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Flaviana
Hello everybody! This is a technical question. I am looking into phrasal verbs and there is something I cannot totally catch. Some textbooks of mine explain that when phrasal verbs are followed by a preposition, they cannot be separated. Instead, when they are followed by an adverb, they can be either separated or not. Example: He keyed the number in He keyed in the number So, in the example, "in" is considered an adverb, but it can also be a preposition in English. The same as "after" (to take after). That's the point, it's not easy for me to understand when a particle is an adverb and when it is a preposition. Quite a crazy question, I know, anyway, could you help me figure this out?
Jan 26, 2023 5:32 PM
Answers · 18
2
"In" is an adverb in both examples because it modifies the movement of "keying". This is easier to see if you use a more obvious adverb, like "quickly": He keyed the number quickly He keyed quickly the number.
January 26, 2023
1
Context determines whether a word is a particle or a preposition. on - particle Joe put on his coat. Joe put his coat on. on - preposition Joe put his coat on the hook.
January 26, 2023
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