ABSTRACT
Phrasal verbs are a particular kind of compound verb – that is, a verb consisting of more than one word. These can seem very forbidding, especially when they run to four, five or even six words:
1 I have been looking forward to your visit. (5) 2 I am not putting up with this any longer. (5) 3 He should not have got out of that so easily. (6)
But I hope they seem far less formidable once you understand that even verb 3 expresses one idea. Remove one of the six words, or attempt to break them down into subsections, and meaning collpases. To be sure, several components and complex aspects are involved:
(a) the subtle use of should in the sense of ought to; (b) a compound tense (here, the perfect); (c) an adverb and a preposition as part of the verb; (d) the addition of a negative.
