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UNIT 17 PHRASAL VERBS-1 1 I Structure 17.0 Objectives 1 7.1 Introduction 17.2 Phrasal Verbs 17.2.1 The Idiomatic Nature of Phrasal Verbs 17.2.2 The Unity of Phrasal Verbs 17.2.3 Transitive and Intransitive Phrpsal Verbs 17.3 The Use of Phrasal Verbs 17.3.1 Phrasal Verbs in Normal Day-to-Day Use 17.3.2 Phrzsal Verbs in Literary Use : Passage for Reading 17.4 Let Us Sum Up 17.5 Key Words Answers 17.0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to recognize all verb + adverb particle sequences, distinguish phrasal verbs from free combinations of verb + adverb particle, recognize the idiomatic nature of phrasal verbs, and appreciate the use of phrasal verbs in certain kinds of styles. 17.1 INTRODUCTION Look at the following sentences 1 He gave up smoking. 2 Sheput out the light. 3 His car broke down. The verb phrases in these sentences have been italicized. You will see that they consist of a verb and a small word, which is called aparticle. The particles occurring in these verb phrases are up, out, and dswn. In Block 3, Unit 14, we saw that these particles can occur either as prepositions or as adverbs. In these sentences these particles do not occur as prepositions: they occur as adverbs. How do we decide this? In Unit 14, we said that prepositions express a relation between two things. One of these things is represented by the noun or noun-like expression that follows the preposition and is called the object of the preposition, the other by what goes before the preposition. The preposition+noun (or noun-like expression) is called a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases express various kinds of meanings, e.g., location or direction in space, point or duration of time, manner, instrument, etc. The following sentences contain prepositions and prepositional phrases: 4 Swami climbed up the tree. 5 He went out of the door. 6 He ran down the stairs. The preposition phrases in these sentences have been italicized: they begin with the preposition up, out ox and down respectively. The prepositions combine with the following noun phrases to express the meaning of direction: up the tree, out of the
Transcript
Page 1: Phrasal Verbs

UNIT 17 PHRASAL VERBS-1 1 I

Structure

17.0 Objectives 1 7.1 Introduction 17.2 Phrasal Verbs

17.2.1 The Idiomatic Nature of Phrasal Verbs 17.2.2 The Unity of Phrasal Verbs 17.2.3 Transitive and Intransitive Phrpsal Verbs

17.3 The Use of Phrasal Verbs 17.3.1 Phrasal Verbs in Normal Day-to-Day Use

17.3.2 Phrzsal Verbs in Literary Use : Passage for Reading

17.4 Let Us Sum Up 17.5 Key Words

Answers

17.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to

recognize all verb + adverb particle sequences, distinguish phrasal verbs from free combinations of verb + adverb particle, recognize the idiomatic nature of phrasal verbs, and appreciate the use of phrasal verbs in certain kinds of styles.

17.1 INTRODUCTION

Look at the following sentences

1 He gave up smoking. 2 Sheput out the light. 3 His car broke down.

The verb phrases in these sentences have been italicized. You will see that they consist of a verb and a small word, which is called aparticle. The particles occurring in these verb phrases are up, out, and dswn. In Block 3, Unit 14, we saw that these particles can occur either as prepositions or as adverbs. In these sentences these particles do not occur as prepositions: they occur as adverbs. How do we decide this?

In Unit 14, we said that prepositions express a relation between two things. One of these things is represented by the noun or noun-like expression that follows the preposition and is called the object of the preposition, the other by what goes before the preposition. The preposition+noun (or noun-like expression) is called a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases express various kinds of meanings, e.g., location or direction in space, point or duration of time, manner, instrument, etc. The following sentences contain prepositions and prepositional phrases:

4 Swami climbed up the tree. 5 He went out of the door. 6 He ran down the stairs.

The preposition phrases in these sentences have been italicized: they begin with the preposition up, out ox and down respectively. The prepositions combine with the following noun phrases to express the meaning of direction: up the tree, out of the

Page 2: Phrasal Verbs

i Phrasal Vcrbs; Word - Formation

door, down the stairs. The point to note is that the preposition in each case is closely linked to its object and cannot be separated from it. In other words, the prepositional phrase forms a single unit. If we want to move the words occurring in the prepositional phrase to another position in the sentence separately, we cannot do so. We must move the entire unit. Thus we can move the whole prepositional phrase to the front of the sentence, but not its parts:

7 Up the tree, Swami climbed. 8 Out of the door, he went. 9 Down the stairs, he ran.

Now let us look at sentences 1, 2 and 3. Here the words up, out, and down are not linked at all closely with the following noun phrase; in fact, there is no noun phrase after down in 3. Down, therefore, cannot be a preposition in 3 at all. In sentences 1 and 2, up smoking and out the light are not prepositional phrases: for example, they cannot be moved to the front of the sentencqs. On the other hand, up and out are closely connected with the verbs they follow: gave up is a single verb with the meaning 'stopped', put out is also a single verb meaning 'extinguished' or 'switched off.' If we separate up h m gawe and out from put, these sentences become meaningless. and ungrammatical:

* 10 Up smoking, he gave. Ungrammatical

* 1 1 Out the light, he put.

(The sign * indicates an unacceptable form.)

In other words, in sentences 1, 2 and 3 the 'verb + up/out/down' form single (verb) units, just as' in 4, 5 and 6 the 'preposition + noun phrase' form single (prepositional phrase) units.

There is one more thing which shows that gave up and put out are single verb-units in 1 and 2 respectively. If we regard these combinations as single verbs, then the noun phrases that follow these verbs (smoking and the light respectively) must be considered objecyaf these verbs, and the verbs must be considered transitive verbs. We know that sentences with transitive verbs have passive forms in which the object of the active sentence becomes the subject. Do 1 and 2 have passive fonns? Yes, they do. Look at the following:

12 Smoking was given up (by him). 13 The light was put out (by him).

On the other hand, such passive sentences are not possible with 4,5 and 6. This again shows what whjle give up, put out and break down are single units in our examples (sentences I, 2 and 3), climb up, go out and run down in sentences 4,5 and 6 are not.

17.2 PHRASAL VERBS

We thus see that,adve&s differ h m prepositions in the following way: adverbs go with the p r e c a g verbs while prepositions go with the following objects, which are nouns or noun-like expressions. As a fmt step towards identifLing phrasal verbs we can say that phrasal verbs are verb + adverb particle constructions. Thus give up, put out, and break down are phrasal verbs. This is, however, not enough for identifLing phrasal verbs. In other words, not all verb + adverb particle constructions are phrasal verbs. There is one more criterion that we must use and that is the criterion of meaning.

Page 3: Phrasal Verbs

17.2.1 The Idiomatic Nature of Phrasal Verbs

Look at the following sentences :

14 a) He ran our without even saying goodbye. b) Our food ran out.

15 a) Put out the cat. b) Put our the fire.

16 a)Sherookinthebox. b) She took in her parents.

You will notice that the same verb + adverb particle combination occurs in 14a and 14b (ran out), 15a and 15b (put out) and 16a and 16b (took in). Some books on English grammar call all of these phrasal verbs, but we shall use the term 'phrasal verb' for only those combinations which occur in 14b, 15b andl6b. The combinations which occur in 14a, and 16% we shall call free combinations. What is our reason for making this distinction?

The reason lies in the meaning of phrasal verbs. Though a phrasal verb consists of two words, it carries a single meaning, and this meaning is not the sum of the meaning of the two words. This is what we mean when we speak of the 'idiomatic' nature of the phrasal verbs. Idioms are expressions like to rain cars and dogs, to lose heart, to beat one's head against a brick wall, to eat humble pie, etc. The special thing about idioms is that they have an idiomatic meaning which cannot be guessed from the combination of the actual words used. Thus, to rain cats and dogs has nothing to do with cats and dogs: it simply means 'to rain heavily'. Phrasal verbs are also idioms in this sense. For example, ran out in 14b means 'came to an end'; put our in 15b means 'extinguish', and took in in 16b means 'deceived'. You will see that these meanings have nothing to do with the meanings of the verbs (run, put, take) and adverbs (out, in) €hat occur in these phrasal verbs. In 14a, 15% and 16a, on the other hand, the meaning of the verb phrase seems to be a combination of the meaning of the verb and the meaning of the adverb. Thus, in 14a ran out means 'ran outsidelaway, etc., in 15a put out means 'put outside'; in 16a took in means 'took inside'. There is thus a clear distinction between the way the same verb phrases are used in a- and in b-sentences: their use is 'literal' in a-sentences and 'idiomatic' in b- sentences). Only when a verb phrase consisting of a verb + an adverb particle is used in the idiomatic way do we call it a phrasal verb; when it is used in the literal meaning (as in the a-sentences) we call it a free combination.

17.2.2 The Unity of Phrasal Verbs

We have distinguished phrasal verbs from free combinations on the basis of meaning, but it will be seen that they also show a difference in the degree of unity: the verb and the adverb particle are more closely joined in a phrasal verb than in a free combination. As a result, we can separate them in a free combination but not in a phrasal verb. We can, for example, put a modifying adverb between the verb and the particle in a free combination but not in a phrasal verb. We can say

He ran straight out.. . . but we cannot say

*Our food ran straight out. (Ungrammatical) '

The phrasal verb shows a high degree of unity (or cohesion); the free combination does not..This is also seen in the fact that in free combinations we can often replace the adverb particle by another adverb particle, but we cannot do so with phrasal verbs. E.g., we can say

He ran away without even saying goodbye. but we cannot say

*Our food soon ran away. (Ungrammatical)

Phrasal Verbs-1

Page 4: Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs; Word - Formation

The unity of the phrasal verbs shows that they are almost like single words with fixed meanings. The meaning of a word cannot be related to the parts of the word (except where prefixes and suffues are involved); similarly, the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot be related to its parts. This means that phrasal verbs are single units as words are. This is the reason'why learner's dictionaries (like Hornby's Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English or Procter's Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English) list the phrasal verbs separately as independent lexical items, while free combinations are not so listed.

17.2.3 Transitive and Intransitive Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs can be transitive or intransitive. Among the examples of phrasal verbs which we have discussed so far some (give up, put out, take in) are transitive (i.e. they require an object), others (break down, run out) are intransitive. We give below some more examples of transitive and intransitive phrasal verbs. Note that some phrasal verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.

blow UP : The terrorists blew up the bridge . (Transitive = 'destroyed by exploding')

The tank blew up. (Intransitive = 'was destroyed by explosion')

break up : The police bqoke up the meeting. (Transitive =. 'disrupted' , 'put an end to') The meeting broke up. (Intransitive = 'came to an end')

come off : One hand of my watch has come ofl (Intransitive = 'has become detached')

Their plan did not come of. (Intransitive = 'did not succeed')

cut down : You must cut down your expenses. (Transitive = 'reduce')

draw up : A car drew up outside the gate. (Intransitive = 'came to a halt') We have drawn up our plans for the next year. (Transitive = 'formulated')

fall out : The two friends have fallen out again. (Intransitive = 'quarrelled')

figure out : I can'tfigure him out. (Transitive = 'understand by thinking')

getacross : I managed to get my meaning across ... (Transitive = 'communicate', 'make clear')

I have a feeling that my speech didn't get across. (Intransitive = 'was not understood')

Some of these phrasal verbs also have other meanings, both .in transitive and intransitive uses, which have not been illustrated here. For example, blow up also has the meaning 'to inflate' as in She blew up the balloons, where its use is transitive. Another meaning of this phrasal verb is 'to enlarge (a photograph)' as in 'The photographer blew the girl's photograph up and entered it in a photo contest'. From this meaning of the verb we now have a noun 'a blow-up' which means an enlarged photograph. Such nouns have also been derived from some other phrasal verbs, e.g., outcome (from come out), outburst (from burst out), breakdown (from break down), breakthrough (from break through), and so on.

With transitive phrasal verbs, the two parts of the verb can usually be separated and the adverb particle can be (but does not have to be) put after the object. This has been done above in the example 'the photographer blew the girl's photograph up...', where

Page 5: Phrasal Verbs

the adverb particle up has been separated from the verb blew and put after the object the girl's photograph. Here are some more examples :

He put the fire out. They have called the strike ofi The police broke the meeting up.

These forms exist side by side with the forms in which the verb and the adverb particle occur together (He put out the fire, etc.). However, if the object of the verb is a pronoun, the adverb particle has to be compulsorily put after the pronoun and the other form (in which the verb and the particle are together) is ungrammatical.

* I can'tfigure out him. (ungra unatical) I can'tfigure him out.

* Put out it. (ungrammatical) Put it out.

* They blew up it. (ungrammatical) They blew it up.

A few things must be remembered about these two rules. [The two rules are: (1) With transitive phrasal verbs, the particle can be put after the noun object to produce another form of the sentence, and (2) If the object is a pronoun, the particle must be put after the object.] The things to remember are:

i) These ples apply only to transitive phrasal verbs. Intransitive phrasal verbs have no object, hence the question of putting the particle after the object does not arise. .

ii) These rules apply to phrasal verbs as well as fiee combinations. Thus, side by side with

She took in the box./Heput out the cat. We can also say:

She took the box in.lHe put the cat out.

iii) These rules apply to most transitive phrasal verbs and free combinations but not to all of them. For example, the following sentences with noun objects are unacceptable:

* I have given hope up. (Say 'I have given up hope'.) * They laid their arms down. (Say 'They laid down their arms'.) * He carried my orders out. (Say 'He carried out my orders'.)

The verb and the particle should also not be separated when the object of 'the phrasal verb is a long noun-like expression (a long phrase, or a phrase containing a clause). E.g., we do not say

The car ran the sweet innocent little children down. The workers called the strike which had been going on for two and a half months 08

In such cases the particle should stay next to the verb and we should say

The car ran down the sweet innocent little children. The workers called ofthe strike which had been going on for two and a half months.

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Phrasal Verbs; Word - Formarion

Check Your Progress 1

1. A verb + adverb particle construction has been used in each of the sentences below. In some sentences the construction is a phrasal verb, in others a free combination. As a phrasal verb, the construction has a specific, idiomatic meaning, which can be found in the dictionary; as a free combination, its meaning can be derived from the meaning of its parts.

Against the number of each sentence in your answer, quote the verb + adverb particle construction and write PV against it if it is a phrasal verb and give its meaning. If the combination is not a phrasal verb, write FC against it to indicate '

that it is a free combination.

Example: 1) They brought the guests in. 2) His investment in shares brings in nearly Rs. 10,000 a year .

Answer: 1) brought in: FC 2) brings in: PV meaning 'produces as profit'.

i) They took down the partition.

ii) The boy jumped across.

iii) I ran across ag old fiiend in the street.

iv) The sun came out.

v) It came out that he had been stealing the office money,

vi) He slipped and fell down.

vii) The two men fell out.

viii) A large crowd turned out to watch the parade.

ix) I drove himout.

x) He walked straight in.

xi) l'll leave that problem for you to sort out.

2. In the foregoing, we have emphasized the point that phrasal verbs have idiomatic meanings, which cannot be derived from their parts. These meanings can often (though not always) be expressed by single verbs. For example, the meaning of the phrasal verb turn down can be expressed by the single verb 'reject', of the phrasal verb give up by the single verb 'surrender' and so on.

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i I

Find single verbs to express the meanings of the phrasal verbs used in the Phrasal Verbs-1 followingsentences: -

i) This discovery bears out the theory proposed by Dr. Raman.

ii) Cany on your work; pay no attention to me.

iii) A car drew up in front of the gate.

t iv) We have fixed up a match with the teachers next Monday. t L

! v) The Indian economy is beginning to look up now.

vi) I don't believe his story; I think he has just made it up.

vii) He offered me a choice of six colours in shirts. I picked out the green one.

viii) They put up a shed in the garden for their cows.

I I , ix) Whenever it is budget time, the dealers put up their prices.

I I I x) He set up a new record when he scored 100 runs off 72 balls. I r

I xi) I was taken aback by the news of his sudden departure.

L xii) 1'11 talk it over with my wite before giving you the final answer.

There are some phrasal verbs whose meanings cannot be expressed by single- word equivalents. For example, the meaning of Look out (in, e.g. , look out, there are chitdren on the road) must be expressed as 'take care'; the meaning of take over (as in Rajiv Gandhi took over as PM in 1984) as 'assume charge, responsibility, etc.', and so on.

The sentences below contain meanings (see the italicized part) which can, be idiomatically conveyed by phrasal verbs. Rewrite the sentences using ;the appropriate phrasal verb. As a hint, the verb part of the phrasal verb is giveh in brackets: .

i) He withdrew his support at the last moment. (back)

i t

ii) Finally my patience was exhausted and I threw him out. (give)

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iii) I want to become a pilot when I become an adult. (grow)

I

I I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I I

I

iv) Whenever you are in Delhi do come and see me. (look)

Phrasal verbs; Word - Formation

v) He is very ill but he will recover from the illness, if we look after him carefully. (pull)

vi) I am going to Russia next month; I must improve my knowledge of Russian. (brush)

vii) He is always speaking ill of hls neighbour. (run)

viii) They started their journey at six (set)

ix) At first he disliked school but now he has become accustomed to the place. (settle)

/ x) The plane has le$ the ground. (take)

xi) I'll accept you as my opponent at table tennis. (take)

xii) Children's shoes become unserviceable very quickly. (wear)

17.3 THE USE OF PHRASAL VERBS

17.3.1 Phrasal Verbs in Normal Day-to-Day Use

phrasal vsrbs occur with great frequency in the spoken variety of English and in informal writing. They lend fluency to our style and make our language idiomatic. Students learning English as a second or foreign language should, therefore, acquire these forms and use them when speaking, or when writing letters to fiiends, descriptive or narrative essays, stories, descriptions of events and actions, etc.

The use of.phrasa1 verbs and other verb + adverb particle combinations gives a tone of familiarity to the writing. Therefore, while their use is welcome in such writing, where the author is justified in establishing a friendly relationship with the reader, it is generally avoided in formal writing, where the author is required to maintain a certain distance fiom the reader, e.g., when writing applications for jobs, making factual inquiries fiom unknown persons, offices, and institutions, writing academic papers, commentaries, or technical reports, delivering formal talks, etc.

These differences of style can be illustrated with a few examples. These examples show how the same action, event, etc. is described with the help of a verb + adverb particle construction in the informal style, while in the formal style a single verb is used instead:

*

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The meeting was put ofi (Informal) The meeting was postponed. (Formal) I couldn't make out what he was driving at. (Informal) I couldn't understand where his argument was leading. (Formal) The Manager wanted to kick him out, but the staff backed him up. (Informal) The Manager wanted to dismiss him, but the staff supported him. (Formal)

Some phrasal verbs have now become so common in certain contexts that alternative expressions are hard to find and very clumsy. In such cases, ,the phrasal expression is used universally. E.g.,

The plane took oflat 7.00 a.m. exactly. HeJiNed in the form. You must check in at the airport an hour before your plane leaves. I checked out of the hotel at 3.00 p.m.

17.3.2 Phrasal Verbs in Literary Use: Passage for Reading

Writers of stories, novels, etc. use the verb + adverb particle constructions to give fluency to their style, to develop a relationship of confidence with the reader, and to give vividness to their descriptions. The following passage from R.K. Narayan's novel Swami and Friends provides an excellent illustration of such a style. The passage, one of the finest in Narayan's writings, illustrates the fluency and idiomatic ease with which he can handle the English language, though it is not his native tongue.

From SWAMI AND FRIENDS by R.K. Narayan

Phrasal Verbs-1

He went home, flung his coat and cap and books on the table, gulped down the cold coffee that was waiting for him and sat on the pyol, vacantly gazing into the dark intricacies of the gutter that adorned Vinayaka Muddali Street. A dark volume of water was rushing along. Odd pieces of paper, leaves, and sticks, floated by. A small piece of tin was gently skimming along. Swaminathan had an impulse to plunge his hand in and pick it up. But he let it go. His mind was inert. He watched the shining bit float away. It was now at the end of the compoul~d wall; now it had passed under the tree. Swaminathan was slightly irritated when a brick obstructed the progress of the tin. He said that the brick must either move along or stand aside without interfering with the traffic: The piece of tin released itself and dashed along furiously, disappeared around a bend at the end of the street. Swaminathan ran in, got a sheet of paper, and made a boat. He saw a small ant moving about aimlessly. He carefully caught it, placed it in the boat, and lowered the boat into the stream. He watched in rapture its quick motion. He held his breath when the boat with its cargo neared a danger zone formed by stuck-up bits of straw and other odds and ends. The boat made a beautiful swerve to the right and avoided destruction. It went on and on. It neared a fatal spot where the waters were swirling round and round in eddies. Swaminathan was certain that his boat was nearing its last moment. He had no doubt that it was going to be drawn right to the bottom of the circling eddies. The boat whirled madly round shaking and swaying and quivering. But providentially a fresh supply of water from the kitchen in the neighbourls house pushed it from behind out of danger. But it rushed on at a fearfd speed, and Swaminathan felt that it was going to tum turtle. Presently it calmed, and resumed a normal speed. But when it passed under a tree, a thick dry leaf fell down and upset it. Swaminathan ran frantically to the spot to see if he could save at least the ant. He peered long into the water, but there was no sign of the ant. The boat and its cargo were wrecked beyond recovery. He took a pinch of earth, uttered a prayer for the soul of the ant, arid dropped it into the gutter.

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Phrasal Verbs: In this passage, R.K. Narayan makes use of a number of verb + adverb particle Word - Fonnalfon constructions, e.g., gulp down, rush along, float by, etc. Note how the use of these

constructions enables the author to maintain the fluency of his description. Fluency is important for his description since he is describing the deep absorption of Swami with the stream of water in the gutter. The water is 'rushing along' with bits and pieces of paper, leaves, etc. in it. Swami gets so totally absorbed in the speedy progress of water that he can't tolerate any obstruction. He gets a paper boat and is soon floating along with it mentally in the stream. In such an absorbing description, the fluenc)t of description becomes specially important. Nothing, no complex construction, no long and difficult word, must obstruct the smooth flow of the reader's attention. It is, therefore, not surprising that Narayan depends so much on verb + adverb particle constructions. Not many of these constructions are phrasal verbs in our sense, but free combinations are also verb + adverb particle constructions, and the effect they produce on style is the same.

Check Your Progress 2

1. Read the passage from Swami and Friends quoted above carefully and do the following:

i) Make a list of all verb + adverb particle constructions, distinguishing them carefully from verb + prepositional phrase sequences.

ii) Distinguish between transitive and intransitive verb + adverb particle constructions in your list.

iii) Make a separate list of the transitive constructions dividing it into two parts. List in one part the constructions in which the object is a noun. Cite the noun object and state whether it occurs before or after the adverb particle. In the second part, list the constructions in which the object is a pronoun. Where does the particle occur i'n these constructions? Is it possible for it to occur in the other position?

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Phrasal Verbs-1

2.. We have stated in thk unit that the use of phrasal verbs is a characteristic of informal style. They occur most frequently in the kind of situation where the speaker wishes to establish a direct relationship with the listener and to take him into his confidence. They are rare in the formal style where the writer has reasons to maintain a distance from the reader.

Rewrite the following sentences (which are rather formal) in the informal style. Make whatever changes you think necessary. Each sentence also .

contains some words which can be replaced by phrasal verbs, thus helping the style 10 become direct and informal.

Example: I am curious to know how he is progressing in his new job. Answer: I wonder how he is getting on in his new job.

i) The manager refused his request for a day's leave.

ii) It is not my wish to occupy too much of your time. -

iii) You are requested to complete this form in all respects.

iv) When he discovered the truth he retracted everything he had previously said.

Sujata resembles her mother to such a degree that people are often deceived.

vi) A committee has been appointed to investigate the charges of corruption against him.

vii) He has proposed a new theory. He is of the view that the new discoveries confirm it. -

Page 12: Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs; Word - Formation

viii) I am sorry to say that it is not possible for me to provide you with food and accommodation.

ix) What was the reason for your not telephoning me?

x) 'It's not possible for me to let you ,go unpunished', said the policeman.

17.4 LET US SUM UP

In this first part of our study of English phrasal verbs we have made the following points:

iii)

iv) v)

vi)

vii)

Phrasal verbs are combinations of verbs and adverb particles. All combinations of verbs and adverb particles are not phrasal verbs; some are free combinations. Phrasal verbs are distinguished from free combinations by two features: first, the idiomatic character of phrasal verbs and, second, the unity of phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs can be transitive or intransitive. The use of phrasal verbs gives fluency to our style and makes our language idiomatic. Phrasal verbs give a tone of familiarity to our style and are therefore generally avoided in formal styles. Literary writers use phrasal verbs to give fluency to their style, to develop a relationship of confidence with the reader, and to make their descriptions vivid.

17.5 KEY WORDS

Phrasal verb: A phrasal verb is a verb + adverb particle combination which is characterized by idiomatic meaning and functions as a single unit.

,Adverb particle: An adverb particle is a small word like up, away, down, etc. which follows a lexical verb and functions as an adverb.

Free combination: Verb + adverb particle combinations which do not show idiomatic meaning and do not function as single units are called free combinations.

Idiomlidiomatic nature: An.idiom is a group of words forming a single expression the meaning of which is different from the sum total of the meanings of the individual words occurring in it. All expressions which show this property are said to be idiomatic in nature.

b .

unitylc6bsion: A group of words (eg., in an idomatic expression) is said to show unity or cohesion if theAwords in the group cannot be separated by the introduction of other words in between, or if they cannot be replaced by other words.

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Fluency of style: A style of speaking or writing which is not marked by pauses, hesitations, inaccuracies, etc. (such as, for example, are caused by searches for the right words in mid-speech) is said to be fluent, or to have fluency. A style of speaking or writing'with an unbroken flow.

Tone of familiarity: When a writer writes in a style and uses devices which enable him to take the reader into his confidence, and to communicate with him as if he were a friend sitting before him, his writing is said to have the tone of familiarity.

Informal style: The style of language use characterized by the use of common and familiar words and certain common types of grammatical structures which is generally employed when communicating with people we know well.

Formal style: The style of language use characterized by the use of serious and less commonly used words, a greater variety of grammatical structures, and a strict regard for grammatical rules. This style is generally employed in official situations, when talking to someone important, delivering a lecture, etc.

ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 1

1. i) tookdown : ii) jumped across : iii) ran across : iv) came out v) came out vi) fell down vii)fell out viii) turned out : ix) drove out x) walked in xi) to sort out :

2. i) bears out ii) carry on iii) drew up iv) $xed up v) look up vi) made (it) up vii)picked out viii)put up ix) put up x) set up xi) taken aback xii) talk (it) over

PV meaning 'dismantled,' 'separated into pieces' FC PV meaning 'met by chance' FC PV meaning 'became known' FC PV meaning 'quarrel led' PV meaning 'assembled' FC FC PV meaning 'to solve'

confirms continue

stopped arranged improve invented selected erected raise established surprised discuss

3. i) He backed out ....... ii) Finally, my patience gave out and ......... iii) ....... when I grow up. iv) ....... do look me up. v) ....... he will put through if we. ....... vi) ....... I must brush up my Russian. vii) He is always running down his neighbours. viii) They set out at six. ix) ....... but now he has settled down. x) The plane has taken ofl

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Phrasal Verbs-1

Page 14: Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs; Word - Formation

xi) I'll take you on at table tennis. xii) Children's shoes wear out very quickly.

Check Your Progress 2

1. i) and ii) : (T means the construktion is transitive, I means it is intransitive) gulp down (T) ; rushing along (I); floated by (I) ; skimming along (I) ; plunge in (T) ; pick up (T) ; float away (I); move along (I) ; stand aside (I) ; dashed along (I) ; ran in(1); moving about (I); went on (1); swirling round (I); whirled round (I); rushed on (I) ; fell down (I).

iii) Part A: Transitive constructions with noun objects: gulped down the cold coffee: The object is the cold coflee; occurs aAer the

particle. plunged his hand in The object is his hand; occurs before the

particle.

Part B: Transitive constructions with pronoun objects : pick it up: The object is it; occurs before the particle. It cannot occur

a#er the particle. -. - . .

2. (Other possibilities also exist.) i) The manager turned down his request for a day o k ii) 1 don't want to take up too much of your time. iii) Please fill in this form. iv) When he found out the truth he took back everything he had said. v) Sujata takes after her mother so much that peaple are often taken in. vi) A committee has been set up to look into the charges of comiption

against him. vii) He has put fonva-d a new theory and he thinks that the new discoveries

bear it out. viii) I am afraid I can't put you up. ix) Why didn't you call me up?

sx) 'I can't let you off,' said the policeman.


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