24. Grammatical categories and grammatical forms

grammatical meanings are strictly correlated . This means that there cannot exist a grammatical meaning in language without its counterpart .Such kindred meanings are correlated on some wider grammatical conception .The singular and the plural number both mean number . Again the present tense,the past tense and the future tense are correlated on the conception of tense common to all of them. Correlation can be defined as opposition of meaning of the same order/e.g.the present tense can be correlated only with the some other tense,but not with the number or degree of comparison. As we see in the basis of any grammatical correlation lies some wider grammatical conception which is called a gr category.Therefore,the grammatical category is a more or less wide grammatical conception that lies in the basis of grammatical correlation.Grammatically correlated meanings make the smallest grammatical system of meanings and forms which is called grammatical paradigm                                                                                                                                                                                                                   2)Any grammatical meaning must have its own specific form for its expression.Without which a grammatical meaning cannot be detected and identified.We recognize only such gr meanings which have specific forms for their expressions.

Gr form – any material means of expressing a gr meaning.There are different kinds of grammatical forms:1)inflections(work-worked) 2)self-gradation-чергування(begin-began-begun) 3)supplative forms(good-better-the best) 4)formal words-auxiliaries(be do have shall will) 5)word order(father killed a bear or a bear killed a father) 6)information and stress

In E we also differentiate btw zero and analytical forms :

Zero form – the absence of a positive indicator of a certain grammatical meaning in a paradigm

e.g. ask -> asked, will ask (no indicators)

Analytical form – when one gr meaning is expressed by more than one word of which at least one must be purely formal. E.g. was asked.

27. Verbals in English

Traditionally there are three verbals in English: the Infinitive, the Gerund and the Participle. Traditionally grammars distinguish two Participles (Prt I and Prt II) as different entities with different grammatical properties. As a rule verbals are considered to be non-finite forms of the verb, though with the exception of the Infinitive they, in many respects, can be listed among nouns (the gerund) or adjectives \ adverbs (The participles).

As non-finite forms of the verbs, that is not having the categories of person and number, they cannot as a rule be used in the function of the predicate by themselves with possibly one exception – the nominative absolute participial construction: he stood up his hands kept in his pockets.

All verbals have a double nature: they combine the verb with a respective nominal part of speech – the infinitive and the gerund with a noun; the participles with the adjective or the adverb. Therefore they maybe also treated as verbal nouns, verbal adjectives or verbal adverbs. Having a double nature verbals have also double properties respectively. Verbal properties of the verbals with the exception of the past participle which is an unchangeable entity and therefore cannot have any grammatical, morphological categories, all verbals have such morphological categories:

1. all of them have the category of perfect forms, their non-perfect forms express simultaneity with the finite verb e,g: reading a book I make/ made/ shall make notes of it, where the process of 'reading' belongs respectively either to the present, past or future tense. Whereas the perfect forms express priority in time: having read a book I give / gave or will give it to you. There is a marked distingtion between the following sentences: he is believed to be a friend of yours, and, he is believed to have been a friend of yours. The Gerund also displays such distinction: he told me of his writing a novel; he told me of his having written a novel.

Note. Some prior actions from the Ukrainian point of view are simultaneous from the English point of view and therefore the respective forms differ in the contrasted languages: ввійшовши в кімнату він привітався is rendered in English: Entering the room he greeted everybody. Or почувши дзвінок вона пішла відкрити двері – hearing the bell she went to open the door.

Note. We must keep in mind that the opposition to the English participle which has only the category of perfect forms the Ukrainian дієприкметник активний can have the category of tense with 2 tenses: Present and past. It can also have the 2 forms in these tenses: the imperfective and perfective. But this is more peculiar to the Russian language not for Ukrainian: пишущий –написавший . In cases of simultaneity of actions the Engl. Participle can be rendered in Ukr-n with the help of the attribute clause. E.G. я побачив чоловіка, який стояв біля дверей, я бачу чоловіка, який ….I saw / see a man standing at the door. The same is true with the participle expressing a prior action but with one specification: the idea has a similar expression in both languages. E/G/ людина, яка приїхала до нас вчора – the man who arrived yesterday

2. all the verbals have the category of voice. This statement is good for transitive verbs. The infinitive has besides tense and voice distinction also the category of aspect. These 3 categories for the infinitive and the two categories (perfect-form and voice) for the gerund can be represented in the following table.

Voice, taxes/ aspect		active	Passive
Non-perfect	Infinitive Part I Gerund infinitive	To ask Asking To be asking	To be asked Being asked
Perfect forms	Infinitive Part I Gerund infinitive	To have asked Having asked To have been asking	To have been asked Having been asked

3. ) all verbals of transitive verbs can take a direct object: to read a book, reading a book.

4. Some verbals can be modified by adverbs: to read slowly, reading slowly.

Nominal properties of the Verbals.

As separate verbals combine the verb with either the substantive or with the adjective (adverb), nominal properties are different with each verbal. Thus, the nominal properties of the infinitive are restricted only to its syntactic possibilities of being used in the function of the subject or the object of the sentence. E.g to live means to work.

Nominal (Substantival) properties of the gerund. The gerund has more nominal properties than the infinitive:

1. it can be modified by possessive pronouns – his reading

2. it can be modified by demonstrative pronouns – I don't like that (such) reading.

3. It can be modified by the possessive case of the noun – Peter's reading

4. It can be proceeded by a preposition: before, after reading

5. It can be modified by an adjective – fluent reading

6. It can take the article – the /a reading

Some grammarians do not agree with items 5 and 6 arguing that in these cases we have not a gerund, but a different entity, traditionally called verbal nouns. We cannot share this view because of some reasons:

1. the gerund itself is nothing but a verbal noun

2. it is inconsistent to recognize the –ing form as a gerund when it is modified by the attributes in the form of a possessive or demonstrative pronoun and deny the status of the gerund in the same form when it is modified by an adjective in the function of an attribute.

3. One can hardly doubt that the following combinations with an article are normal gerund: I cannot deny the having accustomed myself to regard you as the boss of the company; you regret the having harbored unjust thoughts about me. One can argue that in these cases we have partial substantivation of the gerund. The proof for this statement is the presence of the definite article.

The so-called Half Gerund. When the gerund is proceeded by the common case of a noun or by the objective case of personal pronouns (I object against Peter doing it, or .. him doing it) then this form is called the half gerund on the ground that the –ing form in such cases comes very close to the gerund on the one hand and to the participle I on the other hand. But nevertheless the substantial nature of the –ing form in such cases is distinctly felt. Prof. Ilyish's example: I hate you going away so soon. Where "what I hate is not you , but your going away".

Adjectival/adverbial properties of the participle. Adjectival or adverbial properties of the participle are exercised in its syntactic functions of being used as either an attribute or a predicative. In this function the English participle corresponds to the Ukrainian дієприкметник: a reading pupil. But when the English participle is used in the function of an adverbial modifier it corresponds to the Ukrainian дієприслівник.

Somehow we are always apt to believe that Prt II has the passive meaning. This is explained by the fact that we actually deal almost exclusively with past participle form of the transitive verbs: made, asked, written. But there are cases when the forms of part II come from intransitive verbs which do not show the meaning of passivity: a fallen leaf, a withered flower, a retired officer. Therefore the form is neutral to voice- everything depends on lexical character of the verb.