grammar phrasal verbs

[paulana]

i wnt to know how to distinguish betwen phrasal verbs and prepositional phrasal verb

[Niall]

Simply:
Phrasal verbs are constructed from verb + adverb such as get up.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are constructed from verb + adverb + preposition such as look forward to

[engee30]

Simply:
Phrasal verbs are constructed from verb + adverb such as get up.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are constructed from verb + adverb + preposition such as look forward to

Oh dear! You've simplified the issue so much I can't agree with you!
It's not that easy to distinguish between the two, to be honest.

Look up at the sky!
Look up the word in a dictionary.

The above example sentences are very similar in construction, but meaningly different.
#1 is a prepositional phrasal verb, whereas #2 is a 'true' phrasal verb.

Many a time it is the particle that is the same for an adverb as well as for a preposition. So the real question is, how to sucessfully distinguish the phrasal verbs in question?

[Niall]

Surely the rule still applies:
Look up at the sky! - This is a prepositional phrasal: verb + adverb + prep
Look up the word in a dictionary. - This is a true phrasal: verb + adverb

[engee30]

Surely the rule still applies:
Look up at the sky! - This is a prepositional phrasal: verb + adverb + prep
Look up the word in a dictionary. - This is a true phrasal: verb + adverb

What about this pair of phrasals (it's gonna be a bit tougher, I reckon):

He ran into another runner during the race.
He ran into my aunt at the supermarket.

Which one is which one?

[Niall]

Surely here both are prepositional verbs. And are neither phrasal nor prepositional phrasal.

[engee30]

Surely here both are prepositional verbs. And are neither phrasal nor prepositional phrasal.

Hmm... but what about the meaning of the two? If it is just a prepositional verb, the first sentence reads,

He collided with another runner during the race.

while the other,

He met his aunt at the supermarket by accident.

That's the catch.

[Niall]

I fail to see the problem? Is it that there are two meanings of the phrase to run into?
I have read over what you have said and fail to see what you are getting at?

[engee30]

...
Is it that there are two meanings of the phrase to run into?
...

Yes, and there are a lot more of such examples. That's the genuine problem causing so much trouble to us, non-native English speakers.
Meanings of such verbs are so various that it really is impossible to know exactly which verb with a particular particle is the 'true' phrasal verb, or just a prepositional verb, as you wrote.

Let me mention a few particles that can be either a preposition or an adverb:
down, up, over, through, on.

It's only when I look them up in a dictionary that I distinguish between the verbs.

[Niall]

Yes. I would have to agree.
Words that are both prepositions and adverbs are a pain in grammar. They often lead people astray very easily.

Reading in context is the only solution, and even then, often both meanings are equally plausable. This is a problem that we cannot hope to solve!