na:nu    inju    po:vaka:i    1        2           3       ‘I    did    not    come    to-day’ 1                3                2       na:nu    mine:li    ma:ute    1          2            3       ‘I    did    it    earlier’ 1       3            2

8.2.4    Verb phrases

Like the three types of phrases analyzed and illustrated so far, the verb phrase is also a logical grouping of words. The components of the verb phrase are verbs in one form or the other.

For the purpose of analysis, the verb phrases are classified into two classes.

1. Finite verb phrases 2. Non-finite verb phrases

In case of finite verb phrases, the verb form indicates the tense and the verb has a particular subject in the clause. The non-finite verb phrases include participle and infinitive forms.

1.    Finite verb phrases

The finite verb phrases are sub-classified into: simple, finite verb phrases which include simple finite verbs, imperatives, present, past and future tense; complex finite verb phrases, which can be further sub-classified into two groups one group including verb + modal and verb + auxiliary and another group with verb + auxiliary + modal. The verb phrase occurs at the end of the clause.