Look After and Run Out Of

Overview

Look after and run out of share an important grammatical property that distinguishes them from many of the phrasal verbs studied in earlier lessons: both are inseparable. The object must always follow the complete phrasal verb and can never be placed between the verb and its particle or particles.

Look after is a two-part phrasal verb. Run out of is a three-part phrasal verb, sometimes called a phrasal-prepositional verb because it consists of a verb, a particle, and a preposition. Three-part phrasal verbs are always inseparable by their grammatical nature, and run out of is one of the most common and useful examples.

Look After: Meanings and Uses

Meaning 1: To Take Care of Someone or Something

The primary and most widely used meaning of look after is to take care of a person, an animal, or a thing, either by keeping them healthy, safe, or in good condition, or by being responsible for their wellbeing. Cambridge lists this at A2.

Look after is an inseparable transitive phrasal verb. The object always follows the full two-word verb and cannot be separated, including when the object is a pronoun.

With pronouns, the object still follows the full phrasal verb.

Meaning 2: To Be Responsible for Something (Professional Context)

In professional and formal contexts, look after extends to mean managing or being responsible for an account, a client, a project, or a department.

Meaning 3: To Look After Oneself

Look after is frequently used reflexively with pronouns such as yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, and themselves to mean managing one's own needs or wellbeing without assistance from others.

Summary Table: Look After

Run Out Of: Meanings and Uses

Meaning 1: To Use All of Something So That None Is Left

The primary meaning of run out of is to exhaust the available supply of something, leaving none remaining. Cambridge lists this at B1. The object is whatever has been used up or depleted.

Run out of is an inseparable three-part phrasal verb. The object always follows the full three-word structure.

Meaning 2: To Have None Left (Intransitive Supply Meaning)

Run out (without of) is used intransitively to describe a supply that has been fully consumed or exhausted. No object follows this version.

Meaning 3: A Contract, Agreement, or Period of Time Expires

Run out can also mean that a contract, licence, passport, subscription, or period of time reaches its end. This is an intransitive use with no object.

Summary Table: Run Out Of

Why These Verbs Are Inseparable

In separable phrasal verbs, the object can move between the verb and the particle, and pronouns must do so. In inseparable phrasal verbs, the object never moves. It always follows the complete phrasal verb.

Look after is inseparable because the preposition after requires a following object to complete its meaning. Separating it from its object breaks the prepositional phrase and produces an ungrammatical result.

Run out of is a three-part phrasal verb. Three-part constructions of this type (verb plus particle plus preposition) are always inseparable in English. The entire three-word unit functions as a single verb, and the object follows it as a unit.

This rule applies to all objects, including pronouns. Unlike separable phrasal verbs, where pronouns must go between the verb and particle, inseparable phrasal verbs keep the pronoun after the full verb phrase.

Look After and Run Out Of Compared

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Attempting to Separate Look After

Mistake 2: Attempting to Separate Run Out Of

Mistake 3: Omitting Of from Run Out Of

Because run out exists as a separate intransitive form, learners sometimes omit of when a specific object is being named. The of is required when a direct object follows.

When no specific object is named, the intransitive run out is correct: Time is running out.

Mistake 4: Confusing Look After with Look For

Look after (to take care of) and look for (to search for) share the same base verb but carry completely different meanings.

Mistake 5: Using Look After in Contexts That Require a Different Verb

Look after means to take care of or be responsible for. It should not be used when the intended meaning is to observe or look in a particular direction.

Mistake 6: Dropping Of from Run Out Of in Relative Clauses

In relative clauses and indirect questions, learners sometimes drop of when the object appears earlier in the sentence. The three-part structure must remain intact even in more complex sentences.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete the Sentence with the Correct Form

Fill each blank with the correct form of look after or run out of.

1. She _______ her younger siblings every afternoon while their parents worked.
2. The team _______ creative solutions and needed to rethink the approach entirely.
3. Could you _______ this plant while I'm travelling next week?
4. They _______ time before they could address the final agenda item.
5. He _______ the regional accounts and reports directly to the area director.
6. We were only halfway through the project when we _______ budget.
7. Make sure you _______ yourself properly during the stressful period ahead.
8. The printer _______ ink just as we were about to print the final copies.

Exercise 2: Correct the Word Order

Each sentence has an object position error. Rewrite it correctly.

1. Can you look it after while I step out for a moment?
2. We ran supplies out of before the second phase could begin.
3. She looks the accounts after every Monday morning.
4. They ran them out of within the first week of the launch.

Exercise 3: Look After or Look For?

Choose the correct phrasal verb for each sentence.

1. Could you _______ the dog while we are at the ceremony?
2. I have been _______ my wallet all morning. Have you seen it?
3. She _______ herself very well despite the difficult circumstances.
4. The new assistant will _______ all incoming correspondence.
5. He is _______ a new job now that the contract has ended.
6. Can anyone _______ these files until I return from the conference?

Exercise 4: Rewrite Using the Correct Structure

Each sentence contains a structural error with look after or run out of. Rewrite it correctly.

1. They ran out their allocated time before finishing the presentation.
2. She looked the elderly resident after twice a week.
3. We need to know what materials we have run out before placing the next order.
4. Rewrite using a pronoun object: She looks after the accounts every Monday.

Summary