Empty (light) verbs

Empty (light) verbs form the predicate of a sentence together with a noun phrase. This noun phrase is usually a noun (an accusative object) or a prepositional phrase (object or predicative expression). The combination of an empty verb with a noun deriving from an adjective or from a verb is called Funktionsverbgefüge (empty verb structure).

In the empty verb structure, the nouns and not the empty verbs carry the meaning. Often, empty verb structures can be replaced by a full verb (in the active or in the passive voice) or by an adjective (combined with a copular verb).

Empty verbs offer a differentiated aspect of the nouns' meaning.

Empty verb structures fall into two categories, according to they meaning they express: empty verb structures with an active meaning and empty verb structures with a passive meaning. The passive meaning denotes state or a change of state.

This does not mean, however, that all empty verb structures can be found in all three categories.

Negation in an empty verb structure:

Negation in an empty verb structure with a prepositional object is the word nicht (and not kein).

Negation in an empty verb structure with an accusative object that has a zero article is either nicht or kein.

Negation in an empty verb structure with an accusative object that has an indefinite article is kein.

The noun phrase of an empy verb structure functions, with respect to syntax, as the second, non-inflected part of the predicate.