verbcomes

Verbcomes is a term used in linguistic literature to describe a proposed class of postverbal particles that attach to verbs to encode certain aspectual or resultative meanings within a single verbal complex. The concept was introduced in typological studies of postverbal particles to account for elements that behave like bound morphemes yet function syntactically as clitics or affixes on the verb rather than as separate words.

Form and distribution: Verbcomes typically follow the verb stem as suffix-like particles and may co-occur with tense or mood markers. They do not reflect person or number agreement and usually attach to the verb root or a deverbal form. In many languages they are optional or restricted to specific verbs, aspects, or discourse contexts, and they can be phonologically independent or fused with the verb.

Semantics and function: Verbcomes mark nuances related to completion, culmination, dissipation of action, or telicity, and in some languages can encode directionality or endpoint focus. They provide finer-grained information than auxiliary verbs and can interact with other aspectual or mood markers to yield extended predicate meaning. The same verb can take different verbcomes to convey distinct shades of event structure, such as finishing an action versus continuing toward a goal.

Examples: In a hypothetical language X, the verb tako means “to eat” and the verbcome suffix -ka marks completion: tako-ka means “eat to completion” or “finish eating.” A different suffix -mi might indicate a continuation toward a stated endpoint: tako-mi, “eat and continue until a goal is reached.” The sentence Maru tako-ka translates as “Maru ate (and finished).”

See also: aspect, telicity, verbal particle, clitic, verb phrase.