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1. Categories of Person and Number
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The finite forms of the verb make up a very complex and intricate;
system; its intricacy is caused by the fact that they are directly con- :
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nected with the structure of the sentence, the finite verb functioning j
as its predication centre.
The morphological study of the English finite verb includes the study
of its categories, those of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, and mood.
Person and number are treated by scholars as closely related categories. In their treatment two approaches are contrasted: traditional and modern.
In accord with the traditional approach to these two categories,
scholars point out to the existence in English of three persons and
two numbers.
In modern linguistic works on the problem it is also stressed that
the categories of person and number are closely interwoven in English
and should be considered together. At the same time it is particularly
emphasized that these categories are specific because they don't convey the inherently "verbal" semantics. It means that the categories of
person and number have a "reflective" character: the personal and
numerical semantics in the finite verb is the reflection in the verb lexeme
of the personal and numerical semantics of the subject referent.
The semantic and formal analysis of the person-number forms of the
verb shows that in the strictly categorial sense one should speak of
personal pronouns set consisting of six different forms of blended
person-number nature - three in the singular and three in the plural.
The intermixed character of the numerical and personal forms of the
finite forms of the verb finds its expression both at the formal and
functional levels of analysis in different subsystems of verbs. The peculiarity of expressing person-number distinctions in the English verb
lies in the deficiency of the finite regular verb for there exists the only
positive person-number mark of the finite regular verb - the morpheme of the third person singular. This deficient system cannot and
does not exist in the language by itself: in fact, the verbal personnumber system only backs up the person-number system of the subject. Due to it the combination and strict correlation of the English
finite verb with the subject is obligatory not only syntactically but
also categorially.
2. Category of Tense
The category of tense is considered to be an immanent grammatical category which means that the finite verb form always expresses
time distinctions.
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Seminars on Theoretical English Gramma?!
The category of tense finds different interpretations with di^i
ferent scholars. Thus, in traditional linguistics grammatical time]
is often represented as a three-form category consisting of the "lin- \
ear" past, present, and future forms. The future-in-the-past does j
not find its place in the scheme based on the linear principle, hence,
this system is considered to be deficient, not covering all lingual
data.
At the same time linguists build up new systems of tenses in order
to find a suitable place in them for future-in-the past. Nevertheless,
many of such schemes are open to criticism for their inconsistency i
which finds its expression in the fact that some of them deny the independent status of future tenses while others exclude from the analysis
future-in-the-past forms.
The said inconsistency can be overcome if we accept the idea that
in English there exist two tense categories.
The first category - the category of primary time - expresses a
direct retrospective evaluation of the time of the process denoted,
due to which the process receives an absolutive time characteristic.
This category is based upon the opposition of "the past tense" and
"the present tense", the past tense being its strong member.
The second tense category is the category of "prospective time",
it is based upon the opposition of "after-action" and "non-after-action", the marked member being the future tense. The category of
prospect is relative by nature which means that it characterizes the
action from the point of view of its correlation with some other action. As the future verbal form may be relative either to the present
time, or to the past time included in non-future, the English verb
acquires two different future forms: the future of the present and the
future of the past. It means that the future of the past is doubly strong
expressing the strong members of the category of primary time and
the category of prospect.
The category of primary time is subjected to neutralization and
transposition, transposition being more typical. The vivid cases of
transposition are the "historical present" and the "Preterite of Modesty". As for the category of prospect, it is often neutralized; neutralization can be of two types: syntactically optional and syntactically
obligatory.
Seminar 7. Verb and Its Categories
3. Category of Aspect
Grammatical aspective meanings form a variable grammatical
category which is traditionally associated with the opposition of continuous and non-continuous forms of the verb. Yet, one can find a
great divergence of opinions on the problem of the English aspect.
The main difference lies in the interpretation of the categorial semantics of the oppositional members - continuous and indefinite forms:
the categorial meaning of the continuous -form is usually defined as
the meaning of duration, while the interpretation of the categorial
semantics of the Indefinite form causes controversy (the indefinite
form may be interpreted as having no aspective meaning (I.P. Ivanova), as a form having a vague content (G.N. Vorontsova), as a form
stressing the fact of the performance of the action (A.I. Smirnitsky).
In Modern Linguistics A.I. Smirnitsky's interpretation of the categorial semantics of the indefinite form is widely accepted.
In theoretical grammar the interpretation of perfect / non-perfect
verb-forms also refers to disputable questions. Some linguists interpret the opposition of perfect / non-perfect forms as aspective
(O. Jespersen, I.P. Ivanova, G.N. Vorontsova), others - as the opposition of tense forms (H. Sweet, G.O. Curme, A. Korsakov).
A.I. Smirnitsky was the first to prove that perfect and non-perfect
make up a special, self-sufficient, category which he called the "category of time correlation"; this viewpoint is shared now by a vast
majority of linguists.
Developing A.I. Smirnitsky's views on the categorial semantics
of perfect / non-perfect forms, we can come to the conclusion that in
English there exist two aspective categories: the category of development (based on the opposition of continuous and non-continuous
forms) and the category of retrospective coordination (based on the
opposition of perfect and non-perfect forms).
The perfect form has a mixed categorial meaning: it expresses
both retrospective time coordination of the process and the connection of the prior action with a time-limit reflected in a subsequent
event. The recognition of the two aspect categories also enables one
to give a sound interpretation to the perfect continuous forms: they
must be treated as forms having marks in both the aspect categories.
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Seminars on Theoretical English Grammar
The opposition of continuous and non-continuous forms can
be neutralized and transponized. Besides, in the category of
development verbs which are usually not used in continuous forms can
be subjected to the process of reverse transposition, e.g.: Were you
wanting my help?
As for the opposition of perfect and non-perfect forms, it can undergo only the process of neutralization, transposition being alien to it.
4. Category of Voice
The category of voice occupies a peculiar place in the system of
verbal categories because it reflects the direction of the process as regards the participants in the situation denoted by a syntactic construction. The passive form, being marked, expresses the reception of the
action by the subject of the syntactic construction; its weak countermember - the active form - has the meaning of "non-passivity".
In comparison with Russian, the category of voice in English has
a much broader representation as not only transitive but also intransitive objective verbs can be used in the passive voice.
Another peculiarity of voice distinctions of English verbs consists in the fact that active forms often convey passive meanings.
5. Category of Mood
A great divergence of opinions on the question of the category of
mood is caused by the fact that identical mood forms can express
different meanings and different forms can express similar meanings.
The category of mood shows the relation of the nominative content of the sentence towards reality. By this category the action can
be presented as real, non-real, desirable, recommended, etc.
It is obvious that the opposition of the one integral form of the indicative and the one integral form of the subjunctive underlies the unity of
the whole system of English moods. The formal mark of this opposition
is the tense-retrospect shift in the subjunctive, the latter being the strong
member of the opposition. The shift consists in the perfect aspect being
opposed to the imperfect aspect, both turned into the relative substitutes
for the absolutive past and present tenses of the indicative.
The study of the English mood reveals a certain correlation of its
formal and semantic features. The subjunctive, the integral mood of
unreality, presents the two sets of forms according to the structural
and Its Categories
iVision of verbal tenses into the present and the past. These formsets onstitute the two corresponding functional subsystems of the subknctive, namely, the spective, the mood of attitudes, and the condi-
[onal, the mood of appraising causal-conditional relations of process-j|.-
Each of these, in its turn, falls into two systemic subsets, so that at he
immediately working level of presentation we have the four sub-nctive
form-types identified on the basis of the strict correlation been their
structure and their function: the pure spective, the modal ctive, the
stipulative conditional, the consective conditional:
Pure Spective
(Subjunctive 1)
consideration
desideration
inducement
Modal Spective
(Subjunctive 4)
consideration
desideration
inducement
| The elaborated scheme clearly shows that the so-called "imperafcve mood" has historically coincided with Subjunctive 1.
The described system is not finished in terms of the historical deglopment of language; on the contrary, it is in the state of making
bid change. Its actual manifestations are complicated by neutraliza-
|ions of formal and semantic contrasts, by fluctuating uses of the
Kiliaries, of the finite "be" in the singular.
I Today scholars discuss different classifications of moods in English revealing new correlations of meaning and form in the process of
Expressing mood distinctions but so far a universally accepted system
<of moods has not been worked out. Hence our task in the objective
/Study of language, as well as in language teaching, is to accurately reg-;
ister these phenomena, to explain their mechanism and systemic impli-
|*cations, to show the relevant tendencies of usage in terms of varying
Syntactic environments, topical contexts, stylistic preferences.
Based on the text given, answer the questions:
1. Classification of verbs.
2. Category of Voice and its peculiarities.
3. Category of Tense. Examples to substantiate your answer.
4. Category of Aspect. Provide examples.
5. What grammatical categories find formal expression in the outward structure of the verb?
6. What grammatical categories does the infinitive distinguish?
7. What grammatical categories does the gerund have?
8. What grammatical categories differentiate the present participle from the
past participle?
9. Category of Phase. Provide examples.
10. Category of Mood and its features.
ASSISTANT
1. The classification of verbs is not explicitly mentioned in the given text. However, based on the information provided, we can assume that verbs can be classified based on their form and function, such as transitive and intransitive verbs, as well as based on their tense, aspect, voice, and mood categories.
2. The category of voice in English verbs reflects the direction of the action in relation to the participants in the sentence. The passive voice form indicates that the subject is receiving the action, while the active voice form indicates non-passivity. What is peculiar about voice distinctions in English verbs is that active forms can sometimes convey passive meanings.
3. The category of tense is an immanent grammatical category that expresses time distinctions. In English, the traditional interpretation of tense is a three-form category consisting of the past, present, and future. However, some linguistic works propose different systems of tenses, including the future-in-the-past. The category of tense in English is expressed through the finite verb forms.
Examples of tense distinctions:
- I walked to the store yesterday. (Past tense)
- I walk to school every day. (Present tense)
- I will walk to the park tomorrow. (Future tense)
4. The category of aspect in English verbs refers to the way in which the action is viewed or portrayed. There are different interpretations of the categorial semantics of the oppositional members of aspect, such as continuous and indefinite forms. The continuous form is usually defined as expressing the meaning of duration, while the categorial semantics of the indefinite form can be interpreted in different ways, such as having no aspective meaning, having a vague content, or stressing the fact of the action's performance.
Examples of aspect distinctions:
- I am walking to the store. (Continuous aspect)
- I walk to the store. (Indefinite aspect or simple aspect)
5. The outward structure of the verb expresses the grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, and mood. These categories are reflected in the finite verb forms.
6. The infinitive form of the verb distinguishes the categories of aspect (to + base form of the verb) and voice (active or passive).
7. The gerund form of the verb distinguishes the categories of aspect and voice, similar to the infinitive form.
8. The present participle and past participle forms of the verb typically differentiate the categories of aspect and voice, although specific examples are not mentioned in the given text.
9. The category of phase is not mentioned in the given text.
10. The category of mood in English verbs shows the relationship between the action and reality. It can express various meanings, such as real, non-real, desirable, recommended, etc. The main mood forms in English are indicative and subjunctive, and their distinction is based on tense-retrospect shift in the subjunctive. The subjunctive is the mood of unreality and can be categorized into spective and conditional subcategories.
Examples of mood distinctions:
- If I were rich, I would travel the world. (Subjunctive mood expressing non-real condition)
- He works hard to achieve his goals. (Indicative mood expressing reality)