140. Words with Unexpected Grammar 2

Many grammar errors occur with words that do not follow the same rule as words like them in meaning

THE MEANING OF “UNEXPECTED GRAMMAR”

This post is about grammar errors that are probably caused by a word having a different grammatical need from that of similar-meaning words in the same grammatical class. For example, a verb after ENJOY is often incorrectly given to instead of -ing, probably because to is needed after similar-meaning verbs such as LIKE, LOVE, PREFER and WANT.

This kind of error cause seems a powerful one. For Guinlist posts with further examples, see 10. Words with Unexpected Grammar 1. See also 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1. Not all grammar errors, though, are induced by other words: one alternative cause is a word having very variable usage (see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1).

In order to present a new set of common errors probably caused by unexpected grammar, I once again offer an “odd-one-out” exercise. For each error a list of similar words is presented along with a sentence where they are all grammatically correct except the problematic one, which has to be identified. My prediction is that many readers will not correctly identify the problem word in every case. Answers are given and explained later.

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IDENTIFYING WORDS WITH UNEXPECTED GRAMMAR

In considering the grammatical possibility of each listed word below, keep in mind that grammatical possibility is not the same as logical likelihood (see 100. What is a Grammar Error?). Some of the suggestions below would give a rather unlikely meaning but are still grammatically possible.

(a) Successful firms can give their employees more money.

AWARD, GRANT, HAND, LEAVE, PAY, SUPPLY, SEND

(b) Parents need to teach children how to speak politely.

ADVISE, EXPLAIN, INFORM, SHOW, TELL.

(c) Innovative companies expect to have a golden future.

AIM, APPEAR, DESIRE, INTEND, LOOK FORWARD, MEAN, PLAN, SEEM, WANT.

(d) Football trainers need to highlight fitness.

ACCENTUATE, EMPHASISE, FOCUS, STRESS, UNDERLINE.

(e) Everyone has an opportunity to succeed.

A CHANCE, THE ABILITY, FREEDOM, A POSSIBILITY, THE CAPACITY, THE POTENTIAL, PERMISSION.

(f) The road will be open soon.

CLEAR, CONTINUE, DRY, EMPTY, FREE, LEVEL, NARROW, SLOW

(g) Some people see rural life as boring.

DESCRIBE, CALL, VIEW, REFER TO, PERCEIVE, LABEL, CRITICISE

(h) Free trade leads goods to be cheaper.

ALLOWS, CAUSES, COMPELS, ENABLES, FORCES, INDUCES, MAKES, OBLIGES, PERMITS

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ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

Here are the above sentences with the incorrect words inserted:

(a) *Successful firms can supply their employees more money.

This sentence has two nouns after the underlined verb (their employees and more money), neither of them preceded by a preposition. Some verbs can be used like this, but not SUPPLY, which needs a preposition before one of the nouns.

There are two different kinds of verb that can go before two nouns without either of them needing a preposition. One kind – not relevant here – needs both of the nouns to refer to the same thing. The second noun is then said to be an “object complement” (see (g) below).

The other kind of verb that can have two following nouns without a preposition – illustrated by all of the ones listed earlier for this sentence except SUPPLY – needs the first of the two nouns to be a beneficiary or recipient of the verb’s action or state. This noun is commonly called an “indirect” object (see 126. Verbs with an Indirect Object. The problem with SUPPLY, of course, is that it too can accompany two nouns, one a beneficiary or recipient, but unexpectedly it must always have a preposition before one of them.

SUPPLY is not the only verb that is similar in meaning to indirect-object verbs without being one of them. Others include CREATE (…something for somebody), PRESENT (…something to somebody) and PROVIDE (…something for somebody). Note also that BENEFIT allows only a single following noun. To mention two, you have to say bring the benefit (…of something to someone).

There are actually two ways to correct the error above: adding either with before more money or to before their employees at the end (see 123. Prepositional Verbs Containing a Noun). For a further example of this error type, see 281. Verbs with Unexpected Grammar 4, #e.

 

(b) *Parents need to explain children how to speak politely.

The problem here is very similar to that in (a): EXPLAIN allows a beneficiary to be named before its object, but not without a preposition. The preposition needed before children here is to. EXPLAIN is best treated, like PROVIDE, as a prepositional verb containing a noun. Another verb like it is DEMONSTRATE.

The “noun” after children in (b) is how to speak politely. It is an unusual kind of noun-like phrase because it contains no noun. It is classified as noun-like because it is able (thanks to how) to occupy a typical position of a noun in a sentence (object of a verb). It is actually an indirect question – a structure that is typically noun-like (see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words). For details of the particular kind of indirect question that it is, see 105. Questions with a “to” Verb.

Some of the verbs listed earlier for this sentence (ADVISE, TEACH, TELL) can replace a following indirect question with a to verb (teach children to…) (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, # 11). However, this is again not possible with EXPLAIN – the explained idea must normally be either an indirect question placed after a to phrase (explained to X how…) or a noun/pronoun placed before one (explained Y to X).

 

(c) *Innovative companies look forward to enjoy a golden future.

LOOK FORWARD TO is a “phrasal-prepositional” verb (see 139. Phrasal Verbs). In other words, it expresses a single meaning (“anticipate happily”) in three words, including an adverb (forward) and a preposition (to). The fact that to is a preposition explains why look forward to cannot fit into (c): prepositions need any following verb to have -ing (see 70. Gerunds), an ending absent from enjoy.

The reason why enjoy is correct after the other listed verbs is that they are of the more common kind that require any directly-following verb to be in the infinitive form, made with a non-prepositional to (see 302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive). Verbs needing a prepositional to directly after them are quite rare – for more examples, see 35. Words Followed by “to -ing”. LOOK FORWARD TO is tricky in another respect too: 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #1.

 

(d) *Football trainers need to focus fitness.

This needs on after focus. Without it, FOCUS means “make (an image) sharper”, with it, “highlight” like the other listed verbs. Not all prepositional verbs acquire such a different meaning without their preposition; for others that do, see 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs).

Note the presence of EMPHASISE among the other verbs. It cannot have on, but is often incorrectly given it. One reason is probably the use of on with FOCUS (and CONCENTRATE). Another is perhaps the possibility of on after the similarly-spelt noun emphasis (see 42. Unnecessary Prepositions).

 

(e) *Everyone has a possibility to succeed.

This error is the topic of 78. Infinitive versus Preposition after Nouns. A verb after possibility, saying what is possible, needs of -ing, not to.

The tendency to use the to form of a verb after possibility probably has more reasons than just the correctness of to after similar-meaning nouns like those listed above (and like various others: see the end of 239. Noun Phrases Made with a “to” Verb). To is correct after the adjective possible, and in various other languages its equivalent is normal after an equivalent of possibility. For more about possibility, see 181. Expressing Possibility.

 

(f) *The road will be continue soon.

Continue is a regular verb, a word type that after BE always needs -ed (making a passive form) or -ing (making a continuous active). Here, the more likely ending is -ed (will be continued).

All of the other words listed above would also be correct with -ed, but they are not incorrect without it. The reason is that they are usable not just as verbs but also as adjectives, which do not allow -ed or -ing after BE. For a discussion of the meaning difference between having and not having a possible -ed after BE, see 66. Types of Passive Verb Meaning.

There are, in fact, many more English spellings than those listed that have both an adjective and a verb use (see 304. Adjectives Made from a Verb, #1). Verbs, moreover, seem to have a greater general similarity to adjectives than to other types of word (see 283. Lesser-Known Features of Adjectives, #3). These factors must inevitably sometimes cause a spelling with only one of the two uses to be given the other, like continue above. 

For more about errors with this cause, see 142. Grammar Errors with Passive Verbs and 231. Confusions of Similar Structures 3, #4.

 

(g) *Some people call rural life as boring.

Call cannot have as after its object (rural life): boring alone is enough. Boring is an adjective here used as an “object complement” – a word (noun or adjective) that some verbs need after their object to name, describe or equate to it (see 220. Features of Complements, #1).

Most verbs with an object complement need as before it (see 92. Verbs with an Object + “As”). CALL is a rare exception. Its alternative use as a naming verb may explain why, since naming verbs in general are slightly less likely than other complement-taking ones to have as (see 206. Ways of Conveying a Name).

NAME is another naming verb that can cause error (see 236. Tricky Word Contrasts 9, #2).

 

(h) *Free trade makes goods to be cheaper.

The verbs listed for this sentence all link a cause (their subject) with a consequence statement involving their object (goods) and a verb in the infinitive (to) form (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #7). The wording after makes should have a slightly different form.

After the object of causative MAKE, to be must usually be left unsaid, leaving a noun or adjective as the next word – cheaper above (exceptionally, when BE expresses an action rather than state, be without to is necessary: see 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #3). On the other hand, if the infinitive after MAKE is not to be, it must be present, but still without to (see 148. Infinitive Verbs without “to”, #2). One could, for example, say become in (h) instead of to be.

A noun or adjective directly after the object of MAKE is another example of an object complement. MAKE is unusual in disallowing the use of both to be and as: with most verbs one or the other is allowed or even required (see 92. Verbs with an Object + “As”). For more about MAKE, see 141. Ways of Using MAKE and 182. Structures with a Double Meaning 2, #4.

139. Phrasal Verbs

Combinations of a verb and a preposition-like adverb have various interesting properties 

DEFINITION OF PHRASAL VERBS

In some grammar descriptions a “phrasal verb” is any closely-combined verb and other small word. Here, however, I am giving it the common alternative meaning of a particular subgroup of such combinations: those where the small word is an adverb resembling a preposition, but never a preposition. Examples are MAKE OUT (= “understand”), TAKE OFF (= “mimic” or “leave the ground flying”), TURN ON (= “put into functioning mode”) and PICK UP (= “lift from the ground”). As these examples show, the meaning of the combination is often not discoverable from the meanings of the individual words.

It is easy to mistake the adverb in a phrasal verb for a preposition, since elsewhere it often is one. For example, on is a preposition in DEPEND ON, despite being an adverb in TURN ON. Verbs like DEPEND ON are called “prepositional” and are the topic of the Guinlist posts 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs and 123. Prepositional Verbs Containing a Noun.

Phrasal verbs are described in most grammar books for learners of English, but the details can be sparse at times. My aim here is to provide the more extensive overview that I feel is often lacking, in order to assist a more effective use of phrasal verbs and related expressions. Some of the points are also made elsewhere within this blog, but hopefully there will be benefit in having them all together here.

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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHRASAL & PREPOSITIONAL VERBS

A pronunciation difference between the two verb types is that the adverb within a phrasal verb is stressed (i.e. said strongly – see 125. Stress & Emphasis), whereas the preposition within a prepositional verb is unstressed. A grammatical difference is the kinds of link that are possible with words after the active form, particularly the “object” ( directly-following noun or equivalent – see 8. Object-Dropping Errors). All prepositional verbs need one, but some phrasal verbs lack one:

(a) Permission is required for the plane to take off.

Here, take off has no directly-following noun that can be identified as its object. Prepositional verbs cannot be used without an object in this way. They need one because the preposition within them is by definition a noun-requiring word (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions).

If an object is present, the main indication of a phrasal verb is a choice about the object’s position. Consider this:

(b) Night workers must switch on the lights.

Here, the object the lights follows on, but it could also go before it (…switch the lights on). Indeed, if the object is a pronoun (e.g. them), this position is compulsory. Placing the adverb part of a phrasal verb after the object is not illogical, since adverbs as a whole often occupy this position (see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs). With verb – preposition combinations, by contrast, no choice is possible: if the verb in (b) was depend on, the lights would have to follow on.

Another difference between phrasal and prepositional verbs involves adverb positions. Only prepositional verbs can have an adverb directly after their verb:

(c) Plants DEPEND continually ON water.

Placing an adverb in this position with a phrasal verb like the one in (b) would sound incorrect (*switch fully on the lights). Instead, the adverb must come last (switch the lights on fully/ switch on the lights fully) or between the object and the adverb (switch the lights fully on).

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OTHER PHRASAL VERB PROPERTIES

The following properties of phrasal verbs are notable:

1. Transitive and Intransitive Usage

“Transitive” verbs have an object while “intransitive” ones do not. Important phrasal verbs in each category include the following:

TRANSITIVE

BREAK OFF (= interrupt), BREAK UP (= separate into smaller pieces), BRING BACK (= return), BRING IN (= introduce), CHECK OUT (= verify; take payment for), CLOSE/SHUT DOWN (= bring to a permanent end), CUT OFF (= block), DO UP, HAND OUT (= distribute directly to people), FILL IN (= complete with requested information), GIVE BACK (= return), GIVE UP (= yield), GO OVER (= review), GO THROUGH (= examine in series; suffer), LOOK OVER (= briefly examine), MAKE OUT (= understand; discern), MAKE UP (=compose a falsehood), PICK UP (= remove from the ground; receive), PUT AWAY (= place out of sight), PUT OFF (= postpone), PUT ON (= apply), SWITCH ON/OFF (= give power to), TAKE AWAY (= carry to another place), TAKE OFF (= mimic; remove), TAKE ON a challenge (= accept), TAKE OVER (= acquire responsibility for), TURN DOWN (= refuse), WRITE DOWN (= record in writing)

INTRANSITIVE

BREAK OUT (= escape; appear as an epidemic), BREAK UP (= end a relationship or formal activity), CARRY OUT, CLOSE/SHUT DOWN (= come to a permanent end), COME BACK (= return), DO WITHOUT, FADE AWAY (= gradually disappear), FALL OFF (diminish), FALL OVER (= trip and cease to stand), GET AWAY (= escape), GIVE IN (= YIELD), GIVE UP (= quit), GO AWAY (= depart), GO OUT (= exit), GO THROUGH (= progress successfully), GROW UP (= become an adult), KEEP ON (= continue), LOOK AWAY (= change the focus of the eyes), MAKE UP (= stop quarrelling), MISS OUT (= fail to get something), PICK UP (= improve), RISE UP (= rebel), SLOW DOWN (= decelerate), TAKE OFF (= fly into the air), TURN OVER (= roll into a new lying position)

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2. Informality

Many phrasal verbs are unsuitable for formal writing (see 108. Formal and Informal Words). In most cases, English has a more formal alternative borrowed from the ancient language Latin (see 45. Latin Clues to English Spelling). For example, GET AWAY corresponds to ESCAPE, KEEP ON to CONTINUE and TURN DOWN to REFUSE.

Speakers of Latin-related languages are unlikely to think of phrasal verbs instead of their more formal alternatives, but others, if they can think only of a phrasal verb during writing, are advised to seek a one-word synonym in a thesaurus.

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3. Ability to Change into Nouns

Many phrasal verbs can become a fairly informal noun by combining the two words into one (see 26. One Word or Two?). In writing, they sometimes have a hyphen (a runaway, a breakout, a break-in); in speech, the adverb part loses its stress, leaving a single stressed syllable on the verbal part (see 243. Pronunciation Secrets, #3).

Some nouns made from a phrasal verb, e.g. breakout, always or sometimes have the action meaning of the verb – they are “action” nouns (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns). Unusually, they tend to be “countable”, not “uncountable” (see 249. Action Noun Endings). A few can also represent either the result of the action (e.g. payoff: see 14. Action Outcomes) or its location (e.g. pickup: see 19. Activity Locations). An example of a combined phrasal verb that cannot express an action is drawback.

Common nouns derived from phrasal verbs include the following:

breakaway, breakdown, break-in, breakout, breakthrough, check-in, checkout, comeback, come-down, cutback, cut-off, cut-out, drawback, drop-in, drop-off, dropout, follow-up, getaway, get-out, giveaway, handout, hideaway, holdup, makeover, make-up, payback, payoff, pickup, press-up, pushover, putdown, put-in, round-up, run-around, run-in, runaway, selloff, setback, set-down, set-up, shutdown, shutout, slowdown, sit-in, sit-out, stand-by, start-up, takeaway, take-off, takeover, take-up, turnoff, turnover, turn-up

Sometimes, a noun is formed by combining the two words in reverse order, e.g.:

downgrade, downpour, downturn, input, intake, onset, outbreak, outset, overview, throughput, upgrade, upset, upswing, uptake, upturn

It will be observed that PUT IN, BREAK OUT, SET OUT and TURN UP have a derived noun in each list. The meanings, however, are different. For example, a breakout is an escape from jail, while an outbreak is an appearance of a quickly-spreading problem (especially illness).

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4. Verb and Adverb Typicality

Although English phrasal verbs are quite numerous, the variety of verbs and adverbs used to make them is much smaller. This is because some verbs and adverbs are repeated quite often in different combinations. Typical verbs include BREAK, COME, CUT, GET, GIVE, GO, KEEP, MAKE, MOVE, PULL, PUSH, PUT, SET, TAKE and TURN. Some of the other verbs, however, are quite exotic, e.g. chill out, whip up and steam ahead.

Not every preposition can become an adverb in a phrasal verb: at, for, from, of, near and beside, for example, are very unlikely. The main prepositions seem to be in, out, up, down, on, off, along, through and over (ahead, away and back are never prepositions). Verbs with rarely-converted prepositions include COME TO (= regain consciousness), GET BY (= manage) and GO UNDER (= fail; disappear).

Moreover, some of the preposition-like adverbs have quite typical idiomatic meanings:

ON: continuation, e.g. CARRY ON, FIGHT ON, GO ON, KEEP ON, MOVE ON, PRESS ON

ON: initiation, e.g.. PUT ON, SWITCH ON, SIGN ON, TURN ON

UP: division into pieces, e.g. BREAK UP, CUT UP, DIVIDE UP, SPLIT UP

OFF: termination, e.g. BREAK OFF, CUT OFF, SIGN OFF, SWITCH OFF, TAIL OFF, TURN OFF, PUT OFF, FALL OFF

OUT: continuation to the end, e.g. SELL OUT, RUN OUT, SEE OUT, CHECK OUT, CARRY OUT

Interestingly, most of the preposition-like adverbs found in phrasal verbs are also usable by themselves directly after BE, often with a similar meaning (see 154. Lone Prepositions after BE). In addition, they sometimes act as prefixes in words not derived from phrasal verbs, such as downbeat, onshore and outrun (see 146. Some Important Prefix Types). 

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5. Combinability with Prepositions

Some multi-word verbs include both an adverb and a preposition, e.g. PUT UP WITH (= “tolerate”). Grammar books usually call them “phrasal-prepositional”. In fact, though, they are more like prepositional verbs than phrasal ones, since they usually lack the special properties of the latter. The preposition is always the last word, and, as usual, it must be partnered by a noun or noun equivalent:

(d) Astronauts put up with numerous inconveniences.

Lists of phrasal-prepositional verbs are easily found in most grammar descriptions (see also 141. Ways of Using MAKE,  176. Ways of Using GO,  213, Special Uses of “Do” 2 and 244. Special Uses of GIVE). Those that might be used in professional environments include BACK OUT OF, CATCH UP WITH, CHECK UP ON, COME UP AGAINST, CUT DOWN ON, BE CUT OFF FROM, DO AWAY WITH, FACE UP TO, GET ON WITH, KEEP UP WITH, LOOK FORWARD TO (see 35. Words Followed by “to -ing”), LOOK UP TO, MOVE ON TO and STAND UP FOR.

In a few cases, the properties of a prepositional verb are combined with those of a phrasal one. Consider this:

(e) Not everyone puts global warming down to greenhouse gases.

This means greenhouse gases are not everyone’s explanation of global warming. It will be seen that two objects are involved: greenhouse gases, partnering the preposition (to), and global warming positioned between the verb and adverb (down) – a feature of phrasal verbs. For information about when to use PUT…DOWN TO, see 150. Verbs with Indirect Speech.

Not many verbs can be used in this way. Others include FIX … UP WITH, HELP … OUT WITH and PUT … IN FOR. All are a subclass of the verbs considered in this blog in 123: Prepositional Verbs Containing a Noun.