Phrasal verbs

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 g

reat 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.

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