give away
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: give AWAY. Saying “GIVE away” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /v/ of “give” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “give away” is said “gi-vaway”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is give AWAY, the noun is GIVEAWAY. Same two words, different beat — “to give AWAY” is the action, “a giveaway” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
2 meanings
- 1
To donate something without payment.
- “They gave away most of the furniture before moving.”
- “The shop was giving away free samples.”
Similar: donate
- 2
To reveal a secret, usually accidentally.
- “His expression gave him away.”
- “Don't give away the ending.”
Similar: reveal, betray