1.

CONTRASTIVE STUDIES (CS)

- Contrastive studies deal with the process of comparison of languages, with the goal of establishing
similarities and differences. Comparison is present in translation where we unconsciously compare languages
after which we can draw some conclusions about, for example, word order, indirect speech, etc.
e.g. Where was he? She asked where he had been.
Gde je on bio? Pitala je gde je on bio.
In the first translation we see that the word order is the same (auxiliary then the
subject). In the second translation we can notice the difference in the second part of
the sentence, where in English we have to follow the rules of sequence of tenses and
shift the tense; also, the word order is not the same as the subject precedes the
auxiliary in English, but follows it in Serbian.
- Translation is an example of non-systematic comparison (fragmentary), because we think only about
certain segments when translating (sentences, words…) but not the entire language system.
- Contrastive studies should be:
- SCIENTIFIC - to analyze by following rules; it should be empirical and rely on facts, to
use evidence and objective opinion to reach conclusions.
- SYSTEMATIC - to analyze the whole system, not just segments
- These contrastive studies imply 3 segments:
a) CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS (CA) (systematic comparison, compares the entire system) - it
is a technique (procedure) in CS to do comparison in order to find some common features and it is based on
those features (we cannot compare 2 languages if the examined feature is not present in one of them); CA
includes 2 basic notions: description & comparison.
b) TRANSLATION THEORY (non-systematic, compares certain segments) - it explains the
process of translation, tries to find translation equivalents and to establish techniques.
c) ERROR ANALYSIS (non-systematic, compares certain segments) – has as its aim to
determine the most common errors, to locate them and to try to correct and explain them. It helps in language
teaching and is of great significance for learners of foreign language.

- CA can have 4 four phases:

1) COLLECTION OF DATA - gathering linguistic data from lg A & B, creating the
corpus/corpora. There are 2 basic options of collecting data: questionnaire - given to a group of people to fill in,
to translate something or published translations - a work that is already translated can be used as a source (e.g.
on certain pages mark the translated forms of present perfect).
2) DESCRIPTION - the gathered data is described
3) COMPARISON - on the basis of gathered and described data, languages A & B are
compared.
4) FORMULATION OF CONTRAST - this is where conclusions are established
- The aforementioned phases of CA are simplified. There is a more detailed process:
1) COLLECTION OF DATA
2) ESTABLISHING TH COMPARABILITY CRITERION - defining the feature we want to
compare (tense, agreement…)
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 3) DEFINING THE NATURE OF SIMILARITY AND FORMULATING THE INITIAL
HYPOTHESIS - is the similarity present or not and making our first assumptions
4) TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS
5) REVISED HYPOTHESIS - if it is not working, revise it

2. STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTRASTIVE STUDIES

- There are 3 main stages: traditional, classical and modern.

1. TRADITIONAL (end of 19th century – WW2)
 In the beginning CA meant only general comparison (e.g. sounds of English, German,
French)
 Leonard Bloomfield – belonged to American Descriptive Linguistics movement. He
emphasized the importance of CA
 The Prague School in 1930s
 Benjamin Lee Whorf, 1941, Language and Logic (article). He coined the term
CA/CL (contrastive analysis/contrastive linguistics). He made the difference between
comparative and contrastive linguistics
O CLASSICAL (WW2 – c.1965)
 CA became fully recognized scientific discipline. It was applied in teaching
methodology, in composition of teaching materials and translation.
 Charles Fries /fri:z/ - Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language (1945, a
book) – “The most effective materials based on scientific description and carefully
compared with the description of a native language” (formation of the strong
hypothesis)
 Uriel Weinreich /vainraih/ - Languages in Contact (1953, a book); He introduced the
notion of interference
 Robert Lado – he is thought to be the founder of CA, he wrote a book Linguistics
across Cultures in 1957.
O MODERN (c.1965 – till today)
 Extensive contrastive studies began in this stage, they were long and in great
numbers.
 Elaboration of theoretical framework
 International conferences began (1968, 1971,…)
 Contrastive projects: The Yugoslav Contrastive Project, ed. by Rudolf Filipovic,
several volumes, Zagreb
3. TERTIUM COMPARATIONIS AND KINDS OF RELATIONS IN CONTRASTIVE STUDIES

- Comparability – when we compare languages A and B (A – source lg, B – target lg) we are using
directional comparison (you start from the source language and go to the target language in direct
line). Sometimes there is no comparability (articles, no articles in Serbian)

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- Formal (we look if there is the same structure in lgs A and B – word forms, constructions) and
semantic (we compare notions and categories – tense) comparability
- Tertium comparationis – the third element in comparison is the general feature which we try to find
in both languages. You study the realization and manifestation of this feature in lg A and lg B
(tertium comparationis can be definiteness when we compare articles in two languages)
- Equivalence – formal (words, structures) and semantic (notional) – one element in lg A has the same
or similar element in lg B.
- There is a smaller number of formal equivalence than semantic, because we convey the same
meaning with different structures (e.g. Do you drive? No. – Da li vozite? Ne. – the answer is both of
formal and semantic equivalence)
- In the when we have only semantic similarity, then we have the case of correspondence
- Types of relations between lgs A and B:
1. Convergent – two or more items of lg A are related to one item in lg B denoting the same
segment of reality - they have to mean the same (ujak, stric, teca – uncle)
2. Divergent – one item in lg A to two or more items in lg B denoting the same segment of
reality (zemlja – earth, soil, land, grand, country)
3. Partial equivalence – one element in lg A does not express all the elements of the lg B (They
have arrived./They arrived. = Oni su dosli.)
4. Zero relations – there is no element in lg A that will correspond to an element in lg B, or the
other way round. The corresponding element does not exist, there is a gap. (the = Ø,
apsolvent = Ø)

4. DEFINITIONS OF VERBS

- Some grammarians define verb:

1. Aristotle – He made the distinction between the nominal and verbal part, he wrote that rhema
indicates time reference and represents the predicate, while onoma(nominal part) has no time
reference.
2. Dionysius Thrax – Rhema is a part of speech without case inflections but inflected for tense,
person and number. It signifies an activity or a process performed or undergone.
3. Varro – Verb is a class with tense inflections
4. Priscian – Verb has a property to indicate an action or being acted on. It has tense and mood
forms, but it is not case inflected.
- According to these definitions we can sum up the criteria;
1. Meaning (action), form (without case inflections, inflected for tense, person and number),
function (predicate)
- According to these criteria there are 3 kinds of definitions: formal, functional and semantic
1. FORMAL – we use inflectional morphology to define verbs formally. In English, verb is a
part of speech with suffixes: -s, -ed, -ing, -en
 Problems: 1. Irregularities (be + -s = *bes, be + -ed = *beed)
2. Modals (they do not have these suffixes, but we still classify them as
verbs)
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  We can make a general definition which can be applied on other languages: verb is
inflected for tense, person, number and possible other categories
o FUNCTIONAL – Verb is the part of speech which has predication as its main function. It is
the main part of the predicate (predicator). We have 3 different types of predication (we use
test frames to show these types, the blank slot should be filled with the verb):
 Copulative predication – e.g. That man ____ pale. (S complement)
 Intransitive verb – e.g. That man ___ quickly. (without obligatory complementation)
 Transitive verb – e.g. That man ___ the book.
 Problems: In the first example we can insert the aux. IS which leads to a problem
because functions of auxiliary are not included (like passive and modality)
o SEMANTIC – Verb denotes an activity, state or a process
 The problem is with defining activity and state because they are subjective, and
semantic and formal definitions are contradictory on one another (e.g. I think this is
the best plan. – stated, having an opinion;I am thinking about your plan. – process)
 Another problem is that auxiliaries and modals don’t have lexical meaning and nouns
can denote states
 Because we are classifying auxiliaries also as verbs we have to specify their meaning
in the definition (grammatical meaning)
- For the final definition we use a combination of these three definitions: Verb is a part of speech
inflected for tense, number, person and possible other categories; it is a part of predication and
denotes activity, state and process.

5. MORPHOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH VERB

- There are 4 inflectional suffixes: -s (present tense), -ing (progressive (present participle), this suffix
can also be derivational (painting/ a painting), and we can determine its function because of a
determiner), -ed (past tense), -en (past participle- passive, present perfect, past perfect). These
suffixes are also called morphemes.
- These forms can be finite (marked for tense and person) and non-finite (infinitive, participle)
- There are some irregularities:
1. E.g. to walk, walk, walks, walking, walked (5 forms of a regular verb)
2. But, there can be more or less than 5 forms (to put has less than 5 forms, and to take has
more than 5 forms)
3. Also, verb to be is idiosyncratic (it is not formed just by adding suffixes, idio means specific
root or base)
- Modals are excluded from the paradigm (*to may, *musting)
- Be, have, do can function as lexical verbs, but they are not entirely like them
- Be: e.g. He has been working. (here be is aux., denotes progressive)
He is being examined by the doctor. (aux, denotes past progressive)
I’ll be waiting. (bare infinitive, without to)
She seems to be working. (to infinitive)

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 Conclusion: verb to be has all non-finite forms
- Have: e.g. Having done that, she left. (have here functions as participle – we know that it is an
auxiliary because it is followed by lexical verb)
She seems to have done it. (to inf.)
I will have done it by… (bare infinitive)
They had had lunch. (1st have – this is not past participle because in English the first
aux. has to be finite; 2 have – past participle, but lexical)
nd

Conclusion: this auxiliary lacks past participle, non-finite form

- DO: - operator – doesn’t have any non-finite forms as an auxiliary
Auxiliaries can appear in unstressed position and then they have weak forms

Strong Weak
Am /æm/ /m/, /əm/
Is /iz/ /s, z/
Have /hæv/ /əv, v/

6. SIMPLE AND COMPLEX VERB STRUCTURES

- Refers to the verb phrase

1. a) SIMPLE STRUCTURE – only one lexical verb with or without auxiliaries
 Vlex > runs ; Vlex + aux > is running
o b) COMPLEX STRUCTURE – one finite lexical verb + non-finite lexical verb
 Vlex + Vlex > She wanted to see him.
- In complex structures we have the relation of subordination and non-finite clauses
- Characteristics of complex structures are TNP features (Time, Negation, Passive)
- We will now apply TNP features and see how simple and complex structures act according to them
(aux + Vlex vs. Vlex + Vlex)
- TIME-MARKING (T in TNP)
- Lexical verbs – they can be marked for tense (time)
 e.g. They ran.
 They seemed to live the idea. > past, inflected for tense
 They seemed to have liked… > some kind of time marking on other verb; preceeding
time marking, not tense marking
- We can have 2 markings with 2 lexical verbs, but one tense marking.
 It seems [that they liked the idea]. – finite clause, we can mark for tense
- Depends on the context whether we can have two tense marking in complex structures
 Bill seems to like Mary. – if we introduce have between to and like we change the
meaning: without have – simultaneous; with have – preceeding
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  She is reading. – time marking on aux. in aux + Vlex
- NEGATION
- Basic rule: one negation in one clause
 E.g. He doesn’t like that book.
 He prefers not to answer that question.
 He doesn’t prefer to answer that question.
 He doesn’t prefer not to answer that question. (This one is theoretically acceptable
because of the rule – if we have two lexical verbs we can introduce two negations in
two separate clauses)
- Aux. + Vlex
 They were (not) reading.
 They don’t read.
 if we have only one lexical verb, we have only one possibility for negation
 ? Bill can’t not see them. – this is colloquial, it seems that with some modals we can
have two negations
o GENERAL RULE: If we have two lexical verbs we can theoretically negate both of them, in
the case of aux + Vlex only the auxiliary is negated
- PASSIVIZATION
1. Aux + Vlex - we can passivize
 Bill has seen Mary. > Marry has been seen. (by Bill)
o Vlex + Vlex – we cannot passivize
 Bill wants to meet Mary. > *Mary is wanted to meet by Bill. BUT: Mary wants to be
met by Bill (we passivized the second lexical verb)
 This construction is not voice neutral – this means that the active and passive forms
don’t have the same meaning.
- With simple clauses passivization is simple, but not with complex structures.
- EXCEPTION: Billy won’t meet Mary. > Mary won’t be met by Bill. (aux + Vlex)
 Won’t in passive sentence can mean future (than it is the same meaning as in the
active sentence), but it could have modal meaning – willingness = want (than it is not
voice neutral)
- SUBJECT AND COMPLEX VERB STRUCTURES
 The water runs / is running / may run down the street.
 * The water intended to run down the street. (but ‘kept’ can be used)
o Aux. + Vlex – we can introduce auxiliary regardless of subject
o Vlex + Vlex – we cannot introduce lexical verb without paying attention to the subject
(especially animacy)

7. SYNTACTIC CLASSIFICATION OF ENGLISH VERBS

- There are several classifications according to different criteria: morphosyntactic (formal) and
semantic.
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- We divide verbs into auxiliaries and lexical verbs according to:
1. Meaning – lexical verbs have referential meaning (they denote concepts from our reality)
whereas auxiliaries have grammatical meaning (function
2. Syntactic behavior: NICE Properties (Negation, Inversion, Coda, Emphasis)
- AUXILIARIES – characteristics
1. 1. NEGATION
 Aux + not / do + not ( if we negate the verb we negate auxiliary or operator do)
 E.g. * He readn’t that book.
 He doesn’t read. (can’t, isn’t)
 Exception: copula be can be negated (He isn’t a teacher.)
 E.g. She preferred not to ask them. (the lexical verb to ask is negated with a negative
particle, but this is how infinitives are negated in English)
 Implicit negation: We seldom visited them. (no other negative elements)
o 2. INVERSION – refers to interrogatives
 Rule: if we want to form a question, we use aux. or operator (do + S) and then VP
becomes discontinuous (aux. precedes subject) e.g. May I go? ; Has she gone?
 * Reads he? – Lexical verbs can’t do inversion.
 EXCEPTIONS: non-interrogative inversions (see question 8!)
o 3. CODA
 It is avoidance or repetition of VP or lexical verb (we use auxiliary, not the lexical
verb). The context for this is: … and so…
 E.g. I can visit him and so can she.
 Did you see them? Yes I did. / * saw (short answers)
 Auxiliary codes the entire VP – thus it is coda
o 4. EMPHASIS
 This is not a reliable criteria, because we can stress both auxiliaries and lexical verbs
 E.g. You ‘must see them. / I ‘like it. / I ‘do like it.
 Affirmation of a doubtful statement: e.g. I am not sure that we can get there on time.
We ‘can. (coda + emphasis)
 Denial of the negative: e.g. I don’t want to come. You ‘must come.
o There is one more context which is not included in NICE PROPERTIES.
5. QUESTION TAGS.
 Auxiliaries are used, not lexical verbs.
 E.g. He saw the film, didn’t he? / *sawn’t he?
 Semi-negatives (implicit negation) e.g. He has never tried, has he?
- Syntactic classification of verbs (the criterion is complementation).
1. Linking verbs (copulas) – linking verb + Cs (e.g. She is a teacher.)
2. Non-linking
 Transitive verbs – transitive verb + Od + (Oi)
 Intransitive verbs – intransitive verbs + Ø

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 8. NON-INTERROGATIVE INVERSION

- a) CONDITIONAL INVERSION
 Had I known the truth…
 Should you see him...
- b) LOCATIVE INVERSION
 Into the room walked the president.
 In the corner stood an armchair.
2. We have these instances out of stylistic effect, but only adverbials of place in initial position;
the verb usually denotes motion or position (walk, stand); we use lexical verb in inversion,
not aux.; these examples are rare and literary.
- c) NEGATIVE INVERSION
 Never have I been treated like that. – we use aux, but the context is not the same.
 E.g. Seldom have they seen such a sight. - adverbials with negative context; stylistic
use, literary.
 E.g. In none of his works (he, show/did he show) such a skill. / Not a soul (I, met/did
I meet) when I walked there. – If we have a negative implication, we use aux.
o We have to place the adverbials in the initial place and don’t use auxiliaries, but lexical
verbs.
 ________ The pirate ship lay [far out].
 ________ The car sped [round the bend].

9. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY AUXILIARIES IN ENGLISH

- According to meaning and morphosyntax we divide auxiliaries into primary (do, be, have) and
secondary (modals).
- Paradigm is a set of all possible combinations. To represent the paradigm of primary and secondary
auxiliaries we used declarative positive clauses, 3rd person singular.
- PRIMARY PARADIGM (primary aux. + Vlex)
Takes
Took
Is Taking
Was Taking
Has Taken
Had Taken
Has Been Taking
Had Been Taking
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 Is Taken
Was Taken
Is Being Taken
Was Being Taken
Has Been Taken
Had Been Taken
Has Been Being Taken
Had Been Being Taken

- There is no operator do, because these are not negatives and questions.
- The first column is finite, all other columns are non-finite. Present and past forms pared, 8 active
forms + 8 passive forms = 16
- This is a closed set, we cannot add new combinations other than listed in the paradigm
- All elements are in fixed order: *has being been taken
- 15 & 16 are theoretically possible
- He is / has to arrive tomorrow. – this combination is not in this paradigm because it has modal
meaning.

- SECONDARY PARADIGM (secondary aux. + Vlex)

Will Take
Would Take
Will Be Taking
Would Be Taking
Will Have Taken
Would Have Taken
Will Have Been Taking
Would Have Been Taking
Will Be Taken
Would Be Taken
Will Be Being Taken
Would Be Being Taken
Will Have Been Taken
Would Have Been Taken
Will Have Been Being taken
Would Have Been Being taken
- 8 active forms + 8 passive forms = 16
- 15 & 16 theoretically possible
- 1st column finite, others non-finite
- Problems: 1. Is would always past form of will?
2. Must has only half of the combinations. It lacks past forms

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- All other modals have all elements in the paradigm.

10. DYNAMIC AND STATIVE VERBS

- There are many classifications, but the most traditional one is into dynamic and stative. Some
grammarians write that it is fundamental (Quirk et al.) because on the basis of this classification we
can predict syntactic behavior. For instance, if a verb is stative then it cannot have progressive form.
- Dynamic verbs denote: actions, change, process, movement, they have segments or phases (e.g.
running – phases are movements of legs)
- Stative verbs denote: qualities or situations lasting in time, no change and no phases

- DYNAMIC VERBS
- Phases:
1. Beginning (initial phase) – there is a change from previous situation (e.g. standing – running)
2. Development – it could be just one moment (e.g. jump, kick – momentary verbs) or they can
have duration. Input of energy, there should be an agent – sb who is doing sth
3. End (final phase) – this can imply stopping (e.g. write) or finishing (e.g. write upon)
- We have to use generalization when we classify verbs.
- We distinguish internal speed (speed of the situation) and external speed (speed of time)
 e.g. run – internal speed of a situation is the very speed of the runner
- Dynamic verbs – internal vs. external speed – do not have to be the same (you can run faster),
whereas with the stative verbs internal and external speed have to be the same (you cannot increase
or decrease owning a car)
- Dynamic situation denotes a situation which requires an input of energy, implies motion and
developments and has phases (segments). Stative situation denotes a situation which doesn’t require
energy, there is no development and no segments, but we have an input of energy at the beginning of
a state (e.g. buy a car – creating the state of owning a car)
- SUBDIVISION OF DYNAMIC STATES
1. Activity verbs: run, swim, clean…
2. Process verbs: grow, widen…
3. Verbs of bodily sensation: ache, hurt…
4. Transitional event verbs (express complete, sudden change): die, arrive…
5. Momentary verbs: jump, kick, knock…
- Criteria used for each of these subgroups are:
o Subject is doing sth consciously – he is the agent
o The subject is the experiencer
o Semantic criteria – group of verbs meaning the same
o Semantic criteria – group of verbs meaning the same
o Duration
- Because of some overlappings a different classification was made. The main criterion is duration and
subgroups are sorted according to semantic criterion:
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 o Durative: activities, processes, verbs of bodily sensations
o Momentary: transitional event verbs, momentary verbs
- SUBDIVISION OF STATIVE VERBS
o Verbs of sensations (related to the senses): hear, feel…
o Mental states: emotions (love, hate, desire) and cognitions (think, believe)
o Relation verbs (relation between two entities): own, resemble…

- There are some overlappings between stative and dynamic verbs:

 e.g. think, taste – but in order to classify them clearly we have to observe the behavior
of these verbs in general context (typical situation)

11. VENDLER’S TESTS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS

- Vendler divided verbs into 4 types: activities, states, accomplishments, achievements

- The criteria he used were meaning and syntactic behavior. He used 3 tests to classify verbs:
o TEST ONE: for x time / in x time (x = any time)
 For x time – duration (without a specific goal)
 In x time – duration + goal
 e.g. She read for half an hour. / *She read in half an hour.
 She read that poem in 5minutes. / * for 5 minutes.
o TEST TWO: if someone stops Ving than one did V
 This is the conditional form, we have to use logic in this test
 This test relates to segments of a situation, each segment can represent the entire
situation like in the case of verb to write (without a goal)
 e.g. If someone stops writing, one did write.
 e.g. *If someone stops writing a poem, one did write a poem.
o TEST THREE: how long did it take to V? how long did sb V?
 This test includes duration + completion
 e.g. How long did it take to read that poem? *to read
 e.g. How long did she read? *read that poem?

12. VENDLER’S ATELIC SITUATIONS

- Greek telos means goal. + telic situations have a goal; - telic (atelic) don’t have a goal
- ACTIVITIES – types of situation, dynamic, have a structure (they have segments), segments are
equal (each segment can represent the entire situation); they are durative (have some duration), don’t
have a goal, no cumulation (repetition of one and the same segment), no natural terminal point (no
completion). e.g. read, write, swim
- We can represent activities graphically in a time line. it has a beginning, equal segments, and can be
continued.
- Tests:
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 o They swam *in 5 minutes / for 5 minutes.
o *How long did it take to swim? / How long did he swim?
o If somebody stops swimming, one did swim.
- STATES – not dynamic situations, they don’t have structure (no segments), they imply “lasting in
time”, have duration, don’t have a goal (atelic). e.g. own, possess, resemble
- Time line: they begin, last (no segments), and can be continued
- Tests:
o They owned the house for 1 year / *in one year.
o How long did (they) / *(it take to) own a house?
o If one stops owning a house, one did own a house.

13. VENDLER’S TELIC SITUATIONS

- ACCOMPLISHMENTS – they are dynamic situations; they have structure and segments, but
segments are not equal because there is cumulation (growth) – each new acquires a new quality in
relation to the previous segment, there is a goal (final terminal point) after which the situation
naturally ends; they have duration. These situations are VPs (verb + direct object). Examples: draw a
circle, write a poem, paint a picture.
- Time line: they have beginning, not equal segments and in certain point they end, can’t be continued
- Tests:
o He wrote a poem in 5 minutes / *for 5 minutes.
o How long did it take to write a poem? / *How long did you write a poem?
o If one stops writing a poem, one *did write a poem.
- ACHIEVEMENTS – they are momentary verbs, they have only one brief segment, they are
dynamic, have a goal. Examples: kick, jump, nod
- Tests:
o He jumped in 5 minutes / *for 5 minutes.
 But, “he jumped for 5 minutes” would be ok if it means repetition, but then it has
duration and becomes an activity (has segments)
 Achievement: They found the key in 5 minutes.(searching for the key – preceding
situation after which the key was found in a moment)
 Accomplishment: They painted the picture in 5 minutes. (they were painting for 5
minutes, and finished)
o How long did it take to find the key? (how much time did it pass before “find”) / *How long
did you find the key?
o *If one stops finding the key, one did find the key.

14. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES AND VENDLER’S CLASSIFICATION

- Distinctive feature is a semantic feature which is present or not.

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 - Vendler did not used distinctive features. Some other grammarians, like Laurel Brinton, did (She wrote the
book “The Development of English Aspectual System”). She distinguished between four features: stative,
durative, goal and voluntary. But if we mention either stative or voluntary feature, the other is unnecessary.
So, we can do it with three features, namely, +/- stative, +/-durative, +/-goal.
ACTIVITIES STATES ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
-stative +stative -stative -stative
+durative +durative +durative -durative
-goal -goal +goal +goal
- Features:
o Stative:
 -stative = +dynamic (there is an input of energy)
 +stative = -dynamic (no input of energy)
o Durative:
 +durative > possibility to last for some time
 -durative > momentary
o Goal:
 Notion of telicity (greek telos = goal)
 +telic > the situation has a goal
 -telic (atelic) > there is no goal
 e.g. to write a poem ( +telic, there is a definite entity which needs to be finished)
 e.g. pisati – napisati (na = telicity)

15. VENDLER’S CLASSIFICATION IN SERBIAN

- More ambiguous in English, not so much in Serbian, because in Serbian there is more developed
morphology (prefixes, suffixes). English has so many ambiguities because object is important (lexemes – verbs
+ NP). We need a clause or VP level in English, whereas in Serbian we observe verbs (lexical level) – we need
words to understand.
- e.g fall > - achievement = pasti
- activity = padati (but not done voluntarily)
- state = spada (his novel falls into three parts)
- e.g. grow up – accomplishment, because it has duration, there is a goal, a certain age
- e.g. make – activity = napraviti (in context it would usually mean accomplishment or achievement)
- e.g. buy – achievement (momentary) but: Somebody is buying a car. = activity
- e.g. sleep – state (some grammarians claim it is an activity)
- e.g. say = achievement

16. CONTEXT AND VENDLER’S TYPES IN ENGLISH

- Often in English verbs can be classified into more than one group, that’s why we need context,
because they are ambiguous.
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 - Activities, states, achievements – usually lexemes
- Accomplishments – VPs, not just lexemes
e.g. write (activity) +goal > write a poem (accomplishment)
- also think (she thinks he is beautiful. vs. he is thinking about that plan.) and hold can be both states
and activities
- When we are talking about context, we are actually discussing the influence of direct object and: if it
is present or absent; what is the type of object (countable/uncountable noun); whether it has a
determiner or not
e.g. They drank. (object – Ø, verb – activity)
e.g. They drank beer. – specifies the type of drinking, not how much, no goal (object
> uncountable/no determiner, verb – activity)
e.g. They drank a / the beer. (object – countable/determiner, verb – accomplishment)
e.g. She read. (object – Ø, verb – activity)
e.g. She read poems. (object – countable/no determiner, verb – activity)
e.g. She read a / the poem. (object – countable/determiner, verb – accomplishment)
- TENDENCIES (they are not rules because they are not always true, depends on the context, some
kind of generalization)
- Vactivity + determiner + noun (singular/plural) = accomplishment (She read the novel.)
- Vactivity + noun (singular)/noun uncountable = activity (He drank beer.)
- States usually remain states even after adding an object with determiner (She owned a car/cars.)

17. VENDLER’S TYPES AND VERBS WITH PREFIXES, PHRASAL VERBS AND COPULAS

- Prefixes seem to add telicity to verbs in English, but this is just a tendency. Examples: write (-goal)
> rewrite (+goal); cook (-goal) > overcook (+goal); live (-goal) > outlive (+goal)
- But, with stative verbs this is not the case (like > dislike)
- Phrasal verbs
o e.g. eat (activity) > eat up (accomplishment) – “up” implies goal, telicity, because of the
quantity “needs to be eaten” (the particle added the notion of telicity)
o e.g. find (achievement) > find out (achievement) – particle reemphasized the goal
o To sum up: role of the particles – sometime they make the situation telic, and sometimes
reemphasize the telicity, but this depends on the verb
- Copulas (+ Cs)
o e.g. turn red – telic, achievement
o Grow old – accomplishment
o Become rich – achievement, accomplishment

18. MOOD AND MODALITY IN ENGLISH

- Speaker’s attitude / evaluation of what is said: if it is possible, or not, is it a fact…

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 - Mood is a traditional category (from Latin and ancient Greek grammarians)
- We use specific forms of verbs to indicate mood. There are 3 kinds of mood:
o INDICATIVE – simply presenting facts, we don’t add any kind of attitude, it is mood neutral
o SUBJUNCTIVE – adding evaluation
o IMPERATIVE – order or instruction, demand
- MODALITY
o As far as productivity is concerned, modals are much more in use than subjunctive which
appears only in specific structures
o We differ modal and non-modal constructions
o Modals are markers of modality

19. SUBJUNCTIVE IN ENGLISH

- Present only in specific contexts, not frequent, you can’t take any indicative sentence and turn it into
subjunctive
- Types of subjunctive:
o DEPENDENT THAT-CLAUSE (MANDATORY/MANDATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE) – in
front of these clauses there have to be certain kinds of verbs: require, insist, demand… In this
type of subjunctive we use bare infinitive. It belongs to the formal style, slightly more frequent in
AmE. There exists similar context with some adjectives: important, necessary…
e.g. It is important/necessary that + subjunctive
e.g. We ask that every citizen watch closely any development.
e.g. It is necessary that every member inform himself of these rules.
o We can leave out ‘that’ and use infinitive if we don’t want to use subjunctive. We can also use
modal ‘should’
o FORMULAIC SUBJUNCTIVE (set expressions)
e.g. So be it! God forbid!
o Difference between mandative and formulaic – the first subjunctive type is productive, whereas
in the other case there is no productivity (there is no space for creating new structures)
o SEVERAL CONSTRUCTIONS WITH: WISH; IT’S (HIGH) TIME; AS IF/THOUGH
o WISH
e.g. I wish to know. ; I wish him to know. (these are indicative forms)
e.g. I wish I knew. ; I wish I had understood. (simple past/past perfect used to form the
third type of subjunctive)
o What is the form and temporal reference:
o 1. Form: simple past, temporal reference: present
o 2. Form: past perfect, temporal reference: past
e.g. I wish I could help you.
e.g. I wish you wouldn’t talk too much.

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 o Wish can be combined with: past simple; past perfect; modals (modal constructions – not
subjunctives but express the same meaning)
o HIGH TIME
e.g. It’s high time you stopped smoking.; It’s high time we went home. (form: past
simple; temporal reference: present)
o AS IF/THOUGH
e.g. He behaves as if he owns/owned the place. (owns – indicative, statement or fact,
neutral. Someone only describes how someone behaves; owned – subjunctive, irritating, not
neutral, and we know it’s not true)
e.g. He talks about Rome as if he had been there. (form: past perfect, temporal reference
– past)
o As if can be combined with indicative; past simple (temporal reference present); past perfect
(past, not distant, so not past before past, just simple past reference)
o HAD BETTER / WOULD RATHER
e.g. I’d better Ø go. (bare infinitive0
e.g. I’d rather he went. (standard English, if we change the subject we have to
use subjunctive – simple past)
e.g. I’d rather they hadn’t come. (past reference)
o CONDITIONALS
e.g. If they arrive / arrived / had arrived, she will go / would go / would have
gone.
o How are tenses used in if-clauses:
o First conditional: temporal reference – present
o Second conditional: the same as the first one
o Third conditional: temporal reference past (but not past before past)

20. CHARACTERISTICS OF ENGLISH MODALS

- Secondary auxiliaries
- They express different kinds of meanings: ability, possibility…
- They use bare infinitive (except ought to), they don’t take inflections, there is no non-finite form (no
progressive, perfective form). e.g. *they have mayed *they are maying
- Do some forms have past forms: can / could, may / might, will / would (these are past forms if we
use sequence of tenses, but they do not always mark past)
- Modals are first in VP because they are always finite
- No co-occurrence in one VP
- No imperatives *may!
- Dare & Need can be both modal and lexical verbs
- We established 3 general meanings of modals, namely, epistemic, deontic and dynamic.
- On the other hand, each modal has its specific meanings which can be divided into PRIMARY and
SECONDARY.
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 21. THREE GENERAL TYPES OF ENGLISH MODALS
Epistemic, Deontic and Dynamic modals
 Each modal has its own meanings
 We can generally divide modal meanings into 3 groups.
 There are overlappings (one and the same modal can be used epistemically, deontically…; it’s not a
clear-cut division)
 MODAL LOGIC - we have to explain the proposition and modality
 PROPOSITION -includes the verb and its argument/participants in a situation (patient, agent)
 MODALITY means the presence/absence of modal meanings
Lucy may visit us.
proposition: Lucy, visit us.
modality: may - expresses different kind of attitude (colouring) to the basic
meaning
 EPISTEMIC MODALS
- Greek episteme = knowledge
- Definition: According to the speaker’s knowledge/judgment, something is possible or necessary
- Constructions that can replace epistemically used modals: it is possible that…, it is necessary that…
- Modals which can be used epistemically: MAY, MUST, SHOULD, CAN, WILL
That will be our cousin. (checking: It is possible that it is our cousin)
They should be on holiday now.
He can’t be serious.
 DEONTIC MODALS
- Greek deont = something that is obligatory
- Deontic modals denote: obligation, permission, promise, order and command.
-Constructions that can replace deontically used modals: somebody is allowed/permitted to V
- Modals which can be used deontically: MAY, MUST, SHOULD, CAN, SHALL, NEED, OUGHT TO
- Modals used with deontic meaning have PERFORMATIVE function (going on right now, at the
time of speech)
He can go now.
She may leave the room.
 DYNAMIC MODALS
- Dynamic modals denote: ability, willingness, habit
- Modals used with this meaning are: CAN, WILL
- Constructions that can replace modals used with dynamic meaning: to be able to/capable/willing to do
V
She can fly.
She can help you to do your hw.

22. TIME MARKING AND ENGLISH MODALS

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 There are some tendencies (not rules, because there are exceptions) when it comes to syntactic behavior
TNV1
 We can therefore make predictions if we know the use of a modal (EP, DE, DY)
 TIME MARKINGS
- Epistemic modals - here we need proposition which is marked for time
- We use aux HAVE and past participle (HAVE + Ven)
They may have seen them.
- problems with these tendencies:
They might have seen them. MIGHT is only formally the past form of MAY, also we
can’t have two past markings
They may have been hurt. (there was a possibility, but we still don’t know for
sure)
They might have been hurt. (but they didn’t, MIGHT denotes unreality, not
realized, lower degree of possibility)
He may / might have had an accident.
-Deontic modals - they are performative (just a tendency), neither proposition nor modality is
marked for time (past)
She may come in now.
might - not past, more polite, less direct
- Epistemic necessity - the next examples don’t denote an order or obligation, but necessity in past
and HAVE fits into the tendency of epistemic modals
He had to come early
He ought to have done it.
He should have paid the bill.
- Dynamic modals - here, typically, only modality is marked for time.
She could run for 10 miles with ease when she was younger.
(was able)
She could have run 10 miles…
(epistemic - possibility which was not realized)

23. NEGATION, VOICE AND ENGLISH MODALS

 NEGATION
- Epistemic modals - we can negate either modality or the proposition
She can’t be in her office. (here we negated modality) It is impossible that she is in her office
She may ‘not be in her office. (here we negated the proposition) It is possible that she is not in
her office
- Deontic modals - we can also negate either modality or proposition
He may not come in now. He is not permitted to come in
He may ‘not go swimming. He is allowed not to go swimming. :)
- Dynamic - typically modality is negated

1
TNV = time markings, negation and voice
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 Bill can’t run 10 miles.
(is not able, capable)

 VOICE
- EP and DE are usually voice neutral (we can passivize without the change of meaning), whereas DY is
not voice neutral.
Tom may meet Mary on the train. (possibility)
Mary may be met by Tom on the train.

Bill can beat Tom. (DY - ability)

Tom can be beaten by Bill.(EP-possibility) when we passivize-only possibility

Bill may arrive tomorrow. It is possible and permission, but when transferred
(be arriving) into progressive means only possibility
He can’t be working. possibility
He will tell awful lies. dynamic - willingness
She must be working. epistemic - certainty, necessity

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