Lila laughs.
Lila laughed at the poor.
In the first sentence the verb laughs has its simple meaning.
But in the second sentence the verb laughed at is a compound verb and it means ridiculed which is an idiomatic meaning.
When a verb takes a preposition after it and as compound verb gives idiomatic meaning, it is called a group verb or a Prepositional verb or a phrasal verb.
Some Group Verbs with illustrative Sentences:
ACT
Act on or upon (affect) - Such hard work will act upon your health.
Act under (act in obedience to) - He acted under the orders of the Headmaster.
Act up to (act according to) - He always acts up to my advice.
ASK
Ask for (Pray for)-He asked for a loan of one thousnad rupees.
BEAR
Bear away, off (win) - He bore away (off) four prizes in the Annual sports.
Bear on (relate to)—His remark does not bear on this subject.
Bear out (support)-His evidence does not bear out the charge.
Bear up (sustain) -His patience bore him up in that crisis.
Bear with (tolerate) - I cannot bear with such insult.
BLOW
Blow off (emit)-The engine blows off carbon-di-oxide.
Blow out (extinguish)–Blow out the lamp.
Blow up (destroy by explosion) - The soldiers blew up the bridge
BREAK
Break away (get away)-The convict broke away from the prison.
Break down (decline)- His health broke down for hard work.
Break in, on (interrupt) - You should not break in (on) our conversation.
Break Into (enter by force) - The robber broke into the house in midnight.
Break off (stop suddenly) - The speaker broke off in the middle of his speech.
Break out (spread suddenly) - Cholera broke out in the village.
Break through (get through by force) - The soldier broke through the enemy's line.
Break up (close) - Our school breaks up at 4.p.m.
Break with (quarrel) - He has broken with his friend.
BRING
Bring about (cause to happen) - He tried to bring about a quarrel between them.
Bring down (reduce) - The good harvest brought down the price of rice.
Bring forth (produce) -The timely rain brings forth good crops.
Bring in (yield) - His property brings him in Rs, 5,000 a year.
Bring off (rescue) - He brought off the passengers on the wrecked ship.
Bring out (publish) - The publisher has brought out a new book.
Bring through (cure) - The new medicine has brought the patient through.
Bring up (rear) - She is brought up by her mother
BURST
Burst into (express emotion) - She burst into tears to see her dead son.
Burst out (begin suddenly) - He burst out laughing.
CALL
Call at (visit) - He called at my office yesterday.
Call for (demand) - He called for an explanation from me.
Call forth (use) - You have to call forth all your energy in the ensuing examination.
Call in (send for) - Please call in a doctor.
Call off (withdraw) - The strike was called off.
Call on upon (meet) - He called on (upon) me in my office.
Call out (shout) - He called out for help.
Call over (read out) - The teacher called over the names of his pupils in the class.
Call up (remember) - I cannot call up your name.
CARRY
Carry away (remove) - The wounded man was carried away to the hospital.
Carry away (cause death to) - The was carried away by the current.
Carry off (cause death to) - Cholern has carried off one hundred people this year in the village
Carry off (win) - He carried off all the prizes.
Carry on (continue) - He will carry on the business.
Carry out (obey) - You must carry out my order.
Carry over (take forward) -This amount should be carried over to the next page.
Carry through (bring succes) - His hard labour will carry him through.
Carry with (cause to agree) - He carried the audience with him.
CAST
Cast about (move about) - He is casting about for an opportunity.
Cast aside (throw off) - He cast aside (or cast away, or cast off) his old shoes.
Cast out (reject) - As he is my friend, I shall not cast him out.
CATCH
Catch at (take the opportunity) - A drowning man catches at a straw.
Catch up (come up with) - India is trying to catch up with the advanced countries.
COME
Come about (happen) - How did the accident come about?
Come across (meet) - I came across the lame man on the way.
Come at (come up within the reach of) - The fox tried to come at the grapes but failed.
Come by (get) - How did you come by this picture?
Come down (decrease) - The price of rice has come down.
Come of (to be born) - He comes of a respectable family.
Come off (take place) - Our annual sports came off yesterday.
Come out (be known) - The result will come out soon.
Come round (recover) - The patient will come round soon.
Come to (amount to) - His Income comes to Rs. 100/-a month.
Come up (to be equal to) - His word did not come up to our expectation.
CRY
Cry down (decry) - Do not cry down anything without considering the pros and cons of it.
Cry for (demand) - They are crying for a master plan for the prevention of flood.
Cry out (Shout) - He cried out for help.
CUT
Cut down (reduce) - Try to cut down your budget.
Cut off (dislocate) - The robbers cut off the telephone connection.
Now click to read all the posts on group verbs/phrasal verbs:
◼️Group Verbs/Phrasal Verbs: Part 1
