Chapter I. Theoretical part

MOSCOW REGION STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ROMANCE AND GERMANIC LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUISTICS

REPORT

 

Theme:

 

«Features of the formation of phrasal verbs in English»

Written by:

Sofya Kononistova

the 2^nd year student of the group 21A7N

 

Research Adviser:

Solovyova N.V.

Professor, Candidate of Philology, Docent

 

                                          Moscow, 2020

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………… 3

CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL PART……………. ……………………………... 5

1.1 The history of Phasal verbs……………...………………………………………. 5

1.2 Morphological characteristics.……..……………………………………………. 6

1.3 Syntactic characteristics of phrasal verbs ………………………………...……. 8

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………... 9

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………... 10

 

INTRODUCTION

Language is a living phenomenon that has been developing and evolving for thousands of years. The language is an inseparable part of the country's culture and history. Any historically significant event does not occur without interfering with the language, enriching it with new words and expressions.

A distinctive feature of the English language is the presence of a separate group of words - Phrasal verbs, which make up almost half of all the words in the English dictionary. Phrasal verbs are the verbs which consist of two or more parts and may substitute a one-word verb to make your speech richer and more native.  They are a very vital component that needs to be taught carefully.

 However, students have great difficulty in memorizing phrasal verbs. In order to learn them more easily, it is necessary to get to know them better, study their origin and understand the ways of formation. This topic deserves special attention, moreover, it is extremely educational and beneficial for my studies, therefore I have chosen to carry out a research on how these precious words are formed and used.

The object of the research: the English language.

The subject of research: Phrasal verbs.

The aim of the research: Find out the features of formation of Phrasal verbs.

Tasks of the research:

1. Gathering information using various sources;

2. Processing of data, analysis of the formation of the Phrasal verbs;

3. Conducting research, processing all the information received and making all the data.

 

CHAPTER I. THEORETICAL PART.

 1.1 The history of Phasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs is a very extraordinary phenomena of the English language, which can be traced back to Middle Ages. Such constructions may be found in some Germanic languages, for instance, in Dutch or Italian, but they hardly exist in other language families, therefore they are considered to be a peculiarity, which is typical exceptionally to the English language.

Van Dongen (1919) claims that some elements of Phrasal verbs go back to Old English, in which adverbs or particles occurred by default as post-positions, but could also occur in other positions in the sentence (7, p. 325). The writer takes up the position that the verbs stem from the Middle English, where “the adverb is more and more attracted by the verb and takes its place before the noun-object” (p. 325). He confirms the existence of Phrasal verbs in such masterpiecees as Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and in the Wycliffe Bible (2003), and assures that the particles in Old English were predicates, and only later they started functioning as the part of phrasal verbs [1].

The number of Phrasal verbs in the English language has been dramatically increasing since the nineteenth century [1]. However, according to Samuel Johnson, phrasal verbs spring in 1755, when he first describes them as “compositions”, nevertheless, one hundred years earlier Walker denotes some particles as “part of the signification of the foregoing verb” (p.1).

The drastic development of phrasal verbs has been evolving for the past fifty years, especially in the Unites States of America. Although the English language is widespread and known, in every English – speaking country there may be local kinds of Phrasal verbs, which are familiar exactly to this place and culture.  

Moreover, any significant event which happens in the world and effects people’s loves also makes a series of changes in the number of the verbs.

Nowadays Phrasal verbs make up most of the language. They may be used both is speech and in writing, and may very depending on the register: formal and informal.

The precise meaning and usage can be identified in general dictionaries or in the dictionaries which specialize only on the field of Phrasal verbs.

                      

               1.2. Morphological characteristics  

           Morphologically Phrasal verbs are analysed the same way as single-word verbs and can be inflected with suffixes of the past tense, third person singular, perfective or progressive particles [1, стр.18]. The “verb” part of the Phrasal is inflected the way it would be inflected as a separate verb [1, стр.18]. If the verb comes after a third person pronoun, it receives the suffix -s/-es. The same way with all the tenses: the verbal part takes shape which suits to the context.

    In these examples we will look upon the morphological structure of the Phrasal verbs:

1. She carri es out a research (the verb is inflected by the suffix -s)

2. She carries a bag (the original verb with its first meaning).

3. You carry out a research (the verb has a second person, singular form).

4. She is carry ing out a research (the verb is inflected by the progressive suffix -ing).

5.  She carri ed out a research (the verb is inflected by the past tense suffix -ed)

6. They laid off half of the staff (the verb part transforms into the past participle)

7. They laid a book aside (the original verb with its first meaning).

The “verb” part of this phraseological unit abides the morphological and grammatical rules as any other verbs, but due to the post-particle, it drastically alters the meaning and has nothing to do with its parental verb, though they may be homophonous (sound the same).

 

                 Syntactic characteristics of phrasal verbs

According to the Merriam - Wester Dictionary, a phrasal verb is “a phrase (such as take off or look down on) that combines a verb with a preposition or adverb or both and that functions as a verb whose meaning is different from the combined meanings of the individual words” [5]. The Oxford Online Dictionaty denotes a phrasal verb as “a verb combined with an adverb or a preposition, or sometimes both, to give a new meaning, for example go in for, win over and see to” [4]. However, generally linguists define it simply as “a verb followed by a particle”[2]. The particle may be:

- A preposition (from):

- An adverb (away): go away

Despite the fact that the definitions may softly vary, phrasal verbs still are divided into several syntactic categories [2]:

· Intransitive Phrasal verbs

They require no direct object after the verb. This means that you cannot ask question to a verb.

My bike broke down on the way to the shopping mall

In this case, break down is an intransitive phrasal verb. The verb part ‘break’ is followed by a particle ‘down’ and it received a past tense form according to the contextual meaning.

    Sit down, students!

    In this example, you cannot sit something, it is no longer possible to ask a question “what?”, therefore there must not be an object.

    Intransitive phrasal verb may be also superficial. Although there is no direct object after the phraseological unit, it can be taken out from the context.

    Harry Potter got off at 9 3/9 Platform

    Here we can see, that there the object is understood superficially. Although it may be bot pronounced or written, it is extracted from sentence. He got off [a train] at 9 3/9 Platform.

· Transitive Phrasal verbs

In this case, one way round, the phrasal verb requires an object. This category may be sub-divided into three groups:

o Two-word inseparable Phrasal verbs

The phrasal verbs (prepositional verbs) consist of a verb and a particle, which cannot be separated from each other.

    I should cope with a difficult situation ( to cope with what? - With a difficult situation) [Subject + cope with + object]

    Children depend on their parents (Children depend on who? – on their parents) [Subject + depend on + object]

o Three-word inseparable phrasal verbs

According to Cambridge Dictionary, such phrasal verbs are also called as ‘Phrasal-prepositional verbs’, because they are combined with a verb, a particle (adverb) and a preposition.

    I am looking forward to my Birthday ( to look forward to what? – to my birthday) [Subject + look forward to + object]

o Separable phrasal verbs

In this case, the object may be inserted between the parts of the verb

        We put down the quarrel to a misunderstanding

                  [Subject + put dawn + object + to]

        Can you put me through Mr. Bonnet?

[Subject + put + object + through]

   The choice of whether to put the object before or after the particle is not always a completely free one. If the object contains information that the reader or listener already knows, it is more likely to come between the verb and the particle. But if the object presents new information, it is more likely to come after the particle. This is because we normally give more emphasis to new information than to information that is already known, and putting the object after the particle gives it a little more emphasis. For example, consider these two sentences:
    Ann slipped the jacket on to see what it looked like.
    She slipped on some flat sandals and made her way downstairs [3].

Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman (1983), and Nattinger & DeCarrico (1990) following Fraser (1976), have characterized phrasal verbs according to three semantic levels [2,стр.27]:

· Literal

    Those phrasal verbs where the meaning of each constituent retains its literal sense: I hung up the picture.

· Completive

Those phrasal verbs where the particle indicates a completed action: I tore up the piece of paper

· Figurative

Where the sense of the combination cannot be derived from the meanings of its constituent parts: Cheryl looked up the answer. Rock 'n Roll turned Jeffrey on [2,стр.27].

 

CONCLUSION

 

In conclusion, we can say that phrasal verbs are a completely new "product" of the English language, which appeared literally a hundred years ago. Over the time, the language is replenished with a huge number of phrasal verbs that can convey a thought much easier and faster. When studying and using phrasal verbs, it is necessary to consider which group they belong to, how they are formed and how they are used correctly. Theoretical knowledge alone may not be enough, so you should check their meaning in specialized dictionaries.

 

 

REFERENCES.

1. Anna Olson/ A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS /Text of a scientific article on the specialty "Linguistics and literary studies»/canilca [electronic resource]/ - 2013. – URL: https://www.canil.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2014-Olson-Anna.pdf

2. Brady, Brock, "The function of phrasal verbs and their lexical counterparts in technical manuals" (1991).

3. Elisabeth Potter./ The syntactic behavior of
phrasal verbs/Med magazine [electronic resource]/. – URL: http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/MED-Magazine/July2005/32-Phrasal-Verbs-Syntactic.htm#5

4. Phrasal Verb/[electronic resource]/Oxford Learner's Dictionary. - URL:

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/phrasal-verb?q=phrasal+verb

5. Phrasal Verb/[electronic resource]/Merriam - Webster Dictionary. - URL:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phrasal%20verb

6. Phrasal Verb/[electronic resource]/Cambridge Dictionary. - URL: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/phrasal-verbs-and-multi-word-verbs

7. Van Dongen, W. A. (1919). He put on his hat and He put his hat on. Neophilologus IV: 322-353.

8. Walker, William. (1655). A treatise of English particles. Facsimile edition 1970. Menston, England: The Scolar Press, Ltd