| the issue of phrasals that are 'verb + prep' aren't an issue for me |
|
One point I was trying to make is that (the way I look at it) there is no such thing as "a
phrasal that is 'verb + prep'". If a preposition is involved, then the
verb plus that preposition cannot be considered a phrasal verb.
| AS LONG AS the same form in another context WOULD bring
about a different meaning |
|
No. I didn't intend to leave
that impression. But, as you said, I did intend
to say that 'verb + adverb' can be a phrasal verb even the combination
does not have a particularly idiosyncratic meaning.
| terms like 'operating as a unit' are meaningless unless
there is some element which defines what makes
a 'unit' |
|
Yes. This is what I found the most
interesting part of what you wrote. However, as you will see
below, I don't think it is actually an 'element' that defines a unit,
but a series of comparisons which can show whether or not a 'verb +
particle' forms a unit.
In my opinion, you may find it useful to consider the following tests
for determining whether a verb and particle combination 'operate as a
unit', in spite of the fact that the phrasal verb construction is
contrasted with a prepositional verb construction - the latter being
the one that is not an issue for you. In any case, these are
suggested by Radford in
Transformational Grammar.
The examples do not deal with the case where the object is moved before
the particle, but starting from these, you may be able to modify the
specifics so that you may be able to work out the answer to your own
question by applying the general technique to examples of your own
choosing.
Look out the window.
Take out the trash.
Each test below shows that "look out" (as illustrated above) does not operate 'as a unit', but "take out" does.
Movement test:
He wanted to look out the window, so out he looked.
*He wanted to take out the trash , so out he took.
Sentence Fragment test:
-- Did he look out the window?
-- No, out the peephole.
-- Did he take out the trash?
-- *No, out the old newspapers.
Adverb Distribution test:
He looked carefully out the window.
*He took carefully out the trash.
Ordinary Coordination:
He looked out the window and over the fence.
*He took out the trash and in the newspapers.
Shared Constituent Coordination:
He looked - and his sister also looked - out the window.
*He took - and his sister also took - out the trash.
Ellipsis
He looked out the window, and his sister out the peephole.
*He took out the trash, and his sister out the old newspapers.
Let me repeat that I can see that these might not strike directly
at the problem you are concerned with, but I do think that they might
give you an idea about how you might like to proceed in further
investigations along these lines.
CJ