Understanding verb phrase analysis depends on knowing which theory applies in context.
Starting with Lucien Tesnière 1959,[1] dependency grammars challenge the validity of the initial binary division of the clause into subject (NP) and predicate (VP), which means they reject the notion that the second half of this binary division, i.e. the finite VP, is a constituent.
The dependency tree on the right, in contrast, does not acknowledge a finite VP constituent, since there is no complete subtree there that corresponds to has finished the work.
Note that the analyses agree concerning the non-finite VP finished the work; both see it as a constituent (complete subtree).
Dependency grammars point to the results of many standard constituency tests to back up their stance.
[4] For example, in the following sentences only the words in bold form the verb phrase: This more narrow definition is often applied in functionalist frameworks and traditional European reference grammars.