6.3 Verb phrase structure and complements

Verb phrases are the powerhouses of sentences, combining main verbs with auxiliaries, adverbs, and particles to express action and state. They work with complements like direct objects and subject complements to create meaning and convey relationships between different parts of a sentence.

Understanding verb phrase structure is crucial for constructing grammatically correct and meaningful sentences. This includes knowing about transitive and intransitive verbs, verb-complement relationships, and rules for word order, agreement, tense, aspect, mood, and voice.

Verb Phrase Structure

Components of verb phrases

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• Main verb expresses primary action or state (run, jump, think)
• Auxiliary verbs help express tense, aspect, or mood (has been running, might jump)
• Adverbs modify verb or entire phrase, providing information about manner, time, or frequency (quickly ran, often thinks)
• Particles used in phrasal verbs, change meaning of main verb (look up, turn off)

Types of verb complements

• Direct objects receive action of verb directly, answer "what?" or "whom?" (She ate an apple)
• Indirect objects indicate to whom or for whom action performed, usually precede direct object (He gave her a gift)
• Subject complements follow linking verbs, provide information about subject as predicate nominatives or adjectives (She is a doctor, The sky looks blue)

Verb-complement relationships

• Valency refers to number of arguments verb requires, affects phrase structure (intransitive: sleep, transitive: eat)
• Semantic roles include agent (performs action), patient (undergoes action), recipient (receives action or object)
• Subcategorization specifies complement types required by different verbs (give requires indirect and direct object)
• Theta roles describe thematic relations between verbs and arguments (agent, theme, experiencer)

Rules for verb phrase structure

• Word order follows Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) in English (John ate pizza)
• Agreement ensures subject-verb match in person and number (He runs, They run)
• Tense and aspect use auxiliary verbs to express time and duration (has been running)
• Mood includes indicative, subjunctive, and imperative forms (If I were rich, Be quiet)
• Voice distinguishes between active and passive constructions (The cat chased the mouse, The mouse was chased by the cat)

Transitive vs intransitive verbs

• Transitive verbs require at least one object, can be monotransitive or ditransitive (She bought a book, He gave her a gift)
• Intransitive verbs do not require an object, complete meaning without additional complements (The baby sleeps)
• Ambitransitive verbs used both transitively and intransitively (The dog ate vs The dog ate its food)
• Ergative verbs allow object of transitive use to become subject in intransitive use (The sun melted the ice vs The ice melted)