Phrasal Verbs: Notes from the blackboard
From Thursday, Nov. 4th
Erica Cerza for Professor Sisti
Original Latinate verb Phrasal verb form
1. To consume 1. To use up
2. To extinguish 2. To put out
3. To recover 3. To get better
4. to surrender 4. To give in
Definition of a phrasal verb: a verb combined with a preposition, adverb, or adverbial particle, where the particle is crucial to the meaning of the verb.
Three Rules of phrasal verbs
The meaning of a phrasal verb changes when:
1. the particle changes.
Example: to look in on = to visit someone who is not well.
to look down on = to feel superior to someone else.
2. the location of the particle in the phrasal verb changes.
Example: to see through a plan = to realize that something is false.
to see a plan through = to execute/carry out a plan.
3. the context of the phrasal verb changes (while the grammatical form remains exactly the same).
Example: John fell for a lie = someone told John a lie, and he believed it.
John fell for Susan = John fell in love with Susan.
Two types of phrasal verbs:
literal and idiomatic
Some phrasal verbs have literal meanings as well.
Example: to put down, to pick up, to take off.
Development over time of metaphorical and idiomatic meaning
Example: “to look after” originally meant “to watch someone as they go away” (the mother looked after her child). Now it means “to take care of.”
It is necessary to understand the context of the phrasal verb (from surrounding text/conversation) in order to understand what it means.
Examples of phrasal verbs with two distinct meanings:
1. to keep one’s head above water = to prevent from drowning (literal sense); to prevent going into financial debt (metaphorical sense).
2. to take off = to remove (I took off my shoes); to leave (the airplane takes off at 8:00); to not go to work (I took off Friday because I was tired).
Pick Up Example
How many meanings can one phrasal verb have?!
1. to obtain (I picked up the book). [literal meaning]
2. to clean (pick up your room before I get mad!).
3. to obtain people (the car picked up its passengers).
4. to buy (I picked up this shirt at the store).
5. to learn (she picks up foreign languages easily).
6. to collect (he picked up his mail at the post office).
7. to pay (I picked up the bill for lunch/I paid for lunch).
8. to get sick (if you’re not careful, you’ll pick up a virus overseas).
9. to get acquainted with someone in a romantic way (he picked her up at the bar).
10. to arrest (the police picked up the robber).
11. to recognize (the dog picked up the scent of the kidnapper).
12. to increase financially (the sales in stores usually pick up around the holidays).
13. to leave suddenly (I picked up and left town).
14. NOUN FORM: the pick-up is parked in the driveway (a specific kind of truck).
Nouns formed from phrasal verbs
1. Makeup (from “to make up” or “to put makeup on”)
2. Blackout (from “to black out”)
3. Dropout (from “to drop out”)
4. Letdown (from “to let down”)
5. Blow-up (from “to blow up”)
Phrasal verbs formed from nouns
1. to google (to search on the Internet; from “google”)
2. to text (to send a text message; from “text”)
3. to bullshit (to do something poorly; from “bullshit”)
4. to half-ass (to do something poorly, unfinished; from “half-ass”)
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