Analysing English 1 The Verb Phrase II Aspect Week 5 Kieran O’Halloran

Future Time oEnglish does not have a future tense. oThere is no suffix which can be attached to the verb to make it future. oSpeakers employ periphrastic constructions.

Future Time o It will rain tomorrow. o I am going to the shops. o His train arrives at 8. o Paul is to arrive tomorrow. o I may / might buy a new car. o The coach is about to leave.

Aspect actions / events expressed by a verb which are understood as complete ( perfect ) but related to another point in time. or in progress ( continuuous )

Aspect oSo...English has two aspects. oAspect in English is marked by a combination of inflectional suffixes and auxiliary verbs.

Aspect Progressive Aspect: ongoing/incomplete event Jeremy is / was washing the dishes. Present Perfect (Perfective) Aspect: (relevance to present) Jeremy has / had washed the dishes.

Aspect: Progressive (Continuous) Not all verbs (i.e. state verbs, some sensory verbs) take the progressive. (*) I am knowing John. (*) I am believing in God. (*) I am thinking that he is right. (*) I am having / owning a house. (*) I am smelling smoke.

Aspect: Perfect Present Perfect We have finished our lunch. Recent past They have gone home. Current relevance He has written two novels. Past experience I have lived here all my life. Past into present

Aspect: Perfect Past perfect: ‘had’ + past participle e.g. By the time I had finished my dinner, I was ready for a night out.

Aspect: Perfect Future perfect e.g. I will have finished my dinner by the time Strictly Come Dancing starts.

???? The weeds had been growing throughout the summer. The lions have been roaring wildly all day. We will have been watching Strictly Come Dancing for way too long by the time my dinner comes up.

Transitive vs intranstiive I carried the baby TRANSITIVE (I carried X) The children laughed INTRANSITIVE (The children laughed their mouths X) Transitive verbs take a grammatical object

But.... Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. So, it is often more accurate to say that a verb is being used transitively or intransitively. e.g. Don’t bother me, I’m eating. I’ll be eating dinner much later tonight.

Phrasal or prepositional verbs [She] [came] [across the street] [She] [came across] [an old copy of Canterbury Tales]