AAAmerican Accent US

look after

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: look AFTER. Saying “LOOK after” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “look” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “look after” is said “loo-kafter”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To take care of someone or something.

    • “Can you look after my dog while I'm on vacation?”
    • “She looked after her father for the last two years of his life.”

    Similar: care for, mind

The particle logic

after

Pursuing someone, caring for them, or looking like them.

Listen + practice

Hear “look after” spoken naturally

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Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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More LOOK phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

look up

To search for information in a reference source.

look for

To search for something or someone.

look forward to

To feel pleased about something that is going to happen. Always followed by a noun or an -ING form, never an infinitive.

look up to

To admire and respect someone.

look down on

To consider someone inferior.

look into

To investigate something.

look out

To be careful — usually shouted as a warning.

look over

To examine something fairly quickly.

look through

To examine a collection item by item.

look back

To think about the past.

look after — meaning, examples & how to say it