BMFA2 Multi-word verbs

Multi-word verbs

“Many multi-word units function like a single verb. These combinations usually have idiomatic
meanings, that is, their meaning cannot be predicted from the meaning of each individual word.”
(Biber, Conrad, and Leech 2006, 123)

• Classification of multi-word verbs

phrasal
(A) _______________________: verb + adverbial particle
put up, take off, shut up, break down, catch on, tip off, . . .
prespositional
(B) _______________________: verb + preposition
look at, talk to, wait for, listen to, think about, . . .
phrasal - prepositional
(C) _______________________: verb + adverbial particle + preposition
looking forward to, put up with, let in on, get out of, . . .
(D) other constructions
• verb + verb: idiomatic structures
make do with, let go, let be, . . .
• verb + NP (“middle verbs”): frequent transitive verbs with a general meaning give, get, have,
take, make etc. followed by a direct object in the form of NP; the noun carries the main part of the
meaning, the verb has the grammatical functions
give a smile, make choice, take a bath, take care of, have breakfast, . . .

➢ Problems of classification:
• classify the word on
• comment on the meaning of Put my husband on the phone! Put a blanket on him! You can rely
on her. Could you look at these papers? Slow the car down.
The literal and idiomatic meaning is a scalar concept. This semantic criterion for classification is,
therefore, completed by syntactic criteria (movement of particles and prepositions, formation of wh-
questions, etc.)

(A) PHRASAL VERBS

“No student of English can fail to notice that phrasal verbs are one of the most distinctive features of
present-day informal English, both in their abundance and in their productivity. New combinations
are constantly being coined.” (Downing and Locke 2006, 336)
1 INTRANSITIVE phrasal verbs: do not require any complementation (objects), usually have an
idiomatic or metaphorical meaning which can be contrasted with free combinations
How are you getting on? When will they give in? The prisoner finally broke down. She turned up
unexpectedly.
Contrast the phrasal verbs with free combinations. Comment on the position of the particle/the
adverb and their meanings:
PHRASAL VERB VERB + ADVERB (FREE COMBINATION)
*She turned unexpectedly up. Children walked straight down to the beach.
*Down broke the car. Down walked the children.
*Up turned she. Out came the crowds.
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2 TRANSITIVE phrasal verbs: have the obligatory complements (a direct object)

She is bringing up two children. I want to find out the relative sizes of the most common
dinosaurs. We’re not taking on any new clients at present.

Explain the function of the particle / the adverb below:

PHRASAL VERB VERB + ADVERB (FREE COMBINATION)
She was bringing up three girls. She brought the girls right up to the second
floor.

2.1 For (a)–(d) describe the word order of phrasal verbs and their objects:
(a) They switched off the light. (b) They switched the light off.
(c) *They switched off it. (d) They switched it off.

2.2 contrast the meaning of these verbs:

PHRASAL VERB
They chattered away happily for a while. They chattered happily for a while.
I wonder if you could help me up. I wonder if you could help me.
Come on, drink up your juice. Come on, drink your juice.

(B) PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

All prepositional verbs are transitive and take a prepositional object: a noun phrase follows the
preposition. The preposition is, therefore, associated with a particular verb. Idiomatic prepositional
verbs have separate lexical entries in dictionaries as the phrasal verbs do.
Look at these pictures. I came across some old photos. The other kids all laughed at Amy when
she got her face dirty.

Comment on their syntactic relations of these prepositions:

PREPOSITIONAL VERB FREE COMBINATION
Could you see to my baggage, please? Can you see my baggage on the conveyor belt?
(on the conveyor belt) pp- adverbial place

1 MONOTRANSITIVE prepositional verbs

Contrast the word order in these structures:
PHRASAL VERB PREPOSITIONAL VERB
They switched the light off. *I must look my sister after.

1.1 prepositional verbs and their objects

➢ Form the interrogative structures:
a) looking at
Steven is looking at the papers. → What is Steven ______________________?
b) looking after
Your aunt is looking after your young brother. → Who is our aunt _____________________?
BMFA2 Multi-word verbs

➢ Form the relative clause:

c) who I can rely on
You can rely on Jane. → Jane is the person _________________________.

1.2 passivization
Jane can be relied on.
Amy was laughed at by prettier girls.
This matter must be dealt with immediately.

2 DITRANSITIVE prepositional verbs

These verbs have the structure V + NP1 + preposition + NP2: NP1 is the direct object, NP2 is called
prepositional object.
He blamed the accident on the weather. May I remind your boss of the contract? They provided
the child with a good education.
➢ Passivize the sentences above:

(C) PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

They are particularly characteristic of informal English, and new combinations are constantly being
coined. They share characteristics of both phrasal and prepositional verbs:
I could still end up with a lot of money. Just get out of my way. They have done away with free
school meals.
The direct object can be passivized, but some structures are liable to sound cumbersome: ??Some
problems must be faced up to.
A few of them can be ditransitive: I’ll hand you direct over to my boss prepositional. The direct object can
be passivized: Our success can be put down to hard work.

Exercise 1. Decide whether the verbs in the following sentences are

• phrasal, prepositiona, phrasal-prepositional;
• transitive or intransitive;
• and whether the position of the object can be changed.
a) She slipped out to get the fish from the kitchen. phrasal, (according to the criterion of meaning), intransitive
b) His work-mates are always getting at him, he says.prepositional, transitive
c) I hope paying your bill has made up for your ordeal. phrasal prepositional, transitive
d) Someone has been tampering with the scanner. prepositional, transitive
e) No sooner had he finished than a message came up. intransitive (por que no hay objeto después de el phrasal), phrasal
f) He keyed it in carefully. phrasal, transitive
g) They offered to clean the car up. phrasal, transitive
h) I’ve just ploughed into a herd of cows with my lorry. prepositional, transitive
i) Prime Minister Blair went ahead with plans for a short vacation.
phrasal prepositional, transitive (siempre los phrasal prepositional son transitive)

Extra task. Phrasal vs. prepositional verbs: Complete the responses using pronouns. Classify the verbs.
a) You can rely on your sister. – Of course I can rely ________________________.
b) The government needs to win over the floating voters. – But do you believe this can _______ ?
c) I can’t get over his terrible behaviour. – I can’t ________________________ either.
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d) You should stand by your mother. – I have always ______________________.

e) He is bad at putting across his ideas. – He’s always been bad at ______________________.
f) I came across this book quite by chance. – But where did you _______________________?
g) Marie takes after her father. - I don’t think she _____________________.
h) Why did you turn down my offer of help? - I didn’t ___________________.

Where to learn more and Works cited

Biber, Douglas, Geoffrey Leech, and Susan Conrad. 2002. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. CHAPTERS 5.8–5.12.
Downing, Angela and Philip Locke. 2006. English Grammar. A University Course. 2nd edition. London/New York:
Routledge. CHAPTERS 6.3 and MODULE 40.
Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. 1990. A Student’s Grammar of English. Harlow: Longman. CHAPTER
16.2–16.10.