Modern.english.grammar

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N. M. RAYEVSKA

MODERN

ENGLISH

GRAMMAR

For Senior Courses of the Foreign Language Faculties in

Universities and Teachers' Training Colleges


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FOREWORD

The book is designed for the students of the senior courses of theUniversity facuties of foreign anguages and Teachers! Training "oeges.The ai# of the book is therefore to ead the students to a scientificunderstanding of ne$ assu#%tions and vie$s of anguage as syste#&kee%ing abreast of the atest findings set forth in the %rogressivedeveo%#ent of gra##atica theory by Soviet and foreign schoars inrecent ti#es.

The centra interest in functiona se#antic correation of gra##atica

units has given sha%e to the $hoe book. 'n a descri%tion of anguagestructure $e have to account for the for#& the substance and thereationshi% bet$een the for# and the situation. (inguistic activity

%artici%ates in situations aongside $ith #an!s other activities.)ra##atica categories are vie$ed as a co#%icated unity of for#

and gra##atica content. *ue attention has been dra$n to conte+tuaeve of anaysis& to denotative and connotative #eanings ofgra##atica for#s& their trans%ositions and functiona re,evauation indifferent conte+ts& inguistic or situationa.

(inguistic studies of recent years contain a vast a#ount of i#%ortantobservations based on acute observations vaid for further %rogressivedeveo%#ent of different as%ects of the science of anguage. The conce%tionof the genera for# of gra##ars has steadiy deveo%ed. -hat beco#esincreasingy usefu for insight into the structure and functioning of anguageis orientation to$ards invoving e+is in studying gra##ar.

'n a anguage descri%tion $e generay dea $ith three essentia %artskno$n as %honoogy& vocabuary& and gra##ar. These various ranges&or eves& are the subect #atter of the various branches of inguistics.-e #ay think of vocabuary as the $ord,stock& and gra##ar as the setof devices for handing this $ord,stock. 't is due %recisey to thesedevices that anguage is abe to give #ateria inguistic for# to hu#anthought.

/racticay s%eaking& the facts of any anguage are too co#%e+ to be

handed $ithout arranging the# into such divisions. -e do not #eanto say& ho$ever& that these three eves of study shoud be thought of asisoated fro# each other. The affinities bet$een a eves of inguisticorganisation #ake the#seves 0uite evident. "onceived in isoation&each of the# $i a$ays beco#e artificia and $i hardy ustify itsefin %ractice. 't is not a$ays easy to dra$ %recise boundaries bet$een

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gra##ar and vocabuary. So#eti#es the subect #atter beco#esa#biguous ust at the borderine. The study of this organic reationshi% inanguage reaity see#s to be %ri#ary in i#%ortance.

1or a co#%ete descri%tion of anguage $e have to account for thefor#& the substance and the reationshi% bet$een the for# and thesituation. The study of this reationshi% #ay be referred to as conte+tuaeve of anaysis.

)ra##ar& $hose subect #atter is the observabe organisation of$ords into various co#binations& takes that $hich is co##on and

basic in inguistic for#s and gives in an ordery $ay accuratedescri%tions of the %ractice to $hich users of the anguage confor#.And $ith this co#es the reaisation that this underying structure of theanguage 2as syste#3 is highy organised. -hatever are the other interestsof #odern inguistic science& its centre is surey an interest in thegra##atica syste# of anguage.

To,day $e have $e,estabished techni0ues for the study ofanguage fro# a nu#ber of different %oints of vie$. Each of these

techni0ues su%%e#ents a the others in contributing to theoreticakno$edge and the %ractica %robe#s of the day.(anguage is a functiona $hoe and a its %arts are fuy describabe

ony in ter#s of their reationshi% to the $hoe. This eve of inguisticanaysis is #ost obviousy reevant to the %robe#s of 4overt4 and4covert4 gra##ar and the %robe# of 4fied structure4 in gra##ar that hasong attracted the attention of inguists.

There is a discussion of the %robe#s that arise in the %resentationof the #ateria in this ight but the sco%e of the #ateria %resented isdictated by its factua usefuness.

Anaysing the anguage fro# the vie$%oint of the infor#ation itcarries $e cannot restrict the notion of infor#ation to the cognitive

as%ect of anguage. "onnotative as%ects and e#otiona overtones are asoi#%ortant se#antic co#%onents of inguistic units.

The co#%onents of gra##atica #eaning that do not beong tothe denotation of the gra##atica for# are covered by the generater# of connotation #ost obviousy reevant to gra##atica as%ects ofstye.

)ra##atica for#s %ay a vita roe in our abiity to end varietyto s%eech& to give 4coour4 to the subect or evauate it and to conveythe infor#ation #ore e#otionay.

The given 0uotations fro# different sources serve to sho$ ho$ thestructura ee#ents of Engish gra##ar have been variousy treated

by different $riters and $hich of the inguistic a%%roaches see#s #ost

convincing.E+tracts for study and discussion have been seected fro# the $orks

of the best $riters $hich aid in the for#ation of the student!s iterarytaste and he% hi# to see ho$ the best $riters #ake the dee%estresources of gra##ar serve their %en.

5ny so#e of the 0uotations used are the gatherings of the author!snote,books through #any years of teaching& and it has not see#ed

%ossibe in every instance to trace the 0uotation to its origina source.Most

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of the#& ho$ever& have been freshy seected as the direct resut of thee+tensive reading re0uired by the %re%aration of the book.

The discussion of the inguistic facts has been #ade concrete by theuse of iustrative e+a#%es and co#%arison $ith Russian andUkrainian& 1rench and )er#an.

Suggested assign#ents for study and discussion have been seected$ith a vie$ to e+tend the %ractica kno$edge of the anguage. 4RevisionMateria4 after each cha%ter has been arranged so that the studentshoud ac0uire as #uch e+%erience in inde%endent $ork as %ossibe.

Methods of scientific research used in inguistic studies have a$aysbeen connected $ith the genera trends in the science of anguage. -etherefore find it necessary to begin our gra##atica descri%tion $ith a

brief survey of inguistic schoos in the theory of Engish gra##ar sothat the students coud understand various theoretica a%%roaches to thestudy of anguage structure. This $i faciitate the study of gra##ar$here $e find no$ divergent vie$s of schoars on so#e of the #osti#%ortant or controversia %robe#s of the Engish gra##atica

theory& and on so#e s%ecia 0uestions of #or%hoogy and synta+.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1ore$ord ...................................................................................................................... 6Introduction

Survey of the *eveo%#ent of Engish )ra##atica Theory.................................... 77)ra##ar in 'ts Reation to 5ther (eves of (inguistic Structure............................ 89/robe#s of 1ied Structure..................................................................................... :;1unctiona Re,evauation of )ra##atica 1or#s in "onte+t ................................... :3 the use of nouns in the function of e#%hatic #odifiers.'n such uses nouns $eaken their #eaning of 4substance4 and a%%roach

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adverbs. This adverbia use of nouns sho$s great diversity. 't $i behe%fu to distinguish the foo$ing@a3 reations of ti#e& as in@ life long$ ,ee) long$ age long$ etc. b3co#%arison@ 2different degrees of 0uaity3 cold *lac)$ stra, (ello,$ silver

gre($ lil( ,hite$ ash *lond$ ice cold$ sno, ,hite$ iron hard$ s)( *lue$ dog

tired$ paper ,hite$ pencil thin$ ruler straight$ pri#rose (ello,$ *ric) red$

*lade sharp$ dirt cheap4 #ountains high$ a *it longer$ a trifle easier$ a

shade dar)er$ an)le deep.

/atterns of this kind are generay used #eta%horicay and function ase+%edients of e+%ress intensity and e#%hasis& e. g.@

I'llsend or) to Macon to#orro, to *u( #ore seed. +o, the \an)les,on't *urn it and our troops ,on't need it. "ood Lord$ cotton ought to go

s)( high this fall. 2Mitche31urther e+a#%es are@

-e is ,orld too #odest. That ,as lots *etter. This ,as heaps *etter. -e

,as stone deaf to our re;uest. The #ud ,as an)le deep.

Si#iar use of nouns $i aso be found in such %atterns as@ *one tired$

dog tired$ #ustard coloured$ horror struc)$ etc.773 the use of intensifying adverbs& e. g.@ co#pletel($ entirel($thoroughl($ utterl($ a,full($ terri*l($ fearfull($ frightfull($ dreadfull($

franticall($ *eastl($ terrificall($ etc.The use of a noun rather than an adective is very often %referred as a

#ore forcibe e+%ressive #eans to intensify the given 0uaity. "o#%arethe foo$ing synony#ic for#s of e+%ression@

-e ,as ;uite a success.D-e ,as ;uite successful.It ,as good fun.DIt ,as funn(.Nouns functioning in this %osition can be #odified by adverbias of

degree& e. g.@\ou ,ere al,a(s #ore of a realist than 9on4 and never so innocent.

2)as$orthy3< 5e're all fond of (ou


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filtering through a screen of creeper to t!e loely pallor of brass, the old

cut glasses, the thin slices of le#on in pale amber tea3ustice to %nnette

in her *lac) lac( dress4 t!ere ,as somet!ing of t!e fair Spaniard in !er

beauty, though it lac)ed the spiritualit( of that rare t(pe4 to 5inifred's

gre(haired$ corseted solidit(4 to Soa#es$ of a certain gre( and flat4

c!ee#ed distinction to the vivacious Michael Mont$pointed in ear and

e(e4 to I#ogen$ dar)$ luscious of glance$ gro,ing a little stout4 to rosper

rofond$ wit! !is e5pression as w!o s!ould say, "%ell, (r. Goya, w!at's

t!e use of paintin' t!is small party"Finall($ to 9ac) Cardigan$ wit! !is

s!ining stare and tanned sanguinity betraying t!e moing principle6


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Steel*lue of the fallen evening$ *are planetrees$ ,ide river$ frost(

(ear7 -e turned to,ard ho#e.

...The fine$ the large$ the floridD all off7 2)as$orthy3%nother shift of the *o0$ and so#e other had *eco#e the *eautiful$ the

perfect. 2*reiser3.-e drove slo,l($ en3o(ing the ;uiet of the evening. 2"ronin3.In that #o#ent of e#otion he *etra(ed the Fors(te in hi# D forgot

hi#self$ his interests$ his propert(D ,as capa*le of al#ost an(thing4 ,aslifted into the pure ether of the selfless and unpractical. 2)as$orthy3

The i#possi*le ,as not on her side and she )ne, it$ sensed rightl( that

it never ,ould *e. 2Siitoe3Cf./ Russian@ [ mHEEJ$ QJQHGEJ$ {LZL LIJL ...2J3

QJQHGEJ JIJ W IZLJ.Ukrainian@QJQHGJ mJZ PWZ IZZ_.

Substantivation of adectives of coour for styistic %ur%oses is asorather a fre0uent occurrence.

A fe$ ty%ica e+a#%es are@5hat (ou have on D that fla0*lue D is ad#ira*le for colour4*ac)ground of s)( D through that ,indo, D (es$ not too *lue D an

!nglish ,hite in it. 2)as$orthy35ithout the e0pedition there ,ould *e no future$ onl( a present$ an

ocean of dar)ness *ehind the thin *lue of the da($ a circle of *lea)

hori=ons dotted *( fires *urning out their derelict fla#es. 2Siitoe35hen the stor# stopped the fields ,ere ,hite over$ the s)( a mil# *lue$

lo, and still threatening. 2Siitoe3So (oung$ the little leaves of brownis! gold4 so old$ t!e w!ite4grey4

green of its thic) rough trun). 2)as$orthy3%nd al#ost unconsciousl( he rose and #oved nearer4 he ,anted to see

the e0pression on her face. -er e(es #et his unflinching. -eavens7 -o,clear the( ,ere$ and ,hat a dar# brown against that ,hite s)in$ and that

*urnta#*er hair7 2)as$orthy3There ,as a scent of hone( fro# the li#e trees in flo,er$ and in the s)(

t!e blue ,as *eautiful$ ,ith a fe, ,hite clouds ,hich loo)ed and perhaps

tasted li)e le#on ice. 2)as$orthy3Trans%osition of adectives into the cass of a%%eative nouns has its

o$n e+%ressive vaue. 'n coo0uia Engish this is rather a fre0uentoccurrence. E+a#%es are@

5hat have (ou done$ my little sill(. Co#e on$ my sweet. 5ait a couple

of #inutes$ loely< Listen$ #( dear.

't $i be of interest to note that the #eaning of substance can find its

e+%ression in occasiona substantivation of other %arts of s%eech such as&for instance& infinitives& %artici%es& %ronouns. Such uses are naturayessentiay different and iustrate nothing but syntactic %atterns.

-ere's a prett( go7 Let's have a go at it7 That ,as a great find, a -uiet

read after supper7

The desire for a #ore in,ard light had found e0pression at last$ t!e

unseen had inspected on t!e seen. 21orster3Let #e tell (ou a little somet!ing a*out #( life$ ,ill (ou? It ,on't ta)e

long. 2*reiser3

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-e ,ondered ho, she could sa( these things ,ith such an e0pression

of suret($ see t,o (ears as *eing *ut a f#init s#all ,isdo#tooth of ti#e$

a not!ing that to hi# loo)ed li)e avast ocean ,ith no opposite shore

visi*le. 2Siitoe3!ver( hour the )aleidoscope of hu#an affairs thre, a ne, lustre upon

so#ething$ and there,ith it *eca#e for her the desiredD the all. 2*reiser3...-e's rather li)e #e. 5e've got a lot in co##on. I had heard other

'we's'fro# her$ taunting #( 3ealous($ *ut not in such a tone as this. She

d,elt on it ,ith a soft and girlish pleasure. I ,as chained there. I fell

again into silence. Then I as)ed pere#ptoril( ,ho he ,as. 2Sno$3%n(one else ,ould have gone to a doctor #onths ago$ she said. That

,ould have spared (ou a lot of ,orr( D and so#e of (our friends$ too$ I#a( sa(. I'# ver( glad I #ade (ou go. I could hear t!ose I's$ a little

stressed$ assertive in the #iddle of her (earning of heal and soothe and

cherish. 2Sno$35ccasiona substantivation of sentence,frag#ents is aso a syntactic

#atter& an effective inguistic device used for styistic %ur%oses.

Substantivised frag#ents are generay #odified by the artice as an overt%art,of,s%eech #arker or other noun,deter#iners. E+a#%es are@% cup E'cocoa$ a cop( of the i*le and a five*o* ,atch to ti#e out the

da(s of idleness left to the#. +ot ever that though/ I'# #a)ing it up.

The('re luc)( to get a t!an# you and *eco#e hot and *othered ,ith

gratitude if the( do$ or onl( spit the s#ell of t!an# you out ,hen it's too

late to do #uch else a*out it$ such as drop a nu*end on a heap of paraffin

rags$ or trip one of the gaffern into a #anhole. 2Siitoe3


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Captr '

THE 'ERB

The syste# of the Engish verb is righty considered to be the #ostco#%e+ gra##atica structure of the anguage. The #ost troubeso#e

%robe#s are& indeed& concentrated in the area of the finite verb& andincude& in %articuar& 0uestions tense& as%ect and #oda au+iiary usage.This see#s to be an area of gra##ar $hich has a$ays gained the greatestinterest in anguage earning. -e can say $ith itte fear of e+aggerationthat earning a anguage is to a very arge degree earning ho$ to o%eratethe verba for#s of that anguage.

'n Modern Engish& as $e as in #any other anguages& verba for#si#%y not ony subte shades of ti#e distinction but serve for other

%ur%oses& tooG they are aso often #arked for %erson and nu#ber& for

#ood& voice and as%ect.The gra##atica categories of the Engish verb find their e+%ressionin synthetica and anaytica for#s. The for#ative ee#ents e+%ressingthese categories are@ gra##atical affi0es$ inner inflection andfunction,ords. So#e categories have ony synthetica for#s person$ nu#*er2$others Dony anaytica voice distinction2. There are aso categoriese+%ressed by both synthetica and anaytica for#s #ood$ ti#e$ aspect2.

-e generay distinguishfinite and nonfinite for#s of the verb.The gra##atica nature of the finite for#s #ay be characterised by

the foo$ing si+ o%%ositions $ith reference to@

a3 %erson Iread / / -e reads

b3 nu#ber She reads / G The(read She ,as / / The(

c3 ti#e reations I ,rite / / I ,rote I,rite 4 / I shall ,rite

d3 #ood If he )no,s it no, / / If he )ne,it no,

e3 The as%ectivecharacter of the

She ,as dancing for half an hour

2durative as%ect3 @ @ She dancedf3 voice

distinctions@

5e invited hi# / / -e ,as

invited 1 as)ed / / I ,as as)ed


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The non,finites 2verbids3 are@ the 'nfinitives& the )erunds and the/artici%es. The foo$ing& for instance& are the non,finites of the reguarverb to paint/

Non,%rogressive

'nfinitive

active %assive

active %erfect%assive%erfect

to paint to *e

painted to havepainted to have

*een painted

/rogressive 'nfinitive active active%erfect

to *e painting to

have *een

)erund active%assiveactive %erfect

%assive

painting *eing

painted having

painted having

*een painted

/artici%e@/resent /erfect

/ast

active%assive

active%assive

painting *eing

painted having

painted having*een painted

Verba for#s denoting ti#e reations are caed tenses. The t$oconce%ts 4ti#e4 and 4tense4 shoud be ke%t ceary a%art. The for#er isco##on to a anguages& the atter varies fro# anguage to anguage andis the inguistic e+%ression of ti#e reations so far as these are indicated inany given for#.

Ti#e is universay conceived as having one di#ension ony& thusca%abe of being re%resented by one straight ine. The #ain divisions #ay

be arranged in the foo$ing $ay@

%ast pr,nt;:utur

5r& in other $ords& ti#e is divided into t$o %arts& the %ast and the future& the %oint ofdivision being the %resent #o#ent& $hich& ike a #athe#atica %oint& has no di#ension& butis continuay #oving to the right in our figure. These are the %ri#ary divisions of ti#e.Under each of the t$o divisions of infinite ti#e $e #ay refer to so#e %oint as ying eitherbefore or after the #ain %oint of $hich $e are actuay s%eaking. These #ay be referred toas the secondary divisions.

't see#s %ractica to re%resent the t$o divisions as foo$s@

T Pr,nt Tn,3 She ,or)s and studies ,ith enthusias#. She is

reading.

T Pa,t Tn,3 The( continued their ,a(. The( ,ere

spea)ing ,hen I ca#e in.

T Futur Tn,3 I shall co#e to see (ou to#orro,. 5hat

,ill (ou *e doing at five?

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The secondary divisions of ti#e are e+%ressed by the /resent /erfect&/ast /erfect and 1uture /erfect Tenses.

The /resent /erfect@ She has ,ritten a letter to her friend.I have *een ,or)in or t,o hours.

The /ast /erfect@ -e had *een *ac) so#e t,o #onths *efore Isa, hi#. I as)ed hi# ,hat he had *een doing

since I sa, hi# last.

The 1uture /erfect@ -e ,ill have finished his ,or) *( that ti#e. (the first of Ma( I shall have *een ,or)ing here

or ears a#ost out of use .

Each tense has naturay its characteristic ti#e range& though everytense #eets co#%etition fro# other tenses $ithin its characteristic range.These co#%icated distinctions& $hich in s%eech are #ade auto#aticay$ithout thinking& #ay be $e %resented in ter#s of binary o%%ositions.These o%%ositions have a characteristic structure of the #ar)ed D

un#ar)ed ter# ty%e Da$ays in their functions& and so#eti#es in theirfor#s. And this $i ustify abeing the# in ter#s of a %ositivecharacteristic contrasted $ith its absence 2the un#arked ter#3. Such arethe contrasts $hich o%erate throughout the range of the conugation andfree inde%endent variabes@

2a3 nonprogressiveDprogressive continuous242b3 nonperfectiveDperfective42c3 Epassive active2Dpassive.

The %rogressive 2continuous3& as a %ositive ter# in a contrast&indicates& $here necessary& to the fact that an 4action4 is thought of ashaving 2having had or to have3 duration or %rogression. The %erfective

adds a %ositive i#%ication of


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*id 2#ake an offer3& *urst$ cast$ cost$ cut$ hit$ hurt$ let$ put$ rid$ set$ shed$shut$ slit$ split$ spread$ thrust. So#e of these verbs@ *id$ *urst$ let$ slit$ arestrong verbs $hich have been dra$n into this cass under the infuence oftheir fina d or t. Aongside of the iterary for#s *urst$ *urst$ *urst arethe coo0uia and %o%uar for#s *ust$ *usted$ *usted$ $hich have beco#ees%eciay co##on in the #eaning to *rea). 'n a fe$ cases $e use eitherthe fu or the contracted for#@ *et$ *et or *etted$ *et or *etted4 )nit$)nitted or )nit4 ;uit$ ;uit or ;uitted$ ;uit or ;uitted4 shred$ shredded or

shred$ shredded orshred4 s,eat$ s,eat ors,eated$ s,eat ors,eated4 ,ed$,edded or ,ed$ ,edded or ,ed4 ,et$ ,et or ,etted$ ,et or ,etted. Theco#%ound *roadcast is so#eti#es reguar@ *roadcast$ *roadcasted$*roadcasted. 'n A#erican Engish $e sayspit$ spit$ spit$ but in Engandthe %arts arespit$ spat$ spat. 'n the iterary anguage the British for#s areno$ often used aso in A#erica. 'n oder Engish& the ist of the short $eakfor#s $as onger& as attested by their surviva in certain adective

%artici%es@


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283 The Concise :0ford !nglish &ictionar( 27=6: edition3 gives ony


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ta)e in ` deceiveturn in D go to *ed

turn u

p

Dhappen

The unity of the t$o %arts of se%arabe verbs #ay be $e iustrated by

nu#erous e+a#%es. (et us take the foo$ing sentence@-e dran) up the#il). 'n a conventiona sense& up #ight be an adverb signifying direction&or it #ight be a %re%osition introducing the %hrase up the #il)$but this#akes no sense at a. The ony ans$er is that to drin) up is a singeinguistic unit. Up in this construction serves to intensify the action& andco#es to be synony#ous $ith the adverb co#%etey. 'n usage& theseverbs function as nor#a singe,ones e+ce%t that they are se%arabe.E+a#%es ike this #ay easiy be #uti%ied.

To distinguish bet$een the %re%ositiona ee#ent and the ordinaryadverbia adunct co#%are aso the foo$ing@

a2 -e ran up a hill.

*2 -e ran up a *ill.-e cannot fai to see that up in 2a3 and 2b3 has 0uite distinct functions.The difference $i be observed in the se0uence of the ee#ents. -e

can say-e ran a *ill up$ but $e can hardy say -e ran a hill up. 'f $esubstitute a hill and a *illby a %ronoun& the se0uence of the %ronoun andthe %ost%ositiona ee#ent is fi+ed and contrastive. -e #ay say ony@

a2 -e ran up it. a hill2

*2 -e ran it up. a *ill2

. The contrasting %atterns that a%%ear $hen it is substituted can be bestiustrated as ans$ers to 0uestions@

a2 5here did the *ill co#e fro#? -e ran it up.

*2 -o, did he cli#* that hill? -e ran up it.

A#biguity #ay arise& at east in $ritten anguage& $hen the %osition ofup is fina but this a#biguity is generay resoved by intonation. There isusuay a difference of stress as& for instance& in a reative cause& $herede%ending on the conte+t $e #ay contrast@

a2 The hill he 'ran up.

*2 The *ill he ran 'up.

'n the first there is nucear stress on run$ in the second on up.Si#iar contrasts $i be seen in such e+a#%es as@

a2 The passenger fle, in the plane.

*2 The pilot fle, in the plane.

or@ The pilot fle, the plane in$but not@ The passenger fle, the plane in.

Cf. 2a3 The passenger fle, in it.2b3 The pilot fle, it in.

5bservations of the idio#atic character of se%arabe verbs and theirstyistic vaue give every reason to say that they %ossess& as A. ). e n ,

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n e d y has it 7& 4a certain a#ount of $ar#th and coour and fire $hich thecoder& #ore i#%ersona& #ore highy s%eciaised si#%e verb acks4. Assuch they are co##oner in coo0uia than in other varieties of Engish.

4The student #ay earn gra##ar and& $ith ti#e& ac0uire an ade0uatevocabuary& but $ithout a $orking kno$edge of such idio#s as to get up$to loo) up$ to loo) through$ to loo) over$ to call on$ to call for$ to get on$ to

get along$ to #a)e up$ to #a)e for$ etc.& his s%eech re#ains a$k$ard andstited4 ;.

'n Engish gra##ars of conventiona ty%e the adverbia for#ativeee#ent in such co#%ound verbs is often caed 4a %re%osition,ikeadverb4. But there see#s no s#a ustification for ado%ting the ter#4%ost%osition4 to su%ersede the for#er8. A#ong %ost%ositions thefoo$ing are #ost %roductive@ a*out$ a,a($ do,n$ forth$ in$ off$ over$ outand up.

There are i#%ortant treat#ents of the 0uestion #ade by Y. Fhuktenko:

$here these se%arabe ee#ents are referred to as %ost%ositiona#or%he#es@

a3 verbs $ith %ost%ositiona #or%he#es retaining their %ri#ary oca#eaning@ co#e in$ go out$ go do,n$ fl( off$ s,eep a,a($ etc.Gb3 verbs $ith %ost%ositiona #or%he#es having a figurative #eaning@

*oil do,n 2P_JIXWZ3& ta)e off 2lLIXWZ P3& ta)e up 2lLmJLWZJJ3&get along 2JXpLWZ PmP3&spea) a,a( 2lLpJJOZWZ3& etc.G

c3 verbs $ith %ost%ositiona #or%he#es intensifying the verb ori#%arting the %erfective sense to its #eaning& e. g.@ eat up$ rise up$ s,allo,up$ etc.G

d3 verbs $hose #eaning can hardy be derived fro# their se%arabeco#%onent %arts& e. g.@ *ear out 2mWOPLWZ3&give in 2PWPmLWZ3&

give up 2mJQZLWZ3& HEJ a*out 2WOLmIXWZ3& turn up 2WOLmIXWZ3.'t is interesting to note that Engish verbs $ith ho#ony#ic %refi+es

and %ost%ositions $i a$ays differ in their #eaning."o#%are the foo$ing@ upsetDmOOPWZ& mOQZPWZGset up D

JOpLlPLWZ& WLJZWZG uphold DmWOZ_LWZG hold up DWOZ_LWZJpJOZ& lLWOZ_PLWZ.

THE STR&CT&RAL F&NCTIONS OF THE ENGLISH 'ERB

'n the #uti%icity of $ays in $hich verbs can be co#bined in actuausage distinction #ust reasonaby be #ade bet$een notiona or fuy4e+ica4 verbs and function,verbs.

+otional verbs are used inde%endenty as 4fu4 $ords of thevocabuary. Such are a Engish verbs besides #oda verbs and a fe$

others.Used asfunction,ords verbs are vita signas indicating the connectionthat is to be understood bet$een 4e+ica4 $ords. 't is not that they

7. e n n e d y. The Modern Engish Verb,Adverb "o#bination. Stanford Univ./ress& "aifornia. 7=;>.

;R. *i+on. Essentia 'dio# in Engish. Ne$ York& 7=


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have !no #eaning& but that they have a s%ecia kind of #eaning& so#eti#escaed 4structura4 #eaning. They serve %ri#ariy to sho$ gra##aticafunctions rather than to bear e+ica #eanings and #ay be used as@

a3 au+iiaries and haf,au+iiariesGb3 co%uas& or ink,verbsGc3 substitute verbsGd3 re%resenting verbsGe3 verb,intensifiers.The verbs *e$ have$ do$ let$ shall8should #ay function as au+iiary

verbs #aking u% anaytica for#s in the conugation of the Engish verb.Lin)ver*s are verbs of inco#%ete %redication in so,caed no#ina

%redicates& denoting a certain state or 0uaity of the subect. The ink,verbhas no inde%endent #eaning& its function is to connect the subect $ith the

%redicative and to e+%ress a the gra##atica categories of the finite verb@%erson& nu#ber& #ood& as%ect& tense and voice.

Besides the verb to do functioning as an e#%hatic au+iiary& there aregra##atica idio#s $ith the verb,intensifier togo foo$ed4 by the finite

verb,for#s& e. g.@ Pr,nt Tn,Non,e# hatic E# hatic

5h( do (ou sa( such 5h( do (ou go and sa( such

Pa,t Ind:init

-e did it. -e ,ent and did it.

Pr,nt Pr:ct

-e has caught it. -e has gone and caught it.

Pa,t Pr:ct

-e had caught it. -e had gone and caught it.

'n various conte+ts of their use such gra##atica idio#s can i#%yirreevance or une+%ectedness of the action associated $ith sur%rise&

%er%e+ity& dis%easure or indignation& de%ending on the consituation.-is gre( e(es ,ould *rood over the gre( ,ater under the gre( s)(4 and in

his #ind the #ar) ,ould fall. It fell ,ith a *u#p on the eleventh of

9anuar( ,hen the French went and occupied t!e 9u!r. 2)as$orthy3,ent and occupied D occupied...2


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wPEQ$ OLlw 7

J EPJ Z OLQLW.xEP Z OLQLZ.Ukrainian@x lOJZG OJlQLlL.A s%ecia kind of affective gra##atica idio# $i be found in %atterns

$ith the ingfor# foo$ing the verb togo $hen the atter does not signify#otion either but is used idio#aticay to intensify the #eaning of thenotiona verb& e. g.@

-e goes frightening people ,ith his stories.


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"onditiona Mood has beco#e 0uite %o%uar $ith so#e Sovietgra##arians $ho so#eti#es add t$o #ore 45bi0ue4 Moods& theSu%%ositiona and Subunctive ''& the %rinci%e of division being based onthe tendency to ascribe to each of the for#s of the subunctive a s%ecificgra##atica #eaning.

Mood& cosey reated to the %robe# of #odaity& is generay definedas a gra##atica category e+%ressing the reation of the action to reaity asstated by the s%eaker. The distinction bet$een the rea and the unrea&e+%ressed by the corres%onding for#s of the verb& is one of the dis%utabe

%robe#s of Engish gra##ar.The anaysis of the category #ade by so#e gra##arians is based

argey on the historica and co#%arative considerations and often $orkedout aong notiona ines.

Thus& for instance& M. *eutschbein in his S(ste# der neuenglischenS(nta0 distinguishes : #ain #oods@ der Rogitativus& der %tatvus& derVountativus& der E+%ectativus. As sub#oods he #entions@ der 'ndikativus&der 'rreas& der /Jtentas& der Konessivus& der Neessarius& der

/er#issivus& der *ubitativus& etc.-e coud %robaby tabuate even a #ore detaied& if not e+haustive&sche#e of a the varieties of subective #odaity in Engish. Such asche#e $oud be based on the attitudes of the s%eaker!s #ind& i. e. on thefact that the contents of the co##unication can be reated #oday to thesubect as& for instance& asserted 2'ndicative Mood3G as intensifying theassertion 2E#%hatic Mood3G as co#%eed 2"o#%usive Mood3G as

%er#itted 2/er#issive Mood3G as desired 25%tative Mood3& as abiity2/otentia Mood3& etc.& etc. But such a tabuated survey $oud& indeed&

beco#e too co#%icated.)ra##arians are not agreed as to the for#s of the Subunctive Mood.

So#e of the# recognise ony synthetic for#s 25. Ces%ersen& for instance3&

others incude here aso verb,%hrases of anaytica structure $ith a #odaverbs.

5. Ces%ersen criticises M. *eutschbein %ointing out that it $oud be%ossibe to subdivide the given sche#e further into t$o grou%s@ the first$ith 77 #oods& containing an ee#ent of ,ill$ the second $ith = #oods&containing no ee#ent of ,ill. There are indeed #any 4#oods4 if oneeaves the safe ground of verba for#s actuay found in a anguage.

The #ost co##on vie$ is that in Modern Engish there are three#oods& 'ndicative& Subunctive and '#%erative $hich kee% distinct inEngish in the sa#e cear $ay as in #any other anguages.

The for#s co#%rised in the 'ndicative Mood are used to %resent%redication as reaity& as a fact. The %redication need not necessariy be

true but the s%eaker %resents it as being so. 't is not reevant for the%ur%ose of our gra##atica anaysis to account for the uti#ate truth oruntruth of a state#ent $ith its %redicate e+%ressed by a verb. This cannotaffect the #eaning of the gra##atica for# as such. 'n ter#s of gra##ar&it is i#%ortant to identify the function of the category in the givenutterance.

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The '#%erative& ike the 'ndicative& has the sa#e for# as the base ofthe verbG the sa#e is true of the /resent 'ndicative 2e+ce%t the third %ersonsinguar3 and of the $hoe of the /resent Subunctive. These for#s $ie+e#%ify %aradig#atic ho#ony#y in Engish #or%hoogy.

The '#%erative Mood serves to e+%ress re0uests $hich in differentconte+ts #ay range fro# categorica order or co##and to entreaties. Thenecessary #eaning is generay signaed by the conte+t and intonation.The '#%erative Mood %ro%er is used ony in the second %ersons singuarand %ura. This for# is used in address to one or #ore %ersons& ordering orinstructing the# to carry out the 4action4 of the verb.

The gra##atica subect of the '#%erative Mood is not for#ayindicated but& $hen occasion de#ands& this is generay done by using the

%ronoun before or after the verb. Verb,%atterns $ith %ronouns have s%eciaaffective connotation $ith fine shades of e#otiona distinctions& such as@intensity or e#%hasis& anger& annoyance& i#%atience or scorn& etc.@ 273 Shehas *een ;uite a success$ and don't (ou forget it7 2;3 \ou sit still overthere7 283 Co#e along ever(*od(. 2:3&on't (ou go telling Mother a*out it7

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The for#a #ark of the Subunctive is the absence of infection for thethird %erson singuar e+ce%t in the verb to *e$ $here it has fuconugation. 'n %oint of fact& in Modern Engish the Subunctive is a#ostout of use. The ony reguar surviva of the 4non,%ast4 Subunctive $i befound in eevated %rose& in sogans& in a nu#ber of standardised %hrasesosty of a for#ua character $hich function as sense,units and

%racticay do not serve as substitution fra#es in the ordinary $ay ofgra##atica for#s& e. g.@ So *e it. Long live peace and friendship a#ongnations7 Co#e ,hat #a(7 e ,hat #a(7 Suffice it to sa(. 'n othersentence,%atterns the non,%ast Subunctive is o%tiona and can aternate$ith the 'ndicative. This aternation ho$ever is not indifferent to stye& theSubunctive being decidedy #ore referentia and #ore for#a than the'ndicative verb.

'n the non,%ast Subunctive is very sedo# used& the /ast Subunctiveis so #uch #ore restricted that in %resent,day Engish beongs ony to theverb to *e. The ony /ast Subunctive for# is ,ere and even this isdistinctive ony in the first and third %ersons singuar. -e generay find it

in %atterns $ith subordinate causes denoting either reected hy%othesis orunfufied $ishes& e. g./ I ,ish I ,ere a child. If I ,ere (ou... %s if he ,ere,ith us.

5ere can aternate $ith the 'ndicative verb,for#. There is a gro$ingtendency in Modern Engish to re%ace it by ,as$ es%eciay in non,for#astye and in conversation. "o#%are@

For#al st(le +onfor#al st(le

M( father suggested that M( father suggested that

#( cousin sta( ,ith us. #( cousin #ight sta( ,ith

If I ,ere healthier$ I us.

,ould travel #ore fre If I ,as healthier$ I

;uentl(. ,ould...

't is interesting to note that $ith the use of inversion for hy%othesis theSubunctive is obigatory. This is fairy co##on in for#a referentiaEngish& e. g.& 5ere he to co#e to#orro, ,e should invite hi# to theconference.

Mention shoud be #ade about a sur%rising reversion $hich has taken%ace during the ast t$enty years in the %artia reviva of s%ecificaysubunctive for#s of verbs. The Subunctive Mood $as used e+tensiveyin 5d Engish& as in cassica (atin and Modern )er#an. As is kno$n&since the Midde Engish %eriod& ho$ever& it has been so$y dying out& its

%ace being taken by co#%ound verb,for#s $ith au+iiaries should$#ight$ etc.3. The ony reay fir#y estabished subunctive for# surviving

in Engish in the nineteen,thirties $as ,ere4 it $as 2and sti is nor#a forstandard Engish to use ,ere and not ,as in a 4cosed conditiona cause4&as inIf he ,ere here$ ,e should certainl( *e a*le to see hi# he is nothere2. There $ere other subunctive survivas in s%oradic use 2as in if it *e

so2$but these a sounded a trife iterary and affected. *uring and after the$ar& ho$ever& as "h. Barber7%oints out& subunctive for#s increased infre0uency& es%eciay in the $ritten anguageG this see#s to have begun inthe anguage of ad#inistration& and s%read

7See/ "h. Barber. (inguistic "hange in /resent,*ay Engish. 7=6:& %. 788.

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fro# there to the iterary anguage. The for#s used are third,%ersonsinguar ones $ithout infe+ion& as inI insist that he do it4 it ,as essentialthat he #a)e a choice 2$here do is used instead of does orshall do$ and#a)e instead ofshould #a)e2. Sentences of this ty%e 2es%eciay the first3are aso so#eti#es heard in s%eech. 't is e+tre#ey unikey& ho$ever& thatthere is going to be any serious ong,ter# reviva of the subunctivefor#sG the %resent deveo%#ent is %robaby ony a %assing tendency. 'f ithas any ong,ter# significance& this is ikey to be not a reviva of thesubunctive& but an eroding a$ay of the third,singuar infe+ionG byaccusto#ing %eo%e to for#s ike he do and he #a)e these usages #ay

%re%are the $ay for the uti#ate disa%%earance of he does and he#a)es. This& after a& $oud be the natura continuation of the historica

%rocessG in the %resent si#%e a infe+ions& e+ce%t the third singuar s$have been ost and it $oud be 0uite natura to e+%ect the %rocess tocontinue& to have ony one for# a through the tense 29 ,al)$ (ou ,al)$he ,al)$ ,e ,al)$ the( ,al)2.

MODAL 'ERBS

There are nine #oda verbs in Modern Engish@ #ust$ can8could$#a(8#ight$ shall8should$ ,ill8,ould$ dare$ need$ ought and let. A argevariety of their use is one of the #ost striking as%ects of the %resent,dayEngish gra##ar.

The #uti%icity of $ays in $hich #oda verbs #ay be co#bined inactua usage %er#its a very arge nu#ber of %atterns to be buit in

%resent,day Engish. 1ro# a historica %oint of vie$ it is interesting tonote that #any of the# are of 0uite recent deveo%#ent.

Modaity and tense are so intervened that in Engish it is hardy%ossibe to co#bine the# as a singe variabe. So#e verbs functionboth as tense,au+iiaries and as #odas. 't is therefore of %ri#aryi#%ortance to see the# in contrast $ith each other as used in differentgra##atica fra#es.

5n different inguistic occasions a #oda verb #ay %erfor# threedifferent functions@ a3 it #ay be used in its origina sense& b3 it #aydo the duty of a %urey au+iiary in anaytica verba for#s correated$ith the corres%onding si#%e ones $ithin the i#its of the givengra##atica category 2the 1uture Tense and the Subunctive Mood3& c3 it#ay $eaken its e+ica #eaning $hen used in #oda %hrases e+%ressingsu%%osition& certainty or uncertainty as to the action e+%ressed by thenotiona verb.

The anaysis of #oda verbs is #ade rather difficut by other factors.The %oint is that their %ast tense,for#s do not often refer to %ast ti#eat a . Such are the verbs can and #a($ shall and ,ill$ for instance& $hichare not easiy defined in for#a ter#s of gra##ar earning.Mor%hoogicay they have the %resent and the %ast tense,for#s& but in#oda %hrases they are not reguary used to #ark ti#e reations.Moreover& to indicate %ast ti#e does not see# to be their #ain function.-e naturay distinguish different ti#e reations in@ 12 -e can spea)

!nglish fluentl()))


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@@ 2;3-e couldspea) !nglish fluentl( ,hen he ,as a *o(. But there is noti0 difference in #any cases ike the foo$ing@

+)/He maygo BHe mig!tgo.

+/&ar) as the night s!all *e... &ar) as the night s!ould *e...'t see#s reasonabe to characterise the dua nature of the #odas used

in co#%e+ verba %redicates as foo$s.Moda verbs #ay function as a3 4fuy e+ica4 verbs e+%ressing abiity&

%ossibiity& %er#ission& %o$er& ad#onition& duty& obigation& need& $i orreadiness to do so#ething associated $ith the activity of t subect& e. g.@:ne must do one's dut(. 0anshe spea) !nglish?(ayI co#e in?b3 #odaau+iiaries of $eakened %redication@ ,ill8,ould$ can8could$ #a(8#ight$#ust and ought 'n this atter case they $eaken their origina #eaning andco#e to e+%ress su%%osition& ogica inference& certainty or uncertainty$ith regard to the action e+%ressed by the notiona verb.

"o#%are the foo$ing@

a2 :) If I do

the thing$I ,ill do it

thoroughl($ *ut 1 must have a

free hand. 2)as$orthy3

*2 73 The( tell #e 9ol(on's*ought another house... he

must have a lot of #one(Dhe must have #ore #one(

than he )no,s ,hat to do

,ith7 2)as$orthy3;2


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'n its secondary function #ust is never used to e+%ress su%%osition$ith reference to an action in the future& it is not used in negativesentences either. -hen used to denote su%%osition #ust #ay be foo$ed

by both 'nfinitive ' and 'nfinitive ''. 'n %atterns $ith the 'nfinitive ' thegiven action and the su%%osition e+%ressed about it coincide in ti#e& e. g. @

-e must beso#e,here here.

Must foo$ed by the 'nfinitive '' $i denote@a3 su%%osition at %resent $ith regard to an action %erfor#ed in the

%ast& e g.@% rough esti#ate of the rate of cooling and gro,th of the solid crust of

our glo*e indicates that the cooling process must !ae be gun several

*illion (ears ago.

b3 su%%osition in the %ast $ith reference to a %rior %ast action& e. g.@-e *est grasped$ on that first reading$ the pain his father must have

had in ,riting such a letter. 2)as$orthy3:ne night he had *een thin)ing of his #other$ and her picture in the

dra,ingroo# do,nstairs$ and thought she must have loed s,eet

Florence *etter than his father did$ to have held her in her ar#s ,hen shefelt that she ,as d(ingDfor even he$ her *rother$ ,ho had such dear lovefor her$ could have no greater ,ish than that. 2*ickens3

't is to be observed that #ust used in its secondary function $ith'nfinitive '' often denotes such a strong certainty $ith regard to the action

%erfor#ed in the %ast that see#s to a%%roach the corres%onding verbafor# of the 'ndicative Mood as its styistic synony# denoting a rea actionin the %ast $ith s%ecia e#%hasis aid u%on its reaisation. The conte+t $ia$ays be e+%icit enough to #ake the #eaning cear.

A corres%onding negative #eaning is generay e+%ressed by can't j j'nfinitive ''. Cf./ 273 There must !ae been a hundred people in the hall.2;3 There can't !ae been a hundred people in the hall.

#a(8#ight AInfinitive

'n its %ri#ary function #a( is kno$n to e+%ress %er#ission or%ossibiity $ith reference to both %resent and future ti#e. -hen it refers tothe %resent& it is often re%aced by can. A s%ecia idio#atic use $i befound in 5hat #a( that #ean? This is used to ask 2often sarcasticay3about the intended #eaning of the %revious s%eaker and is synony#ous$ith 5hat do (ou #ean *( that?

'n its secondary function #a( j Infinitive I $i denote su%%osition at%resent $ith regard to a %resent or future action& e. g.@ -e #a( *e ;uite ata loss no,. \ou should help hi#.

Might j Infinitive I used according to the se0uence of tenses #ayi#%y the sa#e #eaning& as& for instance& in %atterns $ith free re%orteds%eech@%nd no, that Cicel( had #arried$ she mig!t be !aing childrentoo. 2)as$orthy3

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Ma( :,Infinitive II i#%ies su%%osition at %resent about the %ossibiityof an action in the %ast& e. g.@ Several ver( stri)ing love poe#s may !aebeen written *( &ante in the earl( da(s of his e0ile.

Might j Infinitive II in its secondary function $i generay denote asu%%osition $hich is contrary to a rea state of things. Reference to the

%resent $i be #ade by %atterns $ith 'nfinitive '& reference to the %ast Dby 'nfinitive ''.

An interesting deveo%#ent of recent years is the occasiona use of#a( have 2as $e as #ight have2 as e0uivaent of could have $hen it iskno$n that the envisaged outco#e did not occur& e. g.@ -ad a clai# *een#ade ,hen the accident occurred$ (ou may ,ell !ae recoered

su*stantial da#ages 7.

can8could A Infinitive

Can jInfinitive I is not so i#ited in its use as the verb #a(. Used inits %ri#ary function can #ay denote@

a3 abiity@ -e can spea) French. Si#iary $ith reference to the %ast@She could spea) French. She could *e ver( )ind at ti#es. 'n this sensefuturity is generay indicated by ,ill *e a*le to.

b3 characteristic s%oradic features or behaviour& often in a dis%aragingor derogatory sense. 'n ter#s of synony#y& this use of can #ay beco#%ared $ith ,ill jInfinitive indicating reguar characteristic behaviour.

ere aso beong %atterns $ith inani#ate subects& e. g.@ Inattentioncan result in regretta*le #ista)es. ractice can do a lot of good.

c3 %er#ission to do so#ething. 'n this sense it is re%aceabe by itsstyistic synony# #a( $hich is #ore referentia& #ore for#a& e. g.@

\ou can do as (ou choose.

\ou can leave no,.Cf. \ou may leave no,.

"are shoud be taken to distinguish bet$een such negative for#s as can'tcannot2 and can not. \ou can't co#e differs fro# \ou can not co#e. Thefirst says that it is not %ossibe for you to co#e& the second that it is

%ossibe for you not to co#e.d3 sensation& e.g./ 0an(ou see an(thing in the dar)? )ra##ar books

often characterise the use of the verb can $ith verbs of %erce%tion ase+%ressing the abiity to have e+%erience. This& ho$ever& #ust be taken$ith so#e reservation. -hen& for instance& $e say I can see orI could see$e are generay not referring to our abiity to see but to the actua fact that

$e have at this #o#ent the sensation. E+a#%es ike these $i be found innu#bers. ere is one of the#@-er perfor#ance$ she felt$ ,as interestingto the 3udge$ the 3ur($ and all those people there$ ,ho# she could di#l(

see. 2)as$orthy3The use of the verb can in its secondary function is #ost fre0uent

7See/ B. Strang. Modern Engish Structure. (ondon& 7=6:& %. 7.

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in interrogative and negative sentences denoting incredibiity $ith regardto the action e+%ressed by the infinitive.

Can A Infinitive I denotes incredibiity $ith reference to the %resent orfuture& e. g.@ There's so#ething a#iss here. The( can't be waiting there.

Can j Infinitive II $i i#%y incredibiity at %resent $ith regard toso#e action %erfor#ed in the %ast& e.g./


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should A Infinitive

Should in its %ri#ary #eaning& es%eciay $hen stressed& denotesobigation& duty or %ro%riety& e. g./ I thin) (ou should help hi#. \ou should*e #ore attentive.

Besides its use as a #oda au+iiary in the Subunctive Mood&should is

$idey current in its secondary functions $here its distributiona #eaning%resents s%ecia difficuties of gra##atica anaysis.

The first to be #entioned here are such %atterns i#%ying ogicainference as@ -e should *e a good pilot as he has had plent( of fl(inge0perience. The t,o should have so #uch in co##on. 'n both thesentences the i#%ication is that so#ething shoud or ought to be the caseaccording to a%%earances or ogic.

The range of should is $ider in thatclauses than in inde%endentsentences. -ith a governing e+%ression resoving the a#biguity& its usehas naturay e+tended to thatclauses i#%ying deter#ination& desire&co##and& etc. $hether in the affir#ative or in the negative& $hether fro#the %oint of vie$ of the s%eaker or $riter or fro# that of so#e %ersons%oken about.

The use ofshould of dut( and propriet( stands in shar% contrast to theuse ofshould in thatclauses $ith e+%ressions of e#otion& e. g.@


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The verb should in a %ersons has its #ost characteristic use in%atterns $here the #oda %hrase e+%resses a rea action $ith e#%hasisaid on the fact that it does or did take %ace. Variant subte shades ofsubective #oda force in giving one!s o%inion of an actua fact aregeneray signaed by the conte+t.

The ;uestion of the present state and further prospects of international

trade is one of great #o#ents to all countries and it ,as therefore onl(

logical that it s!ould !ae receied suc! close attention at the Council

#eeting.

should have received D has received2

That science in the USSR s!ould !ae attained so !ig! a leel of

deelopment is *ut natural.

should have attained ` has attained2The use ofshould Vinfis fairy co##on in %assing a udge#ent of an

e#%hatic e#otiona character 2subective evauation& a%%rova ordisa%%rova& sur%rise or indignation3 on so#e occurrence.

Thus& it is strange that he e0ercised 2or has e0ercised2 so great

influence #erey states the fact& $hereas@ It is strange that he shoulde0ercise 2or s!ould !ae e5ercised)so great influence ays #ore stress onthe strangeness of the action. Si#iary@


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c3 should Vinfin infinitiva sentences& e. [email protected] thin) that !er fine, wonderful ran# s!ould be compelled to

come to t!isD to cr(7

,ill A Infinitive

/atterns $ith the verb ,ill in its secondary function #ay be co#%ared$ith the anaogous use of the verb #ust. 'n its #oda content ,ill see#s to

be #ore subective and i#%ies a su%%osition based not u%on so#e factsbut rather u%on the s%eaker!s o$n considerations& e. g.@


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doer of the action. Thepassive voice sho$s that the subect is acted u%on&that it is the reci%ient of the action& e.g.@

I,rote a letter. % letter ,as ,ritten *( #e.Transfor#ationa reations for voice #ay be sy#boised as foo$s@ N7

j Vactj N;N;j V%assj by j N7

The choice of the %assive construction is often due to the fact that theagent is unkno$n or the s%eaker %refers not to s%eak of hi#.So#eti#es the agent is dro%%ed atogether $hen it is unkno$n& $e

kno$s oruni#%ortant. 5ny the %assive #akes this econo#y %ossibe.The %assive voice is kno$n to be e+%ressed by anaytic co#binations

of the au+iiary verb *e $ith the %ast %artici%e of the notiona verb.Another %assive& for#ed $ith get as au+iiary and the %ast %artici%e&

see#s to be increasing in fre0uency& though gra##arians are at %resentnot agreed as to its status.

The verbget can function in a #anner very si#iar $ith *e$ e. g.@M(dress got caught on a nail. -e got struc) *( a stone.

To get see#s coser to the true %assive au+iiary to *e in %atterns ike

the foo$ing@ She got *la#ed for ever(thing. She gets teased *( the otherchildren. -e gets punished regularl(. But $ith a the si#iarity of the t$overbs used in such %atternsget is unike *e in the %ri#ary %aradig#. -ecan say& for instance&-e gets punished regularl($but $e sha hardy attest"ets he punished regularl(?

't shoud be noted that to get is often used in %reference to the verb to*e because the true %assive $oud not be ceary distinguishabe fro#co#binations of the fu %redicator *e and %artici%ia adectiveco#%e#ents.

"o#%are to be#arried and toget#arried. As is kno$n& to *e #arriedcan have t$o #eanings@ qJOPZWZX and qPWZ JOPZ_ $hie to

get #arried is una#biguous@ it can #ean ony


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7 ; 8 :T!e reporter gave hi# *oo)s

7 ; 8-e ,as given *oo)s *( the reporter

7 ; 8oo)s were gien hi# *( the reporter

As a #atter of fact& the co##unication is e+acty the sa#e in the t$osentences given above. They re%resent #erey t$o vie$s of the facts& onefro# the side of the doer& the other fro# the side of the thing done. E+ce%tfor the $ord order& the for# of the verb& and the %re%osition *( they arethe sa#e.

't see#s %ractica to #ake distinction bet$een a3 direct or pri#ar(passive$ b3 indirect or secondar( passive and c3 tertiar( or prepositionalpassive 7.

The direct pri#ar(2 passive is for#ed in #ost cases fro# transitiveverbs. The subect of the %assive construction generay corres%onds to thedirect obect of the verb.

I,rote a letter. % letter ,as ,ritten *( #e.1urther e+a#%es of such for#ations $i be found in %atterns kno$n

in traditiona gra##ar as the No#inative $ith the 'nfinitive& e. g.@The( ,ere not allo,ed to sta( here.

-e is said to *e #ost diligent.

The direct %assive is fairy co##on in sentence,%atterns $ith theantici%atory it$ e. g.@

It ,as agreed that ,e should #a)e such e0peri#ents in the open air.

It ,as arranged that the e0pedition should start ,ithout dela(.

Syntactic structures $ith the direct %assive have a high fre0uencyvaue but there are certain restrictions in their use conditioned by thegra##atica organisation of the sentence@

a3 the %assive construction is i#%ossibe& for instance& $hen the directobect is e+%ressed& a refe+ive %ronoun or a noun $ith a %ossessive

%ronoun referring to the sa#e %erson as the subect of the sentence& as in@-e hurt hi#self. eter hurt his ar#.

b3 there are no %assive for#s in such %hrasa verbs as& for instance& tota)e part$ to ta)e courage$ to ta)e flight$ to ta)e alar#$ to lose heart$ to

ta)e heart and sti others."ertain %hrases of this sort& ho$ever& ad#it of a %assive construction&

e. g.@ to lose sight of$ to ta)e care$ to ta)e responsi*ilit($ to pa( attentionand so#e others& e. g@

+o responsi*ilit( is ta)en for the loss of personal propert( 2hote

notice3.%ttention #ust *e paid to the results of the first e0peri#ent.Such things should not *e lost sight of.

5n account of the infinite variety of e+ica #eanings inherent in verbsthe structura reations bet$een verbs and their obects are so fe+ibe thatto dra$ a rigid ine of de#arcation bet$een the different ty%es of obectsis& indeed& not an easy thing to d%.

7See/ E. Kruisinga. A andbook of /resent,*ay Engish. V. ;& %. ;& %. 7G Martin Coos.The Engish Verb. The University of -isconsin /ress& 7=6:& %%. =:D=


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Reations bet$een verbs and their obects vary according to the variant#eanings of the verbs the#seves as seen in the foo$ing instances given

by . S$eet@ )ill the calf$ )ill the ti#e$ run a ris)$ run a *usiness$ ans,era letter$ a ;uestion$ a person$ pa( the *ill$ pa( si0 shillings$ pa( the

ca*#an$ fill a pipe$ fill an office$ etc.& etc.A %ecuiarity of constitution hardy to be %araeed in other Euro%ean

anguages $i be found in sentence %atterns $ith different kind of theindirect or secondary %assive.

There are a nu#ber of verbs $hich take t$o obects D a direct and anindirect obect. The foo$ing are #ost fre0uent a#ong the#@ to allo,$ toas)$ to a,ard$ to give$ to grant$ to leave$ to offer$ to pro#ise$ to send$ to

sho,$ to teach$ to tell.

These verbs ad#it of t$o %assive constructions@a3 % *oo) ,as given to hi# 2the direct %ri#ary %assive3

b3 -e ,as given a *oo) 2the indirect secondary %assive3The indirect 2secondary3 %assive is not infre0uent in verb,%hrases $ith

the verb to give$ such as@ to give credit$ to give co##and$ to give a

chance$ to give a choice$ to give an e0planation$ to give an opportunit($ togive orders$ to give shelter$ and the ike.

-e ,as given a good to chance to argue.

She is given an opportunit( to go to the south in su##er.

Suppose$ (ou are given a choice. 5hat ,ould (ou prefer?

There are #any verbs in Engish $hich take a direct and an indirectobect in the active construction& but they ad#it ony one %assiveconstruction D the direct %assive& e. g.@ to *ring$ to do$ to pla($ totelegraph and #any others. The ist coud be e+tended. 5ther verbs are notreversed in %articuar turns of #eaning. Thus& have has no %assive $hen itis stata& as in@ She has gold hair.

Ne+t co#e constructions $ith the so,caed %re%ositiona or tertiary,

%assive. -hat in the active is the obect of a %re%osition connected $ith averb or $ith a verb and its obect #ay be #ade the subect of a %assiveconstruction. The subect of the %assive construction corres%onds to the

%re%ositiona obect. This 4detached4 %re%osition retains its %ace after theverb. 1a#iiar e+a#%es are@

-e ,as sent for and ta)en care of.

She could not *ear *eing read to an( longer.

-e is not to *e relied upon.

The %re%ositiona %assive is not used $ith verbs $hich take t$oobects& direct and %re%ositiona@ to e0plain so#ething to so#e*od($ to

point out$ to announce$ to dedicate$ to devote$ to sa($ to suggest$ to

propose$ etc. They can have ony a direct construction& e. g.@ The difficult(,as e0plained to the#. The #ista)e to the rule ,as pointed out to the #an.

% ne,plan ,as suggested to us.

The %re%ositiona %assive is not very fre0uent in occurrence. 'ts use isco##on $ith rather a i#ited nu#ber of verbs& such as@

73 verbs of saying@ to spea) a*out of$ to2$ to tal) a*out of2$ toco##ent on$ etc.& e. g.@

The ne, pla( ,as #uch spo)en of.

7;7


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;3 verbs e+%ressing scorn or conte#%t@ to fro,n at$ to laugh at$ to#oc) at$ to 3eer at$ to sneer at$ etc.& e. g.@

This idea ,as first 3eered at.

-e could not understand ,h( his ,ords ,ere laughed at.

83 a #isceaneous grou% of verbs& such as@ to loo) at$ to loo) uponon2$ to loo) after$ to loo) for$ to approve disapprove2 of$ to account for$ to

send for$ to rel( on$ to thin) of$ e. g.@-e ,as sent for and ta)en care of.

-ere is Irene to *e thought of.

5bserve& ho$ever& that the %assive construction $ith the 4retained4obect 2or 4re#aining accusative43 has i#its and is i#%ossibe $ith

%articuar verbs or %articuar obects& e. g.@ $e can say


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,hen he had forfeited the Q& QJIZ WOLWZ mOLJ right to*e considered a For LlZLWZ JOLWJ_.s(te.2)as$orthy3

To su# u% in brief& the fre0uency vaue of %assive constructions inEngish is due to a nu#ber of reasons. E#%hasis $i be aid on the

foo$ing@a3 There are& in fact& no #eans in Engish to avoid the indication of the

doer of the action in active constructions.'n other anguages there are s%ecia uses of the active $ithout

indicating the agent. Such are& for instance& indefinite,%ersona sentencesin Russian and Ukrainian $ith the %redicate,verb in the 8rd %erson %ura

but $ithout e+act reevance to the doer of the action.The indefinite %ronoun one and occasionay the %ersona %ronouns ,e$

(ou and the($ as $e as the nounpeople$ #ay be used in this #eaning. Butfor so#e reason or other the use of such sentence,%atterns see#s to berestricted& and Engish instead often sho$s here a #arked %reference of

%assive constructions.b3 Variation in the use of different ty%es of %assive turns e+isting in

Engish ends variety to s%eech. Athough so#e of the# are so#e$hatrestricted in use& they sti contribute to the fre0uency vaue of the %assivein genera.

Substitutes for ;assie

As in other anguages %assive #eaning can find its e+%ression not onyin the %aradig#atic for#s of the verb. There are other techni0ues inEngish $hich can serve this %ur%ose. There is a$ays a seective $ay inthe distribution of various #eans ada%ted to this %ur%ose in each case. The

%eri%hera ee#ents of the %assive fied in Modern Engish are@73 4get,%assive4.73 verb,%hrases $ith the se#i,co%uative verbs *eco#e$ stand$ rest$ and

go$ e. g.@Ihave *eco#e sun*urnt.-e stands prepared to dispute it.

5e rest assured.

The( go ar#ed.

83 active verb,for#s $ith refe+ive %ronouns& e. g.@it sees itself4 it #anifests itself$ it displa(s itself$ etc. 7 :3syntactic %atterns of causative #eaning& e. g.@-e had his

photo ta)en. I ,ent it done. See the letters delivered.


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M( shoes ,ant #ending.

93 %hrasa verbs of anaytica structure.?3 %re%ositiona noun,%hrases./hrasa,verbs of anaytica structure ty%e VN function $ith rather a

high fre0uency vaue as styistic aternatives of *J,%assive and getpassive. A fe$ ty%ica e+a#%es are given beo$. 5thers $i readiy occurto the student.

to find e0pression to *e e0pressed

to find favour to *e favoured

to find reflection to *e reflected

to find support to *e supported

to find solution to *e solved

to ,in recognition to *e recognised

to gain respect to *e respected

to get pu*licit( to *e pu*lished

to receive a stud( to *e studied

to receive criticis# to *e criticised

to receive recognition to *e recognised to receive punish#ent to get punished

'n infinite cases such for#ations verge on the 40uasi,gra##atica4 andserve& in fact& rather gra##atica than e+ica %ur%oses. They carrygra##atica infor#ation of voice distinction& #oreover& this is often thedo#inant feature of their inguistic status reveaed $ith sufficient evidencein reguar 5%%ositiona reations bet$een si#%e and %hrasa verbs and

bet$een %hrasa verbs the#seves. The reevance of #any %hrasa verbs tothe voice,fied is #ost obvious. "o#%are@

%ctive assive

to attend to pa( attention to receive attention

to help to give help to find helpto support to lend support to find support

to offend to give offence to suffer offence

to credit to give credence to find credence

to defeat to inflict a defeat to suffer a defeat

to pu*lish to give pu*licit( to get pu*licit(

/hrasa verbs a%%roach anaytica for#s@ one of the co#%onents hase+ica #eaning& the second& a function verb& is se#anticay de%eted andco#es to function as a se#i,co%uative verb. 'n their inguistic status

%hrasa verbs re#ain& in fact& on the borderine bet$een synta+ and#or%hoogy. The %rocess of converting notiona $ords into e+ico,

gra##atica #or%he#es is #ost active in this area.Verbs $hich are %art of such anaytica structures differ se#anticay.So#e of the# are synony#icay reated in the Engish vocabuaryirres%ective of the conte+t. 5thers are synony#ous ony in co#bination$ith certain nouna co#%onents.

to gain attentionD to get attentionD to receive attention4 to ,inrecognitionD to get recognitionD to receive recognition

D togain recognition.

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Most fre0uent are such verbs as@get$ o*tain$ receive$ find$ gain$ ,in$undergo.

-e aso find here such verbs as@ achieve$ attain$ earn$ escape$de#and$ clai#$ re;uire$ suffer$ endure$ deserve$ #erit.

5vera%%ing of 5%%ositiona reations of voice and as%ect is notinfre0uent. "onsider the foo$ing for iustration@

%ctive assive

"o##on As%ect 'nchoative As%ect

to suspect to fall under suspicion

to despise to fall into conte#pt

to o*serve to fall under o*servation

Actions of Singe 5ccurrence

%ctive %ctive assive

to laugh to give a laugh to receive a laugh to e(e to

give the e(e to get the e(e

to hug to give a hug to receive a hug

'n such e+ico,gra##atica o%%ositions one #e#ber 2the 4#arked4#e#ber3 signas the %resence of the as%ectua #eaning& $hie the4un#arked4 #e#ber #ay either signa 4absence of #arked #eaning4 orese be nonco##itta as to its absence or %resence.

These t,o volu#es co#prised all the short stories he had ,ritten$ and

,hich had received or ,ere receiving serial pu*lication. 2(ondon3+ot *eing as attractive as &o(le$ it ,as not so eas( for hi# to ,in the

attention of girls. 2*reiser3She ,as a cold$ selfcentred ,o#an$ ,ith #an( a thought of her o,n

,hich never found e0pression$ not even *( so #uch as the glint of an e(e.

2*reiser3There is a cose %arae to this deveo%#ent in other anguages. Such

structura ee#ents in the Engish verba syste# #erit consideration notony in ter#s of their synony#ic correation $ith a si#%e verb of si#iar#eaning. 1or#ations of this kind are #ost evidenty reevant to the

%robe# of covert gra##ar& i#%icit %redication& in %articuar.Synony#ic correation of si#%e and %hrasa verbs of kindred #eaning

#erits attention in different s%heres of usage. Such inguistic units areorganicay reated and constanty aiding to and su%%orting each other inco##unication. And this is fairy universa. The choice bet$een si#%eand %hrasa verbs %redeter#ines to a great e+tent the structura %attern ofthe sentence 1. "onsituation and considerations of stye in the no#ina,

verba contrast $i generay deter#ine the seection of gra##aticafor#s in the organisation of the #essage.

E+a#ine the gra##atica organisation of the te+t in the foo$ingsentences $ith no#inaity ada%ted to its %ur%ose in each case@

7 See/ . . m O X . QmOZ_WLIJ ZIJLZ _LWZQZOPQJpJ pILpJIL. .& 7=69.

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!ver(one ,as out in their Sla* S;uare$ pera#*ulating to eit!er get or

gie t!e eyeperhaps in an odd #o#ent stopping to hear a fe, ,ords of

ad#onition fro# Sall('s %r#(... 2Siitoe3Haing gien and receied anot!er !ug, he #ounted the ,indo,

seat$ and tuc)ing his legs under hi# ,atched her unpac). 2)as$orthy3This last ,as t!e s!oc# =on receied co#ing thus on his #other.

2)as$orthy3The speed ,ith ,hich 9oe ,or)ed won (artin's admiration. 2(ondon3The %assive fied incudes aso %atterns $ith %re%ositiona noun,

%hrases functioning as substitutes for ordinary %assive for#s of the verb.1or#ations of this kind contribute significanty to the deveo%#ent of

gra##atica synony#y in sentence structure. 'n such syntactic %atterns $efind& for instance& no#ina %hrases $ith the %re%ositions a*ove$ at$*e(ond$ in$ on$ out of$ past$ under$ ,ithin$ ,ithout. A fe$ ty%ica e+a#%esare@

beyond *elief$ *e(ond pardon$ *e(ond or past2 cure$ *e(ond dou*t$*e(ond dispute$ *e(ond e0pression$ *e(ond e0pectation$ *e(ond grasp$

*e(ond help$ *e(ond all #easure$ *e(ond praise$ *e(ond price$ *e(ond;uestion$ *e(ond repair$ *e(ond recognition$ *e(ond reach$ *e(ond

a*ove2 suspicion$ *e(ond ,ords$ in use$ in print$ out of use$ in ;uestion$

on sale$ under consideration$ under control$ under discussion$ under

repair$ under supervision$ etc....9une had t,ice *een to tea there under t!e c!aperonage of aunt.

2)as$orthy3:utside the river$ and out of sig!t he slac)ened his pace still #ore.

2)as$orthy3...She re#ained under t!e care of /octor T!oroug!good until %ugust

the fifteenth. 2"ronin3...he ran his *ea#ing e(es over Martin's second*est suit$ ,hich ,as

also his ,orst suit$ and ,hich was ragged and past repair. 2(ondon3Unconsciousl( he a*sor*ed her philosoph(. >nder !er guidance !e

was learning to cultivate the superficialniceties and let the deeper things

go hang. 2"ronin3The %assive #eaning of the %hrase is generay signaed by the

conte+t& the e+ica #eaning of the subect in %articuar. "o#%are thefoo$ing@

2a3 children in charge of a nurse children are ta)en care of42b3 a nurse in charge of children B a nurse ta)es care of children.1unctiona si#iarity of structures $ith no#ina %hrases and those

$ith %assive for#s of the verb is 0uite obvious.

a*ove criticis# too great to *e criticised *e(ond repair too old to *e repaired

,ithout hearing near enough to *e heard

*e(ond all #easure too large to *e #easured

out of use no longer used

under his guidance guided *( hi# the

house is under construe the house is *eing *uilt

tion

7;?


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Captr 'I

ENGLISH 'ERB;FORMS AND THEIR PATTERN;'AL&E

Ti#e,distinctions find their e+%ression in verb,for#s. Engishgra##atica ter#inoogy has a s%ecia $ord tense to indicate ti#e at$hich an action or state is vie$ed as ha%%ening or e+isting. The s%eaker!ssubective use of distinctions of Ti#e dra$n in accordance $ith theconventions of the anguage is naturay %ri#ary in i#%ortance.

The syste# of the Engish verb offers its o$n difficuties for a foreignstudent to #aster. The #ost troubeso#e %robe#s are concentrated in thearea of the finite verb& and incude& in %articuar& tense& as%ect& and #odaau+iiary usage.

The co#%onents of gra##atica #eanings in actua verb,for#s areoften not so se%arabe as it #ight be suggested. Tense$ #ood and aspect

a%%ear to be cosey ent$ined. The ter#s tenseaspect or& say& tense#oodsee# therefore fuy ustified. -e can hardy say that there are %ure tenses&%ure #oods or %ure as%ectsG t$o or three of these kinds of #eaning area$ays inse%araby %resent in any given verb for#. This $i be #ade cearif $e identify the tense,for#s by s%ecifying their characteristic sentence,functions and ook at the contrasting %atterns rather than contrasting for#s.

A #aor 0uestion in earning the gra##ar of the Engish verb istherefore to ook for the difference of distribution in various conte+ts&inguistic or situationa& $here each verb,for# occurs.

*istinction #ust be #ade bet$een %aradig#atic 2%ri#ary3 andsyntag#atica 2secondary3 #eanings of gra##atica for#s& in other$ords& bet$een its denotative and connotative #eanings.

'n the %o$er of connotation of gra##atica for#s ies the reserve forceof anguage. )ra##atica i#agery %ays such a considerabe roe in thefor#a arrange#ent of units of s%eech as to deserve our %articuarattention.

The study of verb,for#s #ust reasonaby incude their functionatrans%ositions $here $e distinguish@ a3 for#a conventiona trans%ositionsin fi+ed %atterns of gra##atica usage and b3 e+%ressive trans%ositions forstyistic %ur%oses. The for#er are styisticay un#arked and e#otionayneutraG the atter are #arked and have a styistic vaue.

TE /RESENT TENSE

'n the %ractice of %erha%s a anguages the idea of


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the %eriod auded to. The verb,for# itsef does not i#%y the ength ofduration before or after the %resent #o#ent covering a very $ide range of#eaning as $e as e+%ression of inter#ittent occurrences. The i#%iedconte+t& inguistic or situationa& is a that can be considered reevant.

The #uti%e %oyse#antic essence of the %resent tense #erits coseattention as #ost directy reevant to the %robe# of synony#y ingra##ar.

'n these ter#s& the %resent tense #ay be characterised by distinguishingthe incusive and e+cusive %resent. The first $i incude@

73 the actua %resent denoting an action occurring at the #o#ent ofs%eaking or $riting. 'see an aeroplane. The teacher ,ants to spea) to (ou.

I love (ou.

ere beong aso author!s $ords& stage re#arks& co##ents inne$s%a%ers& etc.& e. g.@ "oes *ehind the screen. :pens the door. ell rings.

;3 the neutra %resent used $hen no %articuar ti#e is thought ofGde%ending on the conte+t it #ay indicate@

a3 so#ething that is a$ays true& e. g.@ The sun rises in the east

2generaising %resent3Gb3 actions %er#anenty characterising the subect& e. g.@ Fleur does,hat she li)es 20uaitative %resent3G

c3 abiity to do so#ething& e. g.@ She spea)s three languages. She canspea) three languages2.

The neutra %resent is aso used in giving a definition or stating a rue.This #ay be caed %resent of definition& e. g.@ 5ater free=es *elo, =ero.

As a #atter of fact& in such cases an action or state denoted by the%resent tense can be referred to any s%here of ti#e@ %resent& %ast or future.erein ies %robaby the reason of the fact that the fre0uency vaue of thisverba for# is consideraby higher in scientific Engish than in ordinaryuse.

83 the iterative %resent refers to an action re%eated at intervas& there%etition being usuay indicated by an adunct ike ever( da($ t,ice,ee)l($ al,a(s$ etc.& e. g.@ 'get up at eight ever( da(. This paper appearst,ice ,ee)l(. 5e al,a(s go to the seaside in su##er.

'n ter#s of #odern inguistics& the %resent tense is often characterisednegativey& i. e. as the for# used $hen there is no %ositive reason for theuse of the %ast& future& or the subunctive or any other co#%e+ conugationfor#. As the un#arked ite# in the conugation of the Engish verb& it isthen caed the neutral or nonpast of the ver* 7. And this ange of vie$ isnot devoid of so#e ogica foundations.

The syntag#atic #eanings of the 4e+cusive4 %resent #ay be iustratedby its use@ a3 ,ith future ti#e reference$b3 ,ith the i#plication of a pastaction$ c3 ,ith i#perative #odal force.

This #ay be sho$n diagra##aticay@

See/ B. S t r a n g. Modern Engish Structure. (ondon& 7=6:& %. 7;9.

)


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T Pr,nt Tn,

The pri#ar( denotative #eaning

2'ncusive /resent3

a3 I see an airplaneb3 I love (ou.

'. 'ndicative Modaity

c3 )eneraising /resentThe sun rises in the east.

d3 'terative /resentIal,a(s go to the

e3 Huaitative /resentShe pla(s tennis ,ith

Secondar( s(ntag#atic #eanings

2E+cusive /resent3

a3 %ast ti#e reference w%nd then in the night of the *an;uet she appears

in her e#eralds... 2Mitche3

b3 future ti#e reference5e start to#orro,.

''. '#%erative Modaity\ou go and see hi#.

The %resent tense recounts of a future action as vividy as if it $ere%resent.

*istinction #ust be #ade here bet$een different shades of #oda#eaning and adherent e+%ressivity i#%arted to the verb,for# by differentkind of conte+ts& inguistic or situationa@

73 strong deter#ination of the s%eaker to do so#ething or get so#ethingdone. This is often the case in fa#iiar s%eech& in e+%ressive or other$isee#%hatic stye& e. g.@

4'f(ou #ention her

"osh7 -ere's a ring ,ith a *ig *lue dia#ond. 5orth four thousand

pounds. %e're on the velvet for the rest of our lives. 2Sha$3The use of the %resent tense $ith the i#%ication of futurity i#%arts

vivacity to s%eech and often serves styistic %ur%oses. And this is not

)$


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s%ecificay Engish. There is a cose %arae to this deveo%#ent in otherEuro%ean anguages.

A. M. /eshkovsky7says $ith truth that in such cases the category of the%resent tense in Russian does not ose or #odify its #eaning& but ustactuaises it in vivid and cear reief& e. g.@

...To X JJOLL X P L JJ& LpJ J_L. mJWPmL pPLO Z ZP L JP. \J WJOJ L _X PWXOLpZ& X OLl_LZL LI Z PZL JJpJ& OPpJ l_L DPZL OPpJpJ& WOWpJ... 2|. JIWJ3


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I!ear$ (ou couldn't ,ait t,o ,ee)s for #e. 2Mitche3\ou've *een to S,it=erland$t!ey tell me. 2)as$orthy3Reference is #ade here to a %ast action and the s%eaker uses the %resent

tense as though the $ords had ust been s%oken& since he fees the #atteras one of his %resent interest.

See aso the foo$ing e+a#%e@


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. e. %rocesses i#ited in ti#e as contrasted to those of genera vaidity. The#ost i#%ortant function of the %rogressive as%ect is to refer to te#%oraryactivities situations or goings,on.

The %rogressive for#s are nor#a $here %redication tes of actions$events& or states of affairs that are in %rocess at the #o#ent of s%eech or$riting and are thought as begun& but not ended& $ith beginnings andorends fet as reativey cose to the ti#e of $riting or s%eaking.

The denotative vaue of the /resent /rogressive #ay accordingy becharacterised as indicating@ a3 %resent ti#e reevance& b3 so#ething

%rogressive& c3 contact $ith the #o#ent of s%eech. These three se#anticee#ents 2se#es3 #ake u% its synchronic co#%onenta %oyse#y.

She loo)ed at hi# scornfull( and ans,ered/


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-er e(es ,ere not ;uite close *ut surel( ,ere not seeing. 2)as$orthy3-e glanced atFleur. There she sat$ arid ,hat she ,as feeling he

couldn't tell. 2)as$orthy3She ga=ed and ga=ed$ ,ondering$ delighting$ longing$ and all the ,hile

the siren voice of the unrestful ,as ,hispering in her ear. 2*reiser3"o#%are aso the foo$ing@

7. a3 \ou i#agine he'll co#e. \ou thin) he'll co#e.b3 \ou are i#agining things. \ou are having hallucinations.

;. a3I plan to leave to#orro,. I intend to leave to#orro,.b3Ia# planning #( holida(s. I a# #a)ing arrange#ents for the

holida(s.

't $oud be $rong to say that certain verbs are never used in"ontinuous for#s& rather& so#e kinds of %redication e+%ressed by certainverb,%hrases resist e+%ansion of their for#s.

Thus& for instance& in +o, I'# re#e#*ering the /resent "ontinuous#ay be referred to as used to e#%hasise the i#ited duration& but this isarbitrary& for $e #ay say that in this case re#e#*er has the #eaning of4#ake a conscious effort to re#e#ber4& in $hich sense the "ontinuousfor# is fairy co##on.

1urther e+a#%es are@ The('re living in London and The( live inLondon. The "ontinuous for# suggests either that they have #oved thererecenty or that they intend to #ove soon& or both. The si#%e /resentindicates that (ondon is their %er#anent ho#e.

-ith verbs such as read or ,or)$ $hich refer to non,#o#entaryactivity& the /resent "ontinuous $i usuay suggest duration of theactivity& itsef& es%eciay if a %oint of ti#e is indicated& e. g.@

&on't call on #e$ I'# ,or)ing at t,elve 1.'n contrast& the activity has no duration in@ I'# leaving at t,elve. 'f this

differs at a fro#I leave at t,elve$ it is in ter#s of intention as co#%aredto a fi+ed %an or decision.

Note. The fact that the "ontinuous for#s #ay be used to suggest agenera intention can aso be iustrated by the use of the /ast and /resent/erfect "ontinuous in %atterns ike the foo$ing@I've *een co#ing to see

(ou for a long ti#e. The intention has asted over a ong ti#e and& as the/erfect Tense sho$s& began in the %ast and e+tended right u% to the %resent#o#ent.I'# ver( glad to see (ou. It ,as nice of 9on to thin) of *ringing

(ou do,n to us.


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The t$o for#s differ ony in e#otiona saturation and e#%hasis& theirgra##atica content being absoutey identica.

. /outs#a in his Late Modern !nglish %oints out that in thise+%ressive use the "ontinuous for#s #ay be co#%ared $ith the e#%haticanaytica for#s of the /resent Tense 2"o##on As%ect3. ' do long B I a#.longing. Si#iary@I did long B I ,as longing. Cf. :h$ ho, the stars ,ere

shining7 -o, the dia#ond did t,in)le and glitter.

Syntag#atic connotative #eanings of the /resent "ontinuous signaedby different conte+ts& inguistic or situationa& $i be iustrated by its usein trans%osition $here it #ay denote@

273 %ro%erties or other traits 240uaitative %resent43& e. g.@

She is al,a(s gru#*ling a*out trifles. She

is pla(ing tennis ,ith innate grace.

2;3 re%eated %rocesses of increasing duration or activities characteristicof the subect at the given %eriod.

This #eaning is generay signaed by the i##ediate e+ica conte+t&adverbs of fre0uency and re%etition& in %articuar& or consituation& e. g.@


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The i#%ication of a future action is endo$ed $ith #oda force ands%ecia e#otive functions in cases ike the foo$ing@

E+a#ine aso the connotative vaue of the /resent "ontinuous in thefoo$ing e+a#%e@

Fleur huddled her chin in her fur. It ,as easterl( and cold. % voice

*ehind her said$


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Pr,nt Continuou,

The pri#ar( denotative #eaning

She is reading.

Secondar( s(ntag#atic #eanings

'. 'ndicative Modaity

2a3 )eneraising /resentLanguage is al,a(s

c!anging.

2b3 'terative /resent


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/rogression in ti#e as denoted by the /ast "ontinuous is #ostfuctuating and variabe@ fro# severa short stretches of ti#e to ongduration& re%eated actions or si#utaneity or& say& increasing duration.E+a#%es are@

Suddenl( Soa#es said/


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intention of doing so#ething than the action itsef. 'n such %atterns of4i#%ied negation4 the connection bet$een the subect and %redicate is notto be taken in a direct or %ositive sense. The #eaning is thus negative& thatof an unreaised intention to do so#ething 2su%%ositiona #odaity3& e. g.@4I suppose (ou ,ere too *us( to co#e to the station


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/erfect for#s to a non,/erfect for#s& such as ,or)s// has ,or)ed4,or)ed // had ,or)ed4 ,ill ,or) // ,ill have ,or)ed$ etc. Thecorres%onding reative ter#s ado%ted by A. S#irnitsky for thesegra##atica contrasts are 4non,%erfect4 and 4%erfect4.

The un#arked non,/erfect for#s do not refer to a s%ecia currentreevance $hereas the #arked /erfect for#s e+%ress %riority.

A. '. S#irnitsky %resents a ogica syste# of the correation bet$eenthe 'ndefinite& the "ontinuous& the /erfect and the /erfect "ontinuousfor#s gra%hicay as a %araee%i%ed on $hose three di#ensions he

%aced@ 73 the category of tense 2the /resent& the /ast and the 1uture3& ;3the category of as%ect 2the "o##on and the "ontinuous3 and 83 categoryof ti#e reation 2the non,/erfect and the /erfect for#s3.

So#e$hat si#iar vie$s on the categories of the Engish verb are hedby the A#erican schoar M. Coos 7.

'n treating the 'ndefinite& the "ontinuous& the /erfect and the /erfect"ontinuous for#s M. Coos& ike /rof. S#irnitsky& #arks out three differentverb categories $hich he cas 4tense4& 4as%ect4 and 4%hrase4.

5ther gra##arians advocate the vie$ according to $hich the categoryof /erfect is a %ecuiar tense category& i. e. a category incuded in the verb%aradig# aong $ith the categories 4%resent4 and 4%ast4 ;. According to ).Vorontsova 8the category of /erfect is a %ecuiar as%ect category and assuch #ust be incuded in the reguar gra##atica contrasts of 4co##on4and 4continuous4 as%ects.

The divergency of the inguistic a%%roaches to the identification of the/erfect Tenses in Engish is indeed striking.

The 0uestion #uch debated no$adays is ho$ define the invariabe#eaning of these gra##atica for#s.

-hat shoud not esca%e our notice is that the shift fro# tense to as%ect$hich is so s%ecific in the functiona reationshi%s of Engish verb,for#s

cannot be studied in isoation fro# the distributiona #eaning of the/erfect Tenses.

5ne #ore 0uestion %ri#ary in i#%ortance is that the gra##aticacontent of the /erfect Tenses cannot be studied $ithout a considerabereference to the e+ica character of the verb and variations of denotativeand connotative #eaning resuting fro# the use of /erfect for#s indifferent syntactica environ#ent& arge %atterns& in %articuar.

The occurrence of the /erfect Tenses in different syntacticenviron#ents $i sho$ variations of their basic gra##atica content.'nstances are not fe$ $hen the conte+t co#es to be e+%icit enough toneutraise the o%%osition bet$een the /erfect Tenses and the %reterit verb,for#s.

The current reevance as #arked by the /erfect Tenses #ustreasonaby be referred to as their basic #eaning.

7 See/ M. Coos. The Engish Verb. The University of -isconsin /ress Madison andMi$aukee& 7=6:.

; See/ 5. Ces%ersen. The /hioso%hy of )ra##ar. (ondon& 7=6?& %. ;& %. 7=7.

7


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5bservations on the difference of distribution& in the kind of conte+t&inguistic or situationa& $here each %erfect for# occurs& give everyreason to say that the resutative #eaning and the #eaning ofco#%eteness do not e+haust the as%ective content of the /erfect Tenses$ith a their #uti%e %oyse#antic essence in %resent,day Engish.

-hat needs further investigations as gra##ar earning advancesis the study of the de%endence of the #eaning of /erfect for#s on thetense category 2%resent& %ast and future3 and its distributiona #eaning incases $hen the a%%ication of the verb,for# see#s to go far beyond thestrict i#its of the syste#. The fact is& that $e occasionay find suchvaried uses of the /erfect Tenses that they #ay bring to considerabeinguistic changes of the #eaning of the for# itsef. 't is aso interestingto note that considerabe variations in their %atterning so#eti#esa%%ear a #atter of styistic %reference. There are i#%ortant treat#ents oftheir distributiona vaue %resented by . JrsLkJv in one of his$ork,%a%ers qOQWJ,mJZO JO_Z WL ZOLX LJZJ LpIQ _J.

't $i not be su%erfuous to %oint out that there is a good dea ofdifference bet$een the use of the /ast and /erfect Tenses in Engishand so#e other anguages. The /erfect Tense is often used in otheranguages $here the /ast Tense is re0uired in Engish. This is the case$hen attention is dra$n to the ti#e at $hich an action or event took

%ace in the %astG hence es%eciay in 0uestions beginning $ith ,hen?2So#eti#es $ith ,here?2$ and in sentences $ith adverbia adunctsans$ering such 0uestions& e. g.@

5hen ,here2 did (ou see hi# last?

Cf. 5here have (ou *een all the

ti#e?2. T,o aeroplanes ,ere shot do,n

(esterda(. I received his letter a ,ee)ago. -is father ,as *orn in Ireland.

&id (ou co#e *( tra# or *( *us?

The /resent /erfect Tense usuay denotes an action that fas $ithinthe ti#e,s%here of the %resent. 'ts uses are #ainy three@ 2a3 the"ontinuative /erfectG 2b3 the Resutative /erfectG 2c3 the /erfect ofE+%erience.

The "ontinuative /erfect often corres%onds to a /resent Tense inother anguagesG Engish shares $ith so#e other anguages the use ofthe Resutative /erfect& $hich denotes a %ast action connected& throughits resut& $ith the %resent #o#ent& e. g.@

5e have *ought a ne, car. ... Cf. 5e*ought a ne, car last ,ee)2. Loo) ,hat

(ou've done. Ten (ears have passed since

,e first #et.

-e have a use inter#ediate bet$een the "ontinuative and theResutative /erfect $hen the reference is to a %eriod of ti#e that is not yetover& e. g.@I've *een to the pictures t,ice this ,ee).

2But@I,ent to the pictures t,ice last ,ee)2.

7


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To indicate co#%eted activities in the i##ediate %ast the /erfectTense $ith the adverb3ust #ay be used& e. g.@ "eorge has 3ust gone out. Ithas 3ust struc) t,elve.

'n s%oken EngishI've got is often e0uivaent to I have/ "uess ,hatI've got in #( poc)et.

'n a sentence ike-e's got D o*tained2 ,hat he ,ants$ ho$ever& $ehave to do $ith a Resutative /erfect.

The /erfect of E+%erience e+%resses $hat has ha%%ened& once or #orethan once& $ithin the s%eaker!s or $riter!s e+%erience. 't is not unkno$n inother anguages& at east in head,causes& though an adunct e+%ressingre%etition is usuay added. Si#iar aduncts #ay be added in Engish& e.g.@ 272 I have sat for hours on the river *an) on a. fine su##er's da($,aiting for a fish to *ite. 2;3 5hen I have as)ed hi# the ,a($ I haveinvaria*l( received a polite ans,er.

(ike the /resent Tense& the /resent /erfect #ay neutraise its %ri#ary#eaning in subordinate causes de%endent on the #ain cause e+%ressingor i#%ying future ti#e& e. g.@ 5ait til

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