Phrasal verbs beginning with put

Posted by About Tuesday, 17 December 2013 0 comments


The word put is used in a large number of phrasal verbs.

Put across

To put something across is to make it understood.
He failed to put his message across. (= He failed to convey his idea.)
People working in sales and marketing should be able to put themselves across well.

Put aside

To put something aside is to set it aside.
He was feeling sleepy, so he put his books aside and went to bed.

Put away

a) To put something away is to keep them in their proper place.
You must put away those toys when you have finished playing with them.
b) To put something away is to save them for later use.
She makes it a point to put away a few dollars each week.
c. To put something away is to discard it.
It is high time you put away those false notions.
d. Put away can also mean eat or drink a large quantity of food or beverages.
If he is really hungry he needs just two minutes to put away a full meal.
e) To put somebody away is to send them to jail.
They put him away for killing his neighbor.
f) To put an animal away is to subject them to mercy killing.
The dog was so badly wounded that the doctor had to put him away.

Put down

a) To put something down is to write it down.
b) To put somebody down is to suppress them.
The government called the military to put down the rebellion.
c) To put something down to something else is to attribute the former to the latter.
He put the mistakes down to carelessness.
 c) To put somebody down is to regard or categorize them as..
He was put down as a chronic nuisance.
d) To put somebody down is to belittle them.
I hate men who put their wives down in front of visitors.

Copular or linking verbs

Posted by About 0 comments


We have already learned that intransitive verbs do not take objects.
Examples are: sleep, sit, rest, weep, laugh, cry etc.
She is weeping.
The child sleeps.
The boy was laughing.
There is yet another variety of verbs which do not normally take objects. These are called copular verbs or linking verbs. While intransitive verbs make complete sense on their own, copular verbs require a word or phrase to make their meaning complete.
Consider the example given below.
She is….
As you can see this sentence does not make complete sense. To make it complete we need to supply a word or a phrase. The word or phrase thus added at the end of a sentence to make its meaning complete is called a complement. And the verb which joins a subject with its complement is called a copular or linking verb.
When this word/phrase refers to the subject, it is called a subject complement. When it refers to the object, it is called an object complement. The linking verb is also called a verb of incomplete predication.
The most common copular verbs are: act, be, become, feel, appear, grow, taste, sound etc.
Copular verbs do not normally take an object. But sometimes these verbs may be used transitively.
Examples are given below.
She acted well. (Copular use)
She acted her part well. (Transitive use)
I am feeling unwell. (Copular use)
The doctor felt the patient’s pulse. (Transitive use)
The proposal sounds interesting. (Copular verb)
The general sounded the bugle. (Transitive verb)
The boy has grown taller. (Copular verb)
The farmers grow vegetables.. (Transitive verb)

Verbs: Some common mistakes

Posted by About 0 comments


The verb write can take two objects. Sometimes this causes problems.
  • Incorrect: He wrote me.
  • Correct: He wrote to me.

Notes

We write something. (He wrote a letter.)
We write something to someone. (He wrote a letter to his mother.) (NOT He wrote a letter his mother.)
We write someone something. (He wrote his mother a letter.) (NOT He wrote to his mother a letter.)
We write to someone. (He wrote to me.) (NOT He wrote me.)
Explain
The verb explain can be followed by two objects – a direct object and an indirect object.
Note that we explain something to someone. (NOT We explain someone something.)
  • Incorrect: I shall explain them this.
  • Correct: I shall explain this to them.

The verb suggest

We suggest something to somebody. We cannot suggest somebody something.
  • Incorrect: He suggested me this.
  • Correct: He suggested this to me.

Oblige

The verb oblige takes the preposition to. When you are obliged to do something, you are forced to do it because it is a law, a rule or a duty.
  • I felt obliged to help him.
  • I am obliged to you for this good turn. (NOT I am obliged of you for this good turn.)

The verb invite

The verb invite can be followed by to or for.
We invite someone to/for something:
  • I have invited my uncle and aunt to dinner.
  • He invited me for a drink but I politely refused.

The verb tell

The verb tell does not take a preposition.
  • Incorrect: He told to me to go.
  • Correct: He told me to go.

The verb ask

When ask is followed by two objects, the indirect object (the person) normally comes first, without a preposition.
  • Incorrect: She did not ask any question to him.
  • Correct: She did not ask him any question.
  • Incorrect: I will ask the time to that man.
  • Correct: I will ask that man the time.

Verb terminology

Posted by About 0 comments


While learning about verbs, you will come across grammatical terms like infinitives and gerunds. Below are explanations of these frequently used grammar terms.

Infinitives

The infinitive is the base form of the verb. It is sometimes preceded by the marker to and then it is called the to-infinitive. Remember that that ‘to’ is a not a part of the infinitive and the infinitive can also be used without to.
Read the examples given below.
  • She wants to go. (Here the phrase ‘to go’ is an example of a to-infinitive.)
  • She made me cry. (Here the infinitive ‘cry’ is used without the marker to.)
The infinitive is a non-finite verb. In other words, it does not change its form when the number or person of the subject changes.
  • She wants to leave.
  • I want to leave.
  • They want to leave.
  • John wants to leave.
As you can see the infinitive ‘to leave’ remains the same regardless of the change in the number and the person of the subject. Non-finite verbs cannot act as principal verbs.

The gerunds

A gerund is a verb form ending in –ing. Gerunds are non-finite verbs. A gerund can be the subject or object of a verb. It can also act as the object of a preposition.
  • Smoking can cause cancer. (Here the gerund smoking acts as the subject of the verb.)
  • We don’t allow smoking in the kitchen. (Here the gerund smoking acts as the object of the verb allow.)
A gerund can also act as the object of a preposition.
  • I am thinking of taking a break. (Here the gerund taking is the object of the preposition of.)
Remember that only –ing forms can be used after a preposition. Infinitives are not possible.
  • She is confident of winning. (NOT She is confident of to win.) (NOT She is confident to win.)

Copular verbs and action verbs

Posted by About 0 comments


In English, there are mainly two types of verbs: copular verbs and action verbs.
Copular verbs are also called linking verbs because they link the subject with a following adjective or noun. The most common copular verb is be. It has several forms. Examples are: is, am, are, was, were, being, been etc. As you can see, being and been are the present and past participle forms of be.
Copular verbs refer to states, rather than actions. Therefore, they are also called stative verbs.
Although copular verbs are different from action verbs, they are still considered finite verbs. And therefore, each clause can have just one copular verb. Note that infinitives, participles and gerunds are not finite verbs.
Action verbs, on the other hand, actually describe accomplishments, achievements or activity.
Copular verbs do not state what the subject does. Instead, they show what or who the subject is.
  • She is an architect.
  • That seems impossible.
  • She turned pale.
  • The night grew dark.
  • The milk turned sour.
As you can see, in all of the sentences given above, the copular verb shows a certain state of the subject.
We use adjectives to modify copular verbs. Action verbs, on the other hand, are modified by adverbs.
Compare:
  • She drove carefully through the streets. (Here the adverb carefully modifies the action verb drove.)
  • She was careful as she drove through the streets. (Here the adjective careful modifies the copular verb was.)

Copyright © 2014 English Grammar. All rights reserved.