Information about Verb Phrase
In linguistics, a verb phrase or VP is a syntactic structure composed of the predicative elements of a sentence and functions in providing information about the subject of the sentence.
(1)
Example (1a) contains the verb phrase made up only of the verb to win. Example (1b) contains the main verb see, the noun phrase (NP) complement the man, and the prepositional phrase (PP) adjunct through the window. Additionally, example (1c) contains the main verb gave and two complements, the noun phrases Mary and a book, both selected by the verb in this case.
Note that according to this definition, the verb phrase corresponds to what is commonly called the predicate.
Up to the mid/late 1980s, it was thought that some languages lacked a verb phrase. These included languages with extremely free word order (so-called non-configurational languages, such as Japanese, Hungarian, or Australian aboriginal languages), and languages with a default VSO order (several Celtic and Oceanic languages). The current view in generative grammar is that all languages have a verb phrase, including the ones just mentioned. The apparent lack of a verb phrase is a consequence of constituents having moved from their positions.
(2)
This more narrow definition is often applied in functionalist frameworks and traditional European reference grammars. It is incompatible with the generative theory of the verb phrase, since the bolded strings are not constituents under standard generative analyses.
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VPs in the generative grammar framework
In the generative grammar framework, the verb phrase is a phrase headed by a verb. A verb phrase may be constructed from a single verb; often, however, the verb phrase will consist of various combinations of the main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers, complements, and adjuncts. For example, consider the following sentences:(1)
- a. Yankee batters hit the ball to win their first World Series since 2000.
b. Mary saw the man through the window.
c. John gave Mary a book.
Example (1a) contains the verb phrase made up only of the verb to win. Example (1b) contains the main verb see, the noun phrase (NP) complement the man, and the prepositional phrase (PP) adjunct through the window. Additionally, example (1c) contains the main verb gave and two complements, the noun phrases Mary and a book, both selected by the verb in this case.
Note that according to this definition, the verb phrase corresponds to what is commonly called the predicate.
Up to the mid/late 1980s, it was thought that some languages lacked a verb phrase. These included languages with extremely free word order (so-called non-configurational languages, such as Japanese, Hungarian, or Australian aboriginal languages), and languages with a default VSO order (several Celtic and Oceanic languages). The current view in generative grammar is that all languages have a verb phrase, including the ones just mentioned. The apparent lack of a verb phrase is a consequence of constituents having moved from their positions.
VPs narrowly defined
Verb phrases are sometimes defined more narrowly in scope to allow for only those sentence elements that are strictly considered verbal elements to form verb phrases. According to such a definition, verb phrases consist only of main verbs, auxiliary verbs, and other infinitive or participle constructions. For example, in the following sentences only the bolded words would be considered to form the verb phrase for each sentence:(2)
- a. John gave Mary a book.
b. They were being eaten alive.
c. She kept screaming like a maniac.
d. Thou shall not kill.
This more narrow definition is often applied in functionalist frameworks and traditional European reference grammars. It is incompatible with the generative theory of the verb phrase, since the bolded strings are not constituents under standard generative analyses.
See also
For the journal, see .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist...... Click the link for more information.
In computer science, SYNTAX is a system used to generate lexical and syntactic analyzers (parsers) (both deterministic and non-deterministic) for all kind of context-free grammars
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predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). In current linguistic semantics, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something.
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Sentence elements are the groups of words that combine together to comprise the ‘building units’ of a well-formed sentence. A sentence element approach to grammar assumes a top-down methodology.
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In linguistics, a sentence is a unit of language, characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
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In theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a proof-theoretic framework for the study of syntax partially inspired by formal grammar theory and popularized by Noam Chomsky, and more specifically to particular instantiations of this general framework, that is,
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In grammar, a phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.
For example the house at the end of the street (example 1) is a phrase. It acts like a noun.
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For example the house at the end of the street (example 1) is a phrase. It acts like a noun.
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In linguistics, the head is the morpheme that determines the category of a compound or the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member.
In the noun phrase big red dog, for instance, dog
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In the noun phrase big red dog, for instance, dog
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verb is a word belonging to the part of speech that usually denotes an action (bring, read), an occurrence (decompose, glitter), or a state of being (exist, stand).
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In linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, auxiliary verb, or verbal auxiliary) is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it.
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In X-bar theory in linguistics, the term specifier refers to a certain position within the syntactic structure, namely the sister of X' as can be seen in the graphic below.
Different elements can occupy the specifier position, depending on the category.
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Different elements can occupy the specifier position, depending on the category.
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In grammar the term complement is used with different meanings. The core meaning of complement is a word, phrase or clause which is necessary in a sentence to complete its meaning. We find complements which function as a sentence element (i.e.
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adjunct is a sentence element that establishes the circumstances in which the action or state expressed by the verb take place.
The following sentence uses adjuncts of time and place:
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The following sentence uses adjuncts of time and place:
- Yesterday Lorna saw the dog in the garden.
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In linguistics, an adpositional phrase is a general term that includes prepositional phrases (which are usually found in head-first languages like English) and postpositional phrases (usually found in head-final languages like Dutch).
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predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). In current linguistic semantics, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something.
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In linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, auxiliary verb, or verbal auxiliary) is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it.
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In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual (traditional) description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be
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In linguistics, a participle is a non-finite verb form that can be used in compound tenses or voices, or as a modifier. Participles often share properties with other parts of speech, in particular adjectives and nouns.
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Functional grammar (FG) is the name given to any of a range of functionally-based approaches to the scientific study of language, such as the grammar model developed by Simon Dik or Michael Halliday's Systemic functional grammar; another important figure in recent linguistic
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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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A compound verb or a complex predicate in linguistics is a multi-word compound that acts as a single verb.
Though compound verbs are rare in English, one may illustrate the form with the example "start reading".
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Though compound verbs are rare in English, one may illustrate the form with the example "start reading".
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For the journal, see .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist...... Click the link for more information.
In linguistics, a non-finite verb (or a verbal) is a verb form that is not limited by a subject; and more generally, it is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language, such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person.
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In computer science, SYNTAX is a system used to generate lexical and syntactic analyzers (parsers) (both deterministic and non-deterministic) for all kind of context-free grammars
..... Click the link for more information.
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X-bar theory is a component of linguistic theory which attempts to identify syntactic features common to all languages. It claims that among their phrasal categories, all languages share certain structural similarities, including one known as the "X-bar", which does not appear in
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