postverbal

Postverbal is a linguistic term used to describe a constituent that occurs after the verb within a clause. The label is used to distinguish elements that follow the verb from those that precede it (preverbal). The postverbal position can apply to various syntactic elements, including objects, adverbials, clitics or particles, negation, and certain subordinate or complementizer phrases. The interpretation of postverbal position depends on the language’s typical word order and the functional role of the element.

In practice, postverbal elements are common in languages with flexible or multiple word orders. For example, in many SVO languages, direct and indirect objects are postverbal with respect to the verb, as in She read a book. Adverbials can also appear postverbally, as in He spoke yesterday. In languages that employ clitics or particles, these markers may attach to the verb or to its auxiliary after the verb, signaling aspects such as tense, mood, or aspect, or marking agreement.

Cross-linguistic variation means that what counts as postverbal can differ between languages and constructions. Some languages show strong tendencies for postverbal objects or modifiers, while others restrict postverbal position to specific syntactic environments, such as coordinated structures or verb-initial clauses.

See also: preverbal, word order, clitic, object position, syntax.