Prepositional and phrasal verbs in English

Introduction Phrasal verbs Prepositional verbs Phrasal-prepositional verbs

Students of English frequently have difficulty understanding how to use
verb+preposition combinations in English. And this is not surprising. Though the
general rules are actually quite simple (like most rules of language) it is sometimes
difficult to see the relation between a verb and the preposition that follows it. Two
principal but very different situations (or deep structures) e!ist and unfortunately they
(i.e. their surface structures) can appear to be identical.
Compare the following pairs:
With nouns as objects With pronoun objects (Passive )
The car ran over the hedgehog The car ran it over
The hedgehog was run over
by the car.
The soldiers ran over the field
The soldiers ran over
it.
Impossible.
The editor quickly looked through the
new book
e quickly
looked looked it
through
It was quickly looked through
by the editor.
We looked through the window at the
garden.
We looked through it
into at the garden.
Impossible
I got off all the dirty marks. I got them all off
!ll the dirty marks were got off
by me. (Improbable" but
possible)
I got off the bus at #ristol. I got off it at #ristol Impossible
"#n the e!amples on the pink lines, the preposition is an integral part of the verb
defining its meaning$ these verbs are called phrasal verbs. They are in effect two-word
verbs.
"#n the e!amples on the blue lines the preposition affects the meaning of the verb but
is not part of the verb% it belongs to the adverb phrase following the verb% verbs that are
used in this way are called prepositional verbs.

These differences are by no means always easy to understand particularly in the
e!amples above which show that some verbs can even be either phrasal or prepositional
depending on the circumstances& 'owever with the vast ma(ority of verbs there is no
choice. The verb is either a phrasal verb or a prepositional verb. 'ere are some guidelines
to help you understand the differences between the two groups and their usage..
1. Phrasal verbs or Particle verbs
" )hrasal verbs can be either transitive or intransitive.
" )hrasal verbs* or *particle verbs* are composed of a verb + a particle (preposition or
adverb). Sometimes there may be two particles.
" These elements together have a single meaning, and frequently are synonymous with
a single word verb as in the table below.
" They are usuall formed using a transitive! root verb + a particle. This is the most
common type of phrasal verb or particle verb.
E!amples$ break up / shut out / put off / fill up / give up / set up / etc.
" ,thers are formed from an intransitive root verb + a particle$
E!amples$ go out / come across / sleep off / lie down / stand out etc.
-any English root verbs can combine with particles to create an idiomatic phrasal verb$
but the most common ones are$ break, make, take, set, put, get.
" "ransitive phrasal verbs are usually separable meaning that the direct ob(ect can .
or with pronouns must . come between the verb and the particle.
'owever adverbs do not usually come between the verb and the particle . though there
are e!ceptions.
"ransitive phrasal verbs: e#amples
$sing nouns
$sing pronoun
objects
(Passive )
The referee broke up (=stopped) the
fight immediately.
or: The referee broke the fight up
immediately.
e broke it up
immediately.
The fight was immediately
broken up by the referee.
The old lady made out (=wrote) the
cheque very slowly.
or: The old lady made the cheque out
very slowly.
%he made it out very
slowly
The cheque was made out by
the old lady very slowly.
e took up (=started) golf when he
retired.
or: e took golf up when he retired.
e took it up when he
retired
improbable
The robbers set off (=started) the alarm
as they entered the bank.
or: The robbers set the alarm off as
they entered the bank.
They set it off as they
entered the bank
The alarm was set off as the
robbers entered the bank.
The men managed to put out
(=extinguish) the fire by themselves.
or: The men managed to put the fire out
by themselves
They managed to put
it out by themselves.
The fire was put out by the men"
by themselves.
The soldiers got up (=erected) their
tents in two minutes.
or: The soldiers got their tents up in two
minutes.
They got them up in
two minutes.
The tents were got up in two
minutes.
I put down (= attribute) your success to
hard work
or: I put your success down to hard
work.
I put it down to hard
work.
is success was put down to
hard work.
" $ntransitive phrasal verbs:
Since intransitive verbs have no direct ob(ect and cannot be put into the passive their
usage is simple$ they are by definition inseparable.
'owever adverbs can occasionall come between the verb and the particle if the adverb
serves to describe the action.
" #n intransitive phrasal verbs the particle is either narrows the sense of the verb (as in
sit down) or else creates an idiomatic meaning which is different from that of the root
verb (as in shut up). 'ere are a few e!amples of intransitive phrasal verbs$
/light 0A12 to 3ew 4ork will take off at 56.77.
Several students showed up late
0ird flu first broke out in 8hina in 599:
Tomorrow morning we all have to get up at ;.71.
,nce the <ueen had taken her place the guests all sat quietly down.
The alarm went off (ust as the bank was shutting.
%. Prepositional verbs
" Prepositional verbs are transitive: they require an ob(ect. This ob(ect is generally
stated but sometimes (ust implied or inferred.
" -ost prepositional verbs consist or an intransitive root verb + a particle.
" Some prepositional verbs are formed using a transitive verb and a particle.
" ,ften the particle transforms an intransitive verb into a transitive verb$
E!amples $ look / look at / look for - wait / wait for - come / come through.
" The particle is not really part of the verb but an essential link between the verb and
its stated or implied ob(ect.
" These verbs are usually inseparable meaning that the verb and particle generally
stand together.
'owever short adverbs or adverb phrases can come between the verb and the particle
in transitive statements particularly when the ob(ect is a noun.
#f in doubt do not place the adverb between the verb and the particle.
$sing nouns
$sing pronoun
objects
Passive
The climbers went up (&ascended) the
mountain very slowly.
or The climbers went very slowly up
(&ascended) the mountain.
They went up it very
slowly
Improbable
They came through (&passed) their e'am They came through it Improbable
very well. very well
We(re depending on your support" totally.
We(re depending on
you totally.
)ou(re being depended on.
The students were looking intently at (&
studying) the notice board.
or The students were looking at the notice
board intently.
They were looking
intently at it " or
They were looking at
it intently.
&. Phrasal-prepositional verbs.
English has a good number of verbs that appear to be formed on the structure
verb+particle+particle.
#n most cases these are prepositional verbs in which the root verb is actually a phrasal
verb.
=ike simple prepositional verbs phrasal prepositional verbs are transitive.
So in reality the structure of these verbs is actually phrasal-verb + particle.
,nce this is understood usage should not be hard to follow. They behave in the same
way as ordinary prepositional verbs.
$sing nouns
$sing pronoun
objects
(Passive )
*veryone looked forward to the
event.
*veryone looked
forward to it.
It was looked forward to by everyone.
The prisoners broke out of their
cells.
They broke out of
them.
The cells were broken out of.
The airline did away with tickets
The airline did
away with them
Tickets were done away with.
The builders got on with the work They got on with it.
The work was got on with by the
builders.