Native and nonnative use of multi-word vs. one-word verbs

By A. Siyanova, N. Schmitt. 2007

129 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract One of the choices available in English is between one-word verbs (train at the gym) and their multi-word counterparts (work out at the gym). Multi-word verbs tend to be colloquial in tone and are a particular feature of informal spoken discourse. Previous research suggests that English learners often have problems with multi-word verbs, and may even avoid their use. This study explores this issue further by comparing the likelihood of using multi-word vs. one-word verbs by both native speakers and advanced nonnatives. A questionnaire of 26 multi-word/one-word verb pairs showed that nonnatives were less likely to use multi-word verbs than native speakers in informal spoken contexts. Moreover, the amount of exposure to native-speaking environments did not have an effect on the likelihood of using the multi-word verbs. However, a corpus analysis of the same verb pairs showed that the one-word verbs are often more frequent in both written and spoken discourse.

Subfields: Language and Linguistics, Literature and Literary Theory

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5b111763d3451a2b894b2bf8e3c6168646dd431f

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Citations in the corpus

Picking up polysemous phrasal verbs: How many do learners know and what facilitates this knowledge? (2016, background): “For example, Siyanova and Schmitt (2007) found that advanced learners showed a strong preference for one-word verbs whereas native speakers showed a preference for PVs in about half of the cases.”
The learning burden of collocations: The role of interlexical and intralexical factors (2016, background): “Moreover, phrasal verbs are often not transparent (Schmitt & Redwood, 2011; Siyanova & Schmitt, 2007).”
The PHaVE List: A pedagogical list of phrasal verbs and their most frequent meaning senses (2015, background): “Because PVs are widely used in spoken informal discourse, failure to use PVs in such situations is likely to make language sound unnatural and non-idiomatic (Siyanova & Schmitt, 2007).”
The idiom principle revisited (2014, background): “…that second language learners underuse native-like MWEs and/or tend to use a large number of anomalous word combinations that are grammatically correct but are simply not ‘how native speakers say it’ (Granger 1998; Howarth 1998; Wray 2002; Nesselhauf 2004; Siyanova and Schmitt 2007, 2008).”
Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations (2017, background): “Given these difficulties, it is not surprising that learners often avoid using figurative formulaic sequences (e.g. Liao & Fukuya, 2004), even in informal spoken contexts where they might be more appropriate (Siyanova & Schmitt, 2007).”
How much collocation knowledge do L2 learners have?: the effects of frequency and amount of exposure (2015, background): “Siyanova and Schmitt (2007) found that the amount of exposure to nativespeaking environments did not have an effect on the likelihood of using the multiword verbs.”