Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lecture 10
Lecture 10
Lecture 10
I, 2021
1
As identified by Biber, Conrad and Leech in The Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. London:
Longman, 2002.
2
This section mainly draws on Greenbaum & Quirk’s A Student’s Grammar of the English Language, 1990, and Bejan
& Bejan’s Morphology of contemporary English, 2005.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
Many words can be recognized as nouns by their suffixes, for example -ion (in action), -er (in
reader), -or (in actor), -ness (in business), -ity (in authority), -ment (in department) and -ship (in
friendship).
Nouns are common (cat, nature, wood, etc.) or proper (Britain, London, Mary, etc.). Proper
nouns are normally uncountable, but if they are turned into common nouns they borrow some
of the features of the latter. Thus, in The Nadia I know would not say that, the proper noun
Nadia is preceded by the determinative the, and in The Browns are on vacation, the proper
noun takes both the determiner and the plural –s.
According to the type of referent, common nouns can be concrete (nouns refer to people, places,
or things) or abstract (nouns refer to qualities, states, or actions).
In reference to their grammatical form, common nouns can be count/countable or non-
count/uncountable.
Count nouns have both a singular and a plural form and they can be accompanied by determiners that
refer to distinctions in number, such as a, one, every, etc. for singular nouns and ten, many, those for
plural nouns.
Non-count nouns refer to an indivisible mass and are treated as singular. They accept only
determiners that do not mark distinctions in number, such as some, much, your, that, etc. Most
abstract nouns are non-count. The definite article the can accompany both count and non-count
nouns, while the indefinite article a/ an can only precede singular count nouns. Some nouns may
be either count or non-count, depending on their meaning; compare He is good at statistics [non-
count] and He produced several good statistics [count].
In order to illustrate the conversion of non-count into count nouns, Greenbaum and Quirk (1990)
propose the following cases:
1. When the count noun refers to different kinds:
The shop has a large selection of cheeses.
2. When the count noun refers to units that are obvious in the situation.
I’ll have two coffees, please. (= two cups of coffee)
Similar conversions of non-count into count nouns are possible in Romanian. However, for the
Romanian speaker of English, it can be difficult to recognize certain nouns as non-count (for
instance, money, information, bread, chocolate, etc.) and use them accordingly. This happens
because their correspondents in Romanian are either countable - even if some of them are mass
nouns – such as informație - informații, pâine – pâini, săpun – săpunuri, ciocolată – ciocolate,
etc., or both countable and uncountable, for instance ban - bani meaning ‘coin; monetary unit’ but
also ‘a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; coins and banknotes
collectively’, or cunoștințe (mass, plural) as information and skills acquired through experience or
education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Other types of mass nouns (flour,
milk, meat, beer, wine, etc.) pose fewer problems because their behaviour regarding number is
similar in the two languages.
As the unitary constituent of the verb phrase, the lexical/main verb is the central element that determines
the functional and meaning relations in a clause. Its valency selects the rest of the elements in the clause.
Main verbs must occur in any normal clause or sentence (with the exception of verbless clauses
and ellipsis). Lexical verbs have the following characteristics:
A Morphological
✓ Lexical verbs have different forms signalling tense (present and past), aspect (perfect,
progressive), and voice (active and passive). (see 5.2.)
3
As identified by Biber, Conrad and Leech in The Longman student grammar of spoken and written English.
London: Longman, 2002.
4
A constituent is unitary if it has only one part. For example, if a sentence has just one main clause (as is the case
with simple and complex sentences) then that one clause is the unitary constituent of the sentence; similarly if a
phrase has just one word, then that single word is the unitary constituent of the phrase. (Lunn)
5
catenative verb = a verb--such as keep, promise, want, seem, and many others--that can link with other verbs to
form a chain or series. A catenative verb (also called a chain verb) takes a nonfinite clause as its complement.
(Nordquist)
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
Class I Class II
base form past form -ed part. base form past form -ed part.
bend bent bent mow mowed mown
earn earnt earnt shear sheared shorn
build built built show showed shown
learn learnt learnt swell swelled swollen
have had had
smell smelt smelt
make made made
spoil spoilt spoilt
The verbs in bold in the 2nd column also have The past is regular, but the participle has an -n
regular variants: earn, earned, earned inflection. All the verbs have regular variants for the
participle: mow, mowed, mowed.
The most common 'mental' verbs in conversation, fiction, newspaper writing, and academic
prose combined are:
believe consider expect feel find
hear know like listen love
mean need read remember see
suppose think understand want wonder
• causative verbs indicate that a person or thing helps to bring about a new state of
affairs and often occur with a derived noun as the direct object, which reports the
action that was facilitated. Ex.: Do you intend to allow its production?
The most common causative verbs are: allow, cause, enable, facilitate, help, let require etc.
• verbs of occurrence report events that occur without an actor. Ex.: The phenomenon
occurs especially at night.
The most common verbs of occurrence are especially common, in conversation, fiction,
newspaper writing, and academic prose combined: become, change, develop, die, grow,
happen, occur.
• verbs of existence or relationship report a state of existence or a logical relationship that
exists between entities.
Some of the most common existence verbs are copular verbs, such as seem and appear.
Ex.: He seemed worn out and sad.
Other verbs in this class report a state of existence (exist, stay, etc.) or a relationship between
entities (contain, include, etc.).
Some common existence/relationship verbs are:
appear contain exist include indicate involve
live look represent seem stand stay
• verbs of aspect characterize the stage of progress of an event or activity. Ex.: She started telling
him her story. The most common aspect verbs are begin, continue, keep, start and stop.
Multi-word verbs6
Inside the class of lexical verbs we should distinguish the group of multi-word verbs. According to
Hasselgård, Lysvåg, & Johansson (n.d.), a multi-word verb consists of two or more words which
function together like a single verb in making up meaning. A multi-word verb is usually a combination
of a verb and an adverb or a preposition, but other word classes may also be included.
Such combinations are also called verb idioms, as their meanings cannot normally be predicted
from the meaning of each individual component. For example, the meaning of the prepositional
verb to look after is different from the meanings of both to look and of after.
However, as with idioms in general, many multi-word verbs have a single-word verb with a similar
meaning.
multi-word verb one-word verb
6
As identified by Biber, Conrad and Leech in The Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. London:
Longman, 2002.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
7
Prepositional verbs are also known as ‘verbs with obligatory prepositions’, and this name shows, in a simplified
way, that they are fixed expressions.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
The first distinction they make is based on the presence or absence of a following NP:
The nature of a multi-word expression is determined by whether or not there is a
following noun phrase. When there is no following noun phrase (e.g. shut up or go away),
there are only two possible interpretations. It must be either an intransitive phrasal
verb, or a free combination of verb + adverb. If there is a following noun phrase (e.g.
find out the meaning), there are three possible interpretations. Either it is a transitive
phrasal verb, a transitive prepositional verb, or a free combination of verb +
adverbial prepositional phrase (2002, p. 124).
1) Checking for an idiomatic meaning is less reliable for the non-native speaker of English than the
other criteria, but it can still be useful for distinguishing between an intransitive phrasal verb and a free
combination when there is no following NP. Intransitive phrasal verbs usually have an idiomatic
meaning (as in Calm down! = become more relaxed or less angry/upset), while the words in free
combinations retain their own meanings (as in Don’t look back! = do not look behind you).
2) When there is a NP after the multi-word combination, prepositional verbs can be confused both
with transitive phrasal verbs and with free combinations. The confusion arises because of the
similar appearance of the prepositional complement/object of the preposition following the
prepositional verb or the verb in the free combination, and the prepositional adverb8 following the
phrasal verb or the verb in the free combination.
prepositional verb He looked after his old mother.
(verb+obligatory preposition)
free combination He looked behind the computer.
(verb + preposition)
transitive phrasal verb He looked up the word in a dictionary.
(verb+prepositional adverb)
free combination He looked behind and hurried his step.
(verb+prepositional adverb)
If the particle can be placed both before and after the NP 9, then it is an adverbial particle and the
multi-word combination is a phrasal verb 10 , if not, it is a preposition and the multi-word
combination is either a prepositional verb or a verb + preposition free combination.
8
A prepositional adverb is an adverb which is identical (or similar) in form to a preposition to which it is
also related in meaning, for example on, by, off, over, about, past. (Words like out and away can be considered
prepositional adverbs because of their close relations to the complex prepositions out of and away from.)
Prepositional adverbs, unlike their matching prepositions, do not have a prepositional complement. For
example, in He jumped over the fence, over is a preposition, but in He jumped over it is a prepositional adverb.
Similar examples are: She fell down the stairs and She fell down. (Leech, 2006, pp. 89-90)
9
This is true about the majority of the transitive phrasal verbs, with the exception of two classes of such verbs:
inseparable phrasal verbs and separated phrasal verbs. With inseparable phrasal verbs the object NP occurs after
the adverbial particle (come across [a rare book] = find by chance, go over [something] = review, run into [someone]
= meet unexpectedly). With separated phrasal verbs, the NP functioning as object always occurs between the verb
and the adverbial particle. Examples: fit [somebody/something] in = to provide a place or time for, get [a plumber] in
= to arrange for someone to do a job in your home, get [a message] through = convey; transmit, see [this nightmare]
through = survive, overcome.
10
When the object of a transitive phrasal verb (underlined in the example) is a pronoun, the adverbial particle is
always placed after the object: He felt too hot in the winter coat, so he took it off.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
From the observation above it is easy to infer that main verbs can be contrasted with auxiliary
verbs, and the following characteristics of the auxiliary verbs can be identified:
✓ Unlike main verbs, auxiliaries do not have lexical meaning (think of the auxiliaries in
Romanian: if one says am mers, he/ she does not express any kind of possession, though
the verb a avea is used!)
✓ Auxiliary verbs always come before the main verb. Examples (the main verb is in bold):
has read, has been reading, are reading, may have been reading. The same is true about
Romanian (a citit, va citi, va fi citind)
✓ The primary verbs be, have and do can function as either auxiliary or main verbs. Compare
I don't like such things and I don't do such things. In the first example do is used as an
auxiliary (operator), and comes before the main verb like, while in the second it is used as
both an auxiliary preceding the main verb do, and as a main verb.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
✓ Auxiliaries are irregular in form. Be, for example, has 8 forms: am, is, are, was, were, be,
being, been. Have has 4 forms: has, have, had, having and do has five forms: does, do, did,
done, doing. Note that done and doing cannot be used as auxiliary forms.
✓ In Romanian, all the auxiliary verbs (a fi, a avea, a voi, a vrea) are primary verbs, although,
when used as auxiliaries, they have reduced flexion, as in the forms of a fi in conjuctiv
perfect (fi for all persons – să fi mers), of a avea in perfect compus (a instead of are for 3rd
person sg, as in el a mers vs el are o carte, etc.), and so on.
✓ The primary auxiliaries are different from each other and from the other auxiliaries. They
are used for the following forms:
• be for a. the progressive: was walking
b. the passive: was walked
• have for the perfect: has walked
• do as the dummy operator: did walk
✓ Auxiliaries can only occur together with a main verb (except in cases of ellipsis). When
used as auxiliaries, the primary verbs be, have and do are exclusively followed by non-
finite forms of the verb, as in:
is working be + present participle progressive
is worked be + past participle passive
has worked have + past participle perfect
does not work do + not + bare infinitive dummy operator
An interesting definition (Hudson, n.d.) contrasts auxiliaries, catenatives and operators: “An
auxiliary verb is a catenative which is also an operator.”
The author identifies the auxiliary verbs defined by this criterion as follows:
• be when followed by a non-finite verb (is working, was chosen, is to go)
• have when followed by a past participle (have finished)
• do when followed by an infinitive (did know)
• will, shall, can, may, must, ought
• (for some speakers) used, dare and need.
Hudson concludes that an auxiliary verb is a verb that combines two characteristics:
✓ support: It can support11 another verb.
✓ other distinctions: It allows subject inversion, negation, contraction but it does not allow do-
support and may not show subject agreement.
In English there are 9 central modal verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would and must.
Modal verbs add meanings relating to modality to the lexical verb. Ability (can, could),
11
They are each followed by a non-finite verb (raining, been, overcharged) which they 'support' in various ways. The
term 'auxiliary verb' refers to this support role. (Hudson, n.d.)
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
possibility or permission (can, may), obligation, necessity or likelihood (must, should), prediction,
intention or hypothesis (will, would), etc. are examples of modal meanings.
One grammatical approach groups all the modal auxiliaries except for must in pairs: will – would, can -
could, may -might, shall -should. Two types of relations can be identified between the members of a
modal pair:
1. Since the 2nd member is, historically, the past tense form of the former, it can express a past
time reference. Compare I can swim now. [present time reference] and I could swim when
I was a child. [past time reference].
2. In instances such as Can you help me? [present time reference] and Could you help me?
[present time reference], there is no difference in what regards the time reference. The
variation resides in the degree of politeness of the requests expressed in the two examples.
By generalizing this observation, we may say that there is a variation in the degree of
politeness, possibility, likelihood etc. as expressed by one or the other of the members of a
modal pair.
Modal auxiliaries have the following major characteristics:
✓ They always function as operators, as in Can you help me? or in I can’t, I’m sorry. As we
can see in the two examples, they are placed before the subject to form questions and before
not in negation. (see 2.4.2.)
✓ Except for may, modals occur in negative contractions: won’t, can’t, shan’t, mustn’t,
wouldn’t, couldn’t, mightn’t, shouldn’t.
✓ Like any other auxiliary, modals always come before the main verb: may be working, could
have gone.
✓ They are always followed by the bare infinitive (in one of its forms) of another verb, for
example can be, can have done, can be done, etc.
✓ They are defective verbs, that is, they have no other forms, such as -s forms, -ing forms or -ed forms.
✓ They can only appear in finite clauses, as in
I pray [that you may succeed].
I pray [for you to may succeed].
Need and dare are dual-function verbs, as they can behave either like modal auxiliaries (You
needn’t have brought flowers; How dare you?) or like main verbs (You do not need to get there
before 9; I didn't dare to say that aloud.). In the auxiliary use, these verbs function as the operator
for negation and interrogative.
5.4.2.4. Semi-modals12
Semi-modals (also called semi-auxiliaries/ lexical auxiliary/ periphrastic modals/ marginal modals/quasi-
modals) are multiword constructions based on auxiliary verbs that function like modal verbs.
12
As identified by Biber, Conrad and Leech in The Longman student grammar of spoken and written English. London:
Longman, 2002.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
The subcategory of semi-modals includes the following structures: be about to, be able to, be going
to, be likely to, (had) better, have to, (have) got to, ought to, be supposed to, used to. Some are
followed by an infinitive, others by a bare infinitive.
Semi-modals can be regarded as equivalents of the modal auxiliaries, because they express
meanings that can usually be paraphrased with a modal verb.
semi- modal example comment
modal
be able to can/ He is able to swim to the other bank of the river. ~
could He can swim to the other bank of the river.
be to will/ shall He is to return next year. ~ He will return next year. Be to indicates plans and arrangements,
like simple future, like will/shall, but
with a slight degree of uncertainty. He is
to return next year means that ‘he is
likely to return’, but it is not quite certain
whether the action will actually happen
or not.
must You are to take the floor, whether you like it or not. Be to may also express orders that
~ You must take the floor, whether you like it or not convey the idea of obligation or
necessity, almost like must, but it is not
as strong or direct.
had better should/ You had better call her at once. ~ You should/ No idea of comparison is conveyed by
ought to ought to call her at once. the comparative better. Its meaning is ‘it
would be good/advisable to’. Had better
expresses strong advice, we use it to tell
other people what to do.
She had better mind her own business. ~ She Had better may also express a threat; the
should/ ought to mind her own business. idea of ‘or else’ is implied.
If we are to finish before noon, we had better hurry. Had better in the main clause can combine
~ If we must finish before noon, we should/ ought with be to in an if-clause, when the main
to hurry. clause expresses a pre-condition
have to and must I have to report for duty within a week. (= I must report Have got to means the same as have to in
have got for duty within a week.) most situations. It is more common in an
I have got to talk to her. (= I have to/must talk to her.) informal style.
Did you have to do that? (was that necessary?)
Most semi-modals are fixed expressions, which cannot be inflected for tense or person. However,
some of them, like have to and be going to, are exceptions to this rule (past tense: She had to get
him out of there; third-person agreement: I don't think he is going to come.).
Some semi-modals can co-occur with a modal verb or another semi-modal (co-occurrence with a
modal: They may have to leave soon; co-occurrence with another semi-modal: I'm going to have
to charge you extra for that. Sorry!13
Together with dare and need, used to and ought to are on the boundary between the category of
the modal auxiliaries and that of lexical verbs, as they have characteristics from both. Thus, they
have negative contractions (usedn't and oughtn't) besides the do/did negative and interrogative,
13
According to www.phrasemix.com, this structure is used to talk about something that you need to do, but which
might annoy your listener. It is similar to going to need to, but friendlier-sounding. Going to have to is also used
to talk about things that you have to do in the future. Just a heads up - we're going to have to meet soon.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
but negation in general is quite uncommon with these verbs. Notice that used to and ought to are
followed by the to-infinitive:
A catenative verb is a verb that can be followed directly by another verb in the to-infinitive, bare
infinitive or present participle/gerund. A catenative verb governs a non-finite form of another verb
which, along with any clause it might introduce, serves as the direct object of the former.
In He deserves to win the cup, deserve is a catenative verb followed directly by the to-infinitive of win.
The verbs in this class are called catenative because of their ability to form chains, as in the (quite
extreme) example below.
He decided to agree to try practicing playing the guitar every day.
Most catenatives accept one form only; a few can take both infinitive and gerund forms, in which
case sometimes there is a difference in the meaning of the two structures. Compare
She stopped to look at the brochure. (= stopped with the purpose of looking at the brochure)
and
She stopped looking at the brochure. (= ceased the activity of looking at the brochure)
Catenatives form a class with fuzzy edges between auxiliary and lexical verbs. They resemble
auxiliaries in having little meaning and main verbs in requiring the do operator in questions and
negative statements (Compare Were they working? and Did they keep working?).
AUXILIARIES
As you can see in the tables below, catenative verbs may have aspectual meanings, denoting the
start, unfolding, or end of an action (e.g., stop running, get to like, continue to read), or modal
meanings such as ‘certainty’ and ‘usuality’ (seem to like, appear to be, tend to occur).
Aspectual catenatives (marking an activity as being in its initial, middle or final stage):
catenative aspectual meaning example
keep continuous activity They kept walking.
start initiated activity They started walking.
stop ended activity They stopped walking.
get initiated activity We should get moving.
tend habitual activity We tend to stay too long.
14
As described by Hasselgård, in Glossary of grammatical terms used in English Grammar: Theory and Use (2nd
edition) and Verbs and verb phrases.
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
Hasselgård (n.d.) contrasts verbs and verb phrases in the following sets of examples, and
consequently the relation between the two classes of constituents becomes obvious:
Exercises
- the remaining exercises in The Noun in Limba Engleză, Exerciţii pentru admiterea în
învăţământul superior;
8. For each of the following sentences, decide if the word or phrase in bold is a participle, a gerund,
or an infinitive.
1. The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and to
laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words which were better
unspoken. (Homer)
2. The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and to
laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words which were better
unspoken. (Homer)
3. There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but
what really broke a heart was taking away its dream--whatever that dream might be. (Pearl
Buck)
4. There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but
what really broke a heart was taking away its dream--whatever that dream might be. (Pearl
Buck)
5. Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. (George
Burns)
Exercise 5.24 Meanings of the modals
Paraphrase the meanings of the underlined modals in the sentences below.
1. If you hit volleys like this you will have lots of success.
2. In addition to the basic volley, you may have to play half-volleys.
3. If played badly, a half-volley can have drastic consequences.
4. The grip must be firm on impact.
5. Although you can use a two-handed volley, the major disadvantage is one of reach.
Further practice
http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/index.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
I. O. Macari, Lecture 10 sem. I, 2021
1. Identify all the verbs (both main verbs and auxiliaries, both finite and non-finite) in the following
text:
I was on my way to get roaring drunk from sheer embarrassment when Jordan Baker came out of
the house and stood at the head of the marble steps, leaning a little backward and looking with
contemptuous interest down into the garden. Welcome or not, I found it necessary to attach myself
to someone before I should begin to address cordial remarks to the passers-by. (…) I was still with
Jordan Baker. We were sitting at the table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl, who
gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter. I was enjoying myself now.
(From The Great Gatsby, J. S. Fitzgerald)
forbid, fight, lay, put, buy, earn, bend, take, leap, strike
3. Are the underlined verb forms below past tense forms or past participial forms?
4. Are the underlined verb forms below short infinitive or present tense?
*5. Have, need, used (to) and dare are sometimes used as operators and sometimes as main verbs.
For instance, do is a main verb in I did my homework and an operator in Do I know you? and I did
not do my homework.
Come up with sentences that illustrate
a) the operator use;
b) the main verb use for each of the four verbs listed above.
*6. Is there any change in meaning between the progressive and the non-progressive in the
following pairs?
*7. Is there any change in meaning between the perfect and non-perfect uses of the verbs in the
following pairs?
1) a) Germany won the World Cup. b) Germany has won the World Cup.
2) a) Mark destroys everything good. b) Mark has destroyed everything good.
3) a) It was an amazing spring term. b) It has been an amazing spring term.
4) a) Has this really meant something to you? b) Did this really mean something to you?
*8. Comment on the ambiguity of the following modal verbs underlined below:
9. Identify all the modal verbs in the excerpt below. What do they express (e.g., advice, admonition,
recommendation, obligation, indignation, supposition, a polite command, an enquiry, etc.)?
After all, what laws can be laid about books? (…) Nobody can say. Each must decide that question
for himself. To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let
them tell us how to read, what to read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of
those sanctuaries. Everywhere else we may be bound by laws and conventions – there we have
none. We must not squander our powers, helplessly and ignorantly, squirting half the house in
order to water a single rose-bush; we must train them, exactly and powerfully, here on the very
spot. (…) How are we to bring order into this multitudinous chaos and so get the deepest and
widest pleasure from what we read?
(from How Should One Read A Book?, Virginia Woolf?)
10. Certain verb forms and verb phrases (finite) have full assertive power; they are needed for a
sentence to be complete. Others (non-finite) do not assert fully and frequently appear in embedded
clauses. Indicate whether the verb forms italicized below are finite or non-finite:
*11. In My mother owns a mountain bike, the main (and only) verb in the clause is marked for
present tense, which locates the activity/state described in the clause in present time. Construct a
sentence which selects a verb that, although marked for present tense, refers to future/past events
or situations.
*12. Compare (1) I admire the couple posing for that photograph. – (2) I admire the couple’s
posing for that photograph. Can you spot the difference between the two verbs in bold? Explain.
13. Classify the italicized verbs below as either phrasal (forming an idiomatic unit with its adverb
particle) or prepositional (taking a PpP as its complement):