Multi-Word Verbs
Understanding and using multi-word verbs
Multi-Word verbs include phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs, and other multi-word verb constructions.
Other Multi-Word Verb Constructions
This category has three main types of constructions:
- verb + prepositional phrase
- verb + noun phrase
- verb + verb (rare)
All of these categories have multi-word verbs which are idiomatic (their meaning cannot usually be easily guessed from their constituent words). Although there are many idioms in English, most are rarely used and they are rarely used in academic writing. Those which are used in academic writing are often less idiomatic and can sometimes be replaced by a single lexical verb (e.g. take part in; participate).
VERB + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
- "It is important to bear in mind that necrotizing fasciitis presently remains very rare" (Sullivan 2023). (bear in mind = remember)
- "Students’ and teachers’ data privacy and security mechanisms should also be taken into consideration before introducing either internet-based or AI programs for learning and teaching" (Shivhare 2019).
VERB + NOUN PHRASE
The verbs have, make, take and do are those which most frequently combine with nouns (often with a following preposition) to form idiomatic expressions.
- "After two or three years, the act will take effect and any business operating within the EU will have to comply with it" (Cristianini 2023).
- "For the second year in a row, we did not make progress toward our sustainable development goals, like reducing war, poverty, and increasing growth" (Noetel 2022).
- "ChatGPT has been touted as a tool that is going to revolutionise the workplace and home. AI systems like it have the potential to enhance productivity but could also displace jobs" (Bruder and Ramani 2023).
VERB + VERB
- "Water will flow where it can, and cities just have to adjust and make do with what they can get" (Herculano-Houzel 2023).
Distribution of Multi-Word Verbs
Verb + verb constructions are rare and verb + prepositional phrases are common but not often used in academic writing. Verb + noun phrases are more common, especially noun phrases combining with make, have and take. These constitute most of the examples given below.
be out of the question
Definition:
be unacceptable, not to be considered, be unthinkable, be impossible
Type:
Verb + Prepositional phrase
Example:
"Microsoft may see this as an opportunity for its search engine, Bing, to overtake Google. It’s not out of the question that it will." (Walsh 2023)
|
take into account
Definition:
include in considerations about
Type:
Verb + Prepositional phrase
Example:
"The solutions will not likely be only technological, though there will probably be some technical aspects to them. But they must take into account the cognitive and social aspects of the problem." (Menczer and Ciampaglia 2018)
|
lose sight of
Definition:
forget about
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Most fundamentally, we must not lose sight of the fact that access to higher education improves lives. It enhances self-knowledge, employment opportunities and promotes civic participation." (Addie 2017)
|
keep track of
Definition:
stay on course, be aware about the progress of something, remember, trace
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"This helps students keep track of their own learning while keeping them motivated and engaged." (O’Byrne 2023)
|
make amends for
Definition:
compensate for
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"But definitively returning some land to other species is one small way to begin to make amends for the immense damage we have done to animal families, cultures and habitats." (Coulter 2020)
|
take heart
Definition:
be encouraged
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Conservationists should take heart that Australia is finally waking up to the biodiversity crisis in Australia’s north." (Murphy, Trauernicht, and Bowman 2012)
|
have a bearing on
Definition: influence, affect Type: Verb + Noun phrase Example: "But public authority is widely dispersed and there are many sites of decision-making that have a bearing on people’s well-being." (O’Sullivan 2019) |
give rise to
Definition: cause, create, enable Type: Verb + Noun phrase Example: "Some conspiracy theories give rise to stronger communities than others." (Bligh 2020) |
get the better of
Definition: overcome, defeat Type: Verb + Noun phrase Example: " ...there are ways to improve the general standard of online comments and to not let trolls get the better of you." (Rowe and Barcham 2014) |
get the hang of
Definition:
understand, appreciate, become practised at
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"When people get the hang of buying the healthiest foods they can on a tight budget, their kids are less likely to go hungry." (Himmelgreen et al. 2021)
|
give credence to
Definition:
believe, support (often in spite of evidence to the contrary)
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"A confirmation bias can be at work as well. People tend to give credence to news that fits their existing beliefs." (Zimmer 2021)
|
pay heed to
Definition:
listen to, pay attention to
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"For urban design to work, paying heed to what local people actually think of their city is crucial." (Lara-Hernandez 2022)
|
pay tribute to
Definition:
praise, express admiration/esteem/respect for
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"And in the aftermath of his assassination, millions of people paid tribute to his courage, his eloquence and his determination." (Morrison 2018)
|
make reference to
Definition:
mention, refer to
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Where was this toothed hill and why did Lawrence make reference to it?" (Winterburn 2014)
|
take exception to
Definition:
disagree (strongly) with
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has taken exception to the government’s policy change, warning it will create medicine shortages and make pharmacies financially worse off." (Cutler 2023)
|
take precedence (over)
Definition:
be considered more important
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"But nature’s decline has only accelerated. Economic growth and profit have always taken precedence." (Maron, Evans, and Ermgassen 2023)
|
take root
Definition:
thrive, flourish, start to grow
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Understanding how unhealthy diets take root requires exploring the role of the food industry in making cheap, enticing and unhealthy food options available to urban residents." (Stevano 2019)
|
take the form of
Definition:
be exemplified by, appear as
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Cold water therapy, as it has come to be known, can take the form of outdoor swimming – in lakes, rivers or the ocean – cold showers or even ice baths." (Eglin, Massey, and Tipton 2023)
|
take advantage of
Definition:
exploit
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"These websites seek to take advantage of our trust in experts, and the methods we use to verify information, to lend authority to anti-science positions." (Clarke 2022)
|
take control (of)
Definition:
manage, control
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"It is important to remember that you can take control. The app or platform is a tool. You are in charge." (Plackett 2022)
|
have the potential (to)
Definition:
replaceable with 'can' or 'could', be able to
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"ChatGPT has been touted as a tool that is going to revolutionise the workplace and home. AI systems like it have the potential to enhance productivity but could also displace jobs." (Bruder and Ramani 2023)
|
make assumptions (about)
Definition:
speculate, believe, think (without evidence)
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"When we deal with another human, we can’t be sure what they will decide but we make assumptions based on what we think of them." (Fisher 2014)
|
make comparisons (between)
Definition:
compare
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"People commonly make comparisons between their own appearance and these edited and unrealistic photos and tend to judge themselves to be less attractive." (Sharp et al. 2021)
|
make predictions (about)
Definition:
predict
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Every time you like a post, watch a video, or buy something, you provide data that can be used to make predictions about your next move." (Bagrow and Mitchell 2020)
|
take place
Definition:
happen, occur
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"The transition point took place in 1996 when digital storage became more cost-effective for storing information than paper." (Vopson 2021)
|
have an/the/no effect (on)
Definition:
affect
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"There are marketing strategies which you may not be aware of that also have an effect on our buying habits." (Kendall 2014)
|
make use of
Definition:
use
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"That is, people understand how to make use of stuff in ways that are not captured in language-use statistics." (Glenberg and Jones 2023)
|
make (no/any) sense (of)
Definition:
understand, interpret
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Scholars in the humanities interpret human history, literature and imagery to figure out how people make sense of their world." (Allison and Miller 2019)
|
do justice to
Definition:
deal adequately/fairly with something, give adequate attention to
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"It’s impossible to do justice to a 550 page report in a short article." (Smith 2020)
|
do business with
Definition:
deal with, trade with, interact with
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Every device that you use, every company you do business with, every online account you create or loyalty program you join, and even the government itself collects data about you." (Rader 2019)
|
take part (in)
Definition:
participate
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"As disabled children are more likely to be sedentary, it’s particularly important that they can take part in school exercise." (Dixon and Gibbons 2021)
|
give evidence of
Definition:
provide proof, signs, indications of
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Even songbirds are affected by grey squirrels. A recent study gave evidence of negative association between woodland songbird fledging rates and presence of grey squirrels ..." (Shuttleworth 2017)
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have control (of, over)
Definition:
control, command, direct
Type:
Verb + Noun phrase
Example:
"Regular routines can also help people feel like they have control over their daily lives and that they can take positive steps in managing their health." (Edgelow 2022)
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See also phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs.
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