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учебник_правка. Theoretical grammar as a brunch of linguistics
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Category of Person Present tense The verb to be; the third person singular of the verb Past tense The person is alien to it Future tense The use of will – shall    Fig. 57 From the formally morphemic point of view, the category of number is hardly featured at all. As a matter of fact, the more or less distinct morphemic featuring of the category of number can be seen only with the archaic forms of the unique be, both in the present tense and in the past tense (Fig. 58). Category of Number Present and Past tense the verb to be Future tense The number is alien to it   Fig. 58 A more regular way of expressing the categories of person and number is the use of personal pronouns. They are indispensable when the finite verb forms in the indicative as well as the subjunctive moods have no markers of person or number distinctions. Category of Tense The category of tense is considered to be an immanent (неотъемлемый, постоянный) grammatical category which means that the finite verb form always expresses time distinctions. The category of tense in English (as well as in Russian) expresses the relationship between the time of the action and the time of speaking. It reflects the objective category of time. The essential characteristic of the category of tense is that it relates the time of the action, event or state of affairs referred to in the sentence to the time of the utterance. When speaking of the expression of time by the verb, it is necessary to strictly distinguish between the general notion of time, the lexical denotation of time, and the grammatical time proper, or grammatical temporality (Fig. 59).      Fig. 59 All the lexical expressions of time are divided into “present-oriented”, or “absolutive” expressions of time, and “non-present-oriented”, “non-absolutive” expressions of time (Fig. 60). The absolutive time denotation distributes the intellective perception of time among three spheres: the sphere of the present, with the present moment included within its framework; the sphere of the past, which precedes the sphere of the present by way of retrospect; the sphere of the future, which follows the sphere of the present by way of prospect. The non-absolutive time denotation does not characterise an event in terms of orientation towards the present. This kind of denotation may be either “relative” or “factual”. The relative expression of time correlates two or more events showing some of them either as preceding the others, or following the others, or happening at one and the same time with them. The factual expression of time either directly states the astronomical time of an event, or else conveys this meaning in terms of historical landmarks.  Fig. 60 The category of tense (grammatical tense proper) finds different interpretations with different scholars. In traditional linguistics grammatical time is often represented as a three-form category consisting of the “linear” past, present, and future forms (Fig. 61). The time of speaking is designated as present time and is the starting point for the whole scale of time measuring. The time that follows the time of speaking is designated as future time; the time that precedes the time of speaking is designated as past time. Accordingly there are three tenses in English – the present tense, the future tense and the past tense which refer actions to present, future or past time. The future-in-the-past does not find its place in the scheme based on the linear principle, hence, this system is considered to be deficient, not covering all lingual data.  Fig. 61 At the same time linguists build up new systems of tenses in order to find a suitable place in them for future-in-the past. They express the idea that in English there exist two tense categories (Fig. 62). The first category – the category of primary time – expresses a direct retrospective evaluation of the time of the process denoted, due to which the process receives an absolutive time characteristic. This category is based upon the opposition of “the past tense” and “the present tense”, the present moment being the main temporal plane of verbal actions. The second tense category is the category of “prospective time”. It is based upon the opposition of “after-action” and “non-after-action”. The category of Prospect is relative by nature. It characterizes the action from the point of view of its correlation with some other action. As the future verbal form may be relative either to the present time, or to the past time included in non-future, the English verb acquires two different future forms: the future of the present and the future of the past.  Fig. 62 Category of Aspect The category of aspect is a linguistic representation of the objective category of Manner of Action. Grammatical aspective meanings form a variable grammatical category which is traditionally associated with the opposition of continuous and non-continuous forms of the verb. The realization of the category of aspect is closely connected with the lexical meaning of verbs (Fig. 63).  Fig. 63 A great divergence of opinions can be found on the problem of the English aspect (Table 5). Table 5 Evolution of Views
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
Category of Retrospect The category of retrospect or the category of perfect is as fundamental to the English verb as the categories of tense and aspect, whereas it is quite alien to the Russian verb. The category of perfect is constituted by the opposition of the perfect to the non-perfect (Fig. 64).     Fig. 64 The perfect forms denote action preceding certain moments of time in the present, past or future. The non-perfect forms denote actions belonging to certain moments of time in the present, past or future. In theoretical grammar the interpretation of perfect / non-perfect verb-forms refers to disputable questions (Table 6). Table 6 Evolution of Views
Some linguists interpret the opposition of perfect / non-perfect forms as aspective (0. Jespersen, I.P. 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. Smirnilsky’s views on the categorial semantics of perfect / non-perfect forms, M.Y. Bloch comes 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). 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 form of the verb may show whether the agent expressed by the subject is the doer of the action or the recipient of the action. The objective relations between the action and the subject or object of the action find their expression in language as the grammatical category of voice. Therefore, the category of voice reflects the objective relations between the action itself and the subject or object of the action. The category of voice is realized through the opposition active and passive voice. The active form has the meaning of “non-passivity”. It indicates that the action is directed from the subject or issues from the subject, thus the subject denotes the doer (agent) of the action. The passive form expresses the reception of the action by the subject of the syntactic construction. It indicates that the action is directed towards the subject. Here the subject expresses a person or non-person who or which is the receiver of the action. It does not act, but is acted upon and therefore affected by the action of the verb. 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. The realization of the voice category is restricted because of the implicit grammatical meaning of transitivity/intransitivity. In accordance with this meaning, all English verbs should fall into transitive and intransitive. However, the classification turns out to be more complex and comprises six groups:
There exist a big problem in connection with the voice identification in English is the problem of “medial” voices, i.e. the functioning of the voice forms in other than the passive or active meanings. Some scholars admit the existence of Middle, Reflexive and Reciprocal voices (Fig. 65).  Fig. 65 The verbal meaning of the action performed by the subject upon itself is classed as “reflexive” (the subject is both the agent and the recipient of the action at the same time). It is always possible to use a reflexive pronoun in this case. The verbal meaning of the action performed by the subjects in the subject group on one another is called “reciprocal”. It is always possible to use a reciprocal pronoun here. When the verbs primarily transitive develop an intransitive middle meaning they are used in the so called “Middle Voice”. However, it should be noted that all these meanings are not expressed morphologically. Category of Mood The meaning of this category is the attitude of the speaker or writer towards the content of the sentence, whether the speaker considers the action real, unreal, desirable, necessary, etc. It is expressed in the form of the verb. There are three moods in English – the indicative mood, the imperative mood and the oblique mood (Fig. 66). The indicative mood form shows that what is said must be regarded as a fact, as something which has occurred or is occurring at the moment of speaking or will occur in the future. It may denote actions with different time-reference and different aspective characteristics. Therefore the indicative mood has a wide variety of tense and aspect forms in the active and passive voice. The imperative mood expresses a command or a request to perform an action addressed to somebody, but not the action itself. As it does not actually denote an action as a real act, it has no tense category. The unfulfilled action always refers to the future. Aspect distinctions and voice distinctions are not characteristic of the imperative mood, although forms such as, be writing, be warned sometimes occur. This form is always addressed to the second person. The oblique mood expresses non-facts: unreal or hypothetical actions or states. A hypothetical action or state may be viewed upon as desired, necessary, possible, supposed, imaginary, or contradicting reality. In Old English the oblique mood was expressed by a special system of forms with a special set of inflections, different from those of the indicative. In the course of time most of the inflections were lost, and the difference between the forms of the oblique nd those of the indicative has almost disappeared. In Modern English there remain only two synthetic forms of the old regular system of the subjunctive, which differ from the forms of the indicative. Subjunctive I coincides with the plain verb stem for all persons in both the singular and the plural. It denotes a hypothetical action referring to the present or future. Of these surviving forms only be is always distinct from the indicative forms and is therefore rather current. Subjunctive II refers the hypothetical action to the present, future or past and shows that it contradicts reality. The non-factual past indefinite and past continuous are used to denote hypothetical actions in the present or future. The non-factual past perfect and past perfect continuous denote hypothetical actions in the past. Most of the later formations are analytical, built by means of the auxiliaries which developed from the modal verbs should and would,plus any form of the infinitive. According to their use and function analytic oblique forms may be divided into two groups.  Fig. 66 The Conditional Mood is formed by means of would + infinitive for all persons, both singular and plural. This form denotes an unreal action the unreality of which is due to the absence of necessary conditions. It may be used both in simple and complex sentences. The Suppositional Mood is formed by means of should+ infinitive for all persons, both singular and plural. This mood represents the action as problematic, but not contradicting reality. This form expresses necessity, suggestion, advice, supposition. NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB Verbals are the forms of the verb intermediary in many of their lexico-grammatical features between the verb and the non-processual parts of speech. Thus, these forms possess some verbal and some non-verbal features.The non-finite forms are four in number, they are: the infinitive, the gerund, participle I and participle II. The mixed features of these forms are revealed in the principal spheres of the part-of-speech characterisation, i.e. in their meaning, structural marking, combinability, and syntactic functions. Lexically non-finites do not differ from finite forms. Grammatically the difference between the two types of forms lies in the fact that non-finites may denote a secondary action or a process related to that expressed by the finite verb. Non-finites possess the verb categories of voice, perfect, and aspect. They lack the categories of person, number, mood, and tense. None of the forms have morphological features of non-verbal parts of speech, neither nominal, adjectival or adverbial. In the sphere of syntax, however, non-finites possess both verbal and non-verbal features. Their non-verbal character reveals itself in their syntactical functions. Syntactically the verbal character of non-finites is manifested mainly in their combinability. Similarly to finite forms they may combine with nouns functioning as direct, indirect, or prepositional objects, with adverbs and prepositional phrases used as adverbial modifiers, and with subordinate clauses. All non-finite verb forms may participate in the so-called predicative constructions, that is, two-component syntactical units where a noun or a pronoun and a non-finite verb form are in predicative relations similar to those of the subiect and the predicate. The Infinitive The infinitive is the non-finite form of the verb which serves as the verbal name of a process. It names a process in a most general way. It is considered as the head-form of the whole paradigm of the verb. Like other non-finite forms of the verb the infinitive has a double nature: it combines verbal features with those of the noun (Fig. 67).  Fig. 67 The verbal features of the infinitive are of two kinds: morphological and syntactical.Morphological: the infinitive distinguishes three grammatical categories sharing them with the finite verb, namely, the aspective category of development (continuous in opposition), the aspective category of retrospective coordination (perfect in opposition), the category of voice (passive in opposition) (Fig. 68).  Fig. 68 Thus, the infinitive of transitive verbs has six forms (Table 7). Table 7 Forms of the Infinitive
Syntactical features: the infinitive possesses the verb combinability. The verb-type combinability of the infinitive is displayed in its combining, first, with nouns expressing the object of the action; second, with nouns expressing the subject of the action; third, with modifying adverbs (Table 8). The combinability of the infinitive reflects its dual semantic nature. The noun-type combinability of the infinitive is displayed in its syntactical functions. It performs almost all syntactical functions characteristic of the noun, although in each of them it has certain peculiarities of its own (Table 8). Table 8 Double Nature of the Infinitive
The infinitive performs the functions of all types of notional sentence-parts, i. e. the subject, the object, the predicative, the attribute, the adverbial modifier (Fig. 69). In all syntactical functions the infinitive may be used alone, without any words depending on it, as the headword of an infinitive phrase, with one or more words depending on it, as part of an infinitive predicative construction, as a logical predicate to some nominal element denoting the logical subject of the infinitive. The infinitive is used in predicative constructions of three types: the objective with the infinitive construction, the subjective infinitive construction and the so-called for-to-infinitive construction (Fig. 70). In the objective with the infinitive construction the infinitive (usually an infinitive phrase) is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case. The whole construction forms a complex object of some verbs. It is rendered in Russian by an object clause. In the for-to-infinitive construction the infinitive (usually an infinitive phrase) is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case introduced by the preposition for. The construction is used where the doer of the action (or the bearer of the state), expressed by the infinitive, is different from that of the finite verb (the predicate). In the subjective infinitive construction the infinitive (usually an infinitive phrase) is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative case. Fig. 69   Fig. 70 The Gerund The gerund is a non-finite form of the verb with some noun features (Fig. 71). The gerund serves as the verbal name of a process.  Fig. 71 The general combinability of the gerund is dual (Table 9). Morphologically the verbal character of the gerund is manifested in the categories of voice and perfect. The verb-type combinability of the gerund is displayed in its combining with with nouns expressing the object of the action; second, with modifying adverbs; third, with certain semi-functional predicator verbs, but other than modal. The nominal character of the gerund reveals itself syntactically, mainly in its syntactical function, partly in its combinability. Like a noun, it can function as subject, object, or predicative. When it is an attribute or an adverbial modifier, a gerund, like a noun is preceded by a preposition. The fact that the gerund can associate with a preposition is a sure sign of noun features. Like a noun, but unlike the other non-finites, it can combine with a possessive pronoun and a noun in the genitive case denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund. Table 9 Double Nature of the Gerund
The gerund is a categorially changeable form. It distinguishes two grammatical categories, namely, the aspective category of retrospective coordination (perfect in opposition), and the category of voice (passive in opposition) (Fig. 72).  Fig. 72 Thus, the categorial paradigm of the gerund of the objective verb includes four forms (Table 10). Table 10 Forms of the Gerund
Fig. 73  Fig. 74  The gerund performs the functions of all types of notional sentence-parts, i. e. the subject, the object, the predicative, the attribute, the adverbial modifier (Fig. 73, Fig. 74). In all syntactical functions it has peculiarities of its own. It may function alone, without modifiers, or as the headword of a gerundial phrase, or as part of a gerundial predicative construction. A gerundial construction contains some nominal element denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund and the gerund itself with or without some other words depending on it. The nominal element can be a noun in the genitive case or a possessive pronoun (if it denotes a living being), or a noun in the common case (if it does not denote a living being). There is a growing tendency, especially in informal speech, to use the pronoun in the objective case and a noun in the common case to denote the doer of the action expressed by the gerund with reference to living beings too. The gerundial constructions are usually translated by clauses. The Participle The participle is a non-finite form of the verb. There are two forms of the participle – participle I and participle II (Fig. 75).  Fig. 75 The present participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective and adverb, serving as the qualifying-processual name. Since it possesses some traits both of adjective and adverb, the present participle is not only dual, but triple by its lexico-grammatical properties, which is displayed in its combinability, as well as in its syntactic functions (Fig. 76). The past participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective, serving as the qualifying-processual name.  Fig. 76 The verbal character of participle I is manifested morphologically in the categories of voice and perfect and syntactically in its combinability. Thus, like the other non-finites, it may combine: with a noun or a pronoun as direct, indirect or prepositional object; with an adverb or a prepositional phrase as an adverbial modifier; with a noun or adjective as a predicative. The adjectival and adverbial features of participle I are manitested in its syntactical functions as an attribute and an adverbial modifier (Table 11). The adjectival nature of participle II manifests itself in its function in the sentence, which is usually that of either attribute or predicative. The verbal character of participle II is manifested in its combinability (Table 11). Table 11 Triple Nature of the Participle
The present participle distinguishes the grammatical categories of retrospective coordination and voice (Fig. 77). Fig. 77 Thus, the categorial paradigm of the present participle of the objective verb includes four forms (Table 12). Table 12 Forms of Participle I
The past participle is a single form, having no paradigm of its own. By way of the paradigmatic correlation with the present participle, it conveys implicitly the categorial meaning of the perfect and the passive. The self-positional present participle performs the functions of the predicative (occasional use, and not with the pure link be), the attribute, the adverbial modifier of various types. It may be used alone or as headword of a participial phrase, or else as part of a predicative construction (Fig. 78). As part of the sentence participle II may stand alone or be the headword of a participial phrase. It may function as an attribute (close or detached), predicative, or as an adverbial modifier (Fig. 79). The participle may function as part of a predicative construction, entering into a predicative relationship with some nominal element and forming a syntactical unit with it. The present participle can build up semi-predicative complexes of objective and subjective types, as well as absolute complexes (Fig. 80). Participle II forms the second (verbal) element of the objective with the participle construction and of the absolute participial construction in two variants: non-prepositional and prepositional (Fig. 80). Fig. 78  Fig. 79   Fig. 80 ADJECTIVE SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE ADJECTIVE The adjective expresses the categorial semantics of property of a substance. According to the way of nomination all the adjectives are traditionally divided into two large subclasses: qualitativeand relative (Fig. 81). Relative adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the direct relation of the substance to some other substance.They describe properties of a substance through relation to materials, to place, to time, to some action, or to relationship. Qualitative adjectives denote various qualities of substances which admit of a quantitative estimation. The measure of a quality can be estimated as high or low, adequate or inadequate, sufficient or insufficient, optimal or excessive. Qualitative adjectives in their turn may be differentiated according to their meaning into descriptive, denoting a quality in a broad sense and limiting, denoting a specific category, a part of a whole, a sequence of order, a number. Limiting adjectives single out the object or substance, impart a concrete or unique meaning to it, specify it, and therefore can seldom be replaced by other adjectives of similar meaning. Many adjectives may function either as descriptive or limiting, depending on the head-word and the context.  Fig. 81 According to the evaluative function all the adjective functions may be grammatically divided into “evaluative” and “specificative” (Fig. 82).  MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE ADJECTIVE According to their morphological composition adjectives can be subdivided into simple, derived and compound (Fig. 83).  Fig. 83 In the case of simple adjectives we cannot always tell whether a word is an adjective by looking at it in isolation, as the form does not always indicate its status. Derived adjectives are recognizable morphologically. They consist of one root morpheme and one or more derivational morphemes – suffixes or prefixes. To the derivational features of adjectives belong a number of suffixes and prefixes of which the most important are: -ful (hopeful), -less (flawless), -ish (bluish), -ous (famous), -ive (decorative), -ic (basic); un- (unprecedented), in- (inaccurate), pre- (premature). Compound adjectives consist of at least two stems. They may be of several patterns: consisting of a noun + an adjective (colour-blind), consisting of an adjective + an adjective (deaf-mute), consisting of an adverb + a participle (newly-repaired), consisting of a noun/pronoun + a verbal (all-seeing, heart-breaking),consisting of an adjective/adverb + a noun + the suffix -ed (blue-eyed, down-hearted). As for the variable morphological features the English adjective has lost in the course of the history of English all its forms of grammatical agreement with the noun. It distinguishes only the hybrid category of comparison. The category of adjectival comparison gives a relative evaluation of the quantity of a quality. The category is constituted by the opposition of the three forms. The basic form (positive degree) has no features of comparison. The comparative degree form has the feature of restricted superiority (which limits the comparison to two elements only). The superlative degree form has the feature of unrestricted superiority. The less/least-combinations, similar to the more/most-combinations, constitute specific forms of comparison, which may be called forms of “reverse comparison”. The two types of forms cannot be syntagmatically combined in one and the same form of the word, which shows the unity of the category of comparison. Thus, the whole category includes not three, but five different forms, making up the two series – direct and reverse (Fig. 84).  Fig. 84 Ways of formation may be synthetic, analytical and suppletive (Fig. 85). The synthetic way is by adding the suffixes -er, -estt. This means is found with monosyllabic and some disyllabic adjectives in which the stress falls on the last syllable, in which the second syllable is the syllabic [l], with adjectives in -er, -y, -some, -ow. Polysyllabic adjectives form their degrees of comparison analytically, by means of more and most. Several adjectives form their degrees of comparison irregularly. These are suppletive forms.  Fig. 85 Some adjectives generally do not form degrees of comparison (Table 13). Table 13 Adjectives that do not Form Degrees of Comparison
SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF THE ADJECTIVE Adjectives are combined with several parts of speech (Fig. 86). Adjectives are distinguished by a specific combinability with nouns, which they modify, if not accompanied by adjuncts, usually in pre-position, and occasionally in postposition; by a combinability with link-verbs, both functional and notional; by a combinability with modifying adverbs. If there are several premodifying adjectives to one headword they have definite positional assignments (Table 14). This order of words is not absolutely fixed, since many adjectives may be either descriptive or limiting, depending on the context. The adjectives are not separated by commas, unless they belong to the different type: a nice little old man. However, if there is more than one adjective of the same type they are separated by commas: nasty, irritable, selfish man  Fig. 86 Table 14 Order of Adjectives before a Noun
In the sentence the adjective performs the functions of anattribute and a predicative (Fig. 87).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. The attributes (premodifying and postmodifying) may be closely attached to their head-words or they may be loose (detached). As predicatives, adjectives may form a part of a compound nominal or double predicate. Adjectives may also function as objective or subjective predicatives in complex constructions.  Fig. 87 |
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