Spears R.A. McGraw-Hill's super-mini phrasal verb dictionary

257 Pages·2007·3.21 MB·English

by  Richard Spears

McGraw-Hill’s
Super-Mini
Phrasal Verb
Dictionary
Second Edition
Richard A. Spears, Ph.D.
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DOI: 10.1036/0071492291
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Contents
Introduction v
How to Use This Dictionary vii
Phrasal Verb Dictionary 1
iii
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Introduction
Phrasal verbs, also called two-word verbs, are idiomatic
expressions wherein the second element ofthe verb (the
adverb or particle) is not necessarily predictable. For
instance, why the word upincall up a friend? Why not
say call on a friendor call in a friend? Actually, those are
three separate, unpredictable combinations, and they each
mean something completely different. For example, you
can call up a friendon the telephone, call on a friendto
visit a friend’s home, and call in a friendto come help you
with something.
This dictionary is a compilation of1,800 phrasal verbs
consisting ofeither a transitive or intransitive verb and its
particle or adverb. In many cases, additional prepositional
phrases are shown as part ofthe entry, but the dictionary
focuses on phrasal or two-word verbs. This second edi-
tion of the basic phrasal verb collection is based on
McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary ofAmerican Idioms and Phrasal
Verbs. The format of the dictionary is designed to pro-
vide the information needed by learners who are attempt-
ing to read and write conventional American English.
v
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How to Use This Dictionary
ALPHABETIZATION
In this dictionary, phrasal verbs (or two-word verbs) and
their related prepositional verbs are alphabetized on the
verb. The variable terms (such as someoneor something)
are also alphabetized.
THE TRANSPOSABLE ADVERB
Adverbs in most transitive phrasal verbs can swap places
with the direct object ofthe verb. This cannot be done if
the object ofthe verb is a pronoun.Although the result
may, in some instances, look like a prepositional phrase,
it is not. In the following example containing “down the
door,” the word “down” is an adverb that stands between
the verb and its direct object.
She broke downthe door with an axe.
She broke the door downwith an axe.
Please hammer the nail in.
Please hammer inthe nail.
But you cannot say:
*She broke down it.
*Please hammer in it.
vii
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How to Use This Dictionary
The entry head break something down†contains a
dagger (†) that indicates that the “down” can be trans-
posed to a position just after the verb. Any word marked
with the dagger can be transposed to a position immedi-
ately following the verb except when the object ofthe verb
is a pronoun. Only the adverbs followed by † can be
swapped in this manner.
VARIABLE TERMS
Entries may include variable classes ofwords. The vari-
able classes can be very broad, such as someone, which
refers to any person, or something, which refers to any thing,
object, or group. Many entries are very particular as to
whether they include either someoneor something. Others
can refer to people or things, someone or somethingwithout
distinction. In this dictionary, these words can be thought
ofas proxies for the members ofthe classes ofwords they
describe. The following examples show the kinds ofthings
that someoneand somethingcan stand for.
associate with new friends (someone)
associate with them (someone)
associate with a bunch ofdifferent people (someone)
associate with the Smiths (someone)
play the radioat full blast (something)
play my new recordat full blast (something)
play his huge stereoat full blast (something)
play all the audio stuffin the whole dormat full blast
(something)
The variable classes are represented in these examples
by someoneor somethingas in associate with someoneor
play somethingat full blast. There are additional proxy
terms ofthis kind. All ofthem are descriptive ofthe kind
viii
How to Use This Dictionary
ofwords or phrases they can stand for. Here are some of
the terms you might encounter.
a period oftime “about an hour”
doing something “eating bread and butter”
some amount ofmoney “about three bucks”
somehow “without much effort”
someone “Fred”
some place “the kitchen”
something “a toaster”
sometime “at noon”
someone or somethingwhich can be either someone
or something.
EXAMPLES
Each sense has at least one example. In the case of the
transitive verbs, the position ofthe adverb or particle may
be either transposed or in the same position as it is found
in the entry head. Learners should study the entry head,
definition, and example and grasp the common elements
ofmeaning that these three parts ofthe entry share. These
elements are designed to share the same elements of
meaning and syntax.
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