Main Verbs and Auxiliaries Made by: Koletta Kisbalázs

VERBS Verb inflection: the most distinctive property of verbs 6 inflectional forms But only 4 different shapes Here ‘shape’ means spelling or pronunciation Can you list the four different shapes?

Verb inflection Preterite (past) checked 3rd singular presentchecks Plain presentcheck Plain formcheck Gerund-participlechecking Past participlechecked What about the irregular verbs? Preterite vs. Past participle Why ‘plain’ form?

Plain present vs. Plain form Plain present or ‘non-3rd person singular’ ‘plain’ the morphological base of the lexeme Plain form NOT a present tense form Used in 3 constructions: Imperative; Infinitival; Subjunctive The verb ‘be’ is exceptional because it has ______ present tense forms.

Plain form The plain form ‘be’ ‘is’, ‘am’, ‘are’ are different in shape Imperative: Be quiet! Infinitival: It’s better to be safe than sorry. I will be ready in time. Subjunctive: It’s essential that she be told. Substitution test: e.g.: We must check the figures. Substitute check with be!

Gerund-participle How can we know that it is a Gerund? Traditional grammar distinguishes 2 forms: Traditional gerund and traditional present participle Which is which? Checking the figures can be onerous. People checking the figures must be alert. The ‘gerund-participle’ covers both traditional categories.

Past participle 2 main constructions perfect passive She has checked the figures. The figures must be checked by the boss. Note that the ‘past’ component of meaning applies just to the perfect construction.

The inflectional tense system 2 inflectional tenses in English: preterite (past) and present Preterite: (3 uses can be distinguished) Past time: He arrived yesterday. Backshift: Ed said he was ill. Modal remoteness: I wish I knew the answer. I’d do it if you paid me. Present tense: (2 most important uses) Present time: I promise I’ll help you. Future time: Exams start next week.

Auxiliary verbs The important subclass of verbs Lexical verbs vs. Auxiliary verbs The main members of the auxiliary class: Modal auxiliaries: ___________ Non-modal auxiliaries: ___ ___ ___ the 2 most frequent constuctions with aux.: Subject-auxiliary inversion Negation

Subject-auxiliary inversion & negation Subject-aux. inversion: She has taken the car. [declarative] __________________ [interrogative] Negation: She has taken the car. [declarative] __________________ [negative]

The non-modal auxiliaries Be, have and do BE: Progressive marker: They are watching TV. I’ve been working all morning. Passive marker: It was taken by Jill. He may be arrested. Copula: She was a friend of his. That is very likely.

The non-modal auxiliaries HAVE: She had a swim. (Here, what is ‘had’? How can we decide?) Perfect marker: He has broken his leg. He may have taken it yesterday. Static have: She has enough credit. We have to invite them all. Secondary past tense; ‘past in present’ State vs. Event HAVE: auxiliary or lexical verb?

The modal auxiliaries Need and dare Lexical or auxiliary? Distinctive grammatical properties: No plain form, no gerund-participle, no past participle Invariable in the present tense A following infinitival complement without ‘to’ (BUT there’s one exception ???)

Types of modal meaning Epistemic modality: what is necessary, likely or possible ________________ Deontic modality: what is required or permitted ______________ Dynamic modality: properties or dispositions of persons or other entities involved in the situation ______________

Reported Speech Certain modal verbs change in R.S. Will/shall - _______ May - _______ Can - _______ Can - _______ (future reference) Must - _______ (obligation) Shall - ________ (asking for advice)

Direct Speech ‘I want to go to bed early,’ he said. ‘She’s feeding the baby,’ he said. ‘I’ve bought a new dress,’ she said. ‘I finished work early,’ Alex said. ‘I was planning to call you later,’ she said. ‘I’ll talk to you tomorrow,’ she said. ‘The film had finished by the time I got home,’ he said.

Reported Speech He said (that) he wanted to go to bed early. He said (that) she was feeding the baby. She said (that) she had bought a new dress. Alex said (that) he (had) finished work early. She said (that) she was planning/had been planning to call me later. She said (that) she would talk to me the next day. He said (that) the film had finished by the time he got home.

Put it together! for 15 yearsbeen this timebeing willnext yearhave builtmetro line nr.4. ____________________________ What can you tell about the sequence of the verbs?

Let’s see! This time next year metro line nr.4 will have been being built for 15 years.

The End htmlhttp:// html Jenny Dooley – Virginia Evans: Grammarway 3. Express Publishing, 2000.