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Old 06-Jul-2007, 12:54
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Default Re: Grammar problem with "to"

Quote:
Originally Posted by udara sankalpa View Post
Hi Cas :
Neither of the following dictionaries classifies "listen to" as a phrasal verb:

-Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary
-Longman Dictionary of Contemparary English
-Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
-Collins Advanced Learners Dictionary
You'll have to take that up with our member Nousa (See post #4, provided here below) who defined listened to as a phrasal verb.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noussa View Post
Hi
your sentence is correct don't change anything "listened to " is a unit that is one word it's a phrasal verb and the second to is a preposition
you're right
Quote:
Originally Posted by udara sankalpa
So, would you mind letting me know if it really is phrasal verb, and what exactly a phrasal verb means?
From Phrasal Verb practice quiz:
Phrasal verbs in English are verbs followed by an adverb or a preposition. Often these phrasal verbs change the meaning of the verb in idiomatic ways.
  • blow up => explode
  • work out => be successful
With some phrasal verbs the verb and preposition can be divided:
  • set a meeting up
  • get your point of view across
Other phrasal verbs cannot be separated:
  • get on with
    drop out of
The verb listen to does not change the meaning of the verb listen; however, given that it is a two-part verb, that it has more than one part, that it acts as a complete syntactic and semantic unit, some will hold that it belongs to the category phrasal verb; e.g., question No.4 in this quiz on the phrasal verb listen, here.

Note that,
A phrasal verb is also called verb-particle construction, verb phrase, multi-word verb, or compound verb. American English expressions are a type of two-part verb or, in some cases, a three-part verb.

Read more here on idiomatic and literal verb-particle constructions.
Does that help so far?

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