Ministry of higher and secondary education of the republic of uzbekistan karakalpak state university

Lecture 6
Theme: The class of verbs by semantic and lexico-grammatical features.
Problems for discussion:

1. 
   The class of verbs by semantic and lexico-grammatical features.
   
2. 
   The finite forms of the verb.
   
3. 
   The non-finite forms of the verb.
   
4. 
   The aspective meaning of the verb.
   
5. 
   Tense is one of the typical functions of the finitive verb.
   
6. 
   O. Jesperson denied the existence of a future tense in English.
   
7. 
   The perfect as a tense category (O. Jesperson)
   
8. 
   The perfect as a way of expressing the category of “time-relation” (A.I.Smirnitsky)
   
9. 
   The category of mood the most controversial category of the verb.
   

The verb seems to be an area of grammar which has always gained the greatest interest in language learning. In modern English as well as in many other languages, verbal forms imply not only subtle shades of time distinction but serve for other purposes too. They are also often marked for person and number, for mood, voice and aspect.
The grammatical categories of the English verb find their expression in synthetical and analytical forms. The formative elements expressing these categories are: grammatical affixes, inner inflection and function words. Some categories have only synthetical forms (person, number), thae others have only analytical forms (voice distinctions). There are also categories expressed by both synthetical and analytical forms (mood, time, aspect).
We distinguish finite and non-finite forms of the verb. Non-finite forms, the so-called verbids(O. Jesperson`s term) are: the infinitive, the participle and gerund. The grammatical nature of the finite forms may be characterized by the oppositions: person: I write; he writes; number: she writes; they write.
Grammatically the verb is the most complex part of speech. The complexity of the verb is inherent not only in the intricate structure of its grammatical categories, but also in its various subclass divisions, as well as in its falling into two sets of forms profoundly different from each other: the finite set (form) and non-finite set (form).
The complicated character of the grammatical and lexico-grammatical structure of the verb has given rise to much dispute and controversy.
Class of the verb fall as into a member of subclasses distinguished semantic and lexico-grammatical features: a) set of notional verbs b) set of semi-notional and functional verbs.
Semi-notional and functional verbs serve as markers of predication in the proper sence, since they show the connection between the nominative content of the sentence and reality in a strictly specialized way. These “predicators” include auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, semi-notional verbid, introduser verbs and link-verbs.

1. 
   Auxialary verbs constitute grammatical elements of the categorial forms of the verb. There are the verbs: be, have, do, shall, will, should, would, may, might.
   
2. 
   Modal verbs are used with the infinitive as predicative markers expressing relational meanings of the subject attitude type, i.e. ability, obligation, permission, advisability etc. They also express relational probability: the groups be obliged, be permitted, the groups be likely, be probable.
   

1. 
   Tom may stay for the teleview if he will- Tom is permitted to study.
   
2. 
   The storm may come any minute, you had better leave the desk- The storm is likely to come any time.
   
3. 
   The modal verbs can, may, must, shall, will, need, used (to), dare are defective in forms, for example: The boys can prepare the play-ground themselves- The boys will be able to prepare the play-ground themselves.
   

3. 
   Semi-notional verbid, inrioduser verbs are distributed among the verbal sets: of discriminatory relational semantics (sum, happen, turn out, etc.), of subject-action relational semantics (tr, fail, manage, etc.), of phrasal semantics (begin, continue, stop, etc.). They began to fight.
   
4. 
   The phrasal predicator “begin” and the infinitive of the notional verb “fight”, the two lexems meaning one verbal part unit in the sentences. They began the fight; The transitive verb “begin” forms the the predicate of the sentence.
   
5. 
   Link-verbs introduce the nominal part of the predicate which commonly expressed by a noun, one adjective, or a phrase of a similar semantico-grammatical character. It would be noted that link-verbs, although they are named so, are not devoid of meaningful content. Performing their functions of connecting (linking) the subject and the predicative, they express the actual semantics of this connection.
   

The linking predicator function in the purest form is effected by the verb “be”. The common specifying link verb can be reffered to as the “pure link-verb”. The common specifying link verbs fall into two main groups:

1. 
   those that express perceptions.
   
2. 
   those that express nonperseptional, or “factual” link-verb connection.
   

The main perceptional link-verbs are: seem, appear, look, feel, taste.
The main factual link-verbs are: become, get, grow, remain, keep.
e.g. The letter seemed to have remained unnoticed.
I began to feel better. You should`t try to look cleverer than you are.
As is to be seen from the comparison of the specifying link-verbs with verbid introduser predicators described above, the respective functions of these two verbal subsets are cognate, though not all together identical.
The finite forms of verb.
The verb is a part of speech which includes words expressing actions or states concaived as processes.
The various forms that a verb can take care are subdivided under two main headings: finite and non-finite (verbals).
In the finite form the form has the functions of the predicate in the sentence. It is limited by or bond to some subject with which it agrees in person and number: you are teacher, he is a student.
The finite forms of the verb indicate the following categories: person, member, aspect, tense, mood and voice.
In modern English there are six clauses of the verb appears with its own obligatory constituents without which it would be incomplete.

1. 
   Transative verb. A transitive verb normally has to have a direct object to be complete: for ex: this girl likes uncompleted sentence.
   

The girl likes the day-completed sentence.
Kate hugged the baby.
The dog found the bone.

2. 
   Intransive verb. The intransive verb, as its name suggests, is a class of verb which does not take one subject. In fact an intransive verb requires nothing else to complete the verb phrase. For example: The baby cried. She worked.
   

However, there are other constitutes which can occur with this class of the verb. Such constituents are optional rather than obligatory. In the other they can appear and not as adverbials (place, time, etc.)
The baby cried in the night.

3. 
   Ditransitive verb. Another class of verb which occurs with an object is ditransitive.
   

However, this type of verb requires two objects. One of these is the direct object, the other is an indirect object in the sentence. For ex: Red told the children a story..
In the sentence the verb “tell” is followed by the past indefinite tense. The children is the indirect object of the verb.
She gave me a look- She gave a look to me.
Ken made the party a cake- Ken made a cake for the party.
In these sentences with ditransitive verbs two objects are obligatory, not optional. To and for are preposition which have joined with noun phrases the children, me, the party to form prepositional phrases.

4. 
   Intensive verb. Intensive verbs belong to a small group which includes verbs like, be, seem, appear, become, look and so on.
   

These verbs have in common the noun phrase subject: Sally became a doctor. George is in the garden. She seems unhappy.

5. 
   Complex-transitive verb. Another class of verb appear with a complement is called complex-transitive. With this type of verb the complement relates to the objects, not the subject.
   

The voters elected Mony a president.
Kate thought John.
With this type of verb two elements are obligatory to complete the verb phrase, in these cases two noun phrases.

6. 
   Prepositional verb. A prepositional verb is one which requires a prepositional phrase in order to be completed. Verbs as glance, clam, refer full into this class. In fact they are so closely linked with a preposition that is easy to think of them as verbs consisting of two parts as in glance at, lean on, refer to. They are certainly in complete without a prepositional phrase.
   

Kate learnt on the table.
The children glanced at the pictures.
The function of the prepositional phrase in these sentences are prepositional objects. The aspective meaning of the verb.
The aspective meaning of the verb, as different from its temporal meaning, reflects the inherent made of the relazation of the process irrespective of its timing.
There are two sets of forms in the modern English verb which are contrasted with each other on the principle of use or non-use of the pattern “be+ first participle” : writes- is writing
Wrote- was writing
Will write- will be writing
Has written- has been writing.
These two sets of forms clearly belong to the same verb “write” and there is some grammatical difference between “writes” and “is writing” or between “wrote” and “was writing”? The basic characteristic of “is writing” is this: it denotes the action proceeding continuously at a definite period of time, which certain time limits. One of the other hand, “writes” denotes the action not thus limited but either occurring repeatedly or everlasting, without any notion of lasting duration at a given moment.
There is some difference in this respect between the sentences: The earth turns round the sun. The sun rises in the east.
The action mentioned in the first sentence goes on without interruption, where as the action mentioned in the latter sentence is repeated every morning and does not take place at all in the evening.
Now, the question must be answered, how should this essential difference in meaning between the two set of forms be described.
The best way to describe it would seem to be this: it is a difference in the way the action is shown to proceed. Now this is the grammatical notion described as the category of aspect with reference to the Slavonic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech) and also to ancient Greek, in which this category is clearly expressed.
As it is well known, not every verb is commonly used in the form “be+ first participle”. Verbs denoting abstract relations such as “belong” and the verbs denoting sense of perception or emotion such as “see, hear, hope, love”, seldom appear in the form. Thus, the verbs “see, hope, like, fear” and others, denoting perception or feelings (emotions) may be found in this form. E.g. It was as if she were seeing herself for the first time in a year.
The form “be+ first participle” is very appropriate here as it does not admit of the action being interpreted as momentaneous and makes it absolutely clear that what is meant is a sence perception going on for some time.
The immediate expression of grammatical time, or tence (Lat. tempus) is one of the typical function of the finite verb. It is typical because the meaning of process, inherently embedded in the verbal lexeme, finds its complete realization only if presented in certain time conditions.
When speaking of the expression of time by the verb, it is necessary to strictly disringuish between the general notion of time, the lexical denotation of time, the lexical denotation of time and the grammatical time and the grammatical parality.
In modern English the grammatical expression of verbal tense is effective in two correlated stages. At the first stages, the process receives an absolutive time characteristic by means of opposing the past tense to the present tense. The market member of this opposition is the past form. At the second age, the process receives a non- absolutive relative time characteristic by means of opposing the forms of the future tense to the forms of no future marking. The two stages of the verbal time denotion one expressed separately, by their own oppositional forms.
The category of tense may be defined as a verbal category which reflects the objective category of time and expresses on this background the relations between the time of the action.
In English there are three tenses (past, present, future) represented by the forms “wrote, writes, will write, lived, lives, will live”.
Some doubts have been expressed about the existance of a future tense in English. O. Jesperson discussed this question more than once. The reason why Jesperson denied the existance of a future tense in English was that the English future is expressed by the phrase “shall/will+ infinitive” and the verbs “shall and will” which make part of the phrase preserve, according to Jespersen, some of their original meaning (shall an element of obligation and will an element of volition). In Jespersen`s view, English has no way of expressing “pure futurity” free from modal shades of meaning that is it has no form standing on the past and present tenses. However, this reasoning is not convincing.
This is especially clear in the sentences where the verb “will” is used as an auxiliary of the future tense and where at the same time, the meaning of volition is excluded by the context. E.g. I am so sorry, I am afraid I will have to go back to the hotel. The verb “will” can not be said to preserve even the slightest of the meaning of volition here. It can have only one meaning- that of grammatical futurity.
A present tense form may also be used when the action belong to the future, as in the following example: “Maria is coming, my lad”, he said, “she is coming tomorrow”.
So it might also have been expressed by the future tense: Maria will come, my lad, she will come tomorrow”. But the use of the present continuous tense adds another shades of meaning, which would be last if it were replaced by the future tense: Maria`s arrival tomorrow is part of a plan already fixed at the present.
The tense view of the perfect is presented in the works of H.Sweet, G.Gurme, M.Bryant and some other foreign scholars. The tense interpretation of the perfect was endorsed by the well-known course of English grammar by M.A.Gaushina and n.M.Vasilevskaya.
A.I.Smirnitsky`s conception of the perfect may be called the “time-relation”, prof. A.I.Smirnitsky explained that an explicit demonstration of the fact that the perfect form by means of its oppositional mark, builds up own category, different from both the tense (present-past-future) and the aspect (continuous-indefinite).
The functional content of the category of “time-correlation” was defined as priority expressed
by the perfect form in the present, past or future contrasted against the non-expression or priority by the non-perfect forms.
A lot of definitions have been given of the category of mood. One of them given by academician V.Vinogradov is this: “mood express the relation of the action to reality, as stated by the speaker”. This definition seems plausible on the whole, though the words “relation of action to reality” may be clear enough. What is meant here is that different moods express different degrees of reality of an action, one mood represents it as actually taking place, while another mood represents it as merely conditional or desired.
There are other ways of indicating the reality or possibility of an action, besides the verbal category of mood. Modal verbs “may, can, must” and modal words “perhaps, probably, etc.” which fall under the very wide notion of modality, which is not confined to grammar, but includes some parts of lexicology and phonetics (intonation) as well.
The indicative mood. The use of the indicative mood shows that the speaker represents the action as real: two additional remarks are necessary here: 1) the mention of the speaker (or write) who represent the action as real is most essential.
In what tense could we say, for instance, that sentence- David Copperfield Dora represent real fact.

3. 
   Some doubt about the meaning of the indicative mood may arise if we take into account its use in conditional sentences such as following: I will speak to him if I meet him.
   

It may be argued that the action denoted by the verb in the indicative mood (in the subordinate clauses as well as in the main clauses) is not here represented as a fact but merely as a possibility (I may meet him, and I may not). However this does not affect the meaning of the grammatical form as such. The conditional meaning is expressed by the conjuction and of course it does not after the modal meaning of the sentence, but the meaning of the verb form as such remains what it was: e.g. she spoke to him last night. She came in a moment ago. She saw him this morning.
The indicative mood is widely used in modern English. As has already been stated the verb in the indicative mood has three primary tenses and three secondary perfect tenses, two aspect forms- common and continuous and two voice forms- active and passive: e.g. 1) we have finished our work- our work has been finished.
2) they are building two houses at the end of the street- two houses are being built at the end street.
3) who brought the parcel? – by whom was the parcel brought?
4) they asked her some questions.
She was asked some questions.
Some questions were asked her (less common).
The imperative mood. The imperative mood in English is represented by one form only “come, write, read”, without any suffix or ending. It differs from all other moods in several important points. I has no person, number, tense, aspect distinctions and which is the main thing, it is limited in its use to one type of sentence only, that is imperative sentences. A verb in the

Imperative has no pronoun acting as subject. However the pronoun may be used in emotional speech as:’you live me alone’,she cried but loudly.

A serious difficulty connected with the imperative is the absence of any specific morphological characteristics: with all verbs except ‘be’, it also coincides with the infinitive, and in all verbs exept ‘be’, it also coincides with the present indicative apart from the third person singular. Even the absence of a subject pronoun’you’ which would be its syntactical characteristic, is not a reliable feature at all,as sentences like: you sit here!-occur often enough.
The emphatic imperative is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to do,followed by the infinitive: do tell me what he said. Do be silent. Do bring my book to-morrow,
The other moods, it is very difficult set of problems,namely those connected with the subjunctive, conditional, or whatever other name you may choose to give these moods.
In practical English grammar by M.Ganshina and N.Vasilevskaya we find the oblique moods. There are four oblique moods in modern english,of which two are synthetical and two analytical.
1,The synthetical moods are subjunctive I and subjunctive II.
2,The analytical moods are the conditional and the suppositional.
The synthetical moods
Subjunctive I represents an action as problematic,but not as contradicting reality. It is used to express order,request,suggestion,supposition,purpose. E.g. if the wether be fine tomorrow, we shall go to the country.
Subjunctive has no tenses, the some form being used for the present,past and future. E.g. He ordered that we be present.
The form of the third persone singular has no –s(-es)inflexion: I have, he have, we have,you have; they have; I speak, he speak etc.
The preset subjunctive II The past subjunctive II
I were, spoke,were speaking I had been,I had spoken
I had been speaking.
He were,spoke,were spok he had been ,he had spoken,
She (it)were,spoke,ing, he had been speaking
We(you,they) were,spoke,were she (it) had been, she(it)had spoken
speaking she had been speaking.
We (you,they) had been
We(you,they)had been spoken
We(you,they) had been speaking
The present subjunctive II is homonymous with the past indicative. The past subjunctive II is homonymous with the past perfect indicative,
The analytical moods.

1. 
   The suppostional mood represents an action as problematic, but not necessarily contradicting reality.
   

The present suppositional mood
I (she,he) should speak
We(you,they) should speaking.
We (you,thay) should be speaking,
The past suppositional mood.
I (he,she) should have spoken
We(you,they)should have spoken
I (he,she)should been speaking
We(you,they)should been speaking,
2The unreality of an agtion represented by the gonditional mood is due to absence of the
Negessary girgumstanges on which the agtion depends.
The conditional mood is mainly usd in the principal clause of a complex sentence with a
Subordinate clause of unreal condition.
E.g.If HE were here ,he would help us.
If I were at home,I chould see her.
Gonditional mood has two tenses; the present and the past.
The present conditional mood.
I should speak
He (She) would speak
We should by speaking
You (they) would by speaking.
The past conditional mood.
I should have spoken
He (she) would have spoken
We should have been speaking
You (they) would have been speaking.

Literature

1 .Blokh M.Y.A course in Theoretigal English grammar.M.,1983
2 .blokh M.Y.A course in modern English grammar.M., 2002
3.Intenyeva N.F., SHapkin A.P., Blokh M.Y.The structure of English sentence.M., 1989.
4.Intenyeva N.F., Barsova O.M.,Blokh M.Y., SHapking A.P.A Theoretigal English
Grammar (syntax).M., 1979.
5.Iofik L.L., CHakhoyan L.P.Peadings in the theory of English grammar.L., 1982