SEMINAR 2: THE VERB.

Discussion:
1. General characteristics.
2. Classification of English verbs. Major verb classes.
3. The grammatical categories of person and number.
4. The grammatical category of tense.
5. The grammatical category of aspect.
6. Non-finite forms of the English verb (Verbals, Verbids).

References:

7. Белей Т. І. Theoretical Outline of English Grammar: Навчальний посібник з теоретичної

граматики англійської мови для студентів вищих навчальних закладів. Тернопіль: Вид-во
ТНПУ, 2012. 126 с.
8. Ніконова В. Г. Курс теоретичної граматики сучасної англійської мови : навчальний
посібник. Вінниця : Нова Книга, 2018. 360 с.
9. Харітонов І. К. Теоретична граматика сучасної англійської мови. Вінниця: Нова Книга,
2008. 352 с.

Task 1. In the text, point out a) notional, b) auxiliary verbs, c) modal verbs, and d) link
verbs.

The windows of the drawing-room opened onto a balcony overlooking the garden. At the far
end, against the wall, there was a slender pear tree in fullest, richest bloom; it stood perfect, as
though becalmed against the light-green sky. Bertha couldn't help feeling, even from this
distance, that it had not a single bud or a faded petal. Down below, in the garden beds, the red
and yellow tulips, heavy with flowers, seemed to lean upon the dusk. A grey cat, dragging its
belly, crept across the lawn, and a black one, its shadow, trailed after. The sight of them, so
intent and so quick, gave Bertha a curious shiver. Really she had everything. She was young.
Harry and she were as much in love as ever, and they got on together splendidly. They didn’t
have to worry about money. They had this absolutely satisfactory house and garden (K.
Mansfield).

Task 2. Classify the notional verbs given below into a) actional verbs, and b) statal verbs.

To live, to write, to preach, to worry, to weigh, to see, to forget, to feel, to arrive, to proliferate,
to rejoice, to be, to do, to act, to go, to survive, to perform, to make, to suffer, to stand, to
discover, to know, to reject.

Task 3. Give a functional classification of the notional verbs given below into a) subjective
verbs, and b) objective verbs.
To be over, to finish, to exist, to get, to make, to live, to jump, to go, to begin, to worry, to know,
to read, to suffer, to write, to notice, to recognize, to wish, to see, to appear, to love, to feel, to
give up, to consider, to lie, to lay, to start, to look forward to, to sit, to set.

Task 4. From the sentences given below, pick out all the verbs. State whether they are
subjective or objective. If they are objective, name transitive or intransitive among them.

1. She had spoiled his life, wounded his pride to death, and defrauded him of a son (Galsworthy).
2. The door opened, and a thick-set heavy-looking young man entered (Eliot). 3. The paddock
was fairly well filled with people and they were walking the horses around in a ring under the
trees behind the grand-stand (Hemingway). 4. Fleur did not answer. She stood for a moment
looking at him and her mother (Galsworthy). 5. After turning the matter over and consulting with
Irene, he wrote to his daughter (Galsworthy). 6. The soldiers pushed the foreign workers into
groups and led them off (Hemingway). 7. Hughson marched him up to a sort of a large desk that
was all glass and shining metal (Priestley). 8. While she stood hesitating, the door opened, and
an old man came forth shading a candle with one hand (Hardy). 9. Fleur looked at her watch and
rose hastily (Galsworthy).

Task 5. Name the word to which the following might be a definition.

a) time; b) non-absolutive; c) prospective time; d) primary time; e) absolutive.

A. It is the universal form of the continual consecutive change of phenomena.

B. It shows the differences between present, past and future, give a temporal characteristics to an
event from the point of view of its orientation in reference to the present moment.

C. It does not characterize an event in terms of orientation towards the present.

D. The process of receiving an absolutive time characterized by means of opposing the past tense
to the present tense.

E. The process of receiving a non-absolutive relative time characterized by means of opposing

the forms of the future tense to the forms of no future marking.

Task 6. Check if you can find the right word to insert.

a) a temporal characteristic, b) relative, c) simultaneous, d) present moment, e) moment of

speech, f) present-oriented, g) non-absolutive, h) preceding.

Time as the universal form of consecutive change of things should be appraised by the individual
in reference to the moment of his immediate perception of the outward reality. This moment of
immediate perception, or..., which is continually shifting in time, and the linguistic content of
which is the..., serves as the demarcation line between the past and the future. All the lexical
expressions of time, according as they refer or do not refer the denoted points or periods of time
directly or obliquely to this moment, are divided into... or "absolutive" expressions of time, and
"non-present-oriented" or ... expressions of time. The... time denotation shows the differences
between present, past and future (i.e. words like now, last week, in a couple of days). Such
expressions of time give ... to an event from the point of view of its orientation in reference to
the present moment. The... expression of time correlates two or more events showing some of
them either as ... the others, or following the others, or happening at one and the same time with
them (...).

Task 7. Complete the following sentences.

a) the past and the future, b) the finite verb, c) the outward reality, d) change of phenomena, e)
absolutive (primary) and relative (prospective), f) with the infinitive, g) opposing the past tense
to the present tense.

A. The immediate expression of grammatical time, or "tense" (Lat. tempus), is one of the typical
functions of....

B. The dialectical-materialist notion of time exposes it as the universal form of the continual
consecutive....

C. Time as the universal form of consecutive change of things should be appraised by the
individual in reference to the moment of his immediate perception of....

D. This moment of immediate perception, or "present moment", which is continually shifting in

time, and the linguistic content of which is the "moment of speech", serves as the demarcation
line between ...

E. In Modern English, the grammatical expression of verbal time, i.e. tense, is effected in two
correlated stages.......

F. At the first stage, the process receives an absolutive time characteristic by means of...

G. The category of prospective time is expressed in combinations of the verbs shall and will...

Task 8. Check if you can find the right word to insert.

a) differentiation, b) marked, c) retrospective coordination, d) blended, e) interpretation, f)

"continuous" form, g) aspective.

There are two... categories in Modern English: the category of development with the ... as the
marked component and the category of ... with the "perfect" form as the.....component. As aspect
of the verb is... with tense, the problem of their.....has become very important. The evolution of
views in connection with the....of these categories has undergone several stages.

Task 9. From the words given below, pick out a) verbs which have the category of
development, and b) verbs which have not this category.

To be, to have, to swim, to forget, to feel, to seem, to see to come, to like, to buy, to love, to
escape, to look, to appear, to walk, to hear, to believe, to arrive, to laugh, to work, to know, to
worry, to get, to remit, to move.

Task 10. Explain the use of the Continuous forms in the sentences given below.

1. I am reading a very interesting article in the newspaper. 2. Listen, she is singing so well. 3. I
was having thoughts about the state of the world. 4. I am staying at home today. 5. My
grandmother is always grumbling. 6. Then it's little enough you are knowing of any man living.
7. Look, they are crossing the street. 8. When you're older, you're older, you'll be seeing how it
is. 9. The expedition is starting in some days. 10. My dear Mother, if anything, I am
understanding the case. 11. My little nephew is such a naughty boy; he continually worrying his
parents. 12. This writer is working at a new book of poems. 13. They are leaving for Bulgaria in
a week. 14. What are you doing these days? - I am working at my article. 15. If you want to
know what thought, it was that you were just being rather stupid. 16. When I walked in, they all
were talking about babies. 17. I saw Sid when I was coming to work in the morning. He was
shopping. 18. I'll be meeting my old friend in Lviv soon. 19. Will you be using your diction on
the next lesson? 20. Will you have a cup of tea? - No, thank you. I'll be having lunch soon.

Task 11. Find the name to which the following might be a definition.

a) the passive voice, b) "medial" voices, c) the category of voice, d) the active voice, e) primary
passive, f) prepositional passive.

A. The functioning of the voice forms in other than the passive or active subject.

B. The form of the verb shows the relation between the action and its subject.

C. The form of the verb shows that the action is performed by its subject.

D. The form of the verb shows that the subject is acted upon, that it is the recipient of the action.

E. The subject of the passive construction generally corresponds to the direct object of the verb.

F. The subject of the passive construction corresponds to the prepositional object.

Task 12. Complete the following sentences or free the blanks in them using one of the
words from those given in brackets.

1. The grammatical category of voice shows the relation between the action and its
(subject/object).

2. The Active Voice shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject of the sentence is the
(agent/object) of the action expressed by the predicate verb, that it acts.

3. The Passive Voice serves to show that the person or thing denoted by the
(complement/subject) of the sentence is not the agent of the action expressed by the predicate
verb but is the object of this action.

4. The interrogative form is built up by placing the (first/second) auxiliary verb (after/before) the
subject of the sentence.

5. The negative form of the passive construction is built up by placing the particle "not"
(after/before) the (first/second) auxiliary.

6. As logical stress is laid on two different parts of the sentence in the active and in the passive,
the two constructions (should be/cannot be) regarded as interchangeable.
Task 13. State where the combination "to be +Participle II" is a Simple Verbal Predicate
(the Passive voice) and where it is a Compound Nominal Predicate.

1. This cottage is built of wood. Cottages are generally built of wood. 2. The door is shut, so we
can't come in. When the door is shut on the last visitor, the work is still continued in the
museum. 3. These books are being sold out fast. This book is sold out. 4. This fence is painted
every year. The fence is painted, don't touch it. 5. The door of our flat is locked at 11 p.m. The
door is locked, so nobody is in. 6. I don't know who this play is written by. 7. This dress is made
of silk. 8. This table is covered with green paper. 9. At the time the houses in Oak Crescent were
built it wasn't considered that the working classes needed bath. 10. The house was very solidly
built. 11. Everything was settled twenty minutes after I arrived there. 12. So that's all settled. 13.
I'm not often shocked, you know, but this does shock me a little. - Indeed? I am shocked to hear
it. 14. The two houses were connected by a gallery. 15. They were much talked about. 16. This
rule was explained to me twice.

Task 14. Define the type of mood in the following sentences: a) indicative, b) imperative, c)
subjunctive. State meaning of the mood forms.

1. In the summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river, and the
plain to the mountains. 2. Do it again and you will find it much easier. 3. If he came tomorrow,
we should go to the park. 4. It is essential that he should approach it with an open mind
(Linklater). 5. If I had that pain, I should think I had indigestion (Cronin). 6. I will try and be at
Throop Street if nothing interferes (Driser). 7. He insisted that the next size model should be on
production scale (Wilson). 8. Don't you go telling mother about it! 9. God bless you! I wish you
wouldn't interrupt me (Maugham). 10. If I were you, I should be more attentive. If she hadn't
interfered I should have gone too far (Williamson). 11. We hear you are engaged to be married
(Gerome). 12. Oh, if I were a little bird! I feel as if- as if something inside of me had gone away
on that boat and would never come back. 13. You sit still over there! 14. It is important that
everybody should know about it. 15. "Oh, I wish the July holidays were here," she kept saying
(Gordon). 16. Oh, don't let's have it again (Galsworthy). 17. You ought not to talk that way when
I am just speaking for your own good (Lewis). 18. He would have lived quietly to the end of his
life if a very strange thing had not happened one night.

Task 15. Define the type of the Subjunctive Mood: a) subjunctive 1, b) subjunctive II, c)
conditional, d) suppositional.

1. It is necessary that children should go to bed early. 2. If I were you I should be more attentive.
3. Success attend you! 4. If you were a man you'd never speak to her again. 5. They would enjoy
themselves much more if they had a party of their own. 6. She suggested that this date be a day
of international solidarity. 7. Write down my address lest you should forget it! 8. If we had got
the tickets we should have gone to the theatre. 9. Had he had enough time, he would have
attended the lectures. 10. If we had had more time, we should have considered all the
suggestions. 11. He demanded that his honour be satisfied. 12. It is important that everybody
should know about it. 13. If I were out of touch with my friends, I should be ashamed of myself.
14. They proposed to him that he become one of their gang. 15. But for his teeth, he'd be quite
good-looking. 16. But for the girl, he would have left immediately. 17. Even if her things had
been packed, she couldn't have been in time for the train. It started at two sharp. 18. I felt as
though I were making a bad joke.
Task 16. In the following sentences, pick out non-finite forms of the verb: a) the infinitive,
b) the gerund, c) the participle I, and d) the participle II. State the grammatical categories
rendered by them.
1. I can't hear a word, though he seems to be speaking. 2. He liked neither reading aloud nor
being read to. 3. Hearing a footstep below she rose and went to the top of the stairs. 4. I don't like
your going out without any money. 5. One of the students was suddenly taken ill and had to be
operated on immediately. 6. She didn't speak, being filled with the sense of silent confidence. 7.
They were old friends, having been at school together. 8. She denies having spoken with him. 9.
We didn't expect the boy to turn up so soon. 10. We were sorry to find out that most of the
museums we wanted to see that day were closed. 11. When writing letters he doesn't like to be
disturbed. 12. They were not worth saving. 13. He realized that his room needs painting. 14. He
is the man loved and admitted by everybody