🧡 🕣 🧚🏿 About phrasal verbs 🛄 🗳️ 🧑🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏼

English phrasal verbs are much simpler than they appear. They work exactly the same as in Russian prefixes. An outstanding Soviet actor Zinovy Gerdt, having once learned about an unworthy act committed by a writer he knew, said: “Let me get to know you.” I think very few people heard the verb “get to know” in live speech. But intuitively, it’s clear anyway that this is the opposite of “getting acquainted."

Why is this so easy and understandable? Because in early childhood we deeply learned the meaning of Russian consoles and since then we have been operating with them easily and unconsciously. Just as easily and unconsciously, 7-8-year-old English children operate on particles in phrasal verbs, compose new phrasal verbs on the go, which are not found in any dictionary.

Irresponsible teachers recommend the meaning of the phrasal verbs "easy to remember" without trying to understand their internal logic. This is a vicious practice: phrasal verbs of only the most common are thousands. It is fundamentally impossible to “learn” them. Let’s say, let’s let it. And the phrasal verb "let in on" means "to dedicate to secret." Only a person who understands the figurative meanings of the particles forming phrasal verbs is able to remember this.

If you properly understand these figurative meanings, you can begin to understand even such phrasal verbs that you encounter for the first time. The knowledge of several principles eliminates the need to know many facts.

Let's think, what words and ideas appear first in any primitive language? Those that are most needed to express the simplest everyday thoughts. This, for example, the pronouns: "I", "you", the names of the parts of the human body ... Take the expression "foot of the hill." The hill has no legs, what is the foot ?? Or the expression "in the head of the column." The column has no head or arms. But even a child of 4-6 years old already intuitively understands what a “foot of a hill” or “a head of a column” is. The concept of “head” we reliably learned in early childhood, so the expression “dominant principle” is clear to us without any explanation. And if you look at any developed modern language, you can see that all of it is based on some very, very simple words and ideas that accompanied the life of its ancient native speakers hourly.

Of course, one of the first in any language is the designation of DIRECTIONS: forward, backward, right, left. Because in the extreme extreme life of a primitive man it was very important to navigate the terrain. From here come the meanings of Russian prefixes. Here is the Russian preposition "in". Its basic historical meaning is “inside” or “inward” of something. Hence the prefix “in-” and the words “pour-in”, “build-in”, “write-in”.

Exactly the same function is performed in the phrasal verbs of the particle.

For example, the word out means "outside, outside" or "towards the outside."

The out particle in phrasal verbs often corresponds to the Russian prefix “you-”, which also means “outward”! FROM some room or receptacle - OUTSIDE. YOU-run means "run from the room out." YOU-fly - "fly from the room out."

Compare with how the English particle out in phrasal verbs works:

Run out - YOU-run. Mary ran out to meet me - Mary YOU- ran to meet me.

The whole difference is that prefixes go before the verb, and particles in English - after the verb.

Fly out - YOU-fly. The bird flew out - the bird YOU flew. From some container, from a cage, for example.

So far so simple, right? Now it will be more interesting.

It is important to understand that with the development of the language, literal meanings of words appear metaphorical superstructures, figurative meanings. For example, the simple everyday word “skirt” has the figurative meaning of “woman”. Hence the expression "not a single skirt does not miss."

The Russian prefix “you-” also developed figurative meanings over time. One of these meanings is “to the end, completely” . “YOU flow” does not simply mean “flow”. “YOU-leak” means “leak completely.”

But this is the figurative meaning of the prefix “you-” - “to the end, completely”still based on the base value of "out." If we take a barrel of water and punch the bottom of it, the water will begin through the punctured hole of the leak. The "leak" in English will be leak. Here it flows, flows, and when it is already in the barrel, we say: water YOU flowed. Water from the barrel YOU flowed out just like Mary YOU ran to meet me. Both there and there the prefix “you-” means “out of the container”, in this case from a barrel. But the verb “flowed out” also implies that YOU flowed completely. Compare with the English phrasal verb leak out. Leak - leak, leak out - YOU - leak. The barrel is empty because The water leaked out. Because the water has leaked out. From the context, we understand that it has flowed out completely.

This is the figurative meaning of the prefix “you-” - “to the end, completely”, even more clearly manifested in such a verb as "YOU-dry." Don't just “dry.” If they say that the clothes are YOU-dried, we understand that completely, now you can wear it. Compare with the phrasal verb dry out - YOU -dry. Dry - “dry”, out means “you-”, or “completely”. The sweater dried out - the sweater is dry. Totally YOU. Here we see clearly that the English particle out in its figurative meaning evolved in much the same way as the Russian prefix “you-” - from the literal meaning “out” to the figurative “completely”.

In no case, however, should you consider English to be encrypted Russian. These are different languages. In Russian, for example, the meaning "to the end, completely"can carry not only the prefix “you-”, but also, for example, the prefix “for-” in the word “FOR-strangle” someone. Do not just “choke”. “For-” means “to the end, completely . ” FOR-beat, FOR-fill form. Here was an empty application form, it was filled in. To end. In English, “fill out the form” will fill out the form. Fill - “make complete”, or “complete”. Out, since it means “to the end, completely” , can be translated into Russian not only with the prefix “you-”, but also with the prefix “for-”. Fill out - FOR.

And now even more interesting. Fill OUT the form is said mainly by Americans. The British prefer to say fill IN the form with the same meaning.

In here corresponds to the Russian prefix “-” with the meaning “inside”, remember the beginning of the article? B-pound, B-pour, B-write! When the British say fill in the form, they mean something like "In-write data to an empty form."

Recall, however, that the prefix “in-” in Russian is often ABSOLUTELY equal in meaning to the prefix “for-” - “to the end, completely” . For-beat nail = For-beat nail: “in” means “inside”. But at the same time “to the end”! You will laugh, but the same thing happens in English:

Drive - initially “drive cattle”, in - “in-”. Drive in - literally “Drive” or, figuratively, “Drive”:

Tom drove in the nail - Tom drove a nail. Or ZA-beat. The meaning is the same - "to the end, completely . "

ZA-drive cows = V-drive cows. Into the stall.

Tom drove in the cows - Tom drove the cows = drove

And if the particle in can be translated into Russian with the prefix “za-” in the meaning “to the end, completely” , then the expression fill in the form: fill - “make complete, Fill ”+ in (=“ fill- ”) = FOR-fill.

Can you imagine? Everything is like with fill out! Fill in the form - as if "In-complete the form." Only "fill" in Russian does not sound. But it sounds British.

George filled in the form = George filled out the form, these are absolutely equivalent expressions. Why are Americans more likely to say fill out the form, and the British almost exclusively say fill in the form? Well, why did the old Russian “repair” now turn into a “start”, although the meaning is absolutely the same? Ukrainians still say “repair” like an old man. These are just traditions of a particular locality - there is a lot of randomness in the development of the language. We in Russia no longer say “repair”, but the meaning of this verb is easy for us to understand, because we also have the prefix “po”, with the same meaning - “start the action”. For example: “PO was on” - “started to go”, “PO-was on” - “started to run”, “PO-was on” - “started to lead”.

So, we came to the conclusion that the meaning is “to the end, completely”carry at least 3 Russian prefixes - “you-” and “for-” and “in-”. In fact, there are a little more. For example, “c-”: “C-eat” is not just “eat”, it is “eat to the end, completely . ”

In the same way, in English the meaning “to the end, completely” is not only carried in and out particles. Still up, for example. Eat - is. Eat up - C-eat. Those. to finish eating. Or wrap up means a ZA-return. Wrap in English "wrapper", but as a verb ... something like "apply wrapper, wrap." We remember that one of the meanings of the Russian prefix “for-” is “to the end, completely” , as in English up. Wrap + Up = FOR-return. A gift, for example.

Why do we need so many prefixes, and the British - particles that mean almost the same thing? Russian prefixes, like particles in phrasal verbs, are ambiguous, since they have come a long way in historical development. For example, the prefixes “you-” and “for-” both mean “to the end, completely” , but if in the verb ZA-return, we change “for-” to “you-”, the resulting verb “YOU-return” will be accepted Russian in a different way. The meaning "you-" here comes into conflict with the literal meaning of the same prefix ("out"), it turns out "turn inside out." The same thing happens in English: both up and out mean “to the end, completely”but if in the verb eat up, “eat” up is replaced by out, eat out will already mean YOU-eat. For example, eat out the inside, the core of something. Those. the figurative meaning of out - “to the end, completely” - comes into conflict with the literal meaning “out”.

Therefore, only native speakers can compose phrasal verbs on their own, based on particle values, because they constantly keep in mind a huge body of traditionally established combinations: the Russian understands that ZA-return and YOU-return are not the same thing, the Englishman understands that eat up and eat out are not the same thing.

Consider in general terms the value of the particle off. The most basic value of off, which you must constantly keep in mind is the “state of the part separated from the whole”. We have, for example, a bar of chocolate, it is whole. Break off a piece of it. Now this piece in relation to the rest of the tile is off. In Russian, this prefix usually corresponds to the prefix “ot-” in the meaning “OT-divide / sya. For example:

Cut - cut, cut off - OT-cut (a piece of a loaf of bread)

Work - work, work off - OT-work (duty). While the debt was yours, it was metaphorically a part of you, you and your duty are one. If you are OT-working, then working, you are, as it were, OT-pushed by yourself, debt is no longer part of you, i.e. it is now, as it were, “in a state of a part separated from the whole” , like that piece of chocolate broken off from a tile.

Put - put, put off - OT-put (meeting). The meeting is now not right in front of your nose; it does not form a metaphorical whole with you. You OT-laid it (as if to the side) and now it is separated from you. Like that piece of chocolate broken off the bar.

In the following articles I will try to dwell on each of the particles in more detail in order to more deeply examine their metaphorical, figurative meanings. But, most likely, they will not be posted in print, but as a video. Those who wish can easily find my video blog - in connection with quarantine, finally, there will be time to formulate and write down what has long been time. Subscribe to it, I won't let you down!
continued: habr.com/en/post/496190

About phrasal verbs

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