Search results for 'tag:Phrasal verbs tag:Pronouns' matching tags 'Phrasal verbs' and 'Pronouns'

Re: Trouble finding subject and objects in this sentence

Huevos — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:41:18 GMT

Mister Micawber
what about 'on',

Mister Micawber
or rest on is a phrasal verb with what as direct object

I'm not sure. I don't see it as a strictly phrasal verb as the meaning is not idiomatic. He rests on the bed. He rests in bed. He rests at home. The choice of preposition doesn't seem to change the meaning of "rest". Also I'm not sure about "what" as an object. It's function here is interrogative pronoun, right? Does that make it an object (prepositional object)?

Re: don't I receive

Yankee — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:03:02 GMT

Hi Avangi

Sure poetry is OK, but the "Not only" sentence in question doesn't seem to have been intended to be either poetic or particularly formal.

The thing is, pronouns sometimes have "restrictions" that nouns simply don't have. Just think about phrasal verbs. For example, we can say:
"He picked the ball up"
-OR-
"He picked up the ball".

However, if we replace the word "ball" with a pronoun (it), then there is basically only one way to say the sentence:
"He picked it up."

Saying "He picked up it" would sound "wrong" to native speakers of AmE. Wouldn't you agree?

Re: "To pick up"

Tanit — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:02:55 GMT

Hi Milla,

You could also say "Bryan is going to pick Paul up at the airport tonight" because "pick up" is a separable phrasal verb; this means that you can put the object either before or after "up".

If the object is a pronoun, this must go before "up", so: "Bryan is going to pick him up at the airport tonight" (not: pick up him).

Re: preposition+obj pronoun+?

Clive — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:26:03 GMT

Hi,

I know that many people use this type of sentence " I team up with a boy doing 5 subjects" (participle) And " I team up with a boy who does 5 subjects"(relative pronoun)

Yes. You can also say 'I team up with a boy who is doing 5 subjects.

But Can one say? : "I team up with a boy do 5 subjects" (???) No.

I believe the "doing" is participle because it's preceded by a noun and not directly after preposition. Think of 'doing 5 subjects' as a shortened form of 'who is doing 5 subjects'. I don't see that it has anything to do with prepositions.

Does this apply to all the sentences with preopositions in this type of context? What preposition are you talking about in your example? The only one I see is 'up', which just part of the phrasal verb 'team up' .

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Need help on a Parts of Speech Question

Mister Micawber — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:36:29 GMT

2. Thought it was adverb, as it explains how the boys followed.
3. Thought it was a verb, as it follows the pronoun "I"

2-- Maybe it is , if you consider 'follow after' to be a phrasal verb; then 'the girls' is the object. However, follow can be intransitive (Bill led and Jane followed), so I think 'after the girls' indicates where the boys went: The boys followed after the girls / over the bridge / etc.
3-- No, the verb is elided: Helen went first and I [followed] after.

Re: get it together

Clive — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:01:17 GMT

Hi,

get together (START) phrasal verb INFORMAL
to start a romantic relationship:
She got together with Paul two years ago.
They finally get it together right at the end of the film.

Please explain the highlighed group of words. [Particularly, I am confused with the use of the pronoun "it' between get togethe]

Both of these expressions are rather idiomatic, and often can be used with very similar meanings. Here are a couple of comments on differences.

Get together - This focuses on people coming physically close to each other.

It can obvioulsy be used in a romantic way. However, we can also say things like 'I'm going to get together with Tom and Fred for a drink this evening'. It means we are going to meet each other, then sit and drink and talk.

Get it together - This tends to focuses on things that are not so physical, like a relationship, an attitude, a skill.

eg I am answering questions in an interview. My answers are poor. I think 'OK, I have 10 minutes left. If I get it (my ideas, my confidence, my attention) together, I can still be successful in this interview'.

eg The baseball team is playing poorly. The manager says to them, 'You guys need to get it (your skill) together right now'.

eg Tom and Mary encounter many problems and difficulties while trying to develop a romantic relationship. But they finally get it (their relationship, their love) together, and achieve happiness.

Best wishes, Clive

get it together

User_gary — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:41:53 GMT

get together (START) phrasal verb INFORMAL
to start a romantic relationship:
She got together with Paul two years ago.
They finally get it together right at the end of the film.

Please explain the highlighed group of words. [Particularly, I am confused with the use of the pronoun "it' between get togethe]

Re: Two grammar questions...

Sooris — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:13:13 GMT

Hello,

A phrasal verb is made up of a verb and an adverb. You can have a pronoun between them. A phrasal verb acts as one unit. A pronoun coming between them will not change the meaning of the phrasal verb.

There is nothing wrong in having a pronoun between a verb and a preposition. But they are not one unit.

Example: I saw him at the canteen.

But there is something called appropriate preposition. The verb will always take that particular preposition with which it always comes Example: abide by. Though the meaning of the verb doesn't change like the phrasal verb it doesn't allow a pronoun to come inbetween them.

"... Steve decided to seek out some information..." Thank you.

Peaceblinkfriend — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 14:02:21 GMT

This is the example given under the entry of the phrasal verb seek out in my dictionary. The definition of seek out is said to be to look for someone or something, especially for a long time until you find them. So does it mean that it takes a lot of time for Steve to obtain information on accommodation in the area? Second, shouldn't the pronoun he appear after the proper noun Steve ? Thank you.

While he was at the library, Steve decided to seek out some information on accommodation in the area.

Best wishes,

Peaceblinkfriend

Re: handed over

Yankee — Mon, 21 May 2007 15:15:23 GMT

When you use a pronoun (rather than a noun) with a separable phrasal verb, the pronoun generally never follows the phrasal verb. You can use a noun in either position, but I'd say separating the verb is more common.

(a) ~~They handed over him to the police~~. Not good. The pronoun 'him' should separate the phrasal verb.

(b) They handed him over to the police. Good!

(c) ~~They handed him to the police.~~ Not good because it sounds too literal (i.e. as though they literally held him in one hand.)