phrasal verbs "break down"

[ivygreen]

Please teach me an example sentence, using "break down"
(meaning: analyze, list the parts of separately)
as a separable phrasal verb.

[BobK]

Please teach me an example sentence, using "break down"
(meaning: analyze, list the parts of separately)
as a separable phrasal verb.

Better than that, I'll give you a much used pantomime joke that uses two meanings:


'I want 12 children to come up on stage.... Right, now these 12 will be broken down by age and sex - well, it happens to us all in the end.'


The clause beginning 'Right' uses the verb in the sense 'analyse or separate'. The punch-line interprets it in the sense 'make to deteriorate through wear and tear'.

b

PS Sorry, it's not separated there . If it were separated ('I will break them down by age and sex') the joke wouldn't work because it depends on the phrase 'broken down''.

[mfwills]

It should be noted that "break down" rarely appears in exactly that uninterrupted form. The subject (that which is being broken down) usually appears in the middle:

"I want you to break responses down by age and income."

As well, it is often used as a combination word:

"I want a breakdown of responses by age and income."