Key considerations

Learners often identify multiword verbs as one of the most important and difficult features of English.

They often fail to understand the meaning of multiword verbs and multiword verbal expressions. They often avoid using multiword verbs and multiword verbal expressions. For some learners this may be a thoroughly reasonable ‘coping strategy’ that we should respect; other learners may welcome help and encouragement to use what they have learned.

Some learners find it helpful to analyse the form of multiword verbs and multiword verbal expressions, and to classify them under ‘types’. Others prefer to learn them as individual items of vocabulary.

Multiword verbs

What are multiword verbs?

Multiword verbs are made up of a verb (e.g. come, get, give, look, take) and one or more particles. ‘Particles’ are words that we use as adverbs and/or prepositions in other contexts (e.g. away, back, off, on, out).

One verb may combine with many different particles to give multiword verbs with different meanings (e.g. break away, break in, break down). Other verbs combine only with one or two related particles and have a very restricted range of meanings (e.g. log on/off, nip in/out/off). One multiword verb may have more than one meaning.

The meaning of a multiword verb is not the same as the independent meaning of the verb and particle(s), e.g. come to. (regain consciousness) is not about coming. (movement) or to (direction).

In terms of what they do and where they come in sentences, multiword verbs are no diff erent from other main verbs with one exception, which we look at under Type 3 verbs.

Some examples of multiword verbs in context

The text which follows is a transcription of someone telling a story about an unsuccessful attempt to hitchhike from London to Scotland.