Prepositional verbs

Abstract

This chapter deals with prepositional verbs that require a preposition so that verb-plus-preposition make up a single unit, such as allude to, dispose of, rely on, and vouch for. It differentiates prepositional verbs from phrasal verbs, as each phrasal verb includes a simple verb that may occur by itself. The meaning of prepositional verbs when it is used alone is significantly different from the meaning of the phrasal verb. In contrast, the chapter explains that the simple verb within a prepositional verb does not occur alone, and a meaning attaches just to the combination. Accounts of English grammar typically state that allude, dispose, rely, and vouch are intransitive verbs that must take a peripheral noun phrase (pNP).