English language: figuring out phrasal verbs (1)

‘There is another kind of composition more frequent in our language than perhaps in any other, from which arises to foreigners the greatest difficulty.’ The composition Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) was talking about in the ‘Preface’ to his A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the phrasal verb; over two and a half centuries later, the same multi-word verbs, alongside all those that have entered the language since, continue to bewilder English language learners.

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb is a type of verb that comprises at least two words: a verb (e.g., get, look) and one or more particles (e.g., over, forward to). Particles can be prepositions or adverbs. When used together, the verb-particle(s) combination has a different meaning from the verb when it is used alone. Get, for instance, has several meanings — it is polysemous:

I got (= received) your letter.

I got (= understood) your point.

I got to (= arrived in) Cambridge at midday.

When it is used with over, however, it acquires new, distinct meanings (get over, like many phrasal verbs, is also polysemous), one of which is to overcome a problem, difficulty, or fear:

How did you get over (= overcome) your fear of flying?

Get over, therefore, is a lexeme and as such would usually have a separate entry in a dictionary from get. Likewise, look forward to is distinct from look:

I’m looking forward to (= excited about the prospect of) meeting you in person.

How long have phrasal verbs existed?

Phrasal verbs have been around for quite some time. Even before the Norman Conquest of 1066, the early ancestors of modern phrasal verbs lent colour to Old English (the language used in England before 1100). During the Middle English period (1100 - 1500), their usage expanded and developed, and their place within the language was fully established in the Early Modern English period (1500 - 1700). Since then, they have become more and more popular; their numbers have been increasing exponentially since the middle of the 19th century.

References:

McArthur, T., Lam McArthur, J., & Fontaine, L. (2018). The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press

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Carl Stevens is an English language specialist, creative linguist and travel writer based in Siena, Italy. He has a BA in Creative Writing and English Literature and an MA in Songwriting from Bath Spa University, Bath, UK. He also has a surfboard and a Siamese cat.