Teaching and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs of English in The Context of Sudan

Appendix 2.a

Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs Treatment of Grammatical Behaviour of

Multi-Word Verbs of English

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(CATEGORY 1)

[vp] intransitive pattern with a particle

No.	Subject	Verb Phrase	Particle	(adverb phrase etc)
		Verb
1	A gang of thieves	broke	in	last night
2	A squadron of jet fighters	flew	past.
3	Anthony Sher	makes	up	for the part of Richard III
4	Students	are sitting	in	at the university
5	The astronauts	splashed	down	perfectly at 3 pm local time
6	The pilot	took	off	smoothly
7	Parker	throws	in	near the half-way line
8	The runners	are warming	up	quickly before the race
9	Building workers	walked	out	during the morning
10	The snow	came	down	thick and fast
11	The water	went	off	for a couple of hours
12	The sun	went	in.
13	The prices	came	down.
14	He was	waiting	about	here for a whole hour

Notes

a. There is a relationship of intransitive to transitive between this pattern & (Vn , p], [Vn.p] and [vp.n], as is shown by the many correspondences between individual items:

[Vp] Parker throws in near the half-way line.

[vn.p] Parker throws the ball in near the half-way line.

b. An adverb is not normally inserted between the verb and particle, especially when the combination is idiomatic. But note:

12. The Sun went right in.

13. The prices came right down (when people started buying elsewhere).

[Vp nom] nominalized form of verb + particle

No.	Subject	Do/make	Object	(adv phrase etc)
1	A gang of thieves	Did	a break-in	last night
2	A squadron of jet fighters	did/staged	a flypast
3	Anthony Sher	does	his make-up	for the part of Richard III
4	Students	are staging	a sit-in	at the university
5	The astronauts	made	a perfect splashdown	at 3pm local time
6	The pilot	made	a smooth take-off
7	Parker	takes	a throw-in	near thehalf-ways line
8	The runners	are having	a quick warm-up	before the race
9	Building workers	staged	a walk-out	during the morning

Notes

a. Various ‘nominalized’ forms are derived from verbs with particles used in the [Vp] basic pattern. The form referred to as [Vp nom] in the code consists of the base form of the verb plus the particle, which in writing may be hyphenated, thus: break-in, make-up, sit-in, take-off, or fully linked, thus: flypast, splashdown. The nouns are pronounced with principal stress on the verbal element:

‘break-in, ‘make-up, ‘flypast, ‘splashdown

b. Nominalized forms often function in sentence types which stand in a paraphrase relationship to the basic [Vp] pattern. In the type shown in the above table, the nom form occurs as Direct Object, while the verb is one of a small set which includes ‘do’, ‘make’, and ‘take’.

c. The nominalized from also functions as the complement of the verb ‘to be’ in a sentence introduced by ‘there’:

1. There was a break-in last night.

2. There was a flypast (by jet fighters).

4. There is a sit-in (by students) at the university.

7. There is a thrown-in (by Parker) near the half-way line.

9. There was a walk-out (by building workers) during the morning.

d. This transformation is normally confined to idiomatic combinations (i.e. phrasal verbs) though not all of those allow it.

[Vp emph] emphatic transform

No.	Particle	verb phrase	subject	(adv phrase etc)
10	Down	came	the snow	thick and fast
11	Off	went	the water.
12	In	went	the sun.
13	Down	came	the prices.

Notes

a. In this transform, the particle precedes the verb (or verb phrase) and the subject follows. Compare:

[Vp] The prices came down.

[Vp emph] Down came the prices

In this transform the particle may be stressed; stress combined with initial position gives the particle special prominence.

b. In some sentences in which the subject is a noun phrase, it may precede the verb:

13 Down the prices came.

c. When the subject of the ‘emphatic’ sentence’ sentence is a pronoun, however, it must precede the verb:

13 Down they came

d. The verbs and particles in sentences 1-9 of the [Vp] tale are not normally transposed:

5. ? Down splashed the astronauts perfectly.

6. * Off took the pilot smoothly.

In fact, it is generally the case that when combinations are idiomatic (phrasal verbs), as in these two cases, the emphatic transformation cannot be applied.

(CATEGORY 2)

[Vpr] intransitive pattern with a preposition

No.	Subject	verb phrase		prepositional phrase		(adv phrase etc)
			verb	prep	Object
1	He		glanced	through	the article	quickly
2	He		ran	through	the main points	briefly
3	We	were	banking	on	a change of heart
4	You	can	cope	with	these few extra people	easily.
5	He	has	provided	for	his family	well.
6	We	‘ve	talked	about	this topic	endlessly.
7	A gang of thieves		broke	into	smith’s warehouse	last night.
8	Olive		gets	at	her husband	frequently.
9	The Chancellor	would	go	into	these proposals	very.
10	He	can	reckon	on	a safe political future	with some confidence
11	I		got	through	the written papers	with special coaching
12	The question of a reprieve	may	turn	on	the age of the victim
13	All our opes		rested	upon	this venture
14	He		went	off	driving	altogether
15	The company	has	fallen	into	disrepute	in recent years

Notes

a. Some of the expressions appearing here have transitive equivalents (compare nos. 11 and 14 in this table with nos. 8 and 10, [Vn.pr] table)

b. In many cases, an adverb or adverbial phrase can be inserted between the verb phrase and the prepositional phrase:

4. You can cope easily with these few extra people.

10. He can reckon with some confidence on a safe political future.

There may be restriction when the combination is highly idiomatic, though not in every case. Compare:

8. *live gets frequently at her husband.

9. The Chancellor would go very carefully into these proposals.

[Vpr nom] nominalized form of verb + preposition

Notes

a. Nouns referred to in grammatical codes as {Vpr nom] have the internal pattern ‘base form + preposition’. The dictionary does not record any case where they are written as fully joined. The hyphenated form corresponds to the stressing in speech of the verb element:

‘Glance-through, ‘run-through

The user should note that hyphenated nouns derived from some verb + preposition items have a corresponding unlinked form, with principal stress falling on the final element.

Compare:

a quick ‘flick-through / a quick flick ‘through

another ‘skim-through / another skim ‘through

It is also worth noting that none of these examples are highly idiomatic.

b. These ‘nom’ forms occur in a number of sentence patterns, some of which are paraphrases of the basic [Vpr] pattern:

1. He gave the article a quick glance-through

2. He did a brief run-through of the main points.

No.	Subject	Verb phrase		(adv phrase etc)
			Verb	Prep.
1	The article	was	glanced	through	quickly.
2	The main points	were	run	through	briefly.
3	A change of heart	was being	banked	on.
4	These few extra people	can be	coped	with	easily.
5	His family	has been	provided	for	well.
6	This topic	has been	talked	about	Endlessly
7	Smith’s warehouse	was	broken	into	last night.
8	Her husband	is	got	at	frequently.
9	These proposals	would be	gone	into	very carefully.
10	A safe political future	can be	reckoned	on	with some confidence.

Notes

a. The transform is derived from the active pattern by moving the prepositional object to initial position (with corresponding modification of the verb phrase)

Compare:

[Vpr] The Chancellor would go into these proposals very carefully.

[Vpr pass] These proposals would be gone into very carefully.

An ‘agentive’ prepositional would be gone into very carefully (by the Chancellor).

b. There is no simple one-to-one correspondence between idiomaticity and the application of this transform. Some sentences containing an idiomatic combination (phrasal verb) may be passivized:

8 Olive gets at her husband frequently.

Her husband is got at frequently.

but the same is true of many sentences containing less idiomatic items:

1. He glanced through the article quickly.

The article was glanced through quickly.

b. Sentences in which the prepositional object is part of a complex idiom are generally not passivized.

15 *Disrepute has been fallen into in recent years.

d. Some expressions are recorded in the dictionary which function in passive sentences of the [Vpr] type though not in the corresponding active patterns. A highly irregular group is made up of such items as unaccounted for, uncalled for, and unguessed at. Certain of these combinations have a corresponding finite form without the negative prefix, thus account for, call for, guess at, and this can be used in both active and passive sentences. Compare:

These missiles are unaccounted for by the authorities.

These missiles are accounted for by the authorities.

These authorities have accounted for these missiles.

However, there is no such sentences as

*The authorities have unaccounted for these missiles.

to correspond, as active, to the first of the set of three.

[Vpr pass (o)] passive transform, with the object of a second preposition becoming the subject of the passive sentence

Notes

a. A small number of idiomatic expressions, such as get to the bottom of or get to grips with, form their passives in a special way. It will be seen that the expressions contain a verb and two prepositions and that the object of the first preposition is an integral part of the idiom.

b. In this special passive transform, the object of the second preposition is transposed to front position in the sentence (where it functions as Subject of the passive construction):

[Vpr] I’ll get to the bottom of this whole business.

[Vpr pass(o)] This whole business will be got to the bottom of.

[Vpr] You got to grips with the basic trouble inside an hour.

[Vpr pass(o)] The basic trouble was got to grips with inside an hour.

[Vpr adj] noun phrase with a participial adjective

Noun Phrase
No.	Article	(adv)	participial adj	noun etc
1	The	quickly	glanced-though	article…
3	A		banked-on	change of heart….
4	These	easily	coped-with	extra people….
5	His	well	provided-for	family….
6	This	endlessly	talked-about	topic…..
7	A (an)	(easily)	broken-into	warehouse….
9	these	carefully	gone-into	proposals…..

Notes

a. Here, the noun phrase is drawn from the basic sentence as a whole and the participial adjective from the verb and preposition which function in that sentence. The grammatical link between the sentence and the phrase is most clearly shown by relating both to the passive:

[Vpr] He glanced through the article quickly.

[Vpr pass] The article was quickly glanced through.

[Vpr adj] The quickly glanced-through article.

b. The connection of meaning between this transform and the passive is particularly close when the latter indicates a state (non a process). Compare:

His family seems well provided for.

His seems a well provided-for family.

c. It is often essential to place an adverb before the participial adj, as in most of the examples here. When an adverb must be placed before the adj in any [Vpr] entry, this is pointed out in a footnote.

[Vpr emph] emphatic transform

No.	Prepositional phrase		Subject Verb phrase			(adv phrase etc)
	Prep	object			verb
4	With	these few extra people	you	can	cope	easily.
5	for	his family	he	has	provided	well.
10	On	a safe political future	he	can	reckon	with some confidence
12	On	the age of the victim	The question of a reprieve	turn	turn.
13	Upon	this venture	all our hopes	rested	rested.

Notes

a. This transform involves a simple change of order: the prepositional phrase of the basic pattern is transposed to initial position (cf. [Vn.pr emph]):

[Vpr] He can reckon on a safe political future with some confidence.

[Vpr emph] on a safe political future he can reckon with some confidence.

b. When the subject is a pronoun it must precede the verb phrase in this transform (cf [Vp emph]). The following sentence is unacceptable:

5. *For his family has provided he well.

When the subject is a noun, or noun phrase, it will precede the verb phrase in some sentences (as it would in nos. 4, 5 and 10 above) but may precede or follow in others (nos. 12 and 13). Compare the following sentences with the corresponding ones in the table:

12 On the age of the victim may turn the question of a reprieve.

13 Upon this venture rested all our hopes.

The expressions in both these examples, it should be noted, represent formal usage.

c. In some example of this transform, a contrast is implied between the noun in the prepositional phrase and another unspecified noun. This noun may be made explicit, as follows:

5. For his family he has provided well (but not for his employees).

d. When the verb + preposition forms an idiomatic whole (phrasal verb), as in nos. 7, 8, 9 and 9 and 11, this transformation cannot usually be applied.

[Vp rel] relative transform

Noun phrase
Relative clause
article	noun	prep	rel pron	subject	verb phrase	(adv phrase etc)
1 The	article	through	which	He	glanced	(so) quickly
3 A	change of heart	on	which	We	were banking…
4 These	people	with	whom	You	can cope	easily….
5 The	family	for	which	He	has provided	well….
6 This	topic	about	which	We	‘ve talked	endlessly…..
10 A	safe political future	on	which	he	can reckon	with some confidence
12 The	Factor	on	which	the question turns…. of a reprieve
13 This	venture	upon	which	all our hopes rested….

Notes

a. In this transform a noun (etc) originating in the prepositional object of the basic pattern is modified by a relative clause (part of which derives from the subject and verb phrase of the same basic pattern):

[Vpr] We were banking on a change of heart.

[Vpr rel] A change of heart on which we were banking.

b. Sentences in which the verb + preposition is highly idiomatic are not relativized as shown above. This sentence is unacceptable:

8 *The husband at whom Olive gets regularly….

c. As the transform is normally associated with formal, written English, items marked informal in the dictionary tend not to be used in this transform, even when they are not idiomatic. A relative construction that can safely be used with formal and informal items is:

7. A warehouse which a gang of thieves broke into…

(Category 3)

[Vp.pr] intransitive pattern with a particle and preposition

Subject	Verb phrase	particle	Prepositional phrase		(adv phrase etc)
	verb		pre	Object
1 The coaster	went	aground	on	a sandbank
2 He	scrapped	along	on	a low salary
3 He	sent	away	for	a free fisherman’s almanac
4 The office staff	are looking	forward	to	his retirement	very much
5 They	had done	away	with	this piece of legislation	reluctantly
6 She	is facing	up	to	her responsibilities	badly
7 We	put	up	with	these interruptions	cheerfully
8 An outsider	had come	in	on	our private arrangement
9 The family	came	up	against	fresh problems
10 The match	got	off	to	A good start

Notes

a. Here we must distinguish between the combinations go around (on), scrape along (on), and send away (for) (nos. 1,2,3), from which the preposition (and its object) can be deleted, and the remaining combinations, where the preposition is a fixed element. Whether or not the preposition is removable tends to affect the transformational possibilities of the whole.

b. This pattern is the intransitive equivalent of [Vn.p.pr], in terms of the correspondences of particular examples. Compare:

[Vp.pr] The family came up against fresh problems.

[Vn.p.pr] The move brought the family up against fresh problems.

c. In some cases, an adverb or adverbial phrase may be inserted between the particle and the prepositional phrase. As the following examples show, it is possible to separate particle and preposition in this way even when the latter cannot be removed:

5. They had done away reluctantly with this piece of legislation.

7. We put up cheerfully with these interruptions.

The verb may sometimes be divided from the particle, though generally only by the adverbs ‘right’ or ‘straight’:

5. They had done right away with this piece of legislation.

9. The family came straight up against fresh problems.

(Occasionally, we find such adverbs of degree as ‘completely’, ‘totally’, ‘entirely’ in the position of ‘right’ in no.5)

[Vp.pr pass] passive transform

No.	Subject	verb phrase		Particle		(adv. phrase etc)
			verb		prep
3	A free fisherman’s almanac	was	sent	away	for.
4	His retirement	is being	looked	forward	to	very much
5	This piece of legislation	had been	done	away	with	reluctantly
6	Her responsibilities	are being	faced	up	to	badly
7	These interruptions	were	put	up	with	cheerfully

Notes

a. In this transform the object of the preposition is transposed forward (cf [Vpr pass]), and the form of the verb phrase modified:

[Vp.pr] We put up with these interruptions cheerfully.

b. This transform tends to be restricted to cases where the preposition + object are not deletable (though see no. 3 in the table above)

d. Sentences in which the prepositional object is part of a complex idiom are generally not passivized:

10.? A good start was got off to.

1. Note the placing of stress in the passive transform.

… looked ‘forward to

… done ‘away with

… faced ‘up to

[Vp.pr adj] noun phrase with a participial adjective

Noun phrase
No.	article etc	adv	participial adj	Noun
4	His	very much	looked-forward-to	retirement…
5	This	reluctantly	done-away-with	piece of legislation…
6	Her	badly	faced-up-to	Responsibilities…
7	These	cheerfully	put-up-with	interruptions….

Notes

a. This noun-phrase transform derives from the basic [Vp.pr] patterns as a whole, and the adjective from the verb + particle + preposition which functions as part of that basic pattern. Note the connection provided by the passive between the basic pattern and this transform:

[Vp.pr] She is facing up to her responsibilities badly.

[Vp.pr pass] Her responsibilities are being badly faced up to.

[Vp.pr adj] Her badly faced-up-to responsibilities…

b. This transform is generally restricted to verb + particle + preposition items from which the last element is not removable. The following is an unusual (though possible) phrase:

2.? His barely scraped-along-on salary…

[Vp.pr emph] emphatic transform

No.	prepositional phrase		subject	verb phrase		particle	(adv phrase etc)
	prep	object			verb
1	On	a sandbank	the coaster		went	around.
2	On	a low salary	he	just	scraped	along.

Notes

In this transform, the prepositional phrase of the basic pattern has been moved to the front (cf [Vpr emph]).

Sentences from which the preposition + object are not removable are less likely to be transformed in this way than those (like 1 and 2 above) in which they are, though some speakers may find the following acceptable:

7. ?With these interruptions we put up cheerfully.

8. ?On our private arrangement an outsider had come in.

[Vp.Pr rel] relative transform

noun phrase
Relative clause
No.	article	noun	prep	rel pron	subject	verb phrase	particle
1	A	sandbank	on	which	the coaster	went	aground…
2	A	low salary	on	which	he	scraped	along…
3	A	free fisherman’s almanac	for	which	he	sent	away…

Notes

a. Here, a noun (etc) derived from the prepositional object of the basic pattern is modified by a relative clause (part of which derives from the subject, verb phrase and particle of the same basic pattern (cf [V pr rel]):

[Vp.pr] The coaster went aground on a sandbank.

[Vp.pr rel] A sandbank on which the coaster went aground…

b. Sentences from which preposition + object cannot be removed (i.e. without affecting the meaning of the whole) are less likely to be relativized, though we may hear, or read:

5 This piece of legislation with which they had done away…

c. Since this transform (like [Vpr rel]) is generally associated with formal styles, combinations normally found in colloquial use – whether the preposition is fixed or not – will tend not be relativized in this way. Instead, a relative pattern will be used in which the preposition is final.

2 A low salary which he scraped along on…

5 This piece of legislation which they had done away with….

(Category 4)

[Vn p, Vn.p and Vp.n] Transitive patterns with a particle

General note

Verb + particle combinations which are used in transitive sentences can be sub-classified according to whether (i) a short noun phrase Object can be placed on either side of the particle; (ii) such an Object must appear between the (main) verb and the particle; (iii) it must be placed after the particle. To account for these differences in Object placement, we recognize three types of transitive verb + particle pattern, identified in the grammatical codes at [Vn p, Vn.p and Vp.n]. We deal with these below beginning with two tables for [Vn p]

[Vn p] transitive pattern with a particle type (i) Table A

No.	Subject	verb phase		Object	particle	(adv phrase etc)
			verb	noun phrase/pronoun
1	The studio	will	blow	your photographs (them)	up	well.
2	The accountant		broke	expenditure (it)	down	as follows.
3	The travel agent		messed	our bookings (them)	up	completely.
4	We	can	play	the recorded programmes (them)	back.
5	Bill		took	the premier (him)	off	to perfection.
6	The daily help		cleaned	the whole place (it)	out.
7	Fred		tipped	the police (them)	off.
8	I	will	try	the machine (it)	out	thoroughly.
9	You	have	brought	your children (them)	up	well.
10	You	have	filled	the application	in	incorrectly.
11	These entertainers		make	their stories (them)	up.
12	You		thought	the scheme (it)	out	carefully.
13	The shops		put	the prices (them)	up.

[Vn p] transitive pattern with a particle type (i) Table B

No.	subject	verb phase		particle	object	(adv phrase etc)
		verb			noun phrase
1	The studio	will	blow	up	your photographs	well.
2	The accountant		broke	down	expenditure	as follows.
3	The travel agent		messed	up	our bookings	completely.
4	We	can	play	back	the recorded programmes
5	Bill		took	off	the premier	to perfection.
6	The daily help		cleaned	out	the whole place
7	Fred		tipped	off	the police
8	I	will	try	out	the machine	thoroughly.
9	You	have	brought	up	your children	well.
10	You	have	filled	in	the application	incorrectly.
11	These entertainers		make	up	their stories
12	You		thought	out	the scheme	carefully.
13	The shops		put	up	the prices

Notes

(a) This sub-pattern accounts for the great majority of verb + particle combinations (whether idiomatic or not0 which are used transitively. It is thus the standard or ‘regular’ sub-pattern.

(b) A combination of verb + particle is classified as (Vn p) when a noun or short noun phrase functioning as Object can either precede the particle (as in Table A) or follow it (as in Table B). A personal pronoun substituted for such an Object will always precede the particle (note the pronouns in parentheses in Table A)

(c) If a short Object (as illustrated in Tables A and B) is extended there are two possibilities: either the extension of the Object follows the particle:

We can play the programmes back that you recorded last week.

or the whole of the extended Object follows:

we can play back the programmes that you recorded last week.

(d) A verb + particle combination whose Object is a clause is classified [Vn p] if it can also be used with noun phrase Objects that function as in Tables A and B. An expression of this kind is work out (meaning ‘calculate’). Compare the examples:

We have computers to work out what we earn, these days.

We have computers to work our salaries out, these days.

We have computers to work out our salaries, these days.

(e) Expressions such as sew on or saw off, which can take an Indirect as well as a Direct Object, are assigned to this sub-pattern when a short Direct Object, as shown in the following examples, can be placed on either side of the particle:

‘The zip has broken. Will you sew me a new one on?’

…sew a new one on (for me)?’

…sew on a new one (for me)?’

(Here the Direct Object is ‘a new one.) Compare:

‘Would you saw me a piece off?’

…saw a piece off (for me)?’

…saw off a piece (for me)?’

(Here the Direct Object is ‘a piece’.)

(f) Adverbs other than ‘straight’ or ‘right’ seldom appear between the verb and the particle even when the combination is not idiomatic (cf [Vp]). This sentence is therefore unacceptable:

*The daily help cleaned the whole place quickly out.

‘Straight’ and ‘right’ are themselves not usually inserted when the verb + particle combination is idiomatic (i.e. a phrasal verb):

*Bill took the premier right off.

This rule is relaxed when the combination is not highly idiomatic:

The shops put the prices straight up.

The daily help cleaned the place right out.

But note that in these examples the order is (main) verb + object + adverb + particle; this order is invariable and the following is unacceptable:

*The daily help cleaned right out the place.

[Vn p nom] nominalized form of verb + particle

Notes

(a) Nouns referred to as [Vn p nom] are formed on the ‘base form + particle’ model and may be written as fully joined or hyphenated (occasionally as two separate words). The verbal element carries principal stress:

‘breakdown, ‘mess-up, ‘take-of.

(b) These nominalized forms are often in sentence patterns which are paraphrases of the basic [Vn p] pattern. In one type of paraphrase, the ‘nom’ form functions as (part of) the Direct Object of the verb ‘do’ (or ‘make’), as in this table:

No.	Subject	do / make	Object
1	The studio	will do	a good blow-up of your photographs.
2	The accountant