2. Verb Classifications: Semantic, Morphological and Functional

All English verbs are divided into two unequal groups in accordance with the ways they form their past form and participle 2. The group of standard/regular verbs which is very large uses the suffix -ed, the less numerous group of irregular verbs is subdivided into several subgroups according to the way they form the past form and participle 2.

The common ways are:

go-went a) suppletive forms;

keep - kept b) ablaut is combined with suffixation;

put - put c) unchangeable forms

Different semantic and lexico-grammatical features of the verb result in the division of the English verbs into two classes - open and closed. The notional-verbs belong to the open class whereas functional verbs, subdivided into auxiliary, modal and link verbs form the closed class as their number is strictly limited.

Notional verbs are the verbs which possess nominative value. They function as the predicates of the sentence/utterance, expressing all the scope of lexico-grammatical meanings. Functional verbs as a rule function as predicates only grammatically, some slight differences in their functioning depending on the fact whether these are auxiliary, modal or link verbs.

Auxiliary verbs are present in the analytical form as purely grammatical components, their lexical meaning is completely lost. This very fact allows of their combinability with the notional verb and doesn't lead to the contradictions between their semantics:

CF: I have * lost my umbrella

I have an umbrella

Link verbs function as independent syntactic elements, their semantics being vague, though they do differ from each other as far as the character of the connection they express, is concerned

e.g. to be, to keep /express the stability of the characteristic/

to become, to grow, to get, to turn /express the change of the characteristic/

Modal verbs express the attitude of the agent to the action expressed by the predicate. This attitude, be it ability, obligation, etc. advisability, necessity coincides with their grammatical meaning. Actually, it is quite difficult to say whether their lexical meaning is preserved in the predicate. It seems more likely that in case of modal verbs we deal with the fusion of grammatical and lexical meanings in the semantics of the attitude expressed.

It is common knowledge that modal verbs have defective paradigms as they are devoid of the categories of person and number, which are still present in the paradigm of the notional verbs. Some modal verbs do not have past forms, the future tense forms of some are expressed with the help of descriptive syntactic devices /e.g. to be able to, to be allowed to/.

3. General Characteristic of Grammatical Categories of the English Verb

The English verb has a highly developed system of forms – all in all there are 18 forms in the verb paradigm most of which are analytical formations. Though the number of verbal categories is considerable they differ in rank and status. The main verbal categories constitute Finiteness of the predicate. There are Tense and Mood which are commonly recognized to be basic and universal for all human languages. Although Tense and Mood find their realization only in the form – derivation of the finite verbs, they are – the main categories of the verb. Aspect, Voice, Person and number are considered the attending categories in fact as they attend Tense.

Difficulties connected with the problem of aspect and tenses in the English language grammar are as follows:

a) the interaction of two verbal categories in a single form namely the categories of tense and aspect;

b) the existence and thus consequent confusion of grammatical, lexical, syntactical means of denoting the manner of action of the English verb;

c) the parallel existence of synthetic and analytical forms of the English verb.

4. Tense

It is important to distinguish between the general notion of time and the grammatical time proper = (or) grammatical temporality. Time, as well as space are the basic forms of the existence of matter, they both are obligatory properties of the objective reality.

Grammatical tenses can reflect real time in the actual speech (time) when the departing point coincides with the very moment of speech or the moment of immediate perception. But grammatical tenses can express relative time in case when the departing point does not coincide with the moment of speech.

The moment of speech is not stable, it constantly shifts /moves/ in time on the temporal axis. The moment of speech is viewed as a kind of borderline line between the past and the future.

It is traditional while dealing with time denotation in the English language to differentiate between lexical and grammatical means of expression.