MED Magazine - Issue 33 - September 2005

Phrasal verbs international
by Jonathan Marks

Introduction

Both teachers and learners often think of phrasal verbs as something unique to the English language, perhaps deliberately intended to make English unnecessarily difficult to learn! Well, phrasal verbs are certainly very characteristic of English, but not so unique as is often thought. In this article I want to point out that some other languages have composite verbs with very similar features of construction and meaning. These could also be called 'phrasal verbs', although the term is generally only used in connection with English.

The examples I give are taken from Germanic, Romance and Slavonic languages. These are all members of the Indo-European family of languages and are all, geographically speaking, originally European – although some of them have spread much further afield, of course. As a selection of the world's languages, this is obviously pretty limited, although on the other hand it includes the mother tongues of quite a large proportion of learners of English.

Phrasal verbs in Scandinavian languages

English has both 'verb + particle' verbs, written as two words, such as run over and set up, and 'particle + verb' verbs, written as a single word, such as overrun and upset. The 'verb + particle' ones are generally called phrasal verbs, but there seems no reason why the term shouldn't be extended to cover the 'particle + verb' ones too.

The same two types of composite verb occur in North Germanic languages. These examples are from Swedish; Danish and Norwegian are, generally speaking, very similar.

verb + particle (two words):
  components meaning
fylla i fill + in fill in/fill up
Jag har fyllt i blanketten.   I've filled in the form.
     
particle + verb (one word):
utveckla out + fold develop
Vi utvecklar en ny metod.   We're developing a new method.

The meanings of verbs and particles are combined to form concrete and figurative senses in the same way as in English, though the exact combinations and their meanings sometimes differ, as can be seen from the following examples.

  components meaning
gå upp go + up get up
gå in för go + in + for go in for
längta efter long + after long for
se upp till see + up + to look up to, respect
se upp för see + up + for look out for/watch out for
ta efter take + after take after, imitate
ta i take + in get hold of
efterleva after + live obey, observe (precepts, etc.)
framhålla forth + hold maintain (opinions, etc.)
framkalla forth + call develop (photos), evoke, recall
förse before + see provide
innehålla in + hold contain
omfatta around + grasp include, comprise
påstå on + stand claim, maintain
sammanfatta together + take hold of summarise
tillsätta to + set/put add
uppfinna up + find invent
utvandra out + wander emigrate

Sometimes the same pairing of a verb and a particle occurs in both versions, verb + particle and particle + verb, often with different meanings, although there is also often some overlap:

  components meaning
peka på point + on point to
påpeka on + point indicate, point out

Han pekade på husets tak.

He pointed to the roof of the house.
Allting pekar på att det är sant.

All the indications are (literally: Everything indicates) that it's true.
Jag ber att få påpeka I'd like to point out …

gå fram

go + forwards

go forwards
framgå forwards + go be evident

rakt fram.

Go straight
ahead.
Det framgår av brevet, att ... It appears from the letter that ...

gå in

go + in

go in
ingå in + go form part of

Nu kan vi gå in.

Now we
can go in.
Det ingår i programmet. It's part of the programme.

ställa in
/ inställa radion

put + in /
in + put

tune in the radio
inställa förhandlingar suspend negotiations

lägga till

lay + to

add, put in / berth (ship)
tillägga to + lay add
räkna om count + around/again calculate again
omräkna around/again + count convert (e.g. currency)

Phrasal verbs in German

In their citation form, German 'phrasal verbs' are all particle + verb, written as a single word:

  components meaning
ausfüllen out + fill fill out/fill in
entwickeln dis- + wind/wrap develop

(The element ent- occurs only as a prefix, not as an independent word.)

But when they occur in other forms, two types are revealed: separable and inseparable.

separable:  
Ich fülle das Formular aus. I('ll) fill the form in/out.
Ich habe das Formular ausgefüllt. I('ve) filled the form in/out.
Sie haben mich gebeten, das Formular auszufüllen. They('ve) asked me to fill the form in/out.

inseparable:
 
Wir entwickeln eine neue Methode. We're developing a new method.
Wir haben eine neue Methode entwickelt. We've developed a new method.
Sie haben uns gebeten, eine neue Methode zu entwickeln. They('ve) asked us to develop a new method.

In German, too, the principle of combining elements and meanings is the same as in English, though the details differ.

vorziehen forwards + pull prefer

In other words, if you're faced with a number of alternatives, you reach out and choose one by pulling it towards you: this is your preferred option.

zurückwerfen back + throw reject

If you reject an accusation, you throw it back to your accusers.

  components meaning
anspielen on + play allude
anziehen on + pull put on
aufessen up + eat eat up
austreiben out + drive repel
austrinken out + drink drink up
entdecken dis- + cover discover
entkommen away + come escape
übersehen over + see 1 get a global view of
2 fail to see, ignore
übertragen over + carry transfer
vorwerfen in front + throw accuse
widerrufen against + call revoke
widersprechen against + speak contradict
widerstehen against + stand resist
zurückziehen back + pull retract
zusammenfassen together + take hold of summarise

There are some 'minimal pairs', with an inseparable verb, stressed on the verb, and a separable one, stressed on the particle:
übersetzen over + put/set translate
übersetzen put/set + over ferry across

Ich übersetze gerade den Brief.

I'm just translating the letter.
Der Fischer setzt uns immer über. The fisherman always ferries us across.
Ich habe den Brief übersetzt. I('ve) translated the letter.
Der Fischer hat uns übergesetzt. The fisherman ferried us across.

And similarly:
umschreiben round + write paraphrase
umschreiben again + write rewrite, transcribe

Because English and German share the same basic 'phrasal' principle, it has been easy for German to form new phrasal verbs modelled on English, and incorporating loan words from English, such as:
einchecken in + check check in
einscannen in + scan scan in
ausflippen out + flip freak out

Phrasal verbs in Slavonic languages

As we have seen, many of the verbs and particles used to form phrasal verbs are recognisably similar in English and other Germanic languages. Slavonic languages appear very different on the surface, but deeper down there are also considerable similarities in the combination of particles and verbs to form composite items. The order is particle + verb, written as a single word.

The following examples are from Polish, but the same principles apply, with very similar results, in other Slavonic languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian and so on.

  components meaning
dochodzi to + come reach, arrive
donosi to + carry inform, report
odbiega from + run run away, differ
odcina from + cut cut off
odkry from + cover discover
przerwa through + tear interrupt
rozbiera apart + take undress, dismantle
rozkada apart + lay spread out, decompose
wczy in + connect switch on, join
wpywa in + flow come in (money/correspondence), influence
wspóczu together + feel sympathise
wyjani out + clarify explain
wywoa out + call provoke, develop (photos)
wzywa in + call call (in), summon

Phrasal verbs in Romance languages

Among the English translations of the Swedish, German and Polish words given above are:

accuse allude arrive comprise
contain contradict convert decompose
develop differ discover dismantle
emigrate escape evoke explain
expose include indicate influence
inform interrupt prefer provide
provoke reject repel report
resist respect retract revoke
suggest sympathise transcribe transfer
translate      

These are verbs of Latin (or Greek – e.g. sympathise) origin which have come into English either directly or through French, and are also formed on the same phrasal principle, as a single word with the order particle + verb. For example:

  components
allude at/to + play
contain together + hold
contradict against + say
differ away + carry
evoke out + call
expose out + put
influence in + flow
interrupt between + tear
prefer before + carry
provide before + see
reject back + throw
repel back + drive
report back + carry
respect back + see
retract back + pull
revoke back + call
sympathise together + feel
transcribe across + write
transfer across + carry
translate across + carry

In other words, English has 'phrasal' verbs of Latin as well as Germanic origin. And, not surprisingly, most of the Latin-derived ones have equivalents in Romance languages, although sometimes the meaning is different from the English one:

English convert
French convertir
Italian convertire

English develop
French développer

English evoke
French évoquer
Italian evocare

English expose
French exposer
(= exhibit, show)
Spanish exponer
(= exhibit, show)
English indicate
French indiquer
Italian indicare

English prefer
French préférer
Italian preferire
Spanish preferir

English respect
French respecter
Italian rispettare

English translate
French traduire

Phrasal nouns and phrasal adjectives/adverbs

In all these languages, as well as 'phrasal' verbs, there are also related 'phrasal' nouns, adjectives and adverbs, such as:

English upset  
set-up  
upsetting

 
Swedish framgång success
försedd med furnished/provided with
ingående thoroughly
inkomst income
påstående claim (noun)
uppseende respect (noun)
utvandrare emigrant
utveckling

development
German Anspielung allusion
Anzug suit
Einkommen income
übertragbar transferable
ununterbrochen uninterrupted(ly)
unwiderruflich irrevocable/-bly
Vorwurf accusation
Widerstand resistance
zugegeben admittedly
zusammenfassend

in summary
Polish dochód income
odcity cut off
odcinek section, episode
przerwa break, interval
rozkad schedule, breakdown
wpyw

influence
French exposition exhibition
preference preference
prévu intended, appropriate
respectabilité

respectability
Italian esposizione display, exposure
preferito

favourite
Spanish exposición exhibition
preferiblemente preferably
respetuoso respectfully
traducción translation

Summary

The English lexical items usually referred to as 'phrasal verbs' are part of a much broader phenomenon, namely the combining of verb elements with a limited number of adjectival/adverbial particles to form a vast number – an unlimited number, in principle – of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs with concrete and figurative meanings. This process of lexical formation is equally fundamental to other Germanic languages, as well as to Slavonic and Romance languages. English, not surprisingly, has 'phrasal' vocabulary from Latin (and to a lesser extent Greek) sources as well as Germanic ones.

In some cases, especially in Germanic and Romance languages, the parallels between English and other languages are evident; in other cases, especially in Slavonic languages, they are hidden below the surface. Speakers of all these languages, of course, need to be on their guard against misleading correspondences, but if they develop an awareness of the cross-linguistic parallels they will realise that reference to their own languages can help them unravel the mystery of English phrasal verbs and related 'phrasal' vocabulary.

top

Next in the series

Phrasal verbs are often thought of as informal, colloquial, or even a bit substandard. In the next article I will be taking a critical look at these preconceptions.


Copyright © 2005 Macmillan Publishers Limited
This webzine is brought to you by Macmillan Education