Lecture 4

LATANOVA R.U.
VERB

• Grammatically the verb is the most complex part of speech.

First of all it performs the central role in realizing predication
- connection between situation in the utterance and reality.
That is why the verb is of primary informative significance in
an utterance. Besides, the verb possesses quite a lot of
grammatical categories. Furthermore, within the class of verb
various subclass divisions based on different principles of
classification can be found.
Semantic features of the verb

• The verb possesses the grammatical meaning of verbiality -

the ability to denote a process developing in time. This
meaning is inherent not only in the verbs denoting processes,
but also in those denoting states, forms of existence,
evaluations, etc.
Morphological features of the verb
The verb possesses the following grammatical categories: tense, aspect,
voice, mood, person, number, finitude and phase. The common
categories for finite and non-finite forms are voice, aspect, phase and
finitude. The grammatical categories of the English verb find their
expression in synthetical and analytical forms. The formative elements
expressing these categories are grammatical affixes, inner
inflexion and function words. Some categories have only synthetical
forms (person, number), others - only analytical (voice). There are also
categories expressed by both synthetical and analytical forms (mood,
tense, aspect).
Syntactic features
• The most universal syntactic feature of verbs is their ability
to be modified by adverbs. The second important syntactic
criterion is the ability of the verb to perform the syntactic
function of the predicate. However, this criterion is not
absolute because only finite forms can perform this function
while non-finite forms can be used in any function but
predicate. And finally, any verb in the form of the infinitive
can be combined with a modal verb.
The system of verbs’ subclasses
• The complexity of the verb is manifested in the intricate system of its
grammatically relevant subclasses. According to their semantic
(nominative) value all the verbs fall into two big subclasses: the
subclass of notional verbs and the subclass of functional and semi-
functional verbs. Notional verbs have full nominative value and are
independent in the expression of the process, e.g.: to work, to build, to
lie, etc. Functional and semi-functional verbs make a group of verbs of
partial nominative value. They are dependent on other words, but
through their forms the predicative semantics of the sentence is
expressed.
• On the basis of subject-process relations the notional verbs
are subdivided into actional and statal verbs. Actional verbs
denote the actions performed by the subject as an active doer,
e.g.: to go, to make, etc.; statal verbs denote various states of
the subject or present it as the recipient of a reality, e.g.: to
love, to be, to worry.
• Another subdivision of notional verbs is based on their
aspective meaning, which exposes the inner character of the
process denoted.
The Category of Aspect

• The category of aspect is a linguistic representation of the objective

category of Manner of Action. It is realized through the opposition
Continuous - Non-Continuous (Progressive - Non-Progressive). The
realization of the category of aspect is closely connected with the
lexical meaning of verbs.
• There are some verbs in English that do not normally occur with
progressive aspect, even in those contexts in which the majority of
verbs necessarily take the progressive form..
The Category of Aspect
• Among the so-called ‘non-progressive’ verbs are think, understand, know,
hate, love, see, taste, feel, possess, own, etc. The most striking characteristic
that they have in common is the fact that they are ‘stative’ - they refer to a
state of affairs, rather than to an action, event or process. It should be
observed, however, that all the ‘non-­progressive' verbs take the progressive
aspect under particular circumstances. As the result of internal transposition
verbs of non-progressive nature can be found in the Continuous form: Now
I'm knowing you. Generally speaking the Continuous form has at least two
semantic features - duration (the action is always in progress)
and definiteness (the action is always limited to a definite point or period of
time). In other words, the purpose of the Continuous form is to serve as a
frame which makes the process of the action more concrete and isolated.
• The next subdivision of the notional verbs is based on their
combinability features, or their valency. On this basis, verbs
are divided into transitive and intransitive: transitive verbs
denote an action directed toward a certain object; in a
sentence they are obligatorily used with a direct object.
Constructions with transitive verbs are easily transformed
from active into passive, e.g.: He wrote a letter. – The letter
was written by him.
Functional and semi-functional verbs

• Functional and semi-functional verbs are also subdivided into

a number of groups. Auxiliary functional verbs are used to
build the analytical grammatical forms of notional verbs, e.g.:
have done, was lost. Link verbs connect the nominative part
of the predicate with the subject, e.g.: He was pale. Modal
verbs are predicators denoting various subject attitudes to the
action, for example, obligation, ability, permission,
advisability, etc.: can, must, may, etc.
Functional and semi-functional verbs

• The subdivision of verbs into notional and (semi-) functional

is grammatically relevant since the verbs of the two
subclasses perform different syntactic functions in the
sentence: notional verbs function as predicates, semi-
functional and functional verbs as parts of predicates
(predicators). It should be stressed once again that many
verbs in English in different contexts migrate easily from one
group to another, and the boundaries between the subclasses
are less rigid than in any other language.
The category of finitude

• The verb is usually characterized as the most complex part of

speech, because it has more word-changing categories than
any other part of speech. Besides, each verb has a specific set
of non-finite forms (the infinitive, the gerund, participles I
and II), otherwise called - verbals, or - verbids, opposed to
the finite forms, otherwise called - finites; their opposition is
treated as - the category of finitude.
The category of finitude
• The grammatical meaning, the content of this category is the
expression of verbal predication: the finite forms of the verb
render full (primary, complete, genuine) predication; the non-
finite forms render semi-predication, or secondary (potential)
predication. The formal differential feature is constituted by
the expression of verbal time and mood, which underlie the
predicative function: having no immediate means of
expressing time-mood categorial semantics, the verbids are
the weak member of the opposition.
The Infinitive

• The Infinitive is the most generalized, the most abstract form

of the verb, serving as the verbal name of a process; it is used
as the derivation base for all the other verbal forms. That is
why the infinitive is traditionally used as the head word for
the lexicographic entry of the verb in dictionaries. The
infinitive combines verbal features with features of the noun;
it is a phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature,
intermediary between the verb and the noun.
The Infinitive

• The infinitive has voice and aspect forms, e.g.: to write, to be writing,
to have written, to be written, to have been written. The infinitive
performs all the functions characteristic of the noun – that of a subject,
e.g.: To write a letter was the main thing he had planned for the day; of
a predicative, e.g.: The main thing he had planned for the day was to
write a letter; of an object, e.g.: He wanted to write a letter to her; of
an attribute, e.g.: It was the main thing to do; of an adverbial modifier,
e.g.: He stood on a chair in order to reach for the top shelf. In these
functions the infinitive displays substantive combinability with finite
verbs.
The Gerund

• The Gerund is another verbid that serves as the verbal name

of a process and combines verbal features with those of a
noun; the gerund, like the infinitive, can be characterized as a
71 phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature,
intermediary between the verb and the noun. It is even closer
to the noun, because besides performing the substantive
functions in a sentence like the infinitive, it can also be
modified by an attribute and can be used with a preposition,
which the infinitive can‘t do, e.g.: Thank you for listening to
me; Your careful listening to me is very much appreciated.
The Gerund

• The functions of the gerund in the sentence are as follows – that of a subject,
e.g.: It’s no use crying over spilt milk; of a predicative, e.g.: The only
remedy for such headache is going to bed; of an object, e.g.: I love reading;
of an attribute, e.g.: He had a gift of listening; of an adverbial modifier, e.g.:
On entering the house I said “hello”. In these functions the gerund displays
nounal combinability with verbs, adjectives, and nouns, especially in cases
of prepositional connections. As for the verbal features of the gerund, its
meaning is basically processual, which is evident when the gerund is
compared with the nouns, cf.: Thank you for helping me. – Thank you for
your help; in addition, the gerund distinguishes some aspect and voice
forms, e.g.: writing, being written, having written, having been written.
Participle I

• Participle I is fully homonymous with the gerund: it is also an -ing-

form‘. But its semantics is different: it denotes processual quality,
combining verbal features with such of the adjective and the adverb;
participle I can be characterized as a phenomenon of processual-
qualifying nature. In its free use, Participle I can function as a
predicative, e.g.: Her presence is extremely maddening to me; as an
attribute, e.g.: The fence surrounding the garden was newly painted;
and as an adverbial modifier, e.g.: While waiting he whistled.
Participle II

• Participle II, like participle I, denotes processual quality and can be

characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-qualifying nature.
It has only one form, traditionally treated as the verbal - third form,
used to build the analytical forms of the passive and the perfect of
finites, e.g.: is taken; has taken. The categorial meanings of the perfect
and the passive are implicitly conveyed by Participle II in its free use,
for example, when it functions as a predicative or an attribute, e.g.: He
answered through a firmly locked door (Participle II as an attribute);
The room was big and brightly lit (Participle II as a predicative).
Categories of number and person

• The category of number is treated as the correlation of the plural and

the singular, and the category of person as the correlation of three
deictic functions, reflecting the relations of the referents to the
participants of speech communication: the first person – the speaker,
the second person – the person spoken to, and the third person – the
person or thing spoken about. But in the system of the verb in English
these two categories are so closely interconnected, both semantically
and formally, that they are often referred to as one single category: the
category of person and number.
Categories of number and person

• In modern English all verbs can be divided according to the expression

of this category into three groups. Modal verbs distinguish no person
or number forms at all. The verb „to be‟, on the contrary, has
preserved more person-number forms than any other verb in modern
English, e.g.: I am; we are; you are; he/she/it is; they are; in the past
tense the verb to be distinguishes two number forms in the first person
and the third person: I, he/she/it was (sing.) – we, they were (pl.); in
the second person the form were is used in the singular and in the
plural. The bulk of the verbs in English have a distinctive form only
for the third person singular of the present tense indicative mood.
For seminar:

1. A general outline of verbals: the categorial semantics, categories,

syntactic functions.
2. The infinitive, the gerund, the present and past participle. Their
categories and properties.
3. The category of person and number: traditional and modern
interpretations.
4. The category of mood.
Exercises:
I. Rephrase the sentences so as to use a gerund as an object: 1. I insist on it that you should give up this
job immediately. 2. They were surprised when they didn’t find any one at home. 3. He went on speaking and
was not listening to any objections. 4. When the boy was found he didn’t show any signs of being alive. 5.
Do you admit that you have made a mistake by divorcing her? 6. They suspect that he has been bribed.
II. Choose infinitive or gerund and give your reasons: 1. As some water had got in, the engine of the boat
couldn’t but... working (to stop). 2. I’m afraid our camera wants ... (to repair). 3. This is not the way ...
children (to treat). 4. I regretted ... the doctor’s recommendations (not to follow). 5. I regret ... that I can’t
come to your wedding (to say). 6. Did they teach you ... at school (to dance)? 7. Who has taught you ... so
well (to dance)? 8. She demanded ... the whole truth (to tell). 9. On her way home she stopped ... with her
neighbour (to talk). 10. Remember ... the gas-stove before leaving the fiat (to turn off).
III. Define the modal meanings actualized by the infinitive and infinitival complexes (possibility,
necessity, desire, expression of an actual fact): 1. There is a Mr. Anthony Rizzoli here to see you. 2. I have
a regiment of guards to do my bidding. 3. I'll send a man to come with you. 4. I never saw anybody to touch
him in looks. 5. There is nothing in that picture to indicate that she was soon to be one of the most famous
persons in France. 6. It was a sound to remember.
SIW:

• The category of mood. Different approaches to the

number of moods.
Recommended literature
• 1. Берман И. М., Ковбасюк Т. М. Грамматика английского языка : учеб. пособ. для вузов / И. М.
Берман, Т. М. Ковбасюк. – 2-е изд-ние, перераб. и доп. – К. : Вища школа, 1983. – 303 с.
• 2. Блох М. Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка : учеб. для ин-тов / М. Я. Блох. – 3-
е изд, испр. – М. : Высшая школа, 2000. – 381 с.
• 3. Блох М. Я. и др. Theoretical English Grammar. Seminars. (Практикум по теоретической
грамматике английского языка) / М. Я. Блох, Т. Н. Семенова, С. В. Тимофеева. – М. : Высшая
школа, 2010. – 471 с.
• 4. Иванова И. П. и др. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка : учеб. для
инст. и фак. иностр. яз. / И. П. Иванова, В. В. Бурлакова, Г. Г. Почепцов. – М. : Высш. шк., 1981.
– 285 с.
• 5. A comprehensive Grammar of the English Language / R. Quirk, S. Greenbaum, J. Leech, J.
Swartvik. – N.Y. : Longman Group Ltd., 1985. – 1179 p.
• 6. Morokhovskaya E. J. Fundamentals of Theoretical English Grammar / E. J. Morokhovskaya. –
Kiev : Vyšča Škola Publishers, 1984. – 387 p.