"Caught up"

[Unregistered]

I am having trouble identifying whether the phrase "caught up" is one in which both words are considered part of the verb itself or whether "caught" is a verb and "up" is a preposition.

Sentences with my particular use of phrase in the question are as follows.

"The man got caught up in traffic."

"She was so caught up in the book that she lost track of time."

[Raymott]

I am having trouble identifying whether the phrase "caught up" is one in which both words are considered part of the verb itself or whether "caught" is a verb and "up" is a preposition.

Sentences with my particular use of phrase in the question are as follows.

"The man got caught up in traffic."

"She was so caught up in the book that she lost track of time."

By "a phrase in which both words are considered part of the verb itself" you are trying to express the concept of a phrasal verb.
Yes, "caught up" is a phrasal verb.
Sorry I'm late. I got caught up.

[philo2009]

I am having trouble identifying whether the phrase "caught up" is one in which both words are considered part of the verb itself or whether "caught" is a verb and "up" is a preposition.

Sentences with my particular use of phrase in the question are as follows.

"The man got caught up in traffic."

"She was so caught up in the book that she lost track of time."

'Caught up' is generally parsed as a phrasal unit, which can be broken down into two components, a lexical verb (caught) and an adverbial particle (up) (N.B. not a preposition!).

[Raymott]

'Caught up' is generally parsed as a phrasal unit, which can be broken down into two components, a lexical verb (caught) and an adverbial particle (up) (N.B. not a preposition!).

Yes, you're right.
"Caught up" is a phrasal verb in the following sentence:
My friend and I caught up every few months.