Bright Hub Education

Bright Hub Education

  • Teaching Tools
    • Teaching Tools
    • Classroom Management
    • Education Industry
    • Student Assessment Tools
    • Teaching Methods
  • Preschool and Early Ed
    • Preschool and Early Ed
    • Infant Development
    • Parenting Tips and Advice
    • Preschool Crafts and Activities
    • Preschool Lesson Plans and Theme
    • Preschool Teaching Strategies
    • Toddler Activities and Ideas
  • Elementary School
    • Elementary School
    • Grade School Activities
    • Lesson Plans for Pre-K and K
    • Lesson Plans: Grades 1 - 2
    • Lesson Plans: Grades 3 - 5
    • Parenting Grade Schoolers
    • Teaching Younger Students
  • Middle School
    • Middle School
    • English Lessons: Grades 6-8
    • History Lessons: Grades 6-8
    • Math Lessons: Grades 6-8
    • Parenting Preteens and Tweens
    • Science Lessons: Grades 6-8
    • Social Studies: Grades 6-8
    • Teaching Middle Schoolers
    • The Arts: Grades 6-8
  • More
    • High School(7)
    • Homework Help(20)
    • Special Ed(11)
    • More Areas(4)
More
High School (7)
Homework Help (20)
Special Ed (11)
More Areas (4)
English Lessons: Grades 9-12
High School Teaching Tips
History Lessons: Grades 9-12
Math Lessons: Grades 9-12
Parenting Teens
Science Lessons: Grades 9-12
The Arts: Grades 9-12
English Help
Geography Facts
Help with German
Help with Latin
Help with Writing
History Help
Language Learning Strategies
Learning Chinese
Learning French
Learning Italian
Learning Japanese
Learning Spanish
Literature Study Guides
Math Facts
Miscellaneous Languages
Science Homework Help
Science Projects
Social Studies Help
Study and Learning Tips
Test Preparation
Behavioral Disorders
Gifted and Exceptional St...
Hearing Impairments
IDEA, IEPs and The Law
Inclusion Strategies
Learning Disorders
Neurological Disorders
Physical Disabilities
Special Ed: Parent Perspe...
Speech Disorders
Visual Impairments
Homeschooling Advice
Summer Learning
Teaching a Second Language
Teaching ESL Learners
    Skip to content
    768

    Catenative Verbs: Connecting One Verb to Another in English Grammar

    ESL Lesson Plans for All Grade Levels / By Heather Marie Kosur / Teaching English as a Second Language

    What Are They?

    Catenative verbs are verbs followed directly by another verb in the infinitive, present participle, or base form. The adjective catenative

    English Pin it! Share on Facebook

    from the verb catenate means "to connect, to link, to string together" and refers to the connecting of one verb to another. For example, the following English verbs are catenative verbs:

    • The angels begin to sing.
    • This book helped shed light on the problem.
    • We had hoped to start the project early next week.
    • She likes reading books.
    • The children will need to bathe.

    Catenative Verbs Versus Modal and Quasi-modal Verbs

    Catenative verbs resemble modal and quasi-modal verbs in both form (what the verb looks like) and function (what the verb does). Like modals and quasi-modals, catenatives precede another verb. For example:

    • He might bake some bread. (modal)
    • She would rather see a different movie. (quasi-modal)
    • You ought to comb your hair. (quasi-modal)
    • Her husband wants to adopt another puppy. (catenative)

    However, unlike modals and quasi-modals, catenative verbs function as the head of the verb phrase. The verb that follows a catenative functions as either a verb phrase complement or a direct object. Modal and quasi-modal verbs, however, function as modals within verb phrases. For example:

    • Verb Phrase Head | Verb Phrase Complement
    • decide | to dye her hair
    • have | to finish his essay
    • Verb Phrase Head | Direct Object
    • like | reading books
    • prefer | to eat fruits and vegetables
    • Modal | Verb Phrase Head
    • should | exercise
    • used to | repair freezers

    Catenative verbs further differ from quasi-modal verbs in that the preposition to functions as a particle in quasi-modals but as an infinitive marker following catenative verbs. For example:

    • Modal | Particle | Verb Phrase Head
    • ought | to | jog
    • used | to | teach
    • Catenative | Infinitive Marker | Verb
    • hesitate | to | jump
    • intend | to | sing

    Some catenative verbs also resemble modal and quasi-modal verbs in meaning. For example, both the catenative have (to) and the modal must express obligation as in I have to finish my homework first and I must finish my homework first.

    Conjugations of Catenative Verbs

    Catenative verbs, unlike modal and quasi-modal verbs, have at least four but up to six conjugations depending on the regularity or irregularity of the verb. For example:

    • Base – Infinitive – Present Tense – Past Tense – Present Participle – Past Participle
    • agree – to agree – agree, agrees – agreed – agreeing – agreed
    • decide – to decide – decide, decides – decided – deciding – decided
    • have – to have – have, has – had – having – had
    • plan – to plan – plan, plans – planned – planning – planned
    • want – to want – want, wants – wanted – wanting – wanted

    Catenatives, also unlike modals and quasi-modals, express both verb tenses and all four verb aspects. For example:

    • Simple present: She strives to succeed.
    • Simple past: They neglected to water the plants.
    • Present progressive: The child is pretending to paint.
    • Past progressive: The bridesmaids were refusing to dance.
    • Present perfect: I have forgotten to bring the cake.
    • Past perfect: He had intended to send a card.
    • Present perfect-progressive: We have been enjoying reading this book.
    • Past perfect-progressive: He had been proposing traveling to Malaysia.

    Some catenative verbs also appear in passive constructions. For example:

    • She was permitted to stay out past midnight.
    • The children are forbidden to eat sweets.
    • My supervisor had been asked to come up with a report.

    For more information related to English catenative verbs, please refer to:

    • English Modal Verbs
    • English Quasi-modal Verbs
    • The Functions of Verbs and Verb Phrases in English
    • The English Verb System for ESL Students
    • Common English Verbs

    For a printable list of the most frequent catenative verbs in English, please download English Catenative Verbs Reference List. The list also includes information about the form of the verb following the catenative verb.

    References

    • Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

    Post navigation

    ← Previous Post
    Next Post →
    Copyright © 2019 Bright Hub Education. All Rights Reserved.
    About | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
     

    More Info

    Recent

    • Teaching Verbs to ESL Students Tense by Tense
    • Guide for Teaching ESL Business Vocabulary
    • Making ESL Lessons on Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Fun for Teachers and Students
    • An ESL Halloween Lesson for Adult Learners: Activities, Vocabulary & Creative Writing
    • Four High School ESL Games to Teach Vocabulary
    • Complete Activities for a Preschool Mary Had a Little Lamb Theme

    Popular Pages

    • Home
     

    Social

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+

    Links

    • Teaching Tools
    • Preschool and Early Ed
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • Top Menu

    Search

    • Privacy Policy