main verb

noun

1. a word used as the final verb in a verb phrase, expressing the lexical meaning of the verb phrase, as drink in I don't drink, going in I am going, or spoken in We have spoken.

Example Sentences

What he wanted to change was the main verb, “opiewać” in Polish.

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The main verb, “disassembling,” registers more gently than, say “tearing down,” and is echoed by “heartwarming.”

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Indeed, the spot in front of the main verb is often the most natural resting place for an adverb.

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Similarly, the allegedly unsplittable verb will execute is not a verb at all but two verbs, the auxiliary verb will and the main verb execute.

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McGlinchey created an inner literalist who still hunts for the main verb of a sentence and still, to the best of his ability, disentangles the subordinate clauses, although usually nowadays with the help of a crib from the Loeb Library or the old Penguin Classics.

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