There are at least three main types of phrasal verb constructions depending on whether the verb combines with a preposition, a particle, or both. 6 Similar structures in other languages.
Phrasal verbs are differentiated from other classifications of multi-word verbs and free combinations by criteria based on idiomaticity, replacement by a single-word verb, wh-question formation and particle movement. Additional alternative terms for phrasal verb are compound verb, verb-adverb combination, verb-particle construction, two-part word/verb or three-part word/verb (depending on the number of particles) and multi-word verb. Phrasal verbs that include a preposition are known as prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs that include a particle are also known as particle verbs. In other words, the meaning is non- compositional and thus unpredictable. These semantic units cannot be understood based upon the meanings of the individual parts alone, but must be taken as a whole. There are tens of thousands of them, and they are in everyday, constant use. In English traditional grammar, a phrasal verb is the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories – a verb and a particle, such as an adverb or a preposition – to form a single semantic unit on a lexical or syntactic level.