Topic: Phrasal Verbs

Day 2: PHRASAL VERBS: turn and go

With transitive phrasal verbs, an object should follow the verb. Sometimes the object comes after the preposition. But in some cases, the object can be put between the verb and the preposition.

(V)　(prep)　( Obj )

CASE 1: I will turn in the application form very soon.

(V)　(Obj)　(Prep)

CASE 2: I　will　turn　it　in very soon.

These phrasal verbs, where the verb and the preposition can sometimes be divided by the object, as ‘turn in’ is in Case 2, are called separable (可以分割的).

Phrasal verbs that cannot be divided are called inseparable (不可分割的).

Unfortunately, there is no rule to tell which verbs are separable and which are not. You just have to learn them. Most phrasal verbs are separable.

How do you know when to separate the parts of a separable phrasal verb and when they have to be kept together?

The easiest rule of thumb is this: for objects that consist of a very short phrase (e.g. my mother) or a pronoun (代名詞 e.g. he, she or it) you can separate the verb and preposition as in Case 2. But for object phrases that are relatively longer, Case 1 is more suitable.

PHRASAL VERBS: turn and go

turn around: change or reverse direction (轉身)

e.g. Turn the car around. There is a dead end ahead of us.

turn away: refuse to deal with (驅逐)

e.g. They turned us away at the borders because we did not have our passports.

turn down(1): refuse/reject (拒絕(請求等))

e.g. The Sociology Department has turned down my application.

turn down(2): lower the volume or intensity (轉小,減少(光亮,火焰,聲響))

e.g. Please turn the television down . I am trying to study here.

turn in: submit (USA only) (交上)

e.g. Please turn in your essays before next Tuesday.

turn into: become something different (使變成)

e.g. He has turned into someone I no longer know.

turn off: make something (electronic devices) stop functioning (關掉;關閉)

e.g. Please turn off the water heater after your shower.

turn on: making something (electronic devices) start functioning (打開電燈,瓦斯,音響設備的開關)

e.g. It’s too dark to read. Can you turn on some lights please?

turn out(1): end up being (結果是)

e.g. The kind lady turned out to be the murderer.

turn out(2): produce (產生,出產)

e.g. The farm can turn out two to three tons of rice grain each year.

turn over (1): give something to the authorities (USA only) (翻倒;傾覆)

e.g. Sam turned over the wallet he had found on the MTR to the police station.

turn over (2): (of businesses) to take a certain amount of money every year (營業額 )

e.g. Microsoft and Disney both turn over millions of dollars every year.

turn up(1): appear (or reappear) after a gap of time (出現;發生)

e.g. My glasses turned up under the desk.

turn up(2): increase the volume or intensity (調大)

e.g. Get the party started! Turn the music up now!

go away: leave (離開)

e.g. I yelled at the dogs and made them go away.

go back: return (回去)

e.g. Will you go back to your home country when you finish studying here?

go by: go past; visit quickly (USA only) (經過;(時間)過去)

e.g. We go by Starbucks every morning.

go down: decrease (減少)

e.g. The cost of flight tickets is going down because of SARS.

go for: try to achieve (想得到)

e.g. How would you know if you would ever succeed if you don’t go for it?

go into: discuss in detail (調查)

e.g. Let us go into the topic of phrasal verbs now.

go off(1): explode (爆發)

e.g. The bomb could go off any moment

go off(2): make a noise (響起)

e.g. Did someone re-set my alarm clock? It went off at 4am this morning.

go on: continue (繼續)

e.g. Please go on with your presentation.

go over: review (重新檢視)

e.g. Shall we go over this chapter once again?

go through(1): examine in details (討論)

e.g. We have gone through all the paper but we still can’t find any clues.

go through(2): experience challenges (經歷)

e.g. She has gone through so much in her life.

go with(1): match (相配)

e.g. Your pink shirt does not go with the red skirt. It makes you look funny