Verb phrase
In Toaq, a verb phrase is any phrase with the same grammatical behavior as a single verb.
Toaq is built around verbs, so verb phrases are everywhere. All of the tones actually operate on verb phrases: doesn't just turn a verb into an adverb, it turns a verb phrase into an adverb phrase.
A verb phrase is either:
- A single verb.
- Nỉo nháo da. "They are young."
- An object-incorporating verb (po, mea, jeı) followed its incorporated object noun phrase, optionally terminated by ga.
- Mẻa chíeme nháo da. "They are among the class."
- A name verb (mı, mıru) followed by a name phrase, optionally terminated by ga.
- Mỉ Sảra nháo da. "They are Sara."
- A free relative construction: lu … (ky), where the phrase's resumptive pronoun hóa is the argument of the verb phrase.
- Lủ sẻa hóa dãqleı ky nháo da. "They are someone who rarely rests."
- A serial, made by juxtaposing a non-serial verb phrase with another verb phrase.
- Jỏaı kảqshıa nháo da. "They seek glasses."
When tone-conjugating a verb phrase, only the on the first word changes to the new tone: