Non- finite forms of the verb

As was mentioned in the previous unit, on the upper level all verbal forms fall into two major sets: finite and non-finite. The term “finite” is derived from the Latin term “verbum finitum”, which shows that these words denote actions developing in time.

Non-finite forms of the verb, the infinitive, the gerund, participle I (present participle) and participle II (past participle), are otherwise called “verbals”, or “verbids”. The term, introduced by O. Jespersen, implies that they are not verbs in the proper sense of the word, because they combine features of the verb with features of other notional parts of speech. Their mixed, hybrid nature is revealed in all the spheres of the parts-of-speech characterization: meaning, formal features, and functions. The non-verbal features of verbids are as follows: they do not denote pure processes, but present them as specific kinds of substances and properties; they are not conjugated according to the categories of person and number, have no tense or mood forms; in some contexts they are combined with the verbs like non-verbal parts of speech; they never function as independent predicates; their functions are those characteristic for other notional parts of speech. The verbal features of verbids are as follows: their grammatical meaning is basically processual; like finites, they do have (at least, most of them have) aspect and voice forms and verbal combinability with direct objects and adverbial modifiers; they can express predication in specific semi-predicative constructions. Thus, verbids can be characterized as intermediary phenomena between verbs and other non-verbal parts of speech. It is interesting to note that historically verbids in English were at first separate non-verbal nominative forms, but later they were drawn into the class of verbs by acquiring aspect and voice forms, verbal combinability, etc. The Infinitive is the most generalized, the most abstract form of the verb, serving as the verbal name of a process; it is used as the derivation base for all the other verbal forms. That is why the infinitive is traditionally used as the head word for the lexicographic entry of the verb in dictionaries. If the subject of the action denoted by the infinitive is named, in the sentence it forms a secondary predicative line with the infinitive. Syntactically, semi-predicative infinitive constructions may be free or bound to the primary predicative part of the sentence. The “for + to infinitive” construction in free use (either as a subject or as any other substantive notional part of the sentence) includes the infinitive and its own, inner subject, e.g.: For him to be late for the presentation was unthinkable; I sent the papers in order for you to study them carefully before the meeting. The constructions known as “complex object with the infinitive” and “complex subject with the infinitive” (the passive transformation of the complex object constructions) intersect with the primary predicative part of the sentence: the inner subject of the secondary predicative part forms either the object or the subject of the primary predicative part, e.g.: I saw her enter the room; She was seen to enter the room. The predicative character of the secondary sentence-situation can be manifested in the transformation of the whole sentence into a composite syntactic construction, e.g.: I sent the papers in order for you to study them carefully before the meeting. à I sent the papers so that you could study them carefully before the meeting; I saw her enter the room. à I saw her when she was entering the room. The gerund is another verbid that serves as the verbal name of a process and combines verbal features with those of a noun; the gerund, like the infinitive, can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature, intermediary between the verb and the noun. It is even closer to the noun, because besides performing the substantive functions in a sentence like the infinitive, it can also be modified by an attribute and can be used with a preposition, which the infinitive can not do, e.g.: Thank you for listening to me; Your careful listening to me is very much appreciated. The functions of the gerund in the sentence are as follows - that of a subject, e.g.: Your listening to me is very much appreciated; It’s no use crying over spilt milk; of a predicative, e.g.: The only remedy for such headache is going to bed; of an object, e.g.: I love reading; of an attribute, e.g.: He had a gift of listening; of an adverbial modifier, e.g.: On entering the house I said “hello”. In these functions the gerund displays nounal combinability with verbs, adjectives, and nouns, especially in cases of prepositional connections. As for the verbal features of the gerund, first of all, there is no denying the fact, that its meaning is basically processual, which is evident when the gerund is compared with the nouns, cf.: Thank you for helping me. – Thank you for your help; in addition, the gerund distinguishes some aspect and voice forms, e.g.: writing, being written, having written, having been written. Like the finites, it can be combined with nouns and pronouns denoting the subject and the object of the action, and with modifying adverbs, e.g.: I have made good progress in understanding English; She burst out crying bitterly; Her crying irritated me.

The verbal features distinguish the gerund from the verbal noun, which may be homonymous with the indefinite active form of the gerund, but, first, it has no other verbal forms (passive or perfect); second, cannot take a direct object, but only prepositional objects like all other nouns, cf.: reading the letters (gerund) – the reading of the letters (verbal noun); and, third, like most nouns can be used with an article and in the plural, cf.: my coming (gerund) – his comings and goings (verbal noun). In the correlation of the three processual-substantive phenomena, which constitute a continuum of transitions between the verb and the noun – the infinitive, the gerund, and the verbal noun, the infinitive is the closest to the verb, as it is more dynamic and possesses fewer substantive features, the gerund is somewhere in between the two, semantically semi-dynamic, and the verbal noun is the closest to the noun, semantically static, possessing practically all the features of normal nouns. They can be treated as the three stages of a lexico-grammatical category of processual representation which underlies various situation-naming constructions in the sphere of syntactic nominalization (see Unit 24), cf.: He helped us. à for him to help us à his helping us à his help to us.

The simple sentence

We will now study the structure of the simple sentence and the types of simple sentences. First of all we shall have to deal with the problem of negative sentences. The problem, briefly stated, is this: do negative sentences constitute a special grammatical type, and if so, what are its grammatical features? In other words, if we say, "This is a negative sentence," do we thereby give it a grammatical description? The difficulty of the problem lies in the peculiarity of negative expressions in Modern English. Let us take two sentences, both negative in meaning: (1) She did not know when she would be seeing any of them again. (R. MACAULAY) (2) Helen's tremendous spell — perhaps no one ever quite escaped from it. (Idem) They are obviously different in their ways of expressing negation. In (1) we see a special form of the predicate verb (did... know, not knew) which is due to the negative character of the sentence and is in so far a grammatical sign of its being negative. In (2), on the other hand, there is no grammatical feature to show that the sentence is negative. Indeed, there is no grammatical difference whatever between the sentences Nobody saw him and Everybody saw him. The difference lies entirely in the meaning of the pronouns functioning as subject, that is to say, it is lexical, not grammatical. The same is of course true of such sentences as I found nobody and I found everybody. On the other hand, in the sentence I did not find anybody there is again a grammatical feature, viz. the form of the predicate verb (did... find, not found). The conclusion to be drawn from these observations is obviously this. Since in a number of cases negative sentences are not characterised as such by any grammatical peculiarities, they are not a grammatical type. They are a logical type, which may or may not be reflected in grammatical structure. Accordingly, the division of sentences into affirmative and negative ought not to be included into their grammatical classification. Before we proceed with our study of sentence structure it will be well to consider the relation between the two notions of sentence and clause. Among different types of sentences treated in a syntactic investigation it is naturally the simple sentence that comes first. It is with specimens of simple sentences that we study such categories as parts of the sentence, main and secondary; homogeneous members, word order, etc. It is also with specimens of simple sentences that we illustrate such notions as declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences, as two-member and one-member sentences, and so forth. As long as we limit ourselves to the study of simple sentences, the notion of "clause" need not occur at all. When, however, we come to composite sentences (that is, sentences consisting of two or more clauses), we have to deal with the notions of main clause, head clause, and subordinate clause. Everything we said about the simple sentence will also hold good for clauses: a clause also has its parts (main and secondary), it can also be a two-member or a one-member clause; a main clause at least must also be either declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory, etc. We will consider these questions in due course. So then we will take it for granted that whatever is said about a simple sentence will also apply to an independent clause within a composite sentence. For instance, whatever we say about word order in a simple sentence will also apply to word order in an independent clause within a composite sentence, etc.

22. basic types of word combination in English .Word-combination (WC) and their basic types.The word 'syntax' is derived from the Greek 'syntaxis' which literally means 'composition', or 'order'. It is a part of grammar which studies ways of arranging words into phrases and sentences in order to produce speech. We communicate only with the help of sentences and it brings many linguists to a conclusion that syntax is the core, or the heart of grammar and morphology is subordinated to it as it serves the needs of syntax. The main units of the syntactic level of the language are: 1) the word in its syntactic position in the sentence (a part of the sentence); 2) the phrase which is a combination of two or more notional words arranged according to the rules of a particular language; 3) the simple sentence as the minimum unit of communication; 4) the composite sentence which is a combination of two or more clauses based either on coordinate (a compound sentence) or subordinate (a complex sentence) relations; 5) the text as the highest unit of language.

The type ‘noun+noun’ is a most usual type of WC in modern English. The type ‘noun in the common case+noun’ may be used to denote 1 idea as modified by another, in the widest sense (silver watch, army unit). The type ‘noun in the genitive case+noun’ has a more restricted meaning and use. The type ‘adj+noun’ is used to express all possible kinds of things with their properties. The type ‘verb+noun’ may correspond to 2 different types of relation between an action and a thing. There are also types, such as ‘verb+adv’, ‘adv+adj’, ‘adv+adv’, ‘noun+prep_noun’, ‘adj+prep+noun’, verb+prep+noun. WC consisting of 2 components may be enlarged by addition of a third component, and so forth: adj+noun (high houses) may be enlarged by the addition of the adj in front – adj+adj+noun (new high houses). The limit of the possible growth of a WC is hard to define.

24. the comlex sentenceThere is much more to be said about the complex sentences than about the compound. The semantic relations which can be expressed by subordination are much more numerous and more varied than with co-ordination, e.g. time, place, concession, purpose, etc.Types of complex sentences: The notions of declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentence appear to be applicable to some types of complex sentences as well.Classification:According to the functional principle we distinguish object, attributive, adverbial clauses, etc. According to the categorial principle subordinate clauses are divided into 3 categorial semantic groups: substantive-nominal, qualification-nominal and adverbial. e.g. That they were justified in this she could not but admit. – That fact she could not but admit. e.g. Ann had become aware of the fact that she was talking loudly. – Ann had become aware of that fact. e.g. I’ll deserve your confidence if you give me another chance. – I’ll deserve your confidence on condition that you give me another chance. The two classifications are mutually complementary: - clauses of primary nominal positions (subject, predicative, object clauses); - clauses of secondary nominal positions (attributive clauses); - clauses of adverbial positions.According to the degree of self-dependence of clauses complex sentences are divided into monolythic and segregative sentence structures. Monolythic complex sentences are based on obligatory subordinative connections of clauses, whereas segregative complex sentences are based on optional subordinative connections.Monolythic complex sentences: 1) merger complex sentences, i.e. sentences with subject and predicative subordinate clauses, where the subordinate clause is fused with the principal one. E.g. The trouble is we are to change our plans. 2) valency monolyth complexes, whose subordinate clauses are dependent on the obligatory right-hand valency of the verb in the principal clause. Here belong sentences with object clauses and valency-determined adverbial clauses. E.g. I think a man like that is a real artist. – I think -… e.g. Put the book where it belongs. – Put the book - …3) correlation monolyth complexes, which are based on subordinate correlations. Complex sentences with restrictive subordinate clauses are included into this subtype. E.g. The girl played the piano with such feeling as you had never experienced. 4) arrangement monolyth complexes, whose obligatory connection between the principal and subordinate clauses is determined only by the linear order of clausal positions. E.g. If you refused her present, it would upset her.The connection between the clauses is obligatory. Rearrangement of clausal positions turns the connection between the clauses into optional. It would upset her if you refused her present. – It would upset her. The connection between the subordinate clauses can be parallel (homogeneous, heterogeneous) and consecutive (direct and oblique).