9. The grammatical category of voice in English

The grammatical category of voice shows the direction of the process as regards the participants of the situation.

The voice of the English verb is expressed by the opposition of the passive form of the verb to the active form of the verb. The sign marking the passive form is the combination of the auxiliary be with the past participle of the conjugated verb (e.g.: be written). E.g.: Have you ever been told that you’re very good-looking?

The formula of the active voice is: N1 + Vact + N2 (noun 1 + verb in active form + noun 2). E.g.: Tom writes letters. The formula of the passive voice is: N2 + Vpas + BY + N1 (noun 2 + verb in passive form + preposition by + noun 1). E.g.: Letters are written by Tom.

In English there is the problem of “medial” voices, that is, the real voice meaning is not active, but the form of the verb is active. Let us consider the following examples: I will wash, and be ready for breakfast. Mary has dressed up.

The verbal meaning of the action performed by the subject upon itself is called as “reflexive”. We can add a reflexive self-pronoun to it: I will wash myself. Mary has dressed herself up.

The verbal meaning of the action performed by the subjects in the subject group on one another is called “reciprocal”. E.g.: The friends meet one another.

There is still a third use of the verb in English. It is Activo-Passive use of verbs pay, eat, read, sell, etc.

The verbal form of the action is in active, but the verbal meaning of the action is passive. E.g.: The newspapers are selling excellently.

10. The grammatical category of mood in English

Mood is defined as a grammatical category expressing the relation of the action to reality as stated by the speaker. In Modern English there are three moods: Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive.

The forms of the Indicative mood are used to present predication as reality, as a fact. E.g.: I study at the University named after Borys Grinchenko.

The Imperative mood serves to express requests, invitations, orders or commands. The necessary meaning is generally signaled by the context and intonation. E.g.: Open the door, please! Stop talking! Turn around! Don’t you forget it!

The Subjunctive mood shows that the action or state expressed by the verb is presented as a non-fact, as something desired. It is also used to express an emotional attitude of the speaker to real facts. E.g.: I wish I were an artist. May there always be sunshine! Be it so!

In Modern English the Subjunctive mood is almost out of use. The only regular survival of the present Subjunctive is the absence of inflection for the third person singular. It is be found in:

• elevated prose, slogans, a number of phrases, e.g.: So be it. Long live May Day! Be what may!

• formal style, e.g.: I insist that he do it.

• the only Past Subjunctive form is “were” is in the first and third person singular, e.g.: I wish I were a child. If he were president …

11. The classification of the simple sentences according to the purpose of utterance in English

The classification of the simple sentences is based on two principles:

• according to the purpose of the utterance (or type of communication);

• according to the structure.

I. According to the purpose of the utterance (or type of communication) we distinguish four kinds of sentences. They are: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences.

1. The declarative sentence. A declarative sentence states a fact in the positive or negative form. In a declarative sentence the subject precedes the predicate. It is generally pronounced with a falling intonation. E.g.: Charles Dickens is a famous English writer.

2. The interrogative sentence asks a question. It is formed by means of inversion. There are four kinds of questions. They are: general, special, alternative and disjunctive questions.

1) General question requires the answer yes or no. It is spoken with a rising intonation. They are formed by placing part of the predicate the auxiliary or modal verb before the subject of the sentences. E.g.: Do you like art? Can you speak English?

2) Special questions begin with an interrogative word and are spoken with a falling intonation. E.g.: Where do you live?

3) Alternative questions indicate choice and are spoken with a rising intonation in the first part and a falling intonation in the second part. E.g.: Do you live in town or in thecountry?

4) Disjunctive questions require the answer yes or no. They consist of a positive statement followed by a negative question, or a negative statement followed by a positive question. The first part is spoken with a falling intonation and the second part with a rising intonation. E.g.: You speak English, don’t you? You are not tired, are you?

3. The imperative sentence. An imperative sentence serves to induce a person to do something, so it expresses a command, an order, a request, an invitation, etc. Commands are characterized by a falling tone. E.g.: Stop talking! Requests and invitation are characterized by a rising intonation. E.g.: Open the door, please!

4. The exclamatory sentence. An exclamatory sentence expresses some kind of emotion or feeling. It often begins with the word what and how, it is always in the declarative form, and no inversion takes place. It is generally spoken with a falling intonation. E.g.: What a lovely day it is! What fine weather! How wonderful! Beautiful!