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Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object. If the object is a pronoun (it/them/me/him etc.), only one position is possible. We have to put the object beetween the verb and the preposition.
For example: I'm going to take them off. (not take off them)
But some phrasal verbs confuse me.
For example: In dictionaries they say live off sb/sth not live sb/sth off
For example: The families are happy to live off them and use the money they earn (Why isn't it "live them off" ?
I think the other answers have missed the fact that "to take" is a transitive verb here and therefore requires a direct object.
"to live" is an intransitive verb and cannot have a direct object - it may have an indirect object. On the other hand ,"to live off" is transitive and needs a direct object.
I can take something but I can't live something. I can (live off) something.
Because they're living off that person. That person they're living off of is the source of whatever they need to keep living.
For instance, You can't say:
"I'm living my father off".
If he's paying for your stuff and giving you food, he is the source. You're living OFF your father. You're taking something FROM your father.
The families are going to live off of X.
Off of X answers the question "How are the families going to live?" Because of that, off of x has to be inseparable.
I'm going to take the gloves off.
Off doesn't participate in answering a how question here, so it can move around.
