VERB PHRASE Definition & Meaning

verb phrase

Grammar.

a group of words including a verb and its complements, objects, or other modifiers that functions syntactically as a verb. In English a verb phrase combines with a noun or noun phrase acting as subject to form a simple sentence.
a phrase consisting of a main verb and any auxiliaries but not including modifiers, objects, or complements.

verb phrase

grammar a constituent of a sentence that contains the verb and any direct and indirect objects but not the subject. It is a controversial question in grammatical theory whether or not this constituent is to be identified with the predicate of the sentence VP

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Examples have not been reviewed.

They can also show up as an adjunct to a verb phrase or clause, as in She died young And They showed up drunk.

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The cat in the hat can be merged with a verb phrase to create a new object, a sentence: The cat in the hat came back.

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The more natural place for an adverb like “soon” is between the parts of the verb phrase.

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Some people, she explains, produce complex noun phrases and simple verb phrases; others produce complex adverbial phrases, and so on.

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Another is the rule that “like” joins noun phrases, while “as” or “as if” is for verb phrases.

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