verb group:

Verbs can consist of one or more than one element as in , for example:

(1a )Sara read the book.

(1b )Sara was reading the book.

(1c )Sara has been reading the book.

kholuod Al.Elyani

Elements of verbs group 1- lexical verb (V)

2- auxiliary verbs (AUX)

kholuod Al.Elyani

1 -lexical verb (V):

Carries the meaning

Appears last in the groupForms the head of the verb groupCan appears alone

kholuod Al.Elyani

2 -auxiliary verbs (AUX):

Means additional ,Giving help

Auxiliary verbs can modify the lexical verb by indicating modality, or aspect , or voice

kholuod Al.Elyani

Rules:

VP verb group + do

Vgp AUX + V

dO NP

kholuod Al.Elyani

Tense :

There are two tenses in English ;

1 -Present.

EX: Kate hugs the baby

2 -Past.

EX: Kate hugged the baby

Note: tense affect the form of the lexical verb

kholuod Al.Elyani

S

NP VP

N Vgp NP ( trans )

AUX V DET N

TENSE

Kate (PRES) hugs the baby

kholuod Al.Elyani

Modal AuxiliariesMODALITY allow us to express whether a

state of affairs is likely, possible, necessary and so on .

The MODAL auxiliary (MOD) is a feature of the language which allow us such

expression.

kholuod Al.Elyani

The modal auxiliaries are:

will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must, ought to

and marginally ;

need

dare

used to

Will and would indicate volition or prediction as in :

(7a )Kate will hug the baby )8b( The baby would like a hug

kholuod Al.Elyani

Can, could, may, and might indicate possibility or probability as

(8a )Kate can hug the baby

(8b )Kate could hug the baby

(8c )The baby might like a hug

Shall, should, must, and ought indicate obligation as in:

(9a )Kate should hug the baby

(9b )The baby must want a hug

kholuod Al.Elyani

A modal auxiliary does not carry tense and is indicated on the tree diagram, immediately dominated by the AUX node as follows

kholuod Al.Elyani

kholuod Al.Elyani

The form of the verb which appears after a modal is called the INFINITIVE .

The infinitive carries no ending either for person (as in she hug-s) or for tense (as in hugged). It can appear

with the particle to, to + infinitive ,

Rules to remember: Auxiliaries – modals1. Modal auxiliaries + infinitivee.g. will hug

The function of entire Vgp is that of Predicator (P). That is :

( 12a )Kate (pres) hugs the babyS P dO

(12b )Kate will hug the baby S P dO

( 12c )The baby )past( cried hourly S P A

(12d )The baby will cry hourly S P A

kholuod Al.Elyani

Primary Auxiliaries

Auxiliary verbs which are not modals are called PRIMARY auxiliaries .

These are :

have, be, do

Aspect is the relationship of actions or states to periods of time or duration .

There are two kinds of aspect: PERFECT and PROGRESSIV.

kholuod Al.Elyani

Perfect AspectPerfect aspect (PERF) is indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb have .

For example:

The dog has eaten the boneSally had been in the garden

kholuod Al.Elyani

Unlike the modal auxiliaries do carry tense. In a verb group without a modal, it is always the first element which is marked for tense; that is element immediately following TENSE.

kholuod Al.Elyani

The tree diagram showing the verb group incorporating TENSE and the perfect auxiliary (PERF) is: s

NP

N

sue

VP

VGP(ditra

ns)

AUX

TENSE(Past)

PERF

had

V

given

NP

DET

the

N

dog

NP

DET

a

N

bone

kholuod Al.Elyani

The functionsue (past) had given the dog a bone. S P iO do

note: the modal auxiliary can also combine with perfect and each element of the verb group dictates the form of the following one. you may be also notice that auxiliaries appear in a fixed order , the modal always precedes the perfect and lexical verb is always lastex: sue may have given the dog a bonelexical V)) (modal) (perfect)

Auxiliaries – perfect aspect2. Perfect aspect have + -en form (past participle)

e.g. Had given

kholuod Al.Elyani

.

S

NP VP

N

Sue

Vgp

[ditrans]

AUX V

Tense PROG

(Past) was

giving

NP

DET N

the dog

NP

DET

N

a bone

kholuod Al.Elyani

progressive aspect

progressive aspect (PROG)is indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb be. For example

Sally is walking along the beach ( present tense ) sally was giving the dog a bone. ( past tense )

Rules to remember: Auxiliary- progressive aspect

3. Progressive aspect: be + -ing form (present

participle) e.g. Was giving

kholuod Al.Elyani

The progressive an also combine with modal and/or perfect auxiliaries. Again, each type of auxiliary may appear only once in the verb group and if modal appears, then tense cannot. For example:

(20) Modal + progressive + V

Sue may be giving the dog a bone.(21) Present tense + perfect + progressive + V Sue has been giving the dog a bone.

(22) Modal + perfect + progressive + V Sue may have been giving the dog a bone.

Vgp AUX + LEXICAL VERB

AUX Tense/modal (+ perfect ) (+ progressive )

kholuod Al.Elyani

Voice Voice refers to whether a sentence or

utterance is in the ACTIVE or the PASSIVE

Active:

(23 )A dog chased that girl.

Passive:

(26 )That girl was chased by a dag .

kholuod Al.Elyani

Switching the positions of agent and

affected : (24 a )That girl chased a dog .

though this has changed the meaning .( That the dog was doing the chasing (agent ),the girl

was being chased (affected ) ) the verb group has to be modified:

( 24 b )That girl was chased a dog .

Finally , the noun phrase a dog becomes a prepositional phrase:

(24 c )That girl was chased by a dog.

kholuod Al.Elyani

kholuod Al.Elyani

kholuod Al.Elyani

o remember : Auxiliaries – passive voice

4 . Passive voice : be + en form ( past participle ) e.g. was chased

kholuod Al.Elyani

*Passives can also appear with other auxiliaries.

For example we could have:

• Modal + passive + V The dog may be given a bone (by Sue).

• Present tens + perfect + passive + V The dog has been given a bone (by Sue).

• Present tens + progressive + passive + V The dog is being given a bone (by Sue).

kholuod Al.Elyani

All combination are possible but it is important to remember that:

The order is still fixed with passive now coming after tense/modal.

Perfect and progressive be it another auxiliary or the lexical verb.

Vgp Aux + LEXICAL VERBAUX tense/modal(+perfect)(+progressive)

(+passive)

kholuod Al.Elyani

kholuod Al.Elyani

RULES TO REMEMBER: ORDER OF AUXILIARIES:

1- Tense or modal+ infinitive2- Perfect: have+ -en3- Progressive: be+ -ing4- Passive: be + -en

+ LEXICAL VERB

kholuod Al.Elyani

Do

Do turns up to lend support to the lexical verb only in certain construction and where there is on other auxiliary verb already presentThe function for do:

The statement

I like bananas

1-nagative verb

I do not like bananas

2-question the statement

Do you like bananas?

3 -provide emphasisYou do like bananasDo as an auxiliary is the first constituent of the verb group and therefore carries tense.

kholuod Al.Elyani

S

NP VP

PRO Vgp NP(trans)

AUX V N

Tense

She (past) does like bananas

kholuod Al.Elyani

Do when it appears as auxiliary is followed by a bare infinitive

kholuod Al.Elyani

Rules to remember: Auxiliary do

do+ infinitive

kholuod Al.Elyani