1. University of Aden
Faculty of Languages and Translation
Master Programme in Translation Studies
Syntax (Lecture No. 5)
Lexical Major Content Verbs
Full Prof. Gamal M A Abdullah
(M A. & Ph. D. in Linguistics)
E-mail: gamal133@yahoo.com
Dec. 2020
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2. Introduction
Why do we entitle Chapter Five ‘Lexical
Content Verb Group’?
The last chapter (4) discusses ‘Categories
of the constituents’. Terminologically and
syntactically, it defines the word ‘category’
and classifies its types/categories. Though
there are two main categories: lexical and
phrasal, those categories are subdivided into
further categories, for instance lexical is
subcategorized into major and minor. The
former ‘major’ includes content words like
nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and
adpositions, while the latter ‘minor’ contains
function words like pronouns, determiners,
auxiliaries, prepositions and conjunctions.
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3. It (chapter 4) provides informative details
about: noun and categories of noun,
adjective and categories of adjective,
adverb and categories of adverb,
adposition and categories of adposition,
Pronoun and categories of pronoun and
conjunction and categories of
conjunction.
It emphasizes that the remaining major
content lexical (verb) will be discussed
elaborately in the current chapter (5) and
the minor function lexical members viz.
auxiliaries and determiners will be
discussed in more elaboration in
chapters (7) and (8) respectively. 3
4. Therefore, ‘the major content
lexical verb’ is the main concern of
the present chapter (5).
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5. Verb
Origin:
A verb is a word which is derived from Old
French 'verbe', French took it from Latin
'verbum' meaning word of action.
Emperical Definition:
A verb can be defined simply as a word or
a group of words which are used to
describe an action , experience or state. It
occurs as a part of a predicate. it can be
divided into two main categories: An
auxiliary verb also known as a helping
verb or assistant verb and a lexical verb
also known as a major verb, a main verb,
a full verb or an ordinary verb.
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6. Categories
Verbs can be grouped into two
categories, one group can function as
major content words, this kind is known
as lexical verbs and the other group
functions as minor function words, this
category is called auxiliary verbs. The
next discussion will shed the light on
the first category ‘lexical verbs’
because it is the main concern of the
current chapter. The second category
‘auxiliaries’ will be the main concern of
chapter No. 7.
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8. 8
Empirical Definition:
Lexical verb is known as a main, major verb, a
full or an ordinary verb. It is called Lexical
because it is a type of lexical content category.
Also, it is called Major because it is a member of
major content words. Further, it is called Main
because it is always placed as a head of the verb
phrase. Further, it is called a Full or Ordinary
verb because it can stand in its own (i.e. alone)
without depending on another verb.
9. 9
Features of the Lexical Verb:
A lexical verb can be used alone and carries
grammatical inflection as ' -s or –es’ in present
simple with s/he and it, e.g. examine - examines,
catch – catches and ‘–d/-ed’ with regular verbs in
the past simple tense. Further, it can be used with
an auxiliary verb and carries '–ing' inflection as in
the case of progressive aspect, e.g. write – writing
and ‘-n/en’ in the case of some irregular verbs in
the perfective aspect e.g. drive – driven, eat –
eaten, etc.
It is appropriate to explain here what is meant by
10. 10
Inflection vis Derivation
a) Inflectional Suffixes add only grammatical information,
they never change the syntactic category.
English has only eight inflectional suffixes; they are listed
with examples in the table below.
ENGLISH INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES
Syntactic
Category
Suffix Example
NOUN
-s 'plural' The two girls had eaten dinner.
-'s 'possessive' The cat's tail was twitching.
VERB
-ed 'past tense' The blackest dog never barked.
-s '3rd person present
tense'
The smaller dog barks a lot.
-ing 'present participle' The cat's tail was twitching.
-en 'past participle' The two girls had eaten dinner.
11. Derivational Suffixes: They make a new
word with a new meaning. They usually
change the syntactic category. Below are
some examples of derivational suffixes which
change syntactic category.
(Adopted from https://pages.uoregon.edu)
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b)
Suffix Type Syntactic Change Example
Noun-Forming Suffixes
VERB --> NOUN speak + er
ADJ --> NOUN economic + s
Adjective-Forming
Suffixes
NOUN --> ADJ person + al
VERB --> ADJ act + ive
Verb-Forming Suffixes
NOUN --> VERB victim + ize
ADJ --> VERB vocal + ize
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Categories of Lexical Verb
Lexical verbs can be grouped into Eight
categories:
a)Intransitive Verb: Does not need a
complement and it can stand by its own right e.g.
The patient under the supervision of Dr. Smith died
last night .
It can be shorten in this way:
He died.
NB: the complements of the intransitive verb are
optional like “last night” in the above example).
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b) Linking Verb: It is also known as an Intensive
Verb or a Copular Verb , it needs just one
complement and we call it linking verb because it
links between the subject and the complement, such
complement can be a single noun phrase, adjective
phrase or prepositional phrase . The members of
this kind are all the members of Be verbs , become,
turn, seem, appear, remain, feel, taste etc. e.g.
My cousin became an optician .
She is very happy.
He is in the reading room.
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c) Transitive Verb: Originally, the term transitive
came from Late Latin 'transitivus' meaning transitive,
literally "passing over (to another person)," from
'transire' "cross over, go over, pass over, pass away," from
'trans' "across, beyond".
Transitive verb is also known as a Monotrasitive verb,
the prefix mono- means one, therefore such a verb needs
just one complement i.e. direct object.
The new MA student catches a flu.
Compare the following:
He slept.
*He catches.
(‘Catch’ cannot be used intransitively, it needs an
obligatory complement to function well-grammatically)
15. NB: Some verbs can be used either transitively or
intransitively, but there is a difference in use e.g.
The officer is typing monthly budget. (transitive ).
A: what is ( c) doing ?
B: He is typing. (Intransitive )
Further, some words can have different categories that
means the same word can be used as a noun, verb, an
adjective or even adverb e.g. FAST
Fast talker (Adj.)
Kids grow up so fast these days. (Deg.+ Adv.)
Muslims fast during Ramadan. (Verb)
On the first day of Shawal All Muslims break their fast.
(Noun) 15
16. The Difference between the Complements of
the Intensive and Transitive Verbs:
The complement of the intensive verb describes the
subject more than the verb, therefore it is called
subject predicative, i.e. subject complement (not
object), whereas, the complement of the transitive
verb is related to the verb more than the subject,
therefore it is called verb predicative, i.e. verb
complement (object/direct object).
We can sum up that any object is a complement ,
but not any complement is an object.
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17. d) Ditransitive Verb: The prefix ' di-' comes from Latin
and it means two, hence this kind of a verb needs two
complements, (two objects), one is direct object and the
other one is indirect object, the former refers to the thing
which is given, and the latter refers to the person/thing,
that receives something. It is not necessary to use the direct
object first and indirect next, the indirect object can come
first, and the direct can be used next. The members of this
kind are: give , prescribe , introduce, tell, show etc.
The teacher gave the intelligent student a gift.
(‘the intelligent student’ is indirect and ‘a gift’ is direct).
(Abdullah, 2018)
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18. e) Complex Transitive Verb: It needs two
complements one object and the other one is
object predicative/ complement (describes the
object). The members of this kind are verbs
like: put , find , elect , forget, etc.
The doctor in charge found the new comer
patient very tired. ('The new comer patient' is
the object, whereas ‘very tired' is the object
predicative or complement).
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19. Distinction between the Complements of
the Diatransitive and Complex
Transitive Verbs:
The complements of the ditransitive verb are two
objects (direct and indirect) and they can be used
interchangeably one after the other, but the
complements of the complex transitive verb are one
object and the other one is an object predicative/
complement, i.e. used to describe the object, this
complement cannot be used before the object (i.e.
they cannot be used interchangeable)
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20. f) Prepositional Verb: This kind of a verb is
called prepositional because it consists of a
verb plus a preposition, the complement
usually is an obligatory noun phrase such
verbs are: glance at, refer to + NP, flush down
+NP, look at +NP, reply to + NP, worry about+
NP etc.
The orthopedist looked at the x-ray carefully.
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21. g) Phrasal Verb: It consists of a verb + an
adverb. These ‘adverbs’ are sometimes called
‘particles’. They combine with verbs to form
phrasal verbs. The combination of the two forms ‘a
base verb’ plus ‘a particle’ provides special
meaning that is different from that one used in the
case of single word either a verb or a particle. For
instance, some verbs can express greater emphasis
completeness and continuation in contrast to the
simple verb when used alone as in the case of:
use and use up, break and break down, cut and cut
off, carry and carry out, etc. (Swan, 2009)
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22. Prepositional Verb vis Phrasal Verb
Difference 1: Combination
A prepositional verb is a combination of a verb and
a preposition e.g. laugh at, look at, listen to, knock
at, agree to, agree with, etc.
I strongly agree with your view point.
On the other hand, a phrasal verb is a combination
of a verb and an adverb e.g. bring up, give up, pass
away, look after etc.
My friend gave up smoking two years ago.
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23. Difference 2: Meaning of the Original Verb
A phrasal verb has a meaning that is different from the
meaning of its original verb. Consider the following
examples.
The old patient passed away. ( To die )
The child was brought up by his aunt. ( To raise )
My uncle is trying to give up smoking. ( To quit )
The supervisor turned out all the proposals of the Ph. D.
students. ( To reject )
On the other hand, a prepositional verb has a meaning
which is similar to the meaning of its original verb.
She is listening to the English test tracks.
They are looking at the x-ray. 23
24. Difference 3: Separable and Non-separable
Most of phrasal verbs are separable that means its verb
and preposition can be separable to be used in different
positions in sentences. They can be used in joined-form as
well as in separated-form. Consider the following
examples.
The people requested to cut down the prices of the diabetic
drugs.
The people requested to cut the prices of the diabetic drugs
down.
On the other hand, all the prepositional verbs are non-
separated i.e. its verb and preposition cannot be separated.
Someone is knocking at the door of the reception room. 24
25. Difference 4: Place and Requirement of an Object
for the Verb
All the prepositional verbs require an object in the
sentence. Without the object, the sentences having
prepositional phrases cannot express complete
thoughts or meanings. The place of the verb cannot
be changed in sentence.
She is listening to the track.
Someone is knocking at the door.
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26. On the other hand, some of the phrasal verbs do
not require an object.
The very old patient passed away. ( No object )
When do you get up? ( No object )
Some of the phrasal verbs require an object to
express complete thought or meaning. The place of
the object can be changed in sentence.
The manager turned down the employees' request.
The manager turned the employees' request down.
(Ibid)
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27. Either Preposition or Adverb
Particle
Some words like ‘in’, ‘off’, ‘up’ and ‘down’ can
function both as prepositions and adverb particles.
Some words like ‘at’, ‘for’, ‘from’, ‘during’, ‘onto’,
‘into’, ‘of’ and ‘with’ can function only as
prepositions. Other words like ‘away’, ‘back’ and
‘out’ can function only as adverb particles.
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28. h. Phrasal-Prepositional Verb:
A Phrasal-Prepositional verb is defined as ―a verb idiom
which consists of three words, namely: main verb, particle
and preposition. It is the combination of some verbs as an
idiom with both an adverb and a preposition. In other
words, for it to be a Phrasal Prepositional Verb, it must
comprise at least, three (3) words. Members of this type
are: Put up with, look forward to, do away with, get round to,
stand in for, get away with, stand in with, walk out on, check
up on, break in on, back out of, catch up on, catch up with,
drop in on, face up to, look up to, stand up with etc.
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29. Consider the following sentences:
We look forward to an exciting Semester.
He needed to catch up on his exercises.
The student tried to catch up with their teachers
who had gone ahead.
You must learn to stand up for yourself as no one
will do that for you.
(Abdullah, 2020)
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30. The categories of the lexical verb
groups can be explain clearly in a form
of a figure that summarizes the kind of
the verb and the number and function of
the complements which follow each verb.
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31. 31
(Adopted from Abdullah, 2020)
Lexical Verb Groups
Ditransitive + 2 objects ( direct
and indirect)
Complex + 2 (one object and one
object complement)
Prepositional verb
(Verb + preposition + )
Intransitive + no complement
Linking + 1 Complement, .i.e. subject
predicative/complement
Transitive + 1 object i.e. verb
complement
Phrasal-prepositional verb (Verb +
Adverb + Preposition)
Phrasal verb
(Verb + Adverb/Particle)
32. In the previous discussion, we have classified lexical
verbs into eight categories, other syntactic and
grammatical schools categorized them into three
groups as follows:
1) Intransitive Category: Does not need an essential
complement.
2) Monotransitive Category: Needs one complement
(obligatory), it includes:
a) Transitive Verb.
b) Linking Verb.
c) Prepositional Verb.
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33. d) Phrasal verb (in some situations it does need a
complement).
e) Phrasal-prepositional verb
3) Ditransitive Category: Needs two complements,
it includes:
a) Ditransitive Verb.
b) Complex Transitive Verb.
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34. Conclusion
Several results have been emanated from the rest of
chapter (5), those can be summarized in the following:
1) The format of the lexical verb groups in the structure of
the English sentence can be clarified in the following
procedures:
a) Intr. V: sub. + V + Optional Complement.
b) Link. V: sub. + V + subject-predicative (NP, Adj.P or
PP).
c) Tr. V: Sub. + V + direct object/complement.
d) Ditr. V: sub.+ V + 2complements (Indirect object +
Direct object).
OR: Sub. + V + Direct object + Indirect object. 34
35. e) Complex. Tr. V: sub. + V + 2 complements
(Direct object + Object-predicative).
f) Prep. V: Sub. + V + Prep. + NP Comp.
g) Phr. V: Sub. + V + Adv. (Part.) + 0,NP or PP Comp.
h) Phrasal-Prepositional Verb: S+V+A+P+O. It
comprises Verb + Adverb + Preposition.
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36. The following may help in identifying the
complements, sub-categories of lexical verb,
categories and their function in sentence structure:
Complement Verb Group Categories Functions
a) 0 Complement Intran. 000 000
b) 1 Complement - Trans. V NP (only) DO/VP
- Intens. V NP, AP or PP SP
-Prp. V PP (only) DO (PC)
- Phr. V 0, NP or PP O/O+C
- Phr.-prep. V VP DO
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37. c) 2 Complements - Dit. NP+NP or NP+PP ID+DO
- Complex NP+AP or NP+PP DO+OC
3) It can be concluded that any object can function as a complement,
but not any complement can function as an object.
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38. References
Abdullah, G. M. A. (2018). A Course of Grammar for Medicine and
Health Sciences. Aden University Printing and Publishing House.
Abdullah, G. M. A. (2020). A Course of Grammar for Medicine and
Health Sciences (2nd Ed.). Aden University Printing and Publishing
House.
Burten-Roberts, N. (2011). Analysing Sentence: An Introduction to
English Syntax. UK: Pearson Education Limited.
Swan, M. (2009) Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
https://pages.uoregon.edu
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