"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

TOEIC listening, talks: Advertiser is promoting hair repair product urging customers to get a discount by mentioning his name to company

[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

TOEIC listening, talks: Afternoon traffic report for the Northern US region

[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
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[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