prepositional verb

prepositional verb (preposisjonsverb): a multi-word verb consisting of verb + preposition, followed by a direct object. In contrast to the particle in phrasal verbs, the preposition in a prepositional verb always precedes the object. E.g. He looked at the map. He looked at it. Still the preposition has close ties to the verb, in that the verb+ preposition form a close semantic unit. Some prepositional verbs can also occur in the passive voice, in which case the preposition stays with the verb rather than with the noun phrase. He looked after the baby. The baby was looked after. Unlike a verb+ prepositional phrase combination, it is the verb that decides the choice of preposition with prepositional verbs. E.g. She walked into/out of/through the room (S-V-A), but She bumped into an old friend (S-V-dO).