English Phrasal Verbs

Abstract

       The present study is concerned with phrasal verbs . These multi - word verbs are resulted from the combination of a verb with an adverb or preposition . A phrasal verb is either intransitive when there is no following noun phrase , or transitive when there is a following noun phrase . Nearly all transitive phrasal verbs allow adverb movement while such movement is not possible with the preposition .                                                                

Phrasal verbs usually represent single semantic units that cannot be derived from the individual meanings of the two parts .

            This study focuses on the use of phrasal verbs in two different types of register : Fiction and academic prose . Fiction is considered to be less formal style of writing since it is written for large majority of readers . On the other hand , academic prose is considered to be more formal and specialized style .