Multi-word verb usage by Turkish learners of English: a corpus-based study

Abstract: In the context of foreign and second language learning, multi-word units constitute a particularly interesting phenomenon since they are known to cause problems for learners. One group of multi-word units that causes great difficulty even for advanced learners of English is multi-word verbs. Their acquisition and active usage is a challenge since they are complex both in terms of their grammatical form and their lexical meaning. This study provides a detailed, descriptive investigation of four different categories of multi-word verbs – namely phrasal, phrasal-prepositional, prepositional verbs and verb-noun collocations – in the essays written by intermediate to advanced level of Turkish learners of English. The Turkish sub-corpus (TICLE) of the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) has been the basis for the investigation. In order to thoroughly capture difficulties the learners experience in the use multi-word verbs and gain a better understanding of their phraseological competence, both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the learners’ performance are investigated. An important aim of the study is to determine whether, and if so, to what extent, the learner’s first language (L1) influences their use of multi-word verbs in English. In addition to the learner’s L1, possible effects of other factors (both learner-related and external variables) are also investigated in the context of two categories of multi-word verbs, namely phrasal and phrasal-prepositional verbs – the two verb categories reported to be avoided and/or underused by many learner groups

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Universität Freiburg, Dissertation, 2021

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: English ; Phraseologie ; Korpus ; Partikelverb ; Kollokation ; Fremdsprachenlernen ; Lexikon ; Mehrworteinheit

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2022
• Creator: Özen, Seval
• Contributor: Halford, Brigitte K. ; Mair, Christian ; Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Englisches Seminar ; Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Philologische Fakultät

Further information

• DOI: 10.6094/UNIFR/223433
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2234336
• Rights: Kein Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:30 AM CEST