E-371 Syntax

Førsteamanuensis Peter Svenonius

Phrasal verbs and the verb-particle construction

The expression phrasal verb refers, in English grammar, to a combination of a verb and a prepositional or adverbial particle, in which the combination often takes on a meaning which is apparently not the simple sum of its parts, for example 'turn up' meaning 'appear.' The expression verb-particle construction is most often used to refer to the instantiation of phrasal verbs in which a noun phrase appears alternatively before or after the particle, as in 'look up the answer' and 'look the answer up.'

The verb-particle construction has been much-studied; it is sometimes hailed as the embodiment of the genius of the English language; for example, Roberts (1936:480) calls it "one of the most effective instruments of thought ever evolved", and Smith (1925:255) suggests that "[i]t would almost seem as if these particles and verbs of action took the place in our northern speech of the gestures in which our intercourse is lacking, but which are so vivid an accompaniment to the speech of the Latin peoples, whose languages are poor in the emphatic use of particles."

The construction has also inspired a substantial wealth of work in generative linguistics. It is the aim of this course to explore that literature in search of a deeper understanding of this ubiquitous construction.