The Verb Phrase in Spanish: Morphology and Complementation
1. The Verb Phrase
1.1 Definition of Verb Phrase
The verb phrase is the central part of a sentence, as its core, the verb, is the essential element to express an action or state. Its function is always the verbal predicate (PV). Linking verbs (be, estar, parecer) can be considered as mere links between the subject and the quality attributed to it in the predicate (PN).
Verbs have valence, meaning they may require complements to complete their meaning. For example, a transitive verb needs a direct object. Complements can be obligatory (arguments) or optional (adjuncts). Alarcos Llorach’s terminology refers to complements as “implements” that modify, extend, or restrict the verb’s meaning.
2. Verbal Morphology: Types of Verbs
2.1 Preliminary Considerations
Functionally, a verb expresses a process or state, with or without a subject (e.g., Juan sings opera vs. It rains). According to Tesnière, it’s a constituent word with a structural function, capable of governing and being the nucleus of a phrase. It can also stand alone (autonomous).
2.2 Morphology of Regular Verbs
Morphologically, a verb is a lexical word (lexeme) with a meaning that expresses a way of being or happening (Coseriu). The lexeme, also called the root or radical, is accompanied by constituent morphemes. These include the morpheme of time, mode, and aspect (vowel), the tense and aspect morpheme, and the ending (person and number). For example, in amábamos, am- is the lexeme, -á- is the vowel, -ba- is the aspect and tense morpheme, and -mos indicates person and number.
Spanish has three modes: indicative (objective facts), subjunctive (subjective/uncertain statements), and imperative (exhortations).
Regarding time, we distinguish: present (neutral, can refer to other times), future (prospective/virtual), and past (real/retrospective). Aspect refers to how the action is conceived: perfective (finished) or imperfective (durative). Spanish verbs have strong (stress on the last syllable of the root) and weak (stress on the first syllable after the lexeme) forms. There are three conjugations (-ar, –er, –ir), which determine the vowel. Simple forms have one word (e.g., amo) and derive directly from Latin. Compound forms use an auxiliary (haber + participle) and are Romance creations.
The person and number morpheme agrees with the subject. Voice (diathesis) can be active (subject is the agent) or passive (subject is the patient). Some verbs are formally active but semantically passive (e.g., Pepe received a letter). Some authors propose a middle voice where the agent is unclear (e.g., pronominal verbs: He has repented).
2.3 Morphology of Irregular, Defective, and Pronominal Verbs
Irregular verbs have abnormalities in the lexeme or morpheme due to diachronic phonetic reasons (e.g., vowel changes: soñar > sueño; consonant changes: salir > salgo). Defective verbs lack a complete conjugation due to semantic constraints (e.g., acaecer only in the third person). Weather verbs are also defective, always in the third person singular (e.g., It snows).
2.4 Types of Verbs: Transitive and Intransitive
Transitive verbs require a direct object (CD) in the standard language, but this can be optional or pleonastic in some cases (e.g., I ate quickly vs. It rained water heavily). Not all transitive verbs allow passivization (e.g., *Pain is held by me). Intransitive verbs don’t require a CD (e.g., repent, run), but some can be accompanied by a stylistic CD (e.g., He ran great races).
2.5 Types of Verbs: Reflexivity and Reciprocity
Reflexive verbs have an action that falls on a complement that refers to the subject. It’s a reflexive CD if it’s direct (e.g., I comb my hair) and a reflexive CI if it’s indirect (e.g., I wash my hands). Reciprocal verbs express an action exchanged between multiple subjects (e.g., Cats are licking each other).
2.6 Types of Verbs: Auxiliary and Modal Verbs
Auxiliary verbs combine with a non-personal form (infinitive, gerund, participle). They lose part of their lexical meaning and add an aspectual value. Infinitives show prospective aspect (e.g., He went to cut trees), gerunds indicate durative action (e.g., Juan is writing a new novel), and participles indicate perfective aspect (e.g., I have done two years). Modal verbs combine with an infinitive without a preposition, expressing the speaker’s attitude (intention, desire, will) towards the action (e.g., I want to laugh soon).
2.7 Types of Verbs: Non-Personal
Infinitives, gerunds, and participles lack personal morphemes. The infinitive can express imperfect action (e.g., I was imprisoned for stealing) or perfect action as an auxiliary (e.g., I was imprisoned for having stolen). It can be the core of a subordinate clause with the same subject as the main clause (e.g., He knew how to play the game well) or with a different subject (e.g., Checking my team, I jumped for joy). It can function as a noun if it’s lexicalized and supports a determiner (e.g., The good eating is nice).
The present participle expresses simple durative action coinciding with the main verb (e.g., I made a bread cutting wound). As an auxiliary, it expresses durative, perfect action before the main verb (e.g., Having clarified the issue, he went away). It can be the nucleus of an adverbial subordinate clause (e.g., Having weapons and hunger, there are no wars). Some participles have become adjectives (e.g., burning, boiling).
The past participle indicates perfective aspect and can function as a predicative complement (e.g., He comes tired) or an attribute of the CD (e.g., Leave the girl sitting in her chair). It can also be a noun attribute, paraphrased by a relative clause (modal or causal) (e.g., I, minding my things, didn’t look). As an absolute participle, it’s a noun attribute not in the main clause and can’t be paraphrased by a relative clause. It can be modal (e.g., He lay alone, his eyes turned in the crowd) or causal (e.g., The poem, removed some errors, is a delicacy).
2.8 Types of Verbs: Attributive and Semicopulative
Attributive verbs will be discussed in relation to the attribute function.
3. Verbal Complementation
3.1 Attribute
The attribute is the quality attributed to a subject, agreeing in gender and number. It can be an adjective, noun, qualitative adverb (e.g., He is well), substantive subordinate clause (e.g., The stew is to die for), nominalized verb (e.g., This is living), or circumstantial adjunct (e.g., John is from Jaén). Unlike PV, the attribute is the core of the NP. It can be pronominalized with lo (e.g., They are crazy = They are so). The verb functions as a copula (linking verb).
Traditionally, ser indicates a permanent quality, while estar indicates a temporary state. The attribute of the direct complement is an adjective expressing its quality. It arises from copula deletion (e.g., I brought the dress impeccable = I brought the dress. The dress was impeccable). It remains after CD pronominalization (e.g., I returned it broken).
Semicopulative verbs, like copulas, attribute a quality to the subject with a predicative complement agreeing with it. However, they have meaning and are not mere copulas (e.g., The cats were happy). Their meaning changes when they become semicopulative (e.g., Guests roamed the garden paths vs. Guests walked happy with the wedding news).
3.2 Direct Complement (CD)
The CD relates to transitivity: an agent (subject) directs an action to a term (CD) (e.g., John eats pears). However, this isn’t always the case (e.g., It hails, John has the flu). Semantically, the CD can be: result (e.g., I wrote a letter), affected (e.g., I cut the grass), pleonastic (e.g., She cried tears), reflexive (e.g., I wash my hair), or static (e.g., I have five cars).
The so-called CD of measure (e.g., The race lasted three minutes) is considered a circumstantial complement semantically. The CD is the first obligatory adjacent element in transitive verbs. It can be preceded by a if it refers to a person (e.g., I saw men lying), unless there’s uncertainty (e.g., I saw some men lying). It can be pronominalized by lo, la, los, las and can become the subject in a passive sentence (e.g., The cannibals eat the missionaries > The missionaries are eaten by the cannibals).
3.3 Indirect Complement (CI)
The CI is the element that benefits or is harmed by the verbal action. It relates to the dative case, which includes: ethical dative (unstressed pronoun emphasizing personal interest, can be elided, debated as a true CI), dative of interest (personal assessment, e.g., I am interested in the stars), and sympathetic/possessive dative (expresses possession, e.g., They stole his wallet).
It can be pronominalized by me, te, le, nos, os, les, se. It forms a prepositional phrase with a or (rarely) para (e.g., That’s easy for him = That’s easy for it). Replacing le/les with la/las (laísmo) or lo/los (loísmo) is considered vulgar.
3.4 Circumstantial Complement (CC)
The CC adds information about the circumstances of the verbal action. It’s functionally equivalent to an adverb or adverbial phrase. They are usually optional and can be replaced by adverbs (e.g., I do as I wish > I do so). Multiple CCs with the same function can appear (e.g., In the field, at home, next to the fireplace, I stay). Types of CC include: place (e.g., I’ll be where you know), time (e.g., I’ll be at noon), manner (e.g., Vikings came in a plan), cause (e.g., This land is known for its wines), consequence (e.g., He sang so that we left with his singing), purpose (e.g., We come to conquer the country), concession (e.g., Now tell me again: I do not retract), condition (e.g., Where there is captain, sailor sends), and comparison (e.g., He sings well, like me).
3.5 Supplement (SUP)
Also known as a prepositional or oblique complement, it’s usually an argument required by the verb in a prepositional phrase (e.g., I prefer Florence to Turin). It cannot be replaced by an adverb, unlike the CC.
3.6 Agent Complement (C. Ag.)
It appears in passive sentences, indicating the agent of the action (e.g., All tickets have been sold [by the box office staff]). It can be omitted if the agent is unknown (e.g., The streetlights on my street have been devastated tonight). It refers to the subject of the corresponding active sentence and is preceded by por or de (with verbs of emotion/knowledge, e.g., It is known by John).