Phrasal verb

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In the English language, a phrasal verb is a verb combined with an uninflected preposition, an adverb, or an adverbial particle; for example, "stand up."

A phrasal verb is also called verb-particle construction, verb phrase, multi-word verb, or compound verb. American English expressions are a type of two-part verb or, in some cases, a three-part verb.

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[edit] Idiomatic or literal verb-particle constructions?

Some grammarians maintain that only the figurative, idiomatic, or metaphorical usage should be called a phrasal verb where the combining word is illogical, and that the literal use, in which the verb and extra word together logically denote the meaning, be called verb and particle or verb-particle constructions.[citation needed]

Other linguistic experts believe that all verb-particle constructions in both literal and figurative uses should be called phrasal verbs, even if each word does not contribute to the overall meaning.

Emphasis in idiomatic phrasal verbs is put on the analysis to ascertain whether either the verb or the particle has a meaning. If neither component has a meaning of its own within the context of the sentence, it confirms the idiomaticness of the whole and all that needs to be noted is whether the idiom is valid and recognized as such.

[edit] Grammar in literal verb-particle constructions

Literal verb-particle constructions on the other hand necessitate much closer attention to syntax, because as both components have a meaning, the composition of the whole sentence has to be much more precise to have the actual meaning and function of each word within the syntax confirmed rather than the user being able to rely on a known idiom.

So it is, that grammatical and syntactical points in literal verb-phrases are much more important than they are in idiomatic phrases, where the known idiom determines the structure. Is the transitive form separable or not, for example, as in hammer a nail in or hammer in a nail, where the particle precedes or follows the object in so-called 'particle shifts'? Is the particle preceding or following the object as in these examples: be something in... or be in something, etc., in this way changing the meaning entirely?

Literal verb-particle constructions are of a much more open type than idiomatic constructions. Every time a (new) situation is described with a literal verb-particle phrase a new form may automatically be created. The phrase to go to... alone will form as many literal verb versions as there are geographical entities globally, as in to go to New York; to go to Honduras; to go to the UK, etc.

On the other hand idiomatic phrases are certainly finite in number. Idioms tend to be well-established in the English language, having been created probably as a metaphor, and now being used as a handy standby as and when required. However, they have to be recognised as being valid as idioms. That does not mean that new idiomatic verb phrases may not be created.

One recent example has been to chill out. It is a metaphor and because it is used so often these days, it has become an idiom and a cliché.

[edit] Examples of literal and idiomatic verb-phrases

Many phrasal verbs may be used either in the idiomatic or the literal sense, such as:

He came across the garden to speak to me (literal)
I came across an old photograph (idiomatic)
We came across him while he was working out (idiomatic)
The old lady came across as being very frightened (idiomatic)

Some idiomatic phrasal verbs have a distinct syntax which would not make sense if given a literal interpretation:

She threw the ball up (literal, transitive)
She threw up (idiomatic, intransitive)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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