ACROSS / ALONG / BY / THROUGH

These four adverbial particles are less commonly used in phrasal verbs than those dealt with so far in this workbook. For this reason, in this unit they are grouped together and described more briefly. As with other adverbial particles, there are exceptions to their main meanings (see below).

1. Across suggests transverse movement(from one side to the other) over a short distance. ‘Harry got out of his car and walked across the street’. The movement can also be figurative. I finally managed to get the idea across to my students’.

Bring, carry, come, cut, get, put, run, walk across.

2. Along means to progress onward or in the same direction. ‘We drove along the freeway for hours before stopping for a bite’. The idea of progression can also be figurative. ‘He gets along very well with his colleagues at work’.

Bring, come, drive, get (with), go (with), help, move, muddle, pass, run, struggle, walk along.

3. By indicates movement past or in front of a fixed reference point (someone or something). ‘Two buses passed by without stopping at the bus stop’. By extension, the reference point” can be a set of rules, in which case by means according to or in adherence of. ‘You have to abide by the rules, otherwise you’ll be thrown out of residence’.

Abide, come, drive, drop, get, go, hurry, pass, ride, run, rush, stand, walk by.

4. Through suggests linear movement or progression from one end to the other of an enclosed space or a fixed time period. ‘She had to sit through the whole conference, which lasted nearly four hours’. Through is also associated with an outcome or result at the end of the above-mentioned space or time period. ‘I was afraid of donating blood, but my wife persuaded me to go through with the experience’.

Be (with), break, carry, come, eat, fall, follow, get, get (to), go, go through with, live, look, put, read, run, rush, see, sift, sit, sleep, think through.