Multi-word verbs

Consider the three options. Only one is correct to make sense of the sentence. 1. At normal pressures, water _____ ice at about 0C. turns back turns into turns round

2. Political instability in one area may _____ serious disturbances in other parts of the world. lead to get to amount to

3. In order to _____ industries, trained manpower, as well as sufficient capital, is needed. make up set up get up

4. Although there are dozens of special alloys used in engineering, most of them are _____ of different proportions of only 3 or 4 metals. made out made over made up

Multi-word verbs are a common linguistic device. Verbs change and extend their meaning when they are combined with a preposition or an adverb particle. Notice the following examples: literal meaning A secondary winding is put on top of the primary winding in the armature. The temperature is kept down by providing a large cooling system. metaphorical meaning The furnace eats up fuel at the rate of three tons per hour. A certain amount of vapour is given off from the hot metal. both meanings I have to take these tools back to the workshop. I take back my comments; they were not justified. You can get over the road more safely at the traffic lights. The management will have to get over the difficulty.

II.

I.

Get back!

The meaning of a two-word verb is often very different from the meanings of the two parts taken separately.

Phr. Vbs.

It is often very difficult for emerging countries to carry out industrialization plans. (carry out carry + out) carry out = perform a job, bring it to a conclusion

idiomatic meanings

verb + adverb

Multi-word verbs have some special grammatical characteristics.

The manager walked out.

Phrasal verb = verb + adverb

I switched the machine off.

Alicia Medina

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III.

I looked the word up in the dictionary. (look up look + up) look up = to search for and usually find (a word or other information) in a book of facts, usually in alphabetical order transitive verb = with an object The company set up a new factory in the industrial area. Please switch the light off.

IV. V.

intransitive verb = no object The magnetic field appears to go round and round. The aircraft will take off at ten oclock.

phrasal verb with and without objects

Notice these two options: He turned on the engine. But notice the only option with a pronoun: He turned it on. (NOT He turned on it.) verb + adverb + preposition

word order

He turned the engine on.

These cars stand up to hard wear and rough treatment. During radioactive decay, alpha or beta particles are thrown out of the isotope. Stop talking and get on with your work. Its hard to put up with uncooperative workmates.

verbs with preposition and adverb particle

II.

I.

You must listen to the instructions. People exposed to radiation may suffer serious problems.

The meaning of a two-word verb is often very different from the meanings of the two parts taken separately. Computer operations rest on the binary code. (rest on rest + on) rest on = is based on The scientists conclusions draw on data gathered over a period of ten years. (draw on + on) draw on =uses in support of his/her case Notice the place that the preposition occupies: I could not find the information which I was looking for. (More natural than the book for which I was looking.) What are the workers talking about? (NOT About what are the workers talking?) Alicia Medina Page 2

idiomatic meanings

Prepositional verb = verb + preposition verb + preposition

III.

word order

Phr. Vbs.

Practice
A. Put these verbs in the right box.
account call exclude . for argue consent provide assign convince react associate depart refer . of attribute dispose search . to benefit equip write . with

. from

B. Find the meaning of the verbs in bold. They all refer to Work and business.
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Our business went through a bad patch last year, but things seem to be picking up now. Last year the company decided to branch out into some new lines. Weve been snowed under with work all month. Two hundred workers have been laid off at the British Aerospace factory. House prices fell steeply earlier this year but now they seem to have bottomed out.

C. Put the words in the right order to make sentences. Use the punctuation to help you.
1) period./focuses/the changes/The article/on/the/the post-war/economy/US/in/in 2) conducted/The/is/last/based/a series/theory/of/five/on/years./over the/experiments 3) on/assistants./The/research/relies/work/conducted by/professors/experiments/his

D. Identify the multi-word verbs in the following extracts. Underline them and find their meaning.
1) Paper was first made in Egypt and gets its name from papyrus, a reed that the ancient Egyptians used for making material to write on. The Egyptians cut papyrus stalks into thin strips and pressed criss-cross layers of strips into sheets. 2) Robots efficiently carry out such routine tasks as welding, drilling and painting automobile body parts. The science and technology that deals with robots is called robotics. 3) Mining companies pump steam and hot water down wells to remove salt and sulphur from deep in the ground. 4) Stained glass windows of medieval times were basic in their manufacture. The window opening was filled with thin sheets of marble or wood, with holes pierced through. 5) In the 1870s, the British engineer John Thornycroft began to design a ship that moved along on a cushion of air to reduce friction between the ships hull and the water. He was unable to work out how to contain the cushion of air under the boat, but Christopher Cockerell, another British scientist, solved this by attaching a rubber skirt to the bottom of the boat. 6) Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) was a physicist who studied radioactivity. He found several different forms of radiation and also discovered that elements change as a result of radioactive decay. He received the Nobel Prize for his work. Rutherford went on to discover the nucleus of the atom, and in 1919 he finally succeeded in splitting an atom for the first time. Phr. Vbs. Page 3

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