2. Multi-word verbs
The two main categories of multi-word verbs: phrasal
verbs, prepositional verbs.
They consist of a LEXICAL VERB + PARTICLE.
A particle – a neutral designation for the overlapping
categories of adverb and preposition that are used in
such combinations.
In PHRASAL VERBS the particle is an adverb (e.g. drink
up, find out).
In PREPOSITIONAL VERBS the particle is a preposition
(e.g. dispose of, cope with).
In PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS there are two
particles: an adverb + preposition (e.g. put up with)

3. Intransitive phrasal verbs
Intransitive phrasal verbs consist of a verb + an
adverb:
(1) The plane has just touched down.
(2) He is playing around.
(3) How are you getting on?
(4) The plane has now taken off.
(5) She turned up unexpectedly.
(6) The tank blew up.
(7) The two girls have fallen out. (=“quarreled’)

4. Intransitive phrasal verbs
In phrasal verbs like give in (=“surrender”) or blow up
(=“explode”), we cannot predict the meaning of the
idiomatic combination from the meaning of verb and
particle in isolation.
In free combinations (e.g. walk past) we can do so.
Also, the semantic separability of the two parts in free
combinations is shown by possible substitutions: for walk
in walk past we can substitute run, trot, swim, fly, etc.; and
for past we can substitute by, in, through, over, etc.
In other cases, the adverb in a free combination has an
intensifying force (e.g. chatter away), or an aspectual
force (e.g. drink up).

5. Intransitive phrasal verbs
There are also syntactic signs of cohesion between
the verb and the adverb in phrasal verbs –
normally, the particle of a phrasal verb cannot be
separated from the lexical verb (*She turned right
up), but this separation is possible in free
combinations (Go straight on).
Also, the adverb can be fronted in free
combinations (Out came the sun; Up you come), but
not in phrasal verbs (*Up blew the tank; *Out he
passed – pass out = “faint”)

6. Transitive phrasal verbs
When phrasal verbs take a direct object, we call
them transitive phrasal verbs:
(8) Shall I put away the dishes?
(9) Find out if they are coming.
(10) She’s bringing up two children.
(11) Someone turned on the light.
(12) They have called off the strike.
(13) I can’t make out what he wants.
(14) I’ve handed in my resignation.

7. Transitive phrasal verbs
Some phrasal verbs, such as give in and blow up, can be
either intransitive or transitive. In some cases, e.g. give in,
there is a difference in meaning (give in, intransitive =
“surrender”; give in, transitive = “hand over to the proper
authorities), whereas in others, e.g. blow up, there is not.
As with free combinations of the same pattern, the
particle can generally either precede or follow the direct
object:
(15) They turned on the light. ~ They turned the light on.
But when the object is a personal pronoun, the particle must
usually follow the object:
(16) *They turned on it. ~ They turned it on.

8. Transitive phrasal verbs
Transitive phrasal verbs are also distinguished semantically
from free combinations of verb and adverb.
Phrasal verb take in (=“deceive) vs. free combination take in
(=“bring inside”), where the two parts preserve their separate
meanings:
(17) She took in her parents.
(18) She took in the box.
If the transitive phrasal verb is fully idiomatic, the particle
cannot normally be separated from the lexical verb by
anything except the object, not even by an intensifier such as
right:
(19) She brought the girls right up. (free combination = “led
them up the stairs”, for example)
(20) She brought the girls up. (phrasal verb = “reared them”)

9. Type I prepositional verbs
A type I prepositional verb consists of a lexical verb + a
preposition with which it is semantically and/or syntactically
associated:
(21) Look at these pictures.
(22) I don’t care for Jane’s parties.
(23) We must go into the problem.
(24) Can you cope with the work?
(25) I approve of their action.
The NP following the preposition is a PREPOSITIONAL
OBJECT, a term that suggests an analogy with the term
DIRECT OBJECT:
(26) Look at the pictures.
(27) Examine the pictures.

10. Type I prepositional verbs
We can easily insert an adverbial between the
lexical verb and the preposition:
(27) Many people looked disdainfully at the picture.
However, insertion between verb and direct
object is usually avoided unless the object is long:
(28) ?*Many people examined disdainfully the picture.

11. The distinction between
prepositional verbs and free
combinations (verb + preposition)
(I) the possibility of making the prepositional
object the subject of a corresponding passive
clause. In this prepositional passive, the preposition
is stranded in its post-verbal position:
call on = “visit”
(29) We called on the dean.
(29a) The dean was called on.
(30) We called after lunch.
(30a) *Lunch was called after.

12. The distinction between
prepositional verbs and free
combinations (verb + preposition)
(II) wh-questions eliciting the prepositional object are
formed with the pronouns who(m) and what (as with
direct objects) rather than with adverbial questions:
(31) John called on her. ~ Who(m) did John call on?
(32) John looked for it. ~ What did John look for?
In free combinations, we use adverbial questions:
(33) John called from the office. ~ Where did John call from?
(34) John called after lunch. ~ When did John call?
Some prepositional verbs allow both types of wh-question:
(35) She died of pneumonia. ~ How did she die? / ~What did
she die of?

13. The distinction between
prepositional verbs and phrasal
verbs
Type I prepositional verbs resemble transitive phrasal
verbs superficially, but the differences are both
syntactic and phonological.
The contrast is exemplified for the prepositional verb call
on (“visit”) and the phrasal verb call up (“summon” =
sazvati, okupiti).
(a) The particle of a prepositional verb must precede the
prepositional object (unless the particle is stranded), but
the particle of a phrasal verb can generally precede or
follow the direct object:
(36) She called on her friends. ~ *She called her friends on.
(37) She called up her friends. ~ She called her friends up.

14. The distinction between
prepositional verbs and phrasal
verbs
(b) When the object is a personal pronoun, the
pronoun follows the particle of a prepositional verb,
but precedes the particle of a phrasal verb:
(38) She called on them. ~ *She called them on.
(39) She called them up. ~ *She called up them.
(c) An adverb can often be inserted between verb and
particle in prepositional verbs, but not in phrasal verbs:
(40) She called angrily on her friends.
(41) *She called angrily up her friends.

15. The distinction between
prepositional verbs and phrasal
verbs
(d) The particle of a phrasal verb cannot precede a relative
pronoun or wh-interrogative:
(42) the friends on whom she called ~ On which friends did
she call?
(43) *the friends up whom she called ~ *Up which friends did
she call?
(e) the particle of a phrasal verb is normally stressed, and
in final position normally bears the nuclear tone, whereas
the particle of a prepositional verb is normally unstressed
and has the ‘tail’ of the nuclear tone that falls on the
lexical verb:
(44) Which friends did she call UP?
 (45) Which friends did she CALL on?

16. Type II prepositional verbs
These verbs are ditransitive verbs (have two objects).
They are followed by two NPs, normally separated by the
preposition: the second NP is the prepositional object:
(46) He deprived the peasants of their land.
(47) This clothing will protect you from the worst weather.
(48) Jenny thanked us for the present.
(49) May I remind you of our agreement?
(50) They have provided the child with a good education.
The first object becomes the subject in the
corresponding passive clause:
(51) The gang robbed her of her necklace. ~ She was robbed
of her necklace (by the gang).

17. Type II prepositional verbs
2 minor subtypes of type II prepositional verbs.
In these verbs, the first object is part of the
idiomatic combination:
(a) make a mess of, make allowance for, take care of,
pay attention to, take advantage of. It allows a second
passive in which the prepositional object
becomes subject:
(52) They made a terrible mess of the house.
(52a) A terrible mess has been made of the house.
(52b) The house has been made a terrible mess of.

18. Type II prepositional verbs
(b) catch sight of, keep pace with, give way to, lose
touch with, give rise to. Only the prepositional
object can become the passive subject, though it is
considered somewhat clumsy.
(53) They suddenly caught sight of the lifeboat.
(53a) The lifeboat was suddenly caught sight of.

19. Phrasal-prepositional verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs consist of a LEXICAL VERB +
ADVERB + PREPOSITION.
(I) Type I phrasal-prepositional verbs have only a
prepositional object:
(54) We are all looking forward to your party on Saturday.
(55) He had to put up with a lot of teasing at school.
(56) He thinks he can get away with everything.
The prepositional passive is possible:
(57) They could not put up with these tantrums any longer.
(57a) These tantrums could not be put up with any longer.
(58) Their neigbours looked down on them.
(58a) They were looked down on by their neighbours.

20. Phrasal-prepositional verbs
(II) Type II phrasal-prepositional verbs are
ditransitive verbs. They require 2 objects. The
second object is the prepositional object:
(59) Don’t take it out on me!
(60) We put our success down to hard work.
(61) I’ll let you in on a secret.
Only the first object can be made passive subject
with these verbs:
(62) We can put our success down to hard work.
(62a) Our success can be put down to hard work.

21. Other multi-word verb
constructions
(a) VERB-ADJECTIVE COMBINATIONS: break even, plead
guilty, lie low, cut (the trip) short
(b) VERB-VERB COMBINATIONS: in these combinations the
second verb is nonfinite, and may be either an infinitive (make
do with, make (N) do, let (N) go, let (N) be), or a participle (put
paid to, get rid of, have done with, leave (N) standing, get going),
with or without a following preposition.
(III) VERBS WITH TWO PREPOSITIONS (struggle with N for
N, compete with N for N, apply to N for N, develop from N into
N):
(63) It developed from a small club into a mass organization in
three years.
Normally either one or both PPs can be omitted.

22. :

23. Active and passive
The distinction between active and passive applies
only to sentences where the verb is transitive.
The difference between the active voice and the
passive voice involves both the VP and the clause as
a whole.
In the VP, the passive adds a form of the auxiliary be
followed by the –ed participle of the main verb:
build → is built
has built → has been built
may be building → may be being built

24. Active and passive
At the clause level, changing from active to passive has the
following results:
(a) the active subject, if retained, becomes the PASSIVE
AGENT;
(b) the active object becomes the PASSIVE SUBJECT;
(c) the preposition by is inserted before the agent:
(1) The butler murdered the detective.
(1a) The detective was murdered by the butler.
The prepositional phrase (AGENT BY-PHRASE) of passive
sentences is an optional element and is commonly
omitted.

25. Get-passive
Get is frequently used with the passive in informal
English: get caught, get dressed, get run over.
It often conveys the connotation that the referent of
the subject has some responsibility for the action.

26. A clause as the object
The change to passive is highly restricted if the active
object is a clause. It becomes acceptable when the
clause is extraposed and replaced by anticipatory it:
(2) They thought that she was attractive.
(2a) It was thought that she was attractive.

27. Middle verbs
Some stative transitive verbs (=middle verbs) (have,
fit, suit, resemble, equal, mean, contain, hold,
comprise, lack) normally occur only in the active:
(3) They have a nice house. → *A nice house is had by
them.
(4) The auditorium holds 500 people. → *500 people are
held by the auditorium.
(5) He lacks confidence. → *Confidence is lacked by him.

28. Phrasal and prepositional verbs in
the passive (see SLIDES 16-20)
(6) They blew up the bridge. → The bridge was blown
up. (phrasal verb in the passive)
(7) We approve of their action. → Their action is
approved of. (prepositional verb)

29. Uses of the passive
In sentences where there is a choice between active and passive,
active is the norm.
Speakers or writers use the passive for the following reasons
(more than one reason may apply) (the reasons I-IV illustrate
the uses of the passive without the agent by-phrase):
(I) we do not know the identity of the agent of the action:
(8) Many lifeboats were launched from the Titanic only partly
filled.
(II) we want to avoid identifying the agent because we do
not want to assign or accept responsibility:
(9) My letter has not yet been answered.
(10) A mistake has been made in calculating your change.

30. Uses of the passive
(III) we feel there is no need for mentioning the agent
because the identification is unimportant or obvious from
the context:
(11) The small thin pieces of metal at the sides are to protect the
appliance during handling and may be discarded.
(12) Nowadays sleeping sickness can usually be cured if it is
detected early enough.
(IV) In scientific and technical writing, writers often use the
passive to avoid the constant repetition of the subject I or
we and to put emphasis on processes and experimental
procedures. This use of the passive helps to give the writing
the objective tone that the writers wish to convey.
(13) The subject was blindfolded and a pencil was placed in the left
hand.

31. Uses of the passive
(V) To put emphasis on the agent of the action
(VI) To avoid what would otherwise be a long
active subject
(VII) to retain the same subject in later parts of
the sentence
The following sentence exemplifies a combination of
the reasons V-VII for using the passive:
(14) As a cat moves, it is kept informed of its
movements not only by its eyes, but also by messages
from its pads and elsewhere in its skin, its organs of
balance, and its sense organs of joints and muscles.