The Excitement of Three-Part Phrasal Verbs

The Excitement of Three-Part Phrasal Verbs

Popular music can teach you a lot about the English language.

You may not realize it, but musicians are actually teaching¹ you about English grammar in each song they perform.

Consider this song by the famous reggae artist Bob Marley. It tells about the need for equality and justice:

This song is called “Get Up, Stand Up.” It shows you how to use the three-part phrasal verb, "stand up for." "To stand up for" means "to defend (someone or something) with words.”

Today, we explore three-part phrasal verbs – idiomatic² expressions that can be difficult for students of English to understand.

What are phrasal verbs?

As you may remember from other Everyday Grammar programs, a phrasal verb is a verb with two or more words. Most phrasal verbs contain just two words: a verb and a preposition³, such as “look up,” which means “to research” or “to search for.” “Look” is the verb and “up” is the preposition.

Note that “look” and “up” are words with literal⁴ meanings. In some situations, you would use the literal meaning of “look” and “up.” For example, you can say, “When I looked up, I saw a beautiful bird.” In that sentence, “look” means “to direct your eyes to a specific direction” and “up” means “toward the sky or top of the room.”

But, when used as a phrasal verb, “look up” becomes idiomatic, which means you cannot understand their meaning from the individual meanings of the separate words. Instead, when the words are put together as phrasal verbs, they mean something else.

While many phrasal verbs consist of just two words, there are several that have three words. Three-part phrasal verbs have a verb and two particles⁶. A particle⁵ is a word that must appear with another word to communicate meaning:

Three-part phrasal verb = verb + particle + particle

Three-part phrasal verb = stand + up + for

In Bob Marley’s song, the main verb “stand” has two particles: “up” and “for.” When these three words are combined, they become a three-part phrasal verb.

Here is an easy way to remember how to use three-part phrasal verbs: all three words always appear together, and the order of the three words never changes.

So, although using these verbs may seem daunting⁷ at first, do not fear! If you learn the most common ones, you will be able to recognize them and use them yourself.

Why do we use three-part phrasal verbs?

Three-part phrasal verbs are important if you want to express yourself in English in the most natural way possible.

You can use many of these verbs in both casual⁸ and formal English.

For example, “The meeting lasted three hours. Now, I need to catch up on my work.” To “catch up on” is both casual and formal. It means “to do something you have not had time to do earlier.”

But, some three-part phrasal verbs are more common in casual English than in formal, written English. Listen for a three-part phrasal verb in this song by the blues⁹ singer B.B. King:

This song, called “Get These Blues Off Me,” uses the verb “to put up with,” which means “to tolerate¹⁰ or accept something unpleasant.”

Three-part phrasal verb = verb + particle + particle

Three-part phrasal verb = put + up + with

In English, many songs about love, or love lost, use the verb “to put up with.” But you probably would not use this verb in formal situations. For example, if you reported your noisy neighbors to police, you might want to avoid saying, “I have put up with the noise for a long time.” Instead, you might say, “I have tolerated¹¹ the noise for a long time.”

How often do we use three-part phrasal verbs?

In social, personal, and professional communication, three-part phrasal verbs are often the most natural and least wordy choice. That is why we use these verbs every day.

For example, when we have not seen friends or family members for a long time, we want to “catch up with” them. We want to learn about the new things happening in their lives.

Note the similarity between “catch up with” and “catch up on.” Yet the meanings are different. Changing any word of a three-part phrasal verb creates a new meaning.

A work situation where you might use a three-part phrasal verb is when you run out of time. In the workplace, you can also run out of ideas or supplies. “To run out of” means “to have used all of something.”

Speaking of running out of time, we are almost out of time for this program. So here are three ideas to help you with three-part phrasal verbs.

Tip #1

The first thing to remember is that these verbs are inseparable, meaning that the three words cannot be separated by an object or any other part of speech. Bob Marley did not say, “Stand up your rights for” or “Stand your rights up for.” And, as we noted¹² earlier, the words will always appear in the same order: Bob Marley also did not say, “Stand for up your rights.”

Tip #2

Changing any part of three-part phrasal verbs changes their meanings. Remember that the verbs “catch up with” and “catch up on” do not mean the same thing.

Tip #3

Now, a final point: The examples we have used today are from American English. Many of these verbs are the same in British English and other forms of English. But remember that some of them may have a different meaning or may not be used at all outside of the United States.

Three-part phrasal verbs can be difficult to understand, but learning¹³ and using them will make your speaking and writing sound realistic and natural.

Words in This Story

grammar – n. the set of rules that explain how words are used in a language

idiomatic – adj. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but has a separate meaning of its own

consist – v. to have (something) as an essential or main part

literal – n. involving the common or usual meaning of a word

daunting – adj. making people frightened or less sure of themselves; very difficult to do or deal with

casual – adj. designed for or permitting normal behavior or clothing; opposite of formal

formal – adj. requiring or using serious and correct behavior or clothing

wordy – adj. using or containing too many words

tolerate – v. to let (something that is bad or unpleasant) to exist, happen, or be done

1 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

2 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

3 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

4 literal   

adj.照字面的，原义的，逐字的

参考例句：

• This word should not be taken in its literal sense.这个词不能按本义去理解。
• He made a literal interpretation.他逐字解释。

5 particle   

n.微粒，颗粒，粒子；小品词，语助词

参考例句：

• There is not a particle of truth in what you said.你所说的没有一句是实话。
• This particle has a very small mass.这种粒子的质量很小。

6 particles   

微粒( particle的名词复数 )； 颗粒； 极少量； 小品词

参考例句：

• These small particles agglomerate together to form larger clusters. 这些颗粒聚结形成较大的团。
• The nucleus of an atom consists of neutrons, protons and other particles. 原子核由中子、质子和其他粒子构成。

7 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

8 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

9 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

10 tolerate   

v.忍受，容忍，容许，宽恕；vt.容忍，忍受，容许

参考例句：

• She can tolerate that rude fellow.她能容忍那个粗鲁的家伙。
• The teacher cannot tolerate eating on the class.老师不容许在课堂上吃东西。

11 tolerated   

v.容许( tolerate的过去式和过去分词 )；承认；忍受；容忍（不同意或不喜欢的事物）

参考例句：

• Their relationship was tolerated but not encouraged. 他们的关系得到了允许，但不宜鼓励。
• A childish idea like that can be amusedly tolerated. 像那样幼稚的想法可以一笑置之。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。