Verb phrase

1.

Verb Phrase
In order to study the structure of the VP, we will introduce the
intermediate category of gp =verb group consisting of the
lexical verb with or without a particle. More importantly, we
will for now ignore the speci ers of the verb, the auxiliaries.
For our present purposes, then, the Vgp may be thought of as
the verb in its base form.

2.

Verb complementation.
• What we will consider now is the type(s) of complements that may
follow a verb. They determine the (strict) subcategorization of the
verb. The particular structure or structures in which a verb can occur
can be represented formally in a subcategorization frame:
• ____ NP ____ AP ____ PP

3.

____ NP ____ AP ____ PP
• The verb occurs in the slot indicated by the line, with the possible
complement(s) speci ed afterwards. Note that only obligatory
complements (NPs, APs, and PPs) gure in the subcategorization of a
verb, not the optional PP’s which often follow a verb or verb phrase.
Distinguishing obligatory from optional PP’s can often be very
difficult. Generally, it is the case that the obligatory complements
cannot be omitted without affecting the grammaticality or meaning of
the sentence, while the optional PP’s, which are functioning as
adverbials, can be omitted or can be moved to the beginning of the
sentence.

4.

• 1. Transitive (or monotransitive), abbreviated [trans], e.g., hit, eat, kill,
or break, with the following subcategorization frame:
• ____ NP Reginald broke the vase.
• The complement of the verb here is a noun phrase functioning as a
direct object (dO). A direct object can also be a subordinate clause:
• Vivian wrote that she was unhappy.

5.

• 2. Intransitive, e.g., arrive, cry, laugh, or swim, labeled with the feature
[intrans] and with the following subcategorization frame:
• ____ # The package has arrived.
After the argument, she cried.
• With an intransitive verb, no complement is required or allowed. Note,
however, that intransitive verbs are frequently followed by optional adverbs
(e.g., The package arrived a few minutes ago, The baby cried loudly for ve
minutes this morning); these do not affect the verb’s subcategorization.

6.

• 3. Ditransitive, abbreviated [ditrans], e.g., give, send, tell, lend, buy,
offer, or show, with the following subcategorization frames:
• ____ NP1 NP2 Henk sent Olga roses.
• or
• ____ NP2PP[to/for NP1] Henk sent roses to Olga.

7.

• We can write this subcategorization frame more economically as
follows:
• ____ NP {NP, PP[to/for NP]}
• Note that the PP here is not an optional modi er, but an obligatory
complement. NP1 serves the function of indirect object (iO), while
NP2 serves the function of direct object. An indirect is the goal of the
action; it always denotes something which is animate or is conceived
of as animate.

8.

• But Recent work in syntax deploys the concept of oblique object; in
English, any noun phrase that is the complement of a preposition is an
oblique object, where the prepositional phrase is itself the complement of a
verb.
• Oblique objects are nouns that are complement to a preposition, as in
(spoke) about music and (sent the letter) to the manager. In examples such
as gave a present to Bill, with verbs such as GIVE, SHOW and TELL, to
Bill was traditionally called the indirect object. Since these are very
dif cult to distinguish from directional phrases, the notion of indirect
object has been abandoned in favour of oblique object but has been kept
for the construction with three noun phrases, as in Emma gave Harriet
advice.

9.

• 4. Copulative (or copula), abbreviated [cop], e.g., become, seem,
appear, feel, be, grow, or look, and with the following
subcategorization frame:
• ____ NP Priya is a chemist.
• ____ AP Priya seems tired.
• ____ PP Priya is in a good mood.
• Or, more concisely:
• ____ {NP, AP, PP}

10.

• The complement here serves the function of subject complement (sC). (You
may know this function by one of its other names: predicative nominative,
subject(ive) predicative, and so on.) It is important to distinguish an NP
serving as direct object from an NP serving as subject complement. A
subject complement characterizes the subject: it identi es, locates, or
describes the subject, as in Bill is the leader, Bill is in the living room, and
Bill is irritable. It expresses either a current state or a resulting state of the
subject, as in Bill is rich and Bill became rich. A test distinguishing dO from
sC is that the dO can become the subject of a passive sentence, while the sC
cannot:
• Martina became a lawyer. ⇒ *A lawyer was become by Martina.
• Martina saw a lawyer. ⇒ A lawyer was seen by Martina.

11.

Copula constructions
• The division between COPULA and NON-COPULA constructions is
the topmost one; constructions are divided into COPULA and NONCOPULA, then each of these divides into DECLARATIVE and
INTERROGATIVE, and so on.

12.

• COPULA CONSTRUCTIONS
• a. NP Copula AP Fiona is very happy.
• [COPULA, ASCRIPTIVE]
• b. NP Copula NP Fiona is the best student.
• [COPULA, EQUATIVE]
• c. NP Copula PP Fiona is in Auchtermuchty.
• [COPULA, LOCATIVE]

13.

• Ascriptive copula clauses are used to ascribe a property to an entity.
• a. NP Copula AP Fiona is very happy.
• [COPULA, ASCRIPTIVE]
• In (a), happiness is ascribed to Fiona
• Equative copula clauses are used to state that one entity is identical with another entity.
• b. NP Copula NP Fiona is the best student.
• [COPULA, EQUATIVE]
• Speakers use (b) to say, on the assumption that there are two entities Fiona and the best student,
that these two entities are one and the same person. Fiona is equated to the best student.
• The construction [COPULA, LOCATIVE] is used in order to state where some entity is located.
• c. NP Copula PP Fiona is in Auchtermuchty.
• [COPULA, LOCATIVE]

14.

Complex Transitive
• 5. Complex Transitive, abbreviated [complex trans], with the
following subcategorization frame:
• ____ NP NP We consider him a fool.
• ____ NP AP She made him unhappy.
• ____ NP PP They regard that as the best design.
• Or more concisely:
• ____ NP {NP,AP,PP}

15.

• There are two subclasses of verbs in this category:
• a. nonlocative: nd, consider, make, think, elect, call, hold, regard (as),
take (for), devote (to) ; and
• b. locative: hang, put, place, lay, set, touch, shoot, pierce.

16.

• The complex transitive verb combines the transitive and the
copulative structures. The rst NP is a direct object; the
second element is an object complement (oC) (also known as
an object(ive) predicative). The object complement
characterizes the object in the same way as the subject
complement characterizes the subject: it identi es, describes,
or locates the object (as in We chose Bill as group leader, We
consider him a fool, She laid the baby in the crib), expressing
either its current state or resulting state (as in They found him
in the kitchen, She made him angry).

17.

• Note that “be” or some other copula verb can often be inserted
between the direct object and the object complement (e.g., I consider
him to be a fool, We chose Bill to be group leader, They found him to
be in the kitchen). Like the subject complement, too, the object
complement cannot usually become the subject of a passive sentence
(though the direct object can):
• We consider him a fool.*A fool is considered him (by us).
• He is considered a fool (by us).

18.

• 6. Prepositional, abbreviated
subcategorization frame:
[prep],
with
the
following
• ____ PP He agreed to the terms.
• She stood on the ladder.
• There are two subclasses of verbs in this category:
• a. locative: stand, lie, lean, hang, sit, ow; and
• b. nonlocative: agree (to), work (for), depend (on), look (into), refer
(to), insist (on), respond (to).

19.

• In the case with nonlocative verbs, the verb and
preposition seem to form a close syntactic and
semantic unit; the particular preposition
occurring with a verb is idiosyncratic and must
be learned. The PP here serves as a complement.
To avoid confusion with the OP, it is called a
prepositional complement (pC).

20.

• 7. Diprepositional, abbreviated [diprep], e.g., confer, talk, consult,
with the following
• subcategorization frame:
• ____ PP PP She argued with him about money.

21.

• Latent objects. One of the difficulties for verb
subcategorization in English is that it is sometimes
possible to omit the direct object when it is understood
from context, as in the case of He ate being understood
as ‘He ate dinner’ in a certain context. In such cases,
the object can be understood as being latent.

22.

• How can you tell, then, when the verb is really transitive with a latent object, and when it
is really intransitive? A few tests can be applied to the verbs in question. When the verb
has a remarkably different meaning without an object than with an object, then we can
assume that it is truly intransitive, not transitive with a latent object:
• – The workers struck last month. [intrans]
• The worker struck the match. [trans]
• – He played outside all afternoon. [intrans]
• He played the piano all afternoon. [trans]
• If the object is irrelevant, then the verb is likewise intransitive since the object is not
necessary at all:
• Groucho smokes. [intrans]
• I was reading all the time. [intrans]
• Wyatt left yesterday. [intrans]

23.

Subject and Predicate
• In constructing our phrase structure grammar of English, we begin
with the initial symbol S=sentence. We all have an intuitive idea of
what counts as a sentence. It is a tenet of both traditional and
generative grammar that S consists of two constituents: the subject
(Su) and the predicate (pred). The subject is variously de ned as the
topic, the actor, or that which is spoken about. The predicate is de ned
as the comment, the action, or that which is said about the subject; it
says something true or false about the subject.

24.

• Note the different structures serving the function of subject in the following
sentences:
• The man could open the door.
TruZes are a kind of fungus.
• The house on the corner is for sale.
• She went to see who was at the door.
• The rain and fog dissipated.
There are ve cats in the hall.
• The lm that I saw last night was depressing.
• It is possible that Alfred will know the answer.
It is raining.

25.

• It and there are special kinds of “dummy” subjects
called expletives; structurally they ll the position of
subject but are lexically empty. There are two kinds of
meaningless it, the impersonal it in It is raining, where
there is no personal subject, and the anticipatory it in It
is possible…, where the real subject that Alfred will
know the answer occurs at the end of the sentence and
it lls the normal subject position.

26.

• The predicate is generally what remains of a simple sentence after the
subject is removed. As you can see in the sentences above, a verb
stands alone in the predicate (dissipated) in one example and is the
main element constituting the predicate in the other examples. The
category of the predicate is thus the verb phrase. A test for predicate is
to see whether the sequence may be replaced by do so/do too:
• Ronny swam a race and so did Matty/Matty did too.