WE all know that when a sentence uses a transitive verb as the operative verb, it's absolutely necessary for the subject to take a direct object and to act on it: "The woman spurned her suitor last ...

When a sentence uses a transitive verb to describe an action, it’s necessary for the subject to take a direct object and to act on it: “The woman spurned her suitor last week.” “Her suitor found a ...

Sometimes you can guess the meaning of a phrasal verb because it is related to the main verb. Look at this example again. Shall we give away all the old books in the office? The meaning is clearly ...

This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by Thomas Wier, assistant professor of linguistics at the Free University of Tbilisi: Short Answer: Yes, but not in English. What do we mean by ...