Centrality of Verbs in Grammar

Centrality of Verbs

• Verbs are the core of sentences, dictating the structure and meaning.

• Verbs are complex, with various categories and classifications based on function, meaning, structure, and valency.

Functional Classification

• Verbs are categorized as:
  • Lexical/Full verbs: denote dynamic action, process, or state, developing over time, and are used as main verbs (e.g., "He goes to the office."). They are open class words, constantly expanding with new concepts.
  • Primary verbs: BE, HAVE, and DO. They can be main verbs or auxiliary verbs.
    • Main verbs: BE (existence/location), HAVE (possession), DO (acting).
    • Auxiliary verbs: assist with aspect, voice, and negation.
  • Auxiliary Modal Verbs: express possibility, obligation, permission, etc. (e.g., "He might come.").

Semantic Classes of Full Verbs

• Causative verbs: indicate an event caused by a person or thing (e.g., "This information enables precise questions.").
• Verbs of occurrence: report events without an actor (e.g., "The lights changed.").
• Verbs of existence/relationship: express existing states or logical relationships (e.g., "He appeared happy.").
• Verbs of aspect: characterize the stage of progress of an event (e.g., "He couldn’t stop talking.").

Morphological Classification

• Verbs are classified into:
  • Regular and irregular verbs: based on their past simple and past participle formation. Regular verbs add -ed, while irregular verbs have unique forms.
  • Finite and non-finite verb forms:
    • Finite: have grammatical categories (tense, person, number, aspect, voice, mood) and can function as predicates.
    • Non-finite: lack some grammatical categories, limited to aspect and voice; include infinitives, participles, and gerunds.

Structural Classes

• Verbs are classified into:
  • Simple verbs: have a root morpheme without further subdivision (e.g., "ask").
  • Derived verbs: formed by various word-building methods:
    • Conversion (e.g., "to house" from "house").
    • Vowel interchange (e.g., "to feed" from "food").
    • Stress replacement (e.g., "to import" from "'import").
    • Affixation (with prefixes or suffixes).
  • Compound verbs: consist of two or more roots (e.g., "blackmail").
  • Phrasal verbs:
    • Verb + Noun: with simple verb equivalents (e.g., "to have a smoke" = "to smoke").
    • Verb + Preposition: determine the phrase's meaning (e.g., "look at", "look after").

Valency Patterns

• Valency refers to the verb's combining power, influencing the sentence structure.
• English verbs have five valency patterns:
  • Intransitive: subject + intransitive verb (e.g., "People came.").
  • Monotransitive: subject + verb + direct object (e.g., "She was carrying a bag.").
  • Ditransitive: subject + verb + indirect object + direct object (e.g., "His father gave him the money.").
  • Complex transitive: subject + verb + direct object + adjective or adverbial.
  • Copular: subject + copula verb + predicative (noun, adjective, adverb, etc.) (e.g., "She was a school teacher.").