Verb Phrase

This is a group of words in the sentence that contains the verb and the direct or indirect object but does not contain the subject. It may be formed of

a. a main verb only -in the present or past tense- (example: drink, watched, run, ate)

b. a principal auxiliary verb and a main verb – (example: am drinking, have watched, have been running, was eating)

c. a modal auxiliary verb and a main verb – (example: could drink, must watch, might run, shall eat)

d. a modal auxiliary verb, be/ have/ have been and a main verb – (example: could have watched, will be running, should have been reading)

If a verb phrase contains an auxiliary verb, the auxiliary verb should come before the main verb.