verbless (adj.)

A type of CLAUSE recognized in some MODELS of GRAMMATICAL description (e.g. QUIRK GRAMMAR), in which the VERB is omitted (and often the SUBJECT as well), e.g. When ready, we waited for the signal, Stay at home if possible. Some classical TRANSFORMATIONAL models of analysis would DERIVE such structures using a process of DELETION. In later GENERATIVE studies such constructions have been analyzed as BASE-generated – a type of SMALL CLAUSE.