VerbForm: form of verb or deverbative
| Values: | Fin | Inf | Part | Post | Prov | Ser | Vnoun |
Even though the name of the feature seems to suggest that it is used
exclusively with verbs, it is not the case. Some verb
forms in some languages actually form a gray zone between verbs and
other parts of speech (nouns, adjectives
and adverbs). For instance, participles may be either
classified as verbs or as adjectives, depending on language and
context. In both cases VerbForm=Part may be used to separate them
from other verb forms or other types of adjectives.
Fin: finite verb
Rule of thumb: if it has non-empty Mood, it is finite. But beware that some tagsets conflate verb forms and moods into one feature.
Examples
- [en] I do, he does
Inf: infinitive
Infinitive is the citation form of verbs in many languages. Unlike in English, it often has morphological form that is distinct from the finite forms. Infinitives may be used together with auxiliaries to form periphrastic tenses (e.g. future tense [cs] budu sedět v letadle “I will sit in a plane”), they appear as arguments of modal verbs etc. In some languages they behave similarly to nouns and are used as such (similar to the gerund in English).
Examples
- [de] ich muss gehen “I must go”
Part: participle, verbal adjective
Participle is a non-finite verb form that shares properties of verbs and adjectives. Its usage varies across languages. It may be used to form various periphrastic verb forms such as complex tenses and passives; it may be also used purely adjectively.
Other features may help to distinguish past/present participles (English), active/passive participles (Czech), imperfect/perfect participles (Hindi) etc.
Examples
- [en] he could have been prepared if he had forseen it; I will be driving home.
Vnoun: verbal noun, masdar
Verbal nouns other than infinitives. Also called masdars by some authors, e.g. Haspelmath, 1995.
Examples
- [cs] dělání “doing”
Ser: second verb in a serial verb construction
Second verbs in serial verb constructions have a special form.
Examples
- [gun] ñanerembiapo mi tojapouka rekovy “look at our work” (lit. our-doing at cause-do live)
Post: postposed verb
Another special form that is used in serial verb constructions.
Examples
- [gun] Mava’e oikuaa pota? “Who will try to know?” (lit. who know try)
Prov: proverb
Examples
- [gun] ???
VerbForm in other languages: [ab] [abq] [akk] [bej] [bg] [bm] [cs] [cu] [cy] [el] [eme] [en] [es] [fi] [fr] [ga] [gub] [gun] [hbo] [hu] [hy] [it] [ka] [kpv] [ky] [la] [mdf] [myv] [orv] [pcm] [qpm] [ru] [sl] [sv] [tr] [tt] [u] [uk] [urj] [xcl]