Verb Phrases, Adverbial Phrases, and Morphology in Language

Verb Phrases

A verb phrase forms the predicate of a sentence and centers around the verb. It expresses action, process, or state. Reflexive morphemes can modify the verb.

Verb Properties

  • Mode:
    • Indicative: Expresses reality and objectivity.
    • Subjunctive: Expresses possibility, desire, or subjectivity.
    • Imperative: Expresses commands or requests.
  • Tense:
    • Past: Action before the time of speaking.
    • Present: Action at the time of speaking.
    • Future: Action after the time of speaking.
  • Aspect:
    • Imperfective: Action in development.
    • Perfective: Completed action.
  • Voice:
    • Passive: Subject receives the action.
    • Active: Subject performs the action.
  • Person: First, Second, Third
  • Conjugation: First (-ar), Second (-er), Third (-ir)

Verb Conjugation Forms

  • Personal: Present, Present Perfect, Simple Past, Preterite Perfect Compound, Preterite Pluscuamperfecto, Preterite, Future, Conditional, Subjunctive
  • Non-Personal: Infinitive, Gerund, Participle

Verbal Periphrasis

Verbal periphrasis uses two or more verbs functioning as one. Types include modal (attitude, obligation) and aspectual (action).

Adverbial Phrases

An adverbial phrase modifies a verb. Types include pronouns, affirmations, negations, doubts, and adverbials.

Adverbial Modifiers

  • Modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, subordinate clauses, and sentences.

Morphology

Morphology studies word classes, which are divided into variable (gender, number, tense) and invariable types.

Word Structure

  • Lexeme: Root of the word.
  • Morpheme:
    • Inflectional: Number, tense.
    • Derivational: Prefix, suffix, infix.

Syntagma

A syntagma is a word or group of words with a grammatical role. Its nucleus can be a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase includes a determinant, nucleus (pronoun, noun), and additions (prepositional complements, adjectives, subordinate clauses).

Determinants

Determinants accompany nouns and agree in gender and number. Types include articles, possessives, demonstratives, numerals, indefinites, relatives, exclamations, and interrogatives.

Adjectival Phrase

An adjectival phrase has an adjective as its nucleus.

Adjectives

Adjectives specify noun attributes. They agree in gender and number and can be specifying or explanatory.

Degrees of Adjectives
  • Positive: Natural quality.
  • Comparative: Comparison between two terms (inferiority, equality, superiority).
  • Superlative: Highest degree of a quality (lexical, analytic, synthetic).

Adverbialization and Substantivization

Adjectives can be adverbialized by adding suffixes. They can be substantivized by adding articles, adverbs, suffixes, prepositional complements, nouns, or other adjectives.