WORLD ATLAS INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION &

MANAGEMENT VOL4 NO1, DECEMBER 2021, NEW YORK City

Comfort B. SAVIOUR, Ph.D

A Critical Analysis of Verb Phrases in English Language

Comfort B. SAVIOUR, Ph.D

Department of Communication Studies
University of Illinois at Chicago
Northern Illinois,
United States

ABSTRACT

Verb phrases in English language play an important role in communication. English

language develops with the changing times using verb phrases. There are different critical
analyses of verb phrases in English language. Verb phrases generally fall into two types:
finite, in which the head of the phrase is a finite verb; and nonfinite, where the head is a
nonfinite verb, such as an infinitive, participle, or gerund. The verb phrase is understood in
terms of a traditional distinction between the categories of modality, tense, aspect, and
voice. The study concluded that verb phrases in English language are distinguished by the
kinds of marking they can take and what they can co-occur with. Verb phrases in English
language are easily identified as they have an auxiliary verb followed by an action or main
verb. However, a verb phrase is a syntactic unit consisting of an auxiliary (helping) verb
preceding the main verb. It often contains a head verb, complements, objects, and modifiers
as its dependents. One of the recommendations made was that students should improve
their English language skills in order to be able to use verb phrases effectively in their
sentences.
KEYWORDS: Critical Analysis, Verb Phrase and English Language

Introduction

Verb phrases in English language play an important role in communication. English

language develops with the changing times using verb phrases. The more often English
language is used, the faster its development. According to Ekasani, Artawa, Putra Yadnya,
and Mas Indrawati (2018), the verb phrase in English language is divided into two types:
simple verb phrases and complex verb phrases. The simple verb phrase consists of only
one verb element, whereas the complex verb phrase consists of a core verb with all the
complementary elements, such as auxiliary, complement, and modifier, consisting of
adjective phrases (AdjP), noun phrases (NPs), and adverbial phrases (AdvP), such as the
following pattern: VP → V (AdjP) (NP) (AdvP) (Quirk, 2005). The complexity of the
structure of the verb phrase in question is a complex verb phrase where the verb phrase
consists not only of a single head verb but may comprise a verb (V) element along with all
the complementary elements, such as auxiliary, complement, and modifier, consisting of an
adjective phrase (AdjP), noun phrase (NP), and adverbial phrase (AdvP). The use of verb
phrases in procedural texts such as recipes is very common, and verb phrases are more
likely to dominate their use in the way they are made.

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According to Rodríguez-Navarro (2010), there have been two different critical

analyses of the verb phrase in English language. One, which has been promoted, among
others, by transformational grammarians, includes as elements of this structure both the
verb and its complementation. The popular transformational division of the unit sentence
into NP and VP, which actually involves the underlying distinction between subject and
predicate, usually widens the idea of VP to more than one phrase. There is a second
analysis that restricts the term verb phrase only to the verbal element of the sentence,
without paying attention to its possible complementation; that is to say, the term is used to
refer to the unit that has also been referred to in other grammars by the name verb or
verbal group, which is formed by two elements: the main verb and the auxiliary system. In
English language, the verb phrase is the locus of a wealth of information about the events,
states, processes, etc. that a clause or sentence denotes (Lund University, 2021). For
example, a verb phrase referring to an event may contain information about such crucial
elements of meaning as whether we know the event to have happened, when the event
took place, whether or not the event was completed, and other similar aspects of meaning.
The verb phrase is understood in terms of a traditional distinction between the categories
of modality, tense, aspect, and voice.

Concept of Verb

Verbs are words that express action or a state of being. A verb is a doing word that shows
an action, an event, or a state. A sentence may have either a main verb or a helping verb, or
both. In other words, a verb is a word that informs about an action, an existence of
something or an occurrence (Idioms 2021). A verb is the action or state of being in a
sentence. Verbs can be expressed in different tenses depending on when the action is being
performed. A verb is a word that is characteristically the grammatical center of a predicate
and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being, that in various languages is inflected
for agreement with the subject, for tense, for voice, for mood, or for aspect, and that
typically has rather full descriptive meaning and characterizing quality, but is sometimes
nearly devoid of these, especially when used as an auxiliary or linking verb (Merriam-
Webster 2021). A verb is a word or a combination of words that indicates an action or a
state of being or condition. A verb is the part of a sentence that tells us what the subject
performs. Verbs are the hearts of English sentences (Learn English 2021). Examples:
 Jacob walks in the morning. (A usual action)
 Mike is going to school. (A condition of action)
 Albert does not like to walk. (A negative action)
 Anna is a good girl. (A state of being)

Verbs are related to a lot of other factors, like the subject, person, number, tense, mood,
voice, etc. Verbs are an important part of the English language (Dictionary 2020). Simply
put, a verb can be defined as a word that expresses an action or a state of being. Most verbs
provide key information about the subject of a sentence and are central to the sentence's
predicate. Whether a verb is literally performing the action in the sentence or merely
linking the subject to the rest of the information, they're always "doing" something. Verbs
are the busybodies of sentences that serve to bring the entire thought to completion. Leech

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(2002) states that a verb is a doing word that refers to an action, such as went, give, move,
sit, etc. verb is the most complex parts of speech because its varying arrangements with
nouns determine the different kinds of sentences-statements, questions, commands,
exclamations.

A verb (from Latin verbum "word") is a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an
action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being
(be, exist, stand). In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the
particle, is the infinitive. In many languages, verbs are inflected (modified in form) to
encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice (Wikipedia 2019). A verb may also agree with the
person, gender, or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject or object. Verbs
have three tenses: present, to indicate that an action is being carried out; past, to indicate
that an action has been done; and future, to indicate that an action will be done. Nordquist
(2020) stated that a verb is customarily defined as a part of speech (or word class) that
describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. Verbs are the action words
in a sentence that describe what the subject is doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main
parts of a sentence or phrase, telling a story about what is taking place (Ginger 2021). In
fact, without a verb, full thoughts can’t be properly conveyed, and even the simplest
sentences, such as Maria sings, have one. Actually, a verb can be a sentence by itself, with
the subject, in most cases, implied, such as, "sing and drive”. However, a verb is a general
notion or idea for conception.

Concept of Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is a syntactic unit consisting of an auxiliary (helping) verb preceding the
main verb. It often contains a head verb, complements, objects, and modifiers as its
dependents (Literary Devices 2021). In linguistics, a verb phrase (VP) is a syntactic unit
composed of at least one verb and its dependent objects, complements, and other
modifiers, but not always including the subject. Thus, in the sentence "A fat man put the
money quickly in the box," the words "put the money quickly in the box" are a verb phrase;
it consists of the verb "put" and its dependents, but not the subject "a fat man." A verb
phrase is similar to what is considered a predicate in more traditional grammars
(Wikipedia 2021). Verb phrases generally fall into two types: finite, in which the head of
the phrase is a finite verb; and nonfinite, where the head is a nonfinite verb, such as an
infinitive, participle, or gerund. Phrase structure grammars acknowledge both types, but
dependency grammars treat the subject as just another verbal dependent, and they do not
recognize the finite verbal phrase constituent. Understanding verb phrase analysis depends
on knowing which theory applies in context.

A verb phrase is a phrase whose head contains a verb; it is a lexical verb along with any
associated auxiliary verbs. The main verb phrase consists of a verb and any auxiliaries
attached to it, at least one of which must be in the present or past tense. Jacobs (1995) in
Anggraeni (2019), says every verb phrase contains at least one constituent, a verbal, and
therefore considers the verbal to be the primary constituent of a verb phrase. In the same
line, the verb element is always a verb phrase. A verb phrase can consist of one verb or
more than one verb, and if it consists of more than one verb, the phrase consists of a head

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verb preceded by one or more auxiliary verbs. Biber (2009) stated that a verb phrase is
one that contains a lexical verb or primary verb as the head or main verb, either alone or
accompanied by one or more auxiliaries. However, in this study, the term "verb phrase" is
used to refer to the main verb and its auxiliaries, excluding the rest of the predicate. A verb
phrase is a group of words with the main verb (main verb) and auxiliaries as the central
element (head). According to Carnie (2006), a verb phrase consists of a single verb. This
means that the minimum verb phrase consists of one verb element and can be formed
according to the pattern of VP → V.

Types of Verb Phrase

Finite Verb Phrase: Finite verb phrase is a form of a verb that (a) shows agreement with a
subject and (b) is marked for tense (Nordquist, 2019). A finite verb phrase is the form to
which a number and a person belong. In other words, those with an inflected number and
person. The verbs were originally said to be finite if their form limited the possible person
and number of the subject. The Dictionary (2021) stated that a finite verb is the main verb
in a sentence. It’s the root word that drives the rest of the sentence. Almost every verb in
the English language can be used as a finite verb as long as it has these qualities in a
sentence. Anggraeni (2019), A finite verb phrase is a verb phrase containing a finite form of
the verb. In a verb phrase, the finite form of the verb shows a tense distinction between
"past" and "present," and it is associated with person: first, second, and third person, as
well as number: singular or plural. This function is performed by the operator (the first
auxiliary in verb phrases).

 Modal Verbs: Modal verbs are used to show necessity, capability, willingness, or
possibility. Unlike most verbs, there is only one form of these verbs. Typically, verb
forms change to indicate whether the sentence's structure is singular or plural
(Stone & Airth, 2019). Most verbs also indicate whether something happened in the
past, present, or future. This is not the case with most modal auxiliary verbs, which
makes them simpler to understand and use correctly. Modal verbs are auxiliary
verbs (such as can, must, might, may) that are characteristically used with a verb of
predication and express a modal modification; in English, they differ formally from
other verbs in lacking-s and-ing forms (Merriam-Webster 2021). Modal verbs are
used to express certain hypothetical conditions, such as advice, capability, or
requests (there’s a full list in the next section). They’re used alongside a main verb
to change its meaning slightly. Because they’re auxiliary verbs, they can’t necessarily
be used on their own.

Nonfinite Verb Phrase: A nonfinite verb phrase is a type of verb that does not distinguish
between number, person, or tense and cannot normally stand alone as the main verb in a
sentence (Nordquist, 2019). A nonfinite verb is a verb that is not finite. Nonfinite verbs
cannot perform action as the root of an independent clause. Most nonfinite verbs found in
English are infinitives, participles, or gerunds (Wikipedia 2018). They are sometimes called
"verbal," but that term has traditionally applied only to participles and gerunds. Additional
nonfinite forms found in some other languages include converbs, gerundives, and supines.

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 Infinitive Phrases: An infinitive phrase is a group of words that use an infinitive

("to" + verb). An infinitive is a verbal (a word that expresses action); so, an
infinitive phrase has the same role of expressing action in a sentence. An infinitive
phrase starts with an infinitive and includes other modifiers or objects (Dictionary
2021). Like infinitives themselves, infinitive phrases can act in three different
capacities: as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. An infinitive is formed from a verb but
functions as a noun, adverb, or adjective (7ESL 2021). It is composed of two words,
"to" and "a verb". The two words function as nouns, adverbs, or adjectives.

 Participial Phrases: A participial phrase is a phrase that looks like a verb but
actually functions as an adjective; it modifies a noun in the same sentence. Phrases
like this can "spice up" a noun and provide an added description of what it’s doing
or what it looks like. A participle is a verb that functions as a modifier. Participles
provide further information about the noun or nouns in a sentence, just like an
adjective or adverb. A participle is a verb or a word derived from a verb that
expresses a state of being and ends in "-ing" (present tense) or "-ed," "-t," "-n," or "-
ne" (past tense) and serves as an adjective. According to East Stroudsburg
University (2021), a participle phrase is a group of words containing a participle, a
modifier, and a pronoun or noun phrase.

 Gerund Phrases: A gerund phrase is a phrase that consists of a gerund, its object, and
any modifiers. A gerund phrase is a phrase that begins with a gerund and functions
as a noun. Let’s break down this definition to understand it better. A gerund is a
verb ending in –ing, but it works as a noun and can act as a subject, object, or
complement in a sentence (English Sentences 2021). Meanwhile, a phrase is a group
of words that contains either a subject (noun) or a verb (but not both). A gerund
phrase can also act as a subject, object, or complement, while adding more details to
the sentence. According to the Dictionary (2021), gerunds are verbs that end in
"ing" but function as nouns. Many sentences can include a gerund, meaning that
gerunds can function as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of
prepositions, and predicate nouns.

Examples of Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is the portion of a sentence that contains both the verb and either a direct or
indirect object. A verb phrase can be the predicate of the clause or sentence. It functions as
the verb in a sentence, even when it has more than one word (Dictionary 2020). Following
are some verb phrase examples where the verb phrase is the predicate of a sentence. In
this case, the verb phrase consists of the main verb plus any auxiliary, or helping, verbs.

 She was walking quickly to the mall.

 He should wait before going swimming.
 Those girls are trying very hard.
 Ted might eat the cake.
 You must go right now.
 You can't eat that!
 My mother is fixing us some dinner.
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 These cards may be worth hundreds of dollars!

 The teacher is writing a report.
 You have woken up everyone in the neighborhood.
 Will you get me a marker?
 Rhonda has been asking for help.
 My little brother will blow out his candles.
 Are they accusing me of a crime?
 The team should shake hands with their opponents.
 Dad has tried to change my tires before.

Conclusion

The study concluded that verb phrases in English language are distinguished by the kinds
of marking they can take and what they can co-occur with. Verb phrases in English
language are easily identified as they have an auxiliary verb followed by an action or main
verb. However, a verb phrase is a syntactic unit consisting of an auxiliary (helping) verb
preceding the main verb. It often contains a head verb, complements, objects, and modifiers
as its dependents.

Recommendations

1. Students should improve their English language skills in order to be able to

use verb phrases effectively in their sentences.

2. Students should promote an interest in analyzing the forms, functions, and

meanings of verb phrases used in English language.

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