Phrasal Prepositional Verbs Research Articles

Multi-Word Verbs vs. One-Word Verb Construction: Between Avoidance and Preference in EFL Learning Contexts

Although English allows for both one-word and multi-word verbs, past research has shown that EFL students commonly struggle with, and even avoid, multi-word verbs. This study aims at examining the influence of utilizing contextualized authentic materials via reading activities on EFL intermediate learners' attitudes towards avoiding and preferring using MWV (multi-word verbs, also known as phrasal verbs (PV)) or one-word verbs. The study used both experimental and descriptive methods, and data was collected via pre- and post-tests. MWVs are introduced through reading activities to two learning groups: group A represents the experimental group, and group B acts as the control group. MWVs were introduced to the participants of group A via contextualized authentic materials (texts, pictures, and cartoons) and to group B through non-authentic contextualized reading texts. The analyzed data has shown that the attitudes of group A’s participants improve towards using some MWVs' types on many occasions rather than utilizing their counterparts of one-word verbs. For example, they prefer using transparent and semi-transparent prepositional PVs as well as transparent adverbial PVs. On the other hand, the findings have shown that the participants avoid using non-transparent PVs regardless of their constructions (prepositional PVs, adverbial PVs, or phrasal prepositional verbs). In addition, they avoid using adverbial PVs of the semi-transparent PV’s types. Hence, contextualized authentic material via reading activities is a more effective strategy for enhancing EFL learners' attitudes towards preferring using MWVs rather than their counterparts of one-word verbs, specifically the transparent prepositional and adverbial of PV’s types.

Categorial Conflict between Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs and Infinitives: The Great Complement Shift

The development of grammatical forms and synchronic effects has captured a considerable interest of researchers across the globe. The research of this phenomenon is done to understand how certain linguistic forms arise and interact with other forms. Literature also discloses that a number of studies has addressed grammaticalisation of prepositions, which has somehow resulted in categorial conflict. However, there is dearth of literature that deals with /to/ to distinguish between phrasal-prepositional verbs and infinitives as a way of resolving the conflict. Again, some of the L2 students confuse complementation of /to/ in the phrasal-prepositional verb look forward to with that of the infinitives. They fail to draw a line of demarcation between the two constructions. Therefore, this qualitative study seeks to explore the status of /to/ in the phrasal-prepositional verb and infinitive clauses. It also identifies the category label of /to/ and describes its complementation. The study purposively and conveniently extracted data from Scott’s (2022) compilation of both application and cover letters. Following the Minimalist Program, the study reveals that /to/ in both the phrasal-prepositional verb and infinitives have gone through the process of grammaticalisation. It is noted that in the phrasal-prepositional verb, /to/ is still a preposition while in the infinitive clauses, it has gone through the great complementation shift known as decategorisation and extension, hence variation in category labelling. The study also presents that the structures of the phrasal-prepositional verb and the infinitive clauses vary based on the theory and concepts adopted. As a result, it is concluded that due to grammaticalisation of /to/ in both phrasal-prepositional verb and infinitive, their complementation differs.

Arguments for the Systemic Functional Account of English Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs

Arguments for the Systemic Functional Account of English Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs

On the influence of phrasal verbs on the productivity of modern English

The article represents the classification level of phrasal verbs of the modern English development. There are different notions of a phrasal verb in foreign and Russian linguistic studies. Three groups of the phrasal verbs are given: prepositional verbs, adverbial verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs. The article also deals with preposition etymology and their evolution in the language development.

Intransitive Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs in English: A Case of Constructional Idiom

There are intransitive phrasal-prepositional verbs in English which are intermediate between fixed and free combinations such as look in on ‘visit’ in He looked in on his parents. They are not permanently fixed with the idiomatic meaning, but partly, though limitedly, productive such as call in on, drop in on, pop in on, etc. This paper argues that these multiword combinations are a constructional idiom that is stored in the lexicon as an underspecified form with the constructional meaning. The idiom has the unspecified verb (V) and noun phrase (NP) with the particle (Prt) and preposition (P) specified, as in V in on NP ‘visit NP’. It is then fused with a compatible lexical verb in the lexicon to form a lexical VP, and then with a suited noun phrase in phrasal syntax to complete the VP. This lexical VP analysis is proposed with an alternative in terms of Jackendoff’s (2002) parallel architecture of grammar.

The Effect of Instructing Multi-word Verbs on EAP Learners’ Presentation Skills: A Comparison with Native Academic Presentations

This study attempted to examine the effect of instructing multi-word verbs on intermediate EAP learners’ presentations compared to native English speakers’ academic presentations. To fulfill this end, 15 EAP learners were selected and delivered on presentation before and one after seven teaching sessions. Moreover, 15 native academic presentations were downloaded from YouTube. All the presentations were transcribed and then multi-word verbs were classified according to the coding measures presented by Biber at al. (1999) and Quirk et al. (1985) to disambiguate between the three chosen sub-categories of the study (phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, phrasal prepositional verbs). The results obtained from this investigation reveal that there are significant differences in using multi-word verbs in natives and learners’ presentations after treatment in terms of the preferred order, polysemy usage and the frequency. Although EAP learners were able to improve their use of these verbs in many aspects, they still differed from natives with respect to the preferred types and polysemous meanings of the verbs. The findings of this study have implications for EAP speaking classes, teachers, and learners.

Translation of Multi-Word Verbs in English Cookbook into Indonesian

This paper examines translation of multi-word verbs in English cookbook into Indonesian. This study emphasises on the analysis of the translations of multi-word verbs in English cookbook and its translation into Indonesian. The classification and the meaning of phrasal verbs are proposed by Quirk (1985). The research is descriptive qualitative. Methods of collecting data are observation and documentation. The data source was taken from English cookbook entitled The Essential Book of Sauces & Dressings from Murdoch Books published by Periplus, Singapore and its translation into Indonesian entitled Saus dan Dressing yang Esensial by Hadyana P. published by Periplus, Indonesia. The study shows that there are three types of multi-word verbs found in data source. They are phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal prepositional verbs.

Perceptions of Turkish EFL Student Teachers Towards Learning Phrasal-prepositional Verbs Through Corpus-based Materials

The current study aims to explore the perceptions of 55 Turkish EFL student teachers towards using corpus-based materials in English phrasal-prepositional verb learning. It also explores gender-based differences and similarities towards using such materials in the learning of English phrasal-prepositional verbs. To do so, the study adopted a mixed method approach. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire, and the qualitative data were collected through focus-group interviews. The results of the questionnaire revealed that the learners had somewhat positive perceptions of using corpus-based materials in their phrasal-prepositional verb learning. The results of the interviews also showed that the learners enjoyed using corpus-based materials in their phrasal-prepositional verb learning, thereby supporting the questionnaire data. Gender differences that emerged from the study showed that the female learners had higher positive perceptions of using corpus-based materials than the male learners. This study provides further evidence that Turkish EFL learners feel that using corpora in language learning is an effective approach, and language teachers questioning whether to use corpora in language teaching can make use of such sources to help their students learn different aspects of vocabulary in English.

The Syntax of Multi-Word Expressions in Yorulish Code-Mixing

Scholars have discussed Yorulish (Yoruba–English) code-switching/mixing from the perspectives of sociolinguistics, contact linguistics and pragmatics, among others; but the syntax–semantics aspect has not enjoyed much scholarly scrutiny, if any. Multi-word expressions (MWEs) are characterised by non-compositionality as they comprise two or more words, which have a unique meaning not traceable to any of the combined words. This study examines the syntactic behaviour of MWEs in Yorulish code-switched grammar, with an eye to the meaning before and after code-switching/mixing. The adopted theoretical framework is a combination of Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame theory and Chomsky’s Transformational Generative Grammar. Data were purposively sampled from standard dictionaries and textbooks on English and Yoruba languages, and code-switched/mixed with words from the alternate language. The MWEs selected are idioms (from English and Yoruba); phrasal verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs and prepositional verbs (from English); and splitting verbs and serial verb constructions (from Yoruba). The study suggests that switching is allowed when components of MWEs are relatively free as in English prepositional verbs, but barred when they are fixed as in Yoruba splitting verbs and idioms. Nevertheless, apart from idioms where both English and Yoruba substrates resist switching, the other Yoruba MWEs are more impervious to switching than do those of English origin, which suggests that Yoruba is the base language.

Multi-word verbs in student academic presentations

The study examined three categories of multi-word verbs (phrasal, prepositional, and phrasal-prepositional verbs) in comparison to free combinations. It explored four aspects of their usage in student presentations—their frequency, the preferred order and meanings the presenters favored, their choices of unique vs. repeated uses of verb combinations, and the relationship between the lexical diversity of the presentations and students' use of multi-word verbs. The research is based on the individual presentations of English native-speaking college students (n = 30).The analysis revealed that students used multi-word verbs as frequently as they did free combinations. It also showed that prepositional verbs were twice more prominent than phrasal verbs, followed by the relatively infrequent use of phrasal prepositional verbs. The students tended to use the multi-word verb structures repetitively and the lack of strong correlations between the lexical diversity of the presentations and the three multi-word verb subcategories pointed to the relative independence of the variables. The semantic analysis of the phrasal verbs revealed that, even though the majority of them had multiple meanings, they were predominantly used with a single meaning in the presentations. The findings have implications for ESL teaching and material design purposes.