Grammatical Functions and Categories 29

(6) We disposed of the problem.

the word dispose remains morphologically a verb, carrying the inflection for tense, but
the sequence dispose of also functions as a single unit in semantic and syntactic terms:

(6) a. [We]NP/S [disposed]V/P [of the problem]PP.

b.[We]NP/S [disposed of]V/P [the problem]NP/Od.
c. [The problem]NP/S [was disposed of]VP

The words that follow the lexical verb in expressions like those in (1-3) are
morphologically invariable. They may be given a neutral functional designation
PARTICLE. It will be shown later that they belong to two distinct but overlapping
categories: prepositions and spatial adverbs (though the latter need not be used only
with spatial meanings). Some such particles are:

(7) a. against, among, as, at, beside, for, from, into, like, of, onto, upon, with, etc.
b. about, above, across, after, along, around, by, down, in, off, on, at, out, over,
past, round, through, under, up <AmE>, etc.
c. aback, ahead, apart, aside, astray, away, back, forward, home, in front, on
top, out <BrE>, together, etc.

The items in (7) a. are prepositions only, those in (7) c. are spatial adverbs only (unless
they form a part of a complex preposition), and those in (7) b. can be either prepositions
or spatial adverbs. The most obvious difference between them is that prepositions
require an NP as a prepositional complement to follow, whereas there is no such
requirement for adverbs. Only items from (7) b. are acceptable in both constructions:

Construction

Prepositional Adverbial

(8) a. The fierce dog charged at me. *The fierce dog charged at.
b. Jack fell down the hill. Jack fell down.
c. *We must look ahead the future. We must look ahead.

In (8) a. above the preposition cannot stand alone, and the adverb in (8) c. cannot take
an NP as a complement.

Prepositional verbs are complex verbs consisting of the basic verb followed by a
preposition, i.e. by items from (7) a. or b.), phrasal verbs are units consisting of a basic
verb followed by adverbs, i.e. items from (7) b. or c., while phrasal-prepositional verbs
consist of a basic verb followed by an adverb and a preposition.
30 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

2.T.2. Strong vs. weak verbs

The strong verbs are generally characterized by the internal change of the vowel in
the formation of the past tense, and by the addition of a suffix (-en, -n, or –ne) in the
formation of the past participle, which may be accompanied by a change of the inside
vowel but need not. Formerly all the verbs of this class formed their participle with the
above suffixes, but many have meanwhile discarded the suffix. This accounts for two
large groups:

(9) i. Strong verbs retaining the suffix:

arise – arose – arisen

blow – blew – blown
steal – stole – stolen

ii. Strong verbs which have lost the suffix:

become – became – become

fling – flung – flung
swim – swam - swum

The class of weak verbs comprises all the regular verbs and some irregular verbs.
Verbs of the weak conjugation add a dental suffix for the past tense, which may be
accompanied by various changes of the inside vowel (e.g. shortening a long vowel). The
past participle is identical to the past tense. There is also a mixed class strong-weak
verbs The dental suffix may be phonologically realized as [t], [d] or [ Id]. The suffix may
be “invisible”. Cf. Some examples of irregular weak verbs:

(10) creep – crept – crept

sweep – swept – swept

(11) bring – brought – brought

catch – caught – caught

(12) burst – burst – burst

set – set – set

(13) bend – bent – bent

spend – spent – spent

(14) bleed – bled – bled

meet – met - met
Grammatical Functions and Categories 31

2.T.3. Arrangement of irregular verbs according to the degree of similarity

between the base, the past tense and the past participle

The groupings of irregular verbs in the following list is based on the degree of the
allomorphic similarity of the base with the past tense and the past participle. In most
cases where a regular form exists side by side with the irregular one a capital R is
placed after the irregular form in the list. The verbs are arranged within groups
according to their phonological makeup, i.e. according to the vowel and the final
consonant (or consonant cluster).

l. base = past tense = past participle

hit hit hit

knit knit, R knit, R
quit quit, R1 quit, R1
slit slit slit
split split split

burst burst burst

cast cast cast
cost cost cost
thrust thrust thrust

bet bet, R bet, R

let let let
set set set

shed shed shed

shred shred, R shred, R
spread spread spread

bid bid bid

rid rid, R rid

cut cut cut

shut shut shut

hurt hurt hurt

put put put

2. base = past tense + -∂n = past participle

beat beat beaten

32 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

3. base change past tense = past participle

of vowel

cling clung clung

fling flung flung
sling slung slung
sting stung stung
string strung strung
swing swung swung
wring wrung wrung

bind bound bound

find found found
grind ground ground
wind wound wound

bleed bled bled

breed bred bred
feed fed fed
speed sped, R sped, R

lead led led

read read read

spin spun spun

win won won

sit sat sat

spit spat spat

(a)wake (a)woke, R (a)woke, R

(be)hold (be)held (be)held

dig dug dug

fight fought fought

get got got

hang hung, R hung, R

heave hove, R hove, R

meet met met

Grammatical Functions and Categories 33

shine shone shone

shoot shot shot

slide slid slid

slink slunk slunk

stick stuck stuck

strike struck struck

Similarly, except for the loss of [n]:

stand stood stood

understand understood understood

4. base change past tense = past participle -(∂)n

of vowel

bear bore born(e)

swear swore sworn
tear tore torn
wear wore worn

shear shore, R shorn, R

cleave clove cloven

freeze froze frozen
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
weave wove woven

bite bit bitten

hide hid hidden

break broke broken

choose chose chosen

forget forgot forgotten

lie lay lain

tread trod trodden

34 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

5. base change past tense change past participle

of vowel of vowel

drink drank drunk

shrink shrank shrunk
sink sank sunk
stink stank stunk

ring rang rung

sing sang sung
spring sprang sprung

begin began begun

swim swam swum

6. base change past tense change past participle = base # -(∂)n

of vowel of vowel

drive drove driven

strive strove striven
thrive throve, R thriven, R
ride rode ridden
stride strode stridden
smite smote smitten
write wrote written
(a)rise (a)rose (a)risen

fly flew flown

7. base change past tense past participle = base

of vowel

come came come

become became become

run ran run

Grammatical Functions and Categories 35

8. base change past tense past participle = base + -(∂)n

of vowel

blow blew blown

grow grew grown
know knew known
throw threw thrown

forsake forsook forsaken

shake shook shaken
take took taken

(for)bid (for)bade (for)bidden

(for)give (for)gave (for)given

(with)draw (with)drew (with)drawn

eat ate eaten

fall fell fallen

see saw seen

slay slew slain

9. base change past tense = past participle

of the final
consonant

bend bent bent

lend lent lent
rend rent rent
send sent sent
spend spent spent

build built built

gird girt, R girt, R

have had had

make made made

36 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

10. base change past tense = past participle

of the vowel
and of the
final consonant

beseech besought besought

teach taught taught

bring brought brought

catch caught caught

seek sought sought

Similarly, except for the loss of [k]:

think thought thought

11. base change past tense -d = past participle

of the vowel

sell sold sold

tell told told

flee fled fled

fly ( = flee) fled fled

hear heard heard

say said said

shoe shod shod

12. base change past tense -t = past participle

of the vowel

i. Base ends in unvoiced sound:

creep crept crept

keep kept kept
sleep slept slept
sweep swept swept
weep wept wept
leap leapt, R leapt, R
Grammatical Functions and Categories 37

ii. Base ends in voiced sound:

feel felt felt

kneel knelt, R knelt, R
deal dealt dealt
dream dreamt, R dreamt, R
lean leant, R leant, R
mean meant meant

buy bought bought

13. base change past tense -t = past participle

of the vowel
and of the
final consonant

bereave bereft, R bereft, R

cleave cleft cleft
leave left left

lose lost lost

14. base + -t = past tense = past participle

dwell dwelt, R dwelt, R

smell smelt, R smelt, R
spell spelt, R spelt, R

burn burnt, R burnt, R

learn learnt, R learnt, R

spill spilt, R spilt, R

spoil spoilt, R spoilt, R

15. base regular past tense past participle = base + -(∂)n

mow mowed mown, R

show showed shown, R
sow sowed sown, R

sew sewed sewn, R

hew hewed hewn, R

strew strewed strewn, R
38 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

lade laded laden

prove proved proven, R

saw sawed sawn, R

shave shaved shaven, R

Do, verbs with the suppletive forms (go and be) and the verbs that are irregular in
spelling only concomitantly do not fit any of the groups:

lay laid laid

pay paid paid

2.R. Readings

2.R.1. Recommended reading

Quirk, R., S. Greenbaum (1973: 3.1-17)

2.R.2. Further reading

Leech, Geoffrey, Jan Svartvik (1975: 595-626; 875-879)

Thomson, A.J., A.V. Martinet (1960: 362-364)

2.R.3. Sample texts for discussion

2.R.3.1. Rolf Berndt: A History of the English Language. Leipzig: Verlag

Enzyklopädie, 1989, page 127.

Apart from -(e)s, which marks the third person singular of the present indicative, the
verb (other than be) in Present-Day English no longer has any person-number affixes.
Speakers of non-standard varieties do not even accept this -(e)s as a person and number
Grammatical Functions and Categories 39

marking form any more, either doing away with it completely or using it (more or less
frequently) in all persons of the singular as well as in the plural (and thus treating it
more or less like a(n additional) signal of `present tense').

Presence or absence of -(e)s in the third person singular of the present tense, it is
true, still serves some purpose as a signal of `mood' (indicative vs. subjunctive) in
Modern Standard English. However as far as indication of person and number are
concerned, there is, in fact, no real `need' for inflectional suffixes, since the non-
inflectional means to be used obligatorily - distinct pronouns for number and person
and, in the third person, also number distinctive `head nouns' in subject noun phrases -
are perfectly sufficient to perform this function.

The present state of things, characterized by the almost total absence of inflectional
morphemes to mark number and person in the verb, did not, however, evolve until the
Modern English period. Up to that time, marking for the categories under consideration
was (very) similar to that still to be found in Modern German.

2.R.3.2. Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik: A

Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985,
103-104.

3.11 Irregular full verbs are like regular verbs in that their -s forms and their -ing
forms are predictable from the base (…). But they differ from regular verbs in that
either the past inflection, or the -ed participle inflection, or both of these, are irregular.

More precisely the major differences are:

(a) Irregular verbs either do not have the regular -ed inflection, or else have a variant of
that inflection in which the /d/ is devoiced to /t/ (eg: burn ~ burnt, which occurs
alongside the regular burned).

(b) Irregular verbs typically, but not invariably, have variation in their base vowel. The
explanation of this phenomenon, called GRADATION or ABLAUT, is historical,
and it is characteristic of Indo-European languages in general: choose ~ chose ~
chosen, write ~ wrote ~ written.

(c) Irregular verbs have a varying number of distinct forms. Since the –s form and the
-ing form are predictable for regular and irregular verbs alike, the only forms that
need be listed for irregular verbs are the base form (V), the past (V-ed1), and the –ed
participle (V-ed2). These are traditionally known as the PRINCIPAL PARTS of the
verb. Most irregular verbs have, like regular verbs, only one common form for the
past and the -ed participle; but there is considerable variation in this respect, as the
table shows:
40 Part 2: Verbs: Their forms and types

V V-ed1 V-ed2

all three forms alike: cut cut cut

V-ed1 = V-ed2: meet met met
V = V-ed1: beat beat beaten
V = V-ed2: come came come
all three forms different: speak spoke spoken

(…)

The 250 or so irregular verbs can be classified on the basis of criteria derived from
the above similarities and differences. Since it is impractical to account for both
pronunciation and spelling together, only pronunciation will be considered in setting up
classes of irregular verbs, and for that matter in deciding whether a verb is irregular or
not. The criteria of classification to be used are the following:

(a) Suffixation in V-ed1 and/or V-ed2 including not only the alveolar suffixes –ed/-t as in
dreamed/dreamt, but also, for V-ed2, nasal suffixes as in shaken, torn.

(b) V-ed identity: i.e. V-ed1 =V-ed2, as in met ~ met.

(c) Vowel identity, if the various principal parts show no difference of base vowel.

2.E. Exercises:

2.E.1. Identify all the verb forms in the text and comment on your list of verbs:

It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea. A mile
from shore a fishing boat chummed the water, and the word for Breakfast Flock flashed
through the air, till a crowd of a thousand seagulls came to dodge and fight for bits of
food. It was another day beginning. But way off alone, out by himself beyond boat and
shore, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was practicing. A hundred feet in the sky he lowered
his webbed feet, lifted his beak, and he strained to hold a painful hard twisting curve
through his wings...

2.E.2. How do we classify verbs? How do the classes differ from each other?

2.E.3. Use the verbs in 2.E.1. above as well as the forms below to give the rules for:

a. the phonological realization of V-s

kicks carries swims stretches jumps