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Guest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Prep. verb + prep. object, or V + adverbial PP ??

"The boy looked after the sheep."

Would you analyze this as:

The Boy (Subject-NP) looked (V) after the sheep (Adverbial PP).

or

The Boy (Subject-NP) looked after (Prepositional Verb) the sheep (Prepositional Object).


Thanks for your help.
  

Top answer

It depends on whether you want 'look after' to mean 'take care of', which I assume you do. I'd analyse it as: [The boy]-SubjNP(or DP depending on what framework you use) [[looked after]-V [the sheep]-ObjNP]-VP with 'look after' being a phrasal verb.

— Equivocal

  • It depends on whether you want 'look after' to mean 'take care of', which I assume you do.
  • I'd analyse it as: [The boy]-SubjNP(or DP depending on what framework you use) [[looked after]-V [the sheep]-ObjNP]-VP with 'look after' being a phrasal verb.
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10 Answers
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It depends on whether you want 'look after' to mean 'take care of', which I assume you do. I'd analyse it as:

[The boy]-SubjNP(or DP depending on what framework you use) [[looked after]-V [the sheep]-ObjNP]-VP

with 'look after' being a phrasal verb.
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I agree with Eq:

The boy looked after the sheep. (Phrasal verb)
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This was posted by an English L2 roomate of mine in response to a discussion that we were having about prep. and phrasal verbs vs. free combination. Got me thinking about the whole subject.

"Looked after" isn't a transitive phrasal verb, correct? For one thing, I can stick an adverbial between the lexical verb and the prep: Looked silently after. But I can't split it with the object as
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"Looked after" isn't a transitive phrasal verb, correct? For one thing, I can stick an adverbial between the lexical verb and the prep: Looked silently after. But I can't split it with the object as I think you can with a transitive phrasal verb: Hang up the phone. Hang the phone up.


This is not possible for 'hang up":

*Hang silently up the phone
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My point was that "looked after" is a prepositional verb, not a phrasal verb as was suggested in the thread. I've been trying to understand the difference. It seems that many people are not aware that there is one.

I think this is correct:

Prepositional verb Type 1 - np+lexical verb+prep+prepositional object NP

Prepositional verb Type 2 - np+lexical verb+direct objec
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My point was that "looked after" is a prepositional verb, not a phrasal verb as was suggested in the thread. I've been trying to understand the difference. It seems that many people are not aware that there is one.


My error, I misunderstood. I know prepositional verbs as inseperable phrasal verbs which is "terminologically" erroneous.

As far as I
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Phrasal Verbs are easily distinguished from prepositional verbs.


I'm not all that convinced it's so cut 'n dried. Meaning plays a vital role.

She looked over the fence. (adverb; she looked where?)
?The fence was looked over.

She looked over the fence. (direct object)
The fence was looked over. (given the once over, ins
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I'm trying to think of a prepositional verb that can be split by an object.

1.Call on (visit)

2.Call up (summon)

1. *I called my friends on.

2. I called my friends up.

#2 is a phrasal verb.


Also, I don't beleive that a phrasal verb can divided by an adverb

1.I call frequently on my friends.

2.*I call angrily
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I like those tests, Cacarr. Emotion: smile

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