verbsatsen

Verbsatsen is a linguistic term that refers to the verb clause or predicate part of a sentence. In grammars that use verbsatsen as a unit, the focus is on how the verb combines with auxiliaries, negation, and complements to form the core predication.

A verbsatsen typically includes the finite or non-finite verb form, any auxiliary verbs that mark tense, aspect, or mood, an optional negation particle, and objects or oblique arguments tightly linked to the predicate. The subject is usually outside the verbsatsen boundary.

Cross-linguistically, verbsatsen varies in structure. Some languages use a periphrastic verb phrase in which several words form a single predicate; others use verb serialization, in which multiple verbs together express tense and aspect. The internal order often follows language-specific rules rather than universal ones.

Example: English has a verbsatsen like has been reading in the sentence "She has been reading a book," where has and been are auxiliaries and reading is the main verb in its -ing form.

In typology, verbsatsen is closely related to the notion of the predicate and to phrases such as the verb phrase in many grammars. The term is used variably and may be substituted by verbal phrase or predicate in different traditions. See also: verb phrase, predicate, clause.