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Are there a set of English verbs that require a prepositional phrase? For example:

"The set consists of A and B." = GOOD

"The set consists" = BAD

Is there a name for this type of verb? They seem to be different than 'transitive' which relies on a direct object. To clarify, I'm not asking about verb-particle (phrasal verb relations); I'm only interested in verb-PP.

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  • Such verbs are intransitive. I’m not aware of any name for this type, the linguists just say the verb “subcategorises for a PP.” – Atamiri May 8 '18 at 10:58
  • Hmm. I thought an intransitive verb must be able to stand alone without a direct object, which this can not. – jeff schneider May 8 '18 at 11:07
  • Maybe search in phrasal verbs; chip in, figure out, hand down/in – Joop Eggen May 8 '18 at 11:27
  • @JoopEggen I've already analyzed 6900 phrasal verbs. That's why my question explicitly states that I'm not asking about phrasal verbs. :) – jeff schneider May 8 '18 at 11:38
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    @Atamiri I found these categories: homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/s0896251/XMG-basedXTAG/noweb/… I see your point. The verb class is labeled by transitivity, argument type and optional/mandated, for example, "Intransitive with PP: n0Vpn1". – jeff schneider May 8 '18 at 11:54

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