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PHRASES II
1. Verb phrase
A verb phrase is a phrase with a lexical verb as head. It may contain a single lexical verb or a
string of verbs comprising one or more auxiliary verbs and a lexical verb. While finite verb
forms give rise to finite VPs as in I play tennis every Saturday, non-finite verb forms give rise to
non-finite VPs as in playing tennis every Saturday. In the case of verb strings, it is the form of
the first verb that determines whether the verb phrase is finite or non-finite. The various
meanings expressed by the English verb phrase are conveyed by the patterns created by the four
grammatical categories of a verb, namely tense, aspect, mood and voice.
The tense of a verb indicates the time when an action, state or event takes place. In English,
verbs change their finite form to express only two tenses: present and past. English expresses
events or states in the future not by changing the form of the verb, as in the case with the present
and past tenses, but by other means.
The aspect of a verb refers to whether an event is complete or in progress. English distinguishes
between two aspects: perfective aspect and progressive (or continuous) aspect.
The perfective aspect is oh three types: present perfective, past perfective and future perfective.
The present perfect simple connects the past and the present. It is used to talk about an event
that has gone on up to the present. The past perfect simple is used to talk about something which
had happened before a given event that took place in the past. The future perfect simple is used
to talk about an action that will have been completed by a certain time in the future.
The progressive aspect of a verb indicates that an action or event is, was, has been, had been,
will be or will have been in progress for a period of time. The progressive aspect has the
following form: be + the -ing form of the lexical verb. Non-progressive forms are known as
simple forms.
The mood of a verb indicates the attitude of the speaker towards what he/she is saying. There
are four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive and conditional.
The indicative mood is used to indicate facts, it is the most common mood, and it is divided into
tenses.
The imperative mood is used to give commands or instructions, it has no tenses, and correspond
to the base form of the verb.
The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish, hope or uncertainly towards a fact or an idea, it
has two tenses: present and past. The subjunctive normally occurs in the subordinate clause of
three types: a) if clauses expressing an unreal condition in the present (If I were in Scotland I
would like to visit Edinburgh); b) in statements expressing a wish that will not come true (I wish
Stephen were here with me now); and c) in clauses following verbs of asking, demanding,
requesting and suggesting (I asked that Peter be present at out meeting today). In spoken
English the past subjunctive is rare, the past simple is used instead.
The present conditional is used to express polite wishes, requests and preferences (What would
you like to drink?). It is also used in the main clause of an unreal hypothetical statement in the
present (If I earned more money I would buy myself a flat); in reported speech when the
reporting verb is in the past simple tense and the direct speech is in the future simple (She said:
“I’ll leave soon” – She said she would leave soon); and finally, to express future in the past
(They would fight for years before gaining their freedom).
