ENG 417

Topic 5

THE VERB AND ITS

COMPLEMENTATION
 Expected Outcomes
• By the end of our discussion of the topic, be able to:

✓Illustrate what we mean by verb complementation

✓Distinguish particle types
✓Distinguish multi-word verb types
✓Give examples of obligatory units which
complement the verb
 Complementation

• Complementation refers to a unit or a part of a phrase

or clause which follows a word, and completes the
specification of a meaning relationship which that
word implies.
 Verb complementation
• Verb complementation refers to units which complement
the verb
• These units are obligatory in a clause structure, e.g.,
✓The clause types SVO, SVA, and SVOA are characterised
by the differences in the complementation in terms of
O, C, and A required to complete the meaning of the
verb, respectively.
 Verb complementation

• So, given the use of a particular verb in a particular

sense, the sentence is incomplete if one of these
elements (in the complementation) is omitted, e.g.,
✓*I put the bag (Type SVOA)
✓*They gave Jane (Type SVOO)
 Verb complementation
• Therefore, verb complementation looks at the ways in
which lexical verbs determine the grammatical patterns
that follow them.
• The verb is therefore one of the key sentential elements
✓It determines both the syntactic and semantic
specifications.
 The V-Element

• Basically, the previous chapters treat the V-element as:

✓(AUX +) LEXICAL VERB
• We can distinguish various single-word verb types as follows:
✓Intensive verbs: require a subject complement
✓Transitive verbs: require object complementation
✓Intransitive verbs: no complementation is required
Verbs in intransitive function
 Verbs in intransitive function
• Three types can be distinguished:
✓Pure intransitive verbs
✓Verbs which can also be transitive1
✓Verbs which can also be transitive2
Verbs in intransitive function
1. pure intransitive verbs, which do not
take an object at all, e.g.,
✓John has arrived
✓Your views do not matter
• Other examples: go, come, rise, fall, lie, happen,
appear, die, wait
 Verbs in intransitive function
2. Verbs which can also be transitive1 with
the same meaning, and without a change in the subject-
verb relationship. These verbs can be described as having
an ‘understood object’, e.g.,
✓He smokes (a pipe)
✓I am reading (a book)
• Some of the verb may acquire a more specific meaning, so
that a particular kind of object is ‘understood’ e.g.,
✓John drinks heavily [‘drinks alcohol’]
• Other examples: approach, drive, help, pass, win, drink,
enter, leave, play, write
 Verbs in intransitive function
3. Verbs which can also be transitive2, but
where the semantic connection between subject and verb
is different in the two cases, e.g. the intransitive use has
an affected participant as subject whereas the transitive
use has an agentive as subject, e.g.,
✓The door opened slowly.
• cf: Mary opened the door.
✓The car stopped.
• cf: He stopped the car.
 Verbs in intransitive function
3. Verbs which can also be transitive2
• More examples: begin, close, increase, turn, walk,
change, drop, move, unite, work
• Include intransitive verbs with mutual participation, e.g.,
✓I have met you. ~ We have met.
✓The bus collided with the car. ~ The bus and car
collided.
 Verbs in intransitive function
• NOTE: For verbs that can be either intransitive or transitive
with or without a change in participant role will be treated as
belonging to two categories, e.g.,
✓He smokes everyday.
✓He smokes cigars everyday.
✓The tomatoes are growing well.
✓He is growing tomatoes.
✓We ate all the food.
✓We ate well.
✓The door opened.
✓Jane opened the door.
The Multi-Word V-Element
 The Multi-Word V-Element

• The V-element, however, is usually complex (i.e., it

is usually a multi-word element, consisting of a
lexical verb and a particle(s)):
✓(AUX +) LEXICAL VERB + PARTICLE (S), e.g.,
➢Drink up
➢Get away with
• Are considered multi-word only where they
behave as a single unit.
 The Multi-Word V-Element

Particles
• Follow and are closely associated with verbs.
• Are morphologically invariable.
• Generally belong to two distinct but overlapping
categories:
✓That of prepositions
✓That of spatial adverbs (though they are not
necessarily used with spatial meaning.
 The Multi-Word V-Element

Particles
• Three types can be distinguished:
✓CLASS A: Prepositions only
✓CLASS B: Can either be prepositions or
Spatial adverbs
✓CLASS C: Spatial adverbs only
 Particle Types
✓CLASS A: Prepositions only, e.g.,

➢against, among, as, at, beside,

for, from, into, like, of, onto,
upon, with, etc.
 Particle Types

✓CLASS B: Can either be prepositions or

Spatial adverbs
➢about, above, across, after, along,
around, by, down, in, off, on, out, over,
past, round, through, under, up, etc.

▪When they function as spatial adverbs,

they are known as prepositional
adverbs
 Particle Types

✓CLASS C: Spatial adverbs only (unless they

form a part of a complex preposition, e.g.,
out of, away from, on top of, etc.), e.g.,

➢aback, ahead, apart, aside, astray away,

back, forward(s), home, in front, on top,
out, together, etc.
 Prepositions vs. spatial adverbs
• The most obvious difference between
prepositions and spatial adverbs:
✓Prepositions require a following noun phrase
as a prepositional complement whereas
spatial adverbs do not.
• NOTE: Particles of Class B are the only ones
acceptable in both constructions, e.g.,
 Prepositions vs. spatial adverbs

Prepositional construction Adverbial construction

A. The dog went for me *The dog went for
B. Jack fell down the hill Jack fell down
C. *We must not look We must not look back
back the past
Multi-Word Verb Types
 Multi-Word Verb Types
• There are several multi-word verb types:
✓Phrasal verbs (intransitive or transitive), e.g.,
drink up
✓Prepositional verbs, e.g., dispose of
✓Phrasal-prepositional verbs, e.g., get away
with
Phrasal verbs
Intransitive
Transitive
Phrasal verbs
Intransitive
 Intransitive phrasal verbs
• Consists of a verb plus a particle, e.g.,
✓The children were sitting down.
✓Drink up quickly.
✓He is playing around.
✓The prisoner finally broke down.
✓The plane has taken off
✓When will they give in?
✓Get up at once
✓Did he catch on?
✓He turned up unexpectedly
✓The tank blew up.
 Intransitive phrasal verbs

• Some have a prepositional adverb as a particle

that behaves as a preposition with ellipted
complement, e.g.,
✓He walked past (the object/place)
✓They ran across (the intervening space)
✓Come along (with us/me) = 1st element in a
complex preposition
✓They moved out (of the house) = 1st element
in a complex preposition
Intransitive phrasal verbs
✓Feature:
▪ The particles cannot be separated from its verb, e.g.,
➢*Drink quickly up.
▪ NB: Some particles can be modified by
intensifiers, e.g., Go right on
Intransitive phrasal verbs
✓NOTE: There is variation in the extent to which
the combination preserves the individual meanings
of the verb and particle
• For some, the meaning cannot be predicated from the
meanings of the verb and particle in isolation, e.g.,
➢Give in = ‘surrender’
➢Catch on = ‘understand’
➢Turn up = ‘appear’
Phrasal verbs
Transitive
 Transitive phrasal verbs
• They take a direct object, e.g.,
✓We will set up a new unit.
✓Find out whether they are coming.
✓Drink up your milk quickly.
✓They turned on the light.
✓They gave in their resignation.
✓He can’t live down his past
✓They are bringing over the whole family.
✓She is bringing up her brother’s children.
✓They called off the strike.
✓He looked up his former friends.
✓I can’t make out what he means.
 Transitive phrasal verbs

• Some combinations can be either transitive

or intransitive with or without meaning
differences, e.g.,
✓Drink up
✓Give in
 Transitive phrasal verbs
Feature
• If the direct object is a personal pronoun, the particle must
follow the pronoun, e.g.,
✓They turned it on.
✓*They turned on it.
✓They turned on the light.
• Particle precedes a nominal direct object
✓They turned the light on.
• Particle follows a nominal direct object
• If the object is long or if the intention is that the object
should receive end-focus, the particle precedes the
object.
 Transitive phrasal verbs
• Many have prepositional adverbs, with the particle having
literal meaning, e.g.,
✓They dragged the case along (the road).
✓They moved the furniture out (of the house).
▪Contrast:
✓She took in the box (‘brought inside’)
✓She took in her parents (‘deceived’ =A highly idiomatic
expression)
 Transitive phrasal verbs
• Variation in the formation of idiomatic combinations
A. Those preserving individual meanings, e.g.,
✓Put out the cat
✓Put + down/outside/away/aside
✓Take/turn/bring/push/send/drag + out
✓Turn out the light
✓Turn + on/off/down/up
✓Switch + on
B. Those fused into a new idiomatic combinations, e.g.,
✓Put off (‘postpone’)
Prepositional verbs
Prepositional verbs: Characteristics
1) The preposition must precede the complement
2) Allow an inserted adverb between verb and particle, and
a relative pronoun after the preposition
3) In contrast to single-word verbs plus prepositional
phrases, prepositional verbs allow pronominal questions
with who(m) for personal noun phrases and what for non-
personal noun phrases but do not allow adverbial
questions for the whole prepositional phrase
4) Many allow the noun phrases to become the subject of
passive transformation
Prepositional verbs: Characteristics
1. The preposition must precede the
complement, e.g.,
PREPOSITIONAL VERB PHRASAL VERB
They called on the man They called up the man
(‘visit’) (‘summon’)
a. They called on him. *They called up him.
b. *They called the man on. They called the man up.
c. *They called him on. They called him up.
 Prepositional verbs: Characteristics
2. Allow an inserted adverb between verb
and particle, and a relative pronoun after
the preposition, e.g.,
✓They called early on the man.
✓*They called early up the man.
✓The man on whom they called.
✓*The man up whom they called.
Prepositional verbs - Characteristics
3. In contrast to single-word verbs plus prepositional phrases,
prepositional verbs allow pronominal questions with who(m)
for personal noun phrases and what for non-personal noun
phrases but do not allow adverbial questions for the whole
prepositional phrase, e.g.,
➢They called on the man
▪ ~ Who(m) did they call on?
▪ ~*Where did they call?
➢They looked at the picture
▪ ~What did they look at?
▪ ~*Where did they look?
➢They called after lunch
▪ ~*What did they call after?
▪ ~When did they call?
 Prepositional verbs - Characteristics
4. Many allow the noun phrases to become
the subject of passive transformation, e.g.,
✓They called on the man
➢~The man was called on
✓They looked at the picture
➢~The picture was looked at
 Prepositional verbs
✓Other examples of prepositional verbs:
➢ask for, believe in, care for, deal with, write about,
long for, object to, part with, refer to, write about.
✓Those that are highly idiomatic, e.g.,
➢go into (a problem) = ‘investigate’
➢come by (the book) = ‘obtain’ etc.
Syntactic analyses of prepositional
verb

✓There are 2 valid syntactic analyses, namely:

1. AS INTRANSITIVE VERBS
2. AS TRANSITIVE VERBS
Syntactic analyses of prepositional
verb
Analysis 1
AS INTRANSITIVE VERBS i.e.., VERB + ADVERBIAL, e.g.
✓He looked at the girl. SVA
▪‘looked’ = Intransitive Verb
▪‘at the girl’ = prepositional phrase with adverbial
function
Syntactic analyses of prepositional
verb
✓Analysis 1 accounts for the similarity of such
sentences to others having a single-word verb and
adverbial with respect to relative clauses and the
positioning of adverbs, e.g.
 Syntactic analyses of prepositional
verb
Analysis 2
AS TRANSITIVE VERBS i.e., PREPOSITIONAL VERB +
DIRECT OBJECT, e.g.,
✓He looked at the girl = SVO
▪‘looked at’ = prepositional verb
▪‘the girl’ = direct object
Syntactic analyses of prepositional
verb
• Analysis 2 Accounts for the similarity to others
having a transitive single-word with respect to
passivisation, e.g.,
✓The girl was looked at
✓The girl was watched
✓The girl was *stood near.
Prepositional verbs
Following Quirk & Greenbaum (1973), we
adopt analysis 2 and treat prepositional
verbs as transitive
Phrasal-Prepositional Verbs
 Phrasal-prepositional verbs
✓Are multi-word verbs comprising a verb
followed by two particles, e.g.,
➢He puts up with a lot of teasing. (‘tolerates’)
 Phrasal-prepositional verbs
▪Like single-word transitives and prepositional
verbs, they do not allow insertion of an adverb
immediately before the object but between the
particles, e.g.
✓*He put up with willingly that secretary of his.
✓He put up willingly with that secretary of his.
✓We look forward eagerly to your next party.
✓The particles are positioned after the verb in
relative clauses and questions
➢The party we were looking forward to so
eagerly.
➢Who(m) does he put up with willingly
✓Vary in idiomaticity, e.g.,
➢Stay away from (‘avoid) = easily understood
➢Stand up for (‘support’) = figurative
➢Put up with (‘tolerate’) = fused
➢[Put up] with (‘stay with’) = fused
 Phrasal-prepositional verbs
• Other examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:
✓Break in on (the conversation) =‘interrupt’
✓Cut down on (expenses) = ‘curtail’
✓Get away with (such behaviour) = ‘avoid being’
reprimanded or punished for
✓Look down on (somebody) = ‘despise’
✓Look in on (somebody) = ‘visit’
✓Look up to (somebody) = ‘respect’
✓Walk out on (the project) = ‘abandon’
 Phrasal-prepositional verbs

Like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional

verbs will be analysed and treated as transitive
verbs with the following noun phrase as a
direct object