knock over
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: knock OVER. Saying “KNOCK over” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “knock” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “knock over” is said “kno-ckover”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
What it means
To hit something so that it falls.
- “He knocked over a glass reaching for the salt.”
- “The wind knocked the fence over.”
Similar: upset, topple