Phrasal verb

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a single-word or multi-word prepositional phrase (alt. preposition, adverb, particle) that form a complete (i.e. combined) semantic unit as a phrase. Alternative terms are ‘compound verb’, ‘verb-adverb combination’, ‘verb-particle construction’(VPC), AmE ‘two-part word/verb’ and ‘three-part word/verb’ (depending on the number of particles), and multi-word verb (MWV). According to Tom McArthur: "...the term ‘phrasal verb’ was first used by Logan Pearsall Smith, in "Words and Idioms" (1925), in which he states that the OED Editor Henry Bradley suggested the term to him."

As a class, phrasal verb complexes belong to the same category as the so-called separable verbs of other Germanic languages. They are more commonly found in everyday, informal speech as opposed to more formal English and Latinate verbs, such as "to get together" rather than "to congregate", "to put off" rather than "to postpone", or "to do up" rather than "to fasten".

However, the value of the term "phrasal verb" and its alternatives (including "separable verb" for Germanic languages) is debatable. In origin the concept is based on translation linguistics; as many single-word English and Latinate words are translatable by a phrasal verb complex in English, therefore the logic is that the phrasal verb complex must be a complete semantic unit in itself. This in itself does not mean that the verb – preposition/adverb complex is in itself a "complete semantic unit", merely that it can translate a complete semantic unit.

In general it can be shown that to use and understand the “phrasal verb complex", even in the case of idioms, it is necessary to understand both the verb and the particle independently and how these work together to give a combined meaning, as Lakoff and Johnson show. Prepositons/Particles/Adverbs have a literal meaning which is spatial or "orientational", and then, as happens with all words, metaphorical meanings that are systematic extensions from their core meaning (see also Knowles & Moon 2006: 17). Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus, a phrasal verbs dictionary for learners of English, provides annotated charts for 12 of the most common particles used in phrasal verbs, tracing the way they develop non-literal uses on the basis of conceptual metaphor, and showing how the "meaning" of each "particle" in a phrasal verb is, to the extent they have examined the issue, predictable[1][2].

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Semantics of phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb complexes are particularly frequent in the English language, as they are in all Germanic languages. A phrasal verb complex has its literal usage, where the meanings of both the verb and the prepositional phrase are clear, as well as idiomatic usages, extensions from the core meanings of the verb and prepositional phrase. At times the idiom stems from the verb, and at times from the prepositional phrase, and at times from both.

Literal Usage

Many verbs in English can interact with an adverb or a preposition, and the verb + preposition/adverb complex is readily understood when used in its literal sense. Note that the difference between preposition and adverb is very vague in English, and for all intents and purposes the so-called "adverb" is in actual fact a prepositional phrase in its own right. True adverbs cannot appear in such complexes. This usage of the phrasal verb complex is its core or basic use, from which idiomatic usages derive.

• "He walked across the square."
• "She opened the shutters and looked outside."
• "When he heard the crash, he looked up."

The function of the prepositional phrase/particle in such clauses is to show the relationship between the action (walked, opened, looked) and the relative positioning, action or state of the subject. Even when such prepositions appear on their own, they have a retrievable prepositional object. Thus, He walked across clearly shows that the "walking" is "across" a given area. In the case of He walked across the square, across the square is a prepositional phrase (with across as its head-word). In both cases, the single-word/multi-word prepositional phrase (across and across the square) is independent of the verb. The action of the subject (walking) is being portrayed as having happened in/at/on/over a cerain location (across the square). Similarly in She opened the shutters and looked outside and When he heard the crash, he looked up. Outside is logically outside (of) the house, and up is similarly a prepositional adjunct (= upwards, in an upwards direction, he is looking in a direction that is higher than where his eyes were previously directed).

Idiomatic usage

For some writers, teachers and researchers, any verb + particle complex is a potential phrasal verb, while for others only those that are found in idiomatic uses are true "phrasal verbs". The reasoning for this is that in the idiom the combined meaning of verb plus particle appears to be totally different from each of its component parts, and that ergo the semantic content of the phrasal verb cannot be predicted by its constituent parts, as appears to be the case with get over and get over with:

• "I hope you will get over your operation quickly."
• "Work hard, and get your examination over with."

Here, the claim is that the literal meaning of "get over X", in the sense of "to climb over something to get to the other side", no longer applies to explain the subject's enduring an operation or the stress of an examination which they have to overcome.

However, such researchers not only confuse the concepts of concrete, abstract and idiom, but also - by focusing solely on the phrasal verb complex - fail to keep in mind that any word or phrase can be used in idiomatic ways, with no change in its underlying meaning, but rather as an abstract extension of the core meaning. Get over X in the above is merely an extension of its normal application of getting over a barrier from the physical to the abstract. Get X over with Y similarly is an abstract application of the concrete construction, found in clauses such as He got the pig over the fence with difficulty and He got over the finishing line first with an extra spurt.

In her introduction to "Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs, What this dictionary contains", Rosemary Courtney includes as a third category of the use of verb+preposition complexes:

3. Idioms which are formed from phrasal verbs, such as let the cat out of the bag. These idioms are printed in heavy type. Idioms have a meaning which is different from the meaning of the single words, and usually have a fixed word order.

Courtney then cites among many other examples in the dictionary such phrases as "to add insult to injury", "to add fuel to the flames", "to leave someone in the lurch", "to scare someone out of their wits", etc. However, it can be argued that the appearance of a verb+preposition complex in such is "coincidental"; it is the whole phrase and its imagery that is the idiom, not the individual words within it.

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Phrasal verb patterns

A phrasal verb complex contains one or more prepositional phrases [alt. particle, preposition, adverb], and can enter into transitive and intransitive structures. Like all phrases which involve prepositions, phrasal verb complexes often involve prepositional stranding

• The plumber soon sorted out the shower problem/The plumber soon sorted the shower problem out (with object)
• The path branched off to the river (no object)
• Where did the path branch off to (stranding)

Particle verbs

Phrasal verb complexes that contain a prepositional phrase ("particle") such as up are called by some writers "particle verbs". As they fit into both intransitive and transitive clauses, the presence or absence of a direct object to the verb depends on this. When there is a noun as the direct object, the particle can usually appear on either side of it, although very long noun phrases tend to come after the particle. When the object is a personal pronoun, the particle must always follow:

• "When I entered the room he looked up." (intransitive)
• Switch off the light. (transitive)
• Switch the light off. (transitive)
• Switch off the lights in the hallway next to the bedroom in which the president is sleeping. (transitive)
• Switch" it/them off. (transitive)
• Switch it off. (not *Switch off it.) (transitive)
• The smell put them off. (not *put off them) (transitive)
• They let him through. (not *they let through him) (transitive)

The exception to the rule regarding personal pronouns occurs if the direct object is overtly contrastively stressed, or where the contrasted stress is "understood", as in:

• Figure out THESE, not THOSE.
• Pull out HIM first. We'll get the others next.

With some transitive particle verbs, however, the noun phrase object must come after the particle, except when it is a personal pronoun. Such examples are said to be "inseparable phrasal verbs".

• The gas gave off fumes. (not *The gas gave fumes off.)
• A: What is this awful smell? B: The gas gave it off. (not *The gas gave off it.)

Other transitive particle verbs require the particle to follow the object, even when the object is a long noun phrase:

• I cannot tell the Beatles apart. (not *I cannot tell apart the Beatles.)
• I cannot tell the various members of the band called the Beatles apart.

However, some authors would dispute this, arguing that the particle must be adjacent to the verb whenever the noun phrase is lengthy and complicated.

Gorlach asserts that the position of the noun phrase object before or after the particle has a subtle effect on the degree to which the phrase has resultative implication. For example, the simple verb eat makes no claim on whether or not the result of the eating is that the apple is completely consumed; whereas the phrasal verb eat up seems to make different claims on this result, depending on the position of the particle with respect to the object:

• to eat the apple (neutral for ‘complete’ result)
• to eat up the apple (greater possibility for ‘complete’ result)
• to eat the apple up (compulsory claim for ‘complete’ result)

Prepositional verbs

Prepositional verbs are to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from "particle verbs", or, to put it another way, are a subcategory of particle verbs. They fit into intransitive constructions, even though the underlying meaning can suggest a transitive reading. Being intransitive, the object must always follow the preposition (except when fronted). They are different in this way from separable and inseparable particle verbs in transitive clauses in that the object when a pronoun must follow the preposition, being intransitive clauses in structure:

• On Fridays, we look after our grandchildren.
• We look after them. (not look them after)

Here look after is the metaphorical extension of keeping an eye on the children. The origin of the phrase is in the context of minding children, sheep, goats, and so on. The goat herd looks after the goats, and in that situation, it is a must that the goat herd be behind the goats so as to be able to keep an eye on them, hence look after. The phrase as such is intransitive.

Transitive phrases can also appear in the strucutre, in which case the verb has its own object, which usually precedes the preposition:

• She helped the boy to an extra portion of potatoes.
• with pronouns: She helped him to some.

Prepositional verbs with two or more prepositional phrases are also possible:

• We talked to the minister about the crisis.

Phrasal-prepositional verbs

A phrasal verb complex can contain an adverb (single word prepositional phrase) and a full prepositional phrase at the same time. Again, the verb itself can have a direct object, as both intransitive and transitive verbs can appear in this category. This is also a subcateory of particle verbs:

• no direct object: The driver got off to a flying start.
• direct object: Onlookers put the accident down to the driver’s loss of concentration.

Here off has its regular use of "away, no longer at the starting point", as in take off, set off, fly off, swim off, walk off, hop off, etc., while to is the head word of the prepositional phrases to a flying start, to the driver’s loss of concentration. Put x down is the metaphorical extension of putting something down so as to complete it or to make a (complete) note of it.

• Put it down now. You don't need to do anymore.
• Put/Write down [on paper] these notes.

Phrasal nouns

An extension of the concept of phrasal verb is that of phrasal noun, where a verb+partical complex is nominalised . The particle may come before or after the verb.

• standby "we are keeping the old equipment on standby, in case of emergency." (ready to be used if necessary)
• back-up "Neil can provide technical backup if you need it" (support)
• onset "the match was halted by the onset of rain" (start of something unpleasant)
• input "Try to come to the meeting- we'd value your input" (contribution)

If the particle is in first place, then the phrasal noun is never written with a hyphen, if the particle comes second, then there is sometimes a hyphen between the two parts of the phrasal noun.

The two categories have different values. Particle-verb compounds in English are of ancient development, and are common to all German languages, as well as Indo-European languages in general. Those such as onset tend to retain older uses of the particles; in Old English on/an had a wider domain, which included areas which are now covered by at and in in English. Some such compound nouns have a corresponding phrasal verbs but some do not, partly because of historical developments. The modern English verb+particle complex set on exists, but it means "start to attack" (set itself means start a process). In modern English there is no exact verbal phrase equivalent to the older set on, but rather various combinations which give different nuances to the idea of starting a process, such as winter has set in, set off on a journey, set up the stand, set out on a day trip, etc. Verb-particle compounds are of more modern development in English, and focus more on the action expressed by the compound; that is to say, they are more overtly "verbal" in feeling.

Phrasal verbs and modifying adverbs

When modifying adverbs ("true adverbs") are used alongside particle adverbs (single word prepositional phrases), the adverbs can appear in any adverb position - with their appropriate scope focusing characteristics according to position - depending on whether the clause is transitive or intransitive:

• "He looked round unhappily." (intransitive)
• "He looked unhappily round." (intransitive)
• "He unhappily looked round." (intransitive)
• "Unhappily he looked round." (intransitive)
• "He cheerfully picked the book up." (transitive)
• "He picked up the book cheerfully." (transitive)
• "He picked the book up cheerfully." (transitive)
• "He desperately looked for his keys." (intransitive)
• "He looked for his keys desperately." (intransitive)
• "He looked desperately for his keys." (intransitive)
• "Desperately he looked for his keys." (intransitive)

Modifying adverbs (true adverbs) cannot come between the verb and object in the object noun phrase, *picked cheerfully up the book, or picked cheerfully the book up. This is a standard characteristic of transitive clauses in English.

The particle adverb (single word prepositional phrase) in the examples above are "round" and "up", while the modifying adverbs (true adverbs) are "unhappily" and "cheerfully". These latter are modifying adverbs because they modify the verbs "look" and "pick". "Round" and "up" are particles because they are not inflected, as is the case with all prepositions, and are in themselves the heads of their own phrases, even when these are single-word prepositional phrases. Compare:

• "He looked round the corner unhappily."

Here round is the head word of the multi-word prepositional phrase round the corner.

"For", on the other hand, is the head word of the prepositional phrase for his keys. The meaning of the intransitive verb "look" is "use eyes to see, perceive, find, examine", while that of "for" is to show "potential goal". "He" is "looking" (using his eyes), but he has not yet found what he is looking for. The prepositional/prepositional phrase shows the direction (concrete or abstract) of the looking, as is the case in the example using look after above.

Phrasal verbs combined with special verb forms and clauses

As pointed out by Courtney, phrasal verb complexes (verb+particle) can appear in all complex constructions, such as where the preposition causes nominalisation of verbs (creation of the ing-form [verbal noun/gerund]) as well as where the verbal phrase (V+NP) can be followed by a relative clause referring to the NP, be this overt or "understood", or where the relative clause fulfills the role of the NP object of the verb:

• "The teacher tries to dictate to his class what the right thing to do is"

Here what the right thing to do is is the object NP of the verb "dictate" while to is the head word of the prepostional phrasr to his class. Compare:

• "The teacher tries to dictate what the right thing to do is to his class"

This differs from relative classes which fulfill the role of adjuncts:

• "My friends called for me when the time came"

Here the intransitive verb "call" is followed by the prepositional phrase for me and then an adverbial adjunct clause (when the time came) which shows the time that the action happened.

• "Watch out that you don’t hit your head on the low beam"

Here the intransitive verb watch is followed be the single word prepositional phrase out which shows the (here abstract) direction of the "watching". The that-clause is the standard pattern for constructions such as "be careful that...", "take care that...", "move back so that...", and so on.

Phrasal verbs combined with verb-ing forms

• "You can’t prevent me from seeing her"

Here the transittive verb "prevent" governs its direct object, "me", while the preposition "from" is the head word of the prepositional phrase from seeing her. All verbs directly governed by a preposition must be nominalised by -ing. That is to say, seeing is a noun.

See also

• Cliché
• Collocation
• Compound (linguistics)
• Idiom
• Lexical unit
• Noun phrase
• Separable verb

References

• Long, Thomas Hill (Editorial Director), Summers, Della (Managing Editor): "Longman Dictionary of English Idioms", Longman Group Limited, 1979 ISBN 0-582-55524-8
• Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Dictionary, Oxford: Macmillan Education 2005, ISBN 1-4050-6390-4
• Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. Oxford: OUP. 2001. ISBN 0-19-431543-6. 
• Mitchell, Rod: “Prepositions and their Meanings : A Teacher’s Handbook”, to be published.

External links

• Complete guide to phrasal verbs and a real help with them
• English phrasal verbs by categories
• English phrasal verb dictionary with exercises
• Distinguishing prepositional and phrasal verbs with examples
• Explanation, list and exercises of English phrasal verbs
• Ordered list of phrasal verbs
• Bibliography of phrasal verb literature
• A Multilingual Dictionary of Idioms, Phrasal verbs and Expressions