In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, a verb phrase (VP) is a
syntactic
In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency ...
unit composed of a
verb
A verb is a word that generally 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 f ...
and its
arguments
An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persua ...
except the
subject of an
independent clause
In traditional grammar, an independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a ''simple sentence''. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate and makes sense by itself.
Independent clauses can be joined ...
or
coordinate clause
In grammar, a conjunction ( abbreviated or ) is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or clauses'','' which are called its conjuncts. That description is vague enough to overlap with those of other parts of speech because what consti ...
. Thus, in the sentence ''A fat man quickly put the money into the box'', the words ''quickly put the money into the box'' constitute a verb
phrase
In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English language, English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adject ...
; it consists of the verb ''put'' and its arguments, but not the subject ''a fat man''. A verb phrase is similar to what is considered a ''
predicate'' in
traditional grammar
Traditional grammar (also known as classical grammar) is a framework for the description of the structure of a language or group of languages. The roots of traditional grammar are in the work of classical Greek and Latin philologists. The forma ...
s.
Verb phrases generally are divided among two types: finite, of which the
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
of the phrase is a
finite verb
A finite verb is a verb that contextually complements a subject, which can be either explicit (like in the English indicative) or implicit (like in null subject languages or the English imperative). A finite transitive verb or a finite intra ...
; and nonfinite, where the head is a
nonfinite verb
Non-finite verbs, are verb forms that do not show tense, person, or number. They include:
# Infinitives (e.g., to go, to see) - They often function as nouns or the base form of a verb
# Gerunds (e.g., going, seeing) - These act as nouns but are ...
, such as an
infinitive
Infinitive ( abbreviated ) is a linguistics term for certain verb forms existing in many languages, most often used as non-finite verbs that do not show a tense. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all ...
,
participle
In linguistics, a participle (; abbr. ) is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from a verb and used as an adject ...
or
gerund
In linguistics, a gerund ( abbreviated ger) is any of various nonfinite verb forms in various languages; most often, but not exclusively, it is one that functions as a noun. The name is derived from Late Latin ''gerundium,'' meaning "which is ...
.
Phrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammar studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue ( Post canonical systems). Some authors, however, reserve the term for more restricted grammars in t ...
s acknowledge both types, but
dependency grammar
Dependency grammar (DG) is a class of modern Grammar, grammatical theories that are all based on the dependency relation (as opposed to the ''constituency relation'' of Phrase structure grammar, phrase structure) and that can be traced back prima ...
s 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.
In phrase structure grammars
In phrase structure grammars such as
generative grammar
Generative grammar is a research tradition in linguistics that aims to explain the cognitive basis of language by formulating and testing explicit models of humans' subconscious grammatical knowledge. Generative linguists, or generativists (), ...
, the verb
phrase
In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English language, English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adject ...
is one
headed by a
verb
A verb is a word that generally 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 f ...
. It may be composed of only a single verb, but typically it consists of combinations of main and
auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb ( abbreviated ) is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it occurs, so as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany an infinitive verb or ...
s, plus optional
specifiers,
complements (not including subject complements), and
adjuncts. For example:
:Yankee batters hit the ball well enough to win their first World Series since 2000.
:Mary saw the man through the window.
:David gave Mary a book.
The first example contains the long verb phrase ''hit the ball well enough to win their first World Series since 2000''; the second is a verb phrase composed of the main verb ''saw'', the complement phrase ''the man'' (a
noun phrase
A noun phrase – or NP or nominal (phrase) – is a phrase that usually has a noun or pronoun as its head, and has the same grammatical functions as a noun. Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently ...
), and the adjunct phrase ''through the window'' (an
adverbial phrase
In linguistics, an ''adverbial phrase'' ("AdvP") is a multi-word expression operating adverbially: its syntactic function is to modify other expressions, including verbs, adjectives, adverbs, adverbials, and sentences. Some grammars use the ...
and
prepositional phrase
An adpositional phrase is a syntactic category that includes ''prepositional phrases'', ''postpositional phrases'', and ''circumpositional phrases''. Adpositional phrases contain an adposition (preposition, postposition, or circumposition) as he ...
). The third example presents three elements, the main verb ''gave'', the noun ''Mary'', and the noun phrase ''a book'', all of which comprise the verb phrase. Note, the verb phrase described here corresponds to the
predicate of traditional grammar.
Current views vary on whether all languages have a verb phrase; some schools of generative grammar (such as
principles and parameters
Principles and parameters is a framework within generative linguistics in which the syntax of a natural language is described in accordance with general ''principles'' (i.e. abstract rules or grammars) and specific ''parameters'' (i.e. markers, sw ...
) hold that all languages have a verb phrase, while others (such as
lexical functional grammar
Lexical functional grammar (LFG) is a constraint-based grammar framework in theoretical linguistics. It posits several parallel levels of syntactic structure, including a phrase structure grammar representation of word order and constituency, an ...
) take the view that at least some languages lack a verb phrase constituent, including those languages with a very free word order (the so-called
non-configurational languages, such as Japanese, Hungarian, or Australian aboriginal languages), and some languages with a default
VSO order (several Celtic and Oceanic languages).
Phrase structure grammars view both finite and nonfinite verb phrases as constituent phrases and, consequently, do not draw any key distinction between them. Dependency grammars (described below) are much different in this regard.
In dependency grammars
While
phrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammar studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue ( Post canonical systems). Some authors, however, reserve the term for more restricted grammars in t ...
s (constituency grammars) acknowledge both
finite and
non-finite VPs as
constituents (complete subtrees),
dependency grammar
Dependency grammar (DG) is a class of modern Grammar, grammatical theories that are all based on the dependency relation (as opposed to the ''constituency relation'' of Phrase structure grammar, phrase structure) and that can be traced back prima ...
s reject the former. That is, dependency grammars acknowledge only non-finite VPs as constituents; finite VPs do not qualify as constituents in dependency grammars. For example:
::John has finished the work.
– Finite VP in bold
::John has finished the work.
– Non-finite VP in bold
Since ''has finished the work'' contains the finite verb ''has'', it is a finite VP, and since ''finished the work'' contains the non-finite verb ''finished'' but lacks a finite verb, it is a non-finite VP. Similar examples:
::They do not want to try that.
– Finite VP in bold
::They do not want to try that.
– One non-finite VP in bold
::They do not want to try that.
– Another non-finite VP in bold
These examples illustrate well that many clauses can contain more than one non-finite VP, but they generally contain only one finite VP. Starting with
Lucien Tesnière
Lucien Tesnière (; May 13, 1893 – December 6, 1954) was a prominent and influential French linguist. He was born in Mont-Saint-Aignan on May 13, 1893. As a senior lecturer at the University of Strasbourg (1924) and later professor at the ...
1959, dependency grammars challenge the validity of the initial binary division of the clause into
subject (NP) and
predicate (VP), which means they reject the notion that the second half of this binary division, i.e. the finite VP, is a constituent. They do, however, readily acknowledge the existence of non-finite VPs as constituents. The two competing views of verb phrases are visible in the following trees:
::

The constituency tree on the left shows the finite VP ''has finished the work'' as a constituent, since it corresponds to a complete subtree. The dependency tree on the right, in contrast, does not acknowledge a finite VP constituent, since there is no complete subtree there that corresponds to ''has finished the work''. Note that the analyses agree concerning the non-finite VP ''finished the work''; both see it as a constituent (complete subtree).
Dependency grammars point to the results of many standard
constituency tests to back up their stance. For instance,
topicalization
Topicalization is a mechanism of syntax that establishes an expression as the sentence or clause topic (linguistics), topic by having it appear at the front of the sentence or clause (as opposed to in a canonical position later in the sentence). T ...
, pseudoclefting, and
answer ellipsis
Answer ellipsis (= answer fragments) is a type of Ellipsis (linguistics), ellipsis that occurs in answers to questions. Answer ellipsis appears very frequently in any dialogue, and it is present in probably all languages. Of the types of ellipsis m ...
suggest that non-finite VP does, but finite VP does not, exist as a constituent:
:: *...and has finished the work, John.
– Topicalization
:: *What John has done is has finished the work.
– Pseudoclefting
:: What has John done? – *Has finished the work.
– Answer ellipsis
The * indicates that the sentence is bad. These data must be compared to the results for non-finite VP:
::...and finished the work, John (certainly) has.
– Topicalization
::What John has done is finished the work.
– Pseudoclefting
::What has John done? – Finished the work.
– Answer ellipsis
The strings in bold are the ones in focus. Attempts to in some sense isolate the finite VP fail, but the same attempts with the non-finite VP succeed.
Narrowly defined
Verb phrases are sometimes defined more narrowly in scope, in effect counting only those elements considered strictly verbal in verb phrases. That would limit the definition to only main and
auxiliary verbs, plus
infinitive
Infinitive ( abbreviated ) is a linguistics term for certain verb forms existing in many languages, most often used as non-finite verbs that do not show a tense. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all ...
or
participle
In linguistics, a participle (; abbr. ) is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from a verb and used as an adject ...
constructions.
[Klammer and Schulz (1996:157ff.), for instance, pursue this narrow understanding of verb phrases.] For example, in the following sentences only the words in bold form the verb phrase:
:John has given Mary a book.
:The picnickers were being eaten alive by mosquitos.
:She kept screaming like a football maniac.
:Thou shalt not kill.
This more narrow definition is often applied in
functionalist frameworks and traditional European reference grammars. It is incompatible with the phrase structure model, because the strings in bold are not constituents under that analysis. It is, however, compatible with
dependency grammar
Dependency grammar (DG) is a class of modern Grammar, grammatical theories that are all based on the dependency relation (as opposed to the ''constituency relation'' of Phrase structure grammar, phrase structure) and that can be traced back prima ...
s and other grammars that view the verb
catena (verb chain) as the fundamental unit of syntactic structure, as opposed to the
constituent.
See also
*
Auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb ( abbreviated ) is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it occurs, so as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany an infinitive verb or ...
*
Constituent
*
Dependency grammar
Dependency grammar (DG) is a class of modern Grammar, grammatical theories that are all based on the dependency relation (as opposed to the ''constituency relation'' of Phrase structure grammar, phrase structure) and that can be traced back prima ...
*
Finite verb
A finite verb is a verb that contextually complements a subject, which can be either explicit (like in the English indicative) or implicit (like in null subject languages or the English imperative). A finite transitive verb or a finite intra ...
*
Non-configurational language
*
Non-finite verb
Non-finite verbs, are verb forms that do not show tense, person, or number. They include:
# Infinitives (e.g., to go, to see) - They often function as nouns or the base form of a verb
# Gerunds (e.g., going, seeing) - These act as nouns but are ...
*
Phrase
In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English language, English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adject ...
*
Phrase structure grammar
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammar studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue ( Post canonical systems). Some authors, however, reserve the term for more restricted grammars in t ...
*
Predicate (grammar)
The term predicate is used in two ways in linguistics and its subfields. The first defines a predicate as everything in a standard declarative sentence except the subject (grammar), subject, and the other defines it as only the main content verb ...
Notes
References
*Akmajian, A. and F. Heny. 1980. An introduction to the principle of transformational syntax. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
*Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press.
*Klammer, T. and M. Schulz. 1996. Analyzing English grammar. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
*Kroeger, P. 2004
Analyzing syntax: A lexical-functional approach Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Matthews, P. 2007. Syntactic relations: A critical survey. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Miller, J. 2011
A critical introduction to syntax London: continuum.
*Osborne, T., M. Putnam, and T. Groß 2011. Bare phrase structure, label-less structures, and specifier-less syntax: Is Minimalism becoming a dependency grammar? The Linguistic Review 28: 315–364.
*Sobin, N. 2011. Syntactic analysis: The basics. Malden, MA: Wiley–Blackwell.
*Tesnière, Lucien 1959. Éleménts de syntaxe structurale. Paris: Klincksieck.
*van Valin, R. 2001. An introduction to syntax. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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Syntactic categories