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  • Intransitive English Verbs
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    Intransitive English Verbs

    Notional grammars define verbs as “action or state of being words.” Main verbs, or principal verbs, fall into five categories in English grammar. Intransitive verbs are English verbs that cannot or do not take objects. Intransitive verbs cannot occur within passive constructions. Some common intransitive English verbs include the following: collapse cough cry die disappear […] More

  • Using Prepositional Phrases as Prepositional Complements
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    Using Prepositional Phrases as Prepositional Complements

    Traditional notional grammars define prepositions as words that “link to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “express spatial or temporal relations.” A prepositional phrase is a phrase that consists of a preposition plus another word, phrase, or clause functioning as the prepositional complement. In grammar, a prepositional complement is a word, phrase, or clause […] More

  • Using Verbs and Verb Phrases as Verb Phrase Complements
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    Using Verbs and Verb Phrases as Verb Phrase Complements

    Traditional grammars notionally define verbs as words that “describe an action or a state of being.” Verb phrases consist of a verb functioning as the head of the phrase plus any auxiliaries, infinitive markers, particles, modifiers, objects, and complements. An infinitive phrase consists of the p-word to functioning as an infinitive marker plus the rest […] More

  • Using Prepositional Phrases as Verb Phrase Complements
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    Using Prepositional Phrases as Verb Phrase Complements

    Traditional grammars notionally define prepositions as words that “link to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “express spatial or temporal relations.” A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus another word, phrase, or clause that functions as a prepositional complement. In grammar, a verb phrase complement is a word, phrase, or clause that completes […] More

  • English Catenative Verbs
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    English Catenative Verbs

    Similar to modal verbs in distinctness, catenative verbs are a unique verb form to the English language. Catenative verbs form strings of verbs by linking the catenative verb to an infinitive, present participle, or base form of another verb within a single verb phrase. The adjective catenative — derived from the verb catenate — means […] More

  • The Verb Phrase Complement in English Grammar
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    The Verb Phrase Complement in English Grammar

    Verb phrase complements are words and phrases that complete the meaning of a verb or verb phrase. Unlike verb phrase modifiers that modify or describe a verb or verb phrase, verb phrase modifiers complete the meaning of the verb or verb phrase. Two grammatical forms can function as verb phrase complements. The two grammatical forms […] More

  • Prepositional Verb Dictionary
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    Prepositional Verb Dictionary

    The prepositional verb is a common intransitive verb form in the English language. Prepositional verbs consist of a verb plus a prepositional phrase that functions as a verb phrase complement. For more information about prepositional verbs, see Prepositional Verbs and Verb Phrase Complements. See also the Phrasal Verb Dictionary. A abide by – Abide by […] More

  • Grammatical Functions of English Verbs and Verb Phrases
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    Grammatical Functions of English Verbs and Verb Phrases

    English verbs and verb phrases perform seven primary grammatical functions within sentences in the English language. Traditional grammars define verbs as words that name actions and states. Verb phrases consist of a verb plus any modifiers, complements, particles, and auxiliaries. The seven prototypical functions of English verbs and verbs phrases are: Verb phrase head Predicate […] More

  • Prepositional Verbs and Verb Phrase Complements
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    Prepositional Verbs and Verb Phrase Complements

    Verbs are traditionally defined as “words that indicate action or state of being.” English verbs may be either transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs require direct objects and may also take indirect objects. For example, the verb eat in the rabbit ate the lettuce is transitive because of the direct object the lettuce. Conversely, intransitive verbs […] More

  • Forms of the English Predicate
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    Forms of the English Predicate

    A clause in English grammar is defined as a grammatical structure that contains both a subject and a predicate. The subject always precedes the predicate in declarative sentences. However, the form of the predicate varies depending on the clause. The six forms of the predicate in English grammar are: Subject – Verb Subject – Verb […] More

  • Grammatical Functions of English Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
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    Grammatical Functions of English Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

    Traditional grammars define prepositions as words that “link to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “express spatial or temporal relations.” Prepositional phrases are phrases that consist of a preposition plus another word, phrase, or clause functioning as a prepositional complement. Prepositions and prepositional phrase perform six primary grammatical functions within sentences in the English […] More