Lecture 5

Lecture 5. The Verb: General Characteristics. Person and Number

The verb in ModE has
- a highly developed system of grammatical categories;
- numerous analytical forms;
- non-finite forms.

The verbs is a notional part of speech distinct
- semantically - the meaning of process;
- formally / morphologically - 7 grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect, phase, mood, voice;
- functionally - the category of finitude and specific combinability.

Finitude - a set of opposed finite and non-finite forms.

Different approaches to verb classification:
- semantic;
- formal;
- functional.

Semantic classifications of the verb:
- notional:
* actional - statal (make - be)
* physical - mental (see - think)
* limitive - unlimitive - double aspective (arrive - live - look)
* transitive - intransitive (write a letter - live in Chelyabinsk)
- semi-notional (modal and aspective: must go, began working)
- functional (auxilliary and link: has done, is a student)

Formal classifications of the verb:
- regular - irregular
- grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect, phase, mood, voice

Functional classifications of the verb:
- finite (predicate)
* verbs of complete predication (she works)
* verbs of incomplete predication (she can work, she is a worker)
- non-finite (infinitive, gerund, participles)
- ample combinability (most typical combinations - with the noun and the adverb)

Morphosyntactic categories of the verb:
person and number (subject-related categories)

category/ person number
plane

form -s (The bird flieS) -s (The telephone ringS)

meaning participants (I, we oneness - more than oneness
you) - non-participants
(he, she, it, they)
in communication

function predicate predicate

The category of person and number is expressed syncretically.

The wheat IS ripe. - The oats ARE ripe.
My family IS small. - My family ARE early risers.


The category of person

Form 3rd person singular Nnon-3rd person singular
class/
plane

form marked (he, she, it, unmarked (I, we, you, they)
the flower) grows grow

meaning marked unmarked (both participants
(non-participants) and non-participants)

function predicate predicate


The category of number

Form 3rd person singular 3rd person plural
class/
plane

form marked (he, she, it) unmarked (they) go
goes

meaning marked marked
(non participants) (non-participants)

function predicate predicate


Types of relations between the subject and the predicate-verb (L.S. Barchudarov)

- formal agreement
The wheat is ripe (singularia tantum). - The oats are ripe (pluralia tantum).

- formal agreement and semantic correspondence
The book is interesting. - The books are interesting.

- semantic correspondence
The crowd was cheerful. - The crowd were pushing.


Ways of expressing semantic correspondence
- a collective noun - a noun of multitude (audience, company, family, group)
- pronouns (all, none, neither, who)
- word combinations
* with a numeral attribute (The years is a long time)
* characterized by coordination (Time and money is what you need)
* pronouns who and that in relative clauses (I who am unacquainted with this theory / he who is / they who are)