Compound verb predicate. What is a predicate

Predicate- the main member of a two-part sentence, denoting an action or sign of what is expressed by the subject.

Predicate has a lexical meaning (names what is communicated about the reality named in the subject) and grammatical meaning (characterizes the statement from the point of view of reality or unreality and the correlation of the statement with the moment of speech, which is expressed by the forms of the mood of the verb, and in the indicative mood - and time).

There are three main types of predicates: simple verb, compound verb And compound nominal .

Simple verbal predicate, ways of expressing it


Simple verb predicate
(PGS) can be expressed in one word And ambiguous .

PGS- one word :

1) verb in conjugated form, that is, the form of one of the moods; in these cases, the predicate agrees with the subject: He read / is reading / will read / would read / let him read / this book.

2) verbal interjection or infinitive; There is no agreement between the predicate and the subject: And bang the hat right on the floor. As soon as the music starts, the boy immediately starts dancing.

PGS- phrase :

1. PGS - phraseologically free , But syntactically related phrase - may have the following structure and typical value:

1) repetition of the verb form to indicate the duration of the action:
I walk and walk, but it’s still a long way to the forest.

2) repetition of the verb form with a particle like this to indicate an intense or fully accomplished action:
That's what he said.

3) repetition of the same verb in different forms or verbs of the same root to enhance the meaning of the predicate:
He doesn’t sleep himself and doesn’t let others sleep.
I can't wait for spring.

4) a semantic verb with an auxiliary verb form that has lost or weakened its lexical meaning and introduces additional semantic shades into the sentence:
And he just say / know and sings to himself.

5) two verbs in the same grammatical form to denote an action and its purpose:
I'll go for a walk in the garden.

6) a verb with the particle was, introducing the meaning of a failed action:
I was getting ready to go to the cinema, but didn’t go.

7) design with an action intensity value:
All he does is sleep.

2. PGS- phraseological unit denotes a single action, indivisible in meaning into an action and its material object; in most cases, this phraseological unit can be replaced by one verb: to take part, to come to one's senses, to become enraged, to sound the alarm, to have the opportunity, to have the intention, to have the habit, to have the honor, to have the right; express a desire, burn with desire, acquire a habit, consider oneself entitled, consider it necessary etc.:

He took part in the conference(=participated).


Compound verb predicate
(GHS) has the following structure:
preinfinitive part + infinitive.

Infinitive expresses the main lexical meaning of the predicate - names the action.

Pre-infinitive part expresses the grammatical meaning of the predicate, as well as an additional characteristic of the action - an indication of its beginning, middle or end (phasic meaning) or possibility, desirability, degree of commonness and other characteristics that describe the attitude of the subject of the action to this action (modal meaning).

Phase value expressed by verbs become, begin (start), accept (accept), continue (continue), cease (cease), stop (cease) and some others (most often these are synonyms for the given words, characteristic of a colloquial style of speech):

I started/continued/finished reading this book.

Modal meaning can be expressed

1) verbs be able, able, want, desire, try, intend, dare, refuse, think, prefer, get used to, love, hate, beware, etc.

2) a linking verb to be (in the present time in the zero form) + short adjectives glad, ready, obliged, must, intend, capable, as well as adverbs and nouns with a modal meaning:

I was willing/willing/able to wait.

The phraseological unit can be used both in the pre-infinitive part and in the infinitive position:

He is looking forward to participating in the conference(= wants to participate)
He wants to take part in the conference(= wants to participate).
He eager to take part at the conference(= wants to participate).

The complication of the GHS occurs due to the additional use of a modal or phase verb in its composition:

I started to feel hungry.
I felt that I might soon begin to feel hungry.

A special type of GHS is presented in sentences, the main members of which are expressed by verbs in an indefinite form: To be afraid of wolves, do not go into the forest. The auxiliary part of such predicates is atypical for compound verbs: it is represented by the linking verb to be, which is found in compound nominal predicates. In addition, the auxiliary part can also be represented by the verb mean, for example:


Not coming means offending.

The following predicates are not compound verbal predicates:

1) the compound form of the future tense of an imperfective verb in the indicative mood: I will work tomorrow;
2) a combination of a simple verbal predicate with an infinitive, occupying the position of complement in the sentence in the case of different subjects of action in the conjugated form of the verb and the infinitive: Everyone asked her.underline ( border-bottom: 1px dashed blue; ) to sing (everyone asked her, but she should sing);
3) a combination of a simple verbal predicate with an infinitive, which in a sentence is a circumstance of the goal: He went outside for a walk.

It is easy to notice that in all these cases the conjugated form of the verb, standing before the infinitive, has neither phase nor modal meaning.

Compound nominal predicate

Compound nominal predicate(SIS) has the following structure:
nominal part (ligament) + nominal part.

Nominal part expresses the lexical meaning of the predicate.

Administrative part expresses the grammatical or grammatical and part of the lexical meaning of the predicate.


Administrative part
It happens:

1) abstract: the verb to be (in the meaning of “to appear” and not “to be” or “to have”), which expresses only the grammatical meaning of the predicate - mood, tense, person / gender, number; in the present tense, the abstract connective appears in the zero form: He is a student / was a student.

2) semi-nominal (semi-abstract): verbs appear (appear), happen, appear (seem), introduce yourself (introduce yourself), become (become), become (become), stay (remain), count, etc., which express the grammatical meaning of the predicate and complement the meaning expressed by the nominal part; these verbs are usually not used without a nominal part.

For example: He turned out to be a student. She seemed tired.

3) significant (full-valued): verbs of movement, state, activity go, walk, run, return, sit, stand, lie, work, live, etc.

For example: We returned home tired. He worked as a janitor. He lived as a hermit.

Significant And semi-significantbunch when determining the type of predicate, it can be replaced by an abstract one.

The nominal part can be expressed mono-wordly or non-wordly.

One-word noun phrase :

1) a noun in case form, often in the nominative case. / instrumental case.

For example: He is/was a teacher. The skirt was checkered.

2) an adjective in full and short form, in the form of any degree of comparison.

For example: His words were smart. He became taller than his father. He is the tallest in the class.

3) full or short participle: Letter was not printed .

4) pronoun: This pencil is mine!

5) numeral: He was eighth in line.

6) adverb: The conversation will be frank. I felt sorry for the old man.

Non-word expression of the nominal part:

1) a phraseologically free, but syntactically related phrase can have the following structure:

a) a word with a quantitative meaning + a noun in the genitive case.

For example: The boy was five years old.

b) a noun with words dependent on it, if the noun itself is uninformative, and the semantic center of the statement is located precisely in the words dependent on the name (the noun itself in this case can be dropped from the sentence with almost no loss of meaning).

For example: He is the best student in the class.

2) phraseological unit: He was the talk of the town.

The connective part can also be expressed by phraseological units:


He looked gloomy and distracted
- phraseological unit in the connective part;

A compound nominal predicate, like a compound verb, can be complicated by introducing a modal or phase auxiliary verb into it.

For example: She wanted to appear tired. He gradually began to become an expert in this field.

In this chapter:

§1. The main parts of a sentence are the subject and the predicate.

Subject

The subject is the main member of a sentence, independent of other members of the sentence. The subject answers the questions of the IP: who? What?

The subject of a sentence is expressed in different ways.

What is the subject expressed by?

The subject can be a word or phrase.

Most often the subject is expressed:

1) noun: mother, laughter, love;
2) words that have the function of a noun: nouns derived from adjectives or participles: patient, manager, greeter, ice cream, dining room;
3) pronouns: we, no one, anything;
4) numerals: three, five;
5) indefinite form of the verb: Smoking is harmful to health;
6) a phrase, if it has the meaning:
a) togetherness: husband and wife, duck and ducklings, me and my friend;
b) uncertainty or generality: Something unfamiliar appeared in the distance. One of the guests closed the window;
c) quantities: 2 million people live in the city;
d) selectivity: Any of them could become the first. Most students passed the test;
e) phraseological unit: The white nights have come.

Predicate

Predicate- this is the main member of the sentence, denoting what is said about the subject, which is the subject. The predicate depends on the subject and agrees with it. It answers various questions: what does the object do? what's happening to him? what is he like? Who is he? what is this? what is the subject? All these questions are variations of the question: what is being said about the subject? The choice of a specific question depends on the structure of the sentence.

The predicate contains the most important grammatical characteristic of a sentence: its grammatical meaning.

Grammatical meaning- this is the generalized meaning of a sentence, which characterizes its content in terms of two parameters:

  • reality-irreality,
  • time.

Reality-irreality expressed by the mood of the verb.

  • Verbs in the indicative mood are characteristic of statements that reflect the real situation: It’s raining, It’s getting light.
  • Verbs in the imperative and conditional moods are characteristic of sentences that reflect not a real, but a desirable situation. Don't forget your umbrella! I wish it didn't rain today!

Time- an indicator of the correlation of the situation with the moment of speech. Time is expressed by verb forms of present, past and future tense.

Simple and compound predicate

The predicate in two-part sentences can be simple or compound. Compounds are divided into compound verbal and compound nominal.

Simple predicate- this is a type of predicate in which the lexical and grammatical meanings are expressed in one word. A simple predicate is always a verb. It is expressed by a verb in the form of one of the moods. In the indicative mood, verbs can be in one of three tenses: present - past - future.

He knows poetry by heart.

indicative mood, present time

He knew the poems by heart.

indicative mood, past time

He will learn poetry by heart.

indicative mood, bud. time

You will learn these verses by heart.

imperative

In a circle you would learn poetry by heart.

conditional mood

Compound predicate- this is a type of predicate in which the lexical and grammatical meanings are expressed in different words.
If in a simple verbal predicate the lexical and grammatical meanings are expressed in one word, then in a compound predicate they are expressed in different words. For example:

Suddenly the baby stopped singing and started laughing.

He stopped singing and started laughing - compound predicates. The words sing, laugh call an action, while expressing lexical meaning. The grammatical meaning is expressed by the words: stopped, started

Compound predicates are verbal and nominal.

Compound verb predicate

A compound verbal predicate is a predicate consisting of an auxiliary word and an indefinite form of the verb. Examples:

He finished working.

I want to help you.

Auxiliary words are divided into two groups:

1) verbs with the meaning of the beginning-continuation-end of an action, for example: start, finish, continue, stop, stop;

2) verbs and short adjectives with the meaning of possibility, desirability, necessity: be able, able, want, want, wish, strive, try; glad, ready, must, obliged, intends.

In a compound verbal predicate, auxiliary words express the grammatical meaning, and the indefinite form of the verb expresses the lexical meaning of the predicate.

If the auxiliary word is a short adjective, then it is used with a connective. The connective is the verb to be. Here are relevant examples with the copula in the past tense:

I was so glad to meet you!

In the present tense the word is is not used, it is omitted: the connective is zero, for example:

I'm so glad to meet you!

In the future tense, the connective be is put in the future tense. Example:

I'll be glad to meet you.

Compound nominal predicate

A compound nominal is a predicate consisting of a linking verb and a nominal part. Linking verbs express the grammatical meaning of the predicate, and the nominal part expresses its lexical meaning.

1. The linking verb to be expresses only grammatical meaning. Yesterday she was beautiful. In the present tense the copula is zero: She is beautiful.

2. Linking verbs become, become, become, appear, be considered, appear, be called, introduce themselves: The house from afar seemed like a dot.

3. Linking verbs with the meaning of movement or location in space: come, arrive, sit, lie, stand: The mother returned from work tired. The mother sat thoughtful, sad.

In all these cases, linking verbs can be replaced by the verb to be. The sentences will be synonymous, for example:

The mother sat thoughtful, sad. Synonymous: The mother was thoughtful, sad.

He was considered the most talented of us. Synonymous: He was the most talented of us.

With such a replacement, of course, all the nuances of meaning are not conveyed. Therefore, the language offers various linking verbs that emphasize different shades of meaning.

Combinations of linking verbs with auxiliary words are possible: She dreamed of becoming an actress.

The nominal part of a compound nominal predicate

The nominal part of a compound nominal predicate is expressed in Russian in different ways, and, paradoxically, not only by names. Although the most common and characteristic is the use of names as the nominal part of a compound nominal predicate: nouns, adjectives, numerals. Naturally, names can be replaced by pronouns. And since the role of adjectives and participles is similar, participles can also appear along with adjectives. Adverbs and adverbial combinations are also possible in the nominal part. Examples:

1) noun: Mother is a doctor., Anastasia will be an actress.,

2) adjective: He grew up strong and handsome.,

3) numeral: Twice two is four.,

4) pronoun: You will be mine., Who was nobody will become everything (“International”),

5) participle: The essay turned out to be lost., The daughter was completely cured.,

6) adverb and adverbial combination: The shoes were just right. The trousers were just right.

The nominal part can contain not only individual words, but also syntactically indivisible phrases. Examples:

She ran into the room with a cheerful face.
She sat with thoughtful eyes.

It is impossible to say: She ran in with a face., She sat with eyes., because the phrases with a cheerful face and with thoughtful eyes are syntactically indivisible - this is the nominal part of a compound nominal predicate.

Test of strength

Find out your understanding of this chapter.

Final test

  1. Which parts of the sentence are considered the main ones?

    • subject and object
    • definition, circumstance and addition
    • subject and predicate
  2. Can the subject be expressed by words derived from adjectives or participles: manager, sick, in love?

  3. Can the subject be expressed in phrases, for example: me and my friends?

  4. What is the subject in the sentence: Any of you can prepare for the Unified State Exam and pass it successfully.?

    • any
    • any of you
  5. What characteristics are included in the grammatical meaning of a sentence?

    • reality - unreality and time
    • type and time
  6. Is it true that a simple verbal predicate is a predicate whose lexical and grammatical meaning is expressed by one verb?

  7. Is it true that a compound predicate is a special type of predicate whose lexical and grammatical meanings are expressed in different words?

  8. I can't help you.?

    • simple verb
    • compound verb
    • compound nominal
  9. What is the predicate in the sentence: He was always considered serious.?

    • simple verb
    • compound verb
    • compound nominal
  10. What is the predicate in the sentence: Twice two is four.?

    • simple verb
    • compound verb
    • compound nominal

What is a compound predicate?

A compound predicate is a predicate in which the lexical meaning and grammatical meaning are expressed not by one word, but by different words. The lexical meaning is expressed in the main part, and the grammatical meaning (tense and mood) is expressed in the auxiliary part.

Wed: He sang He started singing (compound verb predicate); He was sick two months(regular verb predicate). - He was sick two months(compound nominal predicate).

What is a compound verb predicate?

A compound verbal predicate is a predicate in which the lexical meaning is expressed by one verb, and the grammatical meaning by another.

What parts does a compound verb predicate consist of?

A compound verb predicate consists of two parts:

  • auxiliary part- a verb in conjugated form that expresses grammatical meaning (tense and mood) and additional characteristics of the action (see table below), the so-called auxiliary verb;
  • main part- indefinite form of the verb (infinitive), which expresses lexical meaning, i.e. names the main action.
  • For example: I started singing; I I wish to sing; I I'm afraid to sing(started, wish, fear- This auxiliary part of the predicate, infinitive sing- this is the main part).

    Note. It can be used both in the auxiliary part and in the place of the infinitive phraseological unit:

    He glowing with impatience participate at the conference(= wants to participate).

    He willing to accept the role at the conference(= wants to participate).

    He eager to take on the role at the conference(= wants to participate).

    Auxiliary verb meanings

    Common verbs and phraseological units

    Examples

    1. Phase (beginning, continuation, end of action)

    Start, become, start, continue, finish, stay, finish, quit, finish etc.

    He began to prepare to leave.
    He continued to prepare for departure.
    He quit smoking.
    He again began to talk about the hardships of rural life.

    2. Modal meaning (necessity, desirability, ability, disposition, sensory assessment of action, etc.)

    To be able, to be able to, to lust, to wish, to dream, to intend, to give up, to try, to try, to count, to be able to, to manage, to try, to believe, to get used to, to hurry, to be embarrassed, to endure, to adore, intolerant, to be afraid, to be afraid, to be cowardly, to be ashamed, to set a goal , to burn with desire, to have the honor, to have the intention, to make a promise, to have the habit etc.

    I can sing.
    I wish to sing.
    I'm afraid to sing.
    I love to sing.
    I'm ashamed to sing.
    I'm looking forward to singing this aria.

    How to find the syntactic role of the infinitive?

    Not any combination of a conjugated verb with an infinitive is a compound verbal predicate. In order for such a combination to be a compound verbal predicate, several criteria must be met:

  • The auxiliary verb must be lexically incomplete, that is, its 1st (in the absence of an infinitive) is not enough to understand what is being said in the sentence: I started- what to do? (no answer, the verb is lexically incomplete); I wish- what to do? (there is no answer either, the verb is lexically incomplete).
  • In that case, in the combination “verb + infinitive” the verb is full-valued, then it alone is an ordinary verbal predicate, and the infinitive is a minor member of the sentence: She(what did you do?) sat down(for what purpose?) relax(sat down- the verb is full-valued, meaning it is an ordinary verbal predicate, and infinitive relax- this is the goal event).
  • The action of the infinitive must relate to the subject (this is a subjective infinitive). In this case, the action of the infinitive refers to another member of the sentence (objective infinitive), then the infinitive is not part of the predicate, but is a minor member: I wish to sing (I wish to sing- a compound verb predicate, since Wish- me and sing I will be). I asked her to sing (asked- ordinary verb predicate, infinitive sing- addition, because asked- I, sing will be - she).
  • An infinitive can be a modifier, in which case it refers to a noun and answers a question Which?: There was a desire to sing (there was a desire- this is the basis of the proposal, appeared- a regular verbal predicate, because full verb; desire (what?) to sing- infinitive as a modifier).
  • Predicates expressed by the complex form of the future tense of the verb are not compound verbs: I'll be there tomorrow I'll work (this is a regular verb predicate).

    What is a complicated compound verb predicate?

    The aggravation occurs due to the consumption of additional modal or phasic verb(s) as part of a compound verbal predicate (see table above): I started to want to eat .I felt that soon I might start to want to eat (additional verbs are underlined).

    What are atypical cases of the structure of a compound verbal predicate?

  • A special class of compound verbal predicate is represented in sentences, the main members of which are expressed by verbs in the indefinite form. The auxiliary part of such predicates is atypical for compound verbs, because it is represented by a linking verb be, which occurs in compound nominal predicates (in real time it is omitted): To be afraid of wolves - go to the forest don't go (ligament be omitted). Not counting be, the auxiliary part can also be represented by a verb mean: Don't come - means to insult .
  • The auxiliary part of a compound verbal predicate can be expressed by a linking verb be(real time in zero form) + short adjectives glad, ready, must, should, wants, able, also adverbs and nouns with modal meaning:

    I was ready(not averse, able) wait.

  • Exercise on the topic “Differentiating between ordinary and compound verbal predicates.Syntactic role of the infinitive»

    Exercise: Highlight the grammatical bases of sentences. Determine the class of predicates. Determine the syntactic role of the infinitive.

    1. He was afraid to go to the doctors.

    2. A servant came to call me to the princess.

    3. The old woman left to take care of the departure.

    4. He asked me to arrange for his departure.

    5. The great state poet knows how to force both the master and the man to speak in their own language.

    6. I try to teach them respect for their native land.

    7. No amount of effort will allow a person to convey the charm of this day.

    8. In Moscow I will neither see you, nor write to you, nor call you.

    9. The rarest drops of rain began to knock heavily on the ground.

    10. The autumn rain will drizzle for a long time.

    11. And as if in response to her words, the rarest and warm rain quietly begins to rustle along the river and bushes.

    12. Behind the gate, dense, neglected alleys immediately began.

    13. The most sinister rumors began to circulate.

    14. They continued to sniffle, doze and yawn for 10 years.

    15. The sea periodically completely stopped making noise.

    16. And the blizzard, as if mocking, did not want to subside.

    17. Antonenko gave the order to people to leave the barge.

    18. I will not allow you to respond poorly to life in my presence.

    19. Tagilov did not go to Natalya’s for breakfast.

    20. She didn’t even have time to say hello to him.

    Source of material Internet site

  • Chapter “Compound predicates. Compound verbal predicate” in the manual by L.V. Balashova, V.V. Dementieva “Russian language course”
  • Chapter “Compound verbal predicate” in the manual by E.I. Litnevskaya “Russian language: a laconic theoretical course for schoolchildren”
  • Additionally on the site:

  • What is a predicate?
  • What types of predicates are there?
  • Which predicate is considered complicated?
  • What parts of speech express the predicate?
  • How is the usual verb predicate expressed?
  • What is a complicated ordinary verb predicate?
  • Where can I find examples of predicates expressed by phraseological units?
  • What sentences are there with one main member - the predicate?
  • What are the methods of expressing the usual verb predicate?
  • What particles can be part of a regular verbal predicate?
  • How to distinguish an ordinary verbal predicate, expressed by a phraseological unit, from a compound nominal predicate?
  • What examples are there of agreeing a predicate with a subject that has an application (theater studio, reference book)?
  • How to coordinate a predicate with a subject that has an application (cafe-dining room, sofa-bed)?
  • And a preposition with an adverb, which is one member of a sentence and thus forms an integral semantic unit. A sentence can contain both a direct and indirect object of a compound verb.

    Compound verbs are particularly common in English. A compound verb often has a meaning very different from that of the main verb.

    According to Tom MacArthur:

    Other designations for a compound verb are the phrases “phrasal verb”, “combination of a verb and an adverb”, “verb group and particle”, “two-word verb”, “three-word verb”, “multi-word verb”.

    The preposition and adverb used in a compound verb are also called grammatical particles because they are fixed words that do not receive affixes.

    Compound verbs in spoken English

    Compound verbs in English are generally used in everyday communication, as opposed to Latin verbs, which belong more to written language.

    • “to put off” instead of “to postpone”;
    • “to get out” instead of “to exit” (exit).

    Literal meaning

    Many English verbs can be combined with an adverb or preposition, and readers or listeners will easily understand the meaning of a compound verb from the meaning of the verb itself:

    • "He walked across the square” - he walked around the square;
    • "She opened the shutters and looked outside»;
    • "When he heard the crash, he looked up».

    An adverb or preposition in such compound verbs indicates the direct relationship of the action to its object.

    Notes

    Literature

    • Long, Thomas Hill (Editorial Director), Summers, Della (Managing Editor): "Longman Dictionary of English Idioms", Longman Group Limited, 1979 ISBN 0-582-55524-8.
    • Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. - Oxford: OUP, 2001. - ISBN 0-19-431543-6.

    Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

    See what a “compound verb” is in other dictionaries:

      A verb in German is a part of speech that denotes an action in time or a state and plays the syntactic role of a predicate and less often than other members of a sentence. According to grammatical functions, German verbs can be divided into full-valued ones... ... Wikipedia

      The request for "German" is redirected here; see also other meanings. German language Self-name: Deutsch, deutsche Sprache Countries ... Wikipedia

      Self-name: Erromintxela Countries: Spain, France ... Wikipedia

      This article is about the Albanian language; about network jargon, see: Jargon of bastards. Albanian language Self-name: Shqip /ʃcip/ Countries ... Wikipedia

      William Burroughs, 1977 William Seward Burroughs (... Wikipedia

      Being- Being ♦ Être “It is impossible to define being without falling into absurdity [i.e. e. without trying to explain the meaning of any word with the same word], because the definition of any word begins with the expression “it is...” - it does not matter whether it is expressed... ... Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary

      ANTIPHON- [Greek ἀντίφωνον from ἀντίφωνος sounding alternately; lat. antiphona, Church Slav. ], in Christ. liturgical terminology, a psalm with a chorus, sung antiphonally, that is, with 2 choirs singing alternately the chorus (or verses of the psalm; see also Psalmody) ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

      § 079. HYPHENED NOUNS- § 79. Written with a hyphen: Compound nouns that have the meaning of one word and consist of two independently used nouns, connected without the help of connecting vowels o and e, for example: a) firebird, battle woman, diesel... ... Russian spelling rules

      word form (word form)- Unity of lexical meaning and word form. The form of the word expresses different grammatical meanings while maintaining its lexical meaning: student, student, student, etc. The form of a word is one of the most important forms of language, giving rise to the most important... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

      This article or section describes a certain linguistic phenomenon in relation only to the Russian language. You can help Wikipedia by adding information about this phenomenon in other languages ​​and typological coverage... Wikipedia

    English grammar is not the most attractive thing for beginners. And, thanks to this reluctance to learn the complex laws of a foreign language, many newfangled methods have emerged for learning spoken English without delving into grammatical norms. But in fact, this is just a beautiful deception: even colloquial speech is built on the basis of grammar. And today we will easily prove this by examining an important part of both grammar and colloquial speech, namely, compound verbs in the English language, also known as the famous phrasal combinations.

    Before moving on to particular cases, it is necessary to form a general concept of what the classification of verbs in English looks like. Grammatically, there are several criteria for what English verbs are.

    Meaning

    Everyone knows that verbs denote actions or states. However, this part of speech is not always an independent grammatical unit. According to this observation, English verbs are divided into two types.

    In other words, service verbs only help to build a complex verbal structure, while losing their dictionary meaning.

    • I am going to translate this article - I'm going to translate this article.

    Transitivity

    An important criterion related to the order of words in a sentence and the formation of the passive voice.

    A transitive verb in English conveys its meaning to an abstract person or object, and therefore always requires a direct object after itself (who? what?).

    • My father bought a new car - My father bought a new car.

    With the help of such verbs, the main emphasis is transferred to the object, so they are able to form passive voice constructions.

    • This car wasbought in 2018 – This car was purchased in 2018.

    The meaning of an intransitive verb is directly related to the subject, so in such constructions the object is not necessary.

    • She is laughing- She laughs .

    However, due to their properties, these verbs cannot be used in passive voice sentences.

    Forms

    In addition to the dictionary view ( infinitive) each English verb has 3 more forms that allow you to determine the time of the action.

    • Pastsimple– simple past tense indicator;
    • Pastpartial(II) – past participle; necessary for the formation of tenses of the Perfect group;
    • Presentpartial (I) – present participle; necessary for constructing constructions of the Continuous aspect.

    Note that depending on the method of formation of forms, English verbs are divided into regular and irregular.

    Structure

    And finally, according to the composition of the word, three main verb types are distinguished.

    • Simple verbs - the original form that does not have any additions ( read, write,translate).
    • Derived verbs - words have prefixes or suffixes ( misread,overwrite, retranslate).
    • Complex verbs are compound, two- or three-element combinations.

    The last item on the list is especially interesting to us today. Some similar verbs are a one-syllable combination consisting of two roots: whitewash – whitewash, proofread - proofread, correct. But much more often in speech there are separate combinations “ verb+preposition" or " verb + adverb" These are compound, or phrasal, English verbs. What these are and why you need to know them, we will consider in detail in the next section.

    Everything about compound verbs in English

    So, we have already understood that phrasal verbs are unique phrases. What is their essence? Let's look at it with an example.

    Let's take the popular English verb get. Its main meaning is receive, become, realize.

    • Have you got her letter yet? -Have you received her letter yet?

    Now try to translate the following construction.

    • She usually gets up at 8 o'clock.

    Literally it would be something like: it usually rises at 8 o'clock. Doesn't sound very good, don't you agree? And all because get up is not two separate words, but a phrasal verb, the meaning of which is wake up, get up. Now we can easily understand the whole meaning of the expression: She usually wakes up at 8 am.

    Such combinations are common in spoken language, which is why it is so important to know compound (phrasal) verbs in English. There are over 5 thousand of them in total, but only a few hundred are actively used in everyday speech. We will give a list of frequently used expressions a little later, but for now we will dwell on another important point: the connection of phrasal verbs with grammatical norms.

    Let's return to the category of transitivity, which we looked at in the first part. Some phrasal verbs have this characteristic and, when adding an object, the question arises: whether to break the verb combination or not.

    In some cases, the complement comes strictly after the entire combination, in others it is placed between the verb and the preposition. And, what is most unpleasant, in English there is no strict rule governing the relationship of phrasal verbs with objects. But, on the other hand, if the word order is incorrect, a serious speech error will result.

    To avoid getting into trouble, it is recommended to immediately memorize the specifics of the verb: whether it is separable or non-separable. We tried to make learning phrasal verbs easier and have already divided them into two groups. Below are lists of expressions and wish you success in learning and improving English!

    Separable verbs

    Verb Translation
    bring about cause, cause, cause
    call back call back
    call off cancel, withdraw, stop
    call up call, call (on the phone)
    check out check, confirm
    clean up clean, clear, clean up
    do over redo
    drop off abandon, leave, disembark (from transport)
    figure out understand, figure out
    fill in fill, fill
    find out find out, discover
    get back come back, come back
    give away give, distribute, bestow, donate
    give back return, give
    give up give up, give up, refuse
    hand in hand over, hand over (smth. to sb.)
    hang up hang up/hang up the phone
    kick out throw out, throw out, drive out
    look over inspect, view, check
    pick up collect, raise
    put away put away, put away, hide
    put off postpone
    put on put on
    show off show off, show off, brag
    take off clean, take off, undress
    take over take over, take over, take over
    tear down destroy, destroy
    think over think about, think about
    throw away throw away, throw away
    try on try on,
    turn on/off turn on/off
    turn up/down raise/lower
    wake up wake up, get up

    Unseparable verbs

    break into penetrate, invade
    call on visit, visit
    care for care, love, be interested
    check in/out check in/check out (to a hotel)
    count on rely (on someone)
    disagree with disagree, have disagreements with...
    drop by drop in, run in
    fall off fall, fall off, fall away
    get along with get along, get along
    get on sit down, enter (transport)
    get out of disembark, go out (transport)
    get over overcome, survive, recover
    get through get through, cope, finish
    get up get up, wake up
    go over go through, look through
    grow up grow up, become an adult
    keep on continue
    keep up with keep up, keep up
    look after take care, look after
    look for search, look for
    look like look like smb., be like
    look out for watch, look out
    put up with put up with, endure
    run across meet by chance, encounter
    run out of spend up, waste
    run over knock someone down (by car)
    show up appear, appear
    take after resemble, be like smb.
    take off meaning to take off, take off
    take up get involved in, engage in smth.
    throw up vomit, vomit,


    Did you like the article? Share with your friends!