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

118 ÉVA KOVÁCS distinguishes combinations where the particle appears to have retained an adverbial force (E.g.: hang up a picture, hide away the piece of paper) and the ones in which the particle, rather than serving as an adverbial, appears to modify the meaning of the verb, giving it a completive sense (E.g.: beat up, wind up, fade out, die out). Lipka (1972:188) also points out that there are very few collocations in which the particle has the same meaning as the adverb. In some cases, the function of the adverb is isolated. In a small group of VPCs with OUT, the particle has the meaning 'into society', or 'into public knowledge': ask out (sb), invite out (sb). In another group, OUT has the meaning 'aloud', as in cry out, read out (letter), speak out (words). In other functions, the particle is apparentiy isolated, as in help out (sb), 'temporarily', ride out (racehorse), 'to the limit', strike out, 'vigorously'. UP has the meaning 'not thoroughly' in a few VPCs, such as practise up (piece for concert), press up (suit), scrub up (children). UP can have the meaning 'again, a second time', as in fry up (yesterday's dinner), heat up (cold meat), warm up (milk). The meaning 'awake' is found in a number of VPCs with UP, such as in keep up, stay up, wait up. Discussing the combinations set + particle, Sinclair (1991:67—79) observes that set is a difficult word to isolate semantically, but in most of its usage it contributes to meaning in combination with other words, i.e. about, aside, in, up, out, on, and off. E.g.: Set in means that something begins, and seems likely to continue and develop. Set off, in the same way of set out, are usually used to refer to the start of a journey. The meaning of set about doing something is that you start to do it in an energetic or purposeful way. As pointed out by Sinclair, the most striking feature of these phrasal verbs is the nature of the subjects and objects used with them. E.g.: The subjects used with set in usually refer to unpleasant states of affair: e.g.: rot, decay, despair, infection, bitterness, anarchy, disillusion etc., only a few refer to the weather or are neutral. The object of the phrasal verb set off (with the meaning: starting anything from an explosion to a train of thought) nearly always refers to something new. E.g.: The spark which set off explosion ... and so set off the charge for the black revolution. From Sinclair's discussion, it also becomes apparent that some phrasal verbs e.g.: set apart and set aside are similar in meaning, but not in usage. In the case of set apart the emphasis is on the state of apartness and the status and quality of what has been selected from apartness,