2 Transitive rule: place the adverb either BEFORE the verb, or AFTER the object or
particle, whichever comes last. Example:
She picked the letter up. ⇒ She eagerly picked the letter up.
OR She picked the letter up eagerly.
OR She picked up the letter eagerly.
e. He lifted up the box quickly.
Or He lifted the box up quickly. Or He lifted up the box quickly.
f. She put the baby down gently.
Or She put the baby gently down. Or She put down the baby gently.
g. hurriedly I took the books back.
3.2 Using Phrasal Verbs
Now the writer of this paper wants to discuss when to use the phrasal verbs relating phrasal verbs to.
1 Other verbs in English climb down: descend
2 Simple adjectives bright: brighten: brighten up
3 Nouns brick: brick up
Phrasal Verbs
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The simple verbs and particles which form phrasal verbs are mainly Anglo-Saxon in origin. The vast majority of such simple verbs have only one
syllable come, go, run etc. They are common in everyday speech, in talking to children, in slang, when making emotional remarks and informal comments. They
are often used by native speakers of English to explain academic verbs of Latin origin.
Examples: When I say they consumed all the fuel, I mean they used it all up.
If you eject someone or something, you throw them out. If you descend, you climb down or come down or go down.
This contrast is widespread. It is a contrast between FAMILIAR phrasal verbs and FORMAL Latin verbs. Study these tables:
They Used up
All the fuel FAMILIAR
Consumed FORMAL
They gathered together
In the hall FAMILIAR
Congregated assembled FORMAL
It is possible to ‘translate’ the Familiar into the Formal in this way.
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It is also frequently possible to relate the structural elements of the phrasal verbs to the structural elements of the Latin verbs, in this way:
Climb up Climb down
A scend de scend
In this exercise, pairs of verbs are given in brackets at the beginning of each sentence. In each pair, a phrasal verb is matched with a Latin verb. Use each
verb in turn in its sentence, making the sentence, making the sentence first FAMILIAR, the FORMAL.
Example: rise up lascend
The smoke began to ______into the air FAMILIAR 1
The smoke began to rise up into the air. 2
The smoke began to ascend into the air.
Example: put out
He extinguished the flames. ⇒
He put out the flames. go away fall down run off
put off tear down split up
The people slowly departed.
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a. The old building collapsed
b. The workmen demolished the factory
c. The committee want to delay the decision
d. The banker decamped with his clients’ money
e. The party will divide into smaller groups
Example: extinguish
He put out the flames ⇒
He extinguished the flames
Pairing Verbs
NOTE 1
The pairs given in this unit are often exchangeable in this way, but not always 2
In some cases, one phrasal verb may match several Latin verbs. In some cases, one Latin verb may match several phrasal verbs. The context and the speaker’s
attitude dictate the best use of the appropriate verb. Example
Bring back 1 He {brought back restored} the death penalty
2 She {brought back returned} the money 3 The dog {brought back returned} the bird.
Demolish 1 They {demolished knocked down} the bird
2 They {demolished tore down} the house 3 They {demolished blew up} the house.
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Literal and Figurative Uses
Phrasal verb often have two distinct uses: 1 Literal, where they have a normal meaning related to the verb and particle, and
2 Figurative, where they have a metaphoric meaning. This metaphoric use is almost always familiar and informal, and often slangy.
Example LITERAL
The milkman brought in the milk FIGURATIVE
The prime minister brought in a new policy Here the same verb has distinct effects. Only in the figurative use can ‘bring in’ be
paired with the Latin verb ‘introduce’: T
he milkman brought in the milk G
he prime minister {brought in introduced a new policy} Jokes are often made by deliberately confusing the literal and figurative
uses of phrasal verbs. Study the following sentences, where the first is literal and the second figurative.
a. 1 The little boy ran out of the house
2 The oil supply ran out. =was completely consumed b.
1 The girl came down in her dressing grown 2 The family came down in our estimation =lost status
c. 1 They carried out the suitcases
2 They carried out the search = conducted, prosecuted d.
1 She picked up the bottles 2 she picked up some strange ideas = acquired
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e. 1 The water wore the stonework down
2 His boring speech wore us all down =exhausted
Phrasal Verb and Adjectives
Verbs ending in –en for example, harden, quicken, smarten are formed on simple adjectives of Anglo-Saxon origin hard, quick, smart. They have the
meaning ‘become’ or ‘make happen’: A particle is often added to these verbs emphasize their meaning:
Example: The rope wasn’t tight.
They tightened it. They tightened it up.
The water slowly became cool. It cooled down a.
The cloth slowly became dry. It dried out. b.
The lake became completely dry. It dried out. c.
The soup soon became warm. It soon warmed. d.
The trees became thin and scattered near the road. The trees scattered out near the road.
e. The decorator wanted the paint to be thinner. He put white spirit in it to decorator.
f. The girl made the room tidy when she finished working. She finished it down.
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3.3 Phrasal Verbs and Nouns
