Did they blow the bridge up? (Van volar el pont?)
Forms: blow up, fall out, listen to, look forward to.
Often the meaning of a phrasal verb is not obvious from the meaning of the two parts, just as in Catalan the meaning of, for example, influir is not simply in + fluir.
Grammatically, there are four types of phrasal verbs.
Type 1: these consist of two parts, and the sentence has anobject. There are normally two possible orders, e.g.:
| Did they blow up the bridge? (Van volar el pont?) Did they blow the bridge up? (Van volar el pont?) |
| We have to hand in the projects tomorrow. (Hem de lliurar els treballs demà.) We have to hand the projects in tomorrow. (Hem de lliurar els treballs demà.) |
| Would you like to take off your coat? (Es vol treure l'abric?) Would you like to take your coat off? (Es vol treure l'abric?) |
When the object is a long expression, it goes after both parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| Did they blow up that bridge that was built in the 18th century? (Van volar el pont que es va construir al segle XVIII?) (Not: |
| We have to hand in the projects dealing with the history of the Roman empire. (Hem de lliurar els treballs sobre la història de l'imperi romà.) (Not: |
| Would you like to take off any items of clothing that contain metal? (Vol treure qualsevol peça de roba que conté metall?) (Not: |
When the object is a pronoun, it goes between the two parts of the phrasal verb, e.g.:
| Did they blow it up? (El van volar?) |
| We have to hand them in tomorrow. (Els hem de lliurar demà.) |
| Would you like to take it off? (Se'l vol treure?) (Not: Did they |
Type 2: these consist of two parts, and the sentence hasno object, e.g.:
| They used to be friends but they've fallen out. (Abans eren amics però han partit peres.) |
| How did the prisoner get away? (Com va escapar, el presoner?) |
| Almost half the students dropped out. (Quasi la meitat dels alumnes van plegar.) |
Type 3: these consist of two parts, and the sentence has anobject, e.g.:
| I'll call for your parents at 4 o'clock. (Recolliré els teus pares a les 4.) |
| My cousin looked after the dog. (El meu cosí vigilava el gos.) |
| Yesterday I ran into Helen. (Ahir vaig trobar la Helen.) |
When theobject is apronoun, it goes after both parts of thephrasal verb, e.g.:
| I'll call for them at 4 o'clock. (Els recolliré a les 4.) |
| My cousin looked after it. (El meu cosí ho vigilava.) |
| Yesterday I ran into her. (Ahir la vaig trobar.) |
Type 4: these consist of three parts, and the sentence has anobject, e.g.:
| I'm looking forward to your visit. (Espero amb il·lusió la seva visita.) |
| I don't get on with Peter. (No m'avinc amb en Peter.) |
| She tries to live up to her promise. (Procura viure d'acord amb la seva promesa.) |
When the object is apronoun, it goes after all three parts of thephrasal verb, e.g.:
| I'm looking forward to it. (Ho espero amb il·lusió.) |
| I don't get on with him. (No m'avinc amb ell.) |
| She tries to live up to that. (Procura viure d'acord amb allò.) |
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