English Grammar: Verb Phrase and Tenses

The Verb Phrase (VP)

• The Verb Phrase (VP) is a group of words that includes a main verb and possibly auxiliary verbs or other elements.
• The order of elements in a VP is: Modality (can, will, etc.), Perfect aspect (have + past participle), Progressive aspect (be + present participle), Passive voice (be + past participle), and finally, the main verb.
• The tense and person are marked on the first auxiliary in the VP, or on the main verb if there are no auxiliaires.

Verb Tenses

• English has two grammatical tenses: present and past.
• The present is used for actions or states that are happening now, happening regularly, or are generally true.
• The past tense is used for actions or states that occurred in the past.
• The future is expressed using the auxiliary verbs will or shall.

Verb Aspects

• Verb aspects express how the speaker views the action in time.
• There are three grammatical aspects: simple, progressive, and perfect.

Progressive Aspect (BE + V-ING)

• The progressive aspect focuses on the ongoingness of the action.
• The speaker views the action as in progress at a particular moment.
• Examples: George is sleeping, We’re leaving for London tomorrow.

Perfect Aspect (HAVE + V-EN)

• The perfect aspect emphasizes the completedness of the action and its consequences.
• Examples: I’ve seen this movie ten times already, Jim has been to Italy, he can speak Italian.

Lexical Verbs

• Lexical verbs are verbs that have a specific meaning.
• They are divided into different types based on their syntactic function.

Verb Types

• Intransitive verbs: do not require a direct object. Example: Dogs bark.
• Transitive verbs: require a direct object. Example: She loves chocolate.
• Bitransitive verbs: require a direct object and an indirect object. Example: She sent a postcard to her friends.
• Prepositional verbs: require a prepositional phrase as their object. Example: She looked at the flowers.
• Phrasal verbs: compound verbs always accompanied by a particle adverb. Example: The car broke down, He took off his shirt.

Auxiliary Verbs

• Auxiliary verbs, or helping verbs, "help" lexical verbs by carrying the marks of conjugation, such as tense and person.
• They are divided into two types:
  • Conjugal auxiliaries: BE, HAVE, and DO.
  • Modal auxiliaries: MAY, CAN, MUST, *SHALL, WILL, MIGHT, COULD, SHOULD, WOULD.

When are Auxiliary Verbs Required?

• Auxiliary verbs are always required in:
  • Negative sentences
  • Interrogative sentences ("Wh-" questions and yes/no questions)
  • Short answers
  • Ellipsis of the lexical verb
  • The passive voice