3. Category of Aspect

Grammatical aspective meanings form a variable grammatical category which is traditionally associated with the opposition of con­tinuous and non-continuous forms of the verb. Yet, one can find a great divergence of opinions on the problem of the English aspect. The main difference lies in the interpretation of the categorial semantics of the oppositional members - continuous and indefinite forms: the categorial meaning of the continuous form is usually defined as the meaning of duration, while the interpretation of the categorial semantics of the Indefinite form causes controversy (the indefinite form may be interpreted as having no aspective meaning (LP. Ivanova), as a form having a vague content (G.N. Vorontsova), as a form stressing the fact of the performance of the action (A.I. Smirnitsky). In Modern Linguistics A.I. Smirnitsky's interpretation of the categorial semantics of the indefinite form is widely accepted.

In theoretical grammar the interpretation of perfect / non-perfect verb-forms also refers to disputable questions. Some linguists interpret the opposition of perfect / non-perfect forms as aspective (O. Jespersen, LP. Ivanova, G.N. Vorontsova), others - as the opposition of tense forms (H. Sweet, G.O. Curme, A. Korsakov). A.I. Smirnitsky was the first to prove that perfect and non-perfect make up a special, self-sufficient, category which he called the "category of time correlation"; this viewpoint is shared now by a vast majority of linguists.

Developing A.I. Smirnitsky's views on the categorial semantics of perfect / non-perfect forms, we can come to the conclusion that in English there exist two aspective categories: the category of develop­ment (based on the opposition of continuous and non-continuous forms) and the category of retrospective coordination (based on the opposition of perfect and non-perfect forms).

The perfect form has a mixed categorial meaning: it expresses both retrospective time coordination of the process and the connection of the prior action with a time-limit reflected in a subsequent event. The recognition of the two aspect categories also enables one to give a sound interpretation to the perfect continuous forms: they must be treated as forms having marks in both the aspect categories.

The opposition of continuous and non-continuous forms can be neutralized and transponized. Besides, in the category of development verbs which are usually not used in continuous forms can be subjected to the process of reverse transposition, e.g.: Were you wanting my help?

As for the opposition of perfect and non-perfect forms, it can undergo only the process of neutralization, transposition being alien to it.

4. Category of Voice

The category of voice occupies a peculiar place in the system of verbal categories because it reflects the direction of the process as re­gards the participants in the situation denoted by a syntactic construc­tion. The passive form, being marked, expresses the reception of the action by the subject of the syntactic construction; its weak counter-member - the active form - has the meaning of "non-passivity".

In comparison with Russian, the category of voice in English has a much broader representation as not only transitive but also intran­sitive objective verbs can be used in the passive voice.

Another peculiarity of voice distinctions of English verbs con­sists in the fact that active forms often convey passive meanings.