ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the multi-word verbs and a selection of multi-word verbs that exhibit the features are discussed. In some cases, one particular combination of verb and little word is focused on; in others, one verb and a range of little words are under the spotlight. In English a lot of common verbs are often associated with 'little words' which help to establish different meanings; in fact, they may be regarded as separate lexical items. Multi-word verbs often have single-word synonyms. But although the single-word equivalents are simpler to use grammatically, they usually belong to a more formal style. The structure verb + 'little word' hides two grammatically distinct combinations: phrasal verbs, which are a combination of verb and adverb particle and prepositional verbs, which are a combination of verb and preposition. Passives are also possible with prepositional verbs. The noun phrase following the preposition in a prepositional verb can be regarded as a kind of object.
