Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
A STUDY OF THE PARTICLES OF PHRASAL, PREPOSITIONAL
AND PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS IN OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY
OF CURRENT ENGLISH
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
WISNI YULIASTUTI
Student Number: 044214048
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
2008
A STUDY OF THE PARTICLES OF PHRASAL, PREPOSITIONAL
AND PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS IN OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY
OF CURRENT ENGLISH
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
WISNI YULIASTUTI
Student Number: 044214048
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
2008
i
ii
iii
HAPPY DON’T LAST LONG
(THEA ASTLEY)
iv
TO MY SHARED PARENTS AND SIBLINGS
v
vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all, the writer would like to thank God especially for the positive
energy in her and also in others so that she could finish her thesis writing.
In the second place, she would like to thank Mr. Fr. B. Alip, her advisor,
for his help.
She would like to mention several names: Mr. Harris Hermansyah Setiajid,
her co-advisor, Mr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji and Ms. Adventina Putranti; they
have helped the writer more or less much.
The writer would also like to thank her friends for their support, among
others: Mr. Teguh Satria Pramana Jaya, Ms. Desynata Purnamasari, Ms. Fransiska
Andar Rosalina, Ms. Ni Wayan Shanti Devi Mahaswari – Ms. Makaria Asfina
Ratu, the pendant of the necklace.
Wisni Yuliastuti
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………..…… i
APPROVAL PAGE ………………………………………………......….. ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE ………………………………………………..…. iii
MOTTO PAGE …………………………………………………………... iv
DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………..... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS……………………... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ……………………………………………...... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………… viii
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………. x
ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………….. 1 A. Background of the Study ………………………………………. 1
B. Problem Formulation ………………………………………….. 5
C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………... 5
D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………. 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………..………… 9
A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………….. 9
B. Review of Related Theories …………………………………… 11
C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………... 25
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY …………………………………….. 27 A. Object of the Study …………………………………………….. 27
B. Method of the Study …………………………………………… 29
C. Research Procedure ……………………………………………. 30
viii
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS RESULTS ………………………………… 33
A. The Characteristics of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English ……………………………………………... 33
1. The Characteristics of Phrasal Verbs in the Dictionary ………………………………………... 34
2. The Characteristics of Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ………………………………………... 74
3. The Characteristics of Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary………………………………….. 93
B. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional verbs in the Dictionary …………….. 109
1. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ………. 113
2. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ……………………………………………………. 119
3. The Similarities among the Particles of Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ……………………………………. 126
C. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ……………. 128
1. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ………. 129
2. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ……………………………………………………. 133
3. The Differences among the Particles of Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary ……………………………………. 137
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ………………………………………….. 139
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………... 144
APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………….. 147
ix
ABSTRACT
WISNI YULIASTUTI. A Study of the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs are examples of the phenomenon of multi-word verbs, which is considered as a topic of a peculiar importance in English. The main categories of multi-word verbs are identified by their particles on the basis of syntactic criteria. The analysis uses a transformational grammar, besides a phrase structure grammar, since the latter is inadequate to explain the structures of phrases containing the multi-word verbs. The analysis attempts to see some logical explanation of the examples of the phenomenon by focusing on the particles. Three problems were formulated in order to achieve the general objective. The first problem is about the characteristics of the multi-word verbs, the complete verbs as well as their elements. The second problem concerns with the similarities among the particles of the multi-word verbs. Since the first problem also already concerns with the particles, the analysis sharpens the similarities among the particles. The third problem is about the different characteristics among the particles of the verbs to clarify the boundaries between the multi-word verbs. To answer the problems, an empirical research was conducted. It was combined with a conceptual research. A qualitative research design was selected in order to focus on the quality of the data, which are primary data taken from the seventh edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. A systematic random sample of the examples of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs was selected based on the number of the pages in “The Dictionary” since the population size is not known, in fact, the size is large. From the analysis, there are six syntactic criteria to show the characteristics of the multi-word verbs. The first criterion is direct object movements to the positions before the particles. The second one is AdvP (adverbial phrase) insertions or movements to the positions before the particles (the AdvPs function as adjuncts of the VPs (verb phrases) headed by the verbs). The third is the functions of the particles and the direct objects as syntactic units after reanalyses. The fourth is pronominal questions (the direct objects). The fifth criterion is adverbial questions (the direct objects). The last one is passive transformations. Then, the similarities and the differences among the particles of the multi-word verbs can be found out by considering the first three characteristics of the multi-word verbs.
x
ABSTRAK
WISNI YULIASTUTI. A Study of the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
Kata kerja frasal, kata kerja berkata depan dan kata kerja frasal yang berkata depan merupakan contoh-contoh fenomena kata kerja gabungan yang dianggap sebagai sebuah topik khusus dalam bahasa Inggris. Kategori-kategori pokok kata kerja gabungan tersebut diidentifikasi dari partikel kata kerja tersebut berdasarkan criteria sintaktis. Analisisnya menggunakan tata bahasa transformasional, selain tata bahasa struktur frase, karena yang terakhir tidak mencukupi untuk menjelaskan struktur-struktur frase yang mengandung kata kerja gabungan. Analisisnya diusahakan untuk memperlihatkan beberapa penjelasan logis atas contoh-contoh fenomena tersebut dengan difokuskan pada partikel kata kerja gabungan. Tiga masalah telah dirumuskan untuk mencapai tujuan umum tersebut. Masalah pertama tentang karakteristik-karakteristik kata kerja gabungan, baik keseluruhan kata maupun elemen-elemennya. Masalah kedua menyangkut persamaan-persamaan partikel kata kerja gabungan. Karena masalah pertama juga sudah mengenai partikel, analisisnya memperkuat persamaan-persamaannya. Masalah yang ketiga tentang perbedaan-perbedaan partikel kata kerja gabungan untuk memperjelas batas-batas diantara ketiga kategori kata kerja gabungan. Untuk menjawab ketiga pertanyaan tersebut, studi empiris telah dilakukan. Studi ini digabungkan dengan studi konseptual. Rancangan penelitian kualitatif dipilih untuk menitikberatkan pada kualitas data yang merupakan data primer yang diambil secara langsung dari edisi ketujuh Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Currrent English. Sampel acak yang sistematik dari contoh kata kerja frasal, kata kerja berkata depan dan kata kerja frasal yang berkata depan dipilih berdasarkan jumlah halaman di “The Dictionary” karena jumlah populasinya tidak diketahui, sebenarnya, jumlah populasinya besar. Berdasarkan analisisnya, ada enam kriteria sintaktis yang digunakan untuk menunjukkan karakteristik-karakteristik ketiga kategori kata kerja gabungan tersebut. Kriteria pertama adalah pemindahan obyek langsung ke posisi sebelum partikel. Kriteria yang kedua adalah penyisipan frase kata keterangan atau pemindahan frase kata keterangan ke posisi sebelum partikel (frase kata keterangan tersebut berfungsi sebagai keterangan frase kata kerja yang dikepalai oleh kata kerja gabungan). Kriteria yang ketiga adalah fungsi partikel dan obyek langsung sebagai kesatuan sintaktis. Kriteria yang keempat adalah pertanyaan kata ganti (obyek langsung). Kriteria yang kelima adalah pertanyaan kata keterangan (obyek langsung). Kriteria yang terakhir adalah transformasi pasif. Kemudian, persamaan dan perbedaan partikel ketiga kategori kata kerja gabungan tersebut dapat ditemukan dengan tiga karakteristik kata kerja gabungan yang pertama.
xi
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The topic of the study is a study of the particles of phrasal, prepositional
and phrasal-prepositional verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of
Current English. The verbs are only the main categories of multi-word verbs,
consisting of a verb and one or more particles, examples of the phenomenon of
multi-word verbs, which is considered as “a topic of peculiar importance in
English” (Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik, 1985: 1150). The focus is on
the particles of the multi-word verbs since the particles determine the categories
of the multi-word verbs (Palmer, 1965: 180-181). This syntactic ground is
demonstrable using transformational criteria (Crystal, 1991: 263). Moreover,
“understanding TG [Transformational Generative Grammar] thus helps us
understanding the nature of grammatical and logical relationship among
constituents of phrases and sentences” (Alip, 2006: 20). The topic copes
semantics, morphology and syntax, but the focus of the study is on syntax.
Words are “the smallest segmentable unit[s]” (Palmer, 1965: 10). They
can be divided into morphemes, “the smallest syntactic unit[s]” (Aitchison, 1978:
58), or “the minimal unit[s] of linguistic meaning or grammatical function”
(Fromkin, Rodman and Hyams, 2003: 107). Morphologically, words can be
divided into simple monomorphemic words and complex polymorphemic words.
Simple monomorphemic words are words that consist of one morpheme such as
1
2
accept, pass, change, and adapt; and complex polymorphemic words are the ones
that are formed from more than one morpheme such as simplify, characterize, pick
up and talk about. Related to grammatical function, inflectional morphemes can
be attached to both monomorphemic words and polymorphemic words. They are
determined by rules of syntax and do not change the syntactic categories of words
(Fromkin. et al, 2003: 82, 88-89, 107).
Words are classified into different syntactic categories, called lexical
categories, such as nouns (Ns), verbs (Vs), adjectives (As), adverbs (Advs),
prepositions (Ps) (O’Grady, Dobrovolsky, and Aronoff, 1989: 127),
complementizers (Cs) (Haegeman, 1991: 106), etc.. This study concerns with
verbs and two other related lexical categories as well, adverbs and prepositions –
particles. Besides, it also concerns with another syntactic category called
inflections (Is or INFLs), a “non-lexical” category (Haegeman, 1991: 106), yet,
the focus is on verbs since the four combine to form verbs.
Verbs can be divided into single-word verbs and multi-word verbs (Quirk.
et al, 1972: 811). It is stated that it may seem a contradiction to speak multi-word
verbs because the verbs have been considered a class of words.
The term ‘word’ is frequently used, however, not only for morphologically defined word class, but also for an item which acts as a single word lexically or syntactically…. It is this extended sense of ‘verb’ as a ‘unit which behaves to some extent either lexically or syntactically as a single verb’ is used in labels such as ‘prepositional verb’ (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1150).
The main categories of multi-word verbs are divided into phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs, for example, drink up,
dispose of and get away with respectively (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1150). Prepositional
3
verbs are called so because the particles are not adverbial but prepositional. If it is
extended, phrasal verbs should be turned into “adverbial verbs” (McArthur, 1998).
Moreover, the three categories are sometimes just called phrasal verbs and other
alternative terms are compound verbs, verb-adverb combinations, verb-particle
constructions, two-part words/verbs, and three-part words/verbs (McArthur,
1998). However, verb-adverb combinations here, which are multi-word verbs, are
distinguished from the verb-adverb combinations that are free combinations,
single-word verbs.
Verb-particle constructions are complex. There are no clear boundaries
between the multi-word verbs. However, their differences, to some extent, can be
maintained from the basis of syntax. Moreover, by clarifying the boundaries
between the multi-word verbs, the boundary between the multi-word verbs and
free combinations, of which heads are single-word verbs, can also be clarified
(Fraser, 1974; Quirk and Sidney, 1973: 347-352 and 1990: 336-342; Quirk. et al,
1972: 811-819 and 1985: 1150-1167).
In the dictionary, a phrasal verb is defined as “a verb combined with an
adverb or a preposition, or sometimes both, to give a new meaning, for example
go in for, win over and see to” (Hornby, 2005: 1135). From the definition, phrasal
verbs in the dictionary include phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal
prepositional verbs. However, the dictionary provides certain grammatical
information of the multi-word verbs, which helps users and which is also useful
for the analysis.
4
Furthermore, inflections and lexical categories, like complementizers,
verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions, can combine to form phrasal
categories, such as complementizer phrases (CPs), inflection phrases (IPs), verb
phrases (VPs), noun phrases (NPs), adjective phrases (APs), adverbial phrases
(advPs), prepositional phrases (PPs), etc. depending on the syntactic categories of
the heads (O’Grady. et al, 1989: 128-131; Haegeman, 1991: 104, 106). Thus, this
study, as a syntactic study, concerns itself with the three phrasal categories: VPs,
IPs and CPs.
According to Baker, in discussing the syntax of a particular phrase, there
are two matters to be considered: the external syntax of the phrase and the internal
syntax of the phrase. The external syntax of the phrase concerns how the phrase is
used in a larger construction, for example, how the IP putting his gold under the
bathtub is used in the IP the king kept putting his gold under the bathtub. There
are some rule(s) of English that allow(s) the first IP to be used in its position in
the second IP. The internal syntax of the phrase concerns how the phrase is
constructed, for instance, how the IP putting his gold under the bathtub is
constructed from its constituents: the I -ing, the V put, the NP his gold and the PP
under the bathtub. There are some rule(s) to combine the I head with the other
constituents (1989: 30-31). This study focuses on both the internal and external
syntax of the VPs headed by either phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs, or
phrasal-prepositional verbs.
5
Finally, the study analyses the objects in such a way as to examine the
characteristics of the phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs to
demonstrate the similarities and differences of their particles.
B. Problem Formulation
The following questions determine the direction of the study:
1. What are the characteristics of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-
prepositional verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current
English?
2. What are the similarities among the particles of phrasal, prepositional and
phrasal-prepositional verbs in the dictionary?
3. What are the differences among the particles of phrasal, prepositional and
phrasal-prepositional verbs in the dictionary?
C. Objectives of the Study
Following the problem formulation, this study has three objectives. The
first objective is to identify the characteristics of phrasal, prepositional and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. To evaluate the similarities and the differences of the
particles of the multi-word verbs, the complete verbs need be analysed first by
considering the internal and external syntax of the VPs headed by the verbs. There
are some points considered in the analysis so that some similarities and
differences between the multi-word verbs and their free combinations can be seen.
The second objective is to find out the similarities among the particles of the
6
multi-word verbs. Some similarities of the verbs also lie on their particles. Related
to the first objective, after the complete verbs are examined, the similarities
among their particles can be seen. The third objective is to find out the differences
among the particles to clarify the boundaries between the multi-word verbs.
D. Definition of Terms
There are four key terms used in the title and in the problem formulation:
particles, phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, and phrasal-prepositional verbs.
1. Particles
Particles are defined as the words that follow the verbs of phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs, and phrasal-prepositional verbs. They are from two different
but overlapping categories of words: prepositions and adverbs. They are grouped
into three: particles that are prepositions only such as against, among, as, at,
beside, for, from, into, like, of, onto, upon, with, etc.; particles that can either be
prepositions or be adverbs, known as prepositional adverbs, for example, about,
above, across, after, along, around, by, down, in, off, on, past, round, through,
under, up, etc.; and particles that are adverbs only like aback, ahead, apart, aside,
astray, away, back, home, in front, together, etc. (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1150-1151).
2. Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are multi-word verbs that consist of a verb plus an adverbial
particle (an adverb or a prepositional adverb that functions as an adverb). These
7
verbs are similar to the other two categories due to their nature: they are phrasal.
One important difference is that they can be either transitive or intransitive while
the others can only be transitive. Another important difference is related to the NP
complements. The complements can precede the particles and those that are
headed by pronouns must precede the particles. The following IPs can illustrate
the characteristics of phrasal verbs:
a. We must not look back.
b. They called up the dean.
c. They called the dean up.
d. They called him up. (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1152-1154, 1167).
3. Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are multi-word verbs that consist of a verb followed by
a prepositional particle. The particles can be prepositions or prepositional adverbs
that function as prepositions. They are different from phrasal verbs in that their
NP complements must follow the particles due to the nature of the particles. The
characteristics of prepositional verbs can be illustrated by the following examples:
a. The dog went for me.
b. Jack fell down the hill. (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1155-1156, 1167).
4. Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
Phrasal prepositional verbs are multi-word verbs that consist of three
words: a verb followed by an adverbial particle and a prepositional particle; for
8
example, the verb put up with in the IP he had to put up with a lot of teasing at
school (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1160). These multi word verbs are different from the
previous categories in that they have two particles.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
There are some studies whose topics are about verb-particle constructions.
One of them is Rukadah’s thesis entitled Syntactic and Semantic Characteristics
the Particles At, In, and On in Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in Cullen and
Howard’s A Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs (2005). Another is Raniati’s thesis
entitled The Combinations of Verb + Particle Up and Verb + Particle Down
(1988). The thesis is about the phonological, semantic and syntactic
characteristics of multi-word verbs with the particles up and down in Oxford
Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English and about an alternative way to teach the
multi-word verbs.
From the analysis, Rukadah found out five syntactic characteristics of
phrasal verbs. Firstly, the particles can be moved except in pronoun objects.
Secondly, some phrasal verbs can be turned into passives. Thirdly, contrastive
substitutions cannot be used in highly idiomatic phrasal verbs. Fourthly, AdvPs
cannot be inserted between the verbs and the particles. Fifthly, the verbs and the
particles are represented under the same nodes. Then, there are five syntactic
characteristics of prepositional verbs. Firstly, the particles cannot be moved
except the verbs have two objects. Secondly, some prepositional verbs can be
turned into passives. Thirdly, contrastive substitutions can be used to get constant
9
10
meanings. Next, AdvPs can be inserted in the middle of the combinations. Finally,
the verbs and the particles are represented under different nodes.
From her analysis, Raniati found out five syntactic characteristics of
phrasal verbs. Firstly, the short NP objects can be inserted between the verbs and
the particles. Secondly, when the NP objects are extended, the extensions or the
whole objects follow the particles. Thirdly, pronoun objects always precede the
particles. Fourthly, the particles follow the verbs in relative clauses: they cannot
come before the relative pronouns. Fifthly, AdvPs usually come after the particles
or the objects. Then, there are three syntactic characteristics of prepositional
verbs. Firstly, the objects follow the prepositions. Secondly, the prepositional
particles can precede the relative pronouns in relative clauses. Finally, adverbial
phrases can be inserted between the verbs and the particles.
The topic of this study is different from the topics of the two theses.
Firstly, Rukadah and Raniati only concerned with two main categories of multi-
word verbs: phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs, while this study is concerned
with the three main categories of multi-word verbs: phrasal verbs, prepositional
verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. The second difference is that they only took
phrasal and prepositional verbs with certain particles: Rukadah took phrasal verbs
and prepositional verbs with the particles at, in and on only; and Raniati took
phrasal and prepositional verbs with the particles up and down. This study takes
the three main types of multi-word verbs with those particles and other particles as
well. Thirdly, they did not focus on the particles of multi-word verbs, but this
study focuses both on the particles and on the complete multi-word verbs. This
11
study develops the two studies and focuses on the syntactic characteristics of the
particles of phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal prepositional verbs.
B. Review of Related Theories There are six theories employed in this study: the theory of multi-word
verbs (focusing on phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs), the
theory of signs, the theory of tree diagrams, X-bar theory, the theory of phrase
structures and phrase structure rules, and the theory of transformations and
transformation rules.
1. The Theory of Multi-Word Verbs
There are three main categories of multi-word verbs: phrasal, prepositional
and phrasal prepositional verbs. These multi-word verbs are syntactic units
(Quirk. et al, 1985: 1150; 1972: 811-812). Palmer noted three reasons for treating
multi-word verbs as single units: there are restrictions of the occurrence of the
verbs and the particles; the verbs are semantic units and some transitive multi-
word verbs have corresponding passives (Palmer, 1965: 180).
a. Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are the main category of multi-word verbs that consist of
verbs and adverbial particles. The particles can be adverbs or prepositional
adverbs. Related to their complementation, they can be divided into two types:
intransitive and transitive phrasal verbs. Intransitive phrasal verbs do not take any
12
NP complements or the like (direct objects), while transitive phrasal verbs require
such complements – they can be either monotransitive or ditransitive (Quirk. et al,
1985: 1151-1153; Quirk and Sidney, 1973: 347).
There are some characteristics of phrasal verbs (the first nine
characteristics are from Fraser (1974: 3, 20) and the last characteristic is from
Quirk and Sidney (1990: 340). Firstly, their particles can occur on both sides of
the NP direct objects. Secondly, they cannot be preceded by short adverbials.
Thirdly, they cannot occur in the sentence initial position. Fourthly, they do not
function with the following NPs as syntactic units in gapping. Fifthly, they occur
after pronominal direct objects. Sixthly, they may not appear between direct
objects and indirect objects unless the direct objects are pronouns. Seventhly,
indirect object movements cannot apply. Eighthly, the particles prefer to occur
next to the verbs when the direct objects are short. Ninthly, they tend to precede
the direct objects if the objects are long and complex. Tenthly, they cannot
precede relative pronouns or W/H interrogatives.
b. Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are multi-word verbs that consist of verbs and
prepositional particles, which are either adverbs or prepositional adverbs (Quirk.
et al, 1985: 1151, 1155). Prepositional verbs are classified into monotransitive and
ditransitive prepositional verbs: prepositional verbs that take single complements
(prepositional objects or direct objects) and those that take two complements
(direct objects and indirect objects) respectively (Quirk and Sidney, 1990: 338,
13
341). Prepositional verbs are also classified into Type I (intransitive) prepositional
verbs and Type II (transitive) prepositional verbs (Quirk. et al, 1985: 1155, 1158).
The first classification is related to the nature of prepositions: “a preposition will
always be followed by a noun phrase” (Palmer, 1965: 182). Thus, prepositional
phrase cannot be intransitive since they subcategorise for NP complements or the
like due to their prepositional particles.
There are nine characteristics of prepositional verbs (the first eight
characteristics are from Quirk and Sidney (1979: 349) and the last one is from
Quirk and Sidney (1990: 339). Firstly, the particles must precede the direct
objects. Secondly, adverbs can be inserted between the verbs and their particles.
Thirdly, the particles can occur before relative pronouns. Fourthly, pronominal
objects occur after the particles. Fifthly, prepositional verbs allow pronominal
questions (what and who/whom). Sixthly, they do not allow adverbial questions
(where, when, how, and why). Seventhly, they can be turned into passives.
Eighthly, adverbial insertion between the verbs and the direct objects are avoided
unless the direct objects are long. Ninthly, the prepositional particles and the
following complements can be isolated from the verbs (in questions, responses,
coordinate constructions, and comparative constructions).
c. Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are the combinations of phrasal verbs and
prepositional verbs (Quirk et al, 1972: 816). These multi-word verbs have a verb
followed by an adverbial particle and a prepositional particle. Like, prepositional
14
verbs, they are divided into monotransitive phrasal-prepositional verbs, those that
take single NP complements or the like (direct objects) and ditransitive phrasal-
prepositional verbs, those that take two complements (direct objects and indirect
objects) (Quirk and Sidney, 1990: 341-342). They are also divided into Type I
(intransitive) and Type II (transitive) phrasal-prepositional verbs (Quirk. et al,
1985: 1160). The division of monotransitive and ditransitive phrasal-prepositional
verbs is like the division of prepositional verbs, that is to say that it is based on the
nature of the second particles.
There are some characteristics of phrasal prepositional verbs. Firstly, they
allow pronominal questions (who, whom and what). Secondly, they can be turned
into passives. Thirdly, adverbs cannot be inserted before the objects. Fourthly,
adverbs can be inserted between the particles. Fifthly, in relative clauses and
questions, the particles occur after the verbs or the second particles can be moved
into the initial position (Quirk and Sidney, 1973: 351).
2. The Theory of Signs
Following Palmer (1965), one reason for treating some constructions as
multi-word verbs is the semantic unity of the constructions. Thus, their semantic
characteristics are considered in this analysis. Although this study is syntactic, it
does not mean analysing syntactic characteristics of the multi-word verbs and
putting aside semantic characteristics of the words since phonology, syntax and
semantics are considered as “bread and butter” (Aitchison, 1978). The semantic
analysis is employed to strengthen the syntactic analysis. However, the
15
phonological characteristics of the multi-word verbs are not included here since
they are related more to spoken forms than to written forms.
Considering the semantic unity of multi-word verbs, the notion of “signs”
(Saussure, 1986) is important in this analysis. Signs comprise two elements: a
signified (signification) and a signifier (signal).
Signifier Signified
Sign
Figure 1
The first term is used to designate a concept and the second term a sound pattern.
In the first place, a sound pattern is not physical and it becomes so after it is
represented by a spoken or written form. The link between a signified and its
signifier is arbitrary and therefore the relations between the elements are
constructed: they are connected by an associative link. This associative link is
different from the associative relations that link one sign with another sign. There
is no rule that governs a certain signified to be attached to a certain signifier.
Signs, after determined, are acquired through conventions.
Dealing with multi-word verbs the theory of signs by Saussure is not
strong enough. According to Barthes (1968), signs can be the signifiers of the next
signs; it is the case of connotations.
16
Signifier Signified
Sign
Signifier
Signified
Sign
Figure 2
The first level of signification is of denotations and the second of connotations. In
this way, the differences in meanings can be divided into the differences in
denotations and in connotations. Apart from different definitions of denotations
and connotations, basic meanings can be included in the differences in denotations
and figurative meanings in the differences in connotations. Related to the particles
of phrasal verbs, Rundell (2005) noted that:
Most of the common phrasal verb [phrasal verb; multi-word verb] particles are – in their basic meanings – words which describe positions in space: up, down, in, out, on and off all have literal uses that relate to 'spatial orientation'. Many of these concepts also have figurative uses….these progressions from literal to metaphorical are by no means arbitrary, but are rooted in our physical experiences in life.”
3. The Theory of Tree Diagrams
There are two ways of representing the structures of phrases: using
bracketing and tree diagrams. Both are referred to phrase markers (P-markers)
because “they mark the way that words are combined together to form phrases of
various types” (Radford, 1997: 97). Tree diagrams are “more practical to use”
(Alip, 2006: 15) because the phrase structure rules of a phrase can be shown
together and the relations of the constituents are clearly seen.
17
A node, each point in a tree diagram carrying a category label, represents a
different constituent of a phrase. The topmost node of a tree diagram is called a
root. Nodes at the bottom of a tree diagram are called terminal nodes, and the
other nodes non-terminal nodes. The words are called leaves (Radford, 1997: 97).
The nodes of a tree diagram are connected by branches, which are
represented by solid lines. A node can branch into one or two or more than two
immediate constituents (Radford, 1997: 115). A branch must not cross another
branch: “if one node X precedes another node Y, then X and all descendants of X
must precede Y and all descendants of Y (A is a descendant of B iff [if and only
if] A is dominated by B)” (Radford, 1988: 121).
The nodes in the same tree diagram are related by either dominance
(hierarchical or top-to-bottom ordering) or by precedence (linear or left-to-right
ordering). One node dominates another node if it occurs in a higher position than
the other node. Consider the following tree diagram:
A
B C
D E
Figure 3
A, B, C, D, and E are the nodes of the tree diagram. The A node dominates the B,
C, D, and E nodes; and immediately dominates the B and C nodes. One node
precedes another node if it occurs to the left of the other node and neither node
dominates each other. The B node precedes the C, D and E nodes; immediately
18
precedes the C node (Radford, 1988: 110). The relations of the nodes can also be
called daughters and sisters. “An element is a daughter of another element if it is
under the node of the other element…. An element is a sister of another element if
the two elements are under the same node” (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 7).
4. X-bar Theory
X-bar theory is “a theory of the phrase structure of the d-structure [deep
structure] of the sentence” (Cook, 1988:103). This theory employs the phrase
structure of the form X-bar syntax. X-bar syntax is used widely in that it captures
properties of all types of phrases (Cook, 1988: 94). D-structure is “the syntactic
representation of the elements which a head requires” (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 3).
“A phrase in X-bar syntax always contains at least a head as well as other constituents; it is “endocentric’…. An essential requirement of X-bar syntax is that the head of the phrase must belong to a particular category related to the type of phrase…. This general principle …can be formalized as: XP → …X…” (Cook, 1988: 94-95).
The Xs in both places stand for any category. The phrase is endocentric in that “it
is a projection of a head word” (Radford, 1997: 88). A projection is “a constituent
which is an expansion of a head word” (Radford, 1997: 524). X (X0= a zero
projection) is a minimal projection, “a constituent which is not a projection of
some other constituent” (Radford, 1997: 524). X′ is an intermediate projection, “a
constituent which is larger than a word, but smaller than a phrase” (Radford,
1997: 524). X″ (XP) is a maximal projection, “a constituent which is not
contained within any larger constituent with the same head” (Radford, 1997: 524).
19
Any element that is not the head is a phrase, which is the maximal
projection of a category (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 5). Besides the head, a phrase may
have one or more complements. “Phrases typically consist of a head…and an
array complements determined by the lexical properties of the head” (Cook, 1988:
97). A complement is closely connected with the head (Cook, 1988: 97). It is
needed to complete the meaning of the head (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 6). Besides the
head and its complement(s), a phrase may have a specifier, which is not related to
the head closely (Cook, 1988: 99). A specifier is needed by the head to appear in a
larger construction; it specifies the head (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 6). Specifiers and
complements are not categorical terms; they represent grammatical functions or
relations (Radford, 1988: 229) and can be filled by syntactic categories (Cook,
1988: 100). They are optional constituents of phrases, which can be omitted from
some phrases. There are conditions governing when they can and cannot be
omitted (Radford, 1988: 229). Phrases can have attributes and adjuncts, which are
‘optional extras’ (Radford, 1988: 229). Attributes and adjuncts function to show
the characteristics of the heads. Their difference lies in their positions: attributes
come before the heads and adjuncts after the heads (Dwijatmoko, 2002:6).
The complement, specifier, attribute, and adjunct of a phrase have
different relations and different functions with the head of a phrase. Thus, they
form different levels of syntactic units. The complement expands the head X into
the X′. The attribute and adjunct expands the X′ into the other X′. The specifier
expands the X′ into the X″ (XP). The hierarchal structure of a phrase, with the five
elements, is shown in the following tree diagram.
20
XP (X″)
Specifier X′
X′ Adjunct
Attribute X′
X Complement
Figure 4
5. The Theory of Phrase Structures and Phrase Structure Rules
The phrase structure (or constituent structure) of a phrase is the set of
constituents that the phrase contains (Radford, 1997: 500). A phrase may contain
one or more constituents that are not arranged randomly. There are phrase
structure rules (PS rules), which “specify how sentences are structured out of
phrase, and phrases out of words” (Radford, 1988: 123).
PS rules are of the form [X → Y Z]. The rules specify that an X can have
Y and a Z as its immediate constituents, or that an X is formed by taking a Y
immediately followed by a Z (Radford, 1988: 123). The following rewrite rules
are some examples of phrase structure rules (Haegeman, 1991: 87, 105, 111):
C″ → Spec; C′
C′ → C; IP
I″ → Spec; I′
I′ → I; VP
V″ → Spec; V′
V′* → V′; XP
21
V′ → V; XP
(The PS rules are not linearly ordered, indicated by the semicolons.) A CP (C″)
can be formed by taking a Spec (Specifier) immediately followed by a C′. The C′
is formed by taking a C immediately followed by an IP. The C, the head of the
CP, is subcategorised for an IP. Thus, the IP is the complement of the C. The IP
takes a Spec immediately followed by an I′. The I′ braches into an I, which is the
head of the IP, and a V″ (VP). The VP is formed by taking a Spec immediately
followed by a V′. There are two conflicting theories of the position of the NP that
occupies the subject position: the NP functions as the Spec of the IP and as the
Spec of the VP (Dwijatmoko, 2002). (This study follows the second theory: the
NP is based generated in the Spec position of the VP and occupies the Spec
position of the IP by a movement.) The asterisk shows that a V′ is recursive. The
V′ is formed by taking another V′ immediately followed by an XP, a phrase that
can function as an adjunct and/or attribute of the head of the VP. The adjunct
position of VPs can be occupied by AdvPs, PPs, NPs, and clauses; and the
attributes by AdvPs and negative phrases (NegPs) (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 46-48).
The other V′ is formed by taking a V immediately followed by an XP, a phrase
that can function as a complement of the head. The complement position of VPs
can be occupied by NPs, PPs, VPs, APs, and clauses (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 37-40).
Some phrases are formed from d-structures, the basic structures of phrases
specified by PS rules from which much of the meaning of a phrase is interpreted,
which appear in surface structure (s-structures), to which phonological rules of a
22
language apply, without undergoing some transformations. Thus, the d-structures
are the same with the s-structures (Fromkin. et al, 2003: 153-154, 164).
6. The Theory of Transformations and Transformation Rules
The d-structures of some phrases undergo some transformations and
change into s-structures. “Much syntactic knowledge that is not expressed by PS
rules is accounted for transformations” (Fromkin. et al, 2003: 154). Thus, PS rules
are inadequate to describe the structures of phrases.
A transformational grammar has two syntactic components: the base and
the transformational rules (T rules). The base contains PS rules and a lexicon for
the formation of d-structures of phrases. The d-structures then pass to T rules to
appear in the s-structures. The following figure is a simplified form (Aitchison,
1978: 124-127).
23
S
BASE
DEEP
STRUCTURE
T RULES
SURFACE
STRUCTURE
Figure 5
A transformation “operates on a given string…with a given constituent structure
and converts it into a new string with derived constituent structure” (Chomsky,
1957: 44). It is defined by the structural analysis and structural change on the
string. The structural analysis states the structure to which a T rule can be applied
and the structural change states instructions concerning the change that the T rule
brings about in the structure (Aitchison, 1978: 119).
Transformations cannot alter deep structures randomly and cannot change
meaning (this theory is debatable because there are some transformations that can
change meaning). They can do four things: deleting (imperative transformations),
copying (tag transformations), adding (tag transformations and there insertion
transformations), and reordering (adverb preposing transformations) (Aitchison,
1978: 116-118). Thus, the application of transformations can result in the
following types of changes:
24
a. Deletions
In this type of changes, the item is removed from the phrase marker
together with any nodes that it dominates (its descendants) and any nodes
dominating it (Bach, 1964: 73).
b. Insertions
An insertion is a type of changes that adds an element to a phrase structure
(O’Grady. et al, 1989: 172). It can also be called an addition. Where the new
element is inserted in the terminal string is clear, but under which node it is
represented is sometimes not clear (Bach, 1964: 76-78).
c. Movements
Movements can be divided into head movements and maximal projection
movements. In the first type of movements, the head of a phrase moves from its
base-generated position to an empty head position. In the maximal projection
movement, a maximal projection, a phrase, moves to an empty position of another
maximal projection, or it can move to a new position that is created for the
movement (Dwijatmoko, 2002: 70, 73).
Furthermore, transformations have some properties for grammatical
description. Firstly, transformations have an order of application. Secondly,
transformations can be obligatory or optional. The distinction between obligatory
and optional transformations leads to the distinction between kernel sentences and
derived sentences. Kernel sentences are sentences produced when obligatory
25
transformations are applied to the terminal strings of phrases. Derived sentences
are those derived from one or more kernel sentences by one or more
transformations (Chomsky, 1957: 44-45).
C. Theoretical Framework
As stated in the previous subchapter, this study employs five theories. The
first theory is the theory of multi word verbs (focusing on phrasal, prepositional
and phrasal-prepositional verbs), which becomes a base for the analysis. Firstly, it
is used in the preliminary analysis to identify which phrases containing either one
of the multi-word verbs and the types of the multi-word verbs. Secondly, it is
employed as assistance to find out the characteristics of the multi-word verbs
(answering the first problem) and the similarities and differences of their particles
(answering the second and third problems).
The second one is the theory of signs, which is used to deal with multi-
word verbs particularly as semantic units (single signs). On the other hand, it is
used to see the elements of the multi-word verbs as separate signs. This theory
replaces Palmer’s theory of multi-word verbs as syntactic units that is related to
the idiomatic status of the verbs, and it is also by Quirk. et al (1985), in that this
study does not employ the theory.
The third theory is the theory of tree diagrams. This theory is employed to
represent the structures of phrases. By using tree diagrams, the constituents of
phrases are clearly seen. It can show the internal syntax and external syntax of
26
phrases, that is to say how phrases are constructed, and how they are used in
larger constructions.
The fourth one is X-bar theory, which is used to show the relations
between one constituent and another constituent and to show the functions of the
constituents. By seeing the relations and the functions, the types of multi word
verbs in phrases can be identified. The characteristics of multi word verbs can also
be identified (synthesizing this theory with the first theory makes the analysis
more analytical).
The fifth theory employed in this study is the theory of phrase structure
and phrase structure rules. Phrases are not formed from their elements randomly:
they are structured. This theory is used to analyse the phrases used as the data of
this study and to generate tree diagrams, the representations of the structures of
phrases. PS rules are inadequate to describe the structures of phrases. Thus, this
study also employs the theory of transformations and transformation rules. The d-
structures of some phrases undergo some transformations so that T rules are
applicable to describe the s-structures of the phrases.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
This study covers a systematic random sample of the examples of phrasal
verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs in the seventh edition of
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. There are 427 phrases
containing the multi-word verbs on the page sample. The dictionary was chosen
due to the adequacy of the examples of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal
prepositional verbs. This reason is important because it is the examples of the
multi-word verbs that are analysed. Another reason is the writing style of the
multi-word verbs: they are written in such a way that certain grammatical
information, which is useful for the analysis, is known. Besides, there is a section
of the grammar of phrasal verbs (phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-
prepositional verbs), which is also useful for the analysis.
Analysing the characteristics of the categories of multi-word verbs in
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English, taking accounts of
what are considered as phrasal verbs (multi-word verbs) in the dictionary is of an
important consideration. Some multi-word verbs in the dictionary are similar to
verb-adverb, verb-preposition and verb-adverb-preposition combinations – free
combinations. This is proved by the fact that some of them are only free
combinations in other dictionaries. For comparison, Random House Webster’s
College Dictionary was chosen. In this way, the sample are grouped into two: the
27
28
first group are phrases containing multi-word verbs in both dictionaries (the list is
provided in Appendix) and the second group are phrases containing multi-word
verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English only. In fact,
the divisions are not that clear cut due to meanings. There are 217 (219) examples
included in the first group and 210 examples included in the second group. For the
reason of objectivity, it is only the first group that are analysed. However, whether
multi-word verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English,
especially of the second group, are true multi-word verbs is not judged.
Phrasal verbs in the dictionary are easy to find and are provided with
grammatical information. They are listed at the end of the entries of some main
verbs in the sections marked PHR V in alphabetical order of their particles. It is
noted that some phrasal verbs are intransitive and the others are transitive. It
provides some characteristics of intransitive and transitive phrasal verbs and
shows how they appear in the dictionary. Intransitive phrasal verbs are written
without sb (somebody) or sth (something) after them to show that they do not
have objects. Transitive phrasal verbs are written with sb or sth. They are grouped
into separable and inseparable phrasal verbs. Separable phrasal verbs are written
with double arrows between their objects and their particles. Inseparable phrasal
verbs are written without double arrows and immediately followed by their
objects. It is also noted that the verbs of some phrasal verbs must be separated
from their particles. They are written with sb or sth between their verbs and
particles without double arrows (Hornby, 2005: R40-R41).
29
B. Method of the Study
In studying the particles of phrasal, prepositional, and phrasal-
prepositional verbs, an empirical research was conducted. This is also a
conceptual research. The data were analysed based on some theories, but the
findings were not only based on the data but also based on some theories: the data
and the theories were synthesized. This is a qualitative study. Numbers are not
very important though they may be useful for the analysis. It did not study the
whole population; a sample was selected instead.
The population are all the examples of phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs
and phrasal prepositional verbs in “The Dictionary” of the seventh edition of
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. The size of the
population is not known. In fact, the number of the population is large. As a result,
it influenced the sampling design that was applied in this study.
This study used a systematic random sampling strategy. This strategy
might not be the best, but it was chosen due to two reasons. The first reason was
that the number of the population was not known and consequently it would be
time consuming to count the population. Thus, it was impossible to use pure
random sampling strategy. The second reason, as an alternative way, a systematic
random sampling strategy was applied to the pages in “The Dictionary.” This
study might be better if it was proportionately stratified (or stratified). Thus, there
would be three strata: phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional
verbs; and the three strata would have equal treatment. However, it was
impossible to use the strategy due to the matter related with the population.
30
The size of the sample was determined to be 10% of the page population
size. This size was chosen because it was believed that it was adequate to draw
some valid conclusions. Besides, the size was manageable and workable; and
increasing the size of the sample would not necessarily be better.
The data are primary data, which were collected directly from the source.
The data consist of both formal and informal English. The data were collected
manually by the help of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Compass (the CD-ROM of
the seventh edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English).
Finally, the data were drawn by induction: based on some theories, the structures
of the phrases were analysed; the particles of the multi-word verbs were compared
and the generalisation about the language was drawn based on the problem
formulation.
C. Procedure of the Study
There were three procedures done in conducting the study: selecting the
sample, collecting the data and analysing the data.
1. Sample Selection
The sample were selected by a systematic random sampling strategy based
on the number of pages of “The Dictionary” in the seventh edition of Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. There were two steps done:
firstly selecting the pages and secondly the sample. There were 1780 pages in
“The Dictionary” and 10% of the pages were determined to be the size of the
31
sample. The 178 pages were selected by drawing. Ten pieces of paper that had
different numbers from 1 to 10 on them were made and the number 10 was drawn.
Consequently, the pages number 10, 20, 30…1780 were selected. The sample
were taken from these pages and only complete examples were selected. Then, the
multi-word verbs in the examples were compared to multi-word verbs in Random
House Webster’s College Dictionary. In this way, the sample were divided into
two: the examples whose multi-word verbs are in both Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English and Random House Webster’s College
Dictionary and those whose multi-word verbs in Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English only.
2. Data Collection
The data collection was done manually by the help of Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Compass and there were several steps done. The first step was checking
each sample page in the seventh edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
of Current English whether it contains some example(s) of the multi-word verbs.
The second step was copying the examples from Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Compass. The third step was checking whether the examples are complete. The
fourth step was checking the copy based on the dictionary.
3. Data Analysis
The analysis of the data was also done manually, and there were some
steps done in this process. The first step was identifying which phrases in the first
32
group containing either phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs, or phrasal-
prepositional verbs. The second step was identifying the characteristics of the
multi-word verbs. Firstly, the analysis focused on some semantic characteristics of
the multi-word verbs to strengthen the syntactic analysis. The meanings of the
multi-word verbs were compared to the meanings of their free combinations.
Secondly, the analysis focused on some syntactic characteristics of the multi-word
verbs. The structures (both internal syntax and external syntax) of the phrases
containing the multi-word verbs were analysed further. They were also compared
to the structures of the phrases containing the free combinations of the multi-word
verbs. The two analyses were combined in such a way so that, firstly, the analysis
showed some boundaries between the multi-word verbs and their free
combinations (it also showed some syntactic characteristics of the multi-word
verbs) and, secondly, it showed further the syntactic characteristics of the multi-
word verbs point by point. The structures of some phrases were presented using
tree diagrams. The third step was comparing the particles of the multi-word verbs
to find out their similarities. The fourth step was contrasting the particles of the
multi-word verbs. The last step was drawing some conclusions from the analysis
based on the problems.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS RESULTS
A. The Characteristics of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional
Verbs in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English
The results of the analysis can be shown by the following table. The
detailed one can be seen in Appendix.
Table 1: The Characteristics of Phrasal, Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional
Verbs in Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English
No Characteristics Phras Verbs
Prep Verbs
Phras- Prep
Verbs 1 Direct object movements to the
positions before the particles
a NP complements headed by nouns 46.2% 0% 0% b NP complements headed by
pronouns 46.2%
0% 0%
c IP or CP complements 46.2% 0% 0% 2 AdvP insertions or AdvP movements
to the positions before the particles 95.9% 100% 100%
3 The functions of the particles and the direct objects as syntactic units after reanalyses
0% 100% 100%
4 Pronominal questions 50.3% 100% 100% 5 Adverbial questions 0% 0% 0% 6 Passive transformations 50.3% 84.2% 70%
There are 219 phrases used as the data of the study: 171 (78.1%) phrases
containing phrasal verbs, 38 (17.4%) phrases containing prepositional verbs and
the rest (4.6%) containing phrasal-prepositional verbs. Among the phrasal verbs,
86 (39.3%) phrasal verbs are transitive and 85 (38.8%) phrasal verbs are
33
34
intransitive. Then, among the prepositional verbs, there are only 2 (0.9%)
prepositional verbs considered being ditransitive; the rest (16.4%) are
monotransitive. Next, all the phrasal-prepositional verbs are monotransitive.
1. The Characteristics of Phrasal Verbs in the Dictionary
Before coming to the analysis results of the syntactic characteristics of
phrasal verbs, some semantic characteristics of phrasal verbs, which are combined
with some syntactic characteristics, are analysed first. Some phrasal verbs are
compared to their free combinations.
Multi-word verbs can be grouped into three: non-idiomatic, semi-idiomatic
and highly idiomatic multi-word verbs. Such distinctions are not applied to the
analysis in that it does not include collocation restrictions – this is one reason for
treating some constructions as multi-word verbs, for determining the idiomatic
status of the multi-word verbs. (The idiomatic status of the multi-word verbs can
be tested by considering the collocation restrictions coupled with semantic unity
of the words. The collocation restrictions can be shown by contrastive
substitutions and the latter by substituting the whole verbs, not only their parts,
with-single word verbs.) However, the ideas that the meanings of some multi-
word verbs can be predicted from the combinations of the meanings of their
elements; the meanings of some others from the meanings of the verbs and the
meanings of other multi-word verbs cannot be predicted from the meanings of
their elements are employed here (Quirk. et al, 1985; Palmer, 1965).
35
The meanings of some of phrasal verbs can be predicted from the
combinations of the meanings of their elements. The elements keep their
individual meanings, which are either basic or figurative.
(1) I hope you don’t mind me barging in like this (App, 7).
(2) Burglars had broken in while we were away (App, 13).
(3) Doctors have to lay their personal feelings aside (App, 144).
(4) People had been turned off by both candidates in the election (App,
214).
(5) He soon got ahead of the others in his class (App, 92).
The linguistic signs barge in in (1), break in in (2), lay aside in (3), turn off in (4),
and get ahead in (5), for example, are arbitrary. There are no internal connections
between the signified “to enter a place or join a group of people rudely
interrupting what sb [somebody] else is doing or saying” (Hornby, 2005: 110) and
the signifier barge in; between the signified “to enter a building by force” (2005:
180) and the signifier break in; between the signified “to put sth [something] on
one side and not use it or think about it” (2005: 870) and the signifier lay aside;
between the signified “to make sb feel bored or not interested” (2005: 1650) and
the signified turn off; and between the signified “to make progress (further than
others have done)” (2005: 650) and the signifier get ahead respectively.
Here, a linguistic sign can be replaced by a word, its signified its meaning
and its signifier its form. It is quite clear that a signifier is replaced by the form of
a word, but it is not so that a signified is replaced by the meaning of a word in that
a word in a dictionary, for example, may have more than one meaning and its
36
meanings can be grouped into one or more senses. However, for a practical
reason, a concept may be replaced by a meaning. Thus, a sign can consist of more
than one form that are considered as a single signifier and more than one meaning,
but only a single signified. Moreover, by stating the terms word and meaning, the
signifier is implied to lessen repetitions. The term word sometimes is used further
to refer to its form only and it follows that the terms verb and particle sometimes
are used to refer to their forms only.
Dealing with phrasal verbs such as those in (3), (4) and (5), Saussure’s
theory of signs is not strong enough. The meanings of words, for example, are not
clearly limited. This can be shown by the fact that there are polysemous words
and the meanings are still not fixed. The fixity of meanings is impossible because
one cannot make her or his mind stable and cannot access another person’s mind.
If the meanings of words had been fixed, there would have been uncountable
words of only one language, which could complicate the matter that a language is
learned. This can be a reason for extending the basic meanings of words into
“figurative” or “abstract” ones (Quirk. et al, 1972; Rundell, 2005).
The particles of the phrasal verbs in (1) and (2) keep their basic meanings
and therefore they are in the first level of signification. The meaning of the verb
barge in can be seen from the combination of the meanings of the verb barge “to
move in an awkward way, pushing people out of the way or crashing into them”
(Hornby, 2005: 110) and the meaning of the particle in “into an object, an area or
a substance” (2005: 782) and the meaning of the verb break in from the
combination of the meaning of the verb break “to destroy sth or make sb/sth
37
weaker; to become weak or be destroyed” (2005: 179) and the meaning of the
particle in.
The particle of the phrasal verb in (3) keeps its individual meaning, but it
is used figuratively. The meaning of the verb lay aside can be predicted from the
combination of the meanings of the verb lay “to put sb/sth in a particular position,
especially when it is done gently or carefully” (2005: 870) and the particle aside
“to one side; out of the way” (2005: 75). The figurative uses of the words are clear
because personal feelings cannot be laid aside in a literal sense.
Similar to the phrasal verb in (3), the phrasal verbs in (4) and (5) keep the
figurative meanings of their particles. The verbs turn off and get ahead can be
predicted from the combinations of the meanings of the verb turn “to move sth so
that it is in a different position or facing a different direction” (2005: 1650) and of
the particle off “away from a place; at a distance in space or time” (2005: 1051)
and the meanings of the verb get “to move to or from a particular place or in a
particular direction, sometimes with difficulty; to make sb/sth do this” (2005: 649)
and of the particle ahead “further forward in space or time; in front” (2005: 32)
respectively. The particle off in (4) has the more abstract meaning “not connected
or functioning” (2005: 1051). Thus, turning off people is compared to turning off
lamps, for example. The particle ahead in (5) has the more abstract meaning
“winning; further advanced” (2005: 32). Here, moving further forward and
making further progress can be compared.
There are at least two difficulties in attempting to see the meanings of
multi-word verbs from the meanings of their elements. Firstly, it is difficult to
38
determine whether the elements of multi-word verbs keep their basic meanings or
figurative meanings. Some verbs and particles (adverbs and prepositions) have
more than one meaning. The dictionary, for example, includes both basic and
figurative meanings. Secondly, the progressions from basic meanings to figurative
ones are sometimes not clear. The dictionary, for example, does not list all
figurative meanings of verbs and particles. It can follow that such analysis can be
relative.
According to Quirk. et al (1985), multi-word verbs act lexically as a single
word. Thus, they are not only semantically a single unit but also syntactically. The
examples in (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) can be represented in the tree diagrams in
(6), (7), (8b), (9b), and (10) respectively (the example in (1) is simplified into the
IP me barging in like this) and the tree diagrams in (8a) and (9a) show the
transformations resulting in the reanalyses shown by the tree diagrams in (8b) and
(9b).
(6)
IP
NP I′
me I VP
barging in NP V′
t V′ PP
V like this
t
39
(7)
IP
NP I′
burglars I VP
had V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
broken in NP V′
t V′ CP
V while we were away
t
(8) a.
VP
NP V′
doctors V NP
V Part t
V NP aside
lay their personal feelings
40
(8) b.
IP
NP I′
doctors I VP
have to V′
V VP
t NP V′
t V′ AdvP
V NP aside
lay their personal feelings
(9) a.
IP
NP I′
people I VP
turned off ? V′
P NP V′ PP
by both candidates V NP in the election
t t
41
(9) b.
IP
NP I′
people I VP
had V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
been V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
turned PP V′
off P NP V′ PP
by both V NP in the
candidates t t elect-
ion
42
(10)
IP
NP I′
he AdvP I′
soon I VP
got ahead NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V PP
t of the others in his class
As syntactic units, the verb barge and the particle in in (6), the verb break and the
particle in in (7), the verb turn and the particle off (9b), and the verb get and the
particle ahead in (10) are represented under the same nodes. The verb lay and the
particle aside in (8b) are actually represented under the same V node. The verbs
barge in, break in, lay aside, turn off, and get ahead function as the heads of the
VPs me barge in like this, burglars break in while we were away, doctors lay
aside their personal feelings, both candidates turn off people in the election, and
he soon get ahead of the others in his class respectively.
The phrasal verbs in (6) and (7) do not take any complement. The phrasal
verbs and the phrasal verb in (10) do not take an NP complement or the like and
therefore they are intransitive. Although the particles in (6) and (7) are
prepositional adverbs, their functions as adverbs are clear in that adverbs do not
subcategorise for an NP complement or another likened to it. The PP like this in
43
(6) and the CP while we were away in (7) function as the adjuncts of the VPs. The
PP of the others in his class in (10) functions as the complement of the VP.
The phrasal verbs in (8b) and (9b) takes an NP complement. Thus, they are
transitive. The verb lay and the particle aside in (8b) are intervened by the NP
their personal feelings which is moved from its base position in the complement
position of the VP headed by the verb lay aside. There are two reasons why the
NP, not the Part (particle), is moved. The first reason is that the NP movement is a
maximal projection movement. On the other hand, neither a head movement nor a
maximal projection movement can be applied to the particle in that it is only an
element of the verb. The second reason is the movement direction to the left,
which leads to a more prominent position. The movement of the NP results in a
reanalysis. The particle before the movement is in the same terminal node with the
verb. They are not represented under two different nodes marked V and Part
because such representations are in the morphological level. The tree diagram in
(8a) shows that the node V branches into the V node and the Part node and the
later V node branches into another V node and an NP node because the verb and
the particle are intervened by the NP. After the reanalysis, showed in (8b), the NP
still occupies the complement position of the VP and the Part becomes an AdvP
that occupies the adjunct position of the VP. Radford (1988) noted that the
particles of multi-word verbs are prepositions and therefore they form PPs when
separated from their verbs. However, since a preposition subcategorises for an NP
complement or the like, the analysis in this part does not follow the idea. Instead
of a PP, the particle is marked with an AdvP. The function of the AdvP is
44
determined by the verb. The AdvP functions as an “obligatory adjunct”
(Dwijatmoko, 2002) in that the verb lay requires a PP or an AdvP to complete its
meaning and an AdvP cannot be a complement of a VP. Such analysis is
employed to satisfy the syntax of the VP. The VP in (9b) undergoes a passive
transformation. The tree diagram in (9a) shows the addition of the preposition by
and that in (9b) shows the structure of the IP after the passive transformation.
According to Palmer (1965), passivisation can be a reason for treating some
constructions as multi-word verbs and it can be included as a characteristic of
multi-word verbs as syntactic unit (Quirk. et al, 1985).
The verbs barge in, break in, turn off, and get ahead, not only the verbs
barge, break, turn, and get, undergo head movements from the head positions of
the VPs to the head positions of the IPs me barging in like this, burglars broken in
while we were away, people turned off by both candidates in the election, and he
soon got ahead of the others in his class respectively. Although the verbs and the
particles are considered as single words, the inflections –ing, –en and –ed attach to
the verbs, not to the particles in that inflections attach themselves to verbs, but not
to particles which are adverbs or prepositional adverbs. It can show that each of
the elements keeps its characteristic as a single word.
Furthermore, it seems that interpreting phrasal verbs like those in (1), (2),
(3), (4), and (5) as free combinations can be equally acceptable because their
signifieds are approximately similar to the combinations of the signifieds of their
elements, which are either literal or figurative, that is to say to see the elements of
the phrasal verbs as separate signs in that these separate signs exist in English.
45
The assumption is if they can lead to mistakes, they do not lead to serious ones.
However, such constructions when interpreted as free combinations are not
always grammatical. Each of the following grammatical IPs containing the free
combinations of the previous phrasal verbs is followed by the tree diagram(s)
representing its phrase structure(s).
(11) me barging in like this
(12)
IP
NP I′
me I VP
barging NP V′
t V′ PP
V′ AdvP like this
V in
t
46
(13) *Burglars had broken in while we were away.
(14) Burglars had broken Comp in while we were away.
(15)
IP
NP I′
burglars I VP
had V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
broken NP V′
t V′ CP
V′ AdvP while we were
V Comp in away
t ?
47
(16) Doctors have to lay their personal feelings aside.
(17)
IP
NP I′
doctors I VP
have to V′
V VP
t NP V′
t V′ AdvP
V NP aside
lay their personal feelings
48
(18) *People had been turned off by both candidates in the election.
(19) People had been turned by both candidates off in the election.
(20) a.
IP
NP I′
people I VP
turned ? V′
P NP V′ PP
by both candidates V′ AdvP in the
V NP off election
t t
49
(20) b.
IP
NP I′
people I VP
had V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
been V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
turned PP V′
P NP V′ PP
by both V′ AdvP in the
candidates V NP off elect-
t t ion
50
(21) He soon got ahead of the others in his class.
(22)
IP
NP I′
he AdvP I′
soon I VP
got NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V PP
t ahead of the others in his class
The words barge and in in (11), break and in in (14), lay and aside in (16), turn
and off (19) and get and ahead in (21) are considered as two words so that they are
represented under different nodes in the tree diagrams in (12), (15), (17), (20b),
and (22) respectively. The verbs barge, break, lay, turn and get are the heads of
the VPs me barge in like this, burglars break in while we were away, doctors lay
their personal feelings aside, both candidates turn people off in the election, and
he soon get ahead of the others in his class respectively. The verbs barge, break,
turn, and get undergo head movements from the head positions of the VPs to the
head position of the IPs me barging in like this, burglars broken in while we were
away, people turned by both candidates off in the election, and he soon got ahead
of the others in his class respectively. The AdvPs in in (12), in in (15), aside in
(17), off in (20b) and ahead in (22) do not follow the verbs because they are not
51
the elements of the heads. While the verbs barge in and get are intransitive in that
they do not subcategorise for an NP complement or the like, the verbs break, lay
and turn are transitive.
The structures of the phrases in (13) and (18) are ungrammatical. The verb
break is transitive, but there is no phrase that can serve as its complement. It is
shown in the tree diagrams in (15) and (20). The AdvP off precedes the PP by both
candidates. It results in crossing branches: the AdvP node crosses the Comp, V
and NP nodes. Furthermore, an I subcategorises for a VP the, the AdvP movement
to the position before the PP is impossible. The AdvP functions as an adjunct of
the VP and therefore, if it is moved, it also occupies an adjunct position.
The verbs barge, lay, turn, and get sometimes require an AdvP or a PP to
complete their meanings. The AdvPs in, aside and off function as obligatory
adjuncts. The AdvP in in (16) functions as the (optional) adjunct of the VP. The
AdvP ahead forms a complex preposition with the preposition of and then forms a
PP which functions as the complement of the VP.
While interpreting the phrasal verbs in (2) and (4) as the free combinations
in (13) and (18) is not acceptable, interpreting the phrasal verbs in (1), (3) and (5)
as the free combinations in (11), (16) and (21) are acceptable in that they are
grammatical. The problem is that phrasal verbs are considered as single words.
Thus, analysing the construction as free combinations may result in some sense of
forcing. However, such sense may be present when analysing the words that
forms phrasal verbs as single units in that each can perfectly stand as a single
word. The sense of forcing is related to both semantic and syntax.
52
Such analysis is not attempted to force phrasal verbs into the frame of free
combinations, but to show some similarity(s) and difference(s) between them. The
difference can be shown further by considering phrasal verbs whose meanings can
be predicted from the meanings of the verbs. Their particles sometimes are less
meaningful and sometimes intensify the meanings of the verbs.
Considering the status of the particles, adverbs or prepositional adverbs
that function as adverbs, adverbs are grouped as a “(major) lexical category”
(O’grady. et al, 1989) (this is to be distinguished from a minor lexical or
functional category). They are neither meaningless, as the theory of signs may
suggest, nor less meaningful as the latter. One possible reason is the verbs. The
verbs can determine whether their particles are less meaningful so that, in their
free combinations, the adverbs or prepositional adverbs can be deleted or intensify
the meanings of the verbs as in phrasal verbs whose meanings can be predicted
from the meanings of their elements. It can be seen by comparing the meanings of
multi-word verbs with the meanings of their elements. The following examples of
phrasal verbs are followed by the examples containing the free combinations of
the phrasal verbs. Each pair are represented in the same tree diagram.
53
(23) Several prisoners broke out of the jail (App, 33).
(24) Several prisoners broke out of the jail.
(25)
IP
NP I′
several prisoners I VP
several prisoners broke out NP V′
broke t V PP
t of the jail
out of the jail
54
(26) He was sworn in as president (App, 198).
(27) He was sworn as president.
(28)
IP
NP I′
he I VP
he was V′
was V′ IP
t I′
I VP
sworn in NP V′
sworn Ø V′ PP
V NP as president
t t as president
55
(29) The way he treats me really burns me up (App, 59).
(30) The way he treats me really burns me up.
(31) a.
VP
NP V′
the way he treats me AdvP V′
really V NP
V P t
V NP up
burn me
(31) b.
IP
NP I′
the way he treats me AdvP I′
the way he treats me really I VP
really burns NP V′
burns t AdvP V′
t V′ AdvP
V NP up
t me up
me
56
The verbs break out in (23), swear in in (26) and burn up in (29) have the
meanings “to escape from a place or situation” (Hornby, 2005: 180); “to make sb
promise to do a job correctly, to be loyal to an organization, a country, etc.”
(2005: 1550) and “to make sb very angry” (2005: 200) respectively. Their
meanings can be predicted from the meanings of their verbs: “to get away from or
out of a position in which they are stuck or trapped” (2005: 179); “to make a
public or official promise, especially in court” (2005: 1550) and “to make sb very
angry” (2005: 200) respectively.
The particle out in (23) keeps its basic meaning, while the particles in in
(26) and up in (29) are used figuratively. The particle out in (23) adds its meaning
“away from the inside of a place or thing” (2005: 1074) to the meaning of the
whole verb, but the verb break already contains such meaning. Therefore,
interpreting the phrasal verb as two signs results in a tautology, but in the same
time some sense of intensifying may also be present. The adverb out in (24) is not
omitted in that it forms a complex preposition with the preposition of; the adverb
out requires a PP headed by the preposition of to complete its meaning. In this
way, the words out and of are considered as a syntactic unit. The PP out of the jail
in (25) functions as the complement of the VP headed by the verb break. The
particle in in (26) has the meaning “into an object, an area or a substance” (2005:
782), but it seems that its basic meaning does not fit the meaning of its verb. The
adverb in can be deleted as in the free combination in (27). The adverb in can be
omitted because the verb swear is not usually modified by such an adverb. The
verb is modified by the PP as president, which functions as an optional adjunct. It
57
is not to say that the particle does not contribute its meaning to the whole verb.
The meaning of the particle seems to progress to a more abstract one. The particle
also has the more abstract meaning “elected” (2005: 782) and this meaning can fit
the meaning of the verb swear. The fact that he was sworn as president, for
example, may mean that he went into an organization or he was elected as a
president. It can follow that the particles seem to be less meaningful and at the
same time it intensifies the meaning of its verb. The particle up has the basic
meaning “towards or in a higher position” (2005: 1684). The particle intensifies
the meaning of the verb and therefore interpreting the phrasal verbs in (29) as the
free combination in (30) can be acceptable like interpreting a phrasal verb whose
meaning can be predicted from the meanings of its elements.
The verb burn and the particle up in (31a) are intervened by its NP
complement. The NP movement results in a reanalysis. The reanalysis occurs
before the whole verb is moved to the head position of the IP. Then, the verb,
without its particle, which becomes an AdvP, moves to the head position of the IP.
Moving the NP me and applying the reanalysis after the movement of the verb
head burn up is difficult because it results in crossing branches and questioned
deletions. After the reanalysis, the structure of the VP headed by the verb burn up
is similar to the structure of the VP headed by the verb burn.
The meanings of some phrasal verbs to some extent can be predicted from
the combinations of the meanings of the words that form the constructions so that
analysing phrasal verbs as free combinations to some extent can also be done. It is
already stated that the meanings of some others are difficult to be predicted from
58
the combinations of the meanings of their elements. Thus, it is difficult to analyse
them as free combinations in that the two constructions have different meanings.
However, it is not to say that the meanings of this group of phrasal verbs have no
relations with the meanings of their elements.
It is noted the combinations with two words that are considered as single
signs are called multi-word verbs and the others with two words that are
considered as two signs are called free combinations. Since signs are used to
communicate thoughts, for example, such distinctions are possibly made for some
semantic purpose. If it were not so, the distinctions might not be so important. The
following are three examples of phrasal verbs whose meanings are difficult to be
predicted and the examples of their free combinations. The examples in (32) and
(39) are simplified into the IPs his man to fall in and he to turn himself in.
(32) The sergeant ordered his men to fall in (App, 83).
(33) his men to fall in
(34)
IP
NP I′
his men I VP
his men to fall in NP V′
to fall t V′ AdvP
t –
in
59
(35) The newest styles hark back to the clothes of the Seventies (App,
142).
(36)
IP
NP I′
the newest style I VP
hark back NP V′
t V PP
t to the clothes of the Seventies
(37) The newest styles hark back to the clothes of the Seventies.
(38)
IP
NP I′
the newest style I VP
hark NP V′
t V′ PP
V′ AdvP to the clothes of the Seventies
V back
t
60
(39) He decided to turn himself in (App, 206).
(40) he to turn himself in
(41) a.
VP
NP V′
he V NP
V P t
V NP in
turn himself
(41) b.
IP
NP I′
he I VP
he to turn NP V′
to turn t V′ AdvP
V NP in
t himself in
himself
The verbs fall in in (32), hark back in (35) and turn in in (39) have the meanings
“if soldiers fall in, they form lines” (Hornby, 2005: 550); “to remind you of, or to
be like, sth in the past” (2005: 710) and “to take sb to the police or sb in authority
61
because they have committed a crime” (2005: 1650) respectively. It is difficult to
predict their meanings from the meanings of their elements. Their verbs have the
meanings “to drop down from a higher level to a lower level” (2005: 550); “used
only as an order to tell sb to listen” (2005: 710) and “to make or let sb/sth go into
a particular place or state” (2005: 1650) respectively. The particle in has the
meaning “into an object, an area or a substance” (2005: 782) and the particle back
“away from the front or centre; behind you” (2005: 96). It seems that the three
particles have figurative meanings. The phrasal verbs and their free combinations
have apparently different meanings. Supposing the sergeant and his men stood
near a river and then he ordered them to fall in, if his men had misunderstood his
order, they would have fallen into the river. Taking such supposition into account,
it is clear that the distinctions between multi-word verbs and single-word verbs
are semantically relevant. The figurative meaning of the particle back is “in or
into the past; ago” (2005: 96). Its meaning is clear in the verb hark back, but the
meaning of its verb is not clear. The phrasal verb turn in has a meaning that is
different from those of the free combination turn in, but its syntactic analysis (the
s-structure) is similar to the syntactic analysis of the free combination. Although
the meanings of the elements seem to merge, the syntactic categories of the
elements remain the same, like the syntactic categories of the elements of the
phrasal verbs discussed earlier.
Then, a further analysis of the syntactic characteristics of phrasal verbs is
presented below. The analysis is divided into six parts although there are ten
characteristics of phrasal verbs as stated in Chapter II Subchapter B in that the six
62
criteria can show the characteristics of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-
prepositional verbs based on the data.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
Being phrasal verbs, the direct objects of the verbs can be moved to the
positions before the particles. However, the verbs of some phrasal verbs must be
separated from their particles. On the other hand, the verbs of some others cannot
be separated form their particles. These characteristics result in direct object
movements being either obligatory or prohibited. In addition, direct object
movements themselves can be either obligatory or optional and the preferences of
the direct objects to occur either before or after the particles complicate the
characteristic.
From the information provided in O, the verbs and the particles of phrasal
verbs in Appendix (14), (15), (51), (53), (54), (55), (56), (59), (122), (124), (129),
and (132) must be separated by their direct objects. On the other hand, the verbs
and the particles of phrasal verbs in Appendix (155), (156), (163), (164), (165),
(194), and (195) cannot be intervened by their direct objects.
The result of the analysis of direct object movements to the positions
before the particles can be shown by the following table.
63
Table 2: Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles of
Transitive Phrasal Verbs
NP Comp No Movement Noun Pronoun
IP and CP Comp
1 Optional mov 67 77.9% 0% 0% 67 77.9% 2 Obligatory mov 12 14% 79 91.9% 12 14% 3 Prohibited mov 7 8.1% 7 8.1% 7 8.1%
i. The Movements of NP Complements Headed by Nouns
The NP complements headed by nouns of phrasal verbs, except those of
the phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles cannot be separated, can be optionally
moved to the positions before the particles and those of phrasal verbs whose verbs
and particles must be separated must be moved.
(42) Break your expenditure down into bills, food and other (App, 10).
(43) He got the children off to school (App, 122).
The movement of the NP your expenditure in (42) is optional, while the
movement of the NP the children in (43) is obligatory. No reason why the second
movement is obligatory can be found, except the fact that the dictionary provides
such information. The question is whether the verb get and the particle off are
represented under two different nodes (the V and Part nodes) in the d-structure. If
they are represented under the two nodes, they are considered as two signs. If they
are not, they are considered as one sign, and they must be separated due to some
reason. Then, the obligatory direct object movement is the consequence of the
separation. However, that the elements of the verb break in in Appendix (14) are
not separated is not considered.
64
Such NP complements of phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles cannot
be separated by their objects are prohibited.
(44) to live out your fantasies (App, 155)
The NP your fantasies in (44) cannot be moved to the position before the particle
out in that the verb live and the particle out cannot be separated.
ii. The Movements of NP Complements Headed by Pronouns
Such NP complements of phrasal verbs, except those of the phrasal verbs
whose particles must not be separated, are obligatorily moved to the positions
before the particles.
(45) He asked her to marry him but she turned him down (App, 201).
(46) The fire had burnt itself out before the fire engines arrived (App,
51).
(47) The way he treats me really burns me up (App, 59).
The NP him in (45) is moved to the position before the particle down in that the
movement of the NP complement is obligatory. That the NP itself in (46) and the
NP me in (47) must be moved to the position before the particle out and the
particle up respectively is not only due to the NP complements themselves, but
also due to the (whole) verbs. Then, the phrasal verb in (46) is different from that
in (47) because the first only takes the NP complements headed by the noun itself.
The movements of NP complements headed by pronouns of the phrasal
verbs whose verbs and particles cannot be separated are prohibited. Such
characteristic is similar to that of prepositional verbs. The verbs are included as
65
phrasal verbs, not prepositional verbs, in that semantically the particles can occur
in the both sides of the direct objects.
(48) a. to live out your fantasies (App, 155)
(48) b. to live out them
The verb live out has the meaning “to actually do what you have only thought
about doing before” (Hornby, 2005: 900). The meaning shows that the particle out
has an adverbial status. The NP them in (48b) is not moved to the position before
the particle out in that the verb live and the particle out cannot be separated. Such
analysis can be supported but not syntactically. Then, the problem is which one is
stronger: the NP movement or the fact that the elements cannot be separated. This
problem can be avoided by using an NP complement headed by a noun.
iii. The Movements of IP or CP Complements
Fraser (1974) stated that long and complex direct objects tend to occur
next to the particles. Then, Quirk. et al (1985) noted that the direct objects that are
IPs are not moved to the positions before the particles although they are short. If it
is so, the direct objects that are CPs are also not moved to the positions before the
particles: CPs are more complex than IPs. It seems that it is not a syntactic
problem in that IP and CP complements are represented under single nodes, like
NP complements, and they do not disturb the whole phrase structures and the
word “tend” can strengthen the idea.
(49) a. He was trying to puzzle out why he had been brought to the
house (App, 175).
66
(49) b. He was trying to puzzle why he had been brought to the house
out.
(49) c. He was trying to puzzle the reason out why he had been brought
to the house.
The CP why he had been brought to the house in (49b) is moved to the position
before the particle out. Such analysis can be both semantically and syntactically
supported. An alternative way is by employing an “expansion” (Bach, 1964).
Raniati (1988) noted that NP complements can occur before the particles and their
extensions follow the particles. The NP the reason in (52c) is inserted and the CP
modifies the head reason. The head and its premodifier are moved to the position
before the particle out.
Such complements of the phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles must be
separated are moved to the positions before the particles. Such determination is
taken in that the word must in the IP the phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles
must be separated is stronger than the word tend in the IP long and complex
complements tend to occur next to the particles. An alternative way is by
expansions. Then, such complements of phrasal verbs whose elements cannot be
separated cannot be moved to the positions before the particles.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
Fraser (1974) noted that AdvPs cannot be inserted between the verbs and
the particles of phrasal verbs. Then, Quirk and Sidney (1990) noted that AdvPs
normally cannot be inserted between the verbs and the particles of intransitive
67
phrasal verbs and of some transitive phrasal verbs. Next, McArthur (1998) noted
that AdvPs can be inserted between the elements of intransitive phrasal verbs and
in most cases cannot be inserted between the direct objects and the particles (when
the direct objects are moved to the positions before the particles).
i. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles of
Intransitive Phrasal Verbs
The verbs and the particles of intransitive phrasal verbs are not intervened
by their direct objects in that these phrasal verbs have no direct objects. Some
syntactic categories that can intervene the verbs and the particles are AdvPs that
function as adjuncts of the VPs headed by the verbs.
(50) a. Attendance at my lectures has fallen off considerably (App, 85).
(50) b. Attendance at my lectures has fallen considerably off.
(51) a.
VP
NP V′
attendance at my lectures V′ AdvP
V t
V Part
V AdvP off
fall considerably
68
(51) b.
IP
NP I′
attendance I VP
at my lectures has V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
fallen NP V′
t V′ AdvP
V′ AdvP off
V considerably
t
The AdvP considerably in (51a) functions as the adjunct of the VP headed by the
verb fall off. It is moved to the position before the particle off. The movement
results in a reanalysis as represented in the tree diagram in (51b): the particle is
represented under the AdvP node. The AdvP off does not function as the
complement of the VP although it has a close relation with the verb head in that
the AdvP considerably intervenes its relationship with the verb head. This
analysis is supported by AdvP movements of phrasal verbs whose particles are not
the complements of the verbs, when they are interpreted as separate signs. AdvP
insertions or movements can be applied to show the adverbial status of the
69
particles. However, they are less acceptable because the adverbial status of the
particles is already clear and the AdvPs precede the particles, which are short and
the AdvPs interrupt the relationships between the verbs and the particles.
ii. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles of
Transitive Phrasal Verbs
The Adv insertions or movements of transitive phrasal verbs are less
acceptable than those of intransitive phrasal verbs in that the adverbial status of
the particles is already shown by direct object movements to the positions before
the particles. There seem gaps between the direct objects and the particles, but the
fact that the particles are short can support neither such insertions nor movements,
and the AdvPs interrupt the relationships between the verbs and the direct objects,
between the verbs and the particles and between the direct objects and the
particles in that the AdvPs are not considered important.
(52) a. The editor struck out the whole paragraph (App, 191).
(52) b. *The editor struck carelessly out the whole paragraph.
(52) c. The editor struck the whole paragraph carelessly out.
The AdvP carelessly in (52b) is inserted to the position before the particle out.
The movement is not acceptable in that it results in a reanalysis leading to
representing the particle out under a P node and the preposition forms a PP with
the NP the whole paragraph. The AdvP carelessly in (52c) can be accepted in that
there is a gap between the NP the whole paragraph and the AdvP out, which may
be filled by the AdvP.
70
There is a problem related to phrasal verbs whose elements cannot be
separated. When direct objects movements to the positions before the particles are
considered unacceptable, AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the positions
before the particles are also considered unacceptable in that direct objects have
closer relations with the verbs and their movements can actually be supported
semantically and syntactically.
c. The Functions of the Particles and the Direct Objects as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
The particles and the direct objects of phrasal verbs do not function as
syntactic units after reanalyses. This can be shown by the movements of their
direct objects; the particles have adverbial status. As a consequence, the particles
and the direct objects cannot be separated from the verbs; the particles cannot
precede W/H interrogatives or relative pronouns.
(53) a. She’s got her old job back (App, 109).
(53) b. What has she got back?
(53) c. *Back what has he got?
(53) d. her old job which she’s got back
(53) e. *her old job back which she’s got
(54) a. Please turn the television off before you go to bed (App, 215).
(54) b. *Please turn off the television and on the lamp before you go to
bed.
71
(54) c. *Please turn the television off and the lamp on before you go to
bed.
The phrases in (53b) and (53c) are discussed later. The particle back in (53d)
which becomes an AdvP after a reanalysis is not moved to the position before the
relative pronoun which in that it has an adverbial status; the particle does not form
a PP with the NP her old job, which is replaced by the pronoun which. The
movement of the AdvP back results in the ungrammaticality of the phrase in
(53e). Then, the phrases in (54b) and in (54c) are ungrammatical in that the verb
turn off is considered as a single word. The particle off does not combine with the
NPs the television to form the PP off the television. The PP on the lamp is not the
complement of the VP headed by the verb turn. The NP the lamp and the AdvP on
are not the complement and the adjunct of the VP headed by the verb turn.
d. Pronominal Questions
The direct objects of phrasal verbs can be questioned using what and
who/whom.
72
(55) a. She’s got her old job back (App, 109).
(55) b. What has she got back?
(55) c. *Back what has he got?
(56)
CP
NP C′
her old job C IP
what has NP I′
has she I VP
she t V′
V IP
t I′
I VP
got off NP V′
got off t V NP
t t
(57) a. He got the children off to school (App, 122).
(57) b. Whom did he get off to school?
(57) c. *Off whom did he get to school?
The NP her old job in (55a) can be questioned using the word what which
occupies the specifier position of the CP as in (55b); the NP the children in (57a)
73
can be questioned using the word whom as in (57b). The CPs in (55c) and in (57c)
are ungrammatical in that the particle back does not form a PP with the NP her
old job and the particle off does not combine with the NP the children to form the
PP off the children.
e. Adverbial Questions
The NP or IP or CP complements of transitive phrasal verbs cannot be
questioned using question words where, when, why, and how.
(58) a. He lived out his days alone (App, 156).
(58) b. *Where/when/why/how did he live out alone?
(58) c. *Where/when/why/how did he live alone?
The NP his days in (58a) cannot be questioned using the word where or when or
why or how; this is shown by the ungrammaticality of the CP in (58b). The
ungrammaticality of the CP in (58c) is strengthen by the fact that the particle out
is missing.
f. Passive Transformations
Some transitive phrasal verbs can be turned into passives. This
characteristic can show that the verbs and the particles are single units.
(59) He has been turned down for ten jobs so far (App, 200).
The NP he in (59) originally occupies the complement position of the VP headed
by the verb turn down. It is moved to its position as seen in the IP due to a passive
transformation.
74
2. The Characteristics of Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary
The term prepositional verb shows that the verbs are determined more
based on a syntactic criterion than based on a semantic one in that the particles of
prepositional verbs are prepositions. However, syntactic criteria are also
determined by some semantic criteria. Since prepositions subcategorise for an NP
complement or the like, prepositional verbs cannot be intransitive.
Prepositions are included as function words, which are considered having
little or no meanings (Palmer, 1981). If it is so, the less-meaningfulness of the
particles can be a characteristic of prepositional verbs in that adverbs are
considered as content words and therefore they do not usually have little
meanings. The idea of having little meanings is not clear. The point is that
whether the particles have little meanings, they still have meanings. Prepositions,
like adverbs, are also included as lexical words. The term lexical word is
ambiguous. Lexical words can mean words or words distinguished from function
words. Like the theory of signs may suggest, the first is employed in the analysis
in that a sign consists of a signified and signifier. Furthermore, the particles of
prepositional verbs can be prepositional adverbs that function as prepositions.
Prepositional adverbs can have approximately similar meanings when they
function as prepositions and when they function as adverbs. It follows that the
less-meaningfulness of some particles is not because of having little meanings. As
a consequence of the unclearness of the meanings of prepositions, in Appendix the
B and C columns of the multi-word verbs that are considered as prepositional
verbs are not filled.
75
The following are some examples of prepositional verbs: the first three
examples contain prepositional verbs whose meanings can be predicted from the
combinations of the meanings of their elements; the next two examples contain
prepositional verbs whose meanings can be predicted from the meanings of their
verbs and the last two examples contain prepositional verbs whose meanings are
difficult to be predicted. Each example is followed by its free combination and/or
the phrase structure(s) of the phrase(s).
76
(60) We had our car broken into last week (App, 18).
(61) *We had our car broken into last week.
(62) We had our car broken into Comp last week.
(63)
IP
NP I′
we I VP
we had NP V′
had t V IP
t NP I′
our car I VP
our car broken into NP V′
broken Ø V′ NP
V′ PP
V NP –
t t into?
77
(64) I couldn’t get him off politics once he had started (App, 128).
(65) a.
IP
NP I′
I I VP
could NP V′
t AdvP V′
not V VP
v NP V′
he V′ CP
V PP once he had
get off politics started
(65) b.
IP
NP I′
I I VP
could NP V′
t AdvP V′
not V VP
get NP V′
him V′ CP
V PP once he had
t off politics started
78
(66) I couldn’t get him off politics once he had started
(67)
IP
NP I′
I I VP
could NP V′
t AdvP V′
not V′ CP
V′ PP once he had started
V NP off politics
get him
(68) I swear by almighty God that I will tell the truth (App, 196).
(69) a.
VP
NP V′
I V NP
V Part almighty God
V CP by
swear that I will tell the truth
79
(69) b.
IP
NP I′
I I VP
swear NP V′
t V′ PP
V′ CP t
V′ PP that I will tell the truth
V by almighty god
t
(70) I swear that I will tell the truth by almighty God.
(71)
IP
NP I′
I I VP
swear NP V′
t V′ PP
V CP by almighty god
t that I will tell the truth
80
(72) to break with the past (App, 46)
(73) to break the past
(74)
IP
NP I′
Ø I VP
Ø to break with NP V′
to break t V NP
t the past
the past
(75) She soon fell behind the leaders (App, 79).
(76)
IP
NP I′
she AdvP I′
soon I VP
fell behind NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V NP
t the leaders
81
(77) She soon fell behind the leaders.
(78)
IP
NP I′
she AdvP I′
soon I VP
fell NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V PP
t behind the leaders
(79) They fell for each other instantly (App, 81).
(80)
IP
NP I′
they I VP
fell for NP V′
t V′ AdvP
V NP instantly
t each other
82
(81) They fell for each other instantly.
(82)
IP
NP I′
they I VP
fell NP V′
t V′ AdvP
V PP instantly
t for each other
(83) They fell on him with sticks (App, 86).
(84)
IP
NP I′
they I VP
fell on NP V′
t V′ PP
V NP with stick
t him
83
(85) They fell on him with sticks.
(86)
IP
NP I′
they I VP
fell NP V′
t V′ PP
V PP with stick
t on him
The words break into in (60), get off in (64) and swear by in (68) have the
meanings “to enter a building by force; to open a car, etc. by force” (Hornby,
2005: 180); “to stop discussing a particular subject; to make sb do this” (2005:
650) and “to name sb/sth to show that you are making a serious promise” (2005:
1550) respectively. Their meanings can be predicted from the combinations of the
meanings of their elements. The free combinations break into in (62), get off in
(66) and swear by in (70) have the meanings “to destroy sth or make sb/sth
weaker; to become weak or be destroyed” (2005: 179) and “to a position in or
inside sth” (2005: 815); “to make, persuade, etc. sb/sth to do sth” (2005: 649) and
“down or away from a place or at a distance in space or time” (2005: 1051) and
“to promise that you are telling the truth” (2005: 1550) and “used when swearing
to mean ‘in the name of’” (2005: 206) respectively.
84
Like phrasal verbs whose meanings can be predicted from the meanings of
their elements, such prepositional verbs are not always grammatical when they are
interpreted as free combinations. The IP in (61), for example, is not grammatical
in that the preposition into is not the particle of the verb break and it does not have
any complement. Then, the verb get off in (65a) requires one NP complement or
the like. The VP added by an abstract “light verb” (Radford, 1997) is added to the
structure of the VP headed by the verb get off and this addition results in a head
movement as represented in (65b). The verb get moves to the head position of the
VP headed by the abstract light verb. Before the reanalysis, as presented in (65a),
the verb get is only a part of the head verb. Its being a verb makes the particle off
be a preposition which forms a PP with the NP politics. Next, the s-structure of
the IP in (69b) is similar to that of the IP in (71), which is also grammatical. The
verb swear in (71) is transitive. The CP that I will tell the truth functions as the
complement of the VP headed by the verb swear and the PP by almighty God
functions as the adjunct.
The meanings of the words break with in (72) and fall behind in (75) can
be predicted from the meanings of the verbs. The prepositional verbs have the
meanings “to end a connection with sth” (2005: 179) and “to fail to keep level
with sb/sth” (2005: 550). The preposition with is omitted from the VP in (75) in
that the verb head break is transitive and therefore it subcategorises for an NP
complement, not a PP one. The meaning of the verb break with is similar to the
meaning of the verb break “to end a connection with sth or a relationship with sb”
(2005: 179). Then, the sign fall has the signified “to drop down from a higher
85
level to a lower lever” (2005: 550) and the signifier fall. The sign behind has the
signified “at or towards the back of sb/sth” (2005: 127) and the signifier behind.
In the first place, the signified of the multi-word verb seems to be different from
the combination of the meanings of its free combinations. Considering the
figurative meanings of the free combination, their meanings can be approximately
similar. The meaning of the particle seems to intensify the meaning of the verb.
Related to progress, for example, being behind someone can mean making less
progress and being ahead of someone making more progress. It is admitted that
sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a meaning is denotative or
connotative due to contexts and association.
The verbs fell for in (79) and fall on in (83) have the meanings “to be
strongly attracted to sb” (2005: 550) and “to attack or take hold of sb/sth with a lot
of energy and enthusiasm” (2005: 550). Their meanings are difficult to be
predicted from the meanings of their elements. Although the phrases in (81) and
(85) can be represented in the tree diagrams in (82) and (86) in that the verb fall
requires an AdvP or a PP to complete its meaning, the meanings of the free
combinations are quite difficult to be understood – the progressions from the
meaning of the free combinations to those of the multi-word verbs are not clear.
Some sense of forcing is clear here when the meanings of the verbs are predicted
from the meanings of their free combinations, but it does not mean that they do
not have any relations.
Then, there are at least six syntactic characteristics of prepositional verbs
and some of them can be seen from the previous discussion. Next, among the
86
multi-word verbs in Appendix given two ticks in the E (phrasal verbs) and F
(prepositional verbs) columns, the multi-word verbs in the examples numbers
(66), (79), (120), (126), (127), (128), and (212) are considered as prepositional
verbs, while the multi-word verbs given two ticks in the F and G (phrasal-
prepositional verbs) columns are also considered as prepositional verbs (but later
they can also be considered as phrasal-prepositional verbs).
a. Direct Objects Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The direct objects of prepositional verbs, either NP complements headed
by either nouns or pronouns or IP complements, or CP complements, cannot be
moved to the positions before the particles. Such characteristic is semantically
supported: the particles cannot occur after the NP complements or the like without
differences in meanings. Then, syntactically, the particles have the status of
prepositions.
(87) The team failed to capitalize on their early lead (App, 62).
(88) The full cost of the wedding fell on us (App, 88).
(89) I didn’t bargain on finding them here as well (App, 5).
The NP their early lead in (87), the NP us in (88) and the IP finding them here in
(89) cannot be moved to the positions before the particles.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
Quirk. et al (1985) noted that AdvPs that function as adjuncts of the VPs
headed by prepositional verbs can be inserted between the verbs and the particles.
87
Such insertions can show the prepositional status of the particles. Thus, it can be
said that the AdvP insertions are more acceptable than such insertions between the
verbs and the particles of VPs headed by phrasal verbs, either intransitive or
transitive, yet the AdvPs interrupt the relationships between the verbs and the
particles and the direct objects. Furthermore, it is noted that AdvP insertions
between the verbs and the particles of prepositional verbs are more acceptable
than AdvP insertions between the particles and the direct objects.
(90) a. They fell for each other instantly (App, 81).
(90) b. They fell instantly for each other.
(91) a.
VP
NP V′
they V′ AdvP
V NP t
V Part each other
V AdvP for
fall instantly
88
(91) b.
IP
NP I′
they I VP
fell NP V′
t V′ PP
V′ AdvP for each other
V instantly
t
The AdvP instantly in (91a) is moved to the position before the particle for. The
movement results in a reanalysis. After the movement, the particle is represented
under the P node and it forms a PP with the NP each other as represented in the
tree diagram in (91b). The particle is not moved with the verb fall to the head
position of the IP in that, after the analysis, it is syntactically considered as a unit.
c. The Functions of the Particles and the Direct Objects as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
It can already be seen that the particles and the NP complements or the
like of prepositional verbs function as syntactic units after reanalyses: the particles
form PPs with the following NP complements or the like. Thus, the particles and
the direct objects can be separated from the verbs; they can precede W/H
questions and relative pronouns.
89
(92) a. He’s always getting at me (App, 96).
(92) b. Whom is he always getting at?
(92) c. At whom is he always getting?
(92) d. I whom he is always getting at
(92) e. I at whom he is always getting
(93) a. The full cost of the wedding fell on us (App, 88).
(93) b. *The full cost of the wedding fell on us and off them.
The phrases in (92b) and in (92c) are discussed later. The particle at in (92d)
keeps its position after the verb get and the particle at in (92e), which becomes a
preposition and forms the PP at me with the NP me after a reanalysis, can be
moved to the position preceding the pronoun whom. Then, the IP in (93b) is
ungrammatical in that the PP off them is not the complement of the VP headed by
the verb fall. After a reanalysis the verb fall becomes the head of the VP the full
cost off the wedding fall on us and the PP on us becomes the complement of the
VP, but the verb fall and the particle on are considered as a single word so that the
verb fall cannot be the head of the PPs on us and off them at the same time. In
addition, the verb fall of here is a nonsense word.
d. Pronominal Questions
The direct objects of prepositional verbs can be questioned using
pronominal questions, like transitive single-word verbs. Since the particles and the
direct objects can form PPs, as results of reanalyses, the particles, which become
prepositions, can follow the direct objects, being their complements and being
90
replaced by question words (pronouns), to be moved to the sentence initial
positions.
(94) a. He’s always getting at me (App, 96).
(94) b. Whom is he always getting at?
(95)
CP
NP C′
me C IP
whom is NP I′
is he I VP
he t V′
V IP
t I′
AdvP I′
always I VP
always getting at NP V′
getting at t AdvP V′
t V NP
t t
91
(96) At whom is he always getting?
(97)
CP
PP C′
at me C IP
at whom is NP I′
is he I VP
he t V′
V IP
t I′
AdvP I′
always I VP
always getting NP V′
getting t AdvP V′
t V PP
t t
(98) a. They had to break into the emergency food supplies (App, 23).
(98) b. What did they have to break into?
(98) c. Into what did they have to break?
The NP me in (94a) can be questioned using the word whom (who) in that the verb
get and the particle at form a prepositional verb. The NP functions as the
complement of the VP headed by the verb get at, not as the complement of the PP
92
headed by the preposition at, as represented in the tree diagram in (95). Then, the
particle at in (96) becomes a preposition forming the PP at me with the direct
object after a reanalysis. The PP is moved to the sentence initial position; the NP
me is replaced by the pronoun whom as showed in the tree diagram in (97b). Then,
the NP the emergency food supplies in (98a) can be questioned using the word
what as in (98b) and (98c).
e. Adverbial Questions
The direct objects of prepositional verbs cannot be questioned by adverbial
questions in that the direct objects of transitive verbs are questioned using
pronominal questions.
(99) a. We cannot afford to drop behind our competitors (App, 66).
(99) b. We drop behind our competitors.
(99) c. *Where/when/why/how do we drop behind?
(99) d. *Where/when/why/how do we drop?
(100) a. We drop behind our competitors.
(100) b. Where do we drop?
The NP our competitors in (99b) cannot be questioned using question words
where, when, why and how shown by the ungrammaticality of the CPs in (99c)
and (99d). Then, the answer of the IP in (100b) is the PP behind our competitors
in the IP in (100a). It is possible in that the VP we drop behind our competitors is
headed by the verb drop, a single word. Although the meaning of the verb drop
behind is similar to the combination of the meaning of the free combination drop
93
behind, the direct object of the VP headed by the prepositional verb cannot be
questioned using adverbial question words and the particle cannot be deleted in
that the particle, which is one element of the multi-word verb, cannot disappear in
the s-structure.
f. Passive Transformations
Some prepositional verbs in the dictionary can be turned into passives in
that prepositional verbs are transitive.
(101) She feels she’s being got at (App, 97).
The NP she in the IP she’s being got at in (101) originally occurs in the
complement position of the VP headed by the verb get at. Its original signifier in
the complement position is her. The NP is moved to the specifier position of the
IP due to a passive transformation.
3. The Characteristics of Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary
There are only 10 examples containing phrasal-prepositional verbs out of
219 examples used as the data of the study. Fortunately, the three relative
differences of the meanings of the multi-word verbs, like those that are applied to
the other two categories of multi-word verbs, can also be applied to these phrasal-
prepositional verbs. These multi-word verbs are more complex than the previous
ones in that they have two particles. Some of the particles of these verbs seem to
combine and form complex prepositions, but in this study they are considered as
two particles.
94
The first particles of these verbs are similar to the particles of phrasal
verbs while their second particles are like the particles of prepositional verbs. The
first particles, which are adverb or prepositional adverbs that function as adverbs
do not subcategorise for an NP complement or the like while the second particles,
which are either prepositions or prepositional adverbs that function as
prepositions, subcategorise for such complements. However, phrasal-prepositional
verbs cannot be intransitive. It seems that the second particles determine the type
of the verbs. Another reason may be that the first and the second particles may
form complex particles. The term is an extension of the term complex preposition.
The particles are analysed further later.
The meanings of some phrasal-prepositional verbs can be seen from the
combinations of the meanings of their elements. However, it is sometimes
difficult to judge whether a sign has a basic meaning. Related to concepts, Palmer
(1981) noted the difference between sense and reference: the term reference is
used to relate a sign to the real word and the term sense the elements of a sign.
Since the particles of multi-word verbs are only parts of the verbs, they
themselves cannot determine the meanings of the whole verbs. However, to some
extent they add up to the meanings of the whole verbs.
95
(102) Thieves got away with computer equipment worth $30 000 (App,
103).
(103)
IP
NP I′
thieves I VP
got away with NP V′
t V NP
t computer equipment worth $30 000
(104) Thieves got away with computer equipment worth $30 000.
(105)
IP
NP I′
thieves I VP
got NP V′
t V′ PP
V AdvP with computer equipment worth
t away $30 000
96
(106) I have a little money in the bank to fall back on (App, 77).
(107)
IP
NP I′
I I VP
have NP V′
t V′ IP
V NP I′
t a little money I VP
in the bank to fall NP V′
back on Ø V NP
t Ø
(108) *I have a little money in the bank to fall back on.
The signs get away with in (102) and fall back on in (106) have the signifieds “to
steal sth and escape with it” (Hornby, 2005: 650) and the signifier get away with
and “to go to sb for support; to have sth to use when you are in difficulty” (2005:
550) and the signifier fall back on. Their meanings to some extent can be
predicted from the combinations of the meanings of their elements and therefore
the relations between the meanings of the multi-word verbs and their free
combinations are quite clear. The meanings of the words get, away and with in
(104) are “to move to or from a particular place or in a particular direction,
sometimes with difficulty; to make sb/sth do this” (2005: 649); “to a different
97
place or in a different direction” (2005: 92); and “having or carrying sth” (2005:
1753). The sign fall in (108) has the signified “to drop down from a higher level to
a lower level” (2005: 550). The sign back has the signified “away from the front
or centre; behind you” (2005: 96) and the sign on “in or into a position covering,
touching or forming part of a surface” (2005: 1058).
The verb get away with in (103) takes the NP computer equipment worth
$30 000 as its complement and the verb fall back on in (107) takes the NP a little
money in the bank as its complement. The VP headed by the verb have and the VP
headed by the verb fall back on have the same specifier, the NP I, and have the
same complement, the NP a little money in the bank. The free combination get
away with can be represented in the tree diagram in (105). The structure of the IP
is grammatical. The free combination fall back on in (108) is not represented in a
tree diagram in that it is difficult to represent the structure of the phrase. The
reason is that the NP which becomes the complement of the VP headed by the
verb fall back on has different function with the NP that becomes the complement
of the PP headed by the preposition on.
Then, the meanings of some phrasal-prepositional verbs can be seen from
the meanings of the verbs.
98
(109) The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ certainly lived up to its name
(App, 158).
(110)
IP
NP I′
the team called AdvP I′
‘The No-Hopers’ certainly I VP
lived up to NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V NP
t its name
99
(111) The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ certainly lived up to its name.
(112)
IP
NP I′
the team called AdvP I′
‘The No-Hopers’ certainly I VP
lived NP V′
t AdvP V′
t V′ PP
V′ to its name
V AdvP
t up
The meaning of the verb live up to in (109) can be predicted from the meaning of
its verb. The meaning of the whole verb is “to do as well as or be as good as other
people expect you to” (2005: 900) and the meaning of the verb live in (111) is “to
spend your life in a particular way” (2005: 899). The adverb up and the
preposition to can form a complex preposition and becomes the adjunct of the VP
headed by the verb live. The particles intensify the meaning of the verb. They both
add the meaning “as far as a particular number, level, etc.” (2005: 1684). The
particle (adverb) up itself has the meaning “towards or in a higher position”
(2005: 1684) or “to or at a higher level” (2005: 1684) and the particle
(preposition) to itself the meaning “as far as sth” (2005: 1612).
100
Next, the meanings of some phrasal-prepositional verbs are difficult to be
predicted from the combinations of the meanings of their elements.
(113) She fell in with my idea at once.
(114)
IP
NP I′
she I VP
fell in with NP V′
t V′ PP
V NP at once
t my idea
(115) She fell in with my idea at once.
(116)
IP
NP I′
she I VP
fell NP V′
t V′ PP
V′ PP at once
V′ AdvP with my idea
V in
t
101
The meaning of the verb fall in with in (113) is more difficult to be predicted from
the meanings of its elements than the meanings of the previous phrasal-
prepositional verbs. It is emphasised that such difficulty is relative. The verb has
the meaning “to agree to sth” (2005: 550). Its free combination can be represented
in the tree diagram in (116), but their meanings are difficult to understand. The
progression from the combination of the meanings of the individual words
forming the verb to the meaning of the phrasal-prepositional verb is not clear.
There are at least six syntactic characteristics of phrasal-prepositional
verbs, considering the six criteria stated previously. There are eight examples
whose particles of the multi-word verbs are the complex prepositions into. The
multi-word verbs are considered as prepositional verbs. However, the examples
are given two ticks in the F and G columns in Appendix in that the complex
preposition into has two elements: the adverb in and the preposition to, which are
written as one word. This fact is used as a support to analyse the particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs as single units.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The NP complements or the like of phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be
moved to the positions either before the second particles or before the first
particles. The second particles have prepositional status and they form PPs with
the following NP complements or the like. Another alternative is that the first and
second particles are considered as complex particles so that they also have
prepositional status.
102
(117) She fell back on her usual excuse of having no time (App, 78).
(118) Don’t be tempted to cheat – you’ll never get away with it (App,
105).
(119) Nobody gets away with insulting me like that (App, 106).
The NP her usual excuse of having no time in (117), the NP it (118) and the IP
insulting me like that (119) cannot be moved to the positions before the particle on
or back, the particle with or away and the particle with or away respectively.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
AdvPs can be inserted between the first particles and the second particles.
An alternative way is that AdvPs are inserted between the verbs and the first
particles which form complex prepositions with the following particles or at least
they are considered as complex prepositions (complex particles). There are two
considerations that makes the first is more acceptable: the presence of two objects
and the semantic unity of the verbs and the first particles, yet such AdvP
insertions or AdvP movements interrupt the relationships between the verbs and
the particles and the direct objects.
103
(120) a. The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ certainly lived up to its name
(App, 158).
(120 b. The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ lived up certainly to its name.
(121) a.
VP
NP V′
the team called V′ AdvP
‘The No-Hopers’ V NP t
V Part its name
V AdvP to
live up certainly
(127) b.
IP
NP I′
the team called I VP
‘The No-Hopers’ lived up NP V′
t V′ PP
V AdvP to its name
t certainly
104
(122) The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ lived certainly up to its name.
(123) a.
VP
NP V′
the team called V′ dvP
‘The No-Hopers’ V NP t
V Part its name
V Part to
V AdvP up
live certainly
(123) b.
IP
NP I′
the team called I VP
‘The No-Hopers’ lived NP V′
t V′ PP
V AdvP up to its name
t certainly
The AdvP certainly in (121a) is moved from the adjunct position of the VP
headed by the verb live up to to the position before the particle to. The AdvP
movement result in a reanalysis. The particle to becomes the preposition that
105
heads the PP to its name. The movement of the AdvP is acceptable in that it can
show the prepsositional status of the particle to. Such an AdvP movement is like
an AdvP movement in a VP headed by a prepositional verb. The AdvP certainly
in (123a) is moved to the position before the particle up in that the particles up
and to are considered as a single unit. The AdvP movement is also like an AdvP
movement of a VP headed by a prepositional verb. The difference is that the first
movement results in the verb to appear as a multi-word verb (a phrasal verb) and
the second movement results in the verb being like a single-word verb.
c. The Functions of the Particles and the Direct Objects as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the positions before the particles
of phrasal-prepositional verbs already show that the particles, either the second
particles or the first and second particles, function as syntactic units after
reanalyses. Besides, the functions can be shown by the ability of the second
particles to appear before W/H questions and relative pronouns.
(124) a. She fell in with my idea at once (App, 84).
(124) b. What did she fall in with at once?
(124) c. With what did she fall in at once?
(124) d. *In with what did she fall at once?
(124) e. my idea which she fell in with at once
(124) f. my idea with which she fell in at once
(124) g. *my idea in with which she fell at once
106
The CPs in (124b), (124c) and in (124d) are discussed later. The particle with in
(124e) can be moved to the position before the word which, which is originally the
NP my idea, as shown in (124f) in that the particle becomes a preposition after a
reanalysis and the NP is its complement. It seems that considering the particles in
and with as a complex particle is less acceptable in that the PP headed by the
preposition is not moved to the position before the relative pronoun.
d. Pronominal Questions
The direct objects of phrasal-prepositional verbs are questioned using
pronominal questions, like those of transitive phrasal verbs, of prepositional verbs
and of transitive single-word verbs.
(125) a. She fell in with my idea at once (App, 84).
(125) b. What did she fall in with at once?
(126)
CP
NP C′
my idea C IP
what did NP I′
did she I VP
she fall in with NP V′
fall in with t V′ PP
t NP at once
t at once
107
(127) With what did she fall in at once?
(128)
CP
PP C′
with my idea C IP
with what did NP I′
did she I VP
she fall in NP V′
fall in t V′ PP
t PP at once
t at once
(129) *In with what did she fall at once?
The NP my idea in (125a) can be questioned using the word what as presented in
the tree diagram in (126). Then, the specifier position of the CP in (128) is
occupied by the PP with what in that the particle with and the direct object, which
is replaced by the NP what, function as a syntactic unit after a reanalysis. The CP
in (129) is not acceptable although the particles in and with can at least be
considered as complex particle.
108
e. Adverbial Questions
The direct objects of phrasal-prepositional verbs, like the direct objects of
the other two categories of multi-word verbs, cannot be questioned using
adverbial questions.
(130) a. He was lucky to get away with only a fine (App, 104).
(130) b. He got away with only a fine.
(130) c. * Where/when/why/how did he get away with?
(130) d. * Where/when/why/how did he get away?
(130) e. * Where/when/why/how did he get?
(131) a. He got away with only a fine.
(131) b. how did he get away?
The NP a fine in (130b) cannot be questioned using the question words where,
when, why, or how. This is shown by the ungrammaticality of the CPs in (130c),
(130d) and (130e) respectively. The NP a fine in (131a) can be questioned using
the word how in that it is a single-word verb.
f. Passive Transformations
Some VPs headed by phrasal-prepositional verbs can be turned into
passives.
(132) a. Thieves got away with computer equipment worth $30 000
(App, 103).
(132) b. Computer equipment worth $30 000 was got away with by
thieves.
109
The IP in (132a) can be turned into a passive which is shown by the IP in (132b).
The NP computer equipment worth $30 000 is moved from the complement
position of the VP headed by the verb get away with to the specifier position of
the IP headed by the inflection -ed.
B. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and
Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary
Phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs have
some similarities. Having analysed the characteristics of the multi-word verbs,
their similarities can be seen. This study focuses on the particles of the three
categories of multi-word verbs. Thus, the similarities analysed here are related to
the particles and the complementation of the verbs in that they are closely related.
From the analysis result of the characteristics of phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs shown in the Table 1 in
Chapter IV Subchapter A, the similarities among the particles can be seen by
considering the first three characteristics: direct object movements to the positions
before the particles, AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the positions before
the particles and the functions of the particles and the direct objects as syntactic
units after reanalyses.
The particles determine the categories of multi-word verbs. Some multi-
word verbs are called phrasal verbs (adverbial verbs) because their particles are
adverbial. Some others are called prepositional verbs in that their particles are
110
prepositional. Some others are called phrasal-prepositional verbs in that their
particles are both adverbial and prepositional.
(133) How did you get on at the interview? (App, 134)
(134) Why did she turn down your invitation? (App,199)
(135) Please turn the volume down (App, 202).
(136) I never lend books – you never get them back (App, 110).
(137) I think we can dispense with the formalities (App, 65).
(138) The full cost of the wedding fell on us (App, 88).
(139) Don’t be tempted to cheat – you’ll never get away with it (App,
105).
(140) He failed to live up to his parent’s expectations (App, 157).
The multi-word verbs in (133), (134), (135), and (136) are phrasal verbs in that
the particles are adverbial, but the particles do not have to be adverbs: the particles
in (133), (134) and (135) are prepositional adverbs and the particle in (136) is an
adverb. Then, the multi-word verbs in (137) and (138) are prepositional verbs; the
particles are prepositional. The particle in (137) is a preposition and that in (138)
is a prepositional adverb. Next, the multi-word verbs in (139) and (140) are
phrasal-prepositional verbs. The multi-word verbs consist of a verb and two
particles. The first particle of the verb in (139) is an adverb and its second particle
is a preposition; the first and the second particles of the verb in (140) are both
prepositional adverbs.
Besides, the particles also determine the types of multi-word verbs.
Phrasal verbs can be either transitive or intransitive due to their particles: adverbs
111
do not subcategorise for an NP complement or the like. The phrasal verb in (133)
is intransitive in that it does not subcategorise for an NP complement or the like.
The phrasal verbs in (134), (135) and (136) are transitive. The NP complement of
the phrasal verb in (134) keeps its original position, while the NP complements of
the phrasal verbs in (135) and (136) are moved to the positions before the
particles. Then, prepositional verbs can only be transitive in that prepositions
cannot stand by themselves: they subcategorise for an NP complement or the like;
this is shown by the IPs in (137) and (138). Phrasal-prepositional verbs can also
only be transitive due to the nature of the second particles, which are
prepositional, like the multi-word verbs in (139) and (140).
Two examples out of 217 examples of the multi-word verbs in the first
group, if they are extended, they become 219, contain ditransitive multi-word
verbs. However, both the verbs are prepositional verbs so that their particles are
not compared to the particles of other multi-word verbs. The rest contain
monotransitive and intransitive multi-word verbs. It is noted that the particles of
some phrasal verbs occur before the complements or the adjuncts of the VPs
headed by the verbs. The particles of some other phrasal verbs occur after the NP
complements of the VPs headed by the verbs. The particles of other phrasal verbs
do not precede any constituents. The particles of all prepositional verbs
immediately precede NP complements or the like. Some of them immediately
precede abstract NP complements. The first particles of all the phrasal-
prepositional verbs immediately precede the second particles and the second
112
particles immediately precede NP complements or the like (one of them
immediately precedes an abstract NP complement).
Further, it is noted that transitive verbs can be intransitive when they
combine with one or more particles to form multi-word verbs and intransitive
verbs can be transitive. There are some problems related to this. One of the
problems lies on particles that are adverbs. Firstly, the combinations of verbs and
adverbial particles can be either transitive or intransitive. It seems that the
transitivity of phrasal verbs is not purely determined by the particles in that the
particles do not subcategorise for an NP or the like. Secondly, phrasal-
prepositional verbs have two particles. The problem is that whether the particles
can be considered as single units and therefore the units are called complex
particles.
Another problem is related to the particles that are prepositional adverbs in
that they can function either as adverbs or as prepositions and therefore they can
combine with verbs to form either phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs. The
conditions when the prepositional adverbs function as either adverbs or
prepositions are sometimes not clear. When the prepositional adverbs function as
adverbs, the problem is similar to the previous one. Thus, the categories and the
types of multi-word verbs are not completely determined by the particles. A
further analysis may be related more to the verbs than to the particles and
therefore it is not dialled here due to the focus of the study.
Furthermore, adverbs do not subcategorise for NP complements or the
like, but some of them subcategorise for PP complements. Prepositional adverbs
113
can immediately precede NP complements or the like and therefore they function
as prepositions. Some prepositional adverbs subcategorise for PP complements:
they function as adverbs. Then, adverbs and the heads of their PP complements
and prepositional adverbs and the heads of their PP complements can form
complex prepositions, or at least they can be considered as complex prepositions.
1. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in the
Dictionary
The particles of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs have some similar
characteristics related to direct object movements to the positions before the
particles and AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the positions before the
particles. Concerning direct object movements, it is only the transitive
(monotransitive) verbs that are analysed. Concerning AdvP insertions or AdvP
movements, both transitive phrasal verbs and intransitive phrasal verbs are
compared to prepositional verbs.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
From the analysis, there are 7 examples (3.2%; 4.1%; 8.1%) containing
phrasal verbs whose directs objects cannot be moved to the positions before the
particles. This is compared to 36 (16.6 %; 94.7%) prepositional verbs. A more
relevant fact is that both the particles of transitive phrasal verbs and prepositional
verbs can be represented under P nodes in the morphological level. Here, 79
(36.4%; 46.2%; 91.9%) examples containing transitive phrasal verbs are
114
compared to 36 (16.6%; 94.7%) examples containing monotransitive prepositional
verbs.
The particles of phrasal verbs can be analysed as prepositions when the
(whole) verbs immediately precede NP complements or the like. The NPs must be
headed by nouns, because, if they are headed by pronouns, they show the
differences between the particles of the two categories of multi-word verbs
(except the phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles cannot be separated).
(141) a. He laid aside his book and stood up (App, 143).
(141) b. He laid aside his book.
(142)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-ed NP V′
he V NP
V Part/P his book
lay aside
115
(143) a. He was trying to puzzle out why he had been brought to the
house (App, 175).
(143) b. he to puzzle out why he had been brought to the house
(144)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
to NP V′
he V CP
V Part/P why he had been bought to the house
puzzle out
(145) Debit cards dispense with the need for cash altogether (App, 64).
(146)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-es NP V′
debit cards V′ AdvP
V NP altogether
V Part/P the need
dispense with for cash
116
(147) a. I hadn’t bargained on them being here (App, 6).
(147) b. I not bargained on them being here
(148)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-en NP V′
I AdvP V′
not V IP
V Part/P them being here
bargain on
The tree diagrams in (142), (144), (146), and (148) show that in the morphological
levels, the particles of the multi-word verbs are under the Part nodes or P nodes.
Such analysis is following Radford (1988). He noted that the particles of phrasal
verbs and prepositional verbs are prepositions, not adverbs. The fact that transitive
phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs, the whole verbs, immediately precede their
NP complements or the like in the VPs headed by the complete verbs is one
reason for treating the particles as prepositions in that prepositions immediately
precede their NP complements or the like. The NP complements or the like of the
complete verbs can be seen as the NP complements of the prepositions. However,
such analysis is less needed here because of two reasons. The first reason is that in
the morphological level the particles are sufficiently represented under the Part
117
nodes. The second reason is that in further analyses the term preposition
sometimes cannot fit the particles of some multi-word verbs.
The VPs in (142) and (146) have NPs as their complements and the VPs in
(144) and (148) have a CP and an IP as their complements respectively. The NP
them in (148) is not the complement of the VP headed by the verb bargain for, but
it is only a part of the complement. The head subcategorises for an IP. The NP is
the specifier of the verb head be, which is moved to the specifier position of the IP
headed by the inflection –ing.
An apparent similarity is that phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs have
one particle (the particle into is considered as a complex preposition; the elements
of the preposition are written as a single word). The multi-word verbs in (141b),
(143b), (145), and (147b) have one particle. The first two multi-word verbs are
phrasal verbs and the later are prepositional verbs. The verb lay aside in (141b)
has the particle aside; the verb puzzle out in (143b) has the particle out; the verb
dispense with in (145) has the particle with; and the verb bargain on in (147b) has
the particle on.
Another similarity is that the particles of phrasal verbs can be prepositional
adverbs like the particle in (143b), and so do those of prepositional verbs like the
particle in (147b). The verb puzzle out in (143b) is a phrasal verb whose meaning
can be predicted from the meaning of the verb. The particle intensifies the
meaning of the verb. Thus, the meaning of the verb puzzle out is approximately
similar to the meaning of the verb puzzle. The difference lies on their completions.
Comparing the meanings of the verbs, it is shown that the prepositional adverb
118
functions as an adverb; its meaning is “completely” (Hornby, 2005: 1075).
Interpreting the construction as if it is a free combination, the particle is closer to
the verb than to the complement. Thus, the complement can be moved to the
position before the particle and the particle, after a reanalysis, becomes an AdvP.
The particle of the verb bargain on in (147b) is prepositional. The meaning of the
verb shows that the particle on adds the meaning “about sth/sb” (2005: 1058), one
of the meanings of the particle which is a prepositional adverb that functions as a
preposition, to the construction. If the elements are interpreted as separate signs,
the particle is closer to the complement than to the verb in that it is a preposition.
Such relationship also makes the prepositional adverb on functions as a
preposition.
Although the meanings of the verbs bargain on and bargain, for example,
are related, the meanings of the phrasal verb bargain on (a nonsense word) and
the prepositional verb bargain on are different. A possible meaning of the first
verb is to continue to expect something. Besides, the dictionary shows that the
verb and the particle of the verb puzzle out can be separated by the object; while
the verb and the particle of the verb bargain on cannot be separated by the object.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
From the analysis, there are 164 (75.6%; 95.9%) examples containing
phrasal verbs whose particles can be preceded by AdvPs that function as adjuncts
of the verbs; the examples containing transitive phrasal verbs whose verbs and
119
particles cannot be separated are excluded. This is compared to 36 (16.6%;
94.7%) examples containing prepositional verbs.
As previously stated, the acceptability of such insertions or such
movements is different among transitive phrasal verbs, intransitive phrasal verbs
and prepositional verbs. Firstly, AdvPs can be inserted between the direct objects
and the particles of transitive phrasal verbs in that after reanalyses gaps can be
seen in those positions. Here, AdvP insertions or AdvP movements are less
acceptable in that the adverbial status of the particles is already shown by the
movements of the direct objects. Secondly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to the
positions before the particles of intransitive phrasal verbs. Such insertions or such
movements can show the adverbial status of the particles which is already clear
due to the presence of no objects. Both the AdvPs between the direct objects and
the particles of transitive phrasal verbs and between the verbs and the particles of
intransitive phrasal verbs are less acceptable in that the particles are short.
Thirdly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to the positions before the particles of
prepositional verbs to show the prepositional status of the particles. Furthermore,
it is noted that AdvP insertions and AdvP movements are less acceptable in that
the AdvPs are not considered important.
2. The Similarities among the Particles of Phrasal and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
in the Dictionary
The similarities among the particles of phrasal verbs and the particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs can also be seen from the characteristics of the multi-
120
word verbs: direct object movements to the positions before the particles and
AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the positions before the particles.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
From the analysis, there are 7 examples (3.2%; 4.1%; 8.1%) containing
phrasal verbs whose directs objects cannot be moved to the positions before the
particles. They are compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%) phrasal-prepositional verbs.
Like one similarity among the particles of phrasal and prepositional verbs, a more
relevant fact is the fact that the particles of transitive phrasal verbs and the second
particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs can be represented under P nodes in the
morphological level. Here, 79 (36.4%; 46.2%; 91.9%) examples containing
transitive phrasal verbs are compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples containing
phrasal-prepositional verbs. Then, the combinations of the two particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs are also like the particles of transitive phrasal verbs.
They can immediately precede the NP complements or the like, either NPs headed
by nouns or IPs, or CPs, and therefore they can be analysed as prepositions.
Comparing the particles of phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs is
more complex than comparing the particles of phrasal verbs and prepositional
verbs in that the particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs are the combinations of
the particles of the other multi-word verbs. The first particles of these verbs are
similar to the particles of phrasal verbs. They can be either adverbs or
prepositional adverbs that function as adverbs. Since adverbs do not subcategorise
for NP complements or the like, it is possible that they do not immediately
121
precede the complements. Furthermore, there are no examples of the first group of
the data showing that the verbs and the first particles and the first particles and the
second particles of the phrasal-prepositional verbs are intervened by any
constituents. In this way, the first particles phrasal-prepositional verbs are
compared to the particles intransitive phrasal verbs having no complements.
(149) All our doubts fell away (App, 74).
(150)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-ed NP V
all our doubts V Part/Adv
fall away
(151) a. The back section of the plane had broken off (App, 25).
(151) b. the back section of the plane broken off
(152)
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-en NP V
the back section of the plane V Part/Adv
break off
122
(153) He laid aside his book and stood up (App, 143).
(154) It is laid down that all candidates must submit three copies of their
dissertation (App, 150).
(155) She fell in with my idea at once (App, 84).
(156) a.
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-ed NP V′
she V′ PP
V NP at once
V Part/Adv Part/P my idea
fall in with
(156) b.
IP
Spec I′
I VP
-ed NP V′
she V′ PP
V NP at once
V Part/P my idea
fall in with
123
(157) Nobody gets away with insulting me like that (App, 106).
(158) a.
IP
NP I′
nobody I VP
-es NP V′
t V IP
V Part/Adv Part/P insulting me like that
get away with
(158) b.
IP
NP I′
nobody I VP
-es NP V′
t V IP
V Part/P insulting me like that
get away with
The particles away in (149), aside in (153) and away in (157) are adverbs. The
particle away combines with the verb fall to form a phrasal verb. The particle
aside combines with the verb lay and they also form a phrasal verb. The particle
away combines with the verb get and the particle with and therefore they form a
phrasal-prepositional verb. The particles off in (151b), down in (154) and in in
124
(155) are prepositional adverbs. The functions of the particles off and in are clear.
The prepositional adverb off functions as an adverb in that the verb break off does
not subcategorise for an NP complement or the like. The prepositional adverb in
also functions as an adverb in that it is the first particle of the phrasal-
prepositional verb fall in with. The verb lay down in (154) is a phrasal verb. It is
difficult to see the meaning that the particle adds to the whole verb. There are two
meanings that the adverb down has that may be related to it: “on paper; on a list”
(2005: 459) and “used to show the limits in a range or an order” (2005: 459).
However, the dictionary tells that the object of the verb lay down can be moved to
the position before the particle, which becomes an AdvP after a reanalysis.
Following Radford (1988), the first particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs
can also be represented under the node Part or Prep in the morphological levels in
that the particles of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs can be done so. At least
two problems arise. Firstly, the particles of the phrasal verbs in (150) and (152),
for example, do not immediately precede NP complements or the like and the first
particles of the phrasal-prepositional verbs in (156a) and (158a) also bear such
condition and therefore the statuses of the particles as prepositions are
questionable. Secondly, Radford did not include phrasal-prepositional verbs.
Thus, it is not clear whether the two particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs are
considered as one particle or two particles. The particles are considered as single
units as being shown in the tree diagrams in (156b) and (158b)
The particles in (149) and (151b) are similar to the first particles in (156a)
and (158a) in that they do not immediately precede any complements. The
125
particles in (153) and (154) are similar to the combinations of the particles in
(156b) and (158b) because they immediately precede NP complements or the like.
The particles aside and in with immediately precede NP complements and the
particles down and away with immediately precede a CP complement and an IP
complement respectively.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
AdvPs that function as adjuncts of the VPs can be inserted or moved to the
positions before the particles of phrasal verbs and of phrasal-prepositional verbs.
From the analysis shown in Appendix, there are 79 (36.4%; 46.2%; 91.9%)
transitive phrasal verbs and 85 (39.2%; 49.7%; 100%) intransitive phrasal verbs
whose particles can be preceded by AdvPs. There are 7 examples containing
transitive phrasal verbs whose verbs and particles cannot be separated. Thus, there
are 164 (75.6%; 95.9%) phrasal verbs which allow AdvP insertions or AdvP
movements. This number is compared with 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples of phrasal-
prepositional verbs.
It is noted that the acceptability of such insertions or such movements
among transitive phrasal verbs, intransitive phrasal verbs and phrasal-
prepositional verbs is different. AdvPs can be inserted or moved either before the
second particles or before the first particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs to show
the prepositional status of the particles.
126
3. The Similarities among the Particles of Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional
Verbs in the Dictionary
The similarities among the particles of the multi-word verbs can be shown
by considering the three characteristics of the multi-word verbs.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The direct objects of the prepositional verbs in the examples cannot be
moved to the positions before the particles, so do the direct objects of the Phrasal-
prepositional verbs in the examples. From the analysis, there are 36 (16.6%;
94.7%) examples of prepositional verbs that are compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%)
examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs.
The second particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs are similar to the
particles of prepositional verbs. They can be either prepositions or prepositional
adverbs that function as prepositions. Since prepositions subcategorise for NP
complements or the like, the particles must immediately precede their
complements. Then, the particles can be represented under the P nodes.
Considering the two particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs as single units, they
can be represented under the same P nodes.
Firstly, the particles of prepositional verbs and the second particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs are prepositional.
(159) How are the kids settling into their new school? (App, 184)
(160) I didn’t bargain on finding them here as well (App, 5).
(161) The full cost of the wedding fell on us (App, 88).
127
(162) She fell back on her usual excuse of having no time (App, 78).
(163) Nobody gets away with insulting me like that (App, 106).
(164) Don’t be tempted to cheat—you’ll never get away with it (App,
105).
The particles into in (159), with in (163) and with in (164) are prepositions. The
first particle combine with the verb settle to form a prepositional verb. The second
and third particles combine with the verb get and the particle away to form
phrasal-prepositional verbs. The particles on in (160), on in (161), and on in (162)
are prepositional adverbs. The prepositional adverb on in (160) functions as a
preposition. The explanation is similar to the particle of the prepositional verb in
(147). The particle on in (161) combines with the verb fall to form a prepositional
verb. The particle is prepositional in that the verb fall on immediately precedes the
NP headed by the pronoun us. The dictionary also shows that the NP complement
cannot be moved to the position before the particle. The prepositional adverb on
in (162) also functions as a preposition in that it is the second particle of the
phrasal-prepositional verb fall back on.
The VPs in (159) and (162) have NPs that are headed by the nouns as their
complements. The VPs in (160) and (163) have IPs as their complements and the
VPs in (161) and (164) have NPs headed by pronouns as their complements.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
AdvPs can be inserted before the particles of prepositional verbs and
before the second particles or the first particles of phrasal prepositional verbs.
128
From the analysis, there are 36 (16.6%; 94.7%) examples of prepositional verbs
that are compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs.
To avoid repetitions, the examples refer to the previous discussion related to the
characteristic.
c. The Functions of the Particles and the Direct Object as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
From the analysis, shown in Appendix, there are 36 (16.6%; 94.7%)
examples of prepositional verbs that are compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples
of phrasal-prepositional verbs. The particles of prepositional verbs combine with
the direct objects to form syntactic units after reanalyses; the second particles or
the combinations of the first and second particles and the direct objects of phrasal-
prepositional verbs function as syntactic units after reanalyses. In this way, the
elements form PPs after reanalyses. The results of the reanalyses allow the
particles, which become prepositions, to be moved to follow the direct objects,
which become the complements of the prepositions.
C. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal, Prepositional and
Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in the Dictionary
Having analysed the similarities of the particles of the three categories of
multi-word verbs, in these three sub-subchapters, their differences are analysed.
As stated previously, the particles of the multi-word verbs determine the
categories of the verbs. That is also to say that the particles show the reason why
129
the verbs are called either phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs, or phrasal-
prepositional verbs and to some extent show the boundaries between the three.
There are three characteristics of the multi-word verbs considered to find out the
differences among the particles of the multi-word verbs.
1. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in the
Dictionary
The differences among the particles of the multi-word verbs can be seen
by considering the three syntactic criteria.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
From the Table 1 in Subchapter A Chapter IV, it can be seen that the
particles of phrasal verbs are different from the particles of prepositional verbs in
that the direct objects of some phrasal verbs can be moved to the positions before
the particles, while the direct objects of prepositional verbs cannot. Here, 79
(36.4%; 46.2%; 91.9%) examples of transitive phrasal verbs are compared to 0
(0%) example of prepositional verbs.
One apparent difference between the particles is that the particles of
phrasal verbs are adverbial and the particles of prepositional verbs are
prepositional.
(165) They had laid money aside for their old age (App, 145).
(166) A good lawyer might be able to get you off (App, 132).
(167) She gets around with the help of a stick (App, 94).
130
(168) I won’t be able to get away from the office before 7 (App, 102).
(169) The band struck up a waltz (App, 194).
(170) He’s always getting at me (App, 96).
(171) Get off me, that hurts! (App, 120)
(172) All these factors must be allowed for (App, 2).
The particles aside in (165) and away in (168) are adverbs and therefore the multi-
word verbs in (165) and (168) are phrasal verbs. The particles off in (166), around
in (167), up in (169), and off in (171) are prepositional adverbs. The first three
particles function as adverbs while the other functions as a preposition: the multi-
word verbs in (166), (167) and (169) are phrasal verbs and the multi-word verb in
(171) is a prepositional verb. The particles at in (170) and for in (172) are
prepositions and therefore it is clear that they combine with the verbs get and
allow respectively forming prepositional verbs.
The second difference is related to NP complements. The NP headed by
the noun money in (165) is moved to the position before the particle aside; the NP
headed by the pronoun you in (166) is moved to the position before the particle
off. This characteristic shows that the particles function as adverbs. The NP
complement movements in (165) and (166) are similar in that both of them result
in a reanalysis. After the reanalyses, the particles, which are originally represented
under the same nodes with the verbs and then represented under Part nodes due to
NP interventions, become AdvPs. The difference lies on them being either
obligatory or optional. The NP complement in (165) is optional, while that in
(166) is obligatory. The NP complements that are headed by nouns can precede
131
the particles of phrasal verbs, but those headed by pronouns must precede the
particles.
The NP complements that are headed by pronouns must be moved to the
position before the particles of phrasal verbs. There are some possible
explanations for this. Firstly, pronouns are short. Here, the movements of such
NPs are similar to the movements of other NPs that can be considered as short
ones. The verbs and the particles of some phrasal verbs in the dictionary must be
separated from their objects. The NPs do not only headed by nouns, but they can
also be headed by pronouns. Such characteristic may be to bear the adverbial
status of the particles. It can follow that such characteristic is to make phrasal
verbs different from other multi-word verbs, particularly prepositional verbs.
Secondly, pronouns have antecedents to which they refer, they are included as
minor words, so that the NPs are not as strong as others headed by nouns.
Therefore, thirdly, such movements are intended to make the NPs complements
more important in that movements to the left result in more important positions
like passive movements.
The NP a waltz in (169) cannot be moved to the position before the
particle up. There is no explanation can be found.
The NP complements headed by either nouns or pronouns must precede
the particles of prepositional verbs. The verb get at in (170) has the NP me as its
complement and the verb get off in (171) has the NP me as its complement. The
NP complements headed by pronoun me in (170) and (171) cannot be moved to
the positions before the particles at and off respectively due to the status of the
132
particles as prepositions. The NP all these factors in (172) is moved from its base
position in the complement position of the VP headed by the verb allow for to the
specifier position of the IP headed by the inflection must.
The third difference is that the particles of phrasal verbs can immediately
precede complements that are other than NPs or the like and adjuncts. The multi-
word verb get around in (167) has no complement; the PP with the help of a stick
is the adjunct of the VP headed by the verb. The verb get away in (168) takes the
PP from the office as its complement. However, the particles of prepositional
verbs cannot immediately precede adjuncts in that these verbs only take NP
complements or the like as their complements. The particles may seemingly
immediately precede other constituents or no constituents, but in tree diagrams
empty or traced nodes are shown.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The particles of phrasal verbs and the particles of prepositional verbs can
be preceded by AdvPs that function as adjuncts of the VPs headed by the verbs.
Here, 164 (75.6%; 95.9%) examples containing phrasal verbs are compared to 36
(16.6%; 94.7%) examples containing prepositional verbs. The difference lies on
the processes. Such AdvP insertions or AdvP movements can be applied after
reanalyses in transitive phrasal verbs. They can be applied before reanalyses in
prepositional verbs and result in reanalyses.
133
c. The Functions of the Particles and the Direct Object as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
The particles and the direct objects of phrasal verbs do not function as
syntactic units after reanalyses, while the particles of prepositional verbs do. Here,
0 (0%) example of transitive phrasal verbs are compared to 36 (16.6%; 94.7%)
examples of prepositional verbs. After reanalyses, the particles of phrasal verbs
become AdvPs and the particles of prepositional verbs become prepositions,
which form PPs with the direct objects in that prepositions cannot stand without
NP complements or the like. As the heads of the PPs, the prepositions can follow
the direct objects, the complements of the PPs, when they are moved. This results
in the particles being able to occur in sentence initial positions or before relative
pronouns.
2. The Differences among the Particles of Phrasal and Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
in the Dictionary
The differences can also be seen by considering the three criteria. From the
analysis shown in Appendix, there are 171 (78.8%; 100%) examples of phrasal
verbs compared to 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs.
a. Direct Object Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The direct objects of some transitive phrasal verbs can be moved to the
positions before the particles. There are 67 (30.9%; 39.2%; 77.9%) phrasal verbs
whose particles can be optionally moved to the positions before the particles and
134
12 (5.5%; 7%; 14%) must be moved to the positions before the particles. On the
other hand, the direct objects of phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot.
There are some differences between the particles of phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. Firstly, phrasal verbs have one particle, while phrasal-
prepositional verbs have two particles. The particles of phrasal verbs are adverbs.
The first particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs are adverbs and the second
particles are prepositions. Their particles can be prepositional adverbs. In phrasal
verbs, the prepositional adverbs function as adverbs. In phrasal-prepositional
verbs, the prepositional adverbs that become the first particles function as adverbs
and those that become the second particles function as preposition.
(173) What time did you get back last night? (App, 108)
(174) Some college students will have to live out (App, 154).
(175) He struck out towards the shore (App, 192).
(176) Please turn the television off before you go to bed (App, 216).
(177) We can put you up for the night (App, 166).
(178) He was lucky to get away with only a fine (App, 104).
(179) He failed to live up to his parents’ expectations (App, 157).
The particle of the phrasal verb in (173) is an adverb. The particles of phrasal
verbs in (174), (175), (176), and (177) are prepositional adverbs that function as
adverbs. The first particle of the phrasal-prepositional verb in (178) is an adverb
and that in (179) is a prepositional adverb that functions as an adverb while the
second particle of the verb in (178) is a preposition and that in (179) is a
prepositional adverb that functions as a preposition.
135
According to the theory of multi-word verbs, the particles of phrasal-
prepositional verbs cannot both be either adverbial or prepositional. Such
characteristic can be compared to the characteristic of complex prepositions; the
first elements of the complex prepositions that consist of two words cannot be
prepositions. The comparison can strengthen the idea that the first and the second
particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs can be considered as single particles rather
than two particles. That phrasal-prepositional verbs have one complex particle
(the term is the extension of the term complex preposition) shows that the verbs
are similar to some extent to prepositional verbs. However, the term phrasal-
prepositional verb itself suggests that the verbs have two particles.
Secondly, the NP complements that are headed by nouns can be moved to
the positions before the particles in phrasal verbs. The NP the television in (176)
precedes the particle off. Then, the particle after a reanalysis becomes an AdvP,
which is represented under the AdvP node, and functions as the adjunct of the VP
headed by the verb turn off. Next, the NP complements headed by pronouns must
be moved to the positions before the particles of phrasal verbs like the verb put up
in (177) where the NP you precedes the particle up. On the other hand, like NP
complements headed by nouns of phrasal-prepositional verbs, those headed by
pronouns must also keep their positions. Such complements cannot be moved to
the positions before the second particles or the first particles of phrasal-
prepositional verbs. The particles with in (178) and to in (179) immediately
precede the NPs only a fine and his parents’ expectations respectively. The
136
particles away in (178) and up in (179) precede the complements and immediately
precede the first particles.
Thirdly, the particles of phrasal verbs can immediately precede other
complements and adjunct. They can also (immediately) precede no constituents.
The particle out in (175) precedes the PP complement towards the shore. The
particle back in (173) precedes the NP adjunct last night. Then, the particle out in
(174) (immediately) precedes no constituent.
b. AdvP Insertions or AdvP Movements to the Positions before the Particles
The particles of phrasal verbs and the first or the second particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs can be preceded by AdvPs that function as adjuncts of
the VPs headed by the verbs. There are 164 (75.6%; 95.9%) examples containing
phrasal verbs that allow AdvP insertions or AdvP movements. This number is
compared with 10 (4.6%; 100%) examples containing phrasal-prepositional verbs.
The difference lies on the processes. Such AdvP insertions or AdvP movements
can be applied after reanalyses in transitive phrasal verbs, while in phrasal-
prepositional verbs they can be applied before reanalyses and result in reanalyses.
c. The functions of the Particles and the Direct Objects as Syntactic Units after
Reanalyses
As previously stated, the particles and the direct objects of transitive
phrasal verbs do not function as syntactic units after reanalyses although the verbs
and the particles of some transitive phrasal verbs cannot be separated, while the
137
second particles or the combinations of the first and the second particles of
phrasal-prepositional verbs do: 0 (0%) example of phrasal verbs is compared to 10
(4.6%; 100%) examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs. After reanalyses, the
particles of phrasal verbs become AdvPs and the particles of phrasal-prepositional
verbs become prepositions. The prepositions form PPs with the direct objects in
that prepositions cannot stand without NP complements or the like. As the heads
of the PPs, the prepositions that are originally the second particles only can follow
the direct objects, the complements of the PPs, when they are moved. This results
in the particles being able to occur in sentence initial positions or before relative
pronouns.
3. The Differences among the Particles of Prepositional and Phrasal-Prepositional
Verbs in the Dictionary
From the analysis of the first group of the data, the particles of the two
categories of multi-word verbs do not have any differences concerning with the
three characteristics of multi-word verbs. This is shown by the table of the
characteristics of multi-word verbs in Subchapter A. The particles of prepositional
and phrasal-prepositional verbs only have one difference: like phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs have one particle, while phrasal-prepositional verbs have two
particles. The particles of prepositional verbs can be prepositions such as the verb
settle into in (180) or prepositional adverbs that function as prepositions like the
prepositional verb get off in (181) while the particles of phrasal-prepositional
verbs can be either an adverb and a preposition as the verb get away with in (182)
138
or an adverb and a prepositional adverb that function as a preposition such as the
verb fall back on in (183), or a prepositional adverb that function as an adverb and
a preposition like the verb fall in with in (184), or a prepositional adverb that
function as an adverb and a prepositional adverb that function as a preposition like
the verb live up to in (185).
(180) How are the kids settling into their new school? (App, 184)
(181) Could you get off work early tomorrow? (App, 126)
(182) After the first month, you should be able to get away with one
lesson a week (App, 107).
(183) I have a little money in the bank to fall back on (App, 77).
(184) She fell in with my idea at once (App, 84).
(185) He failed to live up to his parents' expectations (App, 157).
There are more differences among the particles of phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs than among the particles of prepositional verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. It can follow that the boundary between phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs is clearer than the boundary between prepositional
verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. However, such finding is changeable in that
the richness of the data of a study determines the finding(s) of the study. From the
analysis, it seems that the richness of the first group of the data of the study is less
than expected.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
The progressions from the basic meanings of the elements of the multi-
word verbs to the figurative ones are sometimes close so that they can be seen, but
sometimes the progressions are far and therefore they are difficult to be seen.
Such relations can be seen after comparing the meanings of the multi-word verbs
with the meanings of their free combinations. However, such analysis is relative
in that one can see some relations and another cannot. Some figurative meanings
are listed in the dictionary but some others are not. Then, attempting to interpret
the meanings of the multi-word verbs to some extent is similar to attempting to
interpret figurative language of some literary works.
From the analysis, it can be seen that there are three relative semantic
characteristics of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs. Firstly,
the meanings of some multi-word verbs can be seen from the combinations of the
meanings of their elements, which are used either literally or figuratively.
Secondly, the meanings of some others can be seen from the meanings of their
verbs; some particles intensify the meanings of the verbs and some others seem to
be less meaningful. Thirdly, the meanings of some other multi-word verbs are
difficult to be seen from the meanings of their elements.
It is said that the particles of the multi-word verbs determine the categories
of multi-word verbs. There are six criteria used to show the characteristics of the
multi-word verbs: direct objects movements to the positions before the particles,
139
140
AdvP insertions or movements to the positions before the particles, the functions
of the particles and the direct objects as syntactic units after reanalysis,
pronominal questions, adverbial questions, and passive transformations.
It is found out that there are eight characteristics of phrasal verbs. Firstly,
NP complements that are headed by nouns of some transitive phrasal verbs can be
optionally moved to the positions before the particles. Such complements of some
transitive phrasal verbs must be moved, and such of others cannot be moved to the
positions before the particles. Secondly, NP complements that are headed by
pronouns of some transitive phrasal verbs must be moved to the positions before
the particles. Such complements of others cannot be moved to the positions before
the particles. Thirdly, IP or CP complements of some transitive phrasal verbs can
be moved to the positions before the particles, but they can be said to tend to
appear after the particles because of their complexity. Such complements of some
other phrasal verbs must be moved to the positions before the particles and others
cannot be moved to such positions. Fourthly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to
the positions before the particles, except in VPs headed by transitive phrasal verbs
whose verbs and particles cannot be separated. Fifthly, the particles and the direct
objects do not function as syntactic units after reanalyses: they cannot occur in
sentence initial positions or before relative pronouns. Sixthly, the direct objects
can be questioned using pronominal questions. Seventhly, they cannot be
questioned using adverbial questions. Eighthly, some transitive phrasal verbs can
be turned into passives.
141
Then, there are six characteristics of prepositional verbs. Firstly, the direct
objects of prepositional verbs cannot be moved to the positions before the
particles. Secondly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to the positions before the
particles. Thirdly, the particles and the direct objects function as syntactic units
after reanalyses: the particles, which become prepositions after reanalyses, can
follow the direct objects, the complements of the PP headed by the prepositions –
they can occur in sentence initial positions and before relative pronouns. Fourthly,
the direct objects of prepositional verbs can be questioned using pronominal
questions. Fifthly, they cannot be questioned using adverbial questions. Sixthly,
some prepositional verbs can be turned into passives.
Next, there are six characteristics of phrasal-prepositional verbs. Firstly,
the direct objects of phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be moved to the positions
before the second or first particles. Secondly, AdvPs, which function as adjuncts
of the VPs headed by the verbs, can be inserted or moved to the positions before
the second particles or the first particles. Thirdly, the second particles or the
combinations of the first and second particles and the direct objects function as
syntactic units after reanalyses. The second particles, which are represented under
P nodes after reanalyses, can follow the direct objects, the complements of the PPs
headed by the prepositions: the particles can occur in sentence initial positions or
before relative pronouns. Fourthly, the direct objects allow pronominal questions.
Fifthly, the direct objects do not allow adverbial questions. Sixthly, some phrasal-
prepositional verbs can be turned into passives.
142
Having found the characteristics of the multi-word verbs, the similarities
among their particles can be seen. They lie on the first three criteria. There are two
similarities among the particles of phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. Firstly,
the particles of some transitive phrasal verbs and the particles of prepositional
verbs cannot be preceded by the direct objects. Secondly, AdvPs can be inserted
or moved to the positions before the particles.
Then, the particles of phrasal verbs and of phrasal-prepositional verbs also
have two similarities. Firstly, the particles of some phrasal verbs and the first and
the second particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be preceded by the
direct objects. Secondly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to the positions before
the particles.
Next, there are three similarities among the particles of prepositional and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. Firstly, the particles cannot be preceded by the direct
objects. Secondly, the particles can be preceded by AdvPs that function as
adjuncts of the VPs headed by the verbs. Thirdly, the particles and the direct
objects function as syntactic units after reanalyses.
The differences among the particles of the multi-word verbs can also be
seen from the three criteria. There are three differences among the particles of
phrasal verbs and of prepositional verbs. Firstly, the particles of some phrasal
verbs can or must be preceded by the direct objects, while the particles of
prepositional verbs cannot. Secondly, AdvPs can be inserted or moved to the
positions before the particles of some transitive phrasal verbs after reanalysis; they
can be inserted or moved to the positions before the particles of prepositional
143
verbs before reanalyses. Thirdly, the particles and the direct objects of transitive
phrasal verbs do not function as syntactic units after reanalyses, while the particles
and the direct objects of prepositional verbs do.
There are three differences among the particles of phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. Firstly, the particles of some transitive phrasal verbs
can or must be preceded by the direct objects, while the first and the second
particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot. Secondly, the particles of some
transitive phrasal verbs cannot be preceded by AdvPs; the first or the second
particles of phrasal-prepositional verbs can be preceded by AdvPs. Thirdly, the
particles and direct objects of transitive phrasal verbs do not function as syntactic
units after reanalyses, while the first particles or the combinations of the first and
the second particles and the direct object of phrasal-prepositional verbs do.
Related to the three criteria, the particles of prepositional verbs and of
phrasal-prepositional verbs do not have any difference.
The analysis results in one hypothesis that phrasal verbs, prepositional
verbs, and phrasal-prepositional verbs are from single words: verbs and
prepositions, adverbs, and prepositional adverbs (which are called particles when
they become the elements of the multi-word verbs). Some evidence can be seen
from the relative semantic characteristics of the multi-word verbs. The fact that
the elements can be represented under V, P, and Adv nodes can also support the
hypothesis. Besides, the syntactic analysis shows that the elements of the multi-
word verbs to some extent keep their syntactic characteristics as single words.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sia, Adelia Anasta. Adverbial Particles and Prepositions in University reading Texts: Meaning and Frequency Distribution. Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University, 1993.
Aitchison, Jean. Linguistics: A Concise Introduction to the Scope, Basic Concepts
and Essential Terminology of Linguistics. New York: David McKay and Co. Inc., 1978.
Alip, F. B. “Why TG?.” Phenomena: Journal of Language and Literature. Vol.
10 No. 1 (June 2006), pp. 11-21. Bach, Emmon. An Introduction to Transformational Grammars. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston Inc., 1964. Baker, C. L. English Syntax. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1989. Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
1968. Braham, Carol G., Enid Pearsons, Deborah M. Posner, Georgia S. Maas, and
Richard Goodman. eds. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. New York: Random House Inc., 2001.
Chomsky, Noam. Syntactic Structure. The Hague: Mouton and Co. Publishers,
1957. Cook, V. J. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar: An Introduction. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell Ltd., 1988. Crystal, David. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers, 1991. Dwijatmoko, B. B. English Syntax. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University Press,
2002. Fraser, Bruce. The Verb-Particle Combination in English. Tokyo: Taishukan
Publishing Company, 1974. Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to
Language. Boston: Thompson Corporation, 2003.
144
Haegeman, Liliane. Introduction to Government and Binding Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1991.
Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Compass. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2005. ______. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005. Krisdiyanta, Nugraha. An Analysis of English Passive Sentences based on the
Government and Binding Theory. Graduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University, 2004.
Locke, John. “Of Words.” The Philosophy of Language. ed. A. P. Martinich. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Matthews, P. H. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. New York:
Oxford University Press Inc., 1997. McArthur, Tom. “Phrasal Verb.” Concise Oxford Companion to the English
Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. <http://www. encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-PHRASALVERB.html> (26 November 2007).
O’Grady, William, Michael Dobrovolsky and Mark Aronoff. Contemporary
Linguistics: An Introduction. New York: St. Martin’s Press Inc., 1989. Palmer, F. R. A Linguistic Study of the English Verb. London: Longmans, Green
and Co. Ltd., 1965. ______. Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Student’s Grammar of the English
Language. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd., 1990. ______. A University Grammar of English. Harlow: Longman Group Ltd., 1973. Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A
Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman Group Ltd., 1985.
______. A Grammar of Contemporary English. London: Longman Group Ltd.,
1972. Radford, Andrew. Syntactic Theory and the Structure of English: A Minimalist
Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
145
______. Transformational Grammar: A First Course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Raniati, Indira Dewi. The Combinations of Verb + Particle Up and Verb +
Particle Down. Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma Teacher Training Institute, 1988.
Rukadah. Syntactic and Semantic Characteristics the Particles At, In, and On in
Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs in Cullen and Howard’s A Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Undergraduate Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University, 2005.
Rundell, Michael. “Understanding phrasal verbs: is there a system?.” MED
Magazine. May 2005. <http://www.macmillandictionary.com/MED- Magazine/may2005/30-Feature-Phrasal-Verbs.htm> (26 November 2007).
Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics. La Salle: Open Court
Publishing Company, 1986. Villavicencio, Aline and Ann Copestake. Verb-particle constructions in a
computational grammar of English. <http://www.google.com/search?q= cache:sLr8Q5JA6uIJ:lingo.stanford.edu/pubs/alinev/hpsg2002.ps.gz+verb-particle+combinations&hl=id&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=id&client=firefox-a> (26 November 2007).
Wikipedia contributors. “Phrasal verb.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <http:
//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phrasal_verb &oldid=170986557> (13 November 2007).
146
APPENDIX
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
1 It will take about an hour to get there, allowing for traffic delays.
√ √ √ √ √ √
2 All these factors must be allowed for. √ √ √ √ √ √ 3 We hadn’t bargained for this sudden change in the weather. √ √ √ √ √ √ 4 When he agreed to answer a few questions, he got more than
he bargained for. √ √ √ √ √ √
5 I didn’t bargain on finding them here as well. √ √ √ √ √ √ 6 I hadn’t bargained on them being here. √ √ √ √ √ √ 7 I hope you don’t mind me barging in like this. √ √ √ √8 He barged in on us while we were having a meeting. √ √ √ √9 Try not to bottle up your emotions. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 10 Break your expenditure down into bills, food and other. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 11 Each lesson is broken down into several units. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 12 Sugar and starch are broken down in the stomach. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 13 Burglars had broken in while we were away. √ √ √ √14 to break in new recruits √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 15 The young horse was not yet broken in. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 16 She longed to break in on their conversation but didn’t want
to appear rude. √ √ √ √
17 ‘I didn’t do it!’ she broke in. √ √ √ √18 We had our car broken into last week. √ √ √ √ √ √ √
147
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
19 As the President’s car drew up, the crowd broke into loud applause.
√ √ √ √ √ √ √
20 He broke into a run when he saw the police. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 21 Her horse broke into a trot √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 22 I had to break into a £20 to pay the bus fare. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 23 They had to break into the emergency food supplies. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 24 The company is having difficulty breaking into new markets. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 25 The back section of the plane had broken off. √ √ √ √26 He broke off in the middle of a sentence. √ √ √ √27 She broke off a piece of chocolate and gave it to me. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 28 Britain threatened to break off diplomatic relations. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 29 They’ve broken off their engagement. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 30 They had escaped to America shortly before war broke out in
1939. √ √ √ √
31 Fighting had broken out between rival groups of fans. √ √ √ √32 Fire broke out during the night. √ √ √ √33 Several prisoners broke out of the jail. √ √ √ √34 She needed to break out of her daily routine and do
something exciting. √ √ √ √
35 The ship broke up on the rocks. √ √ √ √36 Their marriage has broken up. √ √ √ √37 The meeting broke up at eleven o’clock. √ √ √ √38 When do you break up for Christmas? √ √ √ √39 He was breaking up under the strain. √ √ √ √40 Woody Allen makes me just break up. √ √ √ √
148
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
41 The ship was broken up for scrap metal. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 42 Sentences can be broken up into clauses. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 43 They decided to break up the partnership. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 44 Police were called in to break up the fight. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 45 She’s just broken up with her boyfriend. √ √ √ √46 to break with tradition / old habits / the past √ √ √ √ √ √ 47 The house burned down in 1895. √ √ √ √48 Burn off the old paint before repainting the door. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 49 This workout helps you to burn off fat and tone muscles. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 50 The fire had burnt out before the fire engines arrived. √ √ √ √51 The fire had burnt itself out before the fire engines arrived. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 52 The clutch has burnt out. √ √ √ √53 If he doesn’t stop working so hard, he’ll burn himself out. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 54 By the age of 25 she was completely burned out and retired
from the sport. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
55 The hotel was completely burnt out. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 56 the burnt-out wreck of a car √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 57 The spacecraft burned up as it entered the earth’s atmosphere. √ √ √ √58 You’re burning up—have you seen a doctor? √ √ √ √59 The way he treats me really burns me up. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 60 The fire burned up 1 500 acres of farmland. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 61 Which burns up more calories—swimming or cycling? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 62 The team failed to capitalize on their early lead. √ √ √ √ √ √ 63 She choked up when she began to talk about her mother. √ √ √ √64 Debit cards dispense with the need for cash altogether. √ √ √ √ √ √
149
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
65 I think we can dispense with the formalities. √ √ √ √ √ √ 66 We cannot afford to drop behind our competitors. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 67 I dropped off and missed the end of the film. √ √ √ √68 Traffic in the town has dropped off since the bypass opened. √ √ √ √69 He has dropped out of active politics. √ √ √ √70 a word that has dropped out of the language √ √ √ √71 She started a degree but dropped out after only a year. √ √ √ √72 His supporters fell away as his popularity declined. √ √ √ √73 The market for their products fell away to almost nothing. √ √ √ √74 All our doubts fell away. √ √ √ √75 The houses fell away as we left the city. √ √ √ √76 The enemy fell back as our troops advanced. √ √ √ √77 I have a little money in the bank to fall back on. √ √ √ √ √78 She fell back on her usual excuse of having no time. √ √ √ √ √79 She soon fell behind the leaders. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 80 And that’s where the theory falls down. √ √ √ √81 They fell for each other instantly. √ √ √ √ √82 I’m surprised you fell for that trick. √ √ √ √ √83 The sergeant ordered his men to fall in. √ √ √ √84 She fell in with my idea at once. √ √ √ √ √ √85 Attendance at my lectures has fallen off considerably. √ √ √ √86 They fell on him with sticks. √ √ √ √ √87 The children fell on the food and ate it greedily. √ √ √ √ √88 The full cost of the wedding fell on us. √ √ √ √ √89 Your meaning didn’t really get across. √ √ √ √
150
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
90 He’s not very good at getting his ideas across. √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 91 She wants to get ahead in her career. √ √ √ √92 He soon got ahead of the others in his class. √ √ √ √93 It’s time we were getting along. √ √ √ √94 She gets around with the help of a stick. √ √ √ √95 News soon got around that he had resigned. √ √ √ √96 He’s always getting at me. √ √ √ √ √ √ 97 She feels she’s being got at. √√ √ √ √ √ 98 The files are locked up and I can’t get at them. √ √ √ √ √ √ 99 The truth is sometimes difficult to get at. √ √ √ √ √ √ 100 We’re hoping to get away for a few days at Easter. √ √ √ √101 ‘These tickets didn’t cost me a thing.’ ‘Get away!’ √√ √ √102 I won’t be able to get away from the office before 7. √ √ √ √103 Thieves got away with computer equipment worth $30 000. √ √ √ √ √ √ 104 He was lucky to get away with only a fine. √ √ √ √ √ √ 105 Don’t be tempted to cheat—you’ll never get away with it. √ √ √ √ √ √ 106 Nobody gets away with insulting me like that. √ √ √ √ √ √ 107 After the first month, you should be able to get away with one
lesson a week. √ √ √ √ √ √
108 What time did you get back last night? √ √ √ √109 She’s got her old job back. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 110 I never lend books—you never get them back. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 111 How does she get by on such a small salary? √ √ √ √112 I can just about get by in German. √ √ √ √113 Did you get his number down? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
151
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
114 The train got in late. √ √ √ √115 The Republican candidate stands a good chance of getting in. √ √ √ √116 to get the crops / harvest in √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 117 Remember to get in some beers for this evening. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 118 I got in an hour’s work while the baby was asleep. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 119 She talks so much it’s impossible to get a word in. √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 120 Get off me, that hurts! √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 121 We got off straight after breakfast. √ √ √ √122 He got the children off to school. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 123 I had great difficulty getting off to sleep. √ √ √ √124 They couldn’t get the baby off till midnight. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 125 Could you get off early tomorrow? √ √ √ √126 Could you get off work early tomorrow? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 127 Please can we get off the subject of dieting? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 128 I couldn’t get him off politics once he had started. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 129 I must get these letters off first thing tomorrow. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 130 She was lucky to get off with just a few bruises. √ √ √ √131 He was lucky to get off with a small fine. √ √ √ √132 A good lawyer might be able to get you off. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 133 He’s getting on very well at school. √ √ √ √134 How did you get on at the interview? √ √ √ √135 Parents are always anxious for their children to get on. √ √ √ √136 I don’t know how he’s going to get on in life. √ √ √ √137 We can get on perfectly well without her. √ √ √ √138 I just can’t get along without a secretary. √ √ √ √
152
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
139 She and her sister have never really got on. √ √ √ √140 We get along just fine together. √ √ √ √141 She’s always harking back to how things used to be. √ √ √ √142 The newest styles hark back to the clothes of the Seventies. √ √ √ √143 He laid aside his book and stood up. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 144 Doctors have to lay their personal feelings aside. √√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 145 They had laid money aside for their old age. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 146 She laid the book down on the table. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 147 Both sides were urged to lay down their arms. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 148 to lay down your duties √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 149 You can’t lay down hard and fast rules. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 150 It is laid down that all candidates must submit three copies of
their dissertation. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
151 If you eat too much, the surplus is laid down as fat. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 152 to lay in food supplies √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 153 Come on, John. Lighten up! √ √ √ √154 Some college students will have to live out. √ √ √ √155 to live out your fantasies √ √ √ √ √ √ 156 He lived out his days alone. √ √ √ √ √ √ 157 He failed to live up to his parents' expectations. √ √ √ √ √ √ 158 The team called ‘The No-Hopers’ certainly lived up to its
name. √ √ √ √ √ √
159 Come on, Jo. Loosen up √ √ √ √160 All the parties seem anxious to nail down a ceasefire.
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
153
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
161 She says she’ll come, but I can’t nail her down to a specific time.
√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
162 They pigged out on pizza. √ √ √ √163 They surrendered without putting up much of a fight. √ √ √ √ √ √ 164 The team put up a great performance. √ √ √ √ √ √ 165 to put up an argument / a case / a proposal √ √ √ √ √ √ 166 We can put you up for the night. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 167 The Green Party hopes to put up more candidates in the next
election. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
168 to put up a flag √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 169 She’s put her hair up. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 170 to put up a building / fence / memorial / tent √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 171 to put up a notice √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 172 They’ve put up the rent by £20 a month. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 173 A local businessman has put up the £500 000 needed to save
the club. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
174 We put up at a motel. √ √ √ √175 He was trying to puzzle out why he had been brought to the
house. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
176 He rang off before I could explain. √ √ √ √177 She rang up all the items on the till. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 178 The company rang up sales of $166 million last year. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 179 I settled down with a book. √ √ √ √180 When are you going to get married and settle down?
√ √ √ √
154
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
181 It always takes the class a while to settle down at the start of the lesson.
√ √ √ √
182 In the end they had to settle for a draw. √ √ √ √ √ √ 183 I couldn’t afford the house I really wanted, so I had to settle
for second best. √ √ √ √ √ √
184 How are the kids settling into their new school? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 185 An innocent child’s life has been snuffed out by this senseless
shooting. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
186 to stave off hunger √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 187 I knew it was time I struck out on my own. √ √ √ √188 The movie struck out and didn’t win a single Oscar. √ √ √ √189 He lost his temper and struck out wildly. √ √ √ √190 In a recent article she strikes out at her critics. √ √ √ √191 The editor struck out the whole paragraph. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 192 He struck out towards the shore. √ √ √ √193 The orchestra struck up and the curtain rose. √ √ √ √194 The band struck up a waltz. √ √ √ √ √ √ 195 He would often strike up conversations with complete
strangers. √ √ √ √ √ √
196 I swear by almighty God that I will tell the truth. √ √ √ √ √ √ 197 She swears by meditation as a way of relieving stress. √ √ √ √ √ √ 198 He was sworn in as president. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 199 Why did she turn down your invitation? √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 200 He has been turned down for ten jobs so far. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 201 He asked her to marry him but she turned him down. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
155
A D H KNO
EXAMPLEB C E F G I J L M N
O P Q R S
202 Please turn the volume down. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 203 He turned the lights down low. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 204 Her feet turn in. √ √ √ √205 She threatened to turn him in to the police. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 206 He decided to turn himself in. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 207 You must turn in your pass when you leave the building. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 208 They turned in a petition with 80 000 signatures. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 209 I haven’t even turned in Monday’s work yet. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 210 The champion turned in a superb performance to retain her
title. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
211 Is this where we turn off? √ √ √ √212 The jet began to turn off the main runway. √ √ √ √ √ √213 I couldn’t understand the lecture so I just turned off. √ √ √ √214 People had been turned off by both candidates in the election. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 215 to turn off the light √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 216 Please turn the television off before you go to bed. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 217 The advertisements were designed to whip up public opinion. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 218 He was a speaker who could really whip up a crowd. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 219 She whipped up a delicious lunch for us in 15 minutes. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
156
Note : A : the meanings of the particles of phrasal, prepositional and phrasal-prepositional verbs
B : basic meanings C : figurative meanings
D : the categories of multi-word verbs E : phrasal verbs F : prepositional verbs G : phrasal-prepositional verbs
H : the types of multi-word verbs I : transitive verbs J : intransitive verbs
K : direct object movements to the position before the particles L : the movements of NP complements headed by nouns M : the movements of NP complements headed by pronouns N : the movements of IP and CP complements
O : AdvP insertions or AdvP movements to the position before the particles (the AdvPs function as adjuncts of the VPs headed by the verbs.)
P : the functions of the particles and the direct objects as syntactic units after reanalyses Q : pronominal questions (the direct objects) R : adverbial questions (the direct objects) S : passive transformations The analysis results presented in the columns H, K and S are based on certain grammatical information provided in the dictionary.
157
