Verbs and verb phrases

The phrase-internal syntax of the Setswana ‘VP’ shows that a ‘VP’ can take a main verb (‘VPMAIN’) (1), an auxiliary verb (‘VPAUX’) (2), an identifying copulative verb (‘VPIDCOPV’) (3), a describing copulative verb (‘VPDESCOPV’) (4) or an associative copulative verb (‘VPASSCOPV’) (5).

Characterisation of the main verb

The main verb is an independent verb and typically expresses the grammatical features of mood, tense, aspect, and polarity. The core of the main verb is the root that carries the basic lexical meaning. Inflectional prefixes that can be added to the verb root are the negative morphemes, subject agreement morphemes, present tense morpheme, progressive morpheme, the potential morpheme, the future tense morpheme, object agreement morphemes and the reflexive morpheme. The main verb can also include semi-productive (the reversive-intransitive and reversive-transitive, the denominative, the neuter and the iterative) or productive suffixes (the perfect, causative, reciprocal, applied, passive extensions), a verbal ending and a relative and imperative suffix.

The internal structure of the verb phrase with a main verb

The VPMAIN can be constructed with a main verb only or the structure of the VPMAIN may include a main verb as head and specific arguments. The arguments are grammatical functions such as the subject, indirect object, object and oblique (Bresnan et al., 2016: 97-99). These functions also have phrasal categories such as a noun phrase (‘NP’), a pronoun phrase (‘PROP’), a possessive particle phrase (‘POSSPARTP’), a qualificative particle phrase (‘QUALPARTP’), a locative particle phrase (‘LOCPARTP’), etc. A thematic role as an informal description of conceptual or semantic participant roles can also be assigned to a specific phrase. An agent, beneficiary, experiencer/goal, instrument, patient/theme and locative can fulfil specific thematic roles (Falk, 2001: 207). Aarts (2001: 94-95) describes these thematic roles as follows:

• An agent is the ‘doer’, or instigator of the action denoted by the predicate.
• The beneficiary is the entity that benefits from the action or event denoted by the predicate.
• The experiencer is the living entity that experiences the action or event denoted by the predicate.
• The goal is the location or entity in the direction of which something moves.
• The instrument is the medium by which the action or event denoted by the predicate is carried out.
• The patient is the ‘undergoer’ of the action or event denoted by the predicate.
• The theme is the entity that is moved by the action or event denoted by the predicate.
• The locative is the specification of the place where the action or event denoted by the predicate is situated.

No overt subject is included in the subcategorisation frames and examples as the inclusion of a subject in a sentence, the function of the subject agreement morpheme and the use of adjuncts will be discussed in the topics on the syntactic structure of the simple, complex and compound sentences.

The verb phrase consisting of only a main verb

The VPMAIN can be constructed with only a head that consists of a main verb. The main verb sometimes does not require any thematic role and therefore no arguments need to be included in the syntactic structure of a VPMAIN. In (6) a sentence is presented and this sentence consists of only a main verb (‘V’). This sentence is also a minimal phrase structure.

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb and one or more arguments

The VPMAIN can also be constructed with a main verb as head followed by one or more than one argument and these arguments also have a specific phrasal structure. Krüger (2013a: 58) refer to the structure of a VPMAIN as a verb group or a predicative group and states that this word group “consists of a predicate as head member plus a subject and/or an object and/or a descriptive” (an adjunct).

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb and a direct object

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and a phrase that acts as the direct object (‘OBJ’). This phrase can be an NP, a PROP, a POSSPARTP or a ‘QUALPARTP’. The transitivity and the meaning of the main verb plays a role in the inclusion of an OBJ in the VPMAIN. The suffixing of one or more than one extension usually changes the transitivity of a main verb and the meaning is also altered.

In (7) the transitivity as well as the meaning of the verb do not require the inclusion of an OBJ in the VPMAIN. However, the suffixing of the causative extension to the verbal root in (8) alters the transitivity and meaning and a patient thematic role is required. This role is fulfilled by an NP batho ‘people’ and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function in the VPMAIN.

In (9) the main verb is intransitive. The suffixing of an applicative extension to the verbal root in (10) changes the intransitive verb to a transitive verb. The meaning of the main verb is altered and a beneficiary thematic role is required. The NP setlhopa se ‘this team’ is the beneficiary and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function in the VPMAIN.

The suffixing of the reversive-transitive extensions -ol- and -olol- and the iterative suffix -ak- require a theme thematic role. For example, the transitivity of the main verb in (11) that includes a reversive-transitive extension requires a theme thematic role. The NP mogala ‘rope’ is the theme and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function in the VPMAIN (cf. Krüger, 2006: 217-218; 226).

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb and a locative oblique

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and a phrase that acts as a locative oblique (‘OBLloc’). (Falk, 2001: 206; Bresnan et al., 2016: 97, 99). The OBLloc can be a ‘LOCCLNP’ or a ‘LOCPARTP’.

The suffixing of the applicative extension changes the meaning of the main verb and sometimes the suffixing of the applicative extension necessitates the inclusion of an OBLloc in the VPMAIN. In (12) the transitivity and meaning of the main verb does not requires the inclusion of an OBJ in the VPMAIN. However, the suffixing of the applicative extension to the verb root in (13) alters the transitivity as well as the meaning of the main verb and the result is that a locative thematic role is required. The LOCPARTP kwa torpong ‘to town’ has a locative thematic role and this argument has an OBLloc grammatical function in the VPMAIN.

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb and an associative oblique

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and a phrase that acts as an associative oblique (‘OBLass’). The OBLass is an ‘ASSPARTP’. The transitivity and meaning of the main verb determine if it is compulsory to include an OBLass in the VPMAIN. The suffixing of the reciprocal extension changes the transitivity and the meaning of the main verb and an OBLass can be included in the VPMAIN. In (14) the main verb includes a reciprocal extension and necessitates the inclusion of an ASSPARTP le wêna ‘with you’. This argument has an OBLass grammatical function that indicates one of the two participants which execute the action in the main verb (Cole, 1955: 210). Both participants have an agent thematic role.

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb, an indirect object and a direct object

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and phrases that act as an ‘OBJq’ and OBJ. These phrases can be NPs, PROPs, POSSPARTPs or QUALPARTPs. The OBJq (the indirect or the secondary object) is indirectly affected by the process or action expressed by a transitive verb (Louwrens, 1994: 55; Krüger, 2013a: 35). The transitivity a well as the meaning of the main verb change when one or more extensions, such as the causative, the applicative or both are suffixed to a main verb. The suffixing of these extensions then necessitates the inclusion of both an OBJq and an OBJ in the VPMAIN.

When a causative extension is suffixed to a transitive verb a ditransitive verb is formed and it requires the inclusion of a patient and a theme thematic role. In (15) the patient is the NP batho ‘people’ and this argument has an OBJq grammatical function. The theme is the NP dibuka ‘books’ and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function.

In (16) the main verb includes an applicative extension. This transitive verb requires a beneficiary and a theme thematic role. The beneficiary is the NP bana ‘children’ and this argument has an OBJq grammatical function. The theme is an NP dibuka ‘books’ and has an OBJ grammatical function.

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb, a direct object and a locative oblique

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and phrases that act as an OBJ and an OBLloc. The OBJ can be an NP, a PROP, a POSSPARTP or a QUALPARTP. The OBLloc can be a LOCCLNP or a LOCPARTP. The transitivity and meaning of the main verb change when one or more than one extension, such as the causative, the causative and applicative or the causative, applicative and reciprocal extensions are suffixed to a main verb. The suffixing of these extensions then in specific cases necessitates the inclusion of both an OBJ and an OBLloc in the VPMAIN.

In (17) the main verb includes a causative extension and the transitive verb requires a theme and a locative thematic role. The NP dibuka ‘books’ is the theme and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function. The LOCPARTP mo kgetsing ‘in the bag’ is the locative and this argument has an OBLloc grammatical function in the VPMAIN.

The transitive verb in (18) includes an applicative extension and in this instance a beneficiary and a locative thematic role is required. The NP batho ‘people’ has a beneficiary thematic role and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function. The LOCPARTP kwa toropong ‘to town’ has a locative thematic role and this argument has an OBLloc grammatical function.

The main verb in (19) is a transitive verb and it includes both an applicative and a causative extension. The causative extension requires a theme thematic role. The theme is an NP dibuka ‘books’ and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function. The applicative extension requires a beneficiary thematic role. The beneficiary is the NP bana ‘children’ and this argument has an ‘OBJθ’ grammatical function.

The following phrase structure rules are applicable to the VPMAIN presented in (19):

• S → VPMAIN
• VPMAIN → V NP NP
• NP → N

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb, a direct object and an associative oblique

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and phrases that act as an OBJ and an OBLass. The OBJ can be an NP, a PROP, a POSSPARTP or a QUALPARTP. The OBLass is an ASSPARTP. In (20) the main verb does not include any extensions but it shows that the transitivity and the meaning of a main verb may allow for the inclusion of a theme and a beneficiary thematic role. The NP dijô ‘food’ is the theme and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function. The beneficiary bônê ‘them’ is included in ASSPARTP and this argument has an OBLass grammatical function.

The verb phrase consisting of a main verb, an indirect object, a direct object and a locative oblique

The VPMAIN can consist of a main verb and phrases that act as an OBJq, an OBJ and an OBLloc. The OBJq and OBJ can be an NP, a PROP, a POSSPARTP or a QUALPARTP. The OBLloc can be a LOCCLNP or a LOCPARTP. The transitivity as well as the meaning of the main verb change when a causative as well as an applicative extension are suffixed to a main verb.

The suffixing of the causative extension sometimes requires the inclusion of a theme and a locative thematic role and the inclusion of the applicative extension requires the inclusion of a beneficiary thematic role. In (21) the theme is an NP dibuka ‘books’ and this argument has an OBJ grammatical function. The locative is the LOCPARTP mo ketsing ‘in the bag’ and this argument has an OBLloc grammatical function. The NP bana ‘children’ is the beneficiary and this argument has an OBJq grammatical function.

Characterisation

The identifying copulative verb is used to identify a subject with regards to type, status, or profession (22) or to predicate the existence or presence of a thing (23) (Cole, 1955: 311).

The identifying copulative verb can express the grammatical features of mood, tense, aspect, and polarity and has different invariable forms i.e., ke, -se, -le, -nna, -nne, x. (cf. Cole, 1955: 311-319; Krüger, 2013b: 140-154; Berg, 2018: 194-195).

Where the personal pronouns of the first or second persons act as the subject the identifying copulative verb agrees with the person and number of the personal pronoun (24).

The internal structure of a verb phrase with an identifying copulative verb

The VPIDCOPV is constructed with an identifying copulative verb as a head and this hed functions as an introductory member. The introductory member is followed by specific phrases that functions as complements. These complements have specific phrase structures. The identifying copulative verb and these phrases constitutes a minimal phrasal structure. This minimal structure also represents the minimal syntactic structure of a sentence (Krüger, 2013a: 37-38).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a noun phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by an NP (25) (cf. Cole, 1955: 311-312).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a pronoun phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by a PROP (26) (cf. Cole, 1955: 313).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a possessive particle phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by a POSSPARTP (27), (cf. Cole, 1955: 313).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a qualificative particle phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by a QUALPARTP (28), (cf. Cole, 1955: 313).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and an adverb phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by an ADVP (29) (cf. Cole, 1955: 315).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a locative eparticle phrase

The VPIDCOPV can consist of an identifying copulative verb followed by a LOCPARTP (30), (cf. Cole, 1955: 315).

Concluding remark

Although the identifying copulative has the invariable forms ke, -se, -le, -nna, -nne, -nnile the subject agreement morpheme go of noun classes 16 to 20 is also used as an identifying copulative verb (31) when the complement is a noun indicating “natural states of day and night, light and dark and seasonal conditions” (Cole, 1955: 314).

Characterisation

The describing copulative verb is used to “predicate some quality, characteristic or state of a subject, or its situation or locality” ((32) and (33)) (Cole, 1955: 319).

The describing copulative verb also expresses the grammatical features of mood, tense, aspect, and polarity. It exhibits class or person and number agreement with the subject, (cf. Cole, 1955: 330; Krüger, 2013b: 156-177; Berg, 2018: 194-195).

The internal structure of the verb phrase with a describing copulative verb

The VPDESCOPV is constructed with a describing copulative verb as head and this head functions as an introductory member. The introductory member is followed by specific phrases that function as complements. These complements have specific phrase structures. The describing copulative verb and these phrases constitute a minimal phrasal structure. This minimal structure also represents the minimal syntactic structure of a sentence.

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and an adjective

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with the describing copulative verb and a succeeding adjective (34). The adjective takes a class prefix and it must show agreement with the describing copulative verb (cf. Cole, 1955: 321-322; Krüger, 2013b: 159-159).

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and a noun

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with the describing copulative verb and a succeeding noun (35). Krüger (2013b: 157) states that nouns “which denote a quality or characteristic can be used as complement” and explains that nearly all of these nouns “have an abstract significance and most of them occur in class 14”. These nouns are also referred to as relative nouns, adjectival nouns or invariable adjectives and Cole (1955: 323) describe them as adjectives that have primitive bases (cf. Krüger, 2013b: 157-159).

The abstract nouns do not show agreement with the preceding describing copulative verb (except for class 14).

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and a locative particle phrase

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with a describing copulative verb followed by a LOCPARTP (36) (cf. Cole, 1955: 329; Krüger, 2013b: 159-160).

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and a locative class noun phrase

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with a describing copulative verb followed by a LOCCLNP (37). The LOCCLNP consists of the locative class nouns in noun classes 16 to 20 (cf. Krüger, 2013b: 161-162).

The verb phrase consisting of an identifying copulative verb and a pronoun phrase

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with a describing copulative verb followed by a PROP. The PROP is an inclusive (38) or exclusive (39) quantitative pronoun. These pronouns agree with the class or person and number of the preceding describing copulative verb (cf. Cole, 1955: 322-323; Krüger, 2013b: 160-161).

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and an adverb phrase

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with a describing copulative verb followed by an ADVP (40) (cf. Cole, 1955: 324-325; Krüger, 2013b: 163-164).

The verb phrase consisting of a describing copulative verb and a possessive particle phrase

The VPDESCOPV can be structured with a describing copulative verb followed by a POSSPARTP (41) (Krüger, 2013b: 164).

Concluding remark

The describing copulative verb resembles the subject agreement morphemes of the noun classes as well as that of the personal pronoun in the present tense of the indicative mood. They display agreement according to the noun class as well as person and number. The describing copulative verb can also have invariable forms such as -le, -se, -nna, -nne and -nnile. These forms are used in specific moods and tenses (Krüger, 2013a: 166-169).

Characterisation

The associative verb is used to “express the idea of the English ‘have’ or ‘be with’, and indicates possession or association,” (Cole, 1955: 339).

The associative copulative verb also expresses the grammatical features of mood, tense, aspect, and polarity and has different invariable forms i.e., -na, -se, -le, -nna, -nne, -nnile. A subject agreement morpheme indicating a specific noun class or person and number is prefixed to these forms (cf. Cole, 1955: 330; Krüger, 2013b: 156-177; Berg, 2018: 194-195).

The internal structure of the verb phrase with an associative copulative verb

The structure of the VPASSCOPV is constructed with an associative copulative verb as head and this head functions as an introductory member. The introductory member is followed by a complement. The use of a specific phrase as complement is determined by the polarity of the associative copulative verb. The associative copulative verb and the phrases used in the positive and negative constitute a minimal phrasal structure. This minimal structure also represents the minimal syntactic structure of a sentence.

The VPASSCOPV consisting of an associative copulative verb with positive polarity

The VPASSCOPV can be structured with the associative copulative verb and a succeeding ASSPARTP. The AsspartP always has the associative particle le as head and has valence for various types of phrases as complement (this is discussed in the Topic on Particles and particle phrases). The AssPartP is used as complement if the associative copulative has positive polarity. In (42) the AssPartP is le dijô ‘with food’ (cf. Cole, 1955: 330; Krüger, 2013b: 157; Berg, 2018: 119).

The VPASSCOPV consisting of an associative copulative verb with negative polarity

If the associative copulative verb in the VPASSCOPV has negative polarity it is succeeded with the associative copulative verb and usually the associative particle le is not included (Cole, 1955: 332). Therefore, the succeeding phrases can be NP, PROP, POSSPARTP or QUALPARTP.

• The VPASSCOPV consisting of an associative copulative verb and an NP

  The VPASSCOPV can be structured with an associative copulative verb followed by an NP (43).

  Example 43

  Ga ba na dijô.

  ga -ba -na di -j -ô

  NegPre-AgrSubj2-AssCopV NPre10-eat-DevSuf

  They do not have food.

• The verb phrase consisting of an associative copulative verb and a pronoun phrase

  The VPASSCOPV can be structured with an associative copulative verb followed by a PROP (44).

  Example 44

  Ga ba na tsônê.

  ga -ba -na tsônê

  NegPre-AgrSubj2-AssCopV AbsPro10

  They do not have it (They do not have them.)

• The verb phrase consisting of an associative copulative verb and a possessive particle phrase

  The VPASSCOPV can be structured with an associative copulative verb followed by a POSSPARTP (45).

  Example 45

  Ga ba na tsa me.

  ga -ba -na tsa me

  NegPre-AgrSubj2-AssCopV PossPart10 PossProP1sg

  They do not have mine.

• The verb phrase consisting of an associative copulative verb and aqualificative particle phrase

  The VPASSCOPV can be structured with an associative copulative verb followed by a QUALPARTP (46).

  Example 46

  Ga ba na tse dintsi.

  ga -ba -na tse di -ntsi

  NegPre-AgrSubj2-AssCopV QualPart10 NPre10-adjective

  They do not have many.

Concluding remark

If the subject agreement morpheme go of the locative class nouns (classes 16-20) is included in the morphological structure of an associative copulative verb “there is an optional deletion of the associative particle le and the copulative verb -na.” (Krüger, 2013b: 180). For example, go na le batho ‘there are people’ can also have a valid syntactic structure go batho ‘there are people’. The negative of this VPASSCOPV is ga go batho ‘there are no people’.

Characterisation

An auxiliary verb is dependent on a complement (a VP with a main verb, a VPIDCOPV, a VPDESCOPV, a VPASSCOPV or another VPAUX) (Louwrens, 1994: 17). An auxiliary verb in Setswana usually collaborates with and contributes to the meaning of the main verb or copulative verb and the range of categories they express in their morphology. Cole (1955: 235) is of the opinion that an auxiliary verb (deficient verb) can be used to “indicate simple distinctions of time or tense and to provide special implications or modifications of significance as distinct from or additional to the time factor”. An auxiliary verb enriches the meaning of the complementary main verb, copulative verb or auxiliary verb and can add semantic information regarding the progression or completion of an action. Pretorius (1997: 98) explains that semantically, an auxiliary verb in Setswana expresses a certain type of duration of the action or it expresses the logical time at which the action is executed. For example, Krüger (2013b: 396) explains that the auxiliary verb ne indicates an action that is incomplete and continuing at a certain moment in the past (47).

Auxiliary verbs can be proper auxiliary verbs or improper auxiliary verbs (Pretorius, 1997: 259-343). The proper auxiliary verbs indicate mood, tense, aspect and/or polarity information. The improper auxiliary verbs are “proper independent verbs which can also function as auxiliary verbs followed by predicative complements” and they express a semantic value of continuation or duration, logical time, successive continuation, simultaneous execution or repetition while some of the improper auxiliaries can also have a conjunctive function (Pretorius, 1997: 279).

The internal structure of the verb phrase with an auxiliary verb

The VPAUX is constructed with an auxiliary verb and a complement. The complement can be a VPMAIN, a VPIDCOPV, a VPDESCOPV, a VPASSCOPV or another VPAUX. As explained by Krüger (2013b: 191) the complement expresses the main action or event.

An auxiliary verb followed by a verb phrase with a main verb

In (48) the auxiliary verb re setse ‘we are already’ acts as an introductory member and the complement is a VPMAINre kwala ditlhatlhobô ‘examinations’. The VPMAIN consists of the main verb re kwala ‘write’ and an object i.e., the noun ditlhatlhobô ‘examinations’. The auxiliary verb and the main verb must show the same noun class or person and number information. In this example they show agreement regarding the first person plural.

An auxiliary verb followed by a verb phrase with an identifying copulative verb

In (49) the auxiliary verb e ne ‘he was’ acts as an introductory member and the complement is a VPIDCOPV e le kgosi ‘he is a chief’. The VPIDCOPV consists of the identifying copulative verb e le ‘he is’ and its complement i.e., the noun kgosi ‘king’. The auxiliary verb and the identifying copulative verb includes a classless agreement morpheme that is applicable to all the noun classes.

An auxiliary verb followed by a verb phrase with a describing copulative verb

In (50) the auxiliary verb o ne ‘he was’ acts as an introductory member and the complement is a VPDESCOPV a le kgosi ‘he is big’. The VPDESCOPV consists of the describing copulative verb a le ‘he is’ and its complement i.e., the noun kgosi ‘king’. The auxiliary verb and the describing copulative verb must show agreement and in this example both include the subject agreement morpheme of noun class 1.

An auxiliary verb followed by a verb phrase with an associative copulative verb

In (51) the auxiliary verb o ne ‘he was’ acts as an introductory member and the complement is a VPASSCOPV a na le koloi ‘he has a car’ (‘he is with a car’). The VPASSCOPV consists of the associative copulative verb na ‘he has’ and its complement i.e., the AssPartP le koloi ‘with a car’. The auxiliary verb and the associative copulative verb must show agreement and in this example they both include the subject agreement morpheme of noun class 1.

An auxiliary verb followed by a verb phrase with an auxiliary verb as head

In (52) the auxiliary verb re ne ‘we were’ acts as an introductory member and the complement is a VPAUX re santse re ba thusa ‘we still are helping them’. This VPAUX consists of the auxiliary verb re santse ‘we still’ and its complement i.e., the main verb re ba thusa ‘we are helping them’. Both auxiliary verbs and the main verb must show agreement and in this example they include the subject agreement morpheme of the first person plural.

Remark

The external syntax of the different VPs is concerned with the use and function of the VPs in larger constructions such as clauses and sentences. A description of the external syntax is therefore included in the three topics that focus on the syntactic structure of the simple, complex and compound sentences in Setswana.

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