Verb prefixes and particles
What small part changes the verb's meaning?
Significado
A small part added to a verb can change its meaning, such as where an action leads or whether it reaches an end. It can also create a new meaning that is not clear from the separate parts. Some languages attach these elements to verbs, some use separate words, and others have no comparable device. Unlike Particles that shape a whole message or highlight information, Verb prefixes and particles work with a verb to build its meaning.
Como identificar
Compare a verb with and without a small attached or nearby element, and check whether its direction, completion or overall meaning changes.
Na tua língua materna
Portuguese uses attached prefixes such as re- for repetition and des- for reversal or undoing to form related verbs. These prefixes remain part of the word and cannot move elsewhere in the sentence. Direction and completion are commonly expressed through verb meanings and phrases, rather than a productive system of movable verb particles.
Vou reler a mensagem.
The attached prefix re- adds repetition.
Preciso desfazer esse nó.
The attached prefix des- contributes the meaning of undoing.
Na tua língua de aprendizagem
English often combines a verb with a short word such as up, out or off; these combinations are called phrasal verbs. The short word may add a clear direction or create a meaning that cannot be guessed from the parts. With some phrasal verbs, a noun can go before or after the short word, but a pronoun such as it, used instead of that noun, must go before it.
The children ran out.
Out adds the direction: from inside to outside.
I looked up the word.
Look up means to find information in a dictionary or another source.
I looked it up.
With this phrasal verb, it must go between looked and up.
Learners whose language has no comparable verb combinations may miss meanings that cannot be guessed from the parts. If the learner's language keeps these elements next to the verb, placing a pronoun between them can be difficult.