Anattributive verb is averb that modifies (expresses an attribute of) anoun in the manner of anattributive adjective, rather than express an independent idea as apredicate.

InEnglish (and in most European languages), verb forms that can be used attributively are typicallynon-finite forms —participles andinfinitives — as well as certain verb-derived words that function as ordinary adjectives. All words of these types may be calledverbal adjectives, although those of the latter type (those that behave grammatically like ordinary adjectives, with no verb-like features) may be distinguished asdeverbal adjectives.^[1] An example of a verbal adjective with verb-like features is the wordwearing in the sentenceThe man wearing a hat is my father (it behaves as a verb in taking an object,a hat, although the resulting phrasewearing a hat functions like an attributive adjective in modifyingman). An example of a deverbal adjective is the wordinteresting inThat was a very interesting speech; although it is derived from the verbto interest, it behaves here entirely like an ordinary adjective such asnice orlong.

However, some languages, such asJapanese andChinese, can usefinite verbs attributively. In such a language,the man wearing a hat might translate, word-for-word, intothe wears a hat man. Here, the function of an attributive adjective is played by the phrasewears a hat, which isheaded by the finite verbwears. This is a kind ofrelative clause.

As mentioned above, verb forms that are used attributively in English are often called verbal adjectives, or in some cases deverbal adjectives (if they no longer behave grammatically as verbs).

The truly "verbal" adjectives are non-finite verb forms:participles (present and past), and sometimesto-infinitives. These act as verbs in that they form averb phrase, possibly takingobjects and other dependents and modifiers that are typical of verbs; however, that verb phrase then plays the role of an attributive adjective in the larger sentence. In the following examples, the attributive verb is bolded, and the verb phrase acting as the attributive adjective is shown in italics.

• The catsitting on the fence is mine.
• The actorgiven the prize is not my favorite.
• This is a great placeto eat.

Deverbal adjectives often have the same form as (and similar meaning to) the participles, but behave grammatically purely as adjectives — they do not take objects, for example, as a verb might. For example:

• It was a veryexciting game.
• Interested parties should apply to the office.

Sometimes deverbal adjectives additionally take prefixes, as inhand-fed turkeys,uneaten food andmeat-eating animals. Somecompound adjectives are formed using the plain infinitive form of the verb, as inano-go area orno-fly zone,^[2] andtake-away food. Occasionally they are finite verb phrases:amust-see movie;theircan-do attitude. Verbal and deverbal adjectives can often also be used as predicate (rather than attributive) adjectives, as inThe game was exciting;The cat was sitting on the fence. Deverbal adjectives may form further derivatives, such as adverbs (excitedly,interestingly).

English has analogous types ofverbal nouns (truly verbal kinds —gerunds and infinitives — anddeverbal nouns). Deverbal nouns may also be used attributively, asnoun adjuncts, as inaswimming competition.

For more details of the usage of some of the above verb forms, seeUses of non-finite verbs in English.

Japanese allows attributive finite verbs, and the following characteristics of Japanese are common among verb-final languages. For example, inJapanese, predicative verbs come at the end of the clause, after the nouns, while attributive verbs come before the noun. These are mostly equivalent torelative clauses in English; Japanese does not haverelative pronouns likewho,which, orwhen:

Japanese attributive verbs inflect forgrammatical aspect as shown above, and also forgrammatical polarity, but usually not forpoliteness. For example, the polite form ofhito ga aruita ishito ga arukimashita, but the formarukimashita hito, although grammatically correct, is perceived to be too polite and paraphrastic. As such, modern Japanese verbs commonly have the same form in both their predicative and attributive usage. Historically, however, these had been separate forms, which is still the case in languages such asKorean andTurkish, as illustrated by the following examples:

Classical Japanese:

• kazesamushi "The wind is cold"^[3]
• samuki kaze "The cold wind"^[3] (lit. "The wind that is cold")

Turkish:

• Adam şiirokur, "The manreads poetry"
• Şiirokuyan adam, "The manwho reads poetry"

Notice that both of these languages have a verb-finalword order, and that none of them have relative pronouns. They also do not have a clear distinction between verbs andadjectives in their modern usage. For example, the wordaoi, meaning "blue", effectively functions both as an adjective and as well descriptive verb, without changes in inflection:

• Sora (ga)aoi. "The skyis blue."
• Aoi sora "Ablue sky."

In theBantu languages, attributive verbs are formed by the addition of the "pre-prefix" (or "initial vowel"). For example, inLuganda:

• Abasajja batambula, "The men walk" (predicative)
• Abasajjaabatambula, "The menwho walk" (attributive)

This is similar to the behaviour of attributive adjectives:

• Abasajja bagagga, "The men are rich" (predicative)
• Abasajjaabagagga, "The menwho are rich" (i.e. "the rich men") (attributive)

The attributive verb formation is the usual way of forming relatives in Luganda when the antecedent is the subject of the subordinate verb, and is sometimes called the "subject relative". Relative pronouns do exist, but they are only used for "object relatives", i.e. relative clauses where the antecedent is the object of the subordinate verb.

• Participle
• Attributive adjective
• Noun adjunct (also referred to asattributive noun)
• Reduced relative clause

• Verb types

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