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THE LINGUISTICS STUDENT’S HANDBOOK 60
SOV, VSO, etc., where S stands for ‘subject’, O stands for ‘object’ and V stands
for ‘verb’. As we have seen, subject and object are functions. We would assume,
therefore, that verb is also a function, and, indeed, it must be understood as one
in such a classification. However, a verb is also a form. A verb, we might say in
English, is a word which can take a third person singular -s, which has a past
tense form and a past participle form (which will be homophonous if the verb
is regular), and which has a form ending in -ing. These are all statements about
forms. Just as noun and adjective are labels referring to form, so too is verb. But
now we have a paradox: verb is a label relating to form sometimes, and it is
sometimes a functional label. Some scholars have used the term predicator for
the functional label, and retained verb for the form. Unfortunately, the use of
the label verb in the two distinct ways is very widespread, and care is required
not to confuse the two.
Reference
The Chambers Dictionary. (2003). 9th edn. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap.