Using two verbs together to add information about actions
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Kinds of information represented by double-verb structures | page 1 of 6 |
Introduction
The following example illustrates the most common type of double-verb
structure 
:
When I first started teaching I was thrown into the deep-end, never having been into a secondary school for practice. (Bank of English)
In this example, the writer can convey information about two aspects of a single action
or event which is associated with one person, the subject I 
. Note
that the first verb started provides important information about the main action teaching
- in this example it is information related to "time", ie the starting phase
of the action.
The information conveyed by the first verb is usually related to one of the following areas of meaning, which provides a useful means of categorising double-verb structures relating to actions:
 |
"time"  |
|
"reality" |
|
"effort" (+/- "success") |
|
"manner" |
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Introduction
Using double-verb structures to talk about "time"
