Phrasal Verbs As Nouns

Adam: Hi. Nice to see you again. Adam from www.engvid.com. And, today, I want

to talk to you about something that's very confusing for most students: It's

when you take phrasal verbs — for example, "make up" — and you squeeze

them together to make nouns or adjectives. This is very confusing

because sometimes the sound changes; the meaning changes. So, we're going to look

at this today. Now, before I start, I want to tell you something. Those of you

who are going to take the IELTS test, pay very close attention. This is very

important for you; lots of points to be lost or gained here. So, let's start. We

all know the word "makeup". What does "makeup" mean? Notice I say it quickly,

together? "Makeup", as a noun, has a few meanings. One is the stuff you put on

your face. You put lipstick, you put eyeshadow; other stuff, I don't know; I

don't put on makeup. "Makeup" can also be used to make... to talk about

something that you redo. For example: "a makeup exam". Okay? In this case, I'm

using it as a noun with another noun. So, the first one is really used like an

adjective. "A makeup exam" — what does that mean? If you missed your test or

your exam, your teacher will give you an opportunity to do it again — "a makeup

exam". What does...? What else does "makeup" mean? Again, as an adjective...

Okay, do you know what? Before we do the adjective, let's go to the verb. How

about that? "Make up" — what does "make up" mean? First, notice the different

stress. "Makeup" — the stress is on the "make". "Make up" — the stress is on the

"up". This is the phrasal verb, meaning a verb and a preposition together with

slightly different meaning. Okay. "To make up" — what are some meanings? What

can you think of? One is to do again. Okay? "To make up an assignment, to make

up a test, to make up for lost time". Okay? What's another meaning for "make

up"? Well, you can put on your "makeup"; you "make up" your face. Okay, great.

What else can "make up" mean? "Make up" can mean create. You can "make up a

story"; you create something from nothing. Okay? So, now, we have the verb

"make up"; when we put it together, we have "makeup". You can do the "makeup

exam" means you do it again. You can put on "makeup"; cosmetics, lipstick, and

all that stuff. Or you can... Okay, we'll leave it at that for now. "Made

up" — here, we have an adjective; and notice: It's not "make up"; it's "made

up". Okay? When I use it as an adjective, it's always going to be about

the past tense. For example: "a made-up story". Okay? You... you told somebody a

story. -"Why didn't you come to my party?" -"Oh, I had to go somewhere and

do something", so it's a "made-up story". When we use it like this, I put

in the hyphen. Okay? Now, again, for the IELTS students out there — very

important — on the test, they're gonna... in the listening section, for

example, they want to hear... know if you can hear the difference in the

stress between these two. And, also, when you're filling in answers, spelling

counts; spelling is important. This — no space or space can cost you points. It's

very important to understand. Where do you find out which word is being used or

the different meanings of all these words? In the dictionary, of course. Use

your dictionary; use it a lot. Okay. So, here, we have some things. Now, what

else can "make up" mean? I just thought of another one. Maybe you did, too. If

you have a fight — you and someone fight; you argue; not fisticuffs, but

argue — after you decide to be nice to each other again, you "make up". It

means end the fight. And for the couples out there, the boys and girls who have

boyfriends/girlfriends, you can have "makeup sex" — very good stuff.

Preferably don't fight; but if you fight, at least you know there's a good

side to it coming after. Okay. Lots of these words in English that become very

confusing. Right? Let's look at a couple more examples.

Okay, so let's look at some more examples. I put in a couple of surprise

ones just to show you how crazy English is. First of all, I have "back up" and

"backup"; verb, noun. Do you hear the difference? "Back up", "backup". Stress,

stress; very important. "Get up", "getup". What's the difference? Again,

verb and noun. I think everybody knows this one: "check in" and "check-in".

Now, here you have to be careful. Here, you notice that "getup" and "backup" are

one word. Here, "check-in" — this is two words, but it's still a noun. A verb and

a noun still. "Hang up". I think everybody knows this phrasal verb —

"hang up" — and "hangup". Again, verb and noun. Let's look at some of these

meanings. What does it mean to "back up"? One meaning is to support; you back

someone up when they go for a fight. Your friend is gonna have a fight, you

back him up just in case. Or on your computer. Most of you are using a

computer, obviously — you want to "back up" your files; you want to have a copy.

"Back up" also means go in reverse; you "back up" your car. Okay? Lots of

different meanings. "Backup". What is a "backup"? One, it is a copy. For

example, you have a "backup" of all your files on your hard disk. "Backup" can

also mean reinforcement. I'll write this word for you. "Reinforcement" — this...

this is usually the people or sometimes the things that do the support. For

example, if you saw the movie, The Matrix — when our Neo and Trinity go

into the building to save Morpheus and they shoot the cop; and the other cop is

on the walkie-talkie, goes: "Backup! Send backup!" That's what he's talking

about. He wants more soldiers to come and fight. Okay? So, that's "backup".

Let's go to another one. "Get up". Do you know this word? I think you do. You

do this every day, actually. Every morning, you "get up". It means you wake

up; you get out of bed. Or you "get up" means stand. But who knows what "getup"

means? Very strange word; you've probably not heard it often before.

"Getup" means clothes; what you're wearing. So, "my getup" is very casual

today. Just wearing a shirt, jeans, shoes — no problem. "Getup" —

interesting word. "Check in". What does "check in" mean? "Check in" means for

example, at a hotel — you go to the front desk, give your name, give your

credit card, get your room; you "check in". "Check in" also means call in to

say where you are, what you're doing, etcetera. So, for example, security: A

security guard is walking around the building; there's other security guards.

Every once in a while, they will call: "Yeah, this is security guard number

two. Everything's clear on the southwest corner." So, he's "checking in".

"Check-in" is the process of checking in at the hotel. You can also use it as an

adjective: "the check-in desk". This is where you go in the hotel to "check in".

It could also be at a medical office, like a doctor's office. You go to "check

in"; you "check in" at the reception, etcetera. "Hang up". I think all of you

know what "hang up" means. When you "hang up", you close the phone; you

"hang up" the phone or turn off the phone; or you "hang up" a picture. What

is a "hangup"? Now, this is a noun. You've probably not heard this word

before. I hope peop-... everybody has some "hangups". Don't worry about it,

but I hope you don't have any crazy "hangups". A "hangup" is like a mental

dislike of something; something that you just really, really don't like but you

don't know why. Okay? Everybody has them. I have them; you have them. One of

my "hangups" is red. I don't like red. You will never see me wearing a red

shirt. Why? I don't know. I just don't like it. It's my own, personal "hangup".

Okay.

Now, again, how are you going to find out what a particular word means? Check

your dictionary. Okay? All of these are in your dictionary. There's lots of

online dictionaries, by the way. If you need... if you don't have a dictionary

and you have internet: www.mw.com — Merriam Webster's Dictionary; American

English; very good dictionary — go use it. Now, before I go, I want to tell

you: There is a quiz on www.engvid.com. Go check it out. But be careful: Some of

these words are there, but there are some other words on this quiz. If you

don't use a dictionary, you'll have a bit of a hard time on this quiz. Okay? I

hope that helps you out. For the IELTS students, keep this in mind. Study hard,

and I'll see you again soon. Thanks.