Quilombos and phrasal

verbs

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs Agenda

A brief history of phrasal verbs

Introduction: Why do people use phrasal verbs?!

Fun figures of speech/phrasal idiomatic phrases

How to learn phrasal verbs

Splitting phrasal verbs

Formal vs. Informal

Activities

Phrasal Verbs in Old English

“Old English”: Anglo-Saxon English spoken from 5th to12th Century England & Scotland

Old English generally did not possess phrasal verbs. But, They did exist, although they were rare. More common in Old English was the inseparable-prefix verb, a form in which the particle was attached to the beginning of the verb; comparable to current phrasal forms.

Old English vs. “modern” English

monotransitive verb TO BURN

Phrasal monotransitive verb TO BURN UP

Bærnan (to burn) forbærnan (to burn up)

The prefix “for-” remained affixed to the verb and could not move as modern particles can. Such Old English compound verbs were also highly idiomatic, in that the meaning of the compound form did not necessarily reflect

the meaning of the root.

Phrasal Verbs in Middle English

“Middle English”: English used throughout the English empire roughly from the12th to 17th Century

Theories vary about why the participle shifted from the base to the end of the verb

- Middle English had stricter syntax rules from SOV to SVO

-the influence of french on the upper classes

-changes in STRESS PATTERNS: prefixes in Old English compound verbs were unstressed, while post-verbal particles carried stress, making them stronger and thus preserving their lexical value

Phrasal Verbs in Pre/Modern English

“Pre/Modern English”: English from the 17th to now

Phrasal Verbs were initiated more in letters and dramas than in academic writing

phrasal verbs occupied a lower social position in Early Modern English than, perhaps, single Latinate verbs that could fill their semantic fields

Phrasal verbs took on different idiomatic meanings

Phrasal Verbs in Pre/Modern English

Stage-three compound nouns arose

Ex: “breakdown” and “comeback”

The stress on the particle in the verbal form (we say, “I have to break DOWN these boxes) moved from the particle to the verbal component when the compound acted as a noun (as in, “he had a BREAKdown”).

It was also in this period that pronominal objects were firmly established before particles (“She put it on” not *She put on it) as a standard practice, while nominal objects retained movement before and after the particle (She put the dress on / She put on the dress).

Why do people use Phrasal Verbs now?

What’s an idiom?

Greek: ἴδιος – idios, "one’s own”

An expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning different from the literal meaning of the words used.

Fun figures of speech (idiomatic phrases)

Drumroll…………………

Phrasal verbs

Put up or shut up

Put your head in where it’s not wanted

They really put on the ritz for us last weekend!

He put some distance between himself and his ex-wife.

They put him away for life.

He put Jerry on to his new job.

Phrasal Verbs

How can I use them?

Devastating news for English learners: you have to just memorize phrasal verbs and their meanings, in the same way that French or Spanish learners have to memorize verb conjugations.

And I’m sorry to say that there are thousands of phrasal verbs.

Deal with it!! (jk)

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb in Present-Day English is a verb that takes a complementary preposition or adverb and has an idiomatic meaning. Distinguishing adverbs from prepositions depends on context. For example:

To fix up = “up” here is an adverb and

not the preposition because up can move:

He fixed the car up

Splitting phrasal Verbs

The only definitive rule:

When the object of the monotransitive phrasal verb is a person or pronoun and the phrasal verb is separable

you MUST separate the phrasal verb and insert the person/pronoun

Ex: We took him out to dinner

Look her up on facebook. No, I’m scared!

Wake her up because it’s time to go!

Formal vs. Informal

Remember, if you have a doubt, just use a latinate based word or an equivalent that won’t get you thrown out of a meeting.

The common use of phrasal verbs began in the middle/pre english by the lower classes and was a way to invoke a double meaning to pre existing words.

Does this happen today? Do people make new definitions from pre existing words?

Of course (o sea MANZANA!)

Let’s make combinations!

run     off

go      on

come  over

hang   away

get     up

put    around

Phrasal Activities

Work it out!!Don’t give up!!

Thanks!