verb phrase

Question

HiPlease help me with this.Cars choked the street,honking and smoking.This sentence is in an exercise to identify verb phrase.The answer in the book is "honking and smoking"My  question: Is chocked the street not also a verb phrase?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

'The street' is not a part of a verb phrase, though 'choked' can be considered a verb phrase consisting of just one word.

Vsuresh · Answer

Thank you,Mister Micawber.

Vsuresh · Answer

Sir, I come across examples of verb phrases which include their objects as well as,
They were filling water in the cans.
The car chocked the street.

Earlier I thought verb phrase is something which comprises only verb forms as
She was writing /has been writing/ to her uncle.

BillJ · Answer

vsureshSir, I come across examples of verb phrases which include their objects as well as,They were filling water in the cans.The car chocked the street.

Some traditional grammars do consider a verb phrase to be just the verb, or verbs. Many (I'd say most) nowadays consider the verb phrase to be whatever is predicated of the subject, including objects and complements.

On that account, "were filling water in the cans" and "choked the street" are both verb phrases.

BillJ

Mister Micawber · Answer

Thanks, Bill. Yes, I see that Huddleston & Pullum's Student's Grammar defines 'verb phrase' as the complete predicate. Too bad—we've lost a term and a concept.

verb phrase

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