Inf. Constructions

(A) Objective-with-the-Infinitive

(B) Subjective Inf. Constr

(C) The For-to-Infinitive Construction

Inf. has a double nature – nominal and verbal (Inf. Developed from the verbal noun which became verbalized but retained some nominal properties.

1. The nominal character of the Inf. Is manifested in its syntactic functions. The Inf. Can be used: as the subject - To go on like this was dangerous.

As an object – I have never learnt to read or to write.

2. The verbal characteristics are as follows: (a) The Inf. Of transitive verbs can take a direct object – he began to feel some curiosity. (b) The Inf. can be modified by an adverb – He cannot write so quickly. (c) The Inf. has tense and aspect distinctions. The Inf. of transitive verbs has also voice distinctions.

Tense and aspect distinctions. The Indefinite Inf. expresses an action simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb, so it may refer to the present, past or future. I am/was/will be very glad to meet you.

The Continuous Inf. also expresses an action simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb, but it is an action in progress (tense and aspect). They happened to be standing there.

The Perfect Inf. denotes an action prior to the action expressed by the Inf. – I’m glad to have seen you!

After such verbs as to mean, to expect, to intend, to hope used in Past Indefinite, the Perfect Inf. shows that the hope or intention was not carried out. – I meant to have gone there. The same meaning can be conveyed by past perfect of the finite verb followed by the indefinite infinitive – I had meant to go there.

The Perfect Continuous Inf. denotes an action, which lasted a certain time before the action of the finite verb (tense and aspect) – For about ten days we seemed to have been living on nothing but cold meat.

Voice distinctions. The Inf. of transitive verbs has special forms for the Active and Passive voice: It is so glorious to love and to be loved.

In the sentences with the construction There is the inf. of some verbs can be active or passive without any change in the meaning: There’s no time to lose (to be lost).

Without participle to: 1 After auxiliary verbs (I don’t understand the meaning). 2 After modal verbs (except ought) (one must love what one has). 3 After sense perception verbs (I felt my heart jump), 4 After to let (Let us be the best friends in the world). 5 After to make and to have (заставлять) (What makes you think so?). 6 after to know (= to see) (I have often known a change of medicine work wonders). 7 After to bid (I bowed and waited thinking she would bid me take a seat). 8 After expressions had better, would rather, would sooner, cannot but, nothing but, cannot choose but. (I cannot think but so). 9 Special type of sent. beginning with why (Why not come and talk to her?)

Functions of the Inf. The Inf. can be used in different syntactic functions.

Subject. It is useless to discuss the question (introductory it, infinitive phrase).

Predicative. My intention is to get into parliament.

Part of a predicate: The house of Mrs. Betsy was not easy to find.

Part of a compound verbal predicate. With modal verbs: The train was to leave at midnight. With verbs, denoting beginning, duration & end: Before daylight it started to dazzle.

Object: Leila had learned to dance at school.

I found it impossible to leave (intr. It).

Part of a complex object: I never saw you act this way before.

Attribute: She is not a woman to suffer in silence. I’ve got my family to look after (obligation). That is a nice book to read before going to bed (idea of purpose).

Adverbial modifier:

purpose (sometimes introduced by in order, as so) : Laws were not made to be broken.

Result: I was too busy to see anyone.

Comparison (manner): She moved her hand as if to stop him.

Attendant circumstances: She was driven away never to return again.

Parenthesis: to cut a long story short, to say the least of it…

Inf. constructions.

Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is a construction in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the object case. Function in the sent. is a complex obj.

Used after a group of verbs: sense perception (I heard him sing), mental activity (We expect her to marry Ben), verbs of declaring (The surgeon pronounced the wound to be a slight one), wish and intention (I want you to come), feeling and emotion (I hate you to talk like this), order and permission (I ordered his carriage to be ready by 5), compulsion (The noise caused her to awake).

Subjective Inf. Constr. The inf. is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case. One part is a subject, another - part of a compound verbal predicate.

Used after a group of verbs: sense perception (he was heard to laugh), mental activity (He was thought to be honest and kindly), with to make (he was made to eat the porridge), to say and to report (Clouds are said to be the marks of bed weather).

Used after a group of words: to be likely/ to be sure/ to be certain (He is sure to marry her).

The For-to-Infinitive Construction. The inf. is in predicate relation to a noun or pronoun preceded the preposition for.

Functions in the sent.

Subj.: For me to ask would be a problem.

Predicate: That was for him to find out.

Complex object: He waited for her to speak.

Attribute: The best thing for you to do is to go away.

Adv. Mod. (purpose: He stepped aside for me to pass), (result: That was a great temptation for me to resist).

13) Тhe Participle

Forms of the Participle

There are two participles in English — participle I (present or –ing participle) and participle II (past or ‑ed participle). The forms of participle I coincide with those of the gerund:

Participle II of irregular verbs is their "third" form. It should be noted that some irregular verbs have two different forms of participle II. Some verbs have different participle forms for verbal and adjectival use: drunk/drunken, shaved/shaven, shrunk/ shrunken, sunk/sunken.

Functions of the Participles

Attribute

Participle II as an attribute can also be used in pre-position and post-position. In pre-position participle II can be used singly or in a phrase. Participle II in post-position can be used singly or in a phrase. A participial phrase in post-position can also be detached: His comedies, loved by many people all over the world, have been translated into many languages.

Adverbial Modifier

Participle II in this function is always preceded by a conjunction.

1. Adverbial modifier of time. When there is no change of subject, we can use the participle instead of an adverbial clause of time: Coming into the room, she saw that somebody had broken the window. (= when she came... she saw...)

2. Adverbial modifier of cause.

Both participle I (indefinite and passive) and participle II can be used in this function.

He changed his mind, realizing that the whole thing was useless.

Sentences with participle I as an adverbial modifier of cause belong to formal style: Being ill, he could not go to work. (= As he was ill... .)

3. Adverbial modifier of comparison.

Both participle I indefinite and participle II are introduced by the conjunctions as if, as though.

4. Adverbial modifier of manner / attendant circumstances.

Participle II denoting manner is introduced by as: Fill in the application form as instructed.

5. Adverbial modifier of condition.

Participle II is used here after the conjunction if:

The thing is very fragile. If dropped, it can break into very small pieces.

6. Adverbial modifier of concession.

Participle II and participle I as adverbial modifiers of concession are introduced by the conjunctions while, whilst, though.

Predicative

Both participle I (infinitive) and participle II can be used as predicatives:

The idea itself was disturbing.

She was disappointed.

Parenthesis

Both participle I and participle II are used in parenthetical expressions: frankly / generally speaking, judging by appearances, stated/put bluntly.

Dangling/Misrelated Participle

As has been said, we often use participles instead of finite clauses when the subject does not change. The normal attachment rule for both participle I and participle II is that their subject is assumed to be identical in reference to the subject of the finite verb. Getting into the train, she remembered that she had forgotten the ticket. (= When she was getting... she... .) Sometimes, however, ambiguous sentences may be found: *Waiting on the platform, a policeman arrested him. In this case it is not clear who was waiting on the platform, he or the policeman. This participle is called "misrelated" or "dangling" and should be avoided.

14) The perfect does reflect a kind of timing, though a purely relative way. Namely, it coordinates two times, locating one of them in retrospect towards the other. Should the grammatical meaning of the perfect have been exhausted by this function, it ought to have been placed into one and the same categorical system with the future, forming the integral category of time coordination( correspondingly prospective and retrospective). In reality, though, it cannot be done, because the perfect expresses not only time in relative retrospect, but also the very connection of a prior process with a time-limit reflected in a subsequent event. Thus, the perfect forms of the verb display a mixed, intermediary character, which places them apart both from the relative posterior tense and the aspective development. The true nature of the perfect is temporal aspect reflected in its own opposition, which cannot be reduced to any other opposition of the otherwise recognized verbal categories. The suggested name for this category will be “retrospective coordination”, or “retrospect”. The categorical member opposed to the perfect, for the sake of terminological consistency, will be named “imperfect”( non-perfect). As an independent category, the retrospective coordination is manifested in the integral verb-form together with the manifestations of other categories, among them the aspective category of development. Thus, alongside of the forms of perfect continuous and perfect indefinite, the verb distinguishes also the forms of imperfect continuous and imperfect indefinite.

15) The grammatical category of number

Presents a specific linguistic reflection of quantitative relations between homogeneous objects of reality conceptualized by the human mind. It is constituted by the binary opposition of singular and plural forms. The formal marker of the opposition is represented by several phonetically and historically conditioned allomorphs, such as [-z] (boys), [-s] (cats), [-iz] (classes), [0] (, sheep), [-en] (oxen), [ ae ] (antennae), [ ai] (radii) etc. There are quite a few doublets among the plural forms which differ either lexically (a penny - pennies (coins), pence ( a sum of money)

Semantically the forms of the plural are not homogeneous either. The paradigmatic meaning of plurality is represented by a number of syntagmatic variants, such as: discrete plurality (books, houses), indiscrete plurality (hours, miles), partitive plurality (spectacles), variety plurality (wines, cheeses, fruits,), space plurality (snows, sands, waters), family, or clan plurality {the Browns, the Smiths).

From the point of view of their number characteristics the English nouns fall into two classes: countable and uncountable. This feature of the noun determines its choice of the article, the quantitative pronoun and the form of the predicate (singular or plural). Uncountable nouns are further subdivided into two groups: Singularia Tantum and Pluralia Tantum. The group of Singularia Tantum includes:.1. names of abstract notions (love, friendship etc.); 2. names of mass materials ( bread, butter, sugar etc.); 3. names of some collective inanimate objects (foliage, machinery etc.); 4. names of sciences and professional activities ( medicine, architecture etc.); 5. nouns of heterogeneous semantics. This is a limited group and includes such nouns as: hair, advice; knowledge, money, information, news. The first four groups of nouns of Singularia Tantum denote concepts which are incompatible (несовместим.) with the idea of countability.

Singularia Tantum nouns, when used in the plural form, always acquire additional meanings. Tax moneys means considerable sums o.f money coming from various taxes (this explanation was suggested by an English speaker who used this noun in the plural).

The group of Pluralia Tantum nouns includes: 1. nouns denoting objects consisting of two parts ( trousers, spectacles etc.); 2. nouns denoting results of repeated processes (savings, labours, belongings etc.); 3. nouns of multitude (police, gentry, poultry, cattle);4. nouns of various semantics ( oats, outskirts, clothes etc.).

16) The category of case of English nouns

It’s a form of a noun showing the relations of that noun to other words in the sent. It helps to define the syntactic function of the N. in the sent. It’s a morphological category in English, because it’s represented by dif. w-forms of one and the same noun. Most linguists regard it as such & agree that the Eng. noun has 2 distinct cases, because it has 2 distinct form cases.

The genitive case- is built up by the opposition of 2 forms (the com.case & the genet.case). The form of the gen. case is marked. The formal marker is the case morpheme is represented by a number of phonol. conditioned allomorphs [s, z, iz]. It’s characterized by a number of points limit in its use in the lang. Its mainly applied to names of human beings, but it can be used with some inanimate nouns: esp. denoting time & space relations (yesterday’s paper) and some adverbs…

The common case- this form is unmarked & is represented by a zero morpheme. In plural nouns the case morpheme & the number morpheme are very often expressed by one & the same morpheme “ ‘ “: boys’ toys. In nouns that build up the plural with the help of other means but “s” ( children, women) the case morpheme is expressed separately by the suffix ‘s which follows the morpheme of number.The mean-g of the common case is very broad & extensive, it simply shows that this or that N is non-genetive. It can be used in any syntactic positions in the sent. The use of nouns in the common case is very frequent (98%).

The method of transformational analysis: the mean-g of gen.case:

1. possessive (John’s car, the bird’s nest) = John has a car

2. the subjective genitive (doctor’s advice, my husband’s arrival). Can be transformed: the doctor adviced…- the doer/subject of the action

3. the objective mean-g (John’s punishment, surprise) 2 ways of transformation: John was punished, smb surprised John- the sufferer of the action.

4. adverbial genitive (2 hours’ work)

5. genitive of destination (men’s shoes)

The number of cases in Modern English: there are dif. views on this problem. Historically there was one common case system for both nouns & personal pronouns in old English. Some scholars try to introduce a 3 case system. According to them nouns & personal pronouns have nominative case. Other scholars(J.Curme): find 4 cases –nominative, genitive, dative, accusative. Prof. Voroncova thinks that the category of case doesn’t exist in English because it’s not a case inflection(окончания).

17) Article is a determining unit of specific nature accompanying the noun in communicative collocation. Its special character is clearly seen against the background of determining words of half-notional semantics. The semantic purpose of the article is to specify the nounal referent , to define it in the most general way, without any explicitly expressed contrast. Another peculiarity of the article is that, in the absence of a determiner, the use of the article with the noun is quite obligatory, in so far as the cases of non-use of the article are subject to no less definite rules than the use of it. As for the various uses of nouns without an article,there are cases, when the articles are deliberately omitted out of stylistical considerations. We see such uses, for example, in telegraphic speech, in titles and headlines. Also there are cases of the semantically unspecified non-use of the article in various combinations of fixed type, such as prepositional phrases ( on fire, at hand), fixed verbal collocations (take place, make use) and the like.

17а) Different interpretations of the meaning of the English articles. The main functions of the English articles.

Nouns are preceded by atr. though much has been written about art, the theory of it is still problematic. The meaning of the art is extremely abstract and hard to define, but the main meanings can be summarized as follows: the ind art – with count nouns – the nominating meaning, to name an object; with uncount nouns – aspective meaning (esp with abstract nouns – a dull anger, after a long silence), to bring out a special abstract of the notion, expressed by a noun. The definite art: with count nouns (sing, pl)– individualizing meaning – it singles out an object or a group of objects from all the other objects of the same class; with count nouns (sing)– the generic meaning (The cat is the domestic animal) – the noun becomes a composite image of the all class of objects; with uncount nouns – the restricting meaning – may restrict the abstract notion, expressed by a noun to a specific instance (I didn’t want to show the joy I felt), restricts the material denoted to a definite quality or locality (The water in the glass was too cold to drink – quality, The water in the lake was too cold to bathe in – location). The absence of the art. always has the nominating meaning, as it is parallel to the use of the ind art.

The art. have morph and syntactical functions. MF is to serve as a formal indicator of the noun. The presence of the art signals that what follows is a noun. The art has 2 SF: the art. separates the noun from other parts of the sentence; the art is one of the means that serve to connect sentences within a text (I’ve bought a book – correlates – The book is interesting). If we apply the theory of communication we can see that the art. has a communicating function (new and old info, theme and rhyme). The absence of the art.- new info, the def.art.- the theme of the communication.

17б) theoretical and practical diffic. of the study of the articles

The article is a determiner of the noun.it-s function is to define the object or phenomenon in the most general way.The peculisrity of the art, is that in the absence of other determiners.The use of the art.With the noun is obligatory.One of the main theoretical difficulties of the study of the art.its status in the system of morphology/The problem is wheather the art is a separate word.That’s the lexical unity,one of the noun determiners.the meaning of the articles:The defin.article expr the indification or individualization of the noun.The use of this art shows that the object is taken in it’s concrete individual quality.The art can be replaced by a demonstrative pronoun(look at the tree=look at this tree).The indef art refers the object to a certain clas of similar objects(we saw a house=we saw a certain house).The absence of the art is also a disputable point.Some grammarians single out the so called zero article.Thus saying that there are 3 articles.In generaldiff uses of nouns without an art from the semantic point of view should bedividedinto 2 types:1)the art.is deliberately ommited out of stylistic considerations: in titles and headlines,various notices,in telegraphic speech(Coference starts Monday). In this cases the omitted articles can be easily restored.2)cases of traditionally fixedabsense of the art a)prepositions phrases(to bed) b)verbalphrases (to take place) c)repletion groups (day by day) d)with uncountable nouns(what awful weather).the choice of the art is closely connected with 2 types of attribute. The limiting attribute requires the defin art. The descriptive attribute requires indefinite art or the absence of the art with uncountable nouns and nouns in the plur.

18) The adjective expresses the categorial semantics of property of a substance. It means that each adjective used in the text presupposes relation to some noun the property of whose referent it denotes, such as its material, colour, dimensions, position, state, and other characteristics both permanent and temporary. It follows from this that, unlike nouns, adjectives do not possess a full nominative value. Indeed, words like long, hospitable, fragrant cannot effect any self-dependent nominations; In the sentence the adjective performs the functions of an attribute and a predicative. Of the two, the more specific function of the adjective is that of an attribute, since the function of a predicative can be performed by the noun as well. There is, though, a profound difference between the predicative uses of the adjective and the noun which is determined by their native categorial features. Namely, the predicative adjective expresses some attributive property of its noun-referent, whereas the predicative noun expresses various substantival characteristics of its referent, such as its identification or classification of different types. This can be shown on examples analysed by definitional and transformational procedures. F . eg: You talk to people as if they were a group. → You talk to people as if they formed a group. Quite obviously, he was a friend. —» His behaviour was like that of a friend. All the adjectives are traditionally divided into two large subclasses: qualitative and relative.

Relative adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the direct relation of the substance to some other substance. E.g.: wood — a wooden hut; mathematics — mathematical precision; history — a historical event; table — tabular presentation; colour — coloured postcards; surgery — surgical treatment; the Middle Ages — mediaeval rites.

The nature of this "relationship" in adjectives is best revealed by definitional correlations. Cf.: a wooden hut — a hut made of wood; a historical event — an event referring to a certain period of history; surgical treatment — treatment consisting in the implementation of surgery; etc.

Qualitative adjectives, as different from relative ones, denote various qualities of substances which admit of a quantitative estimation, i.e. of establishing their correlative quantitative measure. The measure of a quality can be estimated as high or low, adequate or inadequate, sufficient or insufficient, optimal or excessive. Cf.: an awkward situation — a very awkward situation; a difficult task — too difficult a task; an enthusiastic reception — rather an enthusiastic reception; a hearty welcome — not a very hearty welcome; etc.

19) Statives.

Blokh:Among the words signifying properties of a nounal referent there is a leximic set which claims to be recognied as a separate part of speech, a class of words different form the adjectives in its class-forming features. These are words built up by the prefix a- and denoting different states, mostly of temporary duration. Here belong lexemes like afraid, agog, adrift, ablaze. These are treated as predicative adjectives in traditional grammar.

Scherbs and Vinogradov were the first to identify notional words signifying states and specially used as predicatives. They called the newly identified part of speech the “category of state“ (Russian words: тепло, зябко, одиноко, радостно, жаль, лень).

The term “words of the category of state” being rather cumbersome form the technical point of view was later changed into “stative words” or “statives”.