To see it too, wouldn't you?
An important exception is a negative tag involving
the first person singular and the verb to be. Here the
plural form of the verb is used: I'm meeting you next
week, aren't I? The form 'Am I not?' is also possible but
is rather formal.
The imperative may be softened by means of the question tag 'will you?' For example: Lend me 10 dollars, will you?
The suggestion «Let's» might be followed by the tag «shall we?» For example: Let's see how quickly we can get this work finished, shall we?
5. The question to the subject is formed by means of the interrogative pronouns who and what. It requires a direct word order no the auxiliary do in the case of the Present and Past Simple Tenses: Who has done it? Who
Did it? Who is doing that? What is going on? What has
Happaened? What happened?
6.16.10. The Category of Expressivity
The category of Expressivity manifests itself within the Present and Past Simple Tenses and the Imperative Mood. It is revealed by the opposition of stylistically neutral and expressive forms. The marked member of the opposition is the expressive form, its formal sign is the use of the emphatic do followed by the infinitive without to in affirmative sentences. Compare: / want to go. — You mustn 't. — But I do want to go. Why didn 't you tell me? — / told you. — I did tell you. Be careful. — Do be careful. Sit down, please. — Do sit down, please.
6.16.11. The category of Representation
The category of Representation shows an action as expressed in its variety, that it as such and complicated by some nounal and adjectival properties. The category is manifested by the opposition of the finite and non-finite verbal forms and is constituted by the 3 groups of forms. They are as follows: 1) the finite forms as the verbal
representation: present tense and past tense forms, 2) the infinitive and gerund as the substantival representation; 3) the participle as the adjectival representation: the present and past participles. (For details see 6.16.12. — 6.16.12.3.3.2.}
Non-finite forms of verbs
The non-finite verbal forms or verbals are the present participle or Participle I, the past participle or Participle II, the gerund and the infinitive. Their main characteristic feature is determined by their syntactic functioning: verbals can never be predicate in a sentence and thus have no grammatical subject to agree with in person and number. However, they may perform a predicative function, that is be part of predicate in association with finite verbal forms. For example: He is watching TV. The house was built. The book has been read. My aim is to master English.
Besides, verbals are characterized by their common traits with some other parts of speech. Infinitives and gerunds combine verbal and nounal characteristics while participles have both verbal and adjectival as well as verbal and adverbial features.
Verbals participate in the realization of some of verbal categories. Thus, the participle has two tense forms: the present — Participle 1 and the past — Participle II. For example: writing — written, cleaning — cleaned: reading — read, working — worked.
Such verbals as the present participle, gerund and infinitive have Taxis and Voice distinctions. This means that they may be either perfect or non-perfect and either
active or passive. Compare: writing, being written, to write, to be written, to be writing (non-perfect) — having read, having been read, to have written, to have been written, to have been writing (perfect) — writing, having written, to write, to have written, to be writing, to have been writing (active) — being written, having been written, to be written, to have been written (passive).
The infinitive has also aspect distinctions: to read, to be read, to have read, to have been read — non-continuous: to be reading, to have been reading — continuous.
The three verbals retain the syntagmatic characteristics of the finite forms of the verb they are derived from. They may be transitive and intransitive. Compare: transitive — The teacher told us to learn the poem by heart. (infinitive) I'm learning the poem by heart, (present participle) I've learnt the poem by heart, (past participle) On learning the news we got upset, (gerund); intransitive — I'd like you to come tomorrow, (infinitive) He's coming. (present participle) He's come, (past participle) On coming nearer I saw a friend of mine crossing the street, (gerund) See also 6.4.
As well as the finite forms of the verb participles, gerunds and infinitives are modified by adverbs: / was sitting in the armchair waiting patiently for her. She woke the child by talking loudly. Children must listen to the teacher attentively.
Participle
The participle is a non-finite verbal form which has some common features with the adjective or the adverb. There are two participles in English which are the two
realizations of the category of Tense: the present participle or participle I and the past participle or participle II.
The formal sign of the present participle is the -ing suffix added to the infinitive without to. being, having, doing, coming, flying, etc.
The formal sign of the past participle of regular verbs is the -ed suffix added to the first (or the present tense) form: cleaned, worked, loved and so on. Irregular verbs have past participles of their own: been, had, done, spoken, come, flown.
6.17.1.1. Verbal characteristics of the participle
The verbal characteristics of the present participle are determined by the Categories of Taxis and Voice. This results in the following set of forms: 1) active, non-perfect — reading, 2) passive , nonperfect — being read, 3) active, perfect — having read, 4) passive perfect — having been read.
The non-perfect forms of the participle show that the action is simultaneous with the action denoted by the finite form of the verb in the sentence: He was sitting in the arm-chair, looking through a magazine. She sat next to him trying various topics of conversation.
The perfect participle indicates that the action precedes the action expressed by the finite verb in the sentence. Having looked through a magazine he rose and went away. Having tried various topics of conversation she asked him to tell her who all the people at table were.
Participle II has only one form for each of verbs which is passive, be — been, have — had, come — come, love — loved, clean — cleaned, work — worked. There is no corresponding active participle in English, so its func-
tion is performed by a clause. Compare: I don't like books written in the first person. — The woman who wrote the book is a friend of mine.
The present participle of a transitive verb can take a direct object: Opening the window, he noticed a stranger in the garden.
The participle can be modified by an adverb: The room was crowded by people talking and laughing noisily. Deeply impressed she couldn't help crying.
6Л 7.1.2. Adjectival characteristics of the participle Like adjectives the participle is related to a noun in the sentence, either as attribute or predicative. For example: The next minute we were welcomed by a smiling woman of about forty, (attribute) The young mother was looking at her little child, (predicative)
6.17.1.3. Participle and adjective
Both present and past participles should not be confused with homonymous adjectives ending in -ing and -ed. These adjectives form pairs like annoying — annoyed, amazing —- amazed, amusing — amused, astonishing — astonished, boring — bored, confusing — confused, depressing — depressed, disappointing — disappointed, embarrassing — embarrassed, exhausting — exhausted, exciting — excited, frightening — frightened, horrifying — horrified, satisfying — satisfied, shocking — shocked, surprising — surprised, tiring — tired, worrying — worried.
6.17.1.4. Adverbial characteristics of the participle The adverbial character of the participle is manifested in its syntactic function of adverbial modifier: While travelling around the country we visited many interesting places. Having entered the house he heard some noise.
When left alone she spends her time at her writing table.
6.17.1.5. Syntactic functions of participle
The participle can fulfil the following syntactic functions:
1) attributive: I saw a running boy. It was a pleasant room overlooking a garden. There was a broken cup on the table. This was a story made up to impress me.
2) predicative: The boy was running. The cup was broken. I have broken a cup. The cup has been broken.
In the predicative function the participle may find itself in the Complex Subject (see also 6.17.3.1.}. The boy was seen running to the river. The children were heard laughing.
3) objective as part of the Complex Object (see also 6.17.3.2.}: I saw a boy running along the street. She heard him playing the piano. In this function the past participle is used only after have to show an action done by someone: We have just had our house painted. (Someone has painted the house for us.) / have my hair cut once a month. (Compare: We have just painted our house. I cut my hair once a month.}
4) adverbial as part of the Absolute Participial Construction. Turning round, he stared at me. While working so hard he needed fresh air. When dressed. I sat a long time by the window. He drove slowly, enjoing the evening.
Adverbial function may also be carried out by both participles when they find themselves as parts of the Absolute Nominative Participial Construction.
6.17.1.5.1. Absolute Nominative Participial
Construction
The Absolute Nominative Participial Construction or the Nominative Absolute is a special grammatical pattern in which either the present or past participle is in predicative relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in the Nominative Case; the noun or pronoun is not the subject of the sentence. For example: She turned, losing her restraint, her eyes sparkling with honest indignation. (A. Cronin) He found that Ann had advanced into the hall, her hands folded upon her apron, her eyes contemplating him... (A. Cronin.)
The Nominative Absolute is mainly recurrent in fiction or intellective prose: Supper finished, he led him into the parlour... (S. Maugham) Sitting like that, his eyes half closed, tasting blood, an image began to form hazily in his mind. (I. Shaw) Africans who spoke different languages were purposefully grouped together by the slave traders to discourage communication between the slaves, the idea being to prevent slave revolts.
The Nominative Absolute may precede or follow the sentence it is attached to or sometimes be inserted between subject and predicate and is normally separated by a comma (commas): Then Ms face lightening, he ran to the desk. (A. Christie) She had the window opened, and sat looking out, the feeble sun shining full upon her. (T. Hardy) The Strand, it being the hour when the theatres began
to empty themselves, was a roaring torrent of humanity and vehicles. (P. Woodhouse)
The Nominative Absolute usually expresses adverbial relations, that is time, cause, condition, or manner and therefore is used in the function of adverbial modifier. For example: This duty completed, he had three months' leave. (T. Hardy) It being now pretty late, we took our candles and went upstairs. (Ch. Dickens) One morning he stood in front of the tank, his nose almost pressed to the glass. (Th. Dreiser) Weather permitting, we shall start tomorrow.
The Nominative Absolute may be introduced by the preposition with and is then called the Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction. For example: The daughter sat quite silent and still, with her eyes fixed on the ground. (Ch. Dickens) The accent variations have provoked not a little controversy in recent years, with the broad Australian accent in particular having its critics and its defenders.
Besides participles absolute constructions may admit of adjectives, nounal phrases and adverbs. For example: Mansion went homeward alone, his heart full of strange emotion. (T. Hardy) He was there, writing busily at a distant table, with his back towards the door. (Elliot) Breakfast over, he went to his counting house. (Ch. Bronte)
Gerund
The gerund is a non-finite verbal form which has some common features with the noun.
The gerund is homonymous to the present participle and thus is formed by means of the -ing suffix added to the infinitive without to: being, having, doing, coming, flying, etc.
6.17.2.1. Verbal characterisrics of gerund
Like the present participle the gerund has the same set of forms which is the result of the realization of such categories as Taxis and Voice: 1) active, non-perfect — reading, 2) passive, non-perfect — being read, 3) active, perfect — having read, 4) passive perfect — having been read.
The perfect gerund indicates that the action precedes the action expressed by the finite verb in the sentence. However, the same meaning may be rendered by means of the non-perfect form used as a direct object: He admitted having stolen the money. = He admitted stealing the money. They now regret having got married. = They now regret getting married.
To render finished actions the non-perfect gerund is often used with the prepositions on and after as adverbial modifier: On hearing the news she got pale. On arriving in the city the travellers went to the hotel. After leaving school he went to work at a factory. After looking through the book she gave it back to the shop assistant.
In the above sentences the actions denoted by the gerunds may as well be rendered by means of perfect participles: Having heard the news she got pale. Having arrived in the city the travellers went to the hotel. Having looked through the book she gave it back to the shop assistant.
Passive gerunds can be formed only out of transitive verbs or intransitive verbs with prepositions: She disliked both reading aloud and being read to. He was surprised at being surrounded by his former enemies and being spoken to.
Note that after the verbs to want, to need, to deserve, to require and the adjective worth the gerund is used in the active form, though it is passive in meaning. For example: The flowers need watering. The child deserves praising. The pictures are not worth looking at.
The gerund of a transitive verb can take a direct object: The boy has made progress in reading and speaking English.
The gerund can be modified by an adverb: She is fond of reading aloud. He objected to going there immediately.
6.17.2.2. Gerund and Participle
Although the gerund and the present participle are formally identical, their functions in the language are completely different.
As distinct from the participle the gerund may be preceded by a preposition, it may be modified by a noun in the possessive case or by a possessive pronoun; it can be used as subject and object. Although both the gerund and the present participle may be used as attributes and adverbial modifiers the gerund in these functions is always preceded by a preposition. Compare: The very idea of sailing makes me sick. — The sailing ship was on its way to the port, (attributes) On coming home he phoned his mother. — Coming home he found the gate open, (adverbial modifiers)
6.17.2.3. Nounal characteristics of gerund
The nounal characteristics of the gerund are realizedfirst and formost in its syntactic functioning as subject, object, and predicative. For example: Reading aloud is dying out these days, (subject) In the silence the boy began reading, (object) His hobby is reading aloud, (predicative)
The gerund can be preceded by a preposition: Without asking for his advice I have taken an important step. On receiving the telegram he went to the station. After stamping the envelope she went to post the letter.
The gerund can be attributed by a possessive pronoun: They didn't approve of his playing a roulette. She was not pleased at my coming. They were surprised at their coming so early.
The gerund can be modified by a noun in the Possessive Case: She was furious at her son's having disobeyed her. I was proud of my sister's dancing so well.
6.17.2.4. Syntactic functions of gerund The gerund is used as
1) subject: Swimming against the current was difficult. Learning rules without examples is useless.
2) predicative: Her aim is learning English grammar. They couldn 't help laughing.
3) direct object: Avoid making mistakes. Excuse my interrupting you. They postponed giving a definite answer. The room needs cleaning.
4) prepositional object: / was never tired of talking to him. She is very good at reciting poems. He was accused of stealing the money. I object to going there.
5) attribute (always with a preposition, mostly of): He gave up the idea of becoming a professional singer. Could you do me a favour of introducing me to you wife?
6) adverbial modifier (always with a preposition): After talking to us for a moment he left to get his train on the other side. She left without saying «goodby». On coming nearer I could recognize my schoolfriend who was buying a newspaper.
6.17.2.4.1. Gerund and infinitive as a direct object
Some verbs and verbal phrases may be followed by 1) gerunds only, 2) by infinitives only (see 6.17.3.2.1.}, and 3) by both gerunds and infinitives.
The verbs that are usually associated with gerunds are: finish, delay, enjoy, mind, suggest, fancy, imagine, admit, deny, avoid, consider, involve, practise, miss, postpone, risk, give up (stop), put off (postpone), carry on (continue), keep or keep on, like, dislike, hate, enjoy, can't stand. For example: / don't fancy going out this evening. Would you mind closing the door? He admitted stealing the car. She gave up trying to find a job. I enjoy meeting people. I can't stand being alone.
Gerunds are used after such verbal expressions as be interested in, be good at, be fed up with, be excited about, be/get used to, it's no use/it's no good, there's no point in, it's (not) worth, go — ing. Are you interested in working for us? He is not very good at learning languages. They are not used to getting up early. I've got used to driving on the left. It's no use worrying about it. The book is not worth reading. I've never been sailing. I have to go shopping everyday.
The gerund is used after prepositional verbs like succeed in, feel like, think about/of, dream of, approve/disapprove of, look forward to, insist on, persist in, decide against, apologise for, accuse somebody of, suspect somebody of, congratulate somebody on, prevent somebody from, thank somebody for, forgive somebody for, warn somebody against. For example: Has he succeeded in finding the job? I'm looking forward to meeting them. He apologised for having been rude. They accused him of
telling lies. They warned us against staying at the hotel. What prevented him from coming to the meeting?
The verbs that may be followed by both gerunds and infinitives without any difference in meaning are as follows: begin, start, intend, continue, love, can't bear. For example: The girl began crying. = The girl began to cry. It has started raining. = It has started to rain. He continued working after his illness. = He continued to work after his illness.
The verbs and verbal phrases that can be used with both gerunds and infinitives with some difference in meaning are as follows: stop, forget, remember, regret, try, be afraid, help. Compare: He stopped to smoke. — He stopped smoking. I remembered to lock the door before I left. — / clearly remember locking the door before I left. I regret to inform you that you are bankrupt. — We've always regretted selling the farm. The two sides are still trying to reach an agreement. — If the car won't start, try pushing it. I was afraid to go out of the house at night. — I'm always afraid of being bitten by dogs. Can you help me (to) move the desk? — We couldn't help laughing at the joke.
6.17.2.5. Gerund and verbal noun
The gerund must not be confused with the verbal noun that has the same -ing suffix. The points of differences between the two are given below.
Like all the verbals the gerund has a double nature — nominal and verbal while the verbal noun has only a nominal character. Besides, the nominal meaning of nouns is much wider since they are intended to name people, objects, states, abstract notions, and actions. Ge-
runds are supposed to name actions only. For example, as a noun teaching means «the work or profession of a teacher» as well as in the plural — teachings denote something which is taught, especially the moral, political, or religious beliefs taught by a person of hisporical importance. Painting is used to refer to the act of painting houses, rooms, etc. and pictures, as well as to a painted picture. As gerunds they denote only actions of teaching and painting correspondingly.
The gerund is not used with articles whereas the verbal noun may be used with an article. For example: We have come to an understanding. I have only a limited understanding of economics. I lent him the money on the understanding that he paid it back the next month.
The gerund has no plural form while the verbal noun (countable) may be used in the plural: Hard work will be the making of him. — She has the makings of a good doctor.
The gerund of a transitive verb takes a direct object whereas the verbal noun takes a prepositional object with the preposition of. Compare: He received so many letters that he gave up reading them. — She tried to pull herself together and get ready to the reading of the letter.
The gerund can be modified by an adverb while the verbal noun may be modified by an adjective. Compare: On the course she got a thorough training in every aspect of the job. — The man insisted on shaking hands enthhu-siastically.
Infinitive
The infinitive is a non-finite verbal form that has some nounal characteristics. The infinitive is homony-mous to the present form of the verb with the exception of to be, its formal sign is the particle to: to come, to do, to have, to clean, to fly.
However there are cases in which infinitives are used without to. They are as follows:
1) after auxiliaries: We shall meet tomorrow. I don't speak French.
2) after modals such as must, can/could, may/might, shall/should, will/would: You must visit us when you are in Moscow.
3) as part of the Complex Object after verbs denoting sense perception: / saw him cross the street. We heard her singing.
4) as part of the Complex Object after the verbs make, let, have. He made her cry. Let us be friends. I had them take my baggage.
5) after such expressions as had better, would rather. You'd better go home now. I'd rather play tennis than swim.
The particle to may be used without the infinitive provided it is easily understood in the context: f couldn't go to the party yesterday but I wanted to. He can leave if he prefers to.
The particle may be separated from the infinitive by an adverb making a split infinitive. This is often considered bad English: He was wrong to suddenly say that. But sometimes there is nowhere else to put the adverb: Your job is to really solve the problem.
6.17.3.1. Verbal characteristics of infinitive
The verbal characteristics of the infinitive arc
determined by the categories of Taxis, Aspect and Voice
This results in the six forms:
1) active, non-perfect, non-continuous — to read,
2) active, perfect, non-continuous — to have read,
3) active, perfect, continuous: to have been reading,
4) active, non-perfect, continuous — to be reading,
5) passive, non-perfect, non-continuous: to be read,
6) passive, perfect, non-continuous — to have been read.
The perfect forms of the infinitive show an action as anterior to another action and thus are used to express a result or finality while its non-perfect forms indicate simultaneity. For example: It is better to live than to have lived.
The continuous forms of the infinitive denote an action in progress whereas the non-continuous forms show an action as a fact. For example: She seems to be reading now. — She seems to read a lot.
The perfect continuous infinitive shows an action as lasting a certain period of time before another action of the finite verb: She seems to have been reading since morning.
Passive infinitives can be formed from either transitive verbs or intransitive with prepositions: She prefers to be told news rather than tell it. Such dishonest action is not to be thought of.
In sentences with the construction there is the infinitive of some verbs may be active or passive without any change in meaning. For example: There is nothing to fear/to be feared. There was no work to do/to be done.
The infinitive can be modified by an adverb: / can't speak French so well. I used to get up early but now I prefer to stay in bed till afternoon.
6.17.3.2. Nounal characteristics of infinitive The nominal character of the infinitive is revealed in its syntactic functions as subject, predicative and object. For example: To know a foreign language is to know its grammar and vocabulary, (subject) To learn is to gain knowledge of something. The train is to arrive at 5 p.m. (predicative) The boy has already learned to read and i write, (direct object)
i
6.17.3.2.1. Infinitive as a direct object
Infinitives are normally used as direct objects after the following verbs: afford, agree, appear, arrange, attempt, decide, fail, hope, learn, manage, offer, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, threaten, would like, would love, hate, prefer. For example: They agreed to lend me some money. We can't afford to lose such a chance. She decided to say no. He pretended to be reading. I refused to answer the question. I would like to come to a party. I would love to meet with you tonight. She hates to be late for work.
6.17.3.3. Syn ta ctic fun ctions of infin itive In a sentence the infinitive may function as subject, predicative, object, attribute and adverbial modifier. For example: To keep silent under the circumstances is almost a crime, (subject) / can drive. One has to know a foreign language. The aim of the book is to give the reader the idea of literature, (predicative) My father taught me to
drive. Can you help me (to) move the table? (object) / have much work to do. I have no pen to write with, (attribute) To learn a foreign language one has to work hard. To be in time for the party we had to take a taxi.
(adverbial modifier)
Besides, the infinitive enters into the specific grammatical patterns, namely Complex Subject and Complex Object.
6.17.3.3.1. Complex Subject
Complex Subject (or the Nominative-with-the-Infini-
tive Construction) is a pattern in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in the Nominative Case. Thus the pattern includes the two elements, the first functions as subject, the other one is part of the compound verbal predicate. For example: Susan is said to resemble me.
Complex Subject admits of any form of the infinitive, i.e. perfect/non-perfect, active/passive, continuous/ non-continuous.
Complex Subject may be used with some verbs in the Active Voice, with other verbs in the Passive Voice, and with a number of verbal phrases.
Complex Subject is used after the following pairs of synonymous verbs in the Active Voice: a) seem, appear, b) happen, chance, c) prove, turn out. For example. Peter seems to have recieved the letter. The discussion appeares to have been friendly and fruitful. If you happen to find it, please let me know. She chanced to be in the park when I was there. Perhaps the book will prove to be useful after all. His statement turned out to be false.
Complex Subject is used with the following groups of verbs in the passive:
1. With verbs denoting sense perception: to see, to hear, etc. For example: The dark-haired man was seen to leave the house. He was heard to laugh heartily.
Note that with these verbs Complex Subject admits of present participles showing an action going on: They were heard talking together. She was seen descending the hill.
2. With verbs denoting mental activity: to think, to consider, to know, to expect, to believe, to suppose. For instance: The government is thought to be planning an election in June. The manuscript is believed to have been written in the twelveth century. He was supposed to have left the country.
3. With the verb to make: She was made to wait for hours.
4. With verbs to say, to report, to allege. He is said to be the richest man in the world. He is reported to have been seen in London. He is alleged to have passed on secret information to a newspaper.
Complex Subject can be used with verbal phrases like to be certain, to be sure, to be (un)likely. For example: She is certain to pass the exam. It is really a good film — you are sure to like it. He is likely to arrive a bit late. It is unlikely to rain.
6.17.3.3.2. Complex Object
Complex Object (or the Objective-with-the-Infinitive) is a pattern in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in
the Objective Case. In the sentence the pattern functions as a complex object.
Complex Object is used with various groups of verbs. They are as follows:
1. Verbs of perception: to hear, to see, to watch, to feel, to observe, to notice, etc. The infinitive is used without the particle to. For example: / heard her say so. I saw him leave the house. I felt something touch my foot.
2. The verb to make which is followed by the infinitive without to. For example: The pain made her cry.
3. Verbs of mental activity: to know, to think, to considerate believe, to suppose, to expect, to find, to trust, to feel. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: The jury believed her to be innocent. I expect him to fail the exam. You can't trust the trains to run on time. She felt her story to impress him.
4. The verbs of willingness: want, would like, wish. They are followed by the infinitive with particle to. For example: He wants you to wait here. I wouldn't like you to think I was being unfair. Is there anything else you wish me to bring you ?
5. The verbs to declare, to report. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: She declared herself to be a supporter of the cause.
6. Verbs denoting likes and dislikes: to like, to dislike, to love, to hate. They are followed by the infinitive with the particle to. For instance: / dislike you to talk like that. I hate you to think we were late on purpose.
7. Verbs of order and permission: to order, to allow, to have. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: The doctor ordered her patient to take a month's rest. Mother doesn 't allow me to smoke in the house.
8. Verbs of compulsion: to cause, to get, to have. For instance: His illness caused him to miss the game. I got him to help me when I moved the furniture. What would you have me say?
Note that Complex Object may admit of participles instead of infinitives. Infinitives as part of the pattern show an action as a fact while present participles show an action in process. Compare: / saw him leave the house. — / saw him leaving the house. I heard him lock the door. — / heard him locking the door.
Past participles as part of Complex Object are used only after have. This structure is used to show an action as performed by someone: Will you have my cases sent up, please ? I've just had my roof fixed. She has her hair cut once a month.
Ш EXERCISES
/. Comment upon the morphological structure of the verbs below:
Run, blow up, daydream, specialize, disagree, mistake, understand, put up with, remake, remark, widen, unite, take notice, catch cold, get hold of, make use of, break down, broadcast, look for.
2. Define the syntagmatic characteristics of the italicized verbs in the following extracts:
a) In the 1786 Sir William Jones (a British scholar who found it best to reside in India because of his
sympathy for the rebellious American colonists) delivered a paper in which he observed that Sanskrit bore to Greek and Latin 'a stronger affinity ... than could possibly have been produced by accident'. Jones suggested that these three languages had 'sprung from a common source' and that probably Germanic and Celtic had the same origin. The classical philologists of the time attempted to disprove the idea that there was any genetic relationship between Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek, since if such a relationship existed it would make their views on language and language development obsolete.
b) For many languages there are historical records that go back more than a thousand years. These records are studied to find out how languages were once pronounced. The spelling in early manuscripts tells us a great deal about the sound system of older forms of modern languages. If certain words are always spelled one way, and other words another way, it is logical to conclude that the two groups of words were pronounced differently, even if the precise pronunciation is not known.
c) In Tolstoy's masterpieces all is probable and typical of human life. These are the sort of things that might happen to anyone. Things like them have probably happened to thousands. These are such people as we might meet any day. We can say without reservation, This is what life is like'.
d) But we cannot help noticing that until quite modern times nearly all stories were of a different type. Just as all except bores relate in conversation not what is normal but what is exceptional, so earlier authors told of the exceptional.
e) No one knows exactly how or why languages change. Certainly linguistic changes do not happen suddenly. It is not the case that all speakers of English awoke one morning and decided to use the word beef for «ox meat». Nor is it true that all the children of one particular generation grew up to adopt this new word usage. Changes are more gradual, particularly changes in the phonological and syntactic system.
3. Define the forms of conjugation of the italicized verbs below:
a) Strictly speaking, metaphor occurs as often as we take a word out of its original sphere and apply it to new circumstances. In this sense almost all words can be shown to be metaphorical when they do not bear a physical meaning; for the original meaning of almost all words can be traced back to something physical; in our first sentence above, for instance, there are eight different metaphors. Words had to be found to express mental perceptions, abstract ideas, and complex relations, for which a primitive vocabulary did not provide; and the obvious course was to convey the new idea by means of the nearest physical parallel.
b) A chronological investigation most obviously begins with the native tongue that was brought to these islands in the fifth century by the Germanic tribes who eventually overran the native Britons. The importance of this purely Germanic basis is often overlooked, largely because of the great number of foreign words incorporated in our present-day vocabulary. But an examination of
actual usage, as opposed to mere presence in a dictionary, shows how important the native words are.
c) While Nathaniel Hawthorn was still living, he took ' a place among the greatest American authors, a position he shows no sign of losing. During the last three decades, in fact, his achievement has been valued higher than ever before. As his works have been reassessed by standards which have been revised to accord with the critical view and tastes of recent years, enthusiastic recognition has been given to the consistency of his total thought, to the balance and perception of his social outlook, to his understanding of human character, particularly the darker elements, to the mastery he displayed in the use of indefiniteness, ambiguity, and suggestion, and above all to the richness of metaphor and symbol he achieved.
4. Comment upon the functions of be:
a) The linguistic effects of Anglo-Saxon wars were just as clear-cut. Many Celtic communities were destroyed, assimilated, or gradually pushed back westwards and northwards, into the areas we now know as Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, and perhaps also Scotland. Here the Celtic dialects were to develop in separate ways, resulting in such modern languages as Welsh and Gaelic.
b) Complaints about the state of the English language and the uses made of it are by no means new. They first appeared five centuries ago, after English had displaced French as a respectable vernacular and as the instrument for law and administaration, when English was beginning to compete with Latin as the medium for serious and scholarly writing. In the fifteenth century a
national standard language was emerging that was based on the dialect of London, the political and judicial capital of the country, but also its commercial, social and intellectual centre. ...Then, as now, the country needed a standard dialect that was not only generally intelligible but also, because of its naturality, did not distract through its regional peculiarities from efficient communication between people of different parts of the country. But at the end of the fifteenth century the standard language was not yet stable or uniform, though the invention of printing was to hasten its development.
c) By the end of the seventeenth century, considerable progress had been made towards the standardization of the printed language in spelling, syntax and vocabulary. It was agreed among the learned that English had reached in the recent past a near-perfect stage, having been purged of its impurities and inconsistencies. A major concern of the eighteenth-century writers was to prevent further change, to preserve English largely as it then was, removing imperfections that they believed were creeping into the language in their own time. Any further changes, they feared, must be for the worse: that language must be protected from corruption.
d) For generations of American children Mother Goose rhymes have been the first contact with the literature of their native language and culture. At home and in their early years at school, the rhythmic lilt of these rhymes delights and instructs them. So well-known are these rhymes and their subjects that allusions to them permeate our adult conversation and writing; without a knowledge of them no English-speaking American has a truly complete literary education. It has been said that
there is something for everyone in Mother Goose. Even scholarly adults are intrigued by her possible origin, by the hidden meaning in the simple verses, and even which historical characters are being lampooned in them.
5. Comment upon the functions of have in the following extracts:
a) Scott, though he had some antecedents, including Maria Edgeworth's picture of Irish life in Castle Rackrent (1800), may be said to have invented the histotical novel.
b) As well as the ceaseless process of change, several factors have combined recently to blunt the angularities of Received Pronunciation. Some of them turn out to have affected more than the way we speak, in the revolution in the English language that is going through one of its rapid and violent phases, as after 1066 and in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
c) Just as everyone has an accent, so everyone speaks a dialect. This point sometimes comes as surprise to people who have been brought up to think of dialects as belonging to country yokels. But rural dialects make up only some of the regionally distinctive varieties of English.
d) Now all of this happened in educated speech only. Since the fourteenth century, the pronunciation associated with the south-east of England, and especially that heard in the area around London, had acquired a special social status. This was where the Court was located. Anybody who was anybody in politics, the law, the church or commerce would have had an eye — and an ear — on London.
e) Conversation is usually spontaneous; speakers have to 'think standing up'. They therefore do not have the time to plan out what they want to say, and their grammar is inevitably loosely constructed, often containing rephrasing and repetition.
f) However, as we have already indicated, language is very much a social phenomenon. A study of language totally without reference to its social context inevitably leads to the omission of some of the more complex and interesting aspects of language and to the loss of opportunities for further theoretical progress. One of the main factors that has led to the growth of sociolinguistic research has been the recognition of the importance of the fact that language is a very variable phenomenon, and that this variability may have as much to do with society as with language.
6. Comment upon the functions of do in the following extracts:
a) When we hear a language we do not know, it sounds like gibberish. We don't know where one word ends and another begins. And even if we did, we wouldn't understand the meaning.
b) The continual impoverishment of English speech, in its frank descripton of the passions and the crudities of life, deprives his style of the range which Shakespeare possessed. Nor did he penetrate into the hidden places of his characters' minds. Their conduct and emotions are governed by simple motives.
c) However, by talking to the other person about some neutral topic like the weather, it is possible to strike
up a relationship with him without actually having to say very much. Railway-compartment conversation of this kind — and they do happen, although not of course as often as the popular myth supposes — are a good example of the sort of important social function that is often fulfilled by language.
d) Taboo words occur in most languages, and failure to adhere to the strict rules governing their use can lead to punishment or public shame. Many people will never employ words of this type, and most others will only use them in a restricted set of situations. For those who do use taboo words, however, 'breaking the rules' may have connotation of strength or freedom which they find desirable.
e) Languages are always in a state of flux. Change affects the way people speak as inevitably as it does any other area of human life. Language purists do not welcome it, but they can do very little about it. Language would stand still only if society did. ...During the greater part of the 19th century, linguistic scholarship used the comparative method to establish the facts of language change. What features of language have changed in the past? When did they change? How did they change? ...Why do languages change?
f) ...«poetry is the best words in the best order». It is not a good specimen of his (Coleridge's) wisdom, but it does serve to remind us that words cannot be treated in isolation, except in respect of their sound and spelling. ...It is a maxim he (writer) he does well to remember, all the same.
7. Define the meaning of the italicized modals in the extracts below:
a) This initial sampling gives them an expectation about the way the text should be read, and they use their background knowledge to 'guess' the remainder of the text and fill in the gaps. In this view, a text is like a problem that has to be solved using hypotheses about its meaning and structure.
b) A short narrative passage might first be presented on tape for aural comprehension. A series of pictures illustrating the story might then be provided on banda sheets for each pupil. Question-and-answer work may then ensue. If the teacher is going to pass from one activity to another in this way, it should be noted that the passage mil be limited to only a small number of sentences. A following lesson may well allow the pupils to perform varied substitution, transformation and expansion exercises on the same sentences.
c) When addressing other research chemists, a scientist can say: «Chlorophyll makes food by foto-synthesis», and they will all understand the platitude he is expressing in simple jargon. When addressing a class of non-scientists, the research chemist could translate his statement into «Green leaves build up food with the help of light».
d) It must also be true, though equally tiresome to have to prove, that there is more jargon in the English language today than has been there since the immigrant Angles, Saxons, and Jutes started to develop their jargon of Englisc. As Jacob Grimm, the German philologist, recognized: «In wealth, wisdom and strict economy, none of the other living languages can vie with it». It has to
- express all the knowledge and opinion of all the learning and pseudo-learning in the world.
e) The more subtle kind of repetition we are advocating should be a built-in feature of any good language course. Structures and vocabulary items ought to be repeated at regular intervals from lesson to lesson. The same linguistic units will occur in a number of different situations and in conjunction with a range of varied visuals.
8. Translate into English using modals of obligation:
1. Ему пришлось лечь в больницу. 2. Никому не говори о том, что я сказал тебе. 3. Вам следовало сообщить об этом раньше. 4. Нужно всегда говорить правду. 5. Поезд прибывает в 5 часов вечера. 6. Вам не следовало приходить так рано. 7. Я должна проводить занятия по расписанию. 8. Почему ему пришлось обратиться в полицию? 9. Не смей трогать этот выключатель. Это опасно. 10. Что нужно сделать, чтобы получить водительские права? 11. На экзамене я должен ответить на многие вопросы. 12. Боюсь, мы не сможем увидеться. Я завтра работаю. 13. Ему не следует так быстро ездить: он еще совсем неопытный водитель. 14. Всем надо идти на выборы. 15. Вы обязательно должны нас навестить.
9. Translate into English using modals of supposition:
1. Он был отличным теннисистом и мог бы обыграть любого. 2. Вчера вечером мы могли пойти в театр, но из-за дождя решили остаться дома. 3. Мы только что пообедали. Ты просто не можешь быть
голодным. 4. Нигде не могу найти свою сумку. Наверное, я оставил ее в магазине. 5. Она не подошла к телефону. Наверное, она спала. 6. Хотя огонь распространялся стремительно, всем удалось спастись.
7. Однажды у него был трудный матч с сильным соперником. Но ему все-таки удалось выиграть.
8. Возможно, цены на бензин снова поднимутся. 9. В последнее время я плохо сплю. 10. Она прошла мимо меня, не поздоровавшись. Должно быть, она меня не видела. 11. На прошлой неделе отменили футбольный матч, но я в любом случае не смог бы играть из-за болезни. 12. Вы целый день путешествовали и, должно быть, очень устали. 13. Наверное, он не видел, куда идет. 14. В дверь стучат. Это должен быть почтальон. Он всегда приходит в это время. 15. Он должен сдать экзамен, так как много занимался.
10. Define the function of shall, will, should, would and the grammatical pattern in the following sentences:
1. The children of the village would shout with joy whenever he approached. 2. You should have phoned me at once. 3. I thought that by doing that, I would have solved all my problems at a stroke. 4. He said he wouldn't be late. 5. These poems will assuredly take high rank among the class to which they belong. 6. We will not have this man to reign over us. 7. Whoever commits robbery shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment. 8. For this opinion we shall proceed to give our reasons. 9. The handle turned, but the door would not open. 10. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said this. 11. In the afternoon he would go out and walk for hours. 12. Will you have a cup
of tea? 13. Let us ask this man what the creature is, and I will stand by what he shall say. 14. It is impossible that you should have said this. 15. Should he come this way, 1 will speak to him.
11. Analyse the italicised verbal forms in terms of the grammatical categories:
a) There are indeed many differences between the way grammar is used in writing English and the way it is used in speaking it. This is only natural. When we are writing, we usually have time to make notes, plan ahead, pause, reflect, change our mind, start again, revise, proofread, and generally polish the language until we have reached a level which satisfies us. The reader sees only the finished product.
b) Meanwhile, the Bible, which had been appearing in various forms in the vernacular, was approaching the translation in which it was to become for centuries the best-known book in English. The English Bible as it is known today owes its form mainly to the labours of two men, William Tyndale (1490-15360) and Miles Coverdale (1488-1568). Already in the fourteenth century John Wycliff (1324-84) had laboured to make an English version, but his renderings were based on the Vulgate, or Latin version, and his English was literal and stiff. His influence on the development of English prose has been exaggerated. Tyndale, who at Vilvorde in 1536 was strangled at the stake for heresy, and his body burnt, gave to his prose the simple vigour of phrase and the strong cadences, with which the Authorized Version of 1611 has made us familiar.
c) An experiment was carried out in the USA in which a number of people acting as judges were asked to listen to tape-recordings of two different sets of speakers. Many of the judges decided that speakers in the first set were black, and speakers in the second set white — and they were completely wrong, since it was the first set which consisted of white people, and the second of Blacks. But they were wrong in a very interesting way. The speakers they had been asked to listen to were exceptional people: the white speakers were people who had lived all their lives amongst Blacks, or had been raised in areas where black cultural values were dominant; the black speakers were people who had been brought up, with little contact with other Blacks, in predominantly white areas.
d) Our perception of the English language and how it works has changed radically in the present generation. In the High Victorian world the pristine philologists saw the language in much the same way as they saw Victorian society: as a pyramid. At the top was the Queen's English (not, as it happens, spoken very well by Her Majesty, who retained a faint German accent all her life; she wrote it with naive charm and enthusiasm).