Sort things out vs sort out difficulties

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi

I feel (maybe, wrong) there is/may be a subtle difference in uses of the phrasal verb sort out.

sort out (as in ‘I hope this has sorted things out between us.’)
and
sort out (as in ‘This can help sort out difficulties … blah-blah-blah’.)

Could you clarify / comment the play of word order in the case?

2

Hi Tamara,

There are really two types of these verb constructions: phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. Sort out is a phrasal verb and you can put an object between the two parts or after as in ‘sort the problem out’ or ‘sort out the problem’ and the meaning remains the same. With so called prepositional verbs you can’t do this as in ‘account for’ when you would have to say: I can’t account for the problem, only.

A

3

Hi Tamara

In addition to what Alan has written, when you use a pronoun rather than a noun as the object of a separable phrasal verb, the pronoun should NOT follow the verb but rather separate it:

  • He sorted out the problem. (noun)
  • He sorted the problem out. (noun)
  • He sorted it out. (correct word order with a pronoun)

Have a look here:
esl.about.com/library/weekly/aa011198.htm

Amy

4

Hi,

Despite the site mentioned, I still think that it’s not necessarily always the case of having to put the pronoun only before the particle especially if you wanted to emphasise the pronoun. Imagine this:

[i]Who do they want to sort out?

They want to sort out us.[/i]

A

5

Hi Alan

I intentionally softened my wording a tiny bit in comparison to the link I gave (should vs must) to allow for the occasional exception. However, I do think this is a very good “rule” for ESL students to pay attention to. Using pronouns incorrectly with separable phrasal verbs is an error which is made quite often by ESL students. That’s my experience.

Amy

PS
You example sounds odd to my ear, so there may also be some small trans-Atlantic differences.

6

Hi,

You’re probably right - it’s just me being cussed.

A

7

Believe it or not, I have been collecting material for this question. I was with the idea that once I had more examples, I would ask this particular question, but Tamara beat me to it.

I thinkI have seen this somewhere.

1-Let’s get over it. instead of
2- Let’s get it over with.

I am looking for other examples…soon will be back. :shock:

Tom

8

Hi Tom

While you’re hunting, I’ll make a few comments. :wink:
“I was with the idea” → This sounds peculiar. Suggested alternative: I was under the impression… (OR possibly: I had the idea…)

Your example is a bit different from what Tamara asked about. Tamara only asked about one phrasal verb. “Get over (something)” is non-separable and also has a different meaning from “Get it over with”.

Amy

9

Give up!
Stop doing something.

And

Never Give up!
Never Stop doing something. <-------(Does it correct sentence)

10

Yes, it would be correct if you removed the capital letter from the word ‘stop’.

Your question should be:
Is it a correct sentence. ‘To do’ is not an appropriate verb there.