SEMINAR 7

NOUNS FROM PHRASAL VERBS

LACK, SHORTAGE AND EXCESS

NOUNS FROM PHRASAL VERBS

A. Particle first or second?

1. nouns derived from phrasal verbs or preposition as the first part of the word,
sometimes the second. The stress is on the first syllable whichever form the word
takes. When the particle comes second, there is often a hyphen before it unless the
compound is extremely common. Here are some examples:
overspill underpass intake output outbreak
upturn breakdown
breakup phone-in pay-out setback cutoff

2. some phrasal verbs allow both types of noun:

overspill spillover break-out
outbreak offcut cutoff

B. Transitive or intransitive? – nouns can be derived from transitive and intransitive phrasal
verbs:
intake outgoings output lock-out bystander
fry-up knockout break-out onlooker input
takeover take-away lift-off income walkout
freeze-up backwash print-out

C. Differences between noun and phrasal verb.

1. the noun may not have all the meanings of the corresponding phrasal verb e.g.: there
is no noun deriving from the verb work out meaning “calculation” – I tried to work
out how much I needed to live on each month – but there is a noun, workout, from
the verb work out meaning “exercise”:
He works out most mornings.
He had a gentle workout in the gym.

2. the noun derived from a phrasal verb can have more than one meaning:
He did a hilarious take-off of the boss’s wife. (= impersonation)
Flight LH469 is ready for take-off. (= act of a plane leaving the ground)

3. sometimes there is a difference in meaning or use between the phrasal verb and the
noun:
Look out! There’s a bus coming.
The outlook is bleak.
He checked out of his hotel at dawn.
There are thirty-six check-outs in our supermarket.
 4. often the verb is less common than the noun, and may have almost disappeared from
current use. Here are some examples:
feedback backlash outcome
outcry drawback offspring

5. on the other hand, many common phrasal verbs don’t have a corresponding noun.
We use another noun:
Money suddenly started flowing in. There was a sudden influx of money.
Ring me up later. Give me a ring later.

D. Other points.
1. we can use the -ing form of some phrasal verbs to produce a noun. Here are some
examples:
setting-up opening-up closing-down
sending-out dressing-down

2. the particle up, usually as a second part, is very popular in recent colloquialisms:
hang-up send-up fry-up
shake-up cover-up wind-up

3. some phrasal verbs have forms that we use as adjectives:

a stand-up comedian a put-up job a get-out clause
giveaway prices throwaway lines

4. there are only a few three-word noun phrases deriving from phrasal verbs:
a put-you-up hand-me-down a pick-me-up

PRACTICE

1. Match the following nouns (1 – 10) with the newspaper headlines (a – j). You may need
to make some nouns plural.

1. output a. 2 out of 3 marriage …… to do with money

2. outcome b. Another motorway …… 20 vehicles involved
3. takeover c. …… up by 30% - boom time at car plant
4. lift-off d. ‘It’s a ……’ says housewife Maggie as service costs rocket
5. outcry e. Mass …… from Californian prisons
6. breakup f. Shuttle …… on schedule
7. rip-off g. Public …… as ‘lifers’ are released
8. pile-up h. …… of negotiations still in doubt
9. break-out i. Government promises …… of assemblies in more regions
10. setting-up j. Many …… held up by Monopolies Commission
2. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. Unless she makes a dramatic recovery, her ………… will have to play the part.
a. onlooker b. outcast c. stand-in
2. There was a sudden ………… and we ran for cover.
a. downpour b. fallout c. outburst
3. She gave her young son a real …………
a. telling-off b. shoot-out c. offspring
4. There has been a welcome ………… of peace in Europe.
a. outbreak b. outcry c. break-out
5. The President’s ultimate ………… was due to his excessive arrogance.
a. turnout b. downfall c. output
6. Some might say the telegraph was, indirectly, the ………… to the Internet and
beyond.
a. break-out b. breakdown c. breakthrough
7. I don’t mind wearing my big brother’s …………
a. pick-me-ups b. turn-ups c. hand-me-downs
8. How do you account for the manager’s fiery ………… yesterday afternoon?
a. output b. outburst c. outcry

LACK, SHORTAGE AND EXCESS

The haves

The Santa Maxima people were well-to-do, well off and well-heeled. They ate and drank to
their hearts’ content and often to excess. They had plenty of delicacies to eat and ample fine
wine to drink. There was an abundance of natural resources in the country and manifold
crops were plentiful. Most people wanted for nothing: they had mountains of food, stacks of
money, heaps of stocks and shares and piles and piles of bonds and other assets.

The have-nots

In San Minimo there was abject poverty. There were insufficient supplies and an acute
shortage of drinking water. Inadequate sanitation meant that standards of hygiene fell well
below an acceptable norm. Rice was scarce and many were suffering from severe vitamin
deficiency. What food they got was lacking in protein and low in nutritional value.

We can use a wide range of vocabulary to express lack, need, sufficiency and excess:
1. verbs and verbal phrases:
to need to require to be in need of
(could) do with (could) do without to lack
to stuff yourself
to overdo it to be crying out for to satisfy a need
 2. adjective + noun collocations:
in desperate need of a plentiful supply
in abject poverty an acute shortage
untold wealth /luxury dire need
untapped resources easy money
conspicuous consumption

3. adverb + adjective collocations:

severely lacking in desperately short of
barely adequate fabulously wealthy
desperately poor filthy rich

4. adverb + verb collocations:

badly need urgently require
obviously lack want something desperately

5. idiomatic phrases:
well-heeled down-at-heel
down and out on the breadline
more than enough to run short of
be strapped for cash to stuff yourself silly

PRACTICE

1. The stories of Santa Maxima and San Minimo continue below. Fill each of the numbered
blanks with one of the words given.

wine hard up untold full butter

need overweight fleets brimming surfeit
fraction surplus excessive unimaginable overdid

In Santa Maxima no one knew what it meant to be ……………… (1). Santa Maximans
were ……………… (2) of optimism and ……………… (3) over with confidence. When
they hit the big time, their wealth became ……………… (4) and they lived in a
……………… (5) of luxury and – often – with a ……………… (6) of fat. ………………
(7) and over-indulgent, with ……………… (8) riches and ……………… (9) wealth, they
……………… (10) everything, with their ……………… (11) of cars, their ………………
(12) mountains, ……………… (13) lakes and overconsumption, desperately in
……………… (14) of a modicum of self-control to consume a ……………… (15) of what
was theirs to use. That was how life was in Santa Maxima before the revolution.

dire lack utter hardship short

scraps non-existent empty drop devoid
basic bereft scarcity clear lacking
……………… (1) of medical supplies, San Minimo was in ……………… (2) need of help
and there was a ……………… (3) need for urgent action. There was a serious
……………… (4) of any kind of expertise and their educational system was virtually
……………… (5). With the ……………… (6) of food and ……………… (7)
commodities, babies were being born ……………… (8) of all hope and ……………… (9)
in fundamental human rights. Whenever war broke out, they suffered even greater
……………… (10). After each war, when the country needed complete restructuring, the
Government was ……………… (11) of ideas. Survivors lived on ……………… (12) of
food, hardly a ……………… (13) of water and just crumbs of hope from aid agencies.
They existed in ……………… (14) degradation, undernourished, underfed, running on
……………… (15), with more than enough dreams for the whole world. That was how life
was in San Minimo before the revolution.

2. Fill each of the gaps with one suitable word or phrase.

a. We hoped to be better off after the budget but in fact ……………………… ever.
b. It was clear from their demeanour that they ……………………… help.
c. This ugly old tree needs ……………………… back a bit.
d. Don’t you think there’s a clear ……………………… the company to be
restructured?
e. Nobody nowadays ……………………… on £30 a week, can they?
f. How anyone on such a high salary ……………………… so down-at-heel is beyond
me.
g. She has self-confidence ……………………… abundance.
h. Until pay-day I’ve hardly ……………………… on.

PROGRESS TEST

1. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. The painting bears a ……… resemblance to El Greco’s earlier works.

a. heated b. fine c. striking d. comparable
2. I don’t think it’s fair to ……… a comparison between the two sisters.
a. do b. strike c. draw d. take
3. She gave a ……… performance of the concerto that had the audience on its feet.
a. matchless b. suitable c. listless d. competent
4. Saying you enjoy rock music is ……… to admitting you are completely cloth-eared.
a. bound b. tantamount c. liable d. virtually
5. I think you’ll find that the Americans are ……… ahead of us when it comes to space
research.
a. kilometers b. streets c. ages d. inches
6. Adding salt at this stage is not going to make one ……… of difference.
a. gram b. iota c. measurement d. shred
7. Most people think the 306 ……… favourably to earlier models.
a. compares b. matches c. equals d. draws
8. Considerations of safety were eventually ……… by those of cost.
 a. compared b. outweighed c. predominated d. prevailed
9. The brothers remain ……… apart in terms of sporting achievement.
a. streets b. poles c. totally d. strips
10. As a poet, I think she ……… comparison with the greatest this century.
a. makes b. stands c. leads d. matches
11. I enjoy swimming, but ……… I avoid crowded pools.
a. on the contrary b. on the face of it c. as a rule d. in a nutshell
12. I have often helped my wife with the cleaning, though ……… not for some time.
a. in contrast b. especially c. alternatively d. admittedly
13. They still haven’t made a decision ……… to the new colour scheme.
a. on reflection b. with regard c. in view d. by contrast
14. Everyone agrees that with ……… they shouldn’t have chosen pink.
a. retrospect b. fairness c. practice d. hindsight
15. ……… they seem to be in agreement, though there are still some details to be
settled.
a. Shortly b. Overall c. Nonetheless d. Subsequently

2. Complete each sentence with the most suitable word or phrase.

1. I seem to be ……… in energy this morning.

a. bereft b. short c. lack d. low
2. Managers claim we are in desperate ……… of greater investment in our industries.
a. requirement b. excess c. need d. lack
3. This neighbourhood looks a little ……… and tatty these days.
a. well heeled b. well off c. rundown d. down-and out
4. The builders told us that that pile of cement was ……… to their requirements.
a. excess b. extra c. surplus d. spare
5. The discovery of oil brought ……… wealth to the country.
a. untold b. unsaid c. uncalculated d. unannounced
6. Born into a rich family, he has ……… for nothing all his life.
a. needed b. required c. lacked d. wanted
7. This area is absolutely ……… for more investment.
a. crying out b. breaking down c. better off d. cutting back
8. The sudden ……… in viewing figures encouraged more advertisers to turn to
television.
a. upshot b. upturn c. upkeep d. uptake
9. I’m afraid my youngest son has never been particularly quick on the ………
a. upshot b. upturn c. upkeep d. uptake
10. That was a bit of a ……… for the books: I never expected him to show up.
a. turn-up b. turn-out c. turn-in d. turn-away
On Intellectual Craftsmanship

But, you may ask, how do ideas come? How is the imagination spurred to put all the images
and facts together, to make images relevant and lend meaning to facts? I do not think I can
really answer that; all I can do is talk about the general conditions and a few simple
techniques which have seemed to increase my chances to come out with something.

The sociological imagination, I remind you, in considerable part consists of the capacity to
shift from one perspective to another, and in the process to build up an adequate view of a
total society and of its components. It is this imagination, of course, that sets off the social
scientist from the mere technician. Adequate technicians can be trained in a few years. The
sociological imagination can also be cultivated; certainly it seldom occurs without a great
deal of often routine work. Yet there is an unexpected quality about it, perhaps because its
essence is the combination of ideas that no one expected were combinable say, a mess of
ideas from German philosophy and British economics. There is a playfulness of mind back
of such combining as well as a truly fierce drive to make sense of the world, which the
technician as such usually lacks. Perhaps he is too well trained, too precisely trained. Since
one can be trained only in what is already known, training sometimes incapacitates one
from learning new ways; it makes one rebel against what is bound to be at first loose and
even sloppy. But you must cling to such vague images and notions, if they are yours, and
you must work them out. For it is in such forms that original ideas, if any, almost always
first appear.

Wright Mills, C. Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.