Phrasal verbs

Content

Introduction

Chapter I Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.1 The definition of the verb

Chapter I.1.1 The function of Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.2 History

Chapter I.2.2 The structure and meaning of Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.2.3 Categories of Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.2.4 Classification of Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.3 The Basic structure of Phrasal verbs

Chapter I.3.1 Preposition and postposition

Chapter I.3.2 Verbs with preposition and noun

Chapter I.3.3 Verbs with postposition

Chapter II. English Phrasal Verbs Lists

Chapter II.1 Phrasal verbs in use

Conclusions

Bibliography

Introduction

English grammar is the subject that provokes many argumentations. There are a lot of methods of approaching an investigator’s opinions. But nevertheless English grammar is a peculiar structure and the topic, which is worth to be researched.

The annual project is based on the descriptions of such grammatical phenomenon in English Grammar and language as «Phrasal Verbs» .

As is known, those grammatical categories have not been inquired to the full, therefore they are always topical.

The main purpose of the project is to explain the troubles that refer to the object of investigation and to give lists of Phrasal verbs and to explain their meanings.

The basis of this research is the problems that students most often come across with — «practical and theoretical value of the types of Phrasal verbs, the structure and their role in the English Grammar». [9]

In order to study the subject of the project we used the following methods.

— bibliographical method

— method of investigation

— method of description

— method of analysis Theoretical value of the work lies in the research of the formation and usage of the types of Phrasal verbs in the English Language.

Practical value lies in the fact that the present research work can be used by other students and teachers who are interested in such grammatical sentences for the following purposes:

— to improve their knowledge of the grammar structure of the English Language

— to understand the structure of the phrasal verbs

— to distinguish the types of phrasal verbs

— to get deeper knowledge about such phenomena in the English grammar as Phrasal verbs.

The research work consists of two chapters:

Chapter One contains the theoretical basis and general notions of the work. In this chapter we tried to give a definition of Phrasal verb, to analyze it and to give a classification of Phrasal verbs.

Chapter Two contains the List of Phrasal verbs. In this chapter we tried to show the meanings of phrasal verbs with different preposition.

Chapter I. Phrasal verbs

In the Modern English language the number of the Phrasal verbs grows. It is the evidence of many books and dictionaries devoted to Phrasal verbs and their applications. Together with the growth in number, the frequency of the usage also grows. This means that the Phrasal verbs carry out their necessary function because of greater conciseness and significance at the same time.

Phrasal verbs are used not only in the spoken language; several of them are the integral part of the language of the newspapers and of the official business.

Before proceeding to the description of the Phrasal verbs, it is necessary to give the definition of the verbs and of their function.

1.1. The Definition of the Verb

A verb is a word used primarily to indicate a type of action, such as to fly or to wish, though it may also be used to indicate a general state of existence, such as to live. There is also a special type of verb, known as a copula or linking verb, which helps to describe the subject of the sentence, rather than describing an action. The primary example of this in English is the verb to be which is usually used in the role of linking verb. A verb is one of the basic building blocks of a sentence in most languages, with most grammatical sentences requiring at least one noun acting as a subject, and one verb to indicate an action.

Verbs can be inflected, which means the verb is changed in some way to indicate something about the sentence the verb is a part of. A verb may be inflected to describe virtually anything. [1][11]

1.1.1 The Function of the Verb

Dance! Sing! Paint! Giggle! Chew! What are these words doing? They are expressing action, something that a person, animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a result, words like these are called action verbs.

There are three properties which characterize verbs in English — tense, voice, and mood.

The voice of a verb, passive or active, expresses whether the action is being received by the subject or being done by the subject. The two voices may occur in any tense.

The mood of a verb expresses the conditions under which an action or condition is taking place. In English there are three moods—indicative, subjunctive, or imperative. Indicative and subjunctive can be in any tense; imperative, only in the present tense.

Verbs are also classified according to function. Action verbs show action or possession. Action verbs are either transitive or intransitive. Linking verbs show the condition of the subject. Auxiliary verbs, also called helping verbs, are used with other verbs to change the tense, voice, or condition of the verb.

Conditional verbs are verbs conjugated with could, would, or should to show a possible condition. They may be in any tense.

A verb is often defined as a word which shows action or state of being. The verb is the heart of a sentence — every sentence must have a verb. Recognizing the verb is often the most important step in understanding the meaning of a sentence. In the sentence: the dog bit the man, bit is the verb and the word which shows the action of the sentence. In the sentence: the man is sitting on a chair, even though the action doesn’t show much activity, sitting is the verb of the sentence. In the sentence: she is a smart girl, there is no action but a state of being expressed by the verb is. The word be is different from other verbs in many ways but can still be thought of as a verb.

Unlike most of the other parts of speech, verbs change their form. Sometimes endings are added (learn — learned) and sometimes the word itself becomes different (teach-taught). The different forms of verbs show different meanings related to such things as tense (past, present, and future), person (first person, second person, third person), number (singular, plural) and voice (active, passive). Verbs are also often accompanied by verb-like words called modals (may, could, should, etc.) and auxiliaries (do, have, will, etc.)

One of the most important things about verbs is their relationship to time. In English the fourteen verb tenses express the time or relative time in which an action or condition occurs. Verbs tell if something has already happened, if it will happen later, or if it is happening now. For things happening now, we use the present tense of a verb; for something that has already happened, we use the past tense; and for something that will happen later, we use the future tense. [10]

1.2 Phrasal verbs

1.2.1 History

Since phrasal verbs were not investigated until the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, although they have been part of the English language for centuries, their history is still a controversial subject. Rolando Bachelor says it is «impossible to write an exhaustive and definitive history of phrasal verbs.» The term itself, «phrasal verb,» was first seen in print in 1925 when Logan Pearsall Smith used it in Words and Idioms; it was supposedly suggested to him by Editor Henry Bradley (Oxford Companion 772). Phrasal verbs themselves, however, have been around much longer, as can be seen by looking at some Shakespearean and Middle English works.

Torne about and goon dour, for example, are both phrasal verbs that have been found in Middle English language in 1300 and 1388, respectively, and phrasal verbs are common in Shakespeare’s works. Even though they were present in literature in the fourteenth century, they weren’t considered serious formations until the eighteenth century, when lexicographer Samuel Johnson noted them «with great care» in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755).

Olga Fischer believes the emergence of phrasal verbs to be «the most notable new development in Middle English [the form of the English language spoken and written from about the 12th to the beginning of the 16th centuries] involving prepositions» (386). Phrasal verbs developed because Old English [the earliest from of the English language, used up to around A.D. 1150 prefixes were deteriorating (Cambridge History 377), and they have now practically replaced the prefixes (Fischer 386). The deterioration of Old English prefixes came about because it was becoming impossible to establish undeviating meanings for them (Cambridge 377). Bachelor argues in his commentary that «phrasal verbs are a native development that in some measure received a boost from the [Scandinavian, French, and Celtic] languages.» In fact, the development of phrasal verbs in both the northern and southern dialects at the same time attests to their native development. Also, since phrasal verbs are used more in vernacular English than in formal and since lexically mature verb-particle combinations have been found in the mid-twelfth century, some experts argue that «we must suppose the type to have become deeply entrenched even before period IV [i.e. the period between 1170 and 1370]» (Fischer 398). Even then, phrasal verbs did not show much fortitude until the fifteenth century. The expansion of phrasal verbs occurred with the adoption of the Subject Verb Object (SVO) word-order (Bachelor). One researcher, Kennedy, proposes the idea that this took place because the invasion of Romance compound verbs stunted the growth of new verb-particle combinations (Fischer 398). The history of phrasal verbs is still under debate today. [8]

1.2.2 The structure and meaning of phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a combination of a «simple» verb (consisting of one word). (For example: come, put, go) and a postposition (for example: in, off, up), representing semantic and syntactic uniform unit.

For example: come in — to enter give up — to cease The phrasal verb can be replaced by a «simple» verb. It characterizes a phrasal verb as semantic unity:

call up — telephone

come by — obtain

put off — postpone

put up with — tolerate. [16]

But this criterion is not common for all phrasal verbs since the equivalent of many phrasal verbs is a word-combination:

break down — stop functioning

make up — apply cosmetics

take off — of a plane — leave the ground. [17]

The next peculiarity is idiomatic. The idiom is a combination of two or more words, whose value does not coincide with the value of its components. Many phrasal verbs have the value which is impossible to deduce from the values of its components.

For example: bring up — educate

give up — stop doing, using, etc.

go off — explode; ring

come by — obtain.

It is difficult to define the meaning of an idiomatic verb.

So for example the verbs fall down and pull off, on the one hand, don’t possess any idiomatic value.

fall down — to fall

pull off — to remove, pull down

But these verbs have also the following dictionary values.

fall down — 1) to admire (to someone in power)

2) to fail, unsuccessfully to terminate

pull off — 1) to achieve, despite difficulties

2) to win (a prize, competition)

So, the given property is not the core for phrasal verbs.

Sometimes the value of a verb can be deduced from its components.

Some phrasal verbs have two and more values, one of which idiomatic, others opposite which are easily deduced from their components.

Many linguists consider the ability of phrasal verbs to form the passive voice as one of their basic properties.

For example: Payments are limited to 10% each month.

This medicine must be measured out exactly.

The next property of a phrasal verb is the possibility to have adverbial postposition before and after a noun used with the given verb. For object the final position bears the big semantic loading, therefore if addition does not bear the new or important information, usually it settles down interposition.

For example: Call him up or call up him (not his sister)

If the object is expressed by several words, it, most likely, will be taking of a final position.

For example: He put on the coat he had bought in London.

If the object is expressed by a pronoun, it always is interposition.

For example: He took his coat and put it on. [15]

1.2.3 Categories of Phrasal verbs

Considering the syntactic indivisible combinations of the verb and a postposition with perspective brought by postpositions in their values I.E. Anichkov distinguishes five categories of such combinations:

1) Combinations in which the postposition has specifically spatial meaning,

For example: go in, come out, take away, bring, back).

2) Combinations in which the postposition is an abstract derived value, whose contact with the primary meaning is felt

For example: let a person down = fail him;

come in = find a place;

bring out = expose;

pull through = recover;

pick up = acquire;

3) A combination in which only the postposition underlines or supports the importance of the verb.

For example: fall down, rise up, turn over, and circle round;

4) A combination of values, which don’t arise from the values of verbs and postpositions are not felt as emanating from them, and are semantically decomposable.

For example: come about = happen

fall out = quarrel

give up = abandon

drop off = fall asleep;

take in = deceive;

5) A combination in which the postposition brings lexically specific hue.

The last bit postposition brings nuance:

a) perfective: eat up = eat the hole;

Carry out = execute;

b) terminative means not complete action and termination an unfinished action:

Leave off work;

Give up an attempt;

c) inchoative or inceptive:

strike up a tune, light up = begin smoking;

break out = to start suddenly (of violent events).

g) Durative or longer:

Go on, talk away, struggle along;

d) interactive, or repeated. Such postpositions as again, anew, afresh, sometimes back and over endorsing the verb form a combination with value of the repetition of steps:

Write again, write anew, and write afresh…

But the classification of verb phrase is not absolute.

The boundaries between the discharges are not clearly established, and the verb in one case may apply to the second level, and the other to the fourth. This may be due to the fact that the etymology of the verb in time to reveal all complex and, consequently, its value is not derived from his components. In addition, there are always words that allow different interpretations.

So, this classification should be called conditional. [13]

1.2.4 Classification of Phrasal verbs

Group verb is very diverse as to their compatibility, as well as the added value that they are or who they acquire in the text. They can express the character of the transition from one state to another, inducing action, etc., but in all cases action is always a value, the prisoners in the verb.

Very large and diverse group of phrase verbs express the movement and at the same time describing it. Verbs of this group often express not just the traffic and move from one place to another. Therefore, most of them used to Postpositions indicating direction of movement (into, out, up, to).

For example: stand up — stand up;

go out — go, go;

go into — enter;

jump into — jump, leap;

It should be noted cases where the phrasal verb is termination, or, conversely, the beginning of the movement.

For example: get over — to end, away from anything;

jump down — jumping off, jump off;

run out — run out;

throw off, get off — to start (something);

A very large group consists of group verb, expressing the transition object from one state to another, or his movement.

In fact, verbs of motion objecting to the transition from immobility or beginning of motion, can be attributed to this group or be considered as an intermediate link. Generally, the boundaries between different groups of phrase verbs are very unsteady in lexical terms, so it is not easy determined.

For example: 1) move in = to take possession of a new place to live

move towards — to go in the direction of (something or someone)

2) to change one’s opinion in the direction of.

move off = to start a journey; leave.

The third group belongs to group verb with semantic component «Lack of change of an object» .

For example: stay behind;

to remain at a distance behind something or someone;

keep behind; stay down = to remain at a lower level ;

remain ahead = to stay in a forward or leading position

The following group of values is dominated by verbal component «image Movement «.

For example: walk away from = to leave (something or someone) on foot;

walk about / around = to walk in a place without direction;

spin along = to move forward easily a quite quickly with a

rolling movement;

frighten away / off = to make (somebody) leave through fear. 5][9] [6]

1.3 The Basic Structure of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs that form a combination (a phrase) with postpositions or prepositions and nouns. Such structures are usually idiomatic in meaning, and should be memorized as such. 6]

For studying purposes, phrasal verbs can be divided into basic structures:[6]

1. Preposition and post preposition

2. Verbs with prepositions and noun

3. Verbs with post prepositions

1.3.1 Prepositions and Postpositions

Prepositions and postpositions in English are the same in form but different in function. Some prepositions are not used as postpositions, for example, «at, for, from, into, onto, of, with». Some postpositions are not used as prepositions, for example, «ahead, apart, aside, away, back, and forward». But some of them can function as prepositions or postpositions depending on the structure in which they are used, for example, «about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, in, off, on, out, over, through, under, up», so it’s important to understand the difference between them.

A preposition is used with a noun (or its substitute), stands before it, and is not stressed. A preposition is part of a prepositional noun phrase, which means that a preposition always needs a noun. A postposition is used with a verb, stands after it, usually forms an idiom with this verb (it changes the meaning of the verb), and is always stressed. A postposition is part of the predicate, which means that a postposition always needs a verb. Some linguists call postpositions «adverbs», «adverbial particles» or «preposition-adverbs», because they are adverbial in character.

How did he get in? How did he get in / into the house?

In the first sentence, the postposition «in» is part of the phrasal verb «get in», is stressed, and in this sentence receives the falling intonation. In the second sentence, the preposition «in» or «into» belongs to the noun «the house» and is not stressed. 5]

1.3.2 Verbs with prepositions and nouns

In the structure «Verb with preposition and noun», the verb dictates the choice of a specific preposition, and this means that in many cases you need to learn these phrases by heart. A suitable noun or its substitute (a pronoun, a gerund, a question word) is always used in this structure and always stands after its preposition. In the lists of phrasal verbs, the words «something» and «someone» show where exactly the nouns stand in this structure. A suitable noun is chosen by the speaker according to the situation, for example:

We agreed on the price of 50 dollars.

We agreed on going to Rome in the spring

We agreed on it. What did you agree on?

Quite often, a direct object (another noun or pronoun) goes between the verb and the preposition with noun in this structure, for example:

I congratulate you on your new job.

She blames Mike for the loss of her bag.

1.3.3 Verbs with Postpositions

There are two key elements in this structure: the verb and the postposition. Phrasal verbs of this kind present the most difficulty as they are highly idiomatic, i.e. their meaning is not predictable from the meanings of their components, and they usually have several idiomatic meanings. Many verbs can be used as phrasal verbs with postpositions, but the most important and the most productive are the verbs of motion: break, bring, call, check, close, come, cut, do, drop, fall, get, give, go, look, make, move, pick, pull, push, put, run, set, show, take, tear, turn and some others. And the verb «be» — the biggest verb of English.

The meaning of a phrasal verb with a postposition is usually idiomatic, that is, different from the literal meanings of its components, for example:

This question is too difficult, I give up.

Watch out! The bus is coming!

The phrasal verb «give up» is idiomatic, because it means «stop trying to do something», not the sum of the literal meanings of the words «gives» and «up». The phrasal verb «watch out» is idiomatic, because it means «be careful», not the sum of the literal meanings of the words «watch» and «out» .

A verb with a postposition may be without any noun after it, or there may be a direct or indirect object after it, for example: [2]

They broke in.

They broke in the door.

They broke in through the window.

When a pronoun is used instead of a noun, it usually stands between the verb and the postposition:

They brought up their three sons in Italy

They brought them up in Italy

Fill out the form. Fill it out.

In spoken English, a direct object in the form of a short noun or someone’s name may also stand between the verb and the postposition:

Let in Anna Blake. Let Anna Blake in.

But the postposition shouldn’t be placed too far from the verb or separated from it by intonation, because they create the meaning of the phrasal verb together.

Many verbs with postpositions, especially the verbs of motion, are also used in the literal meaning of the phrasal verb:

Put your boots out, I’ll clean them.

Don’t forget to put out the light before you leave.

Look up the new words.

He stopped reading and looked up.

The phrasal verb «put out» in the first sentence literally means «put outside» and is the sum of the meanings of «put» and «out». The phrasal verb «put out» in the second sentence is idiomatic, because it means «extinguish (the light, fire or cigarette)» and is not the sum of the literal meanings of «put» and «out» .

The phrasal verb «look up» in the first sentence is idiomatic, because it means «find in a reference book» and is not the sum of the literal meanings of «look» and «up». The phrasal verb «look up» in the second sentence literally means «look up» and is the sum of the meanings of «look» and «up» .

The literal meanings of verbs with postpositions present no difficulty for understanding. The literal meanings of the postpositions in such phrasal verbs often correspond to the meaning of prefixes in Russian verbs, for example: come in, go out, run out, give away, turn away, etc.

But verbs with postpositions very rarely, if ever, have only the literal meaning or only one meaning. Verbs with postpositions are verbs with several idiomatic meanings, and this means that they can be used in different situations instead of more specific verbs.

Verbs with postpositions are mostly used in simple tenses. Verbs with postpositions are usually less formal than their one-word synonyms and because of that they are widely used in conversational English.

There is a variation (or combination) of the two basic structures described above, in which a verb with a postposition takes a preposition and a suitable noun after it, for example:

I’m looking forward to your letter.

She walked out on him.

He is through with the report.

So, in the chapter one I tried to give common definition to verbs, its function on the English grammar. Also I gave a History and a definition of Phrasal verb and its categories, classification and the basic structure of Phrasal verbs. 6]

CHAPTER II. ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS LISTS.

2.1 List of Phrasal Verbs

In this chapter we tried to show different of the meanings of Phrasal verbs which depend on preposition: [7][4][10]

Phrasal verbs with the preposition «on» which express:

beginning something:

come on Just as I entered the house, all the lights came on.

catch on I don’t think this strange new fashion catches on.

bring on The waiter brought the next dish on.

continuing with something:

go on We begin work at 12 and go on till half-past one.

keep on Keep on with your studies, however hard it

sometimes seems.

stay on You’re supposed to stop work here when you’re 65,

but many people are allowed to stay on.

drag on The writer dragged on an unhappy existence for many

years until in the end she killed herself.

" Progressing"

move on Let’s move on to the business of the meeting.

get on It is getting on for supper-time.

come on A storm is coming on.

" Wearing"

put on He put his coat on hurriedly and ran out of the house.

try on She tried on new dress and shoes

throw on Mr. Smith threw on the coat and disappeared

slip on He stopped only long enough to slip a coat on.

On — Other meanings

look on Two men stole the jewels while a large crowd looked on

pick on Pick on one job and get it done.

take on Don’t take on so!

Phrasal Verbs with «In»

" Arriving/Entering"

come in «Come in!» called the director when he heard the knock at his door.

drop in Let’s drop in on Jim and Mary

pop in One of the guests popped in to say goodbye

get in Please get the children in, their dinner’s ready.

check in Has Mr. Light checked in at the hotel yet?

" Beginning"

bring in We may have to bring extra workers in to help us with this big job.

phase in The teacher phase in the children to the new game.

set in Rain set in.

" Being involved"

call in The director has just called in to say that he’ll be late.

fill in I’m just filling in here temporarily.

put in I put in two hours on my English studies every day.

join in He joins in our conversation

go in for How long has Jim gone in for collection stamps?

" Collapsing/Surrendering"

cave in The last firm he worked for caved in

do in You’d better go ahead; I’m done in and must rest

here.

give in The two boys fought until one gave in.

chuck in Jim has chucked in his studies.

" Understanding"

sink in You could see how his cheeks had sunk in.

take in I was taken in by his appearance.

Phrasal Verbs with «Up»

" Increasing/Improving"

go up The barometer is going up at a tremendous rate

grow up When Jack grows up he wants to be a fireman

pick up Jim dropped his pen and bent to pick it up.

push up Shops are no longer allowed to push up their prices

speed up The tempo of music speeds up

bump up Two more good results will bump up your average.

brush up I must brush up my French.

do up But who is to do up your room every day?

dress up Mary (was) dressed up for the party.

" Completing/Finishing"

use up John felt used up

clear up When you’ve finished your meal, please clear up the kitchen.

drink up Drink up, then I’ll refill your glass.

end up Be careful, you could end up by getting hurt.

follow up The director will follow up the committee’s suggestions.

" Damaging/Disrupting"

blow up It looks as if it’s blowing up for severe weather.

break up In spring the ice on the Great Lakes breaks up.

wind up I’m afraid he’s wound up.

mess up She really messed up my life.

mix up My papers are all mixed up.

slip up Someone must have slipped up.

split up Can you split up this piece of wood?

" Happening/Creating"

come up I’ll let you know if anything comes up.

bring up I was brought up to respect the law.

come up with I had to run to come up with her.

think up What have you been thinking up?

make up These three articles make up the whole book.

" Approaching/Reaching"

go up I want to go up to London next week.

draw up The train drew up in the station.

catch up He spent six months catching up with his studies.

face up to She is too young to face up to the truth about her father.

live up to You must live up to law.

" Preparing/Arranging"

warm up The sun warmed up the seat nicely

draw up He soldiers were drawn up in battle lines.

set up My father me set up a Mother’s day.

soften up You go in and soften father up, and then I’ll ask him for the money.

fix up Can you fix up a meeting with the director?

Other Meanings

show up Show the doctor up when he comes.

take up I will not take up any more of your time.

put up with I can’t put up with it any longer.

make up for Your office must make up for a loss.

Phrasal Verbs with " Down"

" Decreasing/Reducing"

bring down The gunners brought down three planes.

calm down Calm down, there’s nothing to worry about.

come down The plane came down safely in spite of the mist.

cut down Your article will have to be cut down to fit into the book.

die down The fire is dying down, put some more wood on!

keep down If there’s shooting going on, keep down.

narrow down Let’s narrow an argument down.

play down Politicians have to learn to play down to the voters.

slow down The severe snowstorm has slowed the traffic down.

scale down The number of visitors scales down.

" Failing/Destroying"

break down The police broke the door down.

let down Don’t let down now, just when the job’s nearly finished.

close down Darkness closed down on the city.

step down The quantity of medicine to be taken can be stepped down

gradually after the first week.

turn down Why do you turn down the volume on the radio ?

" Writing"

take down Can you take down this address?

jot down I must jot down that telephone number before I forget it.

get down Get down every word she says.

put down Would you put them down to my account?

write down Write down, please, this examples.

scribble down I scribbled down the telephone number, and now I can’t read it.

" Defeating/Collapsing"

break down Peace talks have broken down in the Middle East.

bring down Shopkeepers have been asked to bring down their prices.

crack down The government has promised to crack down on criminal activity.

hunt down We’ve been hunting down a good cheap house all over the city.

knock down The price was knocked down to 3 dollars.

wear down The record is worn down.

Other Meanings

get down to It’s time we got down to work.

look down on She looked down on Jim and thought he was not worthy of her daughter.

pin down It is difficult to pin down the exact meaning of this verb.

put down He put his heavy bag down on the ground.

Phrasal Verbs with " Out"

" Outside/Leaving"

break out Three men broke out of prison yesterday.

go out I don’t think you should out with that bad cold.

move out When do you moved out?

pop out I had just popped out for a breath of fresh air.

set out He set out for work an hour ago.

check out I’m afraid old Charlie has checked out.

" Excluding/Removing"

cancel out His good qualities and his faults cancel out.

cross out Cross out the last two names, they’re not members any more.

keep out Do keep children out of mischief.

kick out Don’t kick the cat out like that, it’s cruel.

leave out No possibility must be left out.

opt out It can not be that he opted out of society.

pull out А good holiday will pull you out.

rule out A sudden storm ruled out the boat race.

throw out His master threw him out.

" Searching/Finding"

check out I’m just going to check this book out of the library.

find out We should find out the truth.

figure out Can you figure out this word?

sound out Could you sound the director out on this question?

try out Did Mr. Smith try out a plane?

" Disappearing/Ending"

fade out Fade out the last scene at the end.

peter out The climbers' efforts to reach the top petered out.

phase out The makers have decided to phase out the production of this car.

run out The contract runs out next week.

sell out Have you sold out all the tickets yet?

wipe out The police men wipe out the enemy.

" Producing" (especially sounds, signals, etc.)

blurt out Peter blurted out the news before he considered its effect.

call out Jane call out when she saw her friend across the street.

cry out Jane, don’t cry one’s heart out.

let out He let out a cry of pain as the nail went into his foot.

speak out Speak out, we can’t hear you.

spill out At last he spill out the story of his part in the crime.

" Giving/Helping or Supporting"

bear out The prisoner’s story was borne out by his wife.

give out The sun gives out light and heat to the earth.

hand out Hand out the question papers as the students enter.

help out Can you help me out with my English homework?

pass out How many of the young men passed out this year?

point out The guide took us through the city, pointing interesting sights out.

Other Meanings

carry out We all have certain duties and jobs to carry out.

sort out Wait till I get you outside, and I’ll sort you out!

stand out He stood out for better terms.

take out He never takes me out.

walk out on You can’t walk out on your family at a time like this.

Phrasal Verbs with " Off"

" Departing"

drop off My top button has dropped off and I can’t find it.

get off We must be getting off now.

head off Your should head off a quarrel.

see off All the parents were at the railway station, seeing the children off to school.

set off He set off for work an hour ago.

take off He took me off to the garden. [17]

" Preventing/Rejecting"

fight off I must wear warm clothes, as I am fighting off this cold.

hold off Why you hold your decision?

keep off Keep off the subject!

put off Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

scare off Higher coffee prices are scaring off the customers.

ward off The fighter had to ward off a dangerous blow. 16]

" Finishing/Completing"

carry off It was a daring attempt but he carried it off.

finish off I must finish off the work while the light is good.

pay off It’s a good feeling to pay off the house after all these years.

pull off John at last pulled examine off.

top off Top off your compositions and put off. [15]

Other Meanings

call off The game was called off.

cool off It cools off with extreme slowness.

rip off John wouldn’t dare to rip off a bank.

show off I think he visited us just to show off his new car.

tell off Six of us were told off to get fuel. [16]

" Phrasal Verbs with " Back"

" Returning"

bring back You must bring these library books back next week.

call back/phone back I’ll call you back.

get back When did your neighbors get back from their holiday?

give back When can you give back the money?

take back My mind took me back to that evening .

" Repeating/Reciprocating"

answer back She always taught him not to answer back.

bounce back Small children often catch diseases, but they soon bounce back.

fight back She fought back her tears as she said goodbye.

pay back We will pay them back for the trick they played on us.

strike back He had a chance to strike back.

" Controlling/Suppressing"

choke back Jim had to choke back his anger or he would have hit the man.

cut back The factory’s production has been cut back.

fight back I had to fight back a desire to laugh at the small child’s remark.

hold back I held back from jumping into the cold water

Phrasal Verbs with " Away"

Away when combined with different verbs, can have the meaning of leaving, disappearing, or storing.

" Leaving/Separating"

break away Part of the country broke away to form a new nation.

drive away Don’t drive people away who want to help you.

get away I couldn’t get away at all last year, I was too busy.

go away There was no answer to my knock, so I went away

keep away The doctor advised Jim to keep away from fattening foods.

move away Losing interest, the crowd moved slowly away.

run away Don’t run away, I want to talk to you.

scare away Higher coffee prices are scaring away the customers.

take away You may take away. [17]

" Disappearing/Making Something Disappear"

chuck away Why did you chuck your money away on such a worthless plan?

do away with This old custom is done away with.

fade away The music faded away.

give away The politician gave away his best chance to win the election

pass away Why the animals pass away?

throw away John throw away an advantage to rest.

" Hiding/Storing"

file away I’ll file his name away for future use.

hideaway Muslim women hide away their faces.

lock away She locked her memories of him away in her heart.

put away Please put your toys away.

Phrasal Verbs with " Over"

Common phrasal verbs of " over" like think things over or check things over carry the meaning of considering or examining. However, when combined with other verbs, «over» can also carry the meaning of changing or transferring.

" Considering/Examining"

check over I asked the doctor to check me over.

look over We must look the school over before sending our son there.

mull over / think over Think over what I’ve said.

talk over Mrs. Taylor talk the prosecutor over her innocence.

" Changing/Transferring"

change over / Switch over If you change the words over, the sentence sounds over.

hand over The escaped criminal was handed over to the police.

move over There’s room for three if you move over.

take over I want to take her all over the house.

Other Meanings

blow over I hope your troubles will soon blow over.

carry over The rights to the property carry over to the buyer.

get over How can we get over? The traffic’s so busy.

run over The bathwater is running over!

smooth over Perhaps a gift of flowers will help to smooth your quarrel over.

2.1 Phrasal verbs in use

The most import thing is to understand the meanings of English phrasal verbs and to be able to use them in speech and in writing. English people use them all the time: we can meet phrasal verbs in songs, magazines and newspaper articles. For example: [2] [14]

We can give examples found in literature

1. What he saw was worse than he had figured out.

2. Very few people care about orphans.

1. The French Revolution broke out in 1789.

2. A man was brought up to the standards set by Reason.

3. The romantic poets, who could not put with and longed to transcend the limits set by nature and society to man, searched for permanence.

4. The challenge resulted in the emancipation of the creative imagination.

5. These views f the poet account for the fact that romantic poetry is largely inward-looking.

6. The penetrably of mystery attracted the romantic soul, but it was constantly pulled back into the real.

1. We find it difficult to keep in touch with ourselves.

2. Music helps us to keep in touch with ourselves.

3. Song stopped being a song and turned into sound.

4. The Beatles came along and solved the problem.

Also phrasal verbs used in the language of computing and the Internet are overwhelmingly English.

Whether you’re e-mailing or using word processor, surfing the net or just chatting with your friend about the new computer you’ve just bought, you’re sure to come across the verbs listed below.

pop up — appear suddenly

Every time I open this site, a new window pops up saying that I won a free prize.

scroll down — move (a page) down

There was a long list of names on the webpage and I had to scroll down to view all of them.

dial up — dial a number that connects a computer with an Internet service provider

Sometimes it takes my computer for ever to dial up to my Internet service provider.

plug in — insert a plug into an electric outlet

She forgot to plug in her printer and was wondering why it didn’t work.

log in — enter a computer by providing username and password

I log in to my bank account every week to check my balance.

set up — establish

I asked my friend help me set up my email account.

It is sensible to back up your files regularly. That way you can always restore an important document if it gets deleted.

Wait till the PC boots up, then log in and run the programs you need.

My PC broke down and I couldn’t use it until somebody came and fixed it for me.

I can’t listen to music on my computer because my speakers are not connected up.

The computer went down and when I booted up again the report I’d been working on had disappeared!

You must log in to the local network to be able to share files with other people.

You must log out and then log in again for the changes to take effect.

There’s something wrong with my printer: it lets me print out one page at a time only.

I don’t see any point in shutting down my PC when I go to lunch — I rarely spend more than fifteen minutes away from the computer during the working day.

Make sure you save all the documents you’ve been working with before you switch off your PC.

Some older PCs don’t allow you to switch them on by clicking your mouse or pushing a key on the keyboard.

To post a message on this forum, type in your name and your message, then hit the 'Submit' button.

The virus wiped out all the data stored on the computer. 15]

Conclusion

It is not an exaggeration when we say that the items about Phrasal verbs are one of the main and important items of theoretical study and practical mastering of the English language.

Phrasal verbs take a considerable place in vocabulary verbs of Modern English language and are generally used in idiomatic phrases. Their functioning is heterogeneous with a view to their great variety. The development and supplementation of Phrasal verbs system proceeds in two directions: new verbs inclusion and semantic development.

In our paper we have analyzed about one hundred twenty verbs, taken from the informal speech. As a result, we can make the following conclusion:

Phrasal verbs are frequently used. Their usage becomes usual phenomena in English grammar as well as mass media.

As a rule usage of phrasal verbs in stylistic is not heterogeneous.

Having classified Phrasal verbs, taken from the informal speech with a view to their meaning we made a conclusion that the verbs with postposition «on» and «up» predominate as a large quantity of verbs with these postpositions are polysemantic.

Having the list of Phrasal verbs we can make the conclusion that postposition plays the main role in the semantic meaning of the verb. And those phrasal verbs usage in the informal speech allows us to express our thioughts and make our speech more dynamic and diverse.

So, this annual project can be used for studying and teaching this phenomenon in the course English grammar and for learning their meaning more deeply. [10]

Bibliography

1. Bollinger, D., (1971), The Phrasal Verb in English, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.

2. Brazil, D. A Grammar of Speech D. Brazil. — Oxford University Press, 1995

3. Brinton, L., (1988), The Development of English Aspectual Systems, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

4. Comrie, B., (1976), Aspect, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

5. Live, A. H., (1965), The Discontinuous Verb in English, Word 21: 428−51.

6.Арнольд, И. В. Стилистика современного английского языка. И. В. Арнольд. — М.: Просвещение, 1981.

7. Speak English. English for Romanians. Magazine. 1, 1991,

Internet sources

8. Academic center: English as a Foreign Language http:// www.uhv.edu

/ac/elf/phrasal verbs. asp

9. English as 2^nd Language http://esl.about.com/cs/intermediate/f/f.phrasal.htm.

11. Longman Dictionary of Phrasal verbs", http://www.answer.com/topic/phrasal verbs

11. Phrasal verbs quiz http://www.stuff.co.uk/phrasal.htm.

12. Phrasal verbs h p://2udnature-online-eikaiwa.com/Phrasl verbs

13. English as 2^nd Language http://esl.about.com/cs/intermediate/f/f.phrasal.htm

14. The Oxford companion to the «English Language» http://www.answers.com/topic/phrasal verbs

15. The owl at Product http://owl.english product. Edu/owl|resource/6301/01/

Dictionaries

16. Новейший англо-русский словарь, русско-английский.- К.: Издательство «Арий», М.: ИКТЦ «Лада», 2008,-960

17. Online-dictionary LINGVO

18. Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English [Text] / A.S. Hornsby with the assistance of A.P. Cowie, J. Windsor Lewis. — Oxford University Press, 1978. — 1055 p.

Ministry of Education and Youth

Slavonic University

Department of Romanic-Germanic Languages

Submitted by

Kadin Mariani

LE — 07−02

Research adviser

Elenciuc V.S.

Senior Teacher

Chisinau, 2009