The Phrasal :)

[thebossfan]

HI, got one question for ya:
there is a statement: "I am sure he made the whole story up"
Question is: is it possible to keep the same meaning saying: " I am sure he made up the whole story" ?
Is there any rule, cos I have another one: "I have to keep my tolls back" or "I have to keep back my tolls"?
Please help.

[Tdol]

Yes, in both cases you can separate like that. If, however, you use a pronoun, then you must separate:
He made it up.
He made up it.
I am afraid that this is an area where the dictionary is required- you cannot tell from the words alone whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable- you can't do this with all verbs. 'Look into', for example, is a verb where you can't separate the verb and the particle:
I'll look into the matter.
I'll look the matter into.

[dihen]

Originally Posted by Tdol

'Look into', for example, is a verb where you can't separate the verb and the particle:
I'll look into the matter.
I'll look the matter into.

Isn't the "into" there a preposition, not a particle?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by dihen

Isn't the "into" there a preposition, not a particle?

It depends.

He opened the box and looked into it. [= looked in, it's a preposition]

They don't yet know where the box came from, but they're looking into it. [phrasal verb: 'look into = 'make approprate investigations']

b

[thebossfan]

Thank you very much.