Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 3. Eger Journal of English Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 29)
Éva Kovács: Properties of Verbs Which Constitute Phrasal Verbs
110 ÉVA KOVÁCS frequently in use, and they produce "no fewer than 384 possible combinations". As Live (1965:430) points out, the verbs most active in this kind of combination are of the old, common monosyllabic or trochaic "basic English" variety (many of them of "irregular" conjugation in modern English): bring send, take, set, go, come, look, and many others, each occurring in combination with a considerable number of the particles, whereas many of the "more learned"(often polysyllabic) verbs of classic or French borrowing occur with none. The Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs (1995:vi) gives thirty-eight common verbs which occur in a large number of combinations with different particles, and which have many non-transparent meanings. As pointed out, phrasal verbs which have literal meanings are not included. The thirty-eight verbs are: break fall kick make put stay bring get knock move run stick call give lay pass send take cast go lie play set talk come hang live pull sit throw cut hold look push stand turn do keep In all three of the above lists of verbs constituting phrasal verbs we can find the monosyllabic set. Sinclair (1991:67) assumes that j"^/ is a fairly common, rather dull little word that was comparatively neglected in description and in teaching. Phrasal verbs with set are also very common, and it is particularly rich in making combinations with words like about, in, up, out, on, off, and these words are themselves very common. Sinclair (1991:68), however, emphasises the importance of the environment of set in determining the meaning since in most of its usage, it contributes to meaning in combination with other words, i.e. the above-mentioned particles. Strangely enough, none of the above lists contains the verb be constituting phrasal verbs. It is, however, relatively frequent according to the authors of the Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs (1993), in which be combines with the following particles: about, around, above, after, against, along around, at, away , back, behind, below, beneath, beyond, down, in, off, on, out,
