MED Magazine

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
Gå 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.

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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.