Notional grammars traditionally verbs as “words that denote actions and states of being.” A verb phrase consists of a verb plus any auxiliary verbs, particles, modifiers, complements, and objects.
In grammar, a conjunct adverbial is a word or phrase that expresses a textual relationship. Verb phrases in the form of infinitives sometimes function as conjunct adverbials in English. Examples of verb phrases as conjunct adverbials include the following:
- To start, wash your hands.
- To start with, you are extremely unqualified.
- To begin, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- To reiterate, determiners are not adjectives or pronouns.
- To summarize, gerunds are not quite nouns but not fully verbs.
Verb Phrase as Conjunct Adverbial
For more information about verbs and verb phrases, see A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 7) and A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 8) of A Form-Function English Grammar.
References
Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kosur, Heather Marie. 2021. A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 7). Rock Pickle Publishing.
Kosur, Heather Marie. 2021. A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 8). Rock Pickle Publishing.
