PHRASAL VERBS October 22, 2013

History of Phrasal Verbs

 First used in print by Logan Pearsall Smith, in Words and Idioms (1925), in which he states
that the OED Editor Henry Bradley suggested the term to him;
 It is also verb phrase, compound verb, verb–adverb combination, verb–particle construction
(VPC), AmE two-part word/verb and three-part word/verb (depending on number of
particles).

 Although the phrasal verb has been present in English for many centuries, it has only recently
been described in detail.
 Citations in the OED date from Middle English: for example, turne aboute 1300; gon doun
1388. They are common in Shakespeare: ‘ So long, that ninteen Zodiacks haue gone round ’
(Measure for Measure, 1603).

 Such verbs have often been used to translate Latin verbs ( to putte downe … calare ,
deponere: Catholicon Anglicum, 1483) and to define verbs of Latin origin in English (
abrogate … take away : Cawdrey, Table Alphabeticall, 1604).
 The 18c lexicographer Samuel JOHNSON was among the first to consider such formations
seriously:
“There is another kind of composition more frequent in our language than perhaps in any
other, from which arises to foreigners the greatest difficulty. We modify the signification of
many words by a particle subjoined; as to come off , to escape by a fetch; to fall on , to attack;
to fall off , to apostatize; to break off , to stop abruptly … These I have noted with great care.”
(Preface, Dictionary of the English Language, 1755).
 Grammarians have adopted two main positions with regard to the nature and use of phrasal
verbs:
(1) That the literal use of a form like go up is not a phrasal verb as such, but a verb operating
with a particle: The balloon went up into the air .
 The term phrasal verb should properly be reserved for figurative and idiomatic uses: The
balloon went up (= The crisis finally happened).
 Here, it is the holistic and semantic aspect of go up which is considered to identify the type,
not syntax or morphology.
(2) That the term covers both the literal and figurative/idiomatic uses and therefore includes
syntax, morphology, and semantics: that is, both meanings of go up.

THE SYNTACTIC BEHAVIOR OF PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs are made up of a verb and a particle. A particle can be:
 an adverb (such as out or away): e.g. go out, put away
 a preposition (such as with or from):, e.g. deal with, shrink from

Phrasal verbs with preposition are also called prepositional verbs.

Some phrasal verbs have two particles, both an adverb and a preposition: e.g. get on with or stand up
for. Verbs with an adverb and preposition are sometimes called phrasal-prepositional verbs.
Like other verbs, phrasal verbs can be :
 transitive (followed by a noun or pronoun that is the object of a verb)
 intransitive (with no object)
 both transitive and intransitive

Where to place an object? Should it go before or after the particle?

The behaviour of intransitive phrasal verbs

As they have no objects, the behaviour of intransitive phrasal verbs is straightforward. The verb and
particle always stay together.:
- We've recorded a new album which is coming out in the spring.
- I had the chance to change jobs, but I let it slip by.

The behaviour of transitive phrasal verbs

Transitive phrasal verbs can be divided into four groups according to where the object goes in relation
to the particle:
1. with most transitive phrasal verbs, the object can go either between the verb and the particle or after
the particle. These verbs are known as separable phrasal verbs.
- Just pack your bags and load up the car.
- I'll load the car up while you lock the door.
- Trim and cut up all the vegetables into fine slices.
- She cut the cake up into twelve pieces.

If the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle:
- You bring the car round and I'll load it up.
- *You bring the car round and I'll load up it.

2. With several transitive phrasal verbs, the object must go between the verb and the particle, whether
it is a noun phrase or a pronoun:
- The two women are so similar that only their husbands can tell them apart.
- *The two women are so similar that only their husbands can tell apart them.

3. With some transitive phrasal verbs, the object must go after the particle or particles, whether it's a
noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun. This group includes all prepositional and phrasal-prepositional
verbs:
- I bumped into your mother at the supermarket..
- He shouldn't be allowed to get away with such appaling behaviour.

This group also includes a small number of phrasal verbs where a particle is an adverb, but verbs of
this type cannot have a pronoun as an object:
- The victim wasn't able to put up much resistance.
- *The victim wasn't able to put up it.

4. A small group of three-word phrasal verbs has two objects, one of which goes after the verb, the
other goes after the particle or particles:
- She played one boy off against another.
- I've decided to take you up on that job offer.

Phrasal verbs that are both transitive and intransitive

Some phrasal verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. When these verbs are intransitive, they
behave like all other intransitive phrasal verbs:
- I am not very good at adding up in my head.
- I dont' like children who answer back.
When they are transitive, they beheave in one of the ways described above:
- Now add up the number of calories you have eaten.
- If you add all that up, it comes to about three million.

What decides the position of the object in separable phrasal verbs?

The objects of most transitive phrasal verbs can go either between the verb and the particle or after
the particle, with no difference in meaning or emphasis:
- He picked up the phone and dialled.
- He picked the phone up and dialled.

The choice of whether to put the object before or after the particle is not always a completely free
one:
- If the object contains information that the reader or listener already knows, it is more likely to
come between the verb and the particle.
- If the object presents new information, it is more likely to come after the particle. (This is because
we normally give more emphasis to new information than to information that is already known)
E.g. Ann slipped the jacket on to see what it looked like.
She slipped on some new sandals and made her way downstairs.

If the object consists of more than three or four words, it usually goes after the particle:
- The doctors could knock out all the pain that he's experiencing pretty easily.

Phrasal verbs in the passive

Most transitive phrasal verbs can be used in the passive, while a few are always or almost always used
in the passive:
- The brochure is beautifully laid out and illustrated.
Even if the verb is normally separable, when it is in passive the verb and the particle always stay
together:
- I've cleaned the place up a bit.
- The place has been cleaned up.

EXERCISES:

catch on; dry up; fall off; fall through; look up; make up; put off; run across; see
through; take back

1. There's a hole in the floor. Mind you don't ........................... ..................... it.
2. Whenever there is a period witout rain, all the lakes.................................... ............... .
3. They said that the blue cheese was very tasty, but the smell .......................... me .................
4. They quarrel every morning, but they always kiss and ........................... ...................
afterwards.
5. I've had some bad luck lately, but things are beginning to ......................... ............., I'm
glad to say.
6. Once you have started something, you ought to ..................................... it ..................to the
end.
7. Hold the handlebars with both hands or you might ................................... ......................... .
8. This coat I bought is too small for me. Do you think I should
.................................it ....................to the shop?
9. Have you seen Roger lately? Yes, I happened to ............................. ................... him in
Oxford last week.
10. Janet's children are very intelligent. When you explain something to them, they seem
to ................................. ......................... very quickly.

Meaning 2

a. If you don't know the meaning of a word, you can always ........................... it ....................
in the dictionary.
b. Is that a true story, or did you just .................................. it ....................?
c. Sword swallowing is very popular in Albania, they tell me. Do you think it would
ever ................................ ................. in this country?
d. Actors hate it when they forget their words and simply ................................... ..................... .
e. It is dangerous to let children ............................... .................. busy roads.
f. He tried to deceive her with his talk about marriage, but she was able
to ................................... ......................... him very easily.
g. We've made all the arrangements. Let's hope our plans
don't .............................. ..................... at the last moment.
h. I said that Julie was a lazy good-for-nothing, but I was wrong:
I........................................... .................... everything I said about her.
i. We used to get a lot of people at our meetings, but attendance has started
to ................................. ................... lately.
j. The meeting that was due to take place today has been ............................. ............... until
next week.