The aspect of phrasal verb constructions that makes them difficult to learn for non-native speakers of English is that their meaning is non-compositional. That is, one cannot know what a given phrasal verb construction means based upon what the verb alone and/or the preposition and/or particle alone mean, as emphasized above. This trait of phrasal verbs is also what makes them interesting for linguists, since they appear to defy the principle of compositionality. An analysis of phrasal verbs in terms of catenae (=chains), however, is not challenged by the apparent lack of meaning compositionality. The verb and particle/preposition form a catena, and as such, they qualify as a concrete unit of syntax. The following dependency grammar trees illustrate the point
The words of each phrasal verb construction are highlighted in orange. These words form a catena because they are linked together in the vertical dimension. They constitute units of meaning, and these units are stored as multi-part wholes in the lexicon. [edit]Shifting A confusing aspect of phrasal verbs concerns the distinction between prepositional phrasal verbs and particle phrasal verbs that are transitive, as discussed and illustrated above. Particle phrasal verbs that are transitive allow some variability in word order depending on the relative weight of the constituents involved. Shifting often occurs when the object is very light, e.g. a. Fred chatted up the girl with red hair. - Canonical word order b. Fred chatted her up. - Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun her is very light. c. ?Fred chatted the girl with red hair up. - Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. a. They dropped off the kids from the war zone. - Canonical word order b. They dropped them off. - Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun them is very light. c. ?They dropped the kids from the war zone off. - Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. a. Mary made up a really entertaining story. - Canonical word order b. Mary made it up. - Shifting occurs because the definite pronoun it is very light. c. ?Mary made a really entertaining story up. - Shifting is unlikely unless it is sufficiently motivated by the weight of the constituents involved. Shifting occurs between two (or more) sister constituents that appear on the same side of their head The trees illustrate when shifting can occur. English sentence structures that grow down and to the right are easier to process. There is a consistent tendency to place heavier constituents to the right, as is evident in the a-trees. Shifting is possible when the resulting structure does not contradict this tendency, as is evident in the b-trees. Note again that the particle verb constructions (in orange) qualify as catenae in both the a- and b-trees. Shifting does not alter this fact.