Abstract
Although it seems to be intuitively plausible that there is some degree of productive formation of some verb-particle combinations, it is not easy to predict which particle combines with which verb to create a new phrasal verb. This study aims to present a cognitive model for the relationship between the meanings and high frequency of verb-particle combinations in English, and to demonstrate why a particular set of particles (i.e., out, up, down, back, away, etc.) is frequently used to combine with a particular verb. It is suggested that the high frequency of a limited set of particles in verb-particle constructions is motivated by the conceptual features based on a human cognitive system: the verb-particle combination can be best understood given a cognitive or conceptual characterization with respect to the meanings of the attached particle. Based on a cognitive-functional approach, this study also proposes that the verb-particle combinations are likely to be created on the basis of the human conceptual system that serves to organize categories. Finally, it is suggested that the frequent use of a limited set of particles is closely related to their cognitively-semantically salient properties.
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