In Portuguese, regency is the process of subordination existing in relationship between words in a prayer.
In this process, we have the presence of a ruling term, verbal or nominal, and the governed term. The mark of subordination can be given by the presence of prepositions, responsible for linking these terms.
Verbal Regency
Verbal regency is the relationship between a verb and its complements (direct object, indirect object, nominal complement, etc.). Verbs can be transitives or intransitives.
intransitive verbs
Intransitive verbs are those that dispense with the presence of a direct or indirect object to complete its meaning. They express actions, states or natural phenomena.
Examples:
a) "I I sleep early".
b) "Joan cried very".
"Early" is an adverb of time that indicates when the action takes place. "Very" is an adverb of intensity that modifies the verb "to cry". In these cases, verbs do not need a direct or indirect object to make sense.
transitive verbs
Transitive verbs are those that need acomplement to make sense. these complements receive or undergo the action expressed by the verb.
direct transitive verbs
These are verbs that require the presence of a direct object to complete the meaning, establishing a complementary relationship. Therefore, they do not require the advance of a preposition to establish the relationship of subordination or regency.
Examples:
a) "Peter he ate litter".
b) "I read a book".
In these examples, "apple" is the direct object of the verb "to eat", just as "a book" is of the verb "to read". Both direct objects give meaning to verbs.
Indirect transitive verbs
Indirect transitive verbs are those that require the presence of a preposition to complete the meaning, establishing a relation of regency as indirect object.
Below, we list 20 common indirect transitive verbs in the Portuguese language, along with the prepositions they usually govern:
| Verb | Preposition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| To believe | in | "I believe in you." |
| To attend | The | "I watched the movie last night." |
| To arrive | The | "She got to work at 9am." |
| Trust | in | "I trust my friend." |
| Miss | The | "It's only a month until Christmas." |
| To obey | The | "It's important to obey the laws." |
| To belong | The | "This house belongs to my family." |
| Precede | The | "Dinner preceded the ceremony." |
| To resort | The | "I resorted to the help of a specialist." |
| target | The | "The project aims to improve the quality of life." |
| To attend | in | "The doctor assisted in a public hospital." |
| Delay | for | "The flight was delayed to São Paulo." |
| Contribute | for | "His attitude contributed to the solution of the problem." |
| To escape | in | "The suspect fled the police." |
| To like | in | "I like to ride my bike on the weekends." |
| Go | The | "I went to the beach yesterday with my friends." |
| To connect | for | "The patient called the doctor to make an appointment." |
| To need | in | "I need help carrying this box." |
| To know | in | "I know of a great restaurant nearby." |
| Serve | for | "The dress is for the wedding party." |
Name Regency
Nominal rule is a relationship of in between a name (noun, adjective, adverb or noun verb) and its complements. Such complements can be prepositions, articles, pronouns, among others.
rule of nouns
Many nouns require prepositions to link them to their complements, establishing a relationship of subordination with these terms. Below, we present 20 examples of nouns that govern prepositions:
| Substantive | Preposition(s) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| attachment | The | "She has a strong attachment to her family." |
| Dependency | in | "He has a dependency on alcohol." |
| Praise | The | "I received many compliments on my performance." |
| Phobia | per | "He has a phobia of cockroaches." |
| Need | in | "I need to study for the test." |
| Obedience | The | "Obedience to the law is important." |
| Pride | in | "She is very proud of her background." |
| Participation | in | "My participation in that meeting was excellent." |
| Preference | per | "I have a preference for sports cars." |
| Concern | with | "I have a lot of concern about the health of my family." |
| Protection | against, for | "The umbrella offers me protection from the rain." / "I use sunscreen to protect myself from the sun's rays." |
| Reaction | The | "My reaction to the news was one of surprise." |
| Relationship | with | "My relationship with my co-workers is great." |
| Respect | per | "We must have respect for our seniors." |
| Feeling | in | "I feel a great sense of gratitude for everything you've done for me." |
| Symptom | in | "That's a symptom that something isn't right." |
| suspicion | in | "He has suspicions that the company is facing financial problems." |
| Trend | The | "I tend to put on weight easily." |
| Willing | in | "I feel like having some chocolate right now." |
NOTE: Some nouns (and this also applies to verbs, adjectives and adverbs) can govern more than one preposition, depending on the context and the communicative intention of the enunciator.
Examples:
- "Food is missing to the people."
- "The player missed against the opponent."
- "This is a foul in shame!"
- "I'm at fault towards the association."
Regency of adjectives
Below, we list 20 adjectives that govern prepositions:
| adjectives | prepositions | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Anxious | by, from | "I look forward to receiving the answer." |
| fit | for | "He is not fit for office." |
| Trusting | in | "I'm confident in your ability." |
| Happy | with | "I'm happy with the result." |
| Different | in | "She is different from your sister." |
| Happy | to compose | "I'm happy with the present." / "I'm glad I met you." |
| Grateful | the, by | "I am grateful to my parents." / "I am grateful for your help." |
| used to | The | "He's used to waking up early." |
| indignant | with | "I am outraged by the situation." |
| Envious | in | "He is envious of your success." |
| worried | with | "I'm worried about your health." |
| Satisfied | with | "I am satisfied with the service provided." |
| Safe | from, in | "I'm sure I made the right choice." / "He is safe in his house." |
| Suspect | in | "He is suspected of having committed the crime." |
Regency of Adverbs
Here are some examples of adverbs that govern prepositions:
| adverbs | prepositions | Phrases |
|---|---|---|
| To | in | "I'm studying in order to pass the exam." |
| Above | in | "The painting is above the door." |
| Below | in | "The cat is under the table." |
| Back | in | "The car is behind the house." |
| Forward | in | "The city is beyond the mountain." |
| Forward | in | "The leader is at the head of the group." |
| In addition | in | "In addition to the problems, we have to deal with the lack of time." |
| To whom | in | "The result fell short of expectations." |
| Through | in | "The message was transmitted over the phone." |
| Around | in | "There are many animals around the house." |
| Before | in | "I need to do my homework before class." |
| After | in | "I'm going out after dinner." |
| Inside | in | "The cat is inside the box." |
| Outside | in | "The key is out of the bag." |
| Against | in | "The policeman was in front of the bank." |
| On top | in | "The book is on the table." |
| Underneath | in | "The dog is under the bed." |
Bibliography:
- LUFT, Celso Pedro. Practical Dictionary of Verbal Conducting. Sao Paulo: Attica, 1992.
- ALEMIDA, Nilson Teixeira. Language Topics: Grammar, Verbal and Nominal Regency. São Paulo: Atual, 1988.
Know more:
- Grammatical classes
- Nominal and Verbal Agreement
- Verb
- Preposition
- Substantive
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Syntactic Function
- Predicate
