Complementation of verbs and adjectives – Introduction

 

Having studied Chapter 16 in Greenbaum and Quirk (Sections 16.1 – 16.10), you should be able to answer the following questions:

 

1.   What is the COMPLEMENTATION of verbs and adjectives? Explain this term:

= the grammatical patterns that follow a verb or adjective and complete / specify the meaning which the word implies

 

2.   In general, what does a MULTI-WORD VERB consist of?

= a multi-word verb is a combination of a LEXICAL VERB plus a PARTICLE

 

3.   What is a PARTICLE?

= either an ADVERB or PREPOSITION used in the formation of a MULTI-WORD VERB

- most particles can function both as adverbs and prepositions, e.g.

He looked up the word in the dictionary. (up = adverb)

He looked up the road. (up = preposition)

 

4.   According to which criteria do we distinguish 3 categories in multi-word verbs and which are they?

= the 3 categories differ in the type of a particle:

a)   phrasal verbs – the particle is an ADVERB, e.g. find out, give up, hold on, drop out, take off, pass away, fool around, …

b)   prepositional verbs – the particle is a PREPOSITION, such as cope with, break into, pay for, occur to, belong to, see to, consist of, …

c)   phrasal-prepositional verbs – verbs with 2 particles, an ADVERB followed by a PREPOSITION, e.g. put up with, come up with, do away with, look down on, look up to, …

 

5.   What is the main difference between PHRASAL VERBS and FREE COMBINATIONS?

- in phrasal verbs (e.g. The two friends have fallen out = quarrelled) it is not possible to predict the meaning of the idiomatic combination from the meaning of verb and particle in isolation

X

- in free combinations (like walk past) it is possible to predict the meaning from the meaning of verb and particle in isolation; the two parts (a verb and a particle) have distinct meanings

- in addition, the semantic separability of the two parts is shown by possible substitution: for walk in walk past we can substitute run, fly, swim, …and for past we can substitute by, in, through, over, etc.

- the adverb in a free combination has either an intensifying force (e.g. chatter away) or an aspectual force (e.g. drink up), but does not change the meaning of the lexical verb significantly

 

Further, there are also syntactic differences:

- in phrasal verbs the particle cannot be seperated from the lexical verb (She turned right up.)

- in free combinations this separation is possible, e.g. Go straight on.

 

- in phrasal verbs the particle cannot be fronted, such as Out they have fallen.  Up she turned.

- in free combinations the particle can be fronted, e.g. Out came the sun.   Up you came.

 

6.   Which of the two sentences represents a phrasal verb?

a) He took in the box, because it was raining outside.

b) He took in his girlfriend, and she’s never forgiven him.

- sentence b) represents the transitive phrasal verb take in meaning deceive

- in sentence a) the verb take in functions as a free combination and means bring inside; here the two parts preserve their separate meanings; we could also leave out the particle in and use something else instead, e.g. He took the box inside. He took the box into the house.

 

7.   According to the presence or absence of a DIRECT OBJECT, how can phrasal verbs be distinguished?

- intransitive phrasal verbs consist of a verb plus an adverb particle, like She was playing around.

- transitive phrasal verbs take a direct object, e.g. He’s bringing up two children.

 

8.   What is the POSITION of direct object in phrasal verbs? Does it precede or follow the particle?

- in general, the particle can either precede or follow the direct object:

My mother turned on the light.

My mother turned the light on.

 - however, when the object is a personal pronoun, the particle must usually follow the object:

My mother turned it on.  (NOT: My mother turned on it.)

 

9.   What is the difference between PREPOSITIONAL VERBS and FREE COMBINATIONS?

- with prepositional verbs we can make a corresponding passive clause (where the prepositional object becomes the subject):

We paid for the tickets. -> The tickets were paid for.

- this is not possible with free combinations:

He called after lunch.  (NOT possible: Lunch was called after.) (instead of …called after lunch, we could say, for instance, before lunch or during the lunch => the particle after can be replaced => it is a free combination, NOT a prepositional verb)

 

10.   What is the difference between PREPOSITIONAL VERBS and PHRASAL VERBS?

a)

- the particle of a prepositional verb must precede the prepositional object:

He paid for the tickets.  (NOT: He paid the tickets for.)

- the particle of a phrasal verb can, in general, precede or follow the direct object:

He switched off the radio.   OR    He switched the radio off.

 

b)

- when the object is a personal pronoun, the pronoun follows the particle of a prepositional verb:

He paid for them. (NOT He paid them for.)

- when the object is a personal pronoun, the pronoun precedes the particle of a phrasal verb:

He switched it off. (NOT He switched off it.)

c)

- the particle of a prepositional verb is normally unstressed:

He PAID for the tickets.

- the particle of a phrasal verb is normally stressed:

He switched it OFF.

 

11.   What other MULTI-WORD VERB constructions do you know?

a) verb – adjective combinations: plead guilty, put sth straight, cut sth short, rub oneself dry

b) verb – verb combinations: make do with, get rid of, have done with, …

- the second verb is nonfinite, and may be either an infinitive, or a participle

c) verbs with two prepositions:  develop from N to N , struggle with N for N, compete with N for N, talk to N about N

- normally either one or both prepositional phrases can be omitted in c) type