Phrasal verbs
ሐረጋዊ ግሦች (phrasal verbs)
A verb plus a small word (up, out, on, off, down, back) that together make a new meaning: pick up, fill out, look for. Everyday spoken English is full of them.
What a phrasal verb is
A phrasal verb is a verb + a particle (up, out, on, off, in, down, back, away, over). The meaning is often not the two words added together: give up does not mean give + up, it means stop trying. Amharic changes the verb itself for a new meaning (ወጣ, አወጣ); English often keeps the verb and changes the small word: turn on, turn off, turn down. Phrasal verbs are normal in speech and emails to friends; formal letters often use a one-word verb instead.
In Amharic
ሐረጋዊ ግሥ ግሥ + ትንሽ ቃል (up, out, on, off, in, down, back, away, over) ነው። ትርጉሙ ብዙ ጊዜ የሁለቱ ቃላት ድምር አይደለም፦ give up ማለት give + up ሳይሆን መሞከር ማቆም፣ ተስፋ መቁረጥ ነው። አማርኛ ለአዲስ ትርጉም ግሡን ራሱን ይለውጣል (ወጣ፣ አወጣ)፤ እንግሊዝኛ ብዙ ጊዜ ግሡን ይዞ ትንሹን ቃል ይለውጣል፦ turn on, turn off, turn down። ሐረጋዊ ግሦች በንግግርና ለወዳጅ በሚጻፍ ኢሜይል የተለመዱ ናቸው፤ መደበኛ ደብዳቤዎች ግን ብዙ ጊዜ አንድ ቃል ያለው ግሥ ይጠቀማሉ።
| Phrasal verb (everyday) | One-word verb (formal) |
|---|---|
| find out | discover |
| put off | postpone |
| call off | cancel |
| fill out | complete |
| go over | review |
| hand in | submit |
| figure out | solve / understand |
| look into | investigate |
- One verb can have many phrasal verbs: look for (search), look after (take care of), look up (find in a dictionary).
- One phrasal verb can have several meanings: take off = remove clothes, and a plane takes off = leaves the ground.
- In speech, the particle is usually stressed: pick UP, call BACK.
- I gave up coffee for Lent.
- We need to find out when the office opens.
- The plane took off an hour late.
- Can you look after my kids for an hour?
Separable or not? Where the object goes
With some phrasal verbs the object can go after the particle or in the middle: pick up the kids, pick the kids up. These are separable. When the object is a pronoun (it, them, me, him), it must go in the middle: pick them up, not pick up them. Other phrasal verbs never separate: look for my keys, look for them. Some have no object at all: The car broke down.
In Amharic
በአንዳንድ ሐረጋዊ ግሦች ተሳቢው ከትንሹ ቃል በኋላ ወይም በመካከል ሊገባ ይችላል፦ pick up the kids፣ pick the kids up። እነዚህ የሚለያዩ ናቸው። ተሳቢው ተውላጠ ስም ሲሆን (it, them, me, him) በመካከል መግባት አለበት፦ pick them up እንጂ pick up them አይደለም። ሌሎች ሐረጋዊ ግሦች በፍጹም አይለያዩም፦ look for my keys፣ look for them። አንዳንዶቹ ደግሞ ተሳቢ የላቸውም፦ The car broke down።
| Type | With a noun | With a pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| separable | Pick up the kids. / Pick the kids up. | Pick them up. (not pick up them) |
| separable | Turn off the TV. / Turn the TV off. | Turn it off. (not turn off it) |
| not separable | I'm looking for my keys. | I'm looking for them. (not looking them for) |
| not separable | She looks after her mother. | She looks after her. |
| no object | The car broke down. I got up at six. | — |
| three words | We ran out of milk. I look forward to the trip. | We ran out of it. |
- Pronoun objects go in the middle of separable verbs: call me back, fill it out.
- A good dictionary shows it: pick sb/sth up (separable), look for sb/sth (not separable).
- Three-word verbs never separate: run out of, get along with, look forward to.
- Here's the application. Please fill it out and bring it back.
- The manager is busy. She'll call you back.
- I can't find my glasses. Can you help me look for them?
- My car broke down on the way to work.
20 for home and daily life
These are the phrasal verbs you hear every day at home, in the car and around town. Learn each one with an object, in a short sentence.
In Amharic
እነዚህ በየቀኑ በቤት፣ በመኪናና በከተማ የሚሰሟቸው ሐረጋዊ ግሦች ናቸው። እያንዳንዱን ከተሳቢ ጋር፣ በአጭር ዓረፍተ ነገር ይማሩ።
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Amharic | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| pick up | collect someone or something | ሄዶ መውሰድ፤ ማንሣት | separable |
| drop off | take someone or something to a place and leave | ማድረስ፤ ማውረድ | separable |
| get up | get out of bed | ከአልጋ መነሣት | no object |
| wake up | stop sleeping | መንቃት፤ መቀስቀስ | no object / separable |
| put on | start wearing | መልበስ | separable |
| take off | remove (clothes); leave the ground (a plane) | ማውለቅ፤ መነሣት (አውሮፕላን) | separable / no object |
| turn on | start a machine or light | ማብራት | separable |
| turn off | stop a machine or light | ማጥፋት | separable |
| turn up | make louder | ድምፅ መጨመር | separable |
| turn down | make quieter; say no to | ድምፅ መቀነስ፤ እምቢ ማለት | separable |
| look for | try to find | መፈለግ | not separable |
| look after | take care of | መንከባከብ | not separable |
| clean up | make tidy | ማጽዳት | separable |
| throw away | put in the trash | መጣል | separable |
| put away | put back in its place | ቦታው መመለስ | separable |
| run out of | have no more | ማለቅ (ያለቀበት መሆን) | not separable |
| get on / get off | enter / leave a bus or train | መሳፈር / መውረድ | not separable |
| move in | start living in a new home | ወደ አዲስ ቤት ገብቶ መኖር | no object |
| move out | leave your home for good | ቤት ለቅቆ መውጣት | no object |
| break down | stop working (a car, a machine) | መበላሸት | no object |
- turn down has two meanings: turn the music down (quieter), turn the job down (refuse).
- get on / get off is for buses, trains and planes; get in / get out of is for cars and taxis.
- I drop the kids off at school at 7:30 and pick them up at 3.
- Put on your jacket. It's cold this morning.
- We're moving out at the end of the month.
- We ran out of injera, so I went to the market.
- Get off the bus at the second stop.
20 for work, forms and the phone
These come up at work, in offices, on the phone and in job searches. Many have a formal one-word partner you will see in letters.
In Amharic
እነዚህ በሥራ ቦታ፣ በቢሮዎች፣ በስልክና ሥራ በመፈለግ ጊዜ ይመጣሉ። ብዙዎቹ በደብዳቤ ውስጥ የሚያዩት መደበኛ አንድ ቃል ያለው አቻ አላቸው።
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Amharic | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| fill out | complete a form | ፎርም መሙላት | separable |
| sign up (for) | register for something | መመዝገብ | no object |
| hand in | give work to someone (submit) | ማስረከብ | separable |
| call back | return a phone call | መልሶ መደወል | separable |
| hang up | end a phone call | ስልክ መዝጋት | no object / separable |
| hold on | wait a moment | ትንሽ መቆየት | no object |
| find out | learn a fact, discover | ማወቅ፤ ማጣራት | separable |
| look up | find information in a book or online | መፈለግ (በመዝገበ ቃላት ወይም በኢንተርኔት) | separable |
| figure out | understand or solve | መረዳት፤ መፍታት | separable |
| go over | check or review | መከለስ | not separable |
| set up | arrange or prepare | ማዘጋጀት፤ ማቋቋም | separable |
| put off | move to a later time (postpone) | ማዘግየት፤ ማራዘም | separable |
| call off | cancel | መሰረዝ | separable |
| show up | arrive, appear | መምጣት፤ ብቅ ማለት | no object |
| give up | stop trying | ተስፋ ቆርጦ መተው | separable |
| pay back | return money you owe | ዕዳ መመለስ | separable |
| get along (with) | have a good relationship | መስማማት | no object |
| come back | return | መመለስ | no object |
| check in | arrive and register (hotel, flight, clinic) | መድረሱን አስመዝግቦ መግባት | no object |
| look forward to | wait happily for | በጉጉት መጠበቅ | not separable |
- In American English a form is filled out; in British English it is filled in. Both are understood.
- show up is used for people who arrive, especially late or not at all: He didn't show up for his shift.
- Please fill out both pages and hand them in at the front desk.
- Can you hold on? I'll check the schedule.
- The meeting was called off because of the storm.
- I signed up for a free English class at the library.
- I get along well with my coworkers.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Can you pick me up at six? | With a pronoun, a separable verb splits: pick me up. | |
| I'm looking for my keys. | look for cannot be separated. | |
| Please fill out this form. | A form is filled out (or filled in). | |
| Turn it off, please. | A pronoun goes in the middle. | |
| We ran out of milk. | run out needs of before the thing. | |
| I will call you back. | A pronoun goes in the middle. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Can you ___ from school at 3?
Please ___ out this form and sign it. (one word)
I'm ___ my phone. Have you seen it?
She's busy. Can she call you ___ later? (one word)
They offered me the job, but I ___ it ___. The pay was too low.
We have no more rice. We ran ___ rice. (two words)
The meeting is ___. Nobody needs to come.
My car ___ on the highway.
It's cold. ___ on your jacket. (one word)
Which is correct?
A formal word for put off: ___ (one word)