Focusing on Pronunciation
As with all new language you learn, the final piece of the puzzle after meaning and form is pronunciation. Knowing how to correctly pronounce a word or phrase is just as important as knowing what it means, for the simple fact that if you can’t pronounce it correctly, your listener may struggle to comprehend what you’re saying.
As we cover in detail in the Vocabulary course, the most important aspect of pronunciation is stress. This relates to 1) syllable stress within a word, 2) word stress within a phrase and 3) the combination of both of these across an entire sentence. All these factors are vitally important in making yourself fully understood and avoiding any miscommunications.
With that in mind, let’s now learn some simple but very important rules when it comes to the pronunciation of phrasal verbs. To get started, read the 12 sentences below and try to work out if the particle is an adverb or preposition. Simply type a (adverb) or p (preposition) in the box at the end of each sentence.
Remember though – not all adverbs end in -ly! In fact, adverb particles are very small words which actually look like prepositions. However, unlike prepositions, their primary function is to provide more information about the verb – or more specifically – tell us the way in which something is done.
As for prepositions, these always take an object (noun or pronoun), so look out for these below!
So why is it important to know if the particle is an adverb or preposition? Well, because this will tell you which word to stress.
In phrasal verbs with adverbs, the stress is always on the adverb, whereas for those with prepositions, the stress is always on the verb. Easy!
Scroll through the two cards below to see exactly what we mean.
At this point, you might be thinking that some of the adverbs above look more like prepositions – and you’d be absolutely correct! In fact, many can be both depending on how they’re used in a sentence. For example, take a look at these two phrasal verbs which both have the particle on.
She always knew she could reLY on him
(Rely on who or what? = preposition)
I was completely exhausted but my coach made me carry ON
(Carry how or in what way? = adverb)
It’s totally understandable to get confused trying to work out whether the particle is an adverb or preposition, and this is why it’s important to always ask yourself the two very important questions above in order to make the distinction.
Alternatively, you can use the online dictionary to check the pronunciation of any new phrasal verbs you come across. Here, you’ll find a number of example sentences with full audio for each. Test yourself to see if you can hear where the stress is on these two different phrasal verbs that share the same particle. Which is an adverb and which is a preposition? (You can check at the bottom of the page.)
Now, before we move onto the final practice activity, let’s not forget Type 4 phrasal verbs – those with two particles.
You’ll be pleased to hear that these are much easier to pronounce in that you don’t need to work out which word is the adverb and which is the preposition, as they always have both. All you need to do is stress the middle word! This is the adverb. Take a look below:
o O o
Verb + Adverb + Preposition
catch UP with
get ON with
listen OUT for
get aWAY with
look FORward to
To finish off the lesson, and this page on pronunciation in particular, here’s one final activity for you. Read the 12 sentences below, find the phrasal verb in each, and then identify its stress pattern by placing the sentence in the correct column.
THINK about
come ABOUT