Verb phrase
In Toaq, a verb phrase (jeotoame) 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-word verb. (See that article for why "young" is a verb in Toaq.)
- 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 verb, made by juxtaposing a non-serial verb phrase with another verb phrase.
- Jỏaı kảqshıa nháo da. "They seek glasses."
- Pỏ súq ga chỉetuache nháo da. "They are your teacher".
- The common pỏ X ga Y "is X's Y" construction is a serial verb of pỏ X ga ("is X's") and Y. The ga is mandatory in this position, otherwise súq chỉetuache would be interpreted as a serial verb conjugated in
.
- The common pỏ X ga Y "is X's Y" construction is a serial verb of pỏ X ga ("is X's") and Y. The ga is mandatory in this position, otherwise súq chỉetuache would be interpreted as a serial verb conjugated in
When tone-conjugating a verb phrase, only the 
on the first word changes to the new tone:
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| nío the young one |
nïo hóa cy …who is young |
nỉo is young |
nîo (súq) cy that (you) are young |
| méa chíeme the one among the class |
mëa chíeme hóa cy …who is among the class |
mẻa chíeme is among the class |
mêa chíeme (súq) cy that (you) are among the class |
| mí Sảra (the) Sara |
mï Sảra hóa cy …who is Sara |
mỉ Sảra is Sara |
mî Sảra (súq) cy that (you) are Sara |
| lú sẻa hóa dãqleı ky the one who rarely rests |
lü sẻa hóa dãqleı ky hóa cy …who is someone who rarely rests[1] |
lủ sẻa hóa dãqleı ky is someone who rarely rests |
lû sẻa hóa dãqleı ky (súq) cy that (you) are someone who rarely rests[2] |
| jóaı kảqshıa the glasses-seeker |
jöaı kảqshıa hóa cy …who seeks glasses |
jỏaı kảqshıa seeks glasses |
jôaı kảqshıa (súq) cy that (you) seek glasses |