Grammar: Groups & phrases: Verb group: Structure of the verb group

Overview

Function and structure of the verb group

The function of the verb group in the clause is to express the happening or Process:

The children  chased  the ghost.
      Doer           Process      Done-To

In this example the verb group chased expresses what is happening in the clause. We express different kinds of 'happenings' through verbs of thinking, feeling, saying, naming and describing. All such verbs are 'lexical' verbs, ie they have a meaning we can look up in a dictionary. However, a verb group is typically made up of a lexical verb, which is the 'main' verb in a verb group, and 'auxiliary' verbs of various types, and it may even have two main verbs as well as auxiliary verbs. In other words, the verb group has a structure which is made up of different elements or forms. These forms perform different functions in the verb group, whereas the verb group as a whole performs a particular function in the clause, ie it expresses the Process or happening.

The structure of a verb group may be very simple, consisting of just a main verb:

Granny Gong  chased  the ghost around the flat.                     verb group

But the verb group structure may also be very complex, consisting of a main verb plus a mixture of 'auxiliary verbs' (have, be), the 'do auxiliary verb' and one of a number of 'modal auxiliary verbs' (can, could, may, might), and even an expression of 'negative polarity':

Granny Gong should not have been chasing the ghost around the flat.
                                 v e r b   g r o u p

In addition to the complexity created by the different types and the number of auxiliaries that may be part of the verb group, the main verb itself may be 'complex', ie it may consist of a verb + particle (phrasal verb) or of more than one verb (double verb construction), creating a verb group complex:

The plane  takes    off    at 8 o'clock. [phrasal verb]
                  verb + particle
                    v e r b   g r o u p

Kitty  loved     eating  moon cakes. [double verb construction]
       main verb   main verb
           verb group complex

Auxiliary + lexical verb

The basic structure of the verb group has the following sequence:

modal auxiliary verb (optional) + auxiliary verb (optional) + main verb

Here are some examples of different combinations of auxiliary verbs with the main verb:

Granny Gong has  chased  the ghost under the table.                      aux   main verb                           v e r b   g r o u p

The ghost is    slipping  through Bozo's hands.                 aux   main verb                    v e r b   g r o u p

We can use the two auxiliaries have and be together:

The ghost has    been   breaking  things.                 aux 1   aux 2      main verb                          v  e  r  b     g  r  o  u  p

Another auxiliary verb is the do auxiliary verb, used in two grammatical structures, ie the interrogative and the negative with not:

Did  Bozo  catch   the ghost?   do aux           main verb   verb ...          ... group

Granny Gong does     not     believe the ghost.                    do aux   negative   main verb                                      v e r b   g r o u p

In the examples above the do auxiliary expresses no meaning of any kind but simply functions as a 'helper' verb to create a grammatical structure.

However, there are two different uses of do which are 'meaningful': one as auxiliary verb to provide 'emphasis', and the other as main verb to create lexical meaning in conjunction with a noun. In this example the do auxiliary provides emphasis, possibly to counter Granny Gong's disbelief:

The ghost  did     enter   the flat through the keyhole.                do aux  main verb                      v e r b   g r o u p

In the example below did functions as a main verb. However, it has no lexical or dictionary meaning of its own. The meaning is created in combination with the noun homework, ie in this case we could say that the meaning of did + homework is something like 'homeworked'. 

Bozo     did    his homework in class.           main verb              noun            verb group        noun group

Another set of auxiliary verbs are the modal auxiliary verbs (can, could, may, might, must, will, shall), which we use to express the obligation to do something, the likelihood of something happening, the inclination and ability to do something, etc:

"We   must      catch   this ghost," said Granny Gong.
       modal aux   main verb
              v e r b   g r o u p

And of course we can combine various auxiliary verbs:

"We should   have  caught  that ghost," said Granny Gong.
       modal aux    aux   main verb
                   v e r b   g r o u p

Voice: active and passive

The auxiliary be is also used to express the 'passive voice':

The ghost    was     caught   in a bottle.                 aux verb   main verb                        v e r b   g r o u p   [passive]

Granny Gong   caught  the ghost in a bottle.                       main verb                            verb group    [active]

Phrasal verbs

'Phrasal verbs' are made up of two or three words which form a short 'phrase' but function like a single lexical verb:

Bozo  turned   on   the television.             verb    particle            v e r b   g r o u p

The phrasal verb turn on means to 'activate', just as turn off means to 'deactivate'.

Ricky knocked  over  a glass.               verb       particle                v e r b   g r o u p

The phrasal verb knock over means to 'upset' some physical object, like a glass or even a person. 

Phrasal verbs are formed with prepositions and adverbs but since these two word classes overlap, we use the term 'particle' for both except when we need to make a distinction. 

Phrasal verbs, especially those formed with adverbs, can often be replaced by a single verb with similar meaning (bring back = 'return', hand over = 'give'). Sometimes the meaning of a phrasal verb may be guessed but they are much better learned as a single unit. 

Double verb constructions

Combinations of two lexical verbs are very common in English:

Granny Gong   tried        to       catch   the ghost.
                    main verb   particle   main verb
                                 v  e  r  b     g  r  o  u  p

Kitty   likes     playing  computer games. 
        main verb  main verb
               v e r b   g r o u p

The second lexical verb is either in the to + base form or the -ing form. These two forms differ in meaning, in these examples by contrasting 'intention' (tries to + base verb) with 'action' (likes + -ing form).

For a summary of the relationship between the forms and functions of the elements of the verb group, click here: