| |
 |
Grammar: Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs |
| |
| |
| |
Note:
Like many grammar books, we divide multi-word verbs into:
- prepositional verbs
- phrasal verbs
- phrasal-prepositional verbs
Other grammars, however, call all multi-word verbs "phrasal verbs". |
|
Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English.
A multi-word verb is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words.
The other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multi-word verbs form a short "phrase"—which is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".s |
| |
|
| |
The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They do not have the same meaning.
So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are three types of multi-word verb: |
| |
| single-word verb |
look |
direct your eyes in a certain direction |
You must look before you leap. |
| multi-word verbs |
prepositional verbs |
look after |
take care of |
Who is looking after the baby? |
| phrasal verbs |
look up |
search for and find information in a reference book |
You can look up my number in the telephone directory. |
| phrasal-prepositional verbs |
look forward to |
anticipate with pleasure |
I look forward to meeting you. |
|
| |
| |
In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding: |
| |
|
| |
In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
