Attributive verb

Anattributive verbis averbthat modifies (expresses an attribute of) anounin the manner of anattributive adjective,rather than express an independent idea as apredicate.

InEnglish(and in most European languages), verb forms that can be used attributively are typicallynon-finiteforms —participlesandinfinitives— as well as certain verb-derived words that function as ordinary adjectives. All words of these types may be calledverbal adjectives,although those of the latter type (those that behave grammatically like ordinary adjectives, with no verb-like features) may be distinguished asdeverbal adjectives.An example of a verbal adjective with verb-like features is the wordwearingin the sentenceThe man wearing a hat is my father(it behaves as a verb in taking an object,a hat,although the resulting phrasewearing a hatfunctions like an attributive adjective in modifyingman). An example of a deverbal adjective is the wordinterestinginThat was a very interesting speech;although it is derived from the verbto interest,it behaves here entirely like an ordinary adjective such asniceorlong.

However, some languages, such asJapaneseandChinese,can usefinite verbsattributively. In such a language,the man wearing a hatmight translate, word-for-word, intothe wears a hat man.Here, the function of an attributive adjective is played by the phrasewears a hat,which isheadedby the finite verbwears.This is a kind ofrelative clause.

English

As mentioned above, verb forms that are used attributively in English are often called verbal adjectives, or in some cases deverbal adjectives (if they no longer behave grammatically as verbs).

The truly "verbal" adjectives are non-finite verb forms:participles(present and past), and sometimesto-infinitives.These act as verbs in that they form averb phrase,possibly takingobjectsand other dependents and modifiers that are typical of verbs; however, that verb phrase then plays the role of an attributive adjective in the larger sentence. In the following examples, the attributive verb is bolded, and the verb phrase acting as the attributive adjective is shown in italics.

• The catsittingon the fenceis mine.
• The actorgiventhe prizeis not my favorite.
• This is a great placeto eat.

Deverbal adjectives often have the same form as (and similar meaning to) the participles, but behave grammatically purely as adjectives — they do not take objects, for example, as a verb might. For example:

• It was a veryexcitinggame.
• Interestedparties should apply to the office.

Sometimes deverbal adjectives additionally take prefixes, as inhand-fedturkeys,uneatenfoodandmeat-eatinganimals.Somecompoundadjectives are formed using the plain infinitive form of the verb, as inano-goareaorno-flyzone,andtake-awayfood.Occasionally they are finite verb phrases:amust-seemovie;theircan-doattitude.Verbal and deverbal adjectives can often also be used as predicate (rather than attributive) adjectives, as inThe game was exciting;The cat was sitting on the fence.Deverbal adjectives may form further derivatives, such as adverbs (excitedly,interestingly).

English has analogous types ofverbal nouns(truly verbal kinds —gerundsand infinitives — anddeverbal nouns). Deverbal nouns may also be used attributively, asnoun adjuncts,as inaswimmingcompetition.

For more details of the usage of some of the above verb forms, seeUses of non-finite verbs in English.

Japanese

Further information:Japanese grammar § Attributive form

Japanese allows attributive finite verbs, and the following characteristics of Japanese are common among verb-final languages. For example, inJapanese,predicative verbs come at the end of the clause, after the nouns, while attributive verbs come before the noun. These are mostly equivalent torelative clausesin English; Japanese does not haverelative pronounslikewho,which,orwhen:

Hôm qua

Kinō

yesterday

あ の

ano

that

Người が

hito-ga

person

Bộ いた.

aruita.

walked

Hôm qua あ の người がBộ いた.

Kinō ano hito-gaaruita.

yesterday that person walked

That personwalkedyesterday.

Hôm qua

kinō

yesterday

Bộ いた

aruita

walked

あ の

ano

that

Người.

hito

person

Hôm quaBộ いたあ の người.

kinōaruitaano hito

yesterday walked that person

That personwho walkedyesterday...

Japanese attributive verbs inflect forgrammatical aspectas shown above, and also forgrammatical polarity,but usually not forpoliteness.For example, the polite form ofhito ga aruitaishito ga arukimashita,but the formarukimashita hito,although grammatically correct, is perceived to be too polite and paraphrastic. As such, modern Japanese verbs commonly have the same form both in their predicative and attributive usage. Historically, however, these had been separate forms, which is still the case in languages such asKoreanandTurkish,as illustrated by the following examples:

Classical Japanese:

• kazesamushi"The wind is cold"
• samukikaze"The cold wind"(lit."The wind that is cold" )

Turkish:

• Adam şiirokur,"The manreadspoetry "
• Şiirokuyanadam,"The manwho readspoetry "

Notice that both of these languages have a verb-finalword order,and that none of them have relative pronouns. They also do not have a clear distinction between verbs andadjectivesin their modern usage. For example, the wordaoi,meaning "blue", effectively functions both as an adjective and as well descriptive verb, without changes in inflection:

• Sora (ga)aoi."The skyis blue."
• Aoisora"Abluesky. "

Bantu languages

In theBantu languages,attributive verbs are formed by the addition of the "pre-prefix" (or "initial vowel" ). For example, inLuganda:

• Abasajja batambula,"The men walk" (predicative)
• Abasajjaabatambula,"The menwhowalk "(attributive)

This is similar to the behaviour of attributive adjectives:

• Abasajja bagagga,"The men are rich" (predicative)
• Abasajjaabagagga,"The menwhoare rich "(i.e." the rich men ") (attributive)

The attributive verb formation is the usual way of forming relatives in Luganda when the antecedent is the subject of the subordinate verb, and is sometimes called the "subject relative". Relative pronouns do exist, but they are only used for "object relatives", i.e. relative clauses where the antecedent is the object of the subordinate verb.

See also

• Participle
• Attributive adjective
• Noun adjunct(also referred to asattributive noun)
• Reduced relative clause