObject goes after
- giveoff
- Produce a smell, light, heat or soundgive off sthObject goes after
- giveup on
- Stop hoping that a person or plan will improvegive up on sb/sthObject goes after
- giveway
- Break or fall down under weightgive wayObject goes after
Small words used with it
- up
- back
- out
- away
- in
- off
- way
What should I not mix it up with?
- get Get is a short English verb with many meanings. With small words it can mean to recover, to board or leave a bus, to escape blame, to leave your bed and more.
Give is a verb of handing over, and its eight meanings on this page hand things in every direction. Give up quits, give back returns, give out hands around and give away asks nothing back.
When you meet a new phrase with give, look at the small word first. Up, back, out and away each change the gift completely, and the pattern in the table shows what each one asks for.
Four of the eight meanings let you put the object in the middle: give up, give back, give out and give away. You can say give the keys back or give back the keys, and both are right.
When the object is a pronoun such as it, him or them, it must go in the middle. Say give it back and not give back it. Give in, give off, give up on and give way keep the small word next to the verb in every sentence.
Two meanings share the small word up, and they repay learning together. Give sth up quits a habit or an effort, with an object in the middle or after.
Give up on sb/sth quits hoping, and it keeps the full tail: give up on your reading, not give your reading up on. Say both aloud with their examples until the two shapes feel different, then try the check below.
Give in and give way both end in defeat, but they defeat different things. In stops resisting a person or a pressure, as in gave in and ate the peas. Way breaks under weight, as in gave way in the storm.
Give off stands apart from both: it produces a smell, a light or a sound, and nothing is lost. Write your own sentence for each row, then try the check below.
Other base verbs
Questions people ask
What is the difference between give up and give up on?
Give up quits a habit or an effort, with the object in the middle or after: gave the cigarettes up. Give up on quits hoping, and keeps its tail: give up on your reading.
Which meanings let the object go in the middle?
On this page, give up, give back, give out and give away. With a noun both orders work; with a pronoun such as it, the pronoun must go in the middle.
Does give out mean to run out?
It can, as in supplies gave out, but not on this page. Here give out means to hand an item to every person in a group.
What are the forms of give?
Give, gives, gave, given, giving. The past is gave and the past participle is given: gave the keys back, has given the game away.
Sources and dates
- EasySay's own writing for the phrasal verbs, EasySay. Licence: original writing for EasySay. Checked .
Cite this page
EasySay. "Phrasal verbs with give". https://easysay.org/phrasal-verbs/give. Last updated 23 October 2026.
https://easysay.org/phrasal-verbs/give