Phrasal Verbs

Focus on Meaning
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Why the focus on meaning? The idiomatic nature of most phrasal verbs is by far
the greatest challenge that ESL students face when acquiring these lexical items.
Idiomatic means that the meaning of a lexical phrase (or, in this case, multiword
lexical item) cannot be derived from the sum of its parts. For example, no student
could figure out the meaning of so long, make do, or by and large by simply
adding the meanings of the individual words. The meanings that attach to these
phrases must be memorized. The same is true of phrasal (and some prepositional)
verbs. No effort by a student to figure out the meanings of, for example, come
about, get off on, and call off by adding the meanings of the individual words
would be successful.
So focus on meaning with your students. Call all verb + element constructions
phrasal verbs, as I shall henceforth do. Leave the great prepositional verb debate
to the linguists in their ivory towers, and do what an ESL teacher should do—help
his or her students to become English speakers, not linguistics professors. With
one exception, absolutely do not confuse them with any of the linguistic
discussion above. The one exception is separability. That’s very important and
needs to be discussed, but that’s as far as you should go. In my experience, even
separability tends to take care of itself without much difficulty. Regarding
terminology, I occasionally use the term idiomatic with my students, but I avoid
the term idiom because it is also used in reference to expressions such as kick the
bucket and raining cats and dogs. I advise not digressing into this sort of thing
with your students. It could give them the impression that phrasal verbs are
oddball, quaint, colloquial, and of no great importance.