Prepositional
and Phrasal verbs
By
Diane VEYRAT and Simon DONIOL
Many English verbs consist in two
parts : a base verb and another “small word”, which is either a
preposition or an adverb.
-
Sometimes the meaning of the new verb is just a
combination of the two meanings
à to come in, to run away, to sit
on…
-
Sometimes the small word emphasizes the meaning
of the verb:
à to tire out (épuiser)
-
Sometimes the meaning completely changes:
à to give up (renoncer),
to blow up (exploser)
Prepositional Verbs
They are verbs which are linked to their
complements by a preposition. When there is no complement to the verb, the
preposition is useless and does not exist.
Look carefully à Regarde bien.
Look at me when I speak to you à
Regarde-moi quand je te parle.
Prepositions introduce the verb complement. In
90% of cases, they do not deeply change the meaning of the verb.
She ran after the dog
à Elle courut
après le chien
Complement position
In the case of prepositional verbs, the
complement cannot be located between the verb and the preposition.
Look
me at is grammatically incorrect.
Adverb position
You can separate the verb and the preposition
by an adverb:
He looked kindly at her or He looked at her kindly.
The frequency adverbs are located before the
verb.
He
often/never looked at her.
Preposition position
It is also located after the verb in the
following cases:
Interrogatives : What are you looking at ?
Determinative relatives : This is the man I
was speaking to the other day.
Passive form : She was stared at when she
went out in her new dress.
Exercises
Choose the suitable preposition (there can be
two possibilities)
a) about
b) at c) against d) to
a) of
b) for c) in d) from
a) off
b) at c) after d) by
a) over
b) by c) off d) in
a) at
b) for c) into d) by
Phrasal Verbs
They are followed by an adverbial particle
(away, back, down, in, off, on, out, up…).
-
The particles indicate a direction when they follow a movement verb like
to go.
Go ! à Allez
! Go away ! à Partez ! Go back ! à Retournez-y ! Go in ! à Entrez ! etc.
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The particles deeply or partly modify the meaning of the verb when the
context tells that it is not a movement.
To fall out in a context of movement literally means “tomber dehors” (by the window for
instance)
In another context, to fall out means
“se disputer”.
-
Phrasal Verbs can be intransitive
(with no complement):
After I explained the
maths problem to her, she began to catch up.
àAprès que je lui aie expliqué le problème de maths, elle a commencé à comprendre.
DO NOT SAY : She
began to catch up the maths problem.
(but She began to catch up with it would
be correct)
-
They can be transitive (with
a complement) like to look up a word (chercher
un mot dans le dictionnaire).
Complement position
Some phrasal verbs are separable, and the
pronoun goes between the verb and the particle, but others are not. The only
way to know is to learn them, just as the transitive and intransitive phrasal
verbs.
Separable:
She added up the total on her calculator. à Correct
OR She added
it up on her calculator. à Correct
Inseparable: She always gets around the rules.
à Correct
She always gets them around. à INCORRECT
Phrasal verbs
followed by a preposition.
I cannot put up with such insolence (up = adverbial particle, with =
preposition)
à Je ne peux pas supporter pareille insolence.
Be careful !
The three elements put, up and with form one piece and
must always remain contiguous.
Adverb position
The adverb can be put before the verb or after
the complement.
He will never put up with
such insolence.
He will not put up with such
insolence now.
Exercises
Try to find the correct prepositions
or adverbs:
1. I don't care____________________the
expense; I want the party to be a real success.
2. I can't account____________________the
disappearance of the pictures; they were all
there yesterday.
3. They set____________________on
their camping trip with great enthusiasm.
4. When you have thought____________________what
I have said, you will understand.
5. The car pulled____________________beside
me and the driver asked me the way to
Piccadilly.
6. You can throw____________________the
packet; it's empty.
7. I don't know how she manages to care____________________ten children without
help.
8. My children are picking____________________English very quickly but I find
it more
difficult.
9. The teacher pointed____________________several
mistakes that the student had not
corrected.
10. He suddenly threw____________________his
job and went to Australia.
11. Don't make up your mind at once;
talk it____________________with your lawyer first.
12. The factory will have to close
down if production is not
stepped____________________.
13. I don't like the look of these
men hanging____________________outside my gate.
14. You must
carry____________________ the instructions on the packet exactly.
15. These children are very polite;
they have obviously been well brought
____________________.
16. She carried
____________________with her work in spite of all interruptions.
17. The examination was so easy that
all the candidates
handed____________________their answer papers after the first hour.
18. Our water supply was cut____________________because the pipe burst.
19. They won't let you____________________if you aren't a member of the club.
20. If you really want to slim you
must cut____________________on sweets.
21. You would recover your sense of
taste if you cut ____________________ smoking
altogether.
22. If you will hold____________________I'll
put you through to Enquiries.
23. The retiring general handed____________________to his successor.
24. The mystery of his sudden
disappearance was never cleared____________________.
25. I hope the weather will clear____________________soon. I want to go out.
26. He let the rest of the team____________________by not turning up for the match.
27. Could you hand____________________the
photographs so that everyone can see
them?