Лекции по теоретической грамматике английского языка для студентов

Sound Alternations 
Sound alternations are a way of expressing grammatical categories which 
consists in changing a sound inside the root. This method appears in Modern 

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English, for example, in nouns, as when the root vowel [au] of 
mouse 
is 
changed into [a
ı
] in 
mice, 
etc. 
This method is much more extensively used in verbs, such as 
write 
— 
wrote 
— 
written, sing — sang 
— 
sung, meet — met 
— 
met, 
etc. On the whole, 
vowel alternation does play some part among the means of expressing 
grammatical categories, though its part in Modern English has been much 
reduced as compared to Old English. 
Analytical Types 
These consist in using a word (devoid of any lexical meaning of its 
own) to express some grammatical category of another word. 
There can be no doubt in Modern English about the analytical character of 
such formations as, e. g., 
has invited 
or 
is invited, 
or 
is inviting, 
or 
does not 
invite. 
The verbs 
have, be, 
and 
do 
have no lexical meaning of their own in 
these cases. The lexical meaning of the formation resides in the participle or 
infinitive following the verb 
have, be 
or 
do. 
Some doubt has been expressed 
about the formations 
shall invite 
and 
will invite. 
There is a view that 
shall 
and 
will 
have a lexical meaning.
While the existence of analytical forms of the English verb cannot be 
disputed, the existence of such forms in adjectives and adverbs is not 
nowadays universally recognised. The question whether such formations as 
more vivid, the most vivid, 
or, again, 
more vividly 
and 
most vividly 
are or 
are not analytical forms of degrees of comparison of 
vivid 
and 
vividly, 
is 
controversial. We can only say here that if these formations are recognised as 
analytical forms of degrees of comparison, the words 
more 
and 
most 
have to 
be numbered among the analytical means of morphology.