Theme 11. The verb: the non-finite forms of the verb (the verbids)

Plan

1. The category of finitude.

2. The typical features of the verbids.

a) lexico-grammatical meaning of the verbids;

b) special morphemes – ‘ing’ forming the Gerund;

‘ing’ forming the Participle I;

‘to’ of the Infinitive.

c) the grammatical categories of the verbids;

d) combinability of the verbids;

e) syntactic functions of the verbids.

As a matter of fact, the verb is a system of systems (B.S. Khaimovich, B.I. Rogovskaya). The main division inside the verb system is that between the finite verbs (or ‘finites’) and non-finite verbs (or verbids). To these belong the Infinitive, the Gerund and the Participle. Each of the identified sets constitutes a whole system of its own, the difference between the two lying in the fact that the finites have all the grammatical categories: Person, Number, Tense, Mood, aspect, time correlation, voice, while the non-finites have just several of them, the Infinitive having the three categories: the Aspect, the Time Correlation and the Voice; the Gerund and Participle having just two: that of the Time Correlation and that of the Voice.

The lexico-grammatical meaning of the verbids, though essentially that of the verb (they denote actions), has something of the lexico-grammatical meanings of other parts of speech. The gerund, for instance, denotes an action partially treated as a substance. Thus, in the sentence Going there put an end to her anxiety the gerund going, though denoting an action, presents it at the same time as a substance which produced the act of putting an end to something. The same in To have yielded then would have been an error of principle, in which to have yielded, though denoting the result of a process, is presented as a ‘substance’ identified with another substance (an error of principle).

The participle denotes a ‘qualifying action’, i.e. an action presented as a property of some substance (like an adjective) or a circumstance of another action (like an adverb).

E.g. …shouting horsemen are galloping from group to group.

The sharks were there, but keeping their distance.

The verbids have special morphemes distinguishing them from the finite verbs. They are: the suffix -ing of the gerund, the suffixes -ing, -en, -ed, etc. of the participle and the word-morpheme to of the infinitive. These morphemes are very peculiar. They are not lexical or lexico-grammatical morphemes because they do not characterize all the words of the verb lexeme. Compare, for instance, the suffixes -ize and -ing in realize, has realized, to realize, realizing, being realized. The suffix -ize is found in every word of the lexeme, the suffix -ing only in some words.

The -ing morpheme differs from grammatical morphemes as well. Grammatical morphemes are used to form grammatical opposemes. Cf. asks – asked – will ask. The suffix -ing of the gerund is not used to form any grammatical opposemes. It serves to oppose all the gerunds to all the non-gerunds. Thus it is a peculiar group-suffix within the verb lexeme.

The same could be said about the homonymous -ing suffix of the participle. But two additional remarks are necessary.

1. The participial -ing morpheme does not unite all the system of the participle. The so-called participle II (written, asked) has different suffixes.

2. Since participle I is used to form analytical ‘continuous aspect’ grammemes, the -ing suffix of the participle has become a grammatical morpheme of the finite verb as well. The suffixes of the participle II are not group-suffixes because participle II is a one-word system. In all other respects they resemble the participial -ing suffix. They are used as grammatical morphemes participating in the formation of ‘passive voice’ and ‘perfect’ forms.

Of great interest is the to word-morpheme of the infinitive. It is a word-morpheme because it has only the form of a separate word, but not the contents, and it functions as part of a word. It is a group-morpheme (like -ing), but unlike the participial -ing it is not used as a grammatical morpheme. Cf. shall come, not *shall to come.

Unlike other group-morphemes, the word-morpheme to is not used in certain surroundings.

The verbids do not possess many of the categories of the finite verb, such as number, person, tense and mood.

Here is a table presenting the paradigms of the verbids.

The Paradigm of the Infinitive

Time Correlation	Voice
Non-Passive	Passive
non-perfect, non-continuous	to write	to be written
non-perfect, continuous	to be writing	to be being written
perfect, non-continuous	to have written	to have been written
perfect, continuous	to have been writing	to have been being written

The Paradigm of the Gerund

Time Correlation	Voice
Non-Passive	Passive
non-perfect	writing	being written
perfect	having written	having been written

The Paradigm of the Participle

Participle I	Participle II
Time Correlation	Voice
Non-Passive	Passive
non-perfect	writing	being written	written
perfect	having written	having been written

The combinability of the verbids is of mixed nature. Partly, as we have seen, it resembles that of a finite verb. But some models of combinability are akin to those of other parts of speech.

The gerund may be preceded by a preposition and a possessive pronoun, like a noun.

E.g. One could see that without his even speaking.

I wonder if Felicity will mind your having changed her room round.

He was putting on an act of listening and nodding.

The participle is regularly connected with nouns, like an adjective, and with verbs, like an adverb.

E.g. His smiling eyes; smiling shyly, he stretched out his hand.

Walkingdown the road together they kept silence for a while.

Having finished his confessions, Jolyon sat with a thin cheek on his hand, re-reading.

The functions of the verbids in the sentence are different from those of the finite verb. The latter regularly functions as the predicate of the sentence. The verbid are, as a rule, not used in this function. But they are used in most other functions.

To go to Fleur was what he would like to do.

He promised not to tell her about the offer.

In the sentence They looked up at the sky to see if it was flying weather the infinitive is an adverbial complement of purpose and the participle is an attribute. In She is a spoiled child not to be trustedboth the participle spoiled and the infinitive to be trusted are attributes.

To be disliked by Martha Thompson must be nasty. (‘To be disliked by Martha Thompson’ is the subject)

Algernon had nothing but his debts to depend upon. (‘to depend upon’ is an attribute)

She asked him to come to dinner. (‘to come to dinner’ is an indirect recipient object)

One of the peculiarities of the verbids is their being used as secondary predicates. In the sentence I saw them dancing two actions are named as well as the doers of those actions. But there is a great difference between I saw and them dancing. I saw is more or less independent. It makes a predication, the backbone of a sentence, or the sentence itself. Them dancing can exist only in a sentence where there is a predication. The tense and mood relations of the finite verb are then reflected in the verbid and it becomes a secondary predicate, and combinations like them dancing become secondary predications, often called complexes or nexuses.

References:

1. Бархударов Л.С. Очерки по морфологии современного английского языка: Учеб. пособие. / Л.С. Бархударов. – М.: Высш. шк., 1975. – С. 106-119.

2. Блох М.Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка: Учеб. – 4-е изд. испр. / М.Я. Блох. – М.: Высш. шк., 2003. – C. 113-134.

3. Жигадло В.Н., Иванова И.П., Иофик Л.Л. Современный английский язык. Теоретический курс грамматики: Учеб. / В.Н. Жигадло, И.П. Иванова, Л.Л. Иофик. – М.: ИЛИЯ, 1956. – С. 141-168.

4. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка: Учеб. / И.П. Иванова, В.В. Бурлакова, Г.Г. Почепцов – М.: Высш. шк., 1981. – С. 80-87.

5. Ильиш Б.А. Строй современного английского языка (Теоретический курс): Учеб. пособие. / Б.А. Ильиш. – М.-Л.: Просвещение, 1965. – С. 135-142.