"in search for" vs. "look for"

[Sipa2008]

Hi Torsten,I can't find out the difference between the expressions in search of and look for. Thanks. Silvina.

[Torsten]

Hi Silvina,

"In search of" is an expression that contains a noun. "look for" is a phrasal verb. "In search of" is more formal than "look for".
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Molly]

In which use is "look for" a phrasal verb, Torsten?

[Torsten]

Hi Molly,

Welcome back to our forum and many thanks for your interesting question. If you want to learn more about the phrasal verb "look for", I suggest you read this story by Alan Townend.

Once you have read the story, you can check your knowledge by taking this test.

Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Sipa2008]

It helps a lot. Thanks.Silvina

[Molly]

I'd say:

In "He's looking for clues, for example, "look for" is not a phrasal verb.

[Alan]

Hi,

OK. Let's call it a prepositional verb because the two parts 'look' and 'for' cannot be separated.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

[Molly]

Fine by me.

[MrPedantic]

I think the use of "phrasal verb" to describe "look for" was quite reasonable. Some linguists distinguish between prepositional and phrasal verbs, on the basis of e.g. particle movement; but that distinction is by no means universal.

I notice for instance that the Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs includes "verb + preposition" as well as "verb + adverb" combinations. Thus these can be regarded as two subsets of {phrasal verbs}.

MrP

[Molly]

[Molly]

This is what BBC Learning says:

"This combination of verb and preposition is usually referred to as a prepositional verb, although sometimes it is also known as a phrasal verb."

Would you say that "usually", there, is valid?

[MrPedantic]

I doubt it. "Prepositional verb" is the rarer form; I would call Wikipedia's definition of "phrasal verb" the more usual.

But my point was that to describe "look for" as a phrasal verb was perfectly reasonable; and on that we seem to agree.

MrP