verbtoparticiple

Verbtoparticiple, abbreviated as VTP, is a theoretical term in linguistics used to describe the status, formation, and function of verb-derived participial forms. The label refers to items that originate from verbs but function grammatically as participles, often occupying adjectival or adverbial positions within a sentence. The concept appears mainly in typological and constructionist discussions, where researchers examine how languages create and reuse non-finite forms that carry verbal meaning while serving participial syntactic roles.

VTP forms are typically deverbal: they arise through affixation, internal stem changes, reduplication, or suppletion. In some languages, a single verb stem yields multiple participial forms such as present, past, or resultative varieties. The term emphasizes the interface between verbal semantics and participial syntax, highlighting how a form can retain verbal content while functioning as an adjective or adverb within larger structures.

In languages described with VTP, these forms may modify nouns, appear within noun phrases as attributive modifiers, or participate in reduced relative clauses. They can interact with agreement systems, word order patterns, or aspectual contrasts. Critics note that VTP overlaps with established categories such as deverbal adjectives or participial phrases, and that its cross-linguistic boundaries are not universally agreed upon.

Example language X shows a VTP derived from the verb to run, yielding a participial form used to describe a noun: “a running horse.” The participial form here conveys ongoing activity while contributing to noun phrase structure; similar patterns occur cross-linguistically with other verbs.

See also: participle, deverbal adjective, gerund, non-finite clause, verb morphology.