Main verb
determines the other clause elements
Regular
v.
Irregular
Single word
v.
Multi word
The pattern of these other clause elements is called the VALENCY PATTERN
AUXILIARY VERBS occur before a main verb and qualify the meaning of the verb. They
express verb aspect, voice and modality.
Verbs can be grouped into 3 major classes, according to their ability to function as main verbs or
auxiliary verbs:
LEXICAL VERBS
PRIMARY VERBS
MODAL VERBS
function only as
auxiliary verbs
L.V. are sometimes called full verbs. They are more common than primary verbs or modal verbs
Most of them have REGULAR endings for forming the past and the present tense.
E.g. call | calls | called
eat | ate
Besides, in English grammar lexical verbs often occur as multi word units: e.g. turn or | look at
They form a separate class because they can be used either as a MAIN VERB or as an AUXILIARY
VERB:
E.g.
Activity Verbs
Verbs of Aspect
Communication
Verbs
Verbs of
Existence or
relationship
Mental Verbs
Verbs of
Occurrence
Causative
Verbs
They usually refer to a volitional activity that is, an action performed intentionally by an agent or doer.
So the subject performs the action by choice.
E.g.: He bought biscuits and condensed milk.
Bring
Buy
Come
Follow
Take
Get
Give
Go
Leave
Try
Make
Meet
Move
Pay
Use
Play
Put
Run
Show
Work
E.g.: During that time continents, oceans and mountain chains have moved horizontally and vertically.
Theyre a special subcategory of activity verbs that involve communication activities, describing speech
and writing:
E.g.: Stop that, he shouted.
Call
Claim
Describe
Offer
Say
Speak
Suggest
Talk
Tell
Thanks
Write
Some mental verbs describe mental activities, which are relatively dynamic in meaning (decide, study, discover) and
others describe a state rather than an action (are more stative in meaning)
Believe
Think
Remember
Mean
Like
Find
Consider
Understand
See
Need
Listen
Hear
Expect
Want
Suppose
Read
Love
know
feel
wonder
Verbs such as allow, cause, force and help, indicate that some person or thing helps to bring about a new
state of affairs. They often occur with a derived noun as the direct object, which reports the action that
was facilitated.
E.g. Still other rules cause the deletion of elements from the structure. (AP)
In other cases, the resulting action or event is expressed in a complement clause following the causative
verb:
E.g. What cause you to be ill?
Help
Let
Require
Verbs of occurrence report events that occur without an actor. Often the subjects of these verbs are
affected by the event that is described by the verb.
E.g. The lights changed.
Common verbs:
Become
Change
Develop
Grow
Happen
Occur
Die
These verbs report a state of existence or a logical relationship that exists between entities.
Some of the most common are copular verbs, such as seem and appear:
E.g. Witnesses said he appeared happy and relaxed.
Other verbs in this class report a state of existence or a relationship between entities:
State of existence I go and stay with them
Appear
Contain
Exist
Include
Indicate
Involve
Live
Look
Represent
Seem
Stand
Stay
They characterize the stage of progress of an event or activity. They usually occur with a complement
clause following the verb.
E.g. She kept running out of the room
continue
keep
start
stop
Many verbs have more than one meaning. In some cases, the verbs meaning covers two or ore semantic
categories simultaneously.
Eg: the verbs HESITATE and PRETEND can convey the physical activity aspects of hesitating and
pretending as well as the mental aspect.
She hesitated and then said Why not.
Also some verbs have different meanings in different contexts (particularly activity verbs):
Eg: raise: a physical activity or an act of communication: raise our hand or raise the subject.
Look: a physical action (look down), to a mental process (look at the offer) or to a state of existence (you look happy)
The main verb in a clause determines the other elements that are required in that clause
The pattern of the clause elements is called the valency pattern for the verb
The patterns are differentiated by the required clause elements that follow the verb within the
clause
All valency patterns include a subject, and can admit an optional adverbial
VERBS
COPULAR
TRANSITIVE
INTRANSITIVE
MONOTRANSITIVE
(S+V+DO)
DITRANSITIVE
(S+V+IO+DO)
COMPLEX TRANSITIVE
(V+DO+COMPLEMENT)
PATTERN:
subject
verb
More people
came.
PATTERN:
subject verb
Direct object
She
carried
They occur with 2 object phrases: an indirect object and a direct object.
PATTERN:
subject
verb
Indirect object
Direct object
Fred Unsworth
gave
her
PATTERNS:
subject
verb
Direct object
Object Predicative
People
called
him
Johnny.
PATTERNS:
Obligatory adverbial:
DO+ to inf. Clause: They intended Maria to sing an aria
DO+ bare inf. Clause: They had me repeat the message
DO+
DO+
subject
verb
Direct object
Obligatory adverbial
He
put
His hand
An obligatory adverbial
PATTERN:
subject
verb
Subject predicative
Carrie
felt
Subject verb
I
ll keep
Obligatory Adverbial
In touch with you
The monotransitive, ditransitive and complex transitive patterns are TRANSITIVE PATTERNS (they all
require some type of object)
The most common structure for the objects is a NP (but not the only one):
Monotransitive pattern with a complement clause as OD
subject
Direct object
He wasthegoing
Ditransitive He
pattern with a said
Prep P expressing
IO to make a copy
subject
verb
verb
Direct object
Indirect object
thefor
FBI
Ditransitive He
pattern with a gave
NP for theallIOthat
and ainfo
complement to
clause
the OD
subject
verb
Indirect object
Direct object
Staff in the
information office
told
me (NP)
(Then)
subject
verb
Optional adverbial
He
went
They
fell
In the sea
verb
Object
Optional adverbial
He
Ate
Tonight
He
left
it
In the bushes
Grammarians sometimes identify a verb as an intransitive verb or a transitive verb. However, most
common verbs allow more than one valency pattern, and some allow a wide range.
Speak and help can occur with intransitive and monotransitive patterns
Intransitive
Monotransitive
Find and
make can occur in the monotransitive
or complex transitive patterns
Simon spoke first.
Monotransitive
Complex transitive