Seminar 3

THE VERB AS A PART OF SPEECH IN ENGLISH AND UKRAINIAN

1. General Characteristics of the Verb as a Part of Speech

A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (“bring”, “read”), occurrence (“to decompose” (itself), “to glitter”), or a state of being (“exist”, “live”, “soak”, “stand”). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice.

It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (what we usually call subject, object, etc.). The verb is the most complex part of speech which expresses the predicative function of the sentence – the functions establishing the connection betwwen the situation (situational event) named in the utterance and reality. Verbs fall into 2 sets of forms profoundly different from each other: the finite set and the non-finite set.

The general categorial meaning of the verb is a process presented dynamically, i. E. Developing in time.

I n the sentence the finite verb invariably performs the function of the verb-predicate,expressing the processual categorial features of predication in time,aspect,voice and mood.

The non-finite verb performs different functions according to its intemediary (промежуточный) nature (subject, object, attribute). The non-finite forms of the verb in self-dependence (if they are used not as parts of the analytical verb forms) perform a potencially predicative function.

The stems of the verb may be: -simple (go,take,read); -sound-replacive (food-to...

feed); -stress-replacive (transport-to transport); -composite (blackmail-to blackmail-шантажировать); -phrasal (to have a smoke, to give up, to take care)

Verbs can be: of full-nominative value (notional verbs-значимые, сильные); of partial value (seminotional and functional verbs).

They never form predication themselves only together with other ones. Notional verbs-derivationaly open-are for changing; building another differnet grammatical category. Functional verbs- include auxilary verbs(be, have, do, shall). Modal verbs-expressing subjective attitude of the speaker to situation, ability, obligation, etc. Link verbs-introduce the nominal part of the predicate, which is commonly expressed by a noun,an adjective.

Grammatical categoris of the verb:

Correlation(соотношение, perfect-non-perfect); aspect; voice, mood, tense, number, person. Category of correlation-an action expressed by a perfect form, proceeds some moment in time

How long have you been here? (in this place) I’ve been to London twice.       (in dif. place)

Verb tense may be: 1) Simple stamps; 2) Sound-replacing stamps (vowel in the root).

The category of tense. The expression of grammatical time or “tense” is the most typical mfunction of the finite verbs. It is necessary to distinguish between lexical notion “time” and grammatical notion “time” (tense).

The cat. of mood is the most controvertial (спорный) category of the verb; it expresses the character of connection between the process denoted by the verb and the actual reality: imperative mood; subjunctive mood.