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).

Examples	accusative object	prepositional object	prepositional phrase as a predicative expression
eine Wahl treffen	+
eine Vermutung anstellen	+
zum Ausdruck bringen		+
außer Gefahr sein			+

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).

Examples	transcription
eine Wahl treffen	wählen
eine Vermutung anstellen	vermuten
in Erfüllung gehen	erfüllt werden
außer Gefahr sein	nicht gefährdet sein