Thursday, September 17, 2015

history - Why isn't the preposition "from" used to form self-sufficient phrasal verbs?

Let's define a self-sufficient phrasal verb as a phrasal verb that does not require a complement. For example, "come in" is a self-sufficient phrasal verb because you can say, "Come in!" Analogously, "get by" is a self-sufficient phrasal verb because you can say, "It is not difficult to get by." The test is simple: if you can construct a sentence without any word referred to by the preposition of the phrasal verb, then the phrasal verb is self-sufficient.



Many prepositions are used to form self-sufficient phrasal verbs, but there are some prepositions that seem to be never used in this way, e.g., the preposition "from." If you say, "He comes from," you need to add the location he comes from, so "come from" is not a self-sufficient phrasal verb, and I was unable to find any self-sufficient phrasal verb with "from."



I am looking for a logical, etymological, or historical reason, if there is any, as to why some prepositions, especially the preposition "from," are never used to form self-sufficient phrasal verbs. To put it simply, I want an explanation that is deeper than answers like "that's the way it is" or "that's just how English has evolved." After all, I already know that it is the way it is and that it is how English has evolved. The question is why. I am a curious Japanese student learning English and humbly hope that native speakers can shed some light on this apparent mystery, as I see nothing really special in "from" as compared to "on," "in," "off," "around," etc. and found no explanation in Google.

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