Download The compound verbal modal predicate

The ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education
of the republic of Uzbekistan
Andizhan State University after named
Zakhiriddin Mukhammad Bobur
Theme: Mixed types of predicate in Modern
English
Group: 403
Accomplished by: Yakubova N
Supervisor: Abdujaborrova SH
Andizhan – 2015
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PLAN
1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….3
2. Comprehensive characteristics of a predicate…………………………………5
3. Different approaches to the predicate and its types……………………………7
4. Modern English with a mixed-type predicate usage…………………………30
5. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….34
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………..37
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INTRODUCTION
Grammar, whose subject matter is the observable organisation of words
into various combinations, takes that which is common and basic in linguistic
forms and gives in an orderly way accurate descriptions of the practice to which
users of the language conform. And with this comes the realisation that this
underlying structure of the language (as system) is highly organised. Whatever are
the other interests of modern linguistic science, its centre is surely an interest in the
grammatical system of language. Today we have well-established techniques for
the study of language from a number of different points of view. Each of these
techniques supplements all the others in contributing to theoretical knowledge
and the practical problems of the day.
The study of grammar helps us to communicate more effectively. Quite
simply, if we know how English works, then we can make better use of it. For
most purposes, we need to be able to construct sentences which are far more
complicated than David plays the piano. A knowledge of grammar enables us to
evaluate the choices which are available to us during composition. In practice,
these choices are never as simple as the choice between [1] and [2]. If we
understand the relationship between the parts of a sentence, we can eliminate many
of the ambiguities and misunderstandings which result from poor construction.
In the interpretation of writing, too, grammatical knowledge is often crucially
important. The understanding of literary texts, for example, often depends on
careful grammatical analysis. Other forms of writing can be equally difficult to
interpret. Scientific and academic writing, for instance, may be complex not just in
the ideas they convey, but also in their syntax. These types of writing can be
difficult to understand easily without some familiarity with how the parts relate to
each other.
The study of grammar enables us to go beyond our instinctive, native-speaker
knowledge, and to use English in an intelligent, informed way. In the most
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general terms, a knowledge of grammar is part of our knowledge of the world
and of ourselves. The use of language is a distinctively human activity, so it is
appropriate for us to understand how it works. The study of grammar enables us
to say why [1] is acceptable and [2] is not. It enables us to externalize and
formalize our instinctive knowledge of our own language.
Apart from professional linguists, however, few people study grammar as
an end in itself. For many people, their first encounter with grammar comes
when they try to learn a foreign language. In order to do this, it is essential to
have some knowledge of the different parts of speech, and of how the parts of a
sentence relate to each other. This knowledge can be acquired most efficiently
by studying the grammar of one's own native language. Traditionally, grammar
was divided into morphology (the grammatical study of morphemes and words)
and syntax (the grammatical study of phrases and sentences). Later, some
linguists added phonology as the third component, while still others added one
more component, namely, semantics. The most important fact about the
grammatical structure of language is that it's a highly complicated system, in
which all its components are closely interrelated and interdependent. Thus,
syntactical relations are often expressed be means of morphological forms, lack
of inflexions is made up for by syntactical devices (such as the word order) etc.
In my course paper I will explain about the most important component, Verb
and its types.
2. COMPREHENSIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PREDICATE
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The predicate is one of the two main parts of the sentence. (1) It denotes
the action or property of the thing expressed by the subject. (2) It is not
dependent on any other part of the sentence. (3) Ways of expressing the predicate
are varied and their structure will better be considered under the heading of types
of predicate. Here it will suffice to say that among them are: a finite verb form, and
a variety of phrases, for instance, phrases of the following patterns: "finite verb +
infinitive", "link verb + noun", "link verb + adjective", "link verb + preposition +
noun", etc.
The assertion that the predicate is not dependent on any other part of the
sentence, including the subject, requires some comment. It is sometimes claimed
that the predicate agrees in number with the subject: when the subject is in the
singular, the predicate is bound to be in the singular, and when the subject is in
the plural, the predicate is bound to be in the plural as well. However, this
statement is very doubtful.
It denotes the action or property of the thing expressed by the subject. It can be
expressed by numerous ways. The predicate expresses the predicative feature
which characterized the object expressed by the subject, thus it realizes the
categorial function. Being a link between the subject and the right environment of
the verb, it performs the relative function. The predicate is the second principal
part of the sentence which expresses an action, state, or quality of the person or
thing denoted by the subject.
Note. – This definition does not cover sentences with the formal it as subject. In these
sentences the predicate expresses the state of weather, time, or distance, and the
subject only makes the sentence structurally complete.
The grammatical organisation of predicates is much more complicated. The
predicate can be composed of several different structures. It is just this variety of
the predicate that makes us recognise not one basic English sentence pattern but
several. In terms of modern linguistics, the predicate is reasonably defined as the
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IC of the sentence presented by a finite-form of the verb, if even in its zeroalternant.
Predicates with zero-alternants offer special difficulties on the point of their
analysis as relevant to the problem of ellipsis which has always been a disputable
question in grammar learning.
Various criteria of classifying different kind of predicate have been set up by
grammarians. The common definition of the predicate in terms of modern
linguistics is that it is a more or less complex structure with the verb or verbphrase at its core. This is perfectly reasonable and in point of f act agrees with
the advice of traditional grammars to identify a predicate by looking for the verb.
The sentence, indeed, almost always exists for the sake of expressing by means of
a verb, an action, state or being. The verb which is always in key position is the
heart of the matter and certain qualities of the verb in any language determine
important elements in the structural meaning of the predicate. These features will
engage our attention next. To begin with, the predicate may be composed of a
word, a phrase or an entire clause. When it is a notional word, it is naturally not
only structural but the notional predicate as well.
3. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE PREDICATE AND ITS
TYPES.
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From the structural point of view there are two main types of predicate: the
simple predicate and the compound predicate. Both these types may be either
nominal or verbal, which gives four sub-groups: simple verbal, simple nominal,
compound verbal, compound nominal. Compound verbal predicates may be
further classified into phrasal, modal and of double orientation Compound
nominal predicates may be classified into nominal proper and double nominal.
According to professor Kobrina Korneva, the types of predicate are
classified like this:
The simple verbal predicate
The simple verbal predicate is expressed by:
1. A verb in a synthetic or analytical form.
John runs quickly.
I was sent in to get my tea.
Perhaps you will even remember that woman.
When did life begin on earth?
I didn’t care about the consequence.
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Don’t come too late.
2. A verb phrase (a phraseological equivalent of a verb denoting one action).
Here belong:
a) Phrases denoting single actions:
to have a look, to have a smoke, to have a talk, to give a look, to give a laugh,
to give a cry, to take a
look, to make a move, to make a remark, to pay a visit, etc.
They comprise a transitive verb and a deverbal noun with the indefinite
article.
Nurse Sharp gave him a look and walked out.
The man gave a violent start.
Did you have a sleep?
It’s time we were making a move.
b) Phrases denoting various kinds of actions. In most cases they comprise an
abstract noun used with no
article but often preceded by an attribute:
to change one's mind, to get rid (of), to get hold (of), to lose sight (of), to
make fun (of), to make up
one's mind, to make use (of), to take care (of), to take leave (of), to take part
(in), etc.
I have never taken much interest in German songs.
She paid little heed to what was going on in the world outside.
Are you taking part in the concert?
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The simple nominal predicate
The simple nominal predicates are also recognized by N.A. Kobrina and N.I.
Korneyeva who treat them as follows:
The simple nominal predicate is expressed by a noun, or an adjective, or a verbal, ft
does not contain a link verb, as it shows the incompatibility of the idea expressed by
the subject and that expressed by the predicate; thus in the meaning of the simple
nominal predicate there is an implied negation.
He a gentleman!
You a bother! Never.
Fred, a priest!
Rondal, jealous!
Nick, dishonest!
Such an old lady to come so far!
Sentences with the simple nominal predicate are always exclamatory
evidently owing to the implication of a negation or of an evaluation.
The predicate is mostly commad off (separated by a comma), but a comma is
not regarded as a strict rule.
These predicates are used in colloquial English, although not frequently.
The simple nominal predicate can be expressed by:
1. A noun.
My son a clergyman!
She, a nun!
Me, a liar!
2. An adjective.
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My ideas obsolete!
Ronnie, good-looking!
You sad!
3. An infinitive or an infinitive phrase.
Hercule Poirot to sleep while murder is committed!
My boy insult a gentleman at my table!
4. Participle I or a participial phrase.
She spying!
Me trying to be funny!
The compound predicate
The compound predicate consists of two parts: the notional and the structural.
The structural part comes first and is followed by the notional part.
The notional part may be expressed by a noun, an adjective, a stative, an
adverb, a verbal, a phrase, a predicative complex, or a clause.
The structural part is expressed by a finite verb - a phasal verb, a modal verb,
a verb expressing attitude, intention, planning, etc., or a link verb.
From the point of view of meaning the most important part of the compound
predicate is the notional part as it contains the information about the person or
non-person expressed by the subject.
From the point of view of structure the most important part of the predicate is
the first one, since it is expressed by a finite verb and carries grammatical
information about the person, number, tense, voice, modal, attitudinal and
aspective (phasal) meaning of the whole predicate.
The compound verbal predicate
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of double orientation
The compound verbal predicate of double orientation consists of two parts. The
first part is a finite verb which denotes the attitude to, evaluation of, or comment
on, the content of the sentence expressed by the speaker or somebody not
mentioned in the sentence. The second part denotes the action which is (was/will
be) performed by the person/non-person expressed by the subject.
The Gadfly seemed to have taken a dislike to her ———>It seemed (to the
people) that the Gadfly had
taken a dislike to her.
Philip Bosinney was known to be a young man without fortune ———> They
knew that Philip Bosinney
was a young man without fortune.
He is said to be looking for a new job.
The plane is reported to have been lost.
In this case we see different orientation of the actions which are regarded
from two points of view: that of the speaker and that of the person (or nonperson) expressed by the subject. .
In a number of cases semantically this type of predicate has much in common
with the compound verbal modal predicate, as in: You can’t have misunderstood
me, but formally these predicates are different, because in the compound verbal
modal predicate the first component is a modal verb, whereas in the compound
predicate of double orientation it is a verb or phrase expressing attitude,
evaluation, or comment. They belong to one of the following verb groups:
1. Intransitive verbs of seeming or happening with the general meaning of
evaluation in the active voice:
to seem, to appear, to prove, to turn out, to happen, to chance.
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He seemed to understand everything I said.
Money just doesn’t happen to interest me.
No one appears to have noticed his escape.
2. Some verbs in the passive voice:
a) Verbs of saying:
to say, to declare, to state, to report, to rumour.
This country is said to be rich in oil.
The rocket is reported to have started its night at 6.30.
b) Verbs of mental activity:
to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to know, to mean, to presume, to
regard, to suppose, to think,
to understand.
Mr. Sharp was always expected to say he preferred cold meat.
He has never been known to lose his temper before.
c) Verbs of perception:
to feel, to hear, to see, to watch.
My dog was heard to bark in the yard.
The lady was seen to leave the house.
3. Phrases with some modal meaning:
to be (un) likely, to be sure, to be certain.
The adjectives likely, unlikely, sure and certain indicate the speaker's attitude
to the future:
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The weather is not likely to change.
This event is certain to produce a sensation.
If you don’t post the letter at once, it is unlikely to arrive in time.
George is sure to see Mary. (Sure indicates the attitude of the speaker, it is the
speaker rather than George
who is sure)
The compound nominal predicate
The compound nominal predicate proper
The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative
(nominal part). The link verb is the structural element of the predicate, as it joins
the subject and the predicative. It expresses the grammatical categories of
person, number, tense, aspect and mood.
The predicative is the notional part of the compound nominal predicate. It
characterizes the person or non-person expressed by the subject. The
characterization may concern the following:
1. The properties of the person or non-person (the state or quality or quantity
of it).
The girl looked tired but pretty.
I felt sore for a minute.
But he is not always alone.
The visibility seemed very good.
He was forty and in his prime.
We are seven.
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2. The identity of the person or non-person, that is, what class of persons or
things they belong to.
This man is my father.
Old Mr Clare was a clergyman.
Miss Sedley’s papa was a man of some wealth.
My wish is to learn many languages.
Among the class of link verbs we may distinguish:
1. Those which have lost their original lexical meaning (to be, to get).
He is just the kind of man I want.
Elisabeth got very restless.
2. Those which have only partly lost their lexical meaning (to remain, to
become, to grow, to turn, to look, to seem).
That request seemed superfluous.
The room looked snug and cheerful.
Ellen’s eyes grew moist.
In both cases (1,2) the link verbs proper are used.
3. Those which have fully preserved their lexical meaning but still serve as
link verbs followed by a predicative. They are used in the passive voice: to elect,
to call, to leave, to keep, to make.
The boy was called John.
She was left alone.
He was elected president.
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According to their semantic characteristics link verbs fall into three groups:
link verbs of being, of becoming, of remaining.
l. L i n k v e r b s o f b e i n g :
to be, to feel, to sound, to smell, to taste, to look, to appear, to seem, etc.
Of these only the verb to be is a pure link verb of being, as the others may
have some additional meaning (see examples below).
When he was seven, starting school had been a nightmare and a torture to
him.
His face looked awful all the time.
I felt better pleased than ever.
His voice sounded cold and hostile.
He seemed bewildered.
Everything appeared very grand and imposing to me.
Note how the link verbs to taste and to feel are translated into Russian:
Lemons taste sour.
The fur feels soft.
2. L i n k v e r b s o f b e c o m i n g :
to become, to grow, to turn, to get, to make.
The noise of the rattling dishes becomes intolerable.
The Elephant’s Child’s nose grew longer and longer.
The girl’s face suddenly turned red.
The girl will make a good teacher.
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3. L i n k v e r b s o f r e m a i n i n g :
to remain, to continue, to keep, to stay.
She remained vexed with him.
The children kept suspiciously silent.
Ways of expressing the predicative
The predicative can be expressed by:
1. A noun in the common case or in the genitive case.
Miss Sedly’s father was a merchant.
The face was Victoria's.
2. An adjective or an adjective phrase.
Ellen’s eyes grew angry.
The man was difficult to convince,
She was full of enthusiasm.
As mentioned above, the two types of predicates in active syntax may be
diagrammed as follows:
A. Verbal Predicate Simple Tastes differ.
Compound
One must do one's duty.
B. Nominal Predicate
Simple
Compound
Quite serious all this!
The picture was beautiful.
[Kobrina Korneeva Грамматика англиского язика
ст 234-237]
The multiplicity of ways in which predication can be expressed in active
syntax permits a very large number of sentence-patterns to be built in present-day
English. We find here both points of coincidence with other languages and
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special peculiarities of sentence-patterning conditioned by the whole course of
language development.
Predication, with its immediate relevance to the syntactic categories of person,
time and modality, is known to be expressed not only morphologically. Syntactic
arrangement and intonation may do this duty as well.
Time relations, for instance, may find their expression in syntactic structures
without any morphological devices indicating time.
Prof. Barkhudarov’s treatment of the predicate is original for he
distinguishes these two main structural types of the predicate:
Structurally prof. Barkhudarov distinguishes the following predicate types:
1.
Simple predicate (which is always verbal): She sleeps. We study
2.
Compound predicate which falls into:
there.
a) nominal predicate: He is young. He is a student.
b) verbal predicate: You must work. He is asked to sing.
Prof. B. A. Ilyish distinguishes the following types of the predicate:
A
Simple predicate:
(1) Verbal (He works.)
(2) Nominal (My ideas obsolete!!!).
В
Compound predicate:
(1) Verbal ( They must work, we are to go there)
(2) Nominal ( She is a doctor, The man is ill)
If we were to take the morphological classification as the basic one the
result would be the following:
A
Verbal predicate
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(1) Simple
(2) Compound
В
Nominal predicate
(1) Simple
(2) Compound
In this connection prof. Ilyish`s treatment of a predicate type as simple
nominal is interesting, for example: “My ideas obsolete! (See: B. A. Ilyish.
The structure of Modern English, , L., 1976).
But professor Xoshimov thinks that there’s no solid ground for it,
because there is no link verb to form a predicate as such here ( because
canonically any predicate should be expressed by a finite verb that should
stand in certain tense (demonstrating absolute grammatical time), mood, and
agree with subject in number and person and then form the so called absolute
predication. The following simple predicate types are also discriminated by
the same author:
Wind southerly, later veering westward, sea slight, etc.
Let’s see Kaushanskaya’s theories of predicate:
As a rule the predicate contains a finite verb which may express tense, mood,
voice, aspect, and sometimes person and number. According to the structure and
the meaning of the predicate we distinguish two main types: the simple
predicate and the compound predicate.
The simple predicate.
The simple predicate is expressed by a finite verb in a simple or a compound
tense form. It generally denotes an action: however, it denotes a state which is
represents as an action.
Erik arrived at the lab next morning full of suppressed excitement.
And so, after all, the Padre had been thinking of letting him escape.
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Mr. Robert, I have been looking for you everywhere.
When Mary was brought in he gave her the local anaethesia.
There is a special kind of predicate expressed by a phraseological unit such as to
get rid, to take care, to pay attention, to lose sight, to have a wash, to give a push,
etc.
When we clear the forests we get rid of such inconveniences.
I went to the bathroom and had a good wash for it had been a dusty
journey.
The characteristic feature of this predicate is that the first component, i. e. the
finite verb, has lost its concrete meaning to a great extent and forms one unit with
the noun, consequently the noun can not be treated as an object to the verb. This
can also be easily proved by the impossibility of putting a question to the second
component.
Compare: My friend gave me an interesting book to read.
The man gave a violent start.
Whereas the first case we can easily put a question to the object (e. g. What did
your friend give you?), in the second case this is impossible.
We shall treat this kind of predicate as a subdivision of the simple predicate. For
the sake of convenience we shall it a phreaseological predicate.
We distinguish two types of the phraseological predicate.
1. Word combinations of the following type: to have a smoke, to have a swim, to
have a run, to give a laugh, to give a push, to take a look, to make a move, etc.
These combinations consist of a finite verb which has to a great extent lost its
concrete meaning and a non formed from a verb and mostly used with the
indefinite article.
This predicate denotes a momentaneous action. In Russian this shade of meaning
is rendered by different prefixes and suffixes which express a momentaneous
action.
He had a smoke.
He had a wash.
He gave a push.
He gave a cry.
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He gave a start.
He gave a hug.
This type of phraseological predicate is characteristic of colloquial speech.
Every now and then she gave a half-glance at the people on the pavement.
She gave an unkind throaty laugh.
Troy said, “First of all, sergeant, have a drink.”
He started, made a short run and stopped and looked over his shoulder.
2. Word combinations of the following type: to get rid, to get hold, to make use, to
take care, to lose sight, to make fun, to pay attention, to make up one’s mind, to
change one’s mind, to take part, etc. These second component of these
combinations is in most cases as abstract noun used without any article.
That’s more than twenty years ago. She has never made use of her power or
caused me a moment’s uneasiness.
You were making fun of mother just now.
Then he caught his breath, suddenly reminded of something else.
It is better that you do not know where I live. I will get in touch with you.
A simple nominal predicate is that in which the predicative comes first,
the subject next, and no link verb is either used or possible. Such sentences seem
to occur chiefly in colloquial style, for instance: "Splendid game, cricket," remarked
Mr Barbecue-Smith heartily to no one in particular; "so thoroughly English"
(HUXLEY) This is a sentence with a simple nominal predicate. There is
inversion, no article with the predicative noun, and the style is very colloquial.
The phrase representing the rheme comes first, and after it comes the word
representing the theme. That it is the theme is made quite clear by the preceding
context. Priscilla, the mistress of the house, is reading a newspaper at breakfast: "I
see Surrey won," she said, with her mouth full, "by four wickets. The sun is in
Leo: that would account for it!" Although the word cricket is not mentioned, it is
quite evident, from the words Surrey (which here denotes a cricket team),
won and wickets, that she has been reading about the latest cricket match.
The latter part of Mr Barbecue-Smith's speech, so thoroughly English, adds another
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predicative to the first, splendid game, and also with no link verb to it. If changed
into the usual compound nominal predicate pattern, the sentence would run:
"Cricket is a splendid game; it is so thoroughly English"; the meaning would be
quite the same as in the original sentence but the specific colloquial colouring
would be gone altogether.
The compound predicate.
As can be from the term itself the compound predicate consists of two parts:
(a) a finite verb and (b) some other part of speech: a noun, a pronoun, an adjective,
a verbal (a particle, a gerund, an infinitive), etc. the second component is the
significant part of the predicate.
The first part expresses the verbal categories of person, number, tense,
aspect, mood and voice; beside it has a certain lexical meaning of its own. The
compound predicate may be nominal or verbal.
Most of the predicate types mentioned here do not call for any comment.
However, something has to be said on two questions: the simple nominal
predicate and the limits of the compound verbal predicate.
The simple nominal predicate, that is, a predicate consisting merely of a
noun or an adjective, without a link verb, is rare in English, but it is
nevertheless a living type and must be recognised as such.
The spheres of its use appear to be mainly two. One of these is found in
sentences where the immediate neighbourhood of the subject noun and the
predicate noun or adjective is used to suggest the impossibility or absurdity of
the idea that they might be connected. Sentences with this kind of simple
nominal predicate are always exclamatory, that is, they are pronounced with the
exclamatory intonation, and have an exclamation mark in writing. For
instance, the sentence from a play by Shaw, My ideas obsolete!!!!!!! (with seven
exclamation marks) expresses the speaker's indignation at hearing his ideas
characterised as obsolete by a younger man.
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It would not do to call such
sentences elliptical (see also p. 261), since the link verb cannot be added
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without completely changing the meaning of the sentence.
In my next example the subject is followed by an infinitive with an inserted
clause between them: Such an old, old lady, he came near to saying out loud to
himself, to come so far, on a train called the Blue Mountain, out of the south, into
the north. (BUECHNER) The infinitive to come here clearly performs the
function of predicate.
The compound nominal predicate.
The compound nominal predicate denotes the state or quality of the person or thing
expressed by the subject (e. g. He is tired, The book is interesting), or the class of
persons or things to which this person or thing belongs (e. g. She is a student).
The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (the
latter is also called the nominal part of the predicate.)
The link verb (or a verb of incomplete predication) expresses the verbal
categories of person, number, tense, aspect, mood, sometimes voice. All link verbs,
as the result of a long development, have partly lost their original concrete
meaning. One link verb has lost its concrete meaning altogether: this is the verb to
be, which can be called a pure link verb as it performs only a grammatical function
and be linked with a predicative expressed by any part of speech used in this
function.
This is a picture of Moscow.
Most link verbs to some extent preserve their meaning. The following are
the most common of these link verbs: to appear, to get, to grow, to continue, to
feel, to keep, to look, to turn, to hold, to prove, to turn out, to loom, to rank, to
remain, to run, to seem, to smell, to taste, to fall, to stand, to go, to work.
His wife sighed and remained silent. (London)
Harris grew more
cheerful. (Jerome)
As my age I get nervous. (Galsworthy)
He soon fell fast asleep in my arms,
sobbing at longer intervals. (Dickens)
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The boat seemed stuffy. (Jerome)
recessive
She, for her part, felt
and thence evasive. (Dreiser)
Many of these verbs can be used both as verbs of complete predication fully
preserving their concrete meaning and as link verbs.
Link verbs
Verbs of complete predication
to be
The sun was full of promise. (Du Maurier)
No one was there
to meet him.
to grow
Perhaps I should grow a beard. I look too young to have been publishing for five
years. (Wilson)
to look
He looked stupid and good-natured and happy. (Greene) He blushed
violently and looked away. (Wilson)
to feel
And yet at moments he felt very close to her. (Lindsay)
He felt great
awe and admiration. (Wilson)
to come
The nightmare of my life had come true. (Buck)
Giles and
Beatrice were coming for the night but nobody else. (Du Maurier)
to go
On a misty January morning Thomas had gone there once more. (Galsworthy)
There are some verbs which, though fully preserving their concrete meaning,
perform the function of link verbs: they are used with a predicative and form a
compound nominal predicate. Here belong: to lie, to sit, to die, to marry, to return,
to leave, to come, to stand, to fall, to go, etc.
After many adventures I and a little girl lay senseless in the Bad Lands.
(Haggard)
The poor woman sat amazed. (Trollope)
I stood transfixed with awe
and joy. (Haggard)
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Here the important thing is not that the speaker stood but that he stood transfixed
with awe and joy.
Happily, too, the greater part of the boys came back low-spirited. (Dickens)
Sometimes the predicative doe not immediately follow these verbs but is separated
from them by an adverbial.
One evening she came home elevated. (O. Henry)
Thus the same verb when used as a link verb may either lose its meaning or fully
preserve it.
Irene’s hair was going gray. (Galsworthy) (link verb)
Tom went home miserable. (Twain) (notional verb performing the function
of a link verb)
According to their meaning link verbs can be divided into two large groups: (1)
link verbs of being and remaining; (2) link verbs of becoming. The first group
comprises such verbs as to be, to remain, to keep, to continue, to look, to smell, to
prove, to appear, etc. The latter three verbs have some modal coloring.
Cotman was a nice-looking fellow, of thirty perhaps.. .. (Maugham)
Do not delay, there is no time. Teacher Williams lies dead, already. (Buck)
The Western powers stood a lot. (Buck)
Idris, aged five, at a little desk all by himself near the fire, was looking
extraordinarily pleased with life. (Cronin)
He felt exhausted not with physical fatigue, but with the weight of vague
burdens. (Lindsay)
Either course seemed unthinkable, without any connection with himself.
(Lindsay)
The door remained wide open; the voices inside were louder than ever.
(Priestlay)
… the dancing continues fast and furious. (Douglas)
That sounds not unsatisfactory. (Wilde)
The second group comprises such verbs as to become, to get, to grow, to
come, to leave, to run, to turn, to make, etc.
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Oh, Adolphus Cusins will make a very god husband. (Shaw)
This becomes uninteresting, however, after a time. (Jerome)
How can I get married without my best man? (Lindsay)
And every month of his life he grew handsomer and more interesting. (Bernett)
The great day dawned misty and overcast. (Du Maurier)
The predicative.
The predicative is the significant part of the compound nominal predicate. It
can be expressed in different ways:
1. By a noun in the common case, occasionally by a noun in the possessive case.
She is a pretty child. (Galsworthy)
2. By an adjective.
The book is my sister’s.
He’s awfully dear and unselfish.
(Galsworthy)
Very often the predicative by an adjective in English does not correspond to an
adjective in Russian. It often correspond to an adverb, serving as an adverbial
modifier. In this connection particular attention should be paid to the following
verbs as they are very often used in everyday English: to look, to feel, to sound, to
smell, to taste.
The dinner smells delicious.
When she got angry, her voice sounded shrill.
She looks bad.
He feels bad.
This orange tastes bitter.
As is seen from the examples given above all these predicative adjectives (with
the exception of the one that follows the verb to taste) are rendered by adverbs in
Russian.
3. By a pronoun – personal, possessive, negative, interrogative, reflexive, indefinite,
defining.
It was he.
The guns were his. (London)
You are nobody.
(London)
Why? What is he? (Galsworthy)
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But she was herself again, brushing her tears away. (Lindsay)
As a rule the pronoun in the function of a predicative is in the nominative case, but
in Modern English there is a marked tendency to use personal pronouns in the
objective case, especially the personal pronoun I.
It’s me, Matt. (Lindsay)
Someone said, “That’s him!”
By a word of the category of state.
He was aware all the time of the stringy tie beneath the mackintosh, and the frayed
sleeves… (Greene)
But I’m afraid I can’t keep the man. (Galsworthy)
By a numeral, cardinal or ordinal.
I’m only 46. (Shaw) Mr. Snodgrass was the first to break the astonished silence.
(Dickens)
By a prepositional phrase.
The things were outside her experience. (Wells)
After all, the little chap was on the side of the Capital. (Galsworthy)
By an infinitive, infinitive phrase, or an infinitive construction.
June’s first thought was to go away. (Galsworthy)
His first act was to bolt the door on the inside. (Dickens)
The best thing is for you to move in with me. (Abrahams)
By a gerund, gerundial phrase, or gerundial construction.
My favorite sport is swimming.
The great secret, Eliza, is not having had manners or good manners or any
other particular sort of manner, but having the same manners for all human
souls. (Shaw)
The topic of their conversation was their going on an expedition.
By Participle II or very seldom Participle I; the latter is generally adjectivized.
He was surprised at the sound of his own voice. (London)
Here was change, indeed! I fell back astounded in my chair. (Buck)
It is very distressing to me, sir, to give this information. (Abrahams)
The moment was soothing to his sore spirit. (Sanborne)
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(A detailed treatment of the difference between a compound nominal predicate
with a predicative expressed by Participle II and a simple predicate expressed by a
verb in the Passive Voice is given in Chapter VII, Passive Voice, § 6.)
3. By an adverb.
That was all. It was enough the way she said it. (iSanborne)
The Objective Predicative.
Besides the predicative referring to the subject, another type of predicative
referring to the object can be found in English. It is generally called the Objective
Predicative. It expresses the state or quality of the person or thing denoted by the
object and is generally expressed by a noun, an adjective, a word denoting state, or
a prepositional phrase.
He appointed Bush secretary in his stead. (Swift)
Lord and Lady Susan…left him alone with them. (Swift)
In a few minutes I came to myself and he carried me safe to my little nurse.
(Swift)
They painted the door green
The Objective Predicative does not form part of the predicate; in this case
the predicate is simple.
The compound verbal predicate.
The compound verbal predicate can be divided into two types according to the
meaning of the finite verb:
(1) the compound verbal modal predicate;
(2) the compound verbal aspect predicate.
The compound verbal modal predicate shows whether the action expressed by a
non-finite form of the verb is considered as possible, impossible, obligatory,
necessary, desirable, etc. these shades of meaning are expressed by the first
component of the predicate. The compound verbal modal predicate may consist of
the following components:
1. A modal verb and an infinitive.
Here belong the combinations of such verbs as can, may, must, should, would,
ought, dare, need with an infinitive.
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You can prove everything and nothing. (London) His aunt would not give
him the photograph. (Hardy)
Modal expressions: to be + Infinitive, to have + Infinitive.
The loudspeaker operation was to take place in C. Company’s sector. (Heym)
I have to work for my living. (Jerome)
A verb with a modal meaning and an infinitive or a gerund. Here belong
such verbs as to hope, to expect, to intend, to attempt, to try, to end favor,
to long, to wish, to want, to desire, etc.
He wanted to throw himself into the whirpool of Paris. (Heym)
We intend going to Switzerland, and climbing Mount Blanc. (Ch. Bronte)
Of course she longs to have a ball in her honor. (Du Maurier)
Certainly I don’t mean to take advantage of my position. (Wilson)
Harry tried to open the tin with a pocket knife and broke the knife and cut
himself badly. (Jerome)
Modal expressions and an infinitive.
They are synonyms with modal verbs or verbs with a modal meaning. Here belong
the combinations of such expressions as to be able, to be obliged, to be bound, to
be willing, to be anxious, to be capable, to be going with an infinitive.
It should be born in mind that by ‘aspect’ we do not mean here the verbal category
of aspect but the lexical meaning of certain verbs as denoting the beginning, the
duration and the cessation of the action.
Verbs with a modal meaning should not be confused with modal verbs as such,
which in the English language form a special group of detective verbs.
Baring had been obliged to forego making friends. (Wilson)
I am going to leave Paris. (Heym)
We are most anxious to
cooperate. (Heym)
Verbs and expressions used in the predicate of sentences containing the
Subjective Infinitive Construction
(Nominative-with-the-Infinitive Construction). These words and expressions show
the attitude of the speaker towards the person or thing expressed by the subject.
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A ship – the Vestris – is reported to be arriving at Joppa. (Douglas)
About 4.000 port workers are believed to be on strike. (Daily Woker)
Naturally all this had some chilling discouraging effect on him but he
appeared not to hold it against her. (Wescott)
Never mind who told me. I happen to know his car was seen here yesterday
afternoon. (Du Maurier)
Just at this moment you seem to be having difficulty with your left hand.
(Wilton)
The compound verbal aspect predicate.
The compound verbal aspect predicate expresses the beginning, repetition,
duration, or cessation of the action expressed by the non-finite form of the verb. It
consists of such verbs as to begin, to start, to commence, to fall, to set about, to go
on, to keep on, to proceed, to continue, to stop, to give up, to finish, to cease, to
come and an infinitive or a gerund.
Here also belong would and used + Infinitive, which denote a repeated
action in the past.
Elaine, this ill-advanced behavior of yours is beginning to have results.
(Erskine)
That view had come to give him a feeling of ease and happiness. (Lindsay)
His bones ceased to ache. (Lindsay)
She had stopped asking Yates about the time. (Heym)
Meanwhile armoured infantry continued to feel its way in a northerly
direction. (Heym)
I kept glancing at her through the rest of the play. (Braine)
I used to write poetry myself when I was his age. (Herbett)
I lived with a man once who used to make me mad that way.
He would loll on the sofa and watch me doing things by the hour. (Jerome)
(В. Л. КАУШАНСКАЯ “ Грамматика англиского язика” ст 107-110)
29
4. MODERN ENGLISH WITH A MIXED- TYPE PREDICATE
USAGE
Mixed types of predicate.
(1) Besides the compound nominal predicate, the compound verbal modal predicate
and the compound verbal aspect predicate, there is a type of predicate in which we
have elements of two types of predicates. Such predicates contain three
components.
Thus we have:
1. The compound modal nominal predicate.
The nephew was to be the means of introduction. (Du Maurier)
He greatly longed to be the next heir himself. (De la Roche)
Don’t think I mean to be unkind. (Du Maurier)
2.The compound aspect nominal predicate.
The grey house had ceased to be a house for family life. (Buck)
It was like coming ashore after a channel crossing. I began to feel rather hungry.
(Du Maurier)
I was glad that the doctor had been Chinese, and not American. I continued to be
glad for that. (Buck)
2. The compound modal aspect nominal predicate.
And all the while he felt the presence of Pat and had to keep on resisting the
impulse to turn round. (Lindsay)
Something happened nearly a year ago that altered my whole life. I had to begin
living all over again.
He ought to stop doing nothing and criticizing everybody. (Lindsay)
It is noteworthy that in their later grammar manual there were
distinguished some other types original types of the compound predicate
were distinguished by N.A. Kobrina and E.A. Korneeva et al1:
30
1. The Compound Verbal Predicate:
a) The C o m p o u n d V e r b a l
P h a s a l Predicate:
Andrew and he began to talk about the famous clinic
b) The C o m p o u n d V e r b a l M o d a l P r e d i c a t e :
He can't say a word,
Are you able to walk another two miles?
2. The C o m p o u n d
Verbal
Predicate of
Double
Orientation
c) The Gadfly seemed to have taken a dislike to her.
d) The plane is reported to have been lost
e) He seemed to understand everything I said
f) This country is said to be rich in oil.
g) The room looked snug and cheerful.
h) His face looked awful all the time.
i) His voice sounded cold and hostile.
3. The Compound Nominal Predicate:
a)The C o m p o u n d N o m i n a l
Predicate Proper:
a) The girl looked tired but pretty
b) We are seven.
c) My wish is to learn many languages. d) That request seemed superfluous.
4. The C o m p o u n d
Nominal
Double
Predicate:
a) After the meeting is the time to speak
b) To know everything is to know nothing. To be loved and to be wanted is
31
always good.
c) Where you found him does not concern me.
d) Four and four is eight
e) Many a lie has been told.
f) Here is Tom and Peter.
g) Here was a man, was experience and culture.
h) It is you who are right. It is I who am wrong.
(But: It's me who is wrong).
The compound verbal modal predicate
The compound verbal modal predicate consists of a modal part and an
infinitive (or a gerund). It shows whether the action expressed by an infinitive
is looked upon as possible, impossible, obligatory, necessary, desirable,
planned, certain, permissible, etc. In most cases it denotes the attitude to the
action of the person expressed by the subject or by the speaker.
The modal part may be expressed by:
1. A modal verb.
You must forget it.
He can’t say a word, he can’t even apologize.
I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing.
Ought he not to treat her generously?
May I ask you a question?
2. A m o d a l e x p r e s s i o n of nominal nature:
to be able, to be allowed, to be willing, to be going, to be anxious, etc.
You are going to attend the college at Harvard, they tell me.
32
Are you able to walk another two miles?
We were anxious to cooperate.
The modal part may have two modal verbs or a modal verb and a modal
expression.
He may have to return.
She must be willing to come here again.
З. Аn a t t i t u d i n a l verb such as to like, to hate, to attempt, to expect, to
hope, to intend, to mean, to plan, to try, to have a mind, to wish, to want
followed by an infinitive denote the attitude of the person expressed by the
subject to the action denoted by the infinitive.
The predicate of this type may be called a c o m p o u n d v e r b a l
attitudinal predicate.
He hoped to see them the next day.
I mean to find out the truth
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5. CONCLUSION.
There are a number of verbs that most often occur in this type of predicate,
performing the double function of denoting a process and serving as link verb
at the same time. They are: to die, to leave, to lie, to marry, to return, to rise,
to sit, to stand, to shine, etc. But as in Modern English there is a growing
tendency to use this type of predicate, the verbs occurring in it are not limited
by any particular lexical class.
My daughter sat silent.
He died a hero.
She married young.
, .
The light came grey and pale.
The sun was now shining warm and bright.
The men stood silent and motionless.
They met friends and parted enemies.
The moon rose round and yellow.
Besides the above mentioned types of a compound predicate they
distinguish the mixed Types of Compound Predicate.
Compound predicates can combine elements of different types. Thus we
have:
1.
The compound modal nominal predicate.
Jane must feel better pleased than ever. She couldn't be
happy.
2.
The phrasal nominal predicate.
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He was beginning to look desperate-George began
to be rather ashamed.
3. The compound modal phrasal predicate.
You ought to stop doing that.
He can't continue training.
4. The compound nominal predicate of double orientation.
Mrs Bacon is said to be very ill.
Walter seems to be unhappy.
There exists one type of predicate which is very frequent in English and
which presents a combination of such verbs as have, get, give, take and a verbal
noun (give a look, take a bath, have a smoke). Traditionally such cases were
referred to a third formal type of predicate, a phraseological predicate. However
from the grammatical point of view the most important characteristic of this type
of predicate is not so much its phraseological but its analytical character (and all
analytical structures are characterized by a certain idiomaticity of their
components). The distribution of functions between the components of this
predicate is similar to those within an analytical form - the verb expresses the
grammatical meaning and the verbal noun serves to name the action, i.e. to express
a lexical meaning. The two formal types of the predicate correspond to the two
main semantic types: process predicate which expresses the action, the state or the
existence of the subject and qualification predicate which expresses the quality
(property) of the subject. The process predicate can be further subdivided into
several types in accordance with the semantic types of verbs: existential ( There
was a tavern in the town), statal (He slept), locative (The elephant lives in India),
relational (He had a small ranch) and actional(The car broke down). The
qualification predicate has three subtypes: identifying (So you are the man we have
been looking for), classifying ( My friend is a student) and characterizing ( My
wife is a bit of an actress. He was too German). The two types of predicate can be
35
contaminated which results in the formation of the so-called double predicate, He
stared at me bewildered - the finite verb in such sentences conveys a meaning of its
own, but the main point of the sentence lies in the information conveyed by the
predicative noun or adjective. The finite verb performs the function of a link verb.
Since such sentences have both a simple verbal predicate and a compound nominal
predicate, they form a special or mixed type: double predicates.
As a conclusion, I would like to say that grammar is the most complex and it
demands much effort lots of research. So the predicate is also somehow difficult to
comprehend. In addition to this, there are different types of the predicate, so
scientists, professors have done their research works and made it easier to learn
well. In my course paper I tried to give detailed information. Moreover I have used
grammar books and the research works of professors. The findings of the study
suggest that the predicate and its mixed types should be learned carefully. Because
awareness of this development is more professional to learn strategies. Scientists
specify a lot of differences and similarities of grammatical categories of mixed
types of predicate in different languages. By the help of them, learning language
strategies and rules are strengthened. We need such kind of clear-cut explanations
and sources in order to solve the problematical sides of predicate. In addition, we
can learn languages deeply.
Above all, my study indicates all routes of grammatical categories of mixed
types of predicate and its problems and ways how to teach them at schools. It helps
us creating comprehensive language learning and comparing a learned language
with other ones.
36
6. THE LIST OF USED LITERATURES
1. Blokh M.U. A course in Theoritical English Grammar. - Moskva,
1983.
2. Bo`ronov J,. M. Bo`ranov, M. Toshboyeva. Ingliz tili gramatikasi.
Toshkent, 1978.
3. Hoshimov O`., J. Bo`ronov, X.Ismatullayev. English Grammar.
Toshkent, 1974.
4. Kobrina N.A. va boshqalar.
An English Grammar. - Moskva,
1986.
5. G’. M. Hoshimov. Lectures on comparative typology. Andizhan,
2013.
6. M. Y. Blokh “Теорические основы грамматики”
7. В Л Каушанская “ Грамматика английского языка” –Leningrad,
1973.
8. J.B. Bo’ronov “Ingliz va o’zbek tillari qiyosiy grammatikasi. Toshkent, 1973.
9. I.G. Koshevaya “The theory of English grammar”
10. Blokh М.У. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar.X.-M.,
1983.p.
85-102.
11.Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая
грамматика современного английского языка, § 1.6.1-1.6.7. - М., 1981.
- p.46-50.
12. Internet sites: www.ziyo.net.
www.wikipedia.com.
www.english.com.
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