Phrasal verb
respond to sth/sb
Definition
phrasal verb. to say or do something as an answer to a person or a situation.
phrasal verb. to reply to a communication or react to a stimulus; functions as an intransitive verb followed by a prepositional object.
Examples
“I need to respond to his email today.”
“The emergency services respond to thousands of calls every single day.”
“The market failed to respond to the central bank's intervention, leading to further currency devaluation throughout the afternoon.”
Examples
simple
“I need to respond to his email today.”
contextual
“The emergency services respond to thousands of calls every single day.”
complex
“The market failed to respond to the central bank's intervention, leading to further currency devaluation throughout the afternoon.”
Usage
always requires the preposition 'to' before the person or thing being answered.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'answer', which is a transitive verb and does not take 'to'; learners often confuse the two by saying 'respond him'.
Pitfall
Please respond me as soon as possible.
Please respond to me as soon as possible.
unlike the verb 'answer', 'respond' must be followed by the preposition 'to' before the object.
Phrasal verb
Particles
to
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
respond + to + object