Notional grammars define 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. A verb phrase can consist of single verb or contain multiple other forms.
In grammar, a noun phrase complement is a word, phrase, or clause that completes the meaning of a noun or noun phrase. Verb phrases in the form of present participles sometimes function as noun phrase complements of nouns in English. Examples of verbs and verb phrases as noun phrase complements include the following:
- We had trouble arriving on time.
- He gets anxiety meeting new people.
- They have problems finding their shoes.
- Her trouble finishing her degree began years ago.
- Her anxiety going out in public makes life difficult.
- You have a problem finishing your assignments on time.
Verb Phrase as Noun Phrase Complement
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.
