Is a phrasal verb a word or a phrase. Thanks

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Is a phrasal verb a word or a phrase. ThanksI suppose as the "phrasal" suggests, it is a phrase?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AwenceIs a phrasal verb a word or a phrase.

It's two words. Here are some phrasal verbs.

get up, sit down, turn on, find out, throw away, come back, put off, check in

Note that they all have a verb and a particle. The verb and particle together have a different meaning from the verb when it stands alone. Sometimes this difference is a very slight difference, and sometimes it is quite a dramatic difference.

Different grammarians have different names for the word after the verb. It can be called a particle, an adverb, or a preposition.

CJ

Awence · Answer

If I m requiring my students to fill in the three categories of

a. word
b. phrase
c. collocation

SO i assume, "put off"- should be classified as word?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AwenceSO I assume, "put off"- should be classified as word?

It is two words. But the two words together have a particular definition that is different from either word by itself.
There are some phrasal verbs that consist of three words.

Phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable.
Here is a list: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htm

Phrases consist of more than one word, but form a single grammatical unit:

verb phrase: would have been filled
prepositional phrase: on the money, in the forest, for a good cause
noun phrase: a slinky slippery snake

Awence · Answer

thanks

CalifJim · Answer

AwenceIf I m requiring my students to fill in the three categories of a. word b. phrase c. collocation

Maybe you should think of a different way to ask the question. Phrasal verbs don't fit exactly into any of those three classifications. It also depends on the kind of grammar you are teaching your students. If you are teaching a more modern approach, you can probably get away with calling a phrasal verb a (verb) phrase, but that's not how it would work in a more traditional approach to grammar.

This case is particularly difficult to classify because a phrasal verb is a verb, but not a word.

CJ

Awence · Answer

To be exact, I am using a Cambridge teaching source as my teaching material. It defines a vocabulary as words, phrases and collocations. So, if you're suggesting that a phrasal verb falls into none of the above categories, may I know how i can justify a phrasal verb as a part of vocabulary.

many thanks.

CalifJim · Answer

AwenceTo be exact, I am using a Cambridge teaching source as my teaching material. It defines a vocabulary as words, phrases and collocations. So, if you're suggesting that a phrasal verb falls into none of the above categories, may I know how i can justify a phrasal verb as a part of vocabulary. many thanks.

Does the Cambridge source give you an answer book? If so, follow their lead in establishing the terminology you need for your course. Otherwise, my suggestion is to go with "phrase". (I may be wrong in the eyes of Cambridge, though, so if you manage to find any other material in your teaching source that clarifies this issue, you will have to use that.)

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I don't have a good answer. If you call it a phrase, then that would easily confuse the students with the nomenclature verb phrase and phrasal verb.

eg. verb phrases with the phrasal verb "put off"
should have been put off
was putting off

Awence · Answer

thanks for your opinion

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I think they have horribly confused "vocabulary" vocabulary with "grammar" vocabulary.

How does Cambridge define a "collocation"? Is this the same as a phrase?
For example, there are some two-word collocations that are common: such as "et. al.", "ad infinitum"

Is a phrasal verb a word or a phrase. Thanks

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