Download 2.1 Subclassification and characteristics of English verbs

MORFOLÓGIA ANJ
VERBS
The term- ..
2.1 Subclassification and characteristics of English verbs
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There are 3 major categories of verbs according to their function within the verb phrase:
A)
Lexical verbs (full-meaning verbs) – read, speak, call
They can stand on its own, they can be used in whatever tenses, they belong to open system
B)
Primary auxiliary verbs – be, have, do
Help us to create tenses
C)
Modal auxiliary verbs (modal auxiliaries) – can, may, should, etc.
They show us aspect – he can do it, he must do that?
They are followed by infinitives
They have no „s“ inflection
They have no inflection, they can occur in the base form
They can have several meanings:
He can play the piano - He can be there
It express ability - deduction
I must go there.
It express dutity, obligation.
He must have been there
Its deduction. A past reference, past infinitive
It can be a great experience
It can have been a great experience
possibility
- b and c- closed system
- do and have as lexical verbs: I did it yesterday. I had a new car. (they express action
themselves, they have some concrete lexical meaning)
- as auxiliary verbs: Did you read this book? ( helps us to create the question in the simple
past tens)
Lexical verbs
- last year
Characteristic features of modal verbs
Marginal modal verbs= okrajové, they can be used also as lexical verbs
- but some of them! = need, ought to, dare, used to
- as a lexical ver also as primary au.
Examples
As lexical verbs: Do you need my help?
As modal aux. Verbs: He neednt go there.
Dynamic/progressive verbs
Stative- only in simple sentences
Examples: dynamic- Hed rove the car very fast. Im reading the book.
Stative- I love him.
Verbs, which can be used both: Hes smelling his coffee. It smells terrible
Verb forms....and function
He is calling her.
Calling early, I found them.
= 1. Finite verb phrase, person is expressed, we have tense reference, present reference, he and
the form of verb,
= 2. Non- finite verb form, is a part a whole non-finite clause
- the person is not expressed, no tense distinction, it cant stand alone
features of a finite verb phrase and non finite verb phrases
Finite: Today I know anything.
Nonfinite: To be a good student means to study hard. Writing all day, I havent able to do
anythning else.(ing-form)
The –ed form:
- perfective aspect: I have read this book yet.
- Passive voice. He was born in New york.
- Ed participle clauses (non finite): Cooked to fast, the soup was not tasty.
Štvrtok: 9 lekcia zopakovat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He can be calling him now. (snáď mu teraz volá = my deduction)
- aspect can be expresed. Present infinitive
He can swim – express ability (could- past ability)
He must be called again. (snáď možno mu včera volal)
- Form of the verb will be the same
He should have been called yesterday.(mali im zavolat)
-
The other uses of non.finite complex infinitive forms
Compare examples:
People throught that Linda had paid too much. (active voice, a reporting verb think, past
reference)
- Linda was thought to have paid too much. (passive voice, a reporting verb, past/perfect
infinitive)
- People believe that Mary is living abroad. (active voice, a reporting verb believe, present
reference)
- Mary is believed to be living abroad. (passive voice, a reporting verb, present progressive
infinitive)
- Mary was believed to be living abroad (didnt express progressive aspect)
MODALS AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS
AUXILIARY
CAN
USES
Ability/possibility
PRESENT/FUTERE
I can run fast.
Infromal permission
Yous can use my car
tomorrow.
Can I borrow your
pen?
That cant be true!
Informal polite request
Impossibility(negative only)
Past ability
COULD
Polite request
Could I borrow your
pen? Could you help
me?
suggestion
I need help in math. You
couldnt talk to your teacher.
Less than 50% certainly
Wheres John? He
could be at home.
That couldnt be true?
Impossibility (negative only)
AUXILIA
RY
BE ABLE
TO
MAY
MIGHT
MUST
PAST
I could run fast when
I was a child, but now
I cant.´
That cant have been
true!
I could run fast when
I was child
You could have talked
to your teacher.
He could have been at
home.
That couldnt have been
true!
USES
PRESENT/FUTURE
PAST
ability
I am able to help you.
I was able to help
him
I will be able to help you.
Polite request
May I borrow your pen?
Formal permission You may leave the room.
Less than 50%
Wheres John? He may be at
certainly
the library.
Less than 50%
Wheres John? He might me
certainly
at the library.
Polite request (rare) Might I borrow your pen?
Strong necessity
I must go to class today.
Prohibition
(negative)
strong
necessity(rare)
You must not open that
door.
i must go to class today.
He may have been
at the library.
He might have
been at the library.
I had to go to class
yesterday.
I had to go to class
yesterday.
95% certainly
Marry isnt in class. She
must be sick (present only)
Mary must have
been sick
yesterday.
They may be cooking sth. They may be prepare breakfast.
What was you Brother doing yesterday?
- He may be travelling.
auxiliary
have to
uses
necessity
have got to
lack of
necessity(negative)
necessity
strong expectation
be supposed to
expectation
shall
polite question to
make a suggestion
future with „l“ or
„we“ as subject
advisability
should
90% certainty
present/futute
i have to go to class
today.
i dont have to go to
class today
i have to got to go to
class today.
you are to be here at
9:00
class is supposed to
begin at 10.
Shall i open the
window?
i shall arrive at nine
(will=more common)
i should study last
night.
she should do well
on the test
past
i had to go to class
yesterday
.i didnt have to go to
class yesterday
i had to go to class
yesterday
you were to be here
at 9:00
class was supposed
begin at 10.
i should have studied
last night.
she should have done
well on the test.
AUXILIARY
USES
PERESENT/FUTURE
PAST
ought to
adivisability
I ought to study tonight.
90% certainty
She ought to do well on
the test(future only, not
present)
You had better be on
time, or we will leave
without you.
He will be here at 6:00
(futute only)
the phone´s ringing. Iĺl
get it.
I ought to have studied
last night.
She ouht to have done
well on the test.
had better
dvisability with threat of
bad result
will
100% certainty
willingness
(past form uncommon)
polite request
would
polite request
preference
repeated action in the
past
used to
repeated action
Will you please pass the
salt?
Would you please pass
the salt? Woul you mind
if i left early
I would rather go to the
park than stay home.
When i was a child
i would work my
grandparents every
weekend.
I used to visit my
grandparents every
weekend.
NEED, DARE
THE PASSIVE VOICE
WHAT IS VOICE?
Voice can be defined as the relationship between the subject of the verb and the action expressed by
the verb;
- it is the form of the verb that shows whether the eubject of the verb does the action (the active
voice) or whether the action is done to it (the passive voice).
-with regard to this, we differentiate between an active verb and passive verb.
A brief charcteristics of an active verb and passive verb:
ACTIVE VERB- is in the active voice, the verb phrase can be expressed by the base form of th
everb, the s-for or the –ed form. The subject of the active verb does the action.
PASSIVE VERB- is in he passive voice, the verb phrase consists of an auxiliary „be“ in present,
past, future and other tenses. The subject of the passive verb receives the actions of the verb. The
doer of the action is the object of the passive verb (i tis usually omitted.)
The distinction between active and passive applies only to sentences where the active verb is
transitive, e.g. He reads a book.
Transitive verbs require an objects, more specifically a direct object, e.g. He bought some breead.
Some bread eas bought by him.
Some verbs can take two objects and are referred to as ditransitive verbs, e.g. They bought her
a nice present. She was bought a nice present. A nice present was bought to her.
Intransitive verbs do not take an object- they do not have passive structure, they are used in
a structure Subject+ Verb, e.g. I tis raining or they are followed by an adverbial (S+V+Adv), e.g.
The sun rises in the East. She left early.
Transitive verbs that are stative, i.e. they express a state rather than an action, cannot be made
passive( a passive form is not possible), e.g.
to consist - The house consists of two bedrooms and a kitchen.
to lack- Alice lacked confidence.
to like- I like this place.
to suit - This dress suits you.
Linking(sponové)/ intensive verbs and primary verb do, have, be cannot be used in the passive
voice, e.g. She became a doctor. They remained friends. He has a new car.
there are passive verbs in English that do not have active voice equivalents, e.g. He was born in
Brno.
Some active transitive verbs cannot be transormed to passive because such transformation would
express nonsense, e.g. Some guests left the party early.
Ditransitive verbs- two objects. two passive structure, e.g. They sent me a letter. I was sent the
letter. The letter was sent to me.
When do we use the passive voice?
The primary reason for using the passive is the change of focus within a clause, e.g. in an active
sentence My uncle is building a house. We are talking primarily about the activity of my uncle.
in a passive sentence This house is being built by my uncle. We are talking primarily about the
house, not my uncle.
The use of passive structures without „by phrase“
- unknown agent, e.g. His car has been stolen.
- generalized agent, e.g. Bike helmets are worn for safety reasons.
- obvious agent, e.g.Junk mail is delivered daily.
- unimportant agent, e.g. The film has been nominated for two Oscars.
- impersonal agent, e.g. It has been decided to reduce all salaries by 10%.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Včera si dali vyčistiť okná – They´re had the Windows cleaned yesterday.
budúci týždeň si dám vyvolať ten film. – Next week I will have that film developed
ešte som si nedal ostrihať vlasy. – I haven´t had my hair cut yet.
dali ste si opraviť auto? – Have you had your car repaired?
chystám sa dať si prekopírovať si tento materiál. – I am going to have this matterial copied.
zatiaľ som si nedal opraviť topánky.- I haven´t had my shoes repaired yet.
Definition
Noun is an open word cclass of lexical units that name a person, place or thins ( or idea/ to account
for abstract nouns.) Nouns are the names we give to people, things, places, etc. in order to identify
them. Nouns and nou phrases answer the question Who? or What?
Subclassification of nouns
Non- Derived Nouns
- some words function only as nouns (desk, student)
- others function as nouns or verbs (work, call)
- others function as nouns an adjectives (cold) – we cannot indentify nouns only according
their endings or suffixes.
Nouns and Verbs:
- the same spelling and pronunciatin : answer, change, dream, end, hope, offer, etc.
- the same spelling but different marking of stress : discount, entrance, export, object
- the stress on the first syllable- the word is a noun
- the stress in on the second syllable- the word is a verb. The menaings are generally related.
Derived Nouns (odvodene)
- many nouns related to verbs or adjectives have characteristic suffixes that formally indicate
that a word is a noun.
- Some common noun endings:
- people who do things: assistant, beggar, engineer, president, driver, etc.
- where people come from: Roman, Londoner, Milanese, etc.
- Ns derived from verbs: postage, arrival, acceptance, discovery, etc.
- nouns related to adjective: activity, happiness, etc.
- nouns derived from other nouns: kingdom, boyhood, etc
- nouns used to mean ´small´ : kitten, dolly, booklet, duckling, etc.
compound nouns(zložene)
- many nouns in –English are formed from two parts, or less commonly, three or more
- sometimes compunds are spelt with a hypen, sometimes not
- compounds are usually pronounced with the stress on the first syllable
- single-word compund nouns: some words are not considered as compounds, even though
they consists of twoo words: a cupboard, a raincoat, a saucepan, the seaside
- Adjective + noun : a greenhouse, a heavyweight (a boxer)
- Gerund + nouns: drinking water, a frying pan, a walking stick
- noun+ gerund: horse riding, sight. seeing, sunbathing
- verb +adverb particle: breakdown, income, make-up
- noun + noun compounds:
- the express purpose: a bookcase, a canopener, a meeting point, a sheep-dog
- the names of material and substances: a otton blouse, a gold watch
- compounds that classify types: a horor film, a headlamp, a seat belt, a taxi-driver
classification of nouns:
- formation: simple-compound, simple: derived-non-derived
- morphological description:
- countability: countable – uncountable nouns
- numbeer: singular – plural (both sg and pl, only sg, only pl)
- determination: determined- undetermined (specific. generic) reference
- gender: masculine, feminine, neuter
- case: common- possessive
- lexical descprition: proper- common; common: concrete-abstract
Morphological description of nouns
- an English noun has five morphological (grammatical) categories:
o number, countability, determination, gender, case
- within each grammatical category we can recognize an opposition:
o number: singular noun forms- plural noun forms
o countability: countable nouns – uncountable
o determination: determined nouns, undetermined
o gender: masculine gender, feminine, neuter
o case: common case, possesive
the inventory of the noun inflections:
number: inflection –s indicates that a noun is plural
countability: inflection –s indicates that a noun is conutable
determination: it has no over inflection, i tis recognized as a grammatical category for historical
reasons
gender: suffixes –er (windower) –ess (lioness), -ine (heroine), -ette )usherette), - indicate the sex of
a person or an animal
case: inflection –s (precede by the apostrophe) indicates that a noun has the form of a possessive
case.
number: a grammatical category that contrasts singular and plural
nouns typically have different singular and plural forms
many nouns fdo not have contrasting forms: they have fixed number; they are either
singular –only sg or plural. only nouns
Nouns that have contrasting singular and plural forms- variable nouns
nouns with either singular or plural form (never with both forms)- invariable nouns.
Compound nouns- three ways of forming the plural: the last element is plural in:
noun + noun combinations: boyfriend, flower shops, matchoboxes
gerund + noun combinations: frying pans
no noun is present: breakdowns, forget-me-nots, growns-ups, lay-offs
compounds with a noun and preposition- the noun takes plural: onlookers( the last elemnt is
plural)
lookers- on, passers- by( the first element is plural)
the first element is plural in some compounds: attorneys generak, courts-martial, men-of-war
both elements are plural:
- when the first element is a man or woman: men students, men-servants, women doctors
- BUT: man-eaters, woman-haters
- maid and lady keep their singular form: maid servants, lady writers
Invariable Nouns
nouns with fixed number- they occur in one form only.
Singular- only nouns( singular invariable nouns) – have no plural form
plural- only nouns( plural invariable nouns) have no singular form.
Singular- only nouns (nouns that are always followed by a singular verb form)
proper nouns that do not end in – s: London, John, Danube, etc. they take singular verb
COMPARE: the United States of America, the Philippines, etc. they tale plural verb.
uncountable nouns (no –s ending): progress, love, hate. they take singular verb
some nouns ending in – s :they look like plirals, but the final –s is not in fact a plural marker- they
take singular verb form
news- what is the new today.
names of certain diseases: measles (kiahne), shingles (osýpky), mumps, eg Have you ever had
measles? Yes I had it/ them when I was a child.
names of some games: billiards, checkers, darts, dominoes.
nouns ending in- ics denoting subjwects, sciences, etc. are usually treated as singular:
acoustics, athletics, classics, economics, ethics, phonetics.
Some nouns ending in- ics can be singular or plural, according to whether they denote: the subject,
eg: Acoustic is very interesting to study. (as a science)
the practical application of results: the acoustics of the hall were terrible./the way that tje sound
is heard.
plural- only nouns / nouns always followed by a plural verb form)
binary nouns: names of tools, Instruments, articles of clothing consisting of two equal parts which
are joined together. eg. glasses, scyales, scissors, jeans, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers.
these nouns contain the inflection –s but it cannot be dropped to form a singular, they take
a plural verb, eg. These jeans are really nice. (BUT: This pair of jeans is really nice.)
number contrast can by expressed by jeans of a pair of jeans, two pairs of jeans.
pluralia tantum nouns
a plurale tantum is a noun that appears only in plural form and does not have a singular variant
though it may still refer to one or many of the objects it names.
in many cases, pluralia tantum nouns ending in –s also have a regular noun counterpart which has
both singular and plural forms, and expresses the menaing that is different from the one expressed
by plurale tantum, eg. the word minutes has two meanings:
a countable noun with both a singular form (1minute) and a plural form (5minutes)- in the
meaning a period of time
a plurale tantum, i.e. only in the plural form, means an official written record of what is said and
decided at a meeting (the minutes- zápisnica)
e.g. Where are the minutes of the last meeting?
some pluralia tantum nouns: glasses, goods, grounds, savings.
collective nouns- can be used with singular but also with plural forms of the verb.
police (The police have caught the burlar.)
cattle (All the cattle were grazing in the field.)
poultry( Where are your poultry?)
Poultry is treated as singular noun in the sense of meat.
livestock (Our livestock are not as numerous as they used to be.)
Countable nounscan refer to objects which
CHYYYYYBAAAA
since they cannot be counted, the cannot appear with numerals
names of abstraction: advice, equipment. knowledge
names of materials, liquids, substances: bread, cake, cheese, jam, tea
Liquids, gases, solids: fuel, medicine, petrol, concrete
we cannot count them but we can measure them, we use them with indefinite quantifiers, eg.
a little water, some water, any mater.
Some uncountable nouns can be used as count nouns with specific meaning and have plural form:
concrete nouns: a beer, two coffes, two hairs
abstract nouns: normally they have no plural; but some of them can be reclassified as count nouns
when they refer to an instance of a given abstract phenomenon: strenght/ weakness vs. What are
you strengths/ weaknesses?
Partitives: partitives denote part of the whole the most neutral and widely used expressions are:
a bit of, a piece of, a bar of, an item of. Partitives expresseions ccommonly refer to the shape,
size, otr the amount of something, eg. a bar of chocolate, a piece of information.
partitives are used to indicate a certain amount of something, ie. a they are used instead of
quantitive ´some´ e.g. a bar of chocolate, soap, a bit of fun, a cube of ice, sugar.
Determination
this category contrasts noun as being determined or underdetermined
determined- understood as something specific
undetermined- understood as something general or not uniquely identifiable
A noun can be marked as definite/ indefinite or specific/ generic by the following items:
definite- indefinite reference
definite: the, this, thatm all, both; rerlative pronouns which, whichever, what
indefinite: a, an, zero article, some, any
Gender
gender is a agrammatical classification of nouns, pronouns, or other words in the noun phrase
according to certain menaing- related distinctions.
gender is not as important in English as it is in other language- nouns, determiners, adjectives are
not inflected for gender.
in English, gender is not a mater of form (asi t is in Slovak) , i tis a mater of menaing.
ADJECTIVES
Features of an adjective:
an adjective is an open word class
an adjective describes the quality, size, age, shape, colour, origin of nouns
Two positions of an adjective in a sentence:
attributive position (before a noun)
predicative position(after a verb)
An adjective used attributively:
an adjective gives us more information about a noun (good job)
an adjective modifies a noun functioning as the subject and object of a sentence, eg. /He bought
nice jeans- an adjective as a part of an object; A tall boy is standing in the corner of a room- an
adjective is a part of the subject of a sentence)
the information expressed by an adjective may include:
quality- an interesting film, a beautiful Picture
size- a tall girl, a big loaf of bread
shape- an oval table, a square box
colour- red flowers, green eyes
origin- a Swiss watch, Slovak beer
An adjective used predicatively:
adjectives in this position are called predicative adjectives- they are a part of predication, they give
us more information about the subject
an adjective in predicative position may have a syntactic function of the subject complement, eg.
She is nice.
an adjective in this position may have a syntactic function of the object complement, eg. She found
that wuestion difficult.
adjectives can modify only linking verbs and sense verbs, eg. they are clever – to be is alinking
verb(sponové), This flower smells nice.
Some grammar books (L.G. Alexander- Longman English Grammar) use the term adjective also for
expressions like my, his, this if they are followed by a noun, eg.: This is his book- accourding to
L.G. Alexander his is a possesssive adjective.
This book is his- according to L.G..Alexander his is a possessive pronoun.
All of these given examples are pronouns. arguments
An adjective is characterized by at least 2 of 4 morphological features:
it may be used in attributive position – a young boy
it may be used in predicative posiiton- The boby is young.
it can be graded – This boy is younger tahn my Brother.
young is a pure adjective – all four morphological features can be applied; a stone wall- i tis not
a pure adjective, it only fulfils the function of an djective. only one morphological geature can be
applies- it may be used in an attributive position
Subclassification of adjectives according to their form:
simple adjectives – non – derived and derived
compound adjectives
simple-non-derived/ prototypical adjectives)- tall, nice, brown, old
Derived adjectives:
suffixation: adjectives with a characteristic sufix- able (changeable), -ant /hesitant),
like(businesslike), ic/ical(economical), ish(foolish)
-ly adjectives- friendly, daily, weekly, heavenly, lonely
prefixation: prefix added to adjectives express a negative menaing, eg, -a/amoral), il-(illegal), pro( (pro-European), pre- (prewar), under-/underbaked)
Not every positive adjective ahs a negative counterpart expressed by the addition of a prefic,
eg. taxable- not taxable and vice versa not every negative adjective hasd a positive equivalent, eg.
past participles in a function of an adjective, eg. mistaken.
Compound adjectives
Compound adjectives consist of at least two elements.
Different types compound adjectives:
compound adjectives with past participle form. a tree-lined avenue, a self-employed author.
compound adjectives with a present participle form –a time-consuming job, a long.suffering patient
-ed words that are not past participles, they are derived from nouns, eg. open-minded, quick-witted
compound adjectives formed with numbers/ they express measurement:
cardinal number is one of the elements of a compound noun, eg. a ten-year-old girl(age), a twokilo bag of fruits(weigth), a three-hour meeting (duration), a three-liter car( volume)
ordinal numver is one of the lements of a compound noun, eg. a second-hand shop, a twentiethcentury author,etc.
Present and past participles used as adjectives:
they can be used in an attributive position, eg. a boring film
if they are used in predicative position, they do not have a functuon of an adjective, but they are
a part of a predicate, eg. The film is amazing.
many –ing forms have an- ed equivalents, eg. amazaed/amazing, bored/boring
as a general rule, we use –ing adjectives with impersonal subjects and –ed adjectives with personal
subjects, eg. The book is exciting. I am excited by it.
AN ADVERB
An adverb is an open word class of lexical units that contribute menaings of various sorts- they add
information about manner, place, time, clause, degree, or circumstances.
Characteristic features of adverbs and adverbials:
An adverb:
one of word classes
morphological category
we speak of an adverb when we consider the issues related to the changes in the base of the word (adding
inflections):
the formation of adverbs
comparison (gradation) of adverbs
An adverbial:
one of the sentence elements within a clause structure
syntactical category
we deal with an adverbial when syntactic relations are discussed; in other words, when we combine
sentence elements, e.g. verb + adverbial, to add some information about time, place, etc.
An adverbial can be expressed:
by an adverby phrase, e.g. now, here, always, wuickly, recently
by a noun phrase, e.g. next morning, last year
by a prepositional phrase, e.g. in the corner, under the table
by a FC, e.g. If he had asked me for some help, I would have helped him.
by a NFC, e.g. He tried hard to earn some Money
by a verbless clause, ee.g. When in London, visit your relatives.
In terms of morphology, three types of adverns are distinguished:
simple, derived and compound adverbs.
Simple (non-derived) adverbs:
well- (manner), fast (manner)
there, back. near, down, out (adverbs of place: position, direction)
then, yesterday (adverbs of time)
often, seldom (adverbs of frequency)
just, only (focus adverbs)
perhaps ( viewpoint adverbs)
however (conjuctive adverbs)
Derived adverbs – they are formed by means of adding a sufix.: - ly / manner, frequency, degree,
viewpoint/ : patiently, usually, neraly, fortunately, etc.
Periphrastic advers.- phrases with way, manner, fashion, style, like are used to form adverbs from –ly
adjectives and nouns, as these expressions imply- these adverbs express manner:
in a ...way: in a firnedly way, in a cowardly way;
in a ...fashion: in a schoolboy fashion;
in a ...style: in a cowboy style;
like ... like a coward
Compound adverbs: somehow, somewhere
The term an adverb is also used with relation to particles.Certain words (sucha s in, off, up) can function
either as prepositions or as adverb particles:
i a word is followed by an object, i tis a preposition: They are in the house.
if no object follows, i tis an adverb particle: Come on in .
Lexical description
ADVERB:
a notion used in morphology
one off the word classdes
we deal with its form and changes within that form:
in the case of adverbs the changes in the form are rare; the only case are non.derived manner adverbs that
undergo granding and take inflections e.g. fast-faster.fastest,etc.
on the level of menaing, we deal with the menaing an advern implies:
Adverbs imply different menaings:
manner (how?)
place (where?)
time (when?)
frequrency (how often?)
degree (to what extent?)
focus adverbs (focus attention)
viewpoint adverbs
connectives (connect ideas)