How to identify a complex verbal group?

Question

In this instance, does 'as' function as a conjunction or as an adverb?

(1) 'Their circumstances are not nearly the same as those of the people feeling their homelands.'

Would you classify 'fulfill our moral duty to help' and 'allows us to control who' as complex verbal groups?

(2) 'While we must fulfill our moral duty to help people in desperate need, we must also have an immigration system that allows us to control who comes into our country.'

I wouldn't classify them as individual complex verbal groups given that the second verb has a different subject. Would you agree with me? (I'm looking at the grammar from a functional ptv.)

Also, I am inclined to think that 'Thanks to our help, ...' functions as a subordinate clause, I would just like to ask if anyone else thinks this plausible?

Cheers

Answer 1

You asked three separate questions. We recommend that you pose one per post, so that it is clearer and easier to choose an answer. I am going to answer your title question, which corresponds with #2.

According to this pdf from The Learning Centre at University of Sydney, a verbal group is

verbs and the words associated with verbs

The verbal group is structured from the finite verb, auxiliary verb, and main verb. According the The Structure of English Clauses, a verbal group is complex when the elements fall into two parts with other elements in between them.

Looking at the first group you mention:

must fulfill our moral duty to help

This is not a single complex group, but rather it contains two verbal groups: "must fulfill" which is modal plus main (a finite verbal group), and "to help" which is an infinitive (non-finite verbal group).

The second group you mention:

allows us to control

This is also not a single complex group. "Allows" is a main verb and "to control" is an infinitive.

Here is an example of a complex verbal group for comparison:

must have been going to find