About Phrasal Verbs-3 (on / off)

Before this article, it is recommended to read the two previous parts:
1. habr.com/en/post/495794
2. habr.com/en/post/496190
On and Off usually have the opposite meaning, so it seemed to me a good idea to combine reviews of these particles.

Both the preposition and the particle on correspond to the Russian “on”. Here the logic is quite obvious: “on” is both an excuse (we are talking about surfaces: “on a wall / table”), and the prefix - ON-pour (pour on the surface).

Put - put, put on - "put". For example, put on makeup - “make-up” makeup. Native English speakers also put on any item of clothing, footwear, and headgear, and don’t wear it like ours: put on a hat - put on a hat. They even impose body weight: put on weight in English "gain weight."

Often ON corresponds to the Russian prefix “pro”. “Pro-” usually means “to move forward”: to move, to climb, to move. Take the phrasal verb (FG) get on. Get means "move, move," get on literally "pro-move." Or in space, or, metaphorically, in life or career: Young people try to get on in life - Young people try to advance in life.

However, as I have already said, English is not encrypted Russian, often you will have to make an effort to discern which of the meanings of particles and adverbs works in a particular FG. For example, this is the same value “pro” (move forward), it works in the read on FG, in Russian there are no matches for read on. For example: Masha wanted to stop reading my article, but I ordered her: Read on! - "PRO-read it!" And in dream on. Someone says: “I wish I could become a billionaire!” They answer him: Haha, dream on - "PRO-have to dream!". Well, like, "don't stop!"

Since the advent of mechanical and electrical appliances, ON began to stand out another metaphorical meaning - “in working condition”. This value is based on the idea of ​​“connecting” (when connecting, SURFACES are in contact - hence “on -” / on). For the car to go, the clutch discs must come in contact (professionals say “grab”). In order for the appliance to work, again, it is necessary that its electrical contacts touch. TV is on - TV is on. X is on! means that something (X) has begun and is happening now. A fight, for example.

In Russian, you can find something similar. “Keying” (“moving contacts by turning the key”, apparently) is used with the prefixes “-” (connect contacts) and “you-” (disconnect contacts). "B-" + "turn on" = bring into working condition. Compare with FG turn on: turn (turn) + on (connection of contacts) = "In-turn". Or in context: The fever came on suddenly - “The heat started suddenly.” Those. the heat, as it were, metaphorically entered the “working state”.

In a previous article, I mentioned that in one of its values ​​FG can be of the 1st type, and in the other - of the 2nd.

Get on - get on / off the vehicle (bus, plane). I'm on a bus - “I'm on the bus,” because on itself already means “inside the vehicle.”

Compare with let on: let - "allow, let."

Driver: The bus is full now. I can't let on any more people - "the bus is full, I can not take more people." In this case, let on refers to the 2nd type of FG, but in the meaning of "pretend", perhaps already to the 3rd:

Mary let on that she was an expert - Masha pretended to be an expert. By the way, it resonates well with the Russian “let it go" [look]: let - "let it go", on - "on".

ON may well correspond to the Russian prefix “pri-”, since it also means “bring into contact”: to rest, to rest.

Tack - a nail, like a verb - “nail” + on (“at”) = Nail-nail. In common parlance - “attach”: They took John Stuart's bill and tacked on an amendment to it - They took John Stuart's bill and attached it to the amendment. “Tack on” in an informal language can be replaced by “slap on” (slap - slap, “slap”). There is a lot of randomness in the language - with us, “on-doing” has the colloquial equivalent of “attach”. Why not get it?

Off often carries the meanings opposite to on: get off - get off the vehicle, separate from it.

We remember from previous articles that the most basic value off is the state of the part separated from the whole. Or a movement in the direction of separating from the whole. What Russian consoles can correspond in value to a particle off?

Of course, the prefix “from-”

Scare - to scare, scare off - from-scare: John, you scared off all the customers - “John, you scared all the customers.” While the buyers were in the store, they seemed to represent a conditional whole with the store and sellers, and now John frightened them, and they fell off. The handle of the mug broke off - "the handle of the mug broke off."

Also, the Russian prefix "c-" corresponds to the English off:

Write - write, write off - c-write (broken equipment).

Shake - shake, shake off - c-shake

Fall - fall, fall off - c-fall. Vasya fell off the horse - Vasya s-fell from the horse. Only “s-fell” does not sound Russian, we say “s-flew”.

The English prefix may correspond to the Russian prefix “ob-” in the meaning of separating a part from the whole: to cut, clean. (I know that “ob-” has a broader meaning, but I don’t want to be distracted.)

Rip - “tear, tear.” Rip off - rip off: The bank ripped me off - The bank ripped me off. Those. the bank tore money from me, which, while I had it, represented a metaphorical whole with me.

Turn off, of course, means “turn off”, because one of the metaphorical meanings of off is “in idle state”. TV is off, etc. Contacts are opened, separated from each other.

Of course, I give only the main directions for analyzing FG, more or less general patterns for the Russian and English languages ​​that are easy to grasp by Russian brains. Even native linguists argue about the initial logic of the formation of individual FGs. And in this case, apparently, it remains only to “just remember”, as they like to recommend in high school. But even in this case, it will still be easier to remember, if the particles cause some more or less distinct associative series.

I hope that after my articles FG will cease to seem scary and become a little more familiar

PS Get - “move in space”, get off! - O-wali! A person is commanded “get off!” When he is in communication with you and, thus, represents a metaphorical whole with you, but you do not like it. “Move in the direction FROM me!” You say. Fuck is a verb that does not imply the idea of ​​moving in space. Fuck off is just an obscene version of get off.