{"id":2504,"date":"2017-07-12T12:40:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T18:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2504"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:23:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:23:38","slug":"understanding-verb-particles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/understanding-verb-particles\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Verb Particles"},"content":{"rendered":"

As noted in a\u00a0recent GrammarBook e-newsletter article<\/a>, verbs form both the engine and the steering wheel driving our language. They determine the direction and speed of a sentence.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, we\u2019ll spot other words riding with them in the passenger seat. They\u2019re not verbs, but they still attach themselves with seat belts secured. We accept and use those words because we know the main verb needs them for where we want to go in expressing ourselves.<\/p>\n

These verb-car passengers are referred to as verb particles. Verb particles are the add-ons in verb phrases with idiomatic meanings\u2014i.e., their definition is not obvious from the words creating the phrase.<\/p>\n

Consider a sentence such as \u201cShe looked up the number in her cell phone\u2019s contact list.\u201d The verb is \u201clooked.\u201d The verb particle is \u201cup.\u201d A literal, non-idiomatic reading of the words alone would lead us to think she was physically looking up, perhaps toward the sky or a ceiling. Idiomatically, however, we understand she is retrieving the number from her phone.<\/p>\n

Some other common verb particles are \u201cin,\u201d \u201coff,\u201d \u201cdown,\u201d \u201cover,\u201d and \u201cout,\u201d as used in the following examples:<\/p>\n

Facing constituent pressure, the governor\u00a0gave in<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to the Senate\u2019s proposed legislation.
\nWould you please\u00a0break off<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0a piece of that chocolate bar for me?
\nAnalysts agree the company\u2019s bold marketing campaign will\u00a0beat down<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the competition.
\nThat\u2019s a tough question. Let me\u00a0mull over\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>my answer for a while.
\nWill you be\u00a0checking out<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0of your room soon?<\/p>\n

Here are several more verbs that include particles to achieve their meaning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
bog down<\/td>\nshape up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
break away<\/td>\nsingle out<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
burn down<\/td>\nsleep in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
flip out<\/td>\nsum up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
head out<\/td>\nwind up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hold up<\/td>\nwrap up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As shown here, the verb particle is often needed to convey the right idea. At the same time, we need to watch for particles that seem like they belong but make the phrase a\u00a0tautology<\/a>\u2014e.g., continue on, close down. These examples would not lose meaning or clarity without the particle and thus are not idiomatic.<\/p>\n

In certain other cases, a particle might create a tautology, but we still need it for proper writing and speech. One such instance involves the verb \u201csit,\u201d which by definition does not need the particle \u201cdown\u201d for clarity. However, imagine using \u201csit\u201d instead of \u201csit down\u201d when addressing a person instead of a dog.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always easier to use and ride with a particle in your verb car when you know what it is, why it\u2019s there, and, equally important, if it belongs. Just determine if together the verb and particle are idiomatic and not tautological. If so, leave them connected and keep your content cruising along.<\/p>\n

If not, pull over, let the passenger out, and wish it the best in finding another good sentence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As noted in a\u00a0recent GrammarBook e-newsletter article, verbs form both the engine and the steering wheel driving our language. They determine the direction and speed of a sentence. Sometimes, we\u2019ll spot other words riding with them in the passenger seat. They\u2019re not verbs, but they still attach themselves with seat belts secured. We accept and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}