Home

verbssuch

Verbssuch is a coined term in linguistics used to describe a class of verb-derived forms that function in non-predicative positions, typically as modifiers within noun phrases or as noun-like elements derived from verbs. The label is encountered mainly in exploratory, corpus-based studies of cross-linguistic syntax and morphology and is sometimes written verbssuch or described as “verbs such.” It is not a universally adopted category, but a useful heuristic in discussions of how verbal meaning shifts when forms take adjectival or nominal syntax.

Definition and usage

In many languages with productive deverbal derivation, verbs give rise to forms that behave like adjectives

Examples

English: the running water, a broken vase, the working class. In these cases, the participial or deverbal

German: das laufende Auto (the running car), das geöffnete Fenster (the opened window). Here participles function

Dutch and other Germanic languages exhibit similar patterns, with verbs yielding participial adjectives that precede or

Relation to other concepts

Verbssuch is related to, but distinct from, general participial adjectives, gerunds, and deverbal nouns. It emphasizes

Origin and status

The term remains a niche, illustrative label rather than a widely standardized category, used mainly to

---

or
nominal
modifiers.
These
verb-derived
adjectives
or
participial
forms
can
appear
attributively,
preceding
a
noun,
or
function
as
a
nominal
head
in
certain
constructions.
Verbssuch
aims
to
capture
this
overlap
between
verbal
semantics
and
non-predicative
syntactic
roles.
The
phenomenon
often
preserves
some
aspectual
or
event-reading
from
the
verb
while
adopting
adjective-
or
noun-like
distribution.
form
modifies
a
noun
and
may
show
different
agreement
or
inflection
patterns
than
a
typical
finite
verb.
as
adjectives
with
their
own
syntactic
behavior.
modify
nouns.
cross-language
variation
in
how
verb-derived
forms
take
on
non-verb
functions
within
noun
phrases.
discuss
and
compare
cross-linguistic
phenomena
of
verbal
forms
with
non-predicative
syntax.
See
also
participial
adjectives,
deverbal
adjectives,
and
deverbal
nouns.