There’s no such Thing as a “Phrasal Verb”: Insights for Teachers

Main Article Content

Rod Mitchell

Abstract

Phrasal and prepositional multi-word verbs are a thorny topic, rife with semantic and structural obscurities, both theoretical and in teaching-learning. A survey of the history of the topic provides evidence that the very concept of “multi-word verb” is often based on misanalyses. Cognitive Linguistics considerations in particular show that neither verbs nor prepositions functioning as particles lose or change meaning in combinations with each other, making independent contributions to clause-wide meaning, be this idiomatic or literal. Prepositions refer to their subjects’ pathway and/or positioning, while verbs show how those subjects move along pathways, get into position, what they do there, or what happens to them there. In this paper, I argue that students, teachers, and analysts need to identify the meaning content of verbs and prepositions separately from each other, as well a as exploring how they work as part of the whole clause across all contexts to gain a full understanding of their communicative force. My argument leads me to conclude that a cognitive-based approach—one that focuses on verb and preposition meaning domains and semantic networks—appears to be the most effective means of analysing, understanding, teaching, learning, and using verbs and prepositions.

Article Details

How to Cite
Mitchell, R. (2024). There’s no such Thing as a “Phrasal Verb”: Insights for Teachers. Journal of Studies in the English Language, 19(3), 63–97. retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jsel/article/view/272266
Section
Research Articles
Author Biography

Rod Mitchell, Independent Researcher

Rod Mitchell works as an EFL teacher in Italy. His EFL/ESL career covers 35+ years, mostly Senior Teacher/ DoS, with Analytical-Applied Cognitive-Anthropological linguistics, Language Teaching-Learning, Associate Lecturer/Student Counselor (Education, Study Skills, Computing, counseling), Research Associate (Oxford; childhood acquisition/ development of language), Communication and Study Skills, Academic Skills, Music and Mathematics.

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