THE VERB IN ENGLISH

o Verbs are the focal point of the clause as the verb in the role of the predicate determines the other elements that can occur in the clause and specifies the semantic relations between them.

 

o The defining characteristics of central verbs:

 

They are a class of notional words which

- express the general semantics of Action / Event;

- have the morphological categories of Tense, Aspect, Correlation, Voice, Mood, Person and Number;

- function as the Predicate in the sentence.

 

o A very heterogeneous class

 

CLASSIFICATIONS OF VERBS

 

o semantic classes:

1.1 terminative verbs (actional)

1.2durative verbs: existential verbs and verbs of activities

 

These major classes can be further subdivided into other semantic groups, e.g. communication verbs, mental verbs, causative verbs, verbs of occurrence, etc.

 

o functional-semantic classes:

Verb class	Meaning	Morphological categories	Syntactic function
2.1 Notional / Lexical Verbs	- Full individual lexical meaning	- all the Morphological verbal categories are realized - complete paradigms	- form the verbal Predicate on their own

 

2.2 Auxiliary Verbs (A.V.)	- No lexical meaning; only grammatical meaning	- Not all the Morphological verbal categories are realized - Incomplete paradigms	- Can’t perform the function of the Predicate on their own - A.V. + notional V = analytical form of the Simple verbal Predicate
2.3 Link / Copular V.(L.V.)	- Weakened lexical meaning; - are partly grammaticalized	- Not all the Morphological verbal categories are realized - Incomplete paradigms	- Can’t perform the function of the Predicate on their own - L.V. + noun / adjective group (Complement) = Nominal Predicate
2.4 Modal Verbs (M.V.)	- Very specific lexical meaning	- Not all the Morphological verbal categories are realized - Incomplete paradigms	- Can’t perform the function of the Predicate on their own - M.V. + notional V = Compound verbal Predicate - M.V. + Link V. + noun / adjective group = Compound Nominal Predicate

 

- Syncretic elements: will, shall, have

o syntactic classes:

3.1 Finite Verbs – can only be the Predicate; govern the syntactic and semantic pattern of the sentence

3.2 Non-Finite Verbs / Verbals (Infinitive, Gerund, Participle I, Participle II)

- can’t perform the function of the Predicate on their own;

- can be the Subject, Object, Predicative (Complement), or Attribute.

 

o morphological classes:

4.1 Regular (‘weak’) verbs

4.2 Irregular verbs:

- ‘strong’ V. – root vowel interchange takes place (sometimes + suffix –en)

- mixed V. 1) root vowel interchange + suffix –t

2)past s. + -ed; past part. + -en

- suppletive forms (formed from different roots)

- unchangeable V.

 

 

THE MORPHOLOGICAL CATEGORY OF TENSE OF THE VERB

 

o the central means in the functional semantic field of Temporality (Time)

 

o The morphological category ofTenseof the Verb:

General Meaning / Function	Relates the event (the universal	time to the moment of reference	speech point)
Forms: the opposition of	Present form, unmarked	Past form, marked synthetically	Future form, marked analytically
Meaning	At/ around the moment of speech	Before the moment of speech	After the moment of speech
Type of opposition	3 -	member equipollent

 

o Each of the three members of the tense forms paradigm is represented by a whole set of forms which also give info about the aspect (continuous / non-continuous) and correlation (perfect / non- perfect).

 

o In the periphery of the functional semantic field of Temporality you can find lexical means (adverbs and adverbials) and syntactic means (phrases; subordinate clauses of time).

 

o The problem of the Future tense in English

- 1 point of view: shall & will are auxiliary verbs → …

 

- Another point of view: shall & will are modal verbs → …

a binary opposition Past – Non-Past

 

- shall & will are a case of grammatical homonymy

 

- shall & will are syncretic elements.

 

- + the future meaning is often expressed by non-morphological means – Present Simple, Present Continuous and be going to forms.

 

 

THE MORPHOLOGICAL CATEGORY OF ASPECT OF THE VERB

 

o the central means in the functional semantic field of Aspectuality. The general meaning of the field is the ‘temporal distribution of the action / event’ (характер распределения действия во времени).

 

o The morphological category ofAspectof the Verb:

Forms: the opposition of	The Continuous form, marked	The Non-Continuous (Simple) form, unmarked
Meaning	- positively characterized: shows the action/ event as developing in time	- Negatively characterized: does not give any exact info about the temporal distribution of the action / event
Type of opposition	binary	privative

 

o The interaction between the lexical aspectual meaning of the verb (terminative / durative) and the aspectual meaning of the grammatical form:

- a durative verb in the Continuous form → …

- a terminative verb in the Continuous form → …

 

o In the periphery of the functional semantic field of Aspectuality you can find lexical means (adverbs of frequency…), syntactic means (phrases), and grammaticalized verbal phrases continue doing, keep on doing, go on doing, used to do, would do.

 

 

THE MORPHOLOGICAL CATEGORY OF CORRELATION / PERFECTIVITY OF THE VERB

 

o the central means of expressing the general notion of outward temporal relations (внешние реляционно-временные характеристики) of the action / event (= the time of the action is related to a certain reference point).

 

Forms: the opposition of	The Perfect form, marked analytically	The Non-Perfect form, unmarked: - pure tense forms (Simple) & -tense-aspect forms (Continuous)
Meaning	Priority to a reference point	Simultaneity with the time indicated in the verb form
Type of opposition	Binary, partly	equipollent, partly privative

 

 

o Although THE VERBAL CATEGORIES OF TENSE, ASPECT AND CORRELATION express 3 different characteristics of the verbal action, they should be discussed together as they ARE EXPRESSED IN THE SAME SYSTEM OF FORMS (= each verb form is either past or present or future, continuous or non-continuous, perfect or non-perfect).

 

→ there are 4 TYPES OF VERB FORMS:

1. pure tense forms

2. tense-aspect forms

3. tense-correlation forms

4. tense-aspect-correlation forms

 

→ one verb form can express 3 or 4 different semantic ideas

 

 

NEUTRALIZATION OF THE OPPOSITION WITHIN A VERBAL CATEGORY

 

o = neutralization of the marked member of the opposition = in some specific contexts the unmarked member is used to express the more specific meaning which is normally expressed by the marked member.

 

o Neutralization is most common for privative oppositions as the unmarked, ‘weak’ member has a broader and less specified meaning → contains the distinctive characteristic(s) common for both marked and unmarked members → can cover the meaning of both members in certain contextual conditions unless distributional or other restrictions are imposed

 

o Neutralization of the opposition within the category of Tense

- Present - Future

- Present - Past

 

o Neutralization of the opposition within the category of Aspect

- Simple of stative verbs (constant, paradigmatic neutralization caused by the lexical meaning of the verb, an exception)

- Simple of activity verbs

 

o Neutralization of the opposition within the category of Correlation

- Past Simple – Past Perfect

- Past Simple – Present Perfect of actional verbs

! But no neutralization:

Past Simple – Present Perfect of activity and state verbs

- Present Simple of hear, forget

 

THE MORPHOLOGICAL CATEGORY OF MOOD OF THE VERB

 

o the central means in the functional semantic field of Modality.

 

o Modality is a complex heterogeneous notion. It is analysed differently by different grammarians.

 

o Basic types of modality:

Objective the relation between the objective reality as seen by the	Modality verbal action and and represented speaker	Subjective modality the speaker’s attitudes to the verbal action
Real objective modality	Unreal objective modality	(volition, inducement, desirability, obligation…)

 

o The morphological category of Mood (traditional approach):

 

Forms: the opposition of	The Indicative Mood forms:     - the same system of forms as are used to realise the categories of Tense, Aspect and Correlation   - no uniform grammatical pattern	The Imperative Mood forms:     - The positive form (homonymous with the bare infinitive form) and the negative form     - No person distinction, only the second person*	The Subjunctive(/ Con…)Mood forms: (classification by prof. Smirnitski) Subjunctive I: - a synthetic form - used in object subordinate clauses of complex sentences - expresses a low degree of unreal modality   Suppositional mood forms: - an analytical form (should + main verb) - used in object subordinate clauses of complex sentences - expresses a low degree of unreal modality   o Subjunctive I and Suppositional mood forms are both used in the same syntactic context with the same semantics.   Subjunctive II: - homonymous with past tense / tense-correlation forms - used in subordinate clauses of condition of complex sentences - expresses an unreal action which is a condition for a certain consequence   Conditional mood forms: - analytical forms (would + main verb) - used in the main clause of a complex sentence with a subordinate clause of condition or in a separate sentence - express the imaginary consequence of an unreal condition
General Meaning	Real objective modality	Subjective Modality (Volition)	Unreal objective modality
Type of opposition		3 - member	equipollent

 

* Controversy over the grammatical status of the “let sb. do” construction:

(1) an analytical form of the imperative

(2) a grammaticalised syntactic means, a syncretic language means of expressing the meaning of volition

 

o In the periphery of the functional semantic field of Modality there are:

- lexical means: modal words and phrases (which function like compound words)

- a lexical-grammatical means – modal verbs (Subjective or Unreal objective modality)

- a phonetic means – intonation (doubt, assurance…) (Subjective modality)

 

 

THE CATEGORY OF VOICE OF THE VERB

 

o a morphological-syntactic category as it is fully realized only in a sentence

 

o the central means in the functional semantic field of Directionality (direction of the action).

 

o The morphological-syntactic category of Mood:

Forms: the opposition of	The Active voice form, unmarked	The Passive voice form, marked analytically
Meaning	The same direction of the participant to the passive one),	action (from the active but:
		the communicative emphasis is on the object of the action
Type of opposition	binary	privative

 

o The category of Voice is realized only partially by English verbs

 

o → What types of verbs have both voices (= realise the category)?

 

- In Russian: Only Monotransitive Verbs followed by the direct Object

- In English: verbs that take any kind of object (direct, indirect or prepositional)

 

Verb classes	Types of passive constructions
Monotransitive verbs →	Direct passive voice constructions (Od → S)
Ditransitive verbs →	- Direct passive voice constructions - Indirect passive voice constructions (Oi (indirect) → S)
Some Prepositional verbs →	Prepositional passive voice constructions (Oprep (prepositional) → S)
! some Intransitive verbs→	Prepositional passive voice constructions

 

o Longandshort (agentless) passive constructions

 

o In the periphery of the functional-semantic field of Directionality there are non-morphological means:

 

- the grammaticalized construction “verb + reflexive Pronoun” which expresses the notion of a self-directed action. Controversy over its status:

(1) the ‘reflexive voice’ → an analytical morphological form with no syntactic relations between its components

(2) there’s no auxilliary element → a phrase, a syntactic unit with syntactic relations between its components.

 

- the construction “verb + reciprocal Pronoun” which expresses the notion of a mutually directed action, with both participants performing both syntactic roles (S & O). Controversy over its status:

(1) the ‘reciprocal voice’ → an analytical morphological form

(2) a phrase

 

- ‘Ergative Verbs’:

(1) sometimes termed the ‘middle voice’ because they occupy a specific position in the FSF of Directionality – they are active in form but express a passive meaning

(2) ‘Ergative verbs’ are a limited group of Transitive verbs which can be used in a specific way: SVOd → SV; Od → S without any morphological change from Active into Passive

 

o The problem of distinguishingthe Passive Voice formfromthe homonymous Compound Nominal Predicate. Compare:

 

the Passive Voice Verb form	the Compound Nominal Predicate ‘Link verb + -ed adjective’
- An analytical morphological form - the Simple Verbal Predicate - Actional semantics - the agent can be denoted by the by-phrase - + optional adverbs of time or frequency - can be used in the marked Aspectual or Correlation forms	- A syntactic phenomenon - the Compound Nominal Predicate - Stative (< Qualifying) semantics - can be modified by an adverb   - + optional adverbs of duration   - can be used in the marked Correlation forms

 

- In some contexts the form ‘be/ get done’ may combine actional and qualifying semantics → ambiguity.

 

NON-FINITE VERB FORMS (VERBALS)

o Infinitive, Gerund, Participle I, Participle II

 

THE FIELD STRUCTURE OF THE CLASS OF VERBS

o central and peripheral verbs