Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Prepositional verb or phrasal verb?

IYO, is “sailed through” a prepositional verb or a phrasal verb in the sentence below?

She sailed through her exams.

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Comments

looks like a phrase to me. i guess i'd only be a prepositional verb if it was used in a sentence like "she sailed through the current" or someting...

E_T Aug-25-2005

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"Sailed through" is nothing. It's a verb and a preposition acting as a direct object.

If you diagram it out it makes sense.

She | sailed / through
her exams

Ben2 Sep-29-2005

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Incorrect.

"Sailed" is an intransitive verb, while "through her exams" is a prepositional phrase used as an adverb.

calamitas Mar-12-2007

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