0

I learn from Oxford English Grammar Course:Advanced by Swan that verbs with adverb particles are often called Phrasal Verbs.

An example to illustrate my confusion, I'm doing the exercise about determining whether the given sentence is using preposition or adverb particle. This is one of the sentences:

I looked up the street to see if Andy was coming.

The answer key told me it's a preposition, but I found the phrase look up listed as a phrasal verb in OALD which means to raise your eyes when you are looking down at something. I also ever read somewhere that phrasal verbs are just verbs + prepositions. Does that mean each author might have different view? I'm pretty sure I've read that, but I can't tell where, I don't remember.

Related to the title, so how do you tell precisely if the small word that comes after a verb is preposition or adverb particle? For example, an English learner might not be able to tell which one is verb + preposition and verb + adverb particle:

He got off the bus.[1]

I switch off the lamp.[2]

I took those examples from the book I've mentioned above. The book says [1] is verb + preposition and [2] is verb + adverb particle. I'm hopeless if I have to remember one-by-one and start to memorize which is preposition and which is adverb particle.

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    Look up can mean raise your eyes (intransitive) or search for something in a reference source (transitive). However, I would parse your sentence as "I looked up the street..." , where up the street means 'towards a point some distance along the street'.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 6, 2021 at 9:10
  • 1
    The book is right, though "off" is also a preposition, not an adverb. In [2], "off" qualifies as a particle because it can occur between the verb and its direct object, as well as after the object: I switch off the lamp ~ I switch the lamp off. But In [1] "off" does not qualify as a particle because it cannot occur after the object: We can't say *"He got the bus off".
    – BillJ
    Dec 6, 2021 at 9:34

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

There is no general way to tell: sometimes such sentences are genuinely ambiguous, even to native speakers.

Improve this answer
2

[1] He got off the bus.

[2] I switch off the lamp.

Preliminary point: particles are the only complements which can freely come between the verb and its direct object. They are mainly prepositions - intransitive ones, of course, since they are one-word phrases - though the class of particles also contains some adjectives and verbs.

The book is right here, though "off" is a preposition in both examples. In [2], "off" qualifies as a particle because it can occur between the verb and its direct object, as well as after the object: I switch off the lamp ~ I switch the lamp off.

But In [1] "off" does not qualify as a particle because it cannot occur after the object: We can't say *He got the bus off.

[3] I looked up the street to see if Andy was coming.

In [3], "up" is a preposition. But it's not a particle since we can't say We looked the street up, without a change of meaning.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .