Particle guide

Phrasal verbs with after

The particle after starts from one core idea — following behind in time, order, or pursuit. Sink In groups its verbs by the recurring ways that idea plays out, so verbs that look unrelated line up into patterns.

11 phrasal verbs · 4 meaning groups

Being Like

A person or thing shares a family feature or is given another person's name.

Order

One thing appears later than another in a list, story, line, or time.

Care

Someone receives care, or another person asks about their health.

Chasing

A person follows a moving target and tries to reach or obtain it.

Usual verb + particle uses

The verb keeps its normal meaning. The particle adds its usual direction or relation.

chase after

Pursue someone or something quickly

The dog chased after the ball.
The dog pursued the ball quickly.
Two fans chased after the singer's car.
Two fans pursued the singer's car quickly.

run after

Chase someone by running

He ran after the bus.
He chased the bus by running.
The child ran after the puppy.
The child chased the puppy by running.
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Practice the after patterns in Sink In

The app turns each meaning group into short review cards: recognition, particle cloze, meaning-to-particle recall, and schema matching.

  • Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
  • Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
  • Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
Sink In particle after shown through its meaning patterns