Every month on The Grammar Page, language expert
Robert Parr uses notes on a short dialogue to explain a key point of grammar. In
the November issue of Spotlight, he explains what
three-word verbs are and how to use them.
Which of the following is a three-word verb?
a) I asked him a question.
b) I got up at lunchtime.
c) I was a bit late for the meeting, but I think I got away with it.
Yes. The verb that's made up of three words.
The verb get away with has three parts: the verb (get), an adverb (away) and a preposition (with). Get away with means that either no one noticed that the speaker was late or that he or she didn't get into trouble for being late.
It can be difficult to work out the meaning of multi-word verbs. Robert Parr writes:
The best place to learn about three-word verbs is in a good monolingual dictionary. In the Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary, for example, three-word verbs are listed under the headword (verb) in a special section marked PHR V:
PHR V check up on sb. — to make sure that somebody is doing what they should be doing
The abbreviation sb. (= somebody) comes after on to show that "on" is followed by a direct object.
Now get to know some common three-word verbs in our exercise on the next page.
Dagmar Taylor
English für Germans