General Categorial Meaning of the Verb

S E M I N A R 1

P A R T 1

REALISATION OF GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF THE VERB

2. Verb Classifications: Semantic, Morphological and Functional

General Characteristics of Grammatical Categories of the Verb

Tense

Absolutive and Non-Absolutive Time Denotation

Problematic Cases in the English Tense System

The Problem of Futurity

P A R T 2

Study questions and Projects

Lexico-Grammatical Field of Temporality

Analytical Tendencies in the System of English Tenses

The Category of Finitude (Finiteness)

P A R T 3

Sentence parsing

Recommended Reading:

1. Blokh M.Y. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar. - M.:

Vyssaja Sckola, 1983. -P. 85-102; P. 137-176; P. 176-203

2. Morokhovskaya E.J. Fundamentals of English Grammar: Theory and

Practice. -Kyiv: Vysca Skola, 1993. - P. 184-194

3. Noth W. Handbook of Semiotics// Ed. Th.R.Sebeok. – Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. – P. 329-333.

4. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. -M.: Высшая школа, 1981. -С. 46-86

5. Хрестоматия по английской филологии// Составитель д-р филол. наук проф. Александрова О.В. – М: Высшая школа, 1991. – P/98-103

General Categorial Meaning of the Verb

Verb is defined as the part of speech with the general categorial meaning of process, presented dynamically, i.e. developing in time. This grammatical meaning is viewed broadly enough to include states, forms of existence, evaluations, attitudes, etc. As the general categorical meaning of the verb is the process that is represented dynamically, that is developing in time, this processual meaning is considered present in the semantics of verbs belonging to different subclasses.

The processual categorial meaning of the verb predetermines its combinability in the sentence with the nouns, used in the subject and object positions, as well as with the adverbial modifiers of actions. The verb performs the predicative function in the sentence.

In the sentence the finite verbs perform the function of the verb-predicate, expressing the processual categorical features of predication, that is the combination of such characteristics as time, aspect, voice and mood.

Predication characterizes the connections between the situation /event/ (= situational event) named in the sentence /or utterance and the reality objective or/ imagined. Due to this very fact in the sentence/utterance the finite verb expresses the categorial features of predication, namely:

time, aspect, voice, mood

The system of the English verb includes different analytical and synthetic forms. As for the derivational system of the English verb it's rather poor – in fact there are only a few productive affixes used to form new verbs -en, -fy, -ize:

wide - to widen

magnet - to magnify

mobile - to mobilize.

The most productive ways of verb formation are conversion and back formation /stress shift included/

e.g. work - to work, report - to report;

export - to export; enthusiasm - to enthuse

2. Verb Classifications: Semantic, Morphological and Functional

All English verbs are divided into two unequal groups in accordance with the ways they form their past form and participle 2. The group of standard/regular verbs which is very large uses the suffix -ed, the less numerous group of irregular verbs is subdivided into several subgroups according to the way they form the past form and participle 2.

The common ways are:

go-went a) suppletive forms;

keep - kept b) ablaut is combined with suffixation;

put - put c) unchangeable forms

Different semantic and lexico-grammatical features of the verb result in the division of the English verbs into two classes - open and closed. The notional-verbs belong to the open class whereas functional verbs, subdivided into auxiliary, modal and link verbs form the closed class as their number is strictly limited.

Notional verbs are the verbs which possess nominative value. They function as the predicates of the sentence/utterance, expressing all the scope of lexico-grammatical meanings. Functional verbs as a rule function as predicates only grammatically, some slight differences in their functioning depending on the fact whether these are auxiliary, modal or link verbs.

Auxiliary verbs are present in the analytical form as purely grammatical components, their lexical meaning is completely lost. This very fact allows of their combinability with the notional verb and doesn't lead to the contradictions between their semantics:

CF: I have * lost my umbrella

I have an umbrella

Link verbs function as independent syntactic elements, their semantics being vague, though they do differ from each other as far as the character of the connection they express, is concerned

e.g. to be, to keep /express the stability of the characteristic/

to become, to grow, to get, to turn /express the change of the characteristic/

Modal verbs express the attitude of the agent to the action expressed by the predicate. This attitude, be it ability, obligation, etc. advisability, necessity coincides with their grammatical meaning. Actually, it is quite difficult to say whether their lexical meaning is preserved in the predicate. It seems more likely that in case of modal verbs we deal with the fusion of grammatical and lexical meanings in the semantics of the attitude expressed.

It is common knowledge that modal verbs have defective paradigms as they are devoid of the categories of person and number, which are still present in the paradigm of the notional verbs. Some modal verbs do not have past forms, the future tense forms of some are expressed with the help of descriptive syntactic devices /e.g. to be able to, to be allowed to/.