English phrasal verbs

::b. *You shouldn't **give in** so easily.* In those examples, the common verbs *grow* and *give* are complemented by the particles *up* and *in*. The resulting two-word verbs are single semantic units, and so *grow up* and *give in* are listed as discrete entries in modern dictionaries. These verbs can be transitive or intransitive. If they are transitive, i.e. if they have an object, the particle may come either before or after the object of the verb. ::c. *She **handed in** her homework.* ::d. *She **handed** her homework **in**.* ::e. *She **handed** it **in**.* When the object is a single pronoun, the particle is usually placed afterwards. With nouns, it is a matter of familiar collocation or of emphasis. Particles commonly used in this construction include *to, in, into, out, up, down, at, on, off, under, against.* All these words can also be used as prepositions, but the prepositional use is distinct, and modern dictionaries may list, for example, *to (particle)* and *to (preposition)* as separate lexemes. In the particle verb construction, they cannot be construed as prepositions because they are not being used as part of a prepositional phrase. ::f. You should **think** it **over**. – *over* cannot be a preposition, as it is not followed by a noun phrase. ::g. Who **thought up** this scheme? – although *up* is followed by a noun phrase, it is linked to the verb (*to think up*), not to the noun (**up this scheme*), so not a preposition. ### Verb + preposition (prepositional verbs) Many verbs can be complemented by a prepositional phrase that functions adverbially: ::a. Don't stand **on the table**. This construction is sometimes also taught as a phrasal verb, but only when the combination of verb and preposition is not intuitive to the learner: ::b. Don't stand **on ceremony**. Further examples: ::c. I **ran into** an old friend. – *into* is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase *into an old friend*. ::d. She **takes after** her mother. – *after* is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase *after her mother*. ::e. Sam **passes for** a linguist. – *for* is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase *for a linguist*. ::f. You should **stand by** your friend. – *by* is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase *by your friend* ### Verb + particle + preposition (particle-prepositional verbs) Sometimes, both phenomena can occur in the same context. ::a. Who can **put up with** that? – *up* is a particle and *with* is a preposition. ::b. She **looks forward to** a rest. – *forward* is a particle and *to* is a preposition. ::c. The other tanks **bore down on** my Panther. – *down* is a particle and *on* is a preposition. ::d. They really **teed off on** me. – *off* is a particle and *on* is a preposition. ::e. We **loaded up on** snacks. – *up* is a particle and *on* is a preposition ::f. Susan had to **sit in for** me. – *in* is a particle and *for* is a preposition. In general, the discrete meanings associated with *phrasal verbs* cannot be readily understood solely by construing the sum of their respective parts: the meaning of *pick up* is distinct from the various meanings of *pick* and *up*, and may acquire disparate meanings depending on its contextual usage. Similarly, the meaning of *hang out* is not conspicuously related to a particular definition of *hang* or *out*. ## Distinguishing phrasal verb types When a particle verb is transitive, it may be difficult to distinguish the particle from a preposition. A simple diagnostic that works in many cases is to consider whether it is possible to shift the preposition/particle to after the noun. An English preposition can never follow its noun, and so if we can change *verb - P - noun* to *verb - noun - P*, P cannot be a preposition and must be a particle. But even with a particle verb, shifting the particle is not always possible, for example, if it is followed by a pronoun instead of a noun, or if there is a fixed collocation. A second diagnostic is to think about where the instinctive division would be if we had to take a breath in the middle of the phrase. A particle would naturally be grouped with the preceding verb and a preposition with the following noun phrase. In the following examples, which show both of these approaches, an asterisk indicates an impossible form. ::a. You can **bank on** Susan. – *on* is a preposition. The natural division is "bank | on Susan". ::b. *You can **bank** Susan **on**. – The preposition cannot follow its noun. ::a. You can **take on** Susan. – *on* is a particle. The natural division is "take on | Susan". ::b. You can **take** Susan **on**. – The particle can follow the object of the particle verb. ::a. He **got over** the situation. – *over* is a preposition. The natural division is "get | over the situation". ::b. *He **got** the situation **over**. – The preposition cannot follow its noun. ::a. He **thought over** the situation. – *over* is a particle. The natural division is "think over | the situation". ::b. He **thought** the situation **over**. – The particle can follow the object of the particle verb. A third test, which probes further into the question of the natural division, would be to insert an adverb or adverbial between the verb and the particle/preposition. That is possible with a following prepositional phrase but not if the adverbial is intruding between the two parts of a particle verb. ::a. You can **bank** without reservation **on** Susan. – The adverbial can fall in the natural division: "bank | on Susan". ::b. *You can **take** without reservation **on** Susan. – The collocation "take on" cannot naturally be divided by an adverbial. A fourth test would be to place the verb in a w-question (*which? who?*) or a relative clause and consider whether the particle/preposition can be placed before the question word or relative pronoun. While that may sound antiquated, it is always possible with a preposition but never with a particle. (For more on an obsolete prescriptive rule about that, see preposition stranding.) ::a. Who can you **bank on**? Susan is someone (who) you can **bank on**. – *on* is a preposition in terminal position. ::b. **On** whom can you **bank**? Susan is a person **on** whom you can **bank**. – The preposition can go before the w-words. ::a. Who can I **take on**? Susan is someone (who) any employer could **take on**. – *on* is a particle in terminal position. ::b. ***On** whom can I **take**? *Susan is a person **on** whom any employer could **take**. – The particle cannot be moved. While the distinction is of interest to linguists, it is not necessarily important for language learners, and some textbooks recommend learning phrasal verbs as whole collocations without the types being considered. ## Shifting A complex aspect of phrasal verbs concerns the syntax of particle verbs that are transitive (as discussed and illustrated above). They allow some variability, depending on the relative weight of the constituents involved. Shifting often occurs when the object is very light: ::a. Fred chatted up **the girl with red hair**. – Canonical word order ::b. Fred chatted **her** up. – Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun *her* is very light. ::c. Fred chatted **the girl** up. - *The girl* is also very light. ::d. ?Fred chatted **the redhead** up. - A three-syllable object can appear in either position for many speakers. ::e. ??Fred chatted **the girl with red hair** up. – Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. ::a. They dropped off **the kids from that war zone**. – Canonical word order ::b. They dropped **them** off. – Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun *them* is very light. ::c. ??They dropped **the kids from that war zone** off. – Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. ::a. Mary made up **a really entertaining story**. – Canonical word order ::b. Mary made **it** up. – Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun *it* is very light. ::c. ??Mary made **a really entertaining story** up. – Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. Shifting occurs between two (or more) sister constituents that appear on the same side of their head. The lighter constituent shifts leftward and the heavier constituent shifts rightward, and this happens to accommodate the relative weight of the two. Dependency grammar trees are again used to illustrate the point: ::[[File:Phrasal verb trees 2.png|Phrasal verb trees 2]] The trees illustrate when shifting can occur. English sentence structures that grow down and to the right are easier to process. There is a consistent tendency to place heavier constituents to the right, as is evident in the a-trees. Shifting is possible when the resulting structure does not contradict that tendency, as is evident in the b-trees. Note again that the particle verb constructions (in orange) qualify as catenae in both the a- and b-trees. Shifting does not alter that fact. ## Compounding An extension of the concept of *phrasal verb* occurs via compounding when a verb+particle complex is nominalized. The particles may come before or after the verb. If it comes after, there may be a hyphen between the two parts of the compound noun. ::*to set out → outset: * :::We **set out** on a quest for the holy grail. :::Our quest was doomed from the **outset**. ::*to put in → input: * :::Don't be scared to **put** your own ideas **in**. :::Try to come to the meeting – we'd value your **input**. ::*to stand by → standby: * :::The fire brigade is **standing by** in case of emergency. :::We are keeping the old equipment on **standby** in case of emergency. ::*to back up → back-up:* :::Neil will **back you up** if you need it :::Neil will give you any **backup** you need. Compounds which place the particle before the verb are of ancient development and are common to all Germanic languages, as well as to other Indo-European languages. That is related to the history of particle verbs, which developed out of Old English prefixed verbs. By contrast, compounds that put the particle second are a more modern development in English and focus more on the action that is expressed by the compound. ## Origins and analogues Prepositional verbs are very common in many languages, but would not necessarily be analyzed as a distinct verb type: they are simply verbs followed by prepositional phrases. By contrast, particle verbs are much rarer in cross-language comparison, and their origins need some explanation. Particle verbs are common in Middle English and operate in much the same way as in the modern language. Middle English particle verbs developed from Old English prefixed verbs: OE *inngan* English *go in*. Similar constructions are common in other Germanic languages. ### Parallels in other Germanic languages English phrasal verbs are related to the separable verbs in other West Germanic languages such as in Dutch: ::a. *Ik moet de lamp aansteken* - 'I have to put on the lamp': *aan- / an-* is prefixed to the infinitive. ::b. *Ik steek de lamp aan* - 'I am putting on the lamp': *aan / an* stands separately at the end of the principal clause. In these languages, the particle can appear either before or after the base verb according to the same rules that would apply to any other type of adverb. When it comes in front of the verb, the spelling convention is to write the two parts together as one word, and since that happens in the infinitive, which is the dictionary form, the particle is traditionally conceived of as a prefix that separates under certain circumstances. It would be equally possible to see it as an adverb/particle that is strongly collocated with the verb. Compare German *ankommen* (arrive), a separable verb, with *bald kommen* (come soon), a random combination of verb and adverb: ::c. *Ich komme an / komme bald.* - 'I arrive / come soon.' - present, particle follows verb as in English ::d. *Ich kam an / kam bald.* - 'I arrived / came soon.' - preterite, particle follows verb as in English ::e. *...dass ich ankomme / bald komme.* - '...that I arrive / come soon.' - present, verb in final position in subordinate clause ::f. *Ich will ankommen / bald kommen.* - 'I want to arrive / come soon.' - simple infinitive, particle prefixed ::g. *Ich hoffe anzukommen / bald zu kommen.* - 'I hope to arrive / come soon.' - infinitive with marker which is also prefixed ::h. *Ich bin angekommen / bald gekommen.* - 'I have arrived / come soon.' - perfect, particle prefixed ### Similar constructions in non-Germanic languages A number of particle verbs exist in some Romance languages, such as Lombard, spoken in Northern Italy: *Fa foeura* (to do in: to eat up; to squander); *Dà denter* (to trade in; to bump into); *Borlà giò* (to fall down); *Lavà sü* (to wash up, as in English); *Trà sü* (to throw up, as in English); *Trà vìa* (to throw away, as in English); *Serà sü* (to lock up, as in English); *Dà vià* (to give away, as in English), and more. Some of these made their way into Italian, for instance *far fuori* (to get rid of); *mangiare fuori* (to eat out); *andare d'accordo con* (to get on/along with); *buttare via* (throw away). In Portuguese, some phrasal verbs are uncommon. Three phrasal verbs in Portuguese are commonly used: *ir embora*, *jogar fora* and *fazer de conta*. Some other phrasal verbs are *estar perante*, *ficar de*, *usar-me como* and *ter medo*. ## References ;Notes ;Citations ## Literature cited - Adger, D. 2003. *Core syntax: A minimalist approach*. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. - - - - (Cited from the revised ed. 1940). - Haiden, M. 2006. “Verb particle constructions”, in *The Blackwell companion to syntax*, vol. 5. Eds. M. Everaert & Henk van - - - - - - - - - - Tallerman, M. 1998. *Understanding syntax*. London: Arnold. - ## References 1. Jeanette S. DeCarrico The structure of English: studies in form and function – Volume 1 – Page 80 – 2000 "4.6.3 Prepositional Phrasal Verbs – It is also possible to find phrasal verbs that are themselves followed by a preposition. These structures are called prepositional phrasal verbs or multiword verbs. Examples are put up with (e.g., I can't put up with) " 2. Farrell, Patrick. (2005). ["English Verb-Preposition Constructions: Constituency and Order"](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6nq8q46n). *Language*. 3. Ron Cowan – The Teacher's Grammar of English: A Course Book and Reference 2008 Page 176<br/>"'''The Adverb Insertion Test''' – Earlier, we saw that intransitive phrasal verbs usually do not permit the insertion of an adverb between the verb and the particle, and the same is true of transitive phrasal verbs, as (25a) and (25b) show. In contrast, prepositional verbs do permit adverb insertion, as (25c) demonstrates. <br/>(25) a. He turned quickly off the light. = separable phrasal verb.<br/> b. He ran unexpectedly into his cousin = inseparable phrasal verb.<br/> c. He stared intently at the target = prepositional verb.<br/> '''The Relative Clause Test''' Relative clauses in which the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition permit the two patterns shown in (26).<br/> (26) a. The man [that they were waiting for] was late b. The man [ for whom they were waiting] was late. In (26a), the preposition for is at the end of the relative clause enclosed by square brackets, but (26b) shows that this preposition can also occur at the beginning of the clause before the relative pronoun whom." ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_phrasal_verbs) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. 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