Many verbs in English are followed by an adverb or a preposition (also called a particle), and these two-part verbs, also called phrasal verbs, are different from verbs with helpers. The particle that follows the verb changes the meaning of the phrasal verb in idiomatic ways:
Phrasal Verbs And Idioms
Such phrasal verbs are the main way new verbs enter the English language. They usually begin in casual speech where they become part of our everyday vocabulary and eventually become recognized as acceptable standard usage.
TIP: A good strategy for memorizing phrasal verbs is to make flash cards of phrases that you come across. You can write the phrase on one side of the card and draw or cut out a picture that depicts the phrase on the back of the card. Flash cards are very useful and can prove to be very successful.
For the second difficulty, there are several different solutions depending on the construction of the phrasal verb. First of all, it is important to know that phrasal verbs can either be transitive (the verb takes a direct object) or intransitive (the verb cannot take a direct object).
Idioms and phrasal verbs are parts of English grammar which have specific and unique use within sentences and typically contribute to building sentence structure and hence meaning to the whole phrase. Therefore, it is essential that you understand the use of phrasal verbs and idioms within a sentence, the appropriate instances when they are to be used and the exact place in the sentence where they are to be included in a sentence. Idioms and phrasal verbs when used appropriately go a long way in improving the sentence structure and making your write up interesting.
Idioms, in some cases, may also be used to refer to certain words or phrases used by a group of people with similar characteristics such as people speaking the same dialect, people in the same occupational field among others. This may at times create a communication barrier, especially where you come across a new phrasal verb and do not understand the context in which the idiom was used. It is therefore vital for a writer using any dialect related idiom to try and expound on it and any reader to always be cautious about idioms he or she has not come across and try to understand some of the culture and dialect of the people and not just assuming the meaning of the idiom used. It is also important to note that most phrasal verbs also form idioms since they have a figurative language.
A phrasal verb is a phrase formed from a combination of a verb and an adjective, preposition or both either before or after the verb that results in an idiomatic phrase. The phrasal verbs typically give a different meaning from the specific words combined to form it. As mentioned earlier, the combination of a preposition and a verb leads to a prepositional idiom. Besides, some phrasal verbs are formed with a verb and two prepositions for example; look forward to where look is the verb, forward is the first preposition and to is the second preposition.
Phrasal verbs can be either transitive (verbs that take a direct object) or intransitive (verbs that cannot take the direct object). Some transitive verbs can be separated, that is, the verb and adverb or preposition making the phrasal verbs are not written on after the other in a sentence but rather separated by a direct object. The noun does not come between the noun and the preposition, but a pronoun will come in between the verb and preposition. For example;
It is prudent to note that: Some phrasal verbs may have more than one meaning, and hence one has to understand the different meanings and how to incorporate them in a sentence correctly to bring out the intended meaning. For example;
As mentioned earlier, phrasal verbs and idioms are particles of English grammar which are applied in different situations to bring out the intended meaning in a much more exciting way. Hence, it is prudent for everyone especially students to understand the appropriate use of these parts of English grammar effectively. Idioms and phrasal verbs can be applied when: writing stories, books and articles that are only meant for entertainment, writing plots for plays, movies and other acting scenes, writing poems and songs. In essence, idioms and phrasal verbs are widely used in the entertainment industry and academic set-up but strictly in personal documents such as informal essays and articles.
Other idioms take a different route from the ones mentioned above. These idioms make a comparison between one object and another and are essentially used to create emphasis on the intended meaning. These include;
Phrasal verbs and idioms are frequently used in everyday English. They are also used in more specific language as equivalents for special terms. The use of phrasal verbs and idioms by native patients and health care workers makes their communication easier and less confusing. Non-native medical workers often come across with English phrasal verbs (idioms) in authentic texts and communication. They should be able to recognize them and after analyzing their meaning include them into their own active vocabulary (Ref. 5).
Norbert Schmitt and Ron Martinez published a report in the Journal of Applied Linguistics about some of the most common phrasal expressions in the British National Corpus, a 100 million word collection of written and spoken language.
Particles, Prepositions, Phrasal Verbs & Idioms for ESL Students - Chapter SummaryEveryone who has learned a second language knows how complicated idioms can be to the uninitiated, and prepositions, particles, and phrasal verbs can be just as confusing. Take a gander at the fun and interesting video and text lessons in this chapter to get up to speed on these confusing areas of the English language. The lessons here will talk about:
English has become an international language with the rapid development of globalization. Nowadays, English plays a critical part in international communication. A large number of people in China are learning English as a foreign language. That is, an essential part of language learning is word, which is unquestionable to all. Vocabulary also plays a crucial role in second language acquisition. Krashen and Terrell [1] noted that because it plays a prominent role in classroom success, vocabulary is of prime concern in foreign language settings. Wilkins [2] stated that little can be conveyed without grammar whereas nothing can be conveyed without vocabulary. As is shown in Jiang and Zhong [3], different sentence patterns are constructed by different types of verbs. English verbs are the most active among all the parts of speech. It is of great importance and significance for English learners to master these verbs and their corresponding phrasal verbs and idioms. Despite most high-frequency verbs are taught at a relatively early stage of English teaching and learning, Chinese learners still do not fully grasp them and they are not quite familiar with all of the keep phrasal verbs and idioms. Chinese learners cannot employ these expressions freely in their output.
This present research concentrates on the authentic employment of keep phrasal verbs and idioms by Chinese learners in comparison with native speakers. Furthermore, the author points out whether the differences between Chinese learners and native speakers are significant or not with the help of computer instruments. In addition, some pedagogical implications and learning tips are provided accordingly in the research.
The data needed are the sentences in which keep phrasal verb and idioms appear. Computer software has brought great convenience and efficiency in order that the data needed for research can be obtained. Antconc, SPSS, and Microsoft Excel were employed in this study [7]. Antconc is used to extract the required test words and expressions from the three copora. SPSS software package is used for Chi-square test. Microsoft Excel is used to calculate and display the results by way of graphs.
This paper focuses on features of keep in context, that is, keep phrasal verbs and idioms used by Chinese learners in St3 and St4 in CLEC as well as English native speakers in Brown. In addition, the similarities and differences between Chinese learners and English native speakers on the use of them are also investigated in the thesis.
The overall frequencies of keep phrasal verbs in Brown, St3, and St4 are listed in Table 2 to examine whether Chinese learners have a tendency to overuse or underuse keep phrasal verbs compared with English native speakers.
The critical value for all Chi-square tests is 3.84 for one degree of freedom at five percent level. Table 3 shows that there is no significant difference across the three corpora as to the use of keep phrasal verbs. In spite of this, it is rather possible that the employment of each phrasal verb across the corpora is different. Table 4 is offered to investigate the thirteen keep phrasal verbs employed by Chinese learners and English native speakers in detail. In Table 4, phrasal verbs are arranged in the sequence from high frequency to low frequency in Brown.
To sum up, as to keep phrasal verbs and idioms, Chinese learners only use a smaller portion in comparison with native speakers. Chinese learners ought to improve their use of keep in context.
With 20 years experience in finance, Shanthi Cumaraswamy Streat is a Business English Trainer and founder of English with a Twist. In this article, Shanthi shares 30 phrasal verbs every professional should know when it comes to formal and informal meetings.
My clients often ask me how best they should learn phrasal verbs and I categorically tell them that memorising a list of phrasal verbs out of context is a big NO! What is far more effective is to learn them in the different settings they find them. If the setting is familiar, the phrasal verb will be easier to understand and remember.
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