3.183 Talking about closely linked actions: using two verbs together in phase

This section describes the ways in which you use two verbs in a clause in order to talk about two actions or states which are closely linked. This structure is called phase.

These two actions may be performed by the same person. See paragraphs 3.190 to 3.202.

Alternatively, the actions may be performed by different people. If they are, the performer of the second action is put as the object of the first verb. See paragraphs 3.203 to 3.213.

3.184

Note that the first verb needs the second verb after it because it does not give enough information on its own. For example, 'I want' does not give enough information to be a useful statement, but 'I want to talk to you' does.

Some of the verbs dealt with below, for example 'want' and 'like', can also be used as ordinary transitive verbs, with a noun group after them. Transitive verbs are explained in paragraphs 3.15 to 3.26.

3.185

If you want to talk about two actions that are less closely linked, you refer to each action in a separate clause.