Verbal phrases in English

Content

• Examples of verb phrases in English

Verbal phrases are those that are made up of a main verb and an auxiliary verb.

In general, each of the verbs present in the verb phrase is in a different form: infinitive, gerund, present participle or past participle. Also, each verb can have its complements.

Conjugations

In English, there are conjugations that are verb phrases themselves:

• Simple future: verb phrase formed by "will" and verb in the infinitive. I will see you soon. / I'll see you soon. In the Spanish translation, the verb phrase formed by two verbs (will and see) becomes a single verb.
• Present continuous. Verb phrase formed by the verb to be and the main verb in gerund. I am playing tennis. / I'm playing tennis.
• Present perfect. Verb phrase of the verb to have and the verb in the past participle. I have seen that movie. / I've seen that movie.
• Present perfect continuous: The verb to have + been + main verb in gerund. I have been looking for you. / I've been looking for you.
• Past perfect: Verb phrase formed by the verb to have in the past (had) and the main verb in the participle. I had seen her before. / I had seen it before.

Auxiliary verbs

There are verbs that, in addition to being used independently, are often used as part of verb phrases.

• Be: I am trying to help you. / I'm trying to help you.
• Dog: He can jump higher. / You can jump higher.
• Do: Do you like chocolate? / You like chocolate? In this case, the verb phrase made up of two verbs (do and like) becomes a single verb.
• Must: We must pay in advance. / We must pay in advance.

Examples of verb phrases in English

1. They tried to stop the fire. / They tried to stop the fire.
2. We enjoy playing / We enjoy playing tennis.
3. I love swimming. / I love swimming.
4. They have traveled around the world. / They have traveled all over the world.
5. We spend a lot of time looking for it. / We spent a lot of time looking for it.
6. They are worried they might not finish on time. They worry about not finishing on time.
7. We are happy to see / We are happy to see you.
8. My mother lets I watch tv after I finish my homework. / My mother lets me watch TV after I finish my homework.
9. A crowd was watching them play. / A crowd watched them play.
10. They helped I find the perfect home. / They helped me find the perfect home.
11. I have wasrunning in the park. / I was running in the park.
12. I have seemed to be He seemed to be nervous.
13. She couldswim very fast. / She could swim very fast.
14. We havebeen friends for years. / We have been friends for years.
15. They hadlearned to play the piano when they were / They had learned to play the piano when they were children.
16. We are ready to start the show anytime. / We are ready to start the show at any time.
17. We mayhave enough time to play another song. / We may have time to play another song.
18. They noknow how to fix / They don't know how to repair it.
19. We willtry to be home before sundown. / We will try to be home before sunset.
20. I nothink I dog finish the book so fast. / I don't think I can finish the book that fast.
21. They asked him to stay another hour. / They asked him to stay one more hour.
22. We SE busca to climb a mountain. / We wanted to climb a mountain.
23. They planned to have to party. / They planned to have a party.
24. We weresurprised to see / We were surprised to see you.
25. I didn’t know how to answer the questions. / I did not know how to answer the questions.
26. I have thinks i have lost his opportunity. / You think you missed your chance.
27. They dogmake the place look / They can make the place look better.
28. She complained they didn’t let her make a reservation. / He complained that he was not allowed to make a reservation.
29. The teacher told them to be / The teacher told them to be quiet.
30. They listen to him speak about the things he haddone. / They heard him talk about the things he had done.
31. I can’tdrive / I don't know how to drive yet.
32. Item willstopraining / It will stop raining soon.
33. Maybe we doghelp him find a job. / Maybe we can help you find a job.
34. Technology dogmake your life easier. / Technology can make your life easier.
35. Everybody thinks she is very intelligent. / Everyone thinks she's very smart.
36. We like to play chess before we have / We like to play chess before dinner.
37. With time, more people startedwatching the show. / Over time, more people started watching the show.
38. They decided to wait. They decided to wait.
39. We dogbuild in nice house in this land. / We can build a nice house on this land.
40. I have realized i have had all the necessary tools. / He realized that he had all the necessary tools.

Andrea is a language teacher, and on her Instagram account she offers private lessons by video call so that you can learn to speak English.