Phrasal or Prepositional?? – WSI

Last Friday I set out trying to teach phrasal verbs versus prepositional verbs in a 'complementary' class (language-focused class) with very little information provided in the teacher's manual at the institute. During the class I discovered some interesting things -not the least of which a slightly dazzled group of learners- including the many and varied types of what I know now as 'compound verbs'. So perhaps best to draw a rough line between them all to separate.

Some like to analyse the form of them and classify them under different 'types'. Others prefer to learn them as individual items of vocabulary.

The term 'phrasal verb' was first used in "Words and Idioms" (1925) by North American-born essayist, critic and literary perfectionist, Logan Pearsall Smith. Compound verbs have existed throughout the history of language are not exclusive to English. They are very common in all the languages of India, in Korean, Japanese and modern Greek, to name a few.. In Quichua-influenced Spanish, Ecuador, compound verbs have been innovated into the language

De rabia puso rompiendo la olla, 'In anger (he/she) smashed the pot.' (Lit. from anger put breaking the pot). Or, Botaremos matándote 'we will kill you.'

A 'prepositional verb' is a type 2 compound verb (or multiword verb). A compound verb is made up of a verb and a particle, be it a preposition and/ or an adverb (e.g. away, back, off, on, out). There also exist type 1, 3, 4 compound verbs.

Type 2 compound verbs need an object and this can't go between the verb and particle i.e. they are transitive and inseparable

She never asks me to look after her children. (NOT . . . look her children after.)

We were heading towards Sydney. (NOT *. . . heading Sydney towards.)

It is type 1 and type 3 that are phrasal verbs, which can be used in both a literal though more often than not, idiomatic or figurative sense i.e the meaning must be inferred and is elusive to the learner; it is not readily understood; it has a meaning which is different to the original verb. Learners often find phrasal verbs more challenging. A phrasal verb is made up of a verb and an adverb.


Phrasal verbs are usually used informally in everyday speech as opposed to the more formal Latinate verbs, such as “to get together” rather than “to congregate”, “to put off” rather than “to postpone”, or “to get out” rather than “to exit”.

Type 1 compound verbs do not need an object i.e. they are intransitive

We got up early. The plane took off. 

Type 3 compound verbs need an object which can go between or after* the verb and particle i.e. they are intransitive and separable

Can you put my parents up if they come? 

Don't bring these problems up at the meeting.

*however, if the object is a pronoun we have to put it between the verb and the particle e.g. put them up; bring them up. (NOT put up them; bring up them.)



Type 4 compound verbs need an object and have two particles which must stay together, a preposition and an adverb i.e. this type is transitive and insperable

You should look up to your parents. (NOT . . . look up parents to.)

The difference between compound verbs and other verbs followed by an adverb or preposition

In compound verbs the verbs and the particle(s) function as inseparable parts of a single unit of meaning. In the case of 'He made up a story' it would be nonsense to ask and answer questions about the individual components of the compound verb; to check the concepts of the individual parts:

1. What did he do? He made
2. In which direction? up
3. Up what? a story

In a straight forward combination of verb plus preposition or adverb (e.g. He ran up the stairs) we can ask and answer these questions

1. What did he do? He ran
2. In which direction? up
3. Up What? the stairs

note: depending on context the same combination of two words may sometimes be a compound verb or  sometimes not:

He looked up the meaning in the dictionary: look up is a compound verb.

He looked up and saw her smiling at him: up is an adverb saying where he looked.

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Grammar for English Language Teachers (2008) by Martin Parrott