Билет 19

1.The present participle

The present participle(1) is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective and adverb, serving as the qualifying-processual name. The categorical meaning of the present participle can be also defined as the meaning of a secondary parallel action.In the form the present participle is wholly homonymous with the gerund: it also ends in the suffix –ing.

The categorical paradigm of participle 1 includes 4 forms:

• The simple active (taking)

• The perfect active (having taken)

• The simple passive (being taken)

• The perfect passive (having been taken)

The present participle distinguishes the same grammatical categories as the gerund, that is, the category of perfectness/non-perfectness (phase, order, time relation, time correlation, and retrospective coordination) and the category of voice. Плоткин believes that the present participle has no category of voice, because, to his mind, the English verb has lost this category.

Grammarians usually do not mention the category of aspect as the category differentiated by the forms of participle 1 (continuous - non-continuous).

The category of perfectness/non-perfectness within the set of the forms of participle 1 is represented by the meaning of “perfect- non-perfect” which are expressed by the forms like telling-having told, being told-having been told. Such pairs of forms are private binary opposemes in which the perfect members are the marked members.

The perfect form of participle 1	The non-perfect form of participle 1
Render:
-the meaning of priority of the action denoted by this form of the action denoted by the predicate of the sentence (Having finished his confession, Jolyon sat with a thin cheek on his hand) or to another moment- which exactly is understood from the sentence.	-the meaning of simultaneity of the action denoted by this form of the action denoted by the predicate of the sentence (Walking down the road together they kept silence ), with the moment of speaking (And William, now being educated in England, has lent him his bicycle) or to another moment- which exactly is understood from the sentence. -the meaning of pror action, namely the meaning of the immediately preceding action. It is done by non-perfect P.1 of limitive verbs. P.1 is employed in the function of the adverbial modifier in such cases (Coming to a corral, we saw a fellow). If the non-perfect form of P.1 denotes a prior action, it precedes the predicate. -the meaning of the posterior action. If the non-perfect form of P.1 denotes a posterior action, it follows the predicate. (I then hired a car and proceeded direct to my home, arriving just before 12 o’clock)

The passive form of P.1 can render both a prior and a simultaneous action,

e.g. His name being mentioned, everybody decided that he would immediately lion them(priority)

She suffers much being placed in such a position (simultaneity)

Since the present participle possesses some traits of both adjective and adverb, the present participle is not only dual, but triple by its lexico-grammatical properties, which is displayed in its combinability and in its syntactical functioning.

The verb-type combinability of the present participle is revealed in its being combined with:

• Nouns/pronouns expressing the doer of the action (it happens in semi-predicative complexes of “complex object” and the absolute participial construction)

E.g. I saw the boy entering the room; the teacher being ill, the students were told to work independently.

• Nouns/pronouns expressing the object of the action

E.g .Look at these people demanding their delayed salaries

• Nouns/adjectives expressing the predicative

E.g Being your teacher, I do have some responsibilities; She appeared looking fresh and pretty.

• Modifying adverbs

E.g Did anybody notice a man sitting silently at the far at the end of the conference hall?

The adjective-type combinability of the present participle is revealed in its being combined with the modified nouns.

E.g The mother tried to pacify the crying baby; Look at these people demanding their delayed salaries.

The adverb-type combinability of the present participle is revealed in its being combined with the modified verbs.

E.g. He walked thinking about the problems he faced.

The present participle functions as:

• The predicatative

E.g. The effect of her words was terrifying.

• The attribute (prepositive and postpositive)

E.g. The crying girl is my daughter;

• The adverbial modifier

E.g. He walked thinking about the problems he faced; living there he shares the same problems and joys.

The grammatical character of the present participle allows its adjectivization. They may be distinguished by their distribution.

E.g. You are reassuring me in vain- The facts are not reassuring to me.

Adjectivized present participles combine with the degree adverbs more and most (such combinations are treated in grammar either as analytical forms, and in this case more and most lose their status of words-adverbs and become words-morphemes of adverbial meaning, or as free word-combinations).

E.g. Such apologies are so much more insulting than a slap in the face.

As any verbids, the present participle is capable of expressing “secondary” or “potential” predication; it ascribes a processual property to a person or thing. It results in the employment of participle 1 in semi-predicative constructions which similar to constructions of primary predication, also nominate situations.

They are the semi-predicative complexes of objective and subjective types:

E.g. Nobody noticed the scouts approaching the enemy trench (the complex object)

E.g. The telephone was heard buzzing in the study (the complex subject)

The present participle and the gerund are homonyms. They have the same ending- ing. They express the same grammatical categories.

The combinability of the present participle and the gerund is similar in its main features. For example, the both combine with nouns which follow them.

E.g. walking shoes-walking people; playing sonatas-playing kids ;waiting rooms-waiting people.

That’s why some grammarians ( Бархударов, Плоткин, Иванова) do not differentiate between the present participle and the gerund and consider them to be the same form wicj capable of being used in different syntactical conditions and express different meanings which are determined by the type of the context.

В.Я. Плоткин believes that the fact that the present participle has lost of its original suffix –end and replaced it with the suffix of the verbal substantive –ing testifies to the convergence of the gerund and the present participle and their affiliation into one verbal form. They became identical both in form and meaning/function. The similarity of meaning/function is revealed in the –ing-form’s functioning in the position characteristic of nouns, adjectives and adverbs. According to В.Я. Плоткин, this various syntactical functioning is not a sufficient ground to consider the –ing-form as a set of two homonymous forms of the “gerund” and the “present participle”, because these forms are not different enough in form and meaning.

В.Я. Плоткин dislikes the term “-ing-form “ and prefers the “gerund” filling the term with the extended content which embraces the notion of the “present participle”

According to М.Я. Блох, the differentiation between the present participle and the gerund can easily be illustrated by specialized gerund-testing and participle-testing.

The gerund-testing includes the noun-substitution.

E.g. he insisted on giving us some coconuts. - What did he insist on? - He insisted on our acceptance of the gift.

The other no less convincing evidence of the nounal featuring of the –ing-form is its natural occurrence in coordinative connections with the noun.

E.g. What he needs is relaxation and simple cheering a bit.

The participle-testing includes the adjective-adverb-substitution procedure.

E.g. He was in a terrifying condition. - In what kind of condition was he? - He was in an awful condition. (Adjective substitution procedure)

Closing the door he noticed a slip of paper on the floor. - When did he notice a slip of paper on the floor? - Then he noticed a slip of paper on the floor. (Adverb substitution procedure).

The participle also enters into associations with qualitative and stative adjectives

E.g. That was a false, but convincing show of affection.

The conversion of the gerund is nounal

E.g. your airing room- to take an airing before going to bed.

The conversion of the present participle is adjectival

E.g. a car passing by- a passing passion.

The homonymous phrases containing the present participle and the gerund are differentiated with the help of paraphrases

E.g. the typing instructor- the instructor of typing (gerund)

E.g. the typing instructor- the instructor who is typing (present participle).