pull apart
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: pull APART. Saying “PULL apart” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /l/ of “pull” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “pull apart” is said “pu-lapart”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
2 meanings
- 1
To separate something into pieces by force.
- “He pulled the sandwich apart looking for the pickle.”
Similar: separate
- 2
To criticize something harshly and in detail.
- “The reviewers pulled the proposal apart.”
Similar: tear apart, criticize