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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up



 
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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up #1 (permalink) Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:59 am   Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up
 

Hi

I know that ‘clean the room up’ is correct but ‘brush the room up’ – not.
OK.

But the phrasal verbs brush up, clean up[b] and [b]scrub up are often used in an indirect sense, a bit jokingly.
And there are 'things' to which one verb can be applied whereas the others - can’t.

Could you give some explanation to differ cases of use of ‘brush it up’, ‘clean it up’ and ‘scrub it up’ in (an?) indirect sense?
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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up #2 (permalink) Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:39 am   Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up
 

Hi,

There is a distinction between a phrasal verb and a prepositional verb. The latter does not allow an object to come between the two parts. 'Brush up' is an example of a prepositional verb.

A
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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up #3 (permalink) Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:53 am   Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up
 

Hi Alan,

Do you mean that I can't say 'brush it up'? Or just can't use it when mean 'to polish up?'

Quote:
There is a distinction between a phrasal verb and a prepositional verb.

I'm afraid, I need more explanation....

My (old) Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs gives two cases for brush up with the following examples:
1) Don't brush my hair up the wrong way, it hurts.
and
2) I must brush up my French before I go to Paris.

Is the first case still a phrasal verb?

Also, I've had a look at BNC to see examples of use brush it up. They are:

Quote:
G4P 108 Some buyers prefer the grease to be left lying thickly on the grain and the flesh of the leather and so that it will gradually be absorbed and also they can then brush it up when they have got the goods, when they are making it up in their workshops.

KCS 2151 Erm, quite a lot off the top you know so that I can just brush it up.

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=brush+it+up

and now feel that I can't make a distinction between the (1) and (2) cases defined in the dictionary. :?
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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up #4 (permalink) Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:06 am   Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up
 

Hi,

I'm referring to 'brush up' meaning 'improve'.

A
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Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up #5 (permalink) Wed Jan 24, 2007 14:05 pm   Phrasal verbs: brush up, clean up, scrub up
 

Hi Tamara

I think you've misunderstood Alan.

Examples of inseparable prepositional verb would be "talk about" or "look after". You cannot insert the object between the two words.

Amy
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