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Multi - Word Verbs
Multi - Word Verbs
Multi-word verbs are verbs that consist of more than one word. They fall into
three types:
prepositional verbs
phrasal verbs
phrasal-prepositional verbs
Before we look at each one, we'll examine more generally what multi-word
verbs are.
1Save
Verbs
give
come
look
take
bring
put
made
into
on
away
over
to
up
out
For instance, here are two common meanings of one word taken from each
list:
give = transfer the possession of something to someone else e.g. I
gave him my passport.
up = towards a higher place or position e.g. he went up the stairs
However, we can put these two words together to make a multi-verb word,
creating a completely different meaning:
Some will make sense as you see them but others may look confusing if you
are not already aware of what they mean.
For example, in the first two, we can probably guess the meaning, but the
others are more difficult:
So with these types of verbs you often have to learn them and their meanings
as it can be difficult to guess the meanings from context.
Types of Multi-word Verbs
There are three types of multi-word verbs:
1. prepositional verbs
2. phrasal verbs
3. phrasal-prepositional verbs
1. Prepositional Verbs
A prepositional verb is a multi-word verb made up of a verb plus a preposition.
These are the key factors which make these multi-word verb prepositional
verbs:
In none of these cases can we move the direct object to between the verb and
particle, or in other words separate them. For instance we can't
say I sailed my speaking test through or He can't do his car without.
You may have thought that Their house was broken into does not fit because
there appears to be no direct object after 'into'.
But remember that as prepositional verbs are transitive, they can usually be
turned into the passive voice. This example has been turned from active to
passive:
Type 1
Main Verb + Adverb
Type 2
Main Verb + Direct Object + Adverb
or
Some of the most common adverb particles used with Phrasal Verbs
are: around, at, away, down, in, off, on, out, over, round, up.
Type 1:
The plane took off late
She got up before him
The film came out in 1979
I can't make out what she is saying
The meeting went on for several hours
Type 2:
2. Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
The key distinguishing factors of these types of multi-word verbs are:
I look up to my uncle
You must get on with your work
He couldn't face up to his problems
I always look out for her
Let's catch up with John next week
I always look forward to seeing her
It is possible though with certain phrases to put a direct object after the verb.
So in this case there will be a direct object and object of the preposition:
But the key difference is that an object can go before or after an adverb, but it
can only go after a preposition. In other words:
Of course type 1 Phrasal Verbs would not be separated because they do not
have an object at all.
I don't have the space to put up him (should be put him up)
In these cases, the phrases have their literal meaning and have not been
changed. However, these could be seen simply as words that commonly
collate together rather than multi-word verbs.
In some cases, all those that have a different meaning are labelled 'Phrasal
Verbs', with no reference to prepositional verbs.
This should not really concern you though. The main thing to know is the
differing structures with regards to whether words can be separated or not
and to understand that with multi-word verbs with different meanings (i.e. what
some people just call phrasal verbs) you will probably have to gradually learn
there differing meanings.
Here you can find a useful phrasal verb list with examples to start leaning
some of the words.
Summary
Multi-word verbs are a verb plus one or two particles
It is a word combination that changes the meaning from the individual
words
Prepositional verbs must not be seperated
Phrasal Verbs can be separated
They are sometimes all simply known as Phrasal Verbs