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ROMÂNIAMINISTERUL EDUCAŢIEI, CERCETĂRII,
TINERETULUI ŞI SPORTULUI UNIVERSITATEA „VASILE ALECSANDRI”
DIN BACĂUFACULTATEA DE LITERE
Str. Spiru Haret, nr. 8, Bacău, 600114Tel./ fax ++40-234-588884
www.ub.ro; e-mail: litere @ub.ro
RALUCA GALIŢA
ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY- Lecture notes -
Bacău2011
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
PART I THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SPEECH 3
I. THE NOUN 3
II. THE ADJECTIVE 28
III. THE VERB 40
IV. THE ADVERB 76
PART IITHE SECONDARY PARTS OF SPEECH 86
V. THE PRONOUN 86
VI. THE PREPOSITION 94
VII. THE CONJUNCTION 98
VIII. THE NUMERAL 100
APPENDIX 104
BIBLIOGRAPHY 123
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this course is to help Romanian students understand the rules of English morphology. The study of English words from the point of view of their forms and the rules concerning the modification of their forms naturally follows the study of English phonetics (concerned with the manner in which the sounds of a language are made and with their acoustic properties) and phonology (preoccupied with the manner in which these sounds are used to convey meaning), as well as the study of English lexicology (whose field of interest is the vocabulary of a given language, dealing with sources of vocabulary, word-formation, words and their meaning(s), changes of meaning). The course is conceived as a normative work on descriptive bases: it provides rules for what is considered to be a correct grammatical use of words, describing and classifying grammatical facts (Leviţchi, 1970: 9-10). It is based on both traditional and modern approaches on English morphology, having as a starting point the works written by well-known foreign and Romanian grammarians.
Starting from the idea that morphology organizes the words into principal and secondary parts of speech, the course consists of two main parts. Part I is dedicated to the principal parts of speech (or open classes (Jurafsky & Martin, 2008: 125)): the noun, the adjective, the verb, the adverb. Part II is dedicated to the secondary parts of speech (or closed classes (Jurafsky & Martin, 2008: 124)): the pronoun, the preposition, the conjunction and the numeral.
Without being exhaustive, this course provides just enough information concerning the set of rules that describe the structure of words in English, shaping a framework of the English language that can help students learn and better understand it.
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PART ITHE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SPEECH
I. THE NOUN
I.1. DefinitionI.2. The noun phrase and its structure I.3. Criteria for identifying nouns
I.3.1. Position in the sentenceI.3.2. Noun ending
I.3.3. Function in the sentenceI.4. Noun classesI.5. The grammatical categories of the noun
I.5.1. The category of numberI.5.1.1. Typical plurals and their pronunciationI.5.1.2. Irregular spelling and/or pronunciation for the typical
pluralI.5.1.3. Irregular pluralsI.5.1.4. Nouns with zero plural I.5.1.5. Nouns used only in the singularI.5.1.6. Nouns used only in the pluralI.5.1.7. The plural of collective nounsI.5.1.8. The plural of substantivised adjectivesI.5.1.9. The plural of foreign nounsI.5.1.10. The plural of compound nounsI.5.1.11. Nouns with two plural forms I.5.1.12. Nouns with a plural that has different meanings I.5.1.13. The plural of abbreviations and of other substantivized parts of speechI.5.1.14. The plural of proper nounsI.5.1.15. Concord between noun and verb
I.5.2. The category of genderI.5.2.1. The lexical expression of gender
I.5.2.1.1. Masculine / feminine nounsI.5.2.1.2. Neuter nounsI.5.2.1.3. Common gender nouns
I.5.2.2. The grammatical expression of genderI.5.3. The category of case
I.5.3.1. The Nominative case
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I.5.3.2. The Genitive caseI.5.3.3. The Dative caseI.5.3.4. The Accusative case
I.5.4. The category of determinationI.5.4.1. The Determiners
I.5.4.1.1. The central determinersI.5.4.1.2. The pre-determinersI.5.4.1.3. The post-determiners
I.5.4.2. The Pre-modifiersI.5.4.3. The Post-modifiers
I.1. DefinitionThe noun is the principal part of speech which refers to names given to people,
things, places, actions or qualities in order to identify them (Alexander, 1988: 34):- the name of a person: Peter; teacher- the name of a thing: car; table- the name of a place: Bucharest; town- the name of an action: laughter; laughing- the name of a quality: beauty; gentleness
From a semantic point of view, the noun phrase refers to concrete things such as persons, objects, places or institutions, but also to abstract things such as names of actions, qualities, emotions, phenomena (Downing & Locke, 2006: 401).
From a syntactic point of view, the noun phrase refers to that element in the sentence which functions as subject, object or complement (Quirk et al., 1991: 129).
I.2. The noun phrase and its structure Nouns rarely appear alone in sentences. They are accompanied by articles, adjectives,
adverbs, etc., together forming noun phrases.A noun phrase may consist of one up to four primary elements (Downing & Locke,
2006: 403):1. the central element is called the head. It is normally a noun (boy), but it can also be a pronoun (he) or an adjective (which is quite limited in use: the poor, the rich, the unemployed). The head is the only element of a noun phrase which may appear alone in the sentence;2. the determiner (articles, demonstratives, possessives, distributives, quantifiers, ordinal and cardinal numerals);3. the pre-modifier, which can be mainly an adjective (minor difficulties), but also a noun (music lover), an -ing participle (striking resemblance) or an –en participle (fallen leaves) following the determiner and preceding the head;4. the post-modifier, which can be a noun (car that colour), an adverb (the man inside), a finite clause (the book I read) or non-finite clauses (a child playing outside) following the head.
With all four elements the noun phrase looks like this:
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Determiner Pre-modifier Head Post-modifierOne beautiful evening in May
If the pre- and post-modifiers can usually be omitted, the head and the determiner (when its presence is required) form the typical noun phrase.
I.3. Criteria for identifying nounsThere are certain criteria according to which we can distinguish nouns from other
morphological classes, and they are: the position the noun may have in the sentence, the noun endings and the function the noun has in the sentence.
I.3.1. Position in the sentenceNouns can often be recognized by their position in the sentence, as they may:
- follow a determinerEx: a book the book that book his book
- follow one or more adjectivesEx: an interesting book an old and difficult book
I.3.2. Noun endingThere are certain endings which may lead to the forming of nouns when added to
verbs or adjectives.- endings added to verbs: -ion, -ance, -ence, -ement, -al, -y.
Ex: to abolish – abolition to accept – acceptance to interfere – interference to postpone – postponement to arrive – arrival to injure – injury
-endings added to adjectives: -ity, -ness, -th (with a sound change), -dom, -enceEx: national – nationality happy – happiness strong – strength free – freedom absent – absence
This criterion cannot always be applied for recognizing nouns, as there are nouns which may have the same form with verbs or adjectives.
Ex: answer – to answer dance – to dance cold (n) – cold (adj.) light (n) – light (adj.)Sometimes there is a difference between the noun and the verb, noticeable in stress,
pronunciation or spelling (Alexander, 1988: 35).
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a) Stress difference – the noun has the stress on the first syllable, while the verb has the stress on the second syllable:
Ex: ‘progress - to pro’gress ‘conduct – to con’duct ‘permit – to per’mitb) Pronunciation difference – the ending of the noun is pronounced with a voiceless
sound, while ending of the verb is pronounced with a voiced sound:Ex: house /s/ - to house /z/ use /s/ - to use /z/c) Spelling difference – it accompanies the pronunciation difference:Ex: advice /s/ - to advise /z/ belief /f/ - to believe /v/ cloth /θ/ - to clothe /ð/
I.3.3. Function in the sentenceNouns can function as (Alexander, 1988: 34; Paidos, 1996: 11):
- the subject of a verb: The bus has arrived.- the direct object of a verb: He received a parcel.- the indirect object of a verb: He sent his girlfriend some flowers.- the complement of the verb to be or a related verb like to seem: She is a doctor.- an apposition: My brother, the reporter, always tells me the latest news.- direct address: Mary, sit down!
I.4. Noun classesThere are two big classes of nouns: proper nouns and common nouns. The latter class
is divided into two sub-classes (taking into consideration the category of number): countable nouns and uncountable nouns. These two, in their turn, are both sub-divided into concrete nouns and abstract nouns.
The noun classes are thus the following (Quirk et al., 1991: 129): - proper nouns: Laura; English
They are spelt with a capital letter and they refer to persons, places, things which are regarded as unique. Proper nouns may include:
- names of persons: Jane; Jones- names of nationalities and languages: French; Romanian- titles for persons: Miss Jane; Doctor Jones- titles of books, newspapers: Heart of Darkness; The Times- geographical names: Mount Everest; Romania; Europe- names of institutions: The White House; The United Nations Organization- names of days of the week, months or festivals: Monday; November; Christmas
Some proper nouns have changed in time, becoming common nouns. They are not written with a capital letter anymore and they refer to (Bădescu, 1984: 17):
- objects named after the place of originEx: china (porcelain) < China holland (linen fabric) < Holland bayonet (weapon) < Bayonne (town in France) champagne (kind of wine) < Champagne (region in France)
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- objects named after their inventors, discoverers, manufacturers or inspirersEx: mackintosh (raincoat) < Charles Mackintosh, a Scottish inventor sandwich (2 slices of bread) < Earl of Sandwich mausoleum (tomb) < Mausolos, an ancient king savarin (cake) < Brillant de Savarin, a French cook
- common nounsThey are opposed to proper nouns as they do not designate names of persons, places
or things considered as unique. On the basis of quantitative structure, the main difference in this class of common nouns is between countable and uncountable nouns.
- countable nouns: they refer to nouns which can be distinguished as “discrete” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 405), “separable entities” (Quirk et al., 1991: 130). They have a plural form, they can be preceded by the indefinite article, by many, (a) few and by numbers.
- concrete: they refer to nouns which have an individual physical existence: boat; house
- abstract: they refer to aspects, concepts, ideas, experiences which exist apart from concrete existence: hope; situation
- uncountable (mass) nouns: they refer to nouns which are seen as “indivisible” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 405), “continuous entities” (Quirk et al., 1991: 130). They do not have a plural form, they cannot be preceded by the indefinite article or numbers, they can be preceded by much and (a) little.
- concrete: they refer to nouns sometimes having physical, but not individual existence (these nouns usually refer to substances): cotton; milk
- abstract: they refer to aspects, concepts, ideas, experiences which exist apart from concrete existence (these nouns usually refer to human feelings or qualities, activities, abstract ideas): love; pride; sleep; advice
The uncountable nouns seem to be most problematic for the lerners of English, as they may have a plural form but a singular meaning, a singular form but a meaning of plurality, etc. That is why Angela Downing suggests a (non-exhaustive) typology of such nouns (Downing & Locke, 2006: 407):
1. Uncountable singular nouns a) nouns ending in –ics (plural in form but singular in meaning) which refer
to areas of study or activities: aerobics, athletics, ethics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, politics, statistics, etc. Ethics and statistics can sometimes be used as countable nouns, but in this case their form is singular: an ethic, a statistic.
b) nouns which refer to items ”conceptualized as an aggregate” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 407): baggage, cutlery, luggage, jewellery, furniture, etc.
c) names of certain diseases and games (plural in form but singular in meaning): measles, mumps, rickets, draughts, darts, skittles.
d) nouns referring to food, drinks, natural phenomena: bread, butter, coffee, wine, rain, snow, etc.
e) nouns referring to abstract notions: advice, information, knowledge, luck, love, music, sleep, time, etc.
f) nouns referring to activities: homework, research, work, etc.
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g) miscellaneous nouns: electricity, machinery, money, news, weather.2. Uncountable plural nouns
a) nouns referring to articles of dress made of two parts: pants, pyjamas, trousers, etc.
b) nouns referring to tools and instruments consisting of two parts: pliers, scissors, scales, etc.
c) nouns singular in form but plural in meaning: cattle, clergy, police.d) miscellaneous nouns: belongings, goods, manners, surroundings, thanks,
etc.
The similarities and differences between the countable and uncountable nouns can be seen in the following chart:1
Countable nouns Uncountable nounsPlural form: train-trains; bottle-bottles No plural form: rice-*rices; music-*musicsCan be preceded by the indefinite article: a train; a bottle
Cannot be preceded by the indefinite article: *a rice; *a musicHave only zero determiner: rice; music
Can be preceded by many, (a) few: many/(a) few tarins; many/(a) few bottles
Can be preceded by much, (a) little: much/(a) little rice; much/(a) little music
Can be preceded by cardinal numerals: two trains; three bottles
Cannot be preceded by cardinal numerals: *two rice(s); *three music(s)
Can be preceded by other quantifiers which imply numerals: both trains; a dozen bottles
Cannot be preceded by other quantifiers which imply numerals: *both rice; *a dozen music
Can be preceded by the determiners each, every, either, neither: each/every train; either/neither bottle
Cannot be preceded by the determiners each, every, either, neither: *each/every rice; *either/neither music
Can be preceded by some and any: some trains; any train; some bottles; any bottle
Can be preceded by some and any: some rice; any rice; some music; any music
Can be preceded by a lot of and no: a lot of trains; no trains; a lot of bottles; no bottles
Can be preceded by a lot of and no: a lot of rice; no rice; a lot of music; no music
There are some nouns which, depending on the circumstances, can function as either countable or uncountable nouns. I tis the case of nouns referring to food and drinks and abstractions. In the uncountable form the meaning refers to generalisations, while in the countable form the meaning is restricted2:
Ex: We all like wine. However, I prefer red wines to white. Air is vital for life, but the air in this town is polluted.
According to the way they are formed, the common nouns can be simple, derivative or compound.
- the simple nouns are formed of only one word: tooth, brush, ground,etc.
1
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/noununcount.htm, retrieved on February 26th, 2011.2 http://linguapress.com/grammar/count-nouns.htm, retrieved on January 30th, 2011.
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- the derivative nouns by one root morpheme and one or more derivational morphemes (prefixes or suffixes or both): misbehaviour, betrayal, disagreement, etc.
- the compound nouns are made up of two or more words, usually two nouns (tooth-brush) or an adjective modifying a noun (blackboard). However, other parts of speech can combine as well to form compound nouns. Thus, the following combinations are possible3:
- noun + noun: toothpaste- adjective + noun: blackboard- verb + noun: swimming pool- preposition + noun: underground- noun + verb: haircut- noun + preposition: hanger on- adjective + verb: dry cleaning- preposition + verb: input
A special category of nouns – the partitives – is used when there appears the need to refer to specific pieces of uncountable nouns or to a limited number of countable items. The partitives can have a singular or plural form and are followed by of + noun.
Ex: a slice of bread two slices of bread a piece of paper two pieces of paper
The partitives are of two types (Alexander, 1988: 42): - general partitives: piece and bit (less formal) are used with a large number of
uncountable nouns, both concrete and abstract: a piece/bit of meat/chalk/information/advice
- specific partitives, which refer to4:- single items: a bar of chocolate; a roll of paper; a slice of cake; a loaf of bread, etc.;- single amounts: a block of ice; a lump of sugar; a pile of earth; a heap of rubbish, etc.;- small quantities: a drop of oil; a grain of sand; a pinch of salt, etc.;- measures: a kilo of flour; a metre of cloth; a pound of coffee, etc.;- containers: a jar of jam; a bottle of milk; a packet of cigarettes, etc.;- types and species: a make of car; a brand of soap; a species of fish, etc.;- games: a game of football/billiards/cards, etc.;- pairs: a pair of shoes/glasses/jeans/tongs, etc.;- abstract concepts: a grain of truth; a period of calm; a fit of anger; a wink of sleep, etc..
Another category – the collective nouns – is used when the reference is to a group of people, animals, plants, things considered as a whole5.
- people: an army (of soldiers); a board (of directors); a gang (of thieves); a troupe (of dancers), etc.;
- animals, birds, insects: a pride (of lions); a flock (of birds); a plague (of insects), etc.;
3 http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/nouncompound.htm, retrieved on January 30th, 2011.4 For a longer list see Appendix I.a5 For a longer list see Appendix I.b
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- plants and fruit: a bunch (of flowers); a crop (of apples), etc.;- things: a collection (of pictures); a set (of china); a string (of pearls), etc..
I.5. The grammatical categories of the noun
I.5.1. The category of numberGenerally speaking, number is considered to be a feature (affecting not only nouns)
which points out to the difference between “one” (singular) and “more than one” (plural). Speaking strictly about nouns, number may be associated with the grammatical categories of countable and uncountable (mass) nouns. Nouns have contrasting singular and plural forms (Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 85). The singular number is manifest in proper nouns, countable nouns and uncountable nouns, while the plural number appears especially with countable nouns and only in some special cases with proper nouns. The category of number in English nouns gives rise to several problems which claim special attention (the pronunciation of typical plurals, irregular plurals, nouns with zero plural etc.).
I.5.1.1. Typical plurals and their pronunciationMost nouns form their plural by adding –s or –es to the singular form. The suffix –es
is added to the nouns ending (in the singular) in: -s, -x, -z, -sh, -ch. It would be difficult to pronounce such words if only –s were added:
Ex: bus – buses fox – foxes
buzz – buzzes fish – fishes match – matches
The suffix –s is pronounced /s/ after voiceless consonants:Ex: book – books /s/ top – tops /s/ cup – cups /s/ moth – moths /s/The suffix –s is pronounced /z/ after voiced consonants or after vowels:Ex: dog – dogs /z/ head – heads /z/ pub – pubs /z/ eye – eyes /z/ cinema – cinemas /z/The suffix –es is pronounced /iz/:Ex: bush – bushes /iz/ dress – dresses /iz/ fox – foxes /iz/
I.5.1.2. Irregular spelling and/or pronunciation for the typical plurala) Nouns ending in –y
- nouns ending in –y preceded by a vowel add –s to the singular form:Ex: day – days boy – boys
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key – keys- nouns ending in –y preceded by a consonant change the –y to –ie and then add –s:
Ex: country – countries sky – skies baby – babies
b) Nouns ending in –f or –fe- generally, nouns ending in –f or –fe get –s in the plural:
Ex: cliff – cliffs proof – proofs roof - roofs
- some nouns change –f or –fe into –ves when turned into the plural:Ex: beef – beeves leaf – leaves calf – calves wife – wives wolf – wolves knife – knives thief – thieves life – lives (*exception: still-life – still-lifes)
- some nouns ending in –f or –fe may have either –s or –ves in the plural:Ex: scarf – scarfs, scarves dwarf – dwarfs, dwarves handkerchief – handkerchiefs, handkerchieves
c) Nouns ending in –o- some nouns ending in –o get –s when turned into the plural. They are:
- nouns whose final –o is preceded by a vowel:Ex: radio – radios scenario – scenarios bamboo – bamboos cuckoo – cuckoos
- nouns of foreign origin (particularly Spanish and Italian):Ex: canto – cantos rondo – rondos soprano – sopranos tango - tangos
- abbreviations:Ex: kilo – kilos photo – photos
- proper nouns:Ex: Eskimo – Eskimos Romeo – Romeos
- nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant add the suffix –es to the plural:Ex: cargo – cargoes echo – echoes tomato – tomatoes
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veto – vetoes hero – heroes
- some nouns ending in –o may have both –s and –es for the plural:Ex: flamingo – flamingos, flamingoes domino – dominos, dominoes buffalo – buffalos, buffaloes archipelago – archipelagos, archipelagoes
d) Nouns ending in –thNouns ending in –th get –s in the plural.
- the ending –ths is pronounced /θs/ when preceded by a short vowel or a consonant:
Ex: birth – births /θs/ moth – moths /θs/ month – months /θs/ faith – faiths /θs/ cloth – cloths /θs/
- the ending –ths is pronounced /ðz/:Ex: mouth – mouths /ðz/ youth – youths /ðz/ bath – baths /ðz/
- some nouns may have both pronunciations:Ex: earth – earths oath – oaths
I.5.1.3. Irregular pluralsSome nouns do not form the plural by adding –s or –es, but they have a form of their
own, based on vowel alternations:Ex: child – children
foot – feet goose – geese louse – lice mouse – mice man – men woman – women tooth – teeth
Two nouns have maintained their form from the old plural in –n, which, during the Renaissance, gave way to the –s plural form.
Ex: ox – oxen brother – brethren
I.5.1.4. Nouns with zero plural There are some nouns which retain the singular form in the plural. They are:
- nouns referring to hunting and fishing: game; grouse; sheep; snipe; carp; cod; salmon *such nouns can be used in the plural when the idea of “varieties” is implied:Ex: trout – trouts
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herring – herringsdeer – deers
- some nationality names: Chinese; Portuguese; Japanese- nouns expressing number or measurement: four hundred people; two million dollars; three dozen boxes
*such nouns can be used in the plural when they express an indefinite number:Ex: hundreds of people millions of dollars dozens of books
- nouns that are part of compound adjectives denoting measure, quantity, when they precede another noun: a two-hour exam; a four-day trip; a five-mile walk- the nouns craft and aircraft:
Ex: He has flied many aircraft.- trees belonging to a certain species: fir; pine
I.5.1.5. Nouns used only in the singularThere are some nouns which are always used only in the singular, and they are called
Singularia Tantum (which is the Latin for “singular only”) nouns: advice, knowledge, information, furniture, business, butter, bread, money, luggage, weather, sand, luck.
I.5.1.6. Nouns used only in the pluralThere are some nouns which are always used only in the plural. They are called
Pluralia Tantum (which is the Latin for “plural only”) nouns, as they suggest the idea of plurality and they refer to:- articles of dress made of two parts: jeans; trousers; pants; shorts- tools and instruments consisting of two parts: binoculars; glasses; scales; scissors- parts of the body: genitals; entrails; vitals; remains; corps- constructions and institutions: headquarters; customs; lodgings; archives- places (with reference to an indefinite plurality): outskirts; surroundings; sands- possessions: belongings; goods; assets- names of diseases: measles; mumps; rheumatics - names of some games: billiards; cards; dominoes; skittles- names of sciences or subjects: economics; electronics; linguistics; phonetics- geographical names: the Carpathians; the Alps; the Netherlands- some adjectives turned into nouns: news; odds; valuables- some nouns ending in –ing + s: doings; takings; earnings; savings; winnings- others: alms; fireworks; congratulations; auspices
I.5.1.7. The plural of collective nounsThe collective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. The idea of plurality is
due to the fact that they denote an indefinite number of things, human beings or animals.Some collective nouns cannot be used in the plural: police; cattle; clergy; mankind;
gentry.
Other collective nouns can be pluralized, indicating two or several similar bodies:Ex: party – parties
pack - packs
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class – classes people – peoples*
* in the plural, people loses its singular meaning of “persons”, indicating “all the persons forming a state”.
I.5.1.8. The plural of substantivised adjectivesSuch nouns have in common with collective nouns the fact that they denote an
indefinite number of persons. Some nouns in this category have only singular form: the rich; the poor; the blind; the deaf.
Other nouns in this category have also something in common with Pluralia Tantum nouns: they have a plural form. They can be notionally sub-classed into nouns denoting:
a) races: the whites; the blacksb) creed: the heathens; the hereticsc) age: the ancients; the grown-upsd) comparatives: the elders; the youngers
I.5.1.9. The plural of foreign nounsSome nouns of foreign origin (Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Hebrew) have irregular
plural forms, as they have preserved their foreign plural; some nouns of foreign origin have both English and foreign plurals, while others have only a normal English plural.
a) Nouns of Latin origin: - if the singular form ends in –us, the plural is in -i/-ora/-era (or the regular English plural)
Ex: geniuses – genii (geniuses) cactus – cacti (cactuses) fungus – fungi (funguses) bacillus – bacilli stimulus – stimuli tempus – tempora genus – genera
- if the singular form ends in –a, the plural is in -ae (or the regular English plural)Ex: antenna – antennae (antennas) larva – larvae vertebra – vertebrae (vertebras)
- if the singular form ends in –um, the plural is in -a (or the regular English plural)Ex: aquarium – aquaria (aquariums) curriculum – curricula (curriculums) memorandum – memoranda (memorandums) addendum – addenda bacterium – bacteria
- if the singular form ends in -ex/-ix, the plural is in -ices (or the regular English plural)Ex: index – indices (indexes) appendix – appendices (appendixes) matrix – matrices (matrixes)
b) Nouns of Greek origin:- if the singular form ends in -is/-is, the plural is in -es
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Ex: analysis – analyses axis – axes basis – bases oasis – oases
- if the singular form ends in –on, the plural is in -a (or the regular English plural)Ex: automaton – automata (automatons) criterion – criteria phenomenon – phenomena
c) Nouns of French origin:- if the singular form ends in –eau, the plural is in -eaux / -ieu - -ieux (or the regular English plural)
Ex: plateau – plateaux (plateaus) tableau – tableaux (tableaus) adieu – adieux
- some nouns ending in –s have zero pluralEx: chamois corps chassis
d) Nouns of Italian origin:- if the singular form ends in –o, the plural is in -i (or the regular English plural)
Ex: libretto – libretti (librettos) tempo – tempi (tempos)
e) Nouns of Hebrew origin:Ex: seraph – seraphim cherub – cherubim kibbutz - kibbutzim
I.5.1.10. The plural of compound nounsIt follows broadly the following patterns:
a) one-word compounds add –s (or –es) for the plural to the last element:Ex: bedroom – bedrooms
armchair – armchairs pickpocket – pickpockets
*the same rule applies for compounds made of elements which are not nouns:Ex: breakdown – breakdowns
drawback – drawbacks forget-me-not – forget-me-nots good-for-nothing – good-for-nothings merry-go-round – merry-go-rounds
b) compounds whose first element is a noun followed by a prepositional phrase, adjective or adverb add –s (or –es) for the plural to the noun:
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Ex: brother-in-law – brothers-in-law commander-in-chief – commanders-in-chief man-of-war – men-of-war
c) compounds made up of a noun and an adjective add –s (or –es) for the plural to the noun or to the adjective:Ex: sergeant-major – sergeants-major – sergeant-majors
knight-errant – knights-errant – knight-errants poet-laureate – poets-laureate – poet-laureates
d) compounds whose first element is one of the words man, woman, lord, gentleman, yeoman add –s (or –es) for the plural to both elements:Ex: man-servant – men-servants
woman-teacher – women-teachers Lord Justice – Lords Justices gentleman farmer – gentlemen farmers yeoman-farmer – yeomen-farmers
I.5.1.11. Nouns with two plural forms There are some nouns that have two plural forms (one regular and one irregular),
with different meanings:
Singular Plural MeaningDie1
Die2
dies
dice
metal stamps for making moneysmall cubes of bone or wood used in some games
Formula1
Formula2
formulas
formulae
forms of words
mathematical termGenius1
Genius2
geniuses
genii
persons of great mental powersgood or evil spirits
Index1
Index2
indexes
indices
tables of contents
algebrical signsMedium1
Medium2
mediums
media
people who can communicate with spiritsmeans, agencies
Staff1
Staff2
staffs
staves
a body of persons
the five horizontal lines used in music
Cloth1
Cloth2
cloths
clothes
different kinds of cloth
articles of dress
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I.5.1.12. Nouns with a plural that has different meanings There are some nouns that have just one plural form with different meanings:
Singular Plural MeaningCompass
------
compasses
compasses
Instrument(s) for navigation
instrument for drawing circles
Colour
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colours
colours
hue(s)
flagCustom
------
customs
customs
habit(s)
import dutiesDraught
------
draughts
draughts
current(s) of air
a gameDrawer
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drawers
drawers
a piece of furniture
a garment for the lower part of the body
Effect
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effects
effects
result(s)
goods, personal propertyGround
------
grounds
grounds
Sg.: the solid surface of the EarthPl.: enclosed land attached to a house
coffee dregsManner
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manners
manners
way(s)
behaviourMinute
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minutes
minutes
space(s) of time
record of proceedings at a meeting
Pain
------
pains
pains
suffering(s)
trouble, effortSpectacle
------
spectacles
spectacles
public show(s)
eye-glassesSpirit
------
spirits
spirits
soul(s)
alcoholic drinks
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------ spirits state of mind
I.5.1.13. The plural of abbreviations and of other substantivized parts of speech
- letters, figures and the parts of speech other than nouns, when used as nouns, make the plural by adding the suffix –s: i’s; 1990’s; VIPs; pros and cons; ups and downs.- single letter abbreviations like c (chapter), p (page) make the plural by doubling the consonant: cc; pp.
I.5.1.14. The plural of proper nounsProper nouns can be used in the plural in the following circumstances:
a) when the individual proper nouns denote a family or dynasty: the Smiths; the Tudors b) when they refer to some countries or regions: the Netherlands; the Middlands c) when they refer to some nations: Romanians; Americans
* in proper nouns ending in –y vowel shifting does not appear after consonants: the Murphys; the Germanys.
I.5.1.15. Concord between noun and verb
As a general rule, a singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb.
Collective nouns may be followed by a singular verb (when the noun is regarded as a whole) or a plural verb (when the noun is thought of as a group of individuals):
Ex: My family is called Johnson. My family are on holiday.
*there are some collective nouns that are always followed by a plural verb: cattle, clergy, people, police
Singularia Tantum nouns are followed by a singular verb:Ex: Where is the money? Her advice is always good to follow.Pluralia Tantum nouns may be followed:
- by a plural verb, and these nouns are:- nouns referring to things made of two parts (glasses, trousers, pants, etc.)- ashes, chemicals, contents, surroundings, etc.
- by a singular verb, and these nouns are:- names of diseases (measles, mumps, etc)- nouns referring to games (billiards, checkers, etc.)- news, works, etc.
- by a singular or by a plural verb: names of sciences, subjects (the singular verb refers to the science or subject as such, the plural verb refers to the features suggested by the name of that science or subject)
I.5.2. The category of genderGender distinctions in English are not very numerous and when they are made, there
is a strong connection between the biological category “sex” and the grammatical category “gender” (“natural sex distinctions determine English gender distinctions” (Quirk et al., 1991: 187)). Gender refers to nouns and mainly to personal pronouns, but it can also influence
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other parts of speech as well (for example, the adjective pregnant is considered to be feminine as it can be used only with feminine nouns). The category of gender in English is formed by two oppositions. One opposition functions in the whole set of nouns, dividing them into nouns referring to persons and nouns referring to things / ideas. The other opposition functions only in the subgroup of nouns referring to persons, dividing them into masculine, feminine or common nouns.
As a result of this double oppositional correlation, a specific system of four genders arises for the English nouns:
a) masculine – for beings of masculine sex;b) feminine – for beings of feminine sex;c) neuter – for things and ideas; d) common (dual) – for beings which can be either masculine or feminine.
Gender in English is expressed by lexical or grammatical means.
I.5.2.1. The lexical expression of gender
I.5.2.1.1. Masculine / feminine nounsThe distinction between masculine and feminine nouns can be made in different
ways:a) using different words (these nouns have “no overt marking that suggests morphological correspondence between masculine and feminine” (Quirk et al., 1991: 188)):Ex: boy – girl mother – father dog – bitch cock – hen brother – sister
b) adding suffixes to the masculine form (-ess, -ine, -ix, -a, -e/-enne, -ette/-use):Ex: actor – actress hero – heroine administrator – administratix czar – czarina confidant – confidante comedian – comedienne usher – usherette chauffeur – chauffeuse
c) adding suffixes to the feminine form (-er, -groom):Ex: widow – widower bride – bridegroom
For b) and c) cases “the two gender forms have a derivational relationship” (Quirk et al., 1991: 187). d) using compounds in which the first element specifies gender:
- nouns referring to persons:
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Ex: boyfriend – girlfriend father-in-law – mother-in-law prince-consort – queen-consort
- nouns referring to animals:Ex: buck-rabbit – doe-rabbit he-bird – she-bird cock-pheasant – hen-pheasant
e) using compounds in which the second element specifies gender:Ex: grandfather – grandmother milkman – milkmaid grandson – granddaughter
There are a few nouns which denote only one sex. For example, dowdy (unattractive woman), hussy (woman of bad behaviour), shrew, virago (an amusing woman) have no corresponding words for males. In the same manner, nouns such as dude or dandy are applied only to men.
Gendered nouns (terms that generally exclude one sex, particularly females) should be avoided because of the sexist implications they carry and of the patronizing attitude that they impose. The most commonly used gendered nouns are man and the compounds with man.6 Such words should be replaced by gender-neutral nouns:
Ex: *man achievement - human achievement *congressman - member of congress *salesman - salesperson *insurance man - insurance agent *statesman - leader *cameraman - camera operator
*freshman – first-year student *mailman – mail carrier / postal worker *steward, stewardess – flight attendant
I.5.2.1.2. Neuter nounsNeuter gender refers to things or ideas: book, school, table, tree, car, map, thought
etc. Sometimes, for stylistic purposes, some neuter nouns may become either masculine
or feminine.a) neuter nouns changed into masculine:
- nouns denoting passions or violent actions: love, despair, crime, murder, anger, etc.- nouns denoting power, dignity: death, river, storm, ocean, mountain, sun, etc.
b) neuter nouns changed into feminine:- nouns denoting beauty, gentleness: hope, justice, modesty, virtue, etc.- nouns denoting negative traits of character: vanity, revenge, envy, etc.- nouns denoting elements from nature: earth, darkness, evening, moon, etc.- nouns referring to arts and sciences: drama, poetry, painting, etc.
6 http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/gender.html, retrieved on January 25th, 2011.
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- nouns referring to countries, cities: country, city, England, Bucharest, etc.- nouns referring to planes, ships, boats: plane, ship, boat, submarine, etc.- names of universities: Oxford University, Cambridge University, etc.
I.5.2.1.3. Common gender nounsCommon (dual) gender refers to either sex and thus the same word may be used
both for male and female: child, adult, enemy, friend, parent, passenger, neighbour, guest, etc. They can be classified into nouns denoting:
- relations: cousin; child; parent- friends and enemies: friend; partner; enemy; foe- inhabitants: neighbour; foreigner- professions: artist; musician; teacher; worker- leaders: captain; employer; prime-minister- followers and supporters: democrat; Orthodox; fan- race or nationality: African; Romanian
I.5.2.2. The grammatical expression of genderThe grammatical expression of gender consists in:
a) the replacement of nouns in common gender with the corresponding personal pronoun (IIIrd person singular, masculine or feminine):Ex: The doctor came and he / she gave me some medicine.
b) the agreement of nouns in common gender with the corresponding possessive adjectives or the replacement of such nouns with the corresponding possessive pronouns (IIIrd person singular, masculine or feminine):Ex: Was your child wearing his red tie? The worker took home the papers that were his.
c) the agreement of nouns in common gender with the corresponding reflexive pronouns:Ex: The dancer was very proud of herself.
d) the use of it, its and itself when the nouns refer to persons who could not yet develop a personality (such as baby, infant, child).Ex: When the baby saw its mother, it tried to raise its head.
e) the use of he/his, she/her/hers for animals. Today’s usage is to treat animals as neuter when neither sex nor personality is important. However, domestic animals, when named or when affective reasons are implied, are treated as masculine or feminine.Ex: My dog Winston gave a loud growl, feeling he had the family on his side.
However, for the first three cases, the use of gender-specific pronouns is debatable, due to the (recent) tendency of avoiding sexist language. Gender-specific pronouns can be used in contexts where the referent is explicitly known as either male or female or when one might presume that most members of some group are the same gender7. For gender-ambiguous situations two options should be considered:8
7 http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Gender-specific_pronoun#English_gender-specific_pronouns, retrieved on February 11th, 2011.8 http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/gender.html, retrieved on February 11th, 2011.
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a) the use of the personal plural pronoun they – it traditionally replaces plural nouns. However, they can also refer to a singular referent, but this usage (considered incorrect by many grammarians) is restricted to speech and it appears mainly in American English.Ex: When a student cheats in the exam, they should be punished. This substitution of the plural for the singular may escape observation in speech, but
it may strike as awkward or incorrect in writing. That is why a solution may be the use of plural nouns as well (where the context allows it).
Ex: When students cheat in the exam, they should be punished.
b) the use of both gender-specific pronouns – there are two variants: “she or he” (“he or she”) and “she/he” (“he/she”). In the latter case an abbreviated form can be used – “s/he” – but this usage is restricted to writing, as it would be rather ambiguous in pronunciation.Ex: In this shop everyone can find what she or he//she/he//s/he wants.
I.5.3. The category of caseThere were some contradictory opinions concerning the case of the nouns in English:
a) English nouns have 2 cases:- common case- genitive caseThis is the viewpoint of Randoplh Quirk’s school (Quirk et al., 1991: 192), being based
on the fact that in the surface structure English nouns have only two morphological forms: an unmarked form (girl) and a marked genitive form (girl’s).
b) English nouns have more than 2 cases:- the Nominative- the Genitive- the Dative- the Accusative* the majority of grammarians consider the Vocative as a form of Nominative and it is
called Nominative of Address.
We adhere to the second viewpoint, as we can find traces of their existence also in pronouns:
Ex: Susan – she (N) Susan’s – hers (G) to Susan – to her (D) Susan – her (Acc)
I.5.3.1. The Nominative caseIt answers the questions who? and what? and it is the case of:
a) the subject of the sentence: The car is parked outside.b) the subject of a non-finite verb: Harry being home, I thought of paying him a visit.c) subject complement for the verbs: to be, to appear, to look, to seem: I am a teacher.d) the apposition of a noun: Mary, a friend of mine, called me yesterday.
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*there is a special form of Nominative, called the Nominative of Address (or the Vocative Nominative), which designates the person or thing addressed. It does not have a syntactic function:
Ex: Tom, come inside! Is that you, Mary? You seemed so beautiful, house of my childhood!
I.5.3.2. The Genitive caseIt answers the questions whose?, which?, what? The Genitive expresses mainly
possession, but also origin, characteristic, measure, composition, a whole from which a part is taken (Bădescu, 1984: 64-65).
a) the possessive Genitive: Mary’s car; the singer’s voiceb) the Genitive expressive of dependence: the wheel of the cart; the key of my doorc) the Genitive expressing family relationship: Tom’s daughter; the doctor’s wife d) the Subjective Genitive (expresses the subject of the action mentioned by the
determined noun, when the latter is derived from a verb or has a verbal meaning): my brother’s arrival; the passage of time
e) the Genitive of authorship: Shakespeare’s plays; Dickens’ novelsf) the Objective Genitive (expresses the Object of a noun derived from a verb or which
has a verbal meaning): a writer of novels; a great reader of poetry g) the Descriptive Genitive: a feeling of joy; women’s hats
h) the Appositive Genitive: the month of August; the city of Winchesteri) the Partitive Genitive (showing a whole from which a part is taken): a glass of milk;
the best of my pupilsj) the Genitive expressing measure: an hour’s walkk) the Genitive expressing composition: a team of playersl) the Genitive of Gradation (expressing the superlative)
Ex: The day he voted for the first time was the day of days for him. She considered it the poem of poems.
In English there are four Genitive forms:
a) the synthetic Genitive (the ‘s Genitive)b) the analytic / periphrastic Genitive (the of Genitive)c) the double Genitive (the ‘s and of Genitive)d) the uninflected Genitive (shown by word order)
a) The synthetic GenitiveThe synthetic Genitive is the only flexional case in English. It is considered a survivor
of the Old English Genitive in –es. There is a resemblance between the way of pronouncing the ‘s Genitive and the
regular plural. Thus, the synthetic Genitive is pronounced:- /z/ after vowels and voiced consonants, other than sibilants: boy’s; dad’s- /s/ after voiceless consonants, other than sibilants: girl’s- /iz/ after –s, -ss, -c, -ch, -tch, -sh, -x, -z: Thomas’; actress’
There are some cases when s may be omitted in writing:a) when the (common or proper) noun ends in –s, -ss, -x or –z:
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Ex: Thomas’ wife the actress’ part Rex’ bone Liz’ carb) when the noun is in the pluralEx: the boys’ behaviour my friends’ names c) when the noun is a name (generally of foreign origin) ending in –s. Ex: Ulysses’ journey Socrates’ philosophyd) when some nouns ending in the sound /s/ are followed by sake:Ex: for goodness(’) sake for conscience(’) sake
The use of the synthetic Genitive is strongly connected with the idea of life, that is why it accompanies nouns referring to living beings or to life in a figurative sense. Thus, the synthetic Genitive is used with:- nouns referring to persons: my sister’s room- some nouns referring to animals or birds, especially those belonging to higher classes: the horse’s power; the lark’s nest- proper names: Julie’s remark- collective nouns: the government’s approval- personifications and whenever inanimate things are considered to have life:
- concrete things: the house’s colour- abstract things: beauty’s enemy- names of countries, states, towns: Romania’s poverty- names of stars and planets: the sun’s brightness- nouns referring to ships and cars: the ship’s crew; the taxi’s engine
- nouns denoting chronological divisions, measurements, distance, weight, worth: tomorrow’s departure; a week’s rest; five minutes’ conversation; a stone’s throw; ten dollars’ worth- idiomatic expressions: in my mind’s eye; for God’s sake; for goodness’ sake; out of harm’s way
The synthetic Genitive may be used elliptically (without the possessed object):- in order to avoid repetition (when the possessed object has already been mentioned):
Ex: Tom’s car is better than your brother’s.- when one of the following words is understood: house, church, store, shop, hotel, theatre:
Ex: St. Paul’s (cathedral) my aunt’s (house) at the greengrocer’s (shop)
When a group of words forms a sense unit, the group Genitive is used:Ex: The test of a man or woman’s breeding is how they behave in a quarrel.
In the case of a noun followed by an apposition the ‘s for the Genitive case is added to:
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a) the apposition, if the genitive is used attributively:Ex: Have you seen my sister Mary’s car?
b) the apposition or the noun, if the genitive is used predicatively:Ex: This car is my sister Mary’s.
This car is my sister’s Mary.c) (rarely) the apposition and the noun
Ex: I was going to Tom’s the baker’s.
b) The analytic GenitiveIn Middle English the Genitive developed an of form, in parallel with the ‘s form.
Usually, the same relation may be expressed in both forms of the Genitive, as in the man’s house / the house of the man. But there are cases when only the analytic Genitive may occur.
Ex: a bull’s eye (=target) the eye of a bull
The of Genitive may indicate possession, composition, material, duration, measure, the whole from which a part is taken, characteristic, authorship.
a) the Genitive expressing possession: the books of the studentsb) the Genitive expressing composition: a garden of flowersc) the Genitive expressing material: a house of brickd) the Genitive expressing duration: a matter of hourse) the Genitive expressing measure: a weight of 10 kilosf) the Genitive expressing the whole from which a part is taken: the leg of the tableg) the Genitive expressing characteristic: an example of this typeh) the Genitive expressing authorship: a play of Shakespeare
The analytic Genitive is the specific form used with:- nouns referring to things: the windows of the house- nouns referring to small animals, insects: the wing of the bee- geographical names: the city of Paris- substantivized adjectives: the houses of the rich- proper names, followed by an apposition: This is the car of Mr. Smith, the doctor- abstract nouns: the time of hope- nouns denoting time: the first of August- nouns denoting measure and value: a distance of ten kilometers
There are some circumstances when the analytic genitive cannot replace the synthetic one:
a) with such nouns as Father, Mother, Uncle, Aunt, Grannie used as proper nouns, when they are not preceded by a possessive adjective:Ex: Father’s wishes Mother’s care
b) with proper nouns indicating towns, squares, buildings, institutions, stores, etc.Ex: St. Alban’s (Town) St. James’ Square Queen’s Theatre
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Woolworth’s (store)c) with nouns followed by a gerund
Ex: Tom’s coming was a great surprise. He remembered his son’s telephoning before the departure.
d) in the case of idiomatic expressionsEx: out of harm’s way at one’s wits’ end her heart’s desire
c) The double Genitive It consists in the use of both synthetic and analytic Genitives, usually having a
partitive meaning. This Genitive may be used only with nouns denoting definite individuals and it implies a difference in meaning as compared with the analytic Genitive.
Ex: A description of Dickens (=one presenting him) A description of Dickens’ (=one written by him)
A portrait of Grigorescu (=one portraying him) A portrait of Grigorescu’s (=one painted by him or belonging to him)
Preceded by a demonstrative adjective, the form of double Genitive may get a stylistic value, expressing disdain, discomfort, etc.
Ex: That child of Mary’s is a nuisance! I don’t know what to do about this girl of my sister’s!
The double Genitive is frequently met in phrases as:Ex: a friend of my sister’s
a fan of Madonna’s
d) The implicit Genitive It is also called the uninflected Genitive. The Genitive relation is indicated only by
word order, a noun being placed before another noun.Ex: sun-rise (=the rise of the sun)
This kind of Genitive is used in various compounds and titles, especially for organizations:
Ex: The United Nations Organization (=The Organization of the United Nations)
I.5.3.3. The Dative case
It is the case which indicates to whom the action of the verb is directed or if the action is to his advantage or disadvantage. The Dative case answers the questions to whom? for whom? to which? to what? A noun in the dative usually functions as an indirect object and it is marked by the prepositions to and for and, occasionally, by on, upon, from.
Ex: I gave Mary a nice blouse. I gave a nice blouse to Mary. Get the room ready for our guests. She draws attention on/upon/from the student.
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A noun in the Dative case may be:a) an indirect object following a verb:
Ex: Send Mary a present!b) a prepositional object following a verb:
Ex: He sent the book to the editors. c) a prepositional object following a noun or an interjection:
Ex: She kept her promise to her children. Hurray for the holidays!d) an indirect object following an adjective:
Ex: You are like your mother.e) a prepositional object following an adjective:
Ex: I am grateful to my friends.f) the apposition of a noun in the Dative
Ex: I gave my friend John your book to read.
I.5.3.4. The Accusative caseIt answers the questions whom? and what?. A noun in the Accusative may be:
a) a direct objectEx: He met that girl again.
b) a prepositional objectEx: I was listening to music.
c) an object complement which determines a direct object:Ex: The manager appointed her secretary.
She calls Mary “cousin”.c) an adverbial modifier:
Ex: She called me every day (of time) I went to work by bus. (of place) He was running full speed. (of manner)d) the apposition of a noun in the Accusative:
Ex: I saw Mrs. Smith, the doctor.
A special type of the Accusative is the Cognate Accusative, which owes its name to the fact that the noun in the Accusative repeats the idea expressed by the verb:
Ex: to die a death to dream a dream to fight a fight
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I.5.4. The category of determination
I.5.4.1. The DeterminersThe determiners particularize and help to identify the noun in the context of speech
situation (Downing & Locke, 2006: 423). The determiners identify the referent of a noun by mentioning “which or what or whose it is, how much, how many, what part or degree of it is referred to, how big or frequent it is, how it is distributed in space or time.” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 423-424) They are closed-class items (there cannot be added others to the list).
According to their position in the noun phrase, the determiners can be divided into three groups:a) central determiners (Downing & Locke, 2006: 423-424)- the articles (the, a, an, zero) – they particularise the noun referent in different ways (by establishing its reference as definite or indefinite), even if they have no lexical meaning. The articles cannot appear alone, as they have no function without the noun they precede.- the demonstratives (this, that, these, those) – they are deictics as they relate the nouns to the context. They show whether the referent is near or not near the speaker in space or time.- the possessives (my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their) – they show the person(s) to whom the referent belongs.- the wh-determinatives9 (which, what, whose, whatever, whichever)- the quantifying determinatives (some, any, no, enough, another)- the distributors (each, every, either, neither)
The central determiners are mutually exclusive with each other in a noun phrase. This means that only one of them can appear before the noun head (they form a set of closed-system items) (Quirk et al., 1991: 137).
Ex: the car this car my car *the this car *this my car *the my car
b) pre-determiners – they precede the articles, demonstratives or possessives- all, both, half, such10
- the multipliers (once, twice, double, three/four … times)- the fractions (one-third, one-fifth)
c) post-determiners – they follow the articles, demonstratives or possessives, but they precede the adjectives- the ordinals, which include the ordinal numbers(first, second, third, tenth) - the cardinal numbers (one, two, three, ten)- the quantifiers (many/much-more-most, a few/few- fewer- fewest, a little/little- less- least, several)- the semi-determinatives (Downing & Locke, 2006: 431) (sometimes classed as adjectives): certain, same, other9 Determiner = the function; determinatives = the class of units that realize the function (Downing & Locke, 2006: 424)10 such can be also considered a semi-determinative (Downing & Locke, 2006: 431)
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I.5.4.1.1. The central determinersA. The articlesThe use of the articles imposes a distinction between specific and generic reference
(Quirk et al., 1991: 147), and, in the category of specific reference – between definite and indefinite reference. With proper nouns, the reference is neither specific nor generic, but unique (Quirk et al., 1991: 147).
Ex: The doctor treats the patient.- the reference is to a certain doctor and to a certain patient. The reference is specific and definite.
A doctor treats a patient.- the doctor and the patient are not very well known by the speaker. The reference is specific, but indefinite.
Doctors treat patients.- this is a very general statement, not implying any specific person, known or unknown. The reference is generic.
In the examples above there can be recognized the three forms of article in English:- the definite article (the)- the indefinite article (a/an)- the zero article
The definite article The definite article the is derived from a demonstrative pronoun in Old English,
whose meaning was similar to the modern this and that11. That is why in modern English the definite article the usually indicates that the person or thing spoken of is known to the speaker and to the listener. However, the definite article “does not by itself identify the referent, but indicates that it can be identified within the text, or outside the text in the situation or from general knowledge.” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 419)
The always has the same spelling, but it has different pronunciations, depending on the initial sound of the word it determines:
- when the word begins with a consonant, pronounced h or a semivowel, the pronunciation is /ðə/Ex: the /ðə/ boy the /ðə/ hospital the /ðə/ weather
- when the word begins with a vowel or with silent h , the pronunciation is /ði/Ex: the /ði/ effect
the /ði/ impression the /ði/ hour- when the article is stressed for special emphasis, the pronunciation is /ði/, no matter
the initial sound of the word followingEx: This is the /ði/ doctor I was telling you about.
I saw the /ði/ exhibition you recommended.
11 http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html, retrieved on February 23rd, 2011.
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Depending on the type of reference (backwards or forwards), the definite article can be anaphoric or cataphoric.
- the anaphoric definite article refers to a person or thing already mentionedEx: He sent me a parcel and the parcel has just arrived.
- the cataphoric definite article has forward reference to a prepositional phrase or relative clauseEx: The cars of Germany are well known. The cars that Germany produces are well known.
The definite article is generally used (Alexander, 1988; Bădescu, 1984; Paidos, 1993; Quirk et al., 1991):
a) with proper nouns in certain situations- before a common noun followed by a proper noun which identifies it: the writer Shakespeare; the play “Romeo and Juliet”- before the name of a country made up of smaller entities or which has a plural form: the United Kingdom; the Netherlands - before names of rivers, seas, oceans, chains of mountains, groups of islands: the Danube; the Baltic Sea; the Atlantic Ocean; the Alps; the Caribbean- before names of deserts: the Goby; the Sahara
- before names of ships, trains, airplanes: the Titanic; the Orient Express; the Blue Bird - before names of shops, hotels, buildings, institutions: the Harrods; the Ritz Hotel; the University of Bacau; the White House - before names of publications: the Times; the Guardian - before historical epochs or documents: the Stone Age; the French Revolution; the Magna Charta - before names of persons to particularize a certain person:Ex: I don’t know the Tom you are talking about.- before names of nationalities: the English; the Romanians - before names of days, months, seasons, when the reference is made to a special day, month, season, or when these names are preceded by the prepositions in or during:Ex: It was the Sunday before Christmas when he called. I’ll never forget the summer of 1999.
They met in/during the autumn of 2000.
b) with common nouns- before nouns which are considered unique: the sun; the earth; the moon - before names of musical instruments (when preceded by the verb to play): to play the piano/the violin/the guitar- before a noun particularized by a relative clause:Ex: This is the girl I was telling you about.- before a noun followed by a prepositional phrase: the capital of Romania; the road to Bucharest - before a singular noun used as a representative of a class:Ex: The wolf is a dangerous animal.
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- before singular or plural countable nouns to refer to something mentioned before:
c) with other parts of speech- before superlatives and ordinal numbers: the shortest; the first - before adjectives: the old; the young
d) with some phrases, forming certain idiomatic expressions12
Ex: on the other hand for the time being
The definite article is not used (Thomson & Martinet, 1985: 5-6):a) before names of people or places (except as shown above)Ex: Mary
Trafalgar Square
b) before parts of the body and articles of clothing when the idea of possession is implied (they normally prefer a possessive adjective):
Ex: I raised my hand. Take your coat.
The Indefinite ArticleIt refers to persons or things not mentioned before and probably unknown to the
speaker and/or listener or it may represent any individual member of a class as typical of the whole class. The indefinite article a/an is usually associated with the idea of oneness (Beklyarova, 2007: 307), hence its general use with singular countable nouns13. The process of classifying nouns as single units, or “individuation, is the key to the use of the indefinite article in English”. (Yule, 1998: 30)
The spelling of the indefinite article and its pronunciation depend on the initial sound of the word it determines:
- when the word begins with a consonant, pronounced h or a semivowel, the pronunciation is /ə/Ex: a /ə/ car
a /ə/ hospital a /ə/ woman
- when the word begins with a vowel or with silent h , the pronunciation is /ən/Ex: an /ən/ example an /ən/ hour
- when the article is stressed for special emphasis, the pronunciation is /ei/ if the word begins with a consonant, pronounced h or a semivowel, and /æn/ if the word begins with a vowel or with silent hEx: A /ei/ Mr. Jones wants to talk to you. I said it was an /æn/ effect, but not the one I expected.
12 For a longer list see Bonta, Raluca, Introducing morphology: (the article, the noun, the adjective, the pronoun): workbook for students, Bacău, Ed. Alma Mater, 2009.13 http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html, retrieved on February 23rd, 2011.
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The indefinite article is generally used (Alexander, 1988; Bădescu, 1984; Paidos, 1993; Quirk et al., 1991):
a) with proper nouns in certain contexts- with proper nouns that indicate the origin:Ex: He is an American.- with nouns that indicate the religion of people:Ex: She is a Catholic.- with nouns that indicate the politics of people:Ex: Paul is a Liberal.- before Miss/Mrs./Mr. and surname, to indicate a person known only as a name:Ex: A Mr. Smith has called you.
b) with common nouns- with a countable noun mentioned for the first time in a sentence:Ex: I saw him in a new car.- with a singular countable noun which is used as a representative of a whole class:Ex: A lion is a predator.- with nouns that indicate the occupations of people:Ex: I am a teacher.
c) as a numeral- with the meaning one:Ex: Can I have an orange?
- in constructions including numerals and their equivalentsEx: a hundred
a million- in common fractionsEx: a half
- in constructions in which it gains the meaning of ‘each’Ex: ten euros a pair- in constructions in which it gains the meaning of ‘one and the same’Ex: of a kind
d) with little and few:Ex: He has a little money to spend. I have a few friends.
e) in exclamatory sentences beginning with what, such or so:Ex: What a nice house! She was such a clever girl!
He was so good a worker!
f) in a number of phrases14:Ex: as a reward
14 For a longer list see Bonta, Raluca, Introducing morphology: (the article, the noun, the adjective, the pronoun): workbook for students, Bacău, Ed. Alma Mater, 2009.
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as a rule at a distance The indefinite article is not used (Thomson & Martinet, 1985: 2-3): a) before plural nouns:Ex: a cat – cats a house – houses
b) before uncountable nouns (instead of the definite article they can be often preceded by some, any, a little, a piece of, etc.)
Ex: a piece of information some advice a piece of furniture
c) before abstract nouns:Ex: liberty freedom beauty happiness
The Zero ArticleThe zero article should not be regarded as the omission of the definite or
indefinite article, but as an independent category (Downing & Locke, 2006: 416). The basic function of the zero article is a generic one, implying that all or most members of a class possess the characteristics presented. This function is especially evident when the zero article is used with:
a) proper nouns- names of persons: Robert; Mary - names of some periodicals: Encounter; News Week - names of universities: London University; Oxford University - names of printing houses: Longman; Oxford University Press - names of some buildings and monuments: Buckingham Palace; Victoria and Albert Museum - names of theaters and concert halls: English Stage Company; Royal Festival Hall - names of continents: Europe; Africa - names of countries: Romania; France
But: *The Congo *The Gambia *The Yemen *The Sudan- names of towns: Paris; London
But: *The Hague- names of streets: Main Street; Flowers Street - names of squares: Leicester Square; Trafalgar Square - names of bridges: Tower Bridge; London Bridge - names of airports: Getwick Airport; Otopeni Airport - names of trademarks: Philips; Panasonic; Ford
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- names of lakes and mountains: Lake Michigan; Mount Everest - names of parks and woods: Hyde Park; Yosemite National Park - names of languages:Ex: She speaks English.
I speak French.- titles followed by a proper noun: King George; Queen Mary; Doctor Brown; President Bush - names of days, months, seasons, holidays:Ex: Friday is my favorite day of the week. My birthday is in January. I can’t wait for Christmas!- names of subjects or sciences: Physics; Mathematics
b) common nouns- before nouns denoting members of the family:Ex: mother
father- before words like church, school, hospital, prison when they are used with the verb to go:Ex: to go to church/school/hospital/prison- before means of transport (preceded by by):Ex: by plane by car by train- before abstract nouns used in a general sense: Ex: Everybody loves freedom. Many poets wrote about love.- before names of materials used in a general sense:Ex: Coffee is rather expensive here. Children need milk.- before names of meals used in a general sense:Ex: We have lunch in a restaurant every day.- before names of games:Ex: I cannot play football.
c) plural countable nouns: the absence of a determiner before plural countable nouns generally renders the same meaning as the use of the indefinite article a/an before singular countable nouns15:
- to make a general statement:Ex: Lions are dangerous animals.- to refer to something not mentioned before:Ex: Suddenly we saw clouds gathering overhead.- to refer to professions:Ex: They are teachers.
15 http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html, retrieved on January 26th, 2011.
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d) in a number of phrases16:Ex: face to face hand in hand to keep in mind
The basic forms of articles and the types of noun that they precede can be summarized in the following chart (Yule, 1998: 25):
B. The demonstrativesThe demonstratives particularise the noun, showing whether it is near or not near
the speaker, in space or time. From this perspective, they have deictic use. They can be used with singular or plural nouns.
16 For a longer list see Bonta, Raluca, Introducing morphology: (the article, the noun, the adjective, the pronoun): workbook for students, Bacău, Ed. Alma Mater, 2009.
noun-type
common proper
definite indefinite
countable and uncountable
singular and plural
THE car/cars/money
countable
uncountable
ZERO fear/wine
singular
plural
A car/AN hour
ZERO cars
ZERO Mary/London
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- this (+ singular noun) and these (+ plural noun) show closeness to the speakerEx: This car is mine.
These people are my colleagues.
- to emphasise the idea of closeness, this and these can be used with here, right here, over here, right over here (which appear after the noun)
Ex: This car here is mine. These people right here are my colleagues.
- that (+ singular noun) and those (+ plural noun) show remoteness from the speakerEx: That woman was her sister.
Those people were his enemies.
- to emphasise the idea of remoteness, that and those can be used with there, right there, over there, right over there (which appear after the noun)
Ex: That woman over there was her sister. Those people right over there were his enemies.
- this and that can be followed by plural nouns to express a period of time, a sum of money or a certain distance when these plural nouns are regarded as a whole
Ex: This ten days was very difficult for me. That ten dollars was enough for his job. That three kilometres seemed much longer.
C. The possessives
- the possessives can appear with both singular and plural nouns.Ex: my house
your parents
- they can often occur with parts of the bodyEx: Show me your hands.
He was shaking his head.
D. The wh-determinatives
Ex: Which car is yours? Whose umbrella did you take?
What plans do you have for the summer holiday? Whichever road you take, you’ll find plenty of traffic. You’ll have to rely on whatever transport is available.
E. The quantifying determinatives
Some is used:- in affirmative sentencesEx: I bought some books.
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- in affirmative sentences with the meaning of ‘certain’Ex: Some students are always causing trouble.
- in interrogative sentences that express an offer, an invitationEx: Would you like some tea?
- in interrogative sentences when an affirmative answer is expectedEx: Can you give me some money?
- in interrogative sentences when the question does not refer to someEx: Why did you give him some wrong answers?
- in negative sentences when the meaning is affirmativeEx: She never visits us without some presents.
Any is used:- in affirmative sentences with the meaning ‘no matter what’Ex: Any change will do you good.
- in interrogative sentencesEx: Are there any books in that box?
- in negative sentencesEx: We don’t have any money.
No is used:- in negative sentences with affirmative verbs, being in fact a variant of negative verb + anyEx: We have no money.
Enough- when it is used with singular nouns, enough appears only after the nounEx: You should be man enough to accept this situation.
- when it is used with plural nouns, enough can occur either before or after the noun, although the latter usage is considered to be very literary
Ex: There is enough time / time enough.
Another- indicates that the noun it determines is different from one already mentioned:Ex: This skirt is too short. I’m going to buy another skirt.
- it refers to a subsequent noun of the same kind as one already mentioned:Ex: I think I’ll have another coffee.
F. The distributors
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Each/Every – they have similar, but not always identical meanings- both each and every show how often something happensEx: There is a train to Bucharest each/every day.
- each can be used in front of the verb; every cannot be used in front of the verbEx: The girls each received a prize.
*The girls every received a prize.
- each expresses the idea of ‘one by one’Ex: Four students entered the room; each student had a notebook.
- every expresses the idea of ‘all’Ex: Every person is unique.
- each can be also used only for two things; every is used for more than two thingsEx: She had a bag in each hand.
The tree had flowers on every branch.
Either/Neither- both either and neither are used only with singular count nounsEx: You can choose either solution.
I accept neither solution.
- either means ‘one or other of the two’Ex: Mary and John are both right in their own way; you may believe either of them.
- neither means ‘not one and not the other of the two’Ex: I prefer neither solution; both of them are wrong.
- either + negative verb has the same meaning as neither + affirmative verbEx: He didn’t solve either exercise.
He solved neither exercise.
I.5.4.1.2. The pre-determinersa) - All, both, half- they can appear before articles, demonstratives and possessives, but they cannot
occur before the quantifying determinatives and the distributors.Ex: all the children
both these boys half my age *all/both/half every house
- they can function independently in the sentence, without the noun head.Ex: All/Both/Half came early.
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- they can be followed by of-constructions (optional with nouns, but compulsory with personal pronouns.
Ex: all (of) the books all of them
both (of) the children both of them
half (of) the sum half of it
- all and both can also appear after the head.Ex: The men all/both called.
All/Both men came.
- Such- it classifies a noun:
Ex: I’ve never seen such a house before. (= of this kind) - it intensifies a noun:Ex: You are such a child! (= of this degree)
b) The multipliers- they can occur before all central determinersEx: double the sum
twice this amount three times his strength once every month
- they do not have the of-constructionEx: *twice of this amount
- they cannot occur after the head in the sentence Ex: *the sum double
*this amount twice
c) The fractions- they can be followed by the central determinersEx: one-third the/this/my/each time
- they can have the of-constructionEx: one-third of the time
- they cannot occur after the head in the sentenceEx: *the time one-third
I.5.4.1.3. The post-determinersa) The ordinals
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- first, next, last and other can optionally co-occur with cardinal numerals (Quirk et al., 1985: 143)
Ex: the first two days the next two days the last two days the other two colleagues
- second, third and the other ordinals are followed only by singular nounsEx: the second car
*the second cars
b) The cardinal numbers Ex: the four seasons
c) The quantifiers
Many/Much- many is used with countable nounsEx: I have many friends.
- much is used with uncountable nounsEx: I have much money.
(A) Few/(A) Little- (a) few is used with countable nouns
- few means ‘not many’ (-)Ex: I have few friends.
- a few means ‘at least some’ (+)Ex: I have a few friends.
- (a) little is used with uncountable nouns- little means ‘not much’ (-)
Ex: I have little money.- a little means ‘at least some’ (+)
Ex: I have a little money.
Several- it is used with plural countable nounsEx: He came several weeks later.
A few and several can both be used to refer to more things. However, they cannot be used interchangeably, as there is a slight difference in meaning between them (a few = the quantity referred to is relatively small; several = the quantity referred to is relatively large).17
d) The semi-determinatives
17 http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html, retrieved on January 26th, 2011.
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Certain - it specifies the noun that it determines, without completely identifying it. Ex: Certain people may reject this proposal. A certain woman was asking about you.
Same- it indicates a perfect similarity between the noun it determines and another noun
previously mentioned:Ex: They share the same opinions.
Only- it can be used to modify almost any part of the sentence. As a determiner of the
noun it shows a small amount.Ex: They gave us the only rooms available.
Other- it indicates that the noun it determines is different from one already mentioned. It
is used with plural countable nouns.Ex: They came up with other ideas.
The following chart makes a summary of the uses of determiners (central and pre-determiners) with countable and uncountable nouns (Quirk et al., 1991: 136-139):18
Determiner Used with Example Meaninga/an - singular countable
nouns- a house - mentioned for the
first time- refers to one, and not several houses
all - plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- all houses
- all money
- houses in general
- money in general
another - singular countable nouns
- another house - one additional or different house
any - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable
- any house
- any houses
- any money
- refers to one house, without specifying which, of a group of more than 2 houses
- refers to 2 or more houses, without specifying which
18 http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch20.html, retrieved on January 26th, 2011.
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nouns- refers to some money, without specifying which
both - plural countable nouns
- both houses - refers to 2 houses of a group of two
each - singular countable nouns
- each house - refers to every house, considered individually, of a group of 2 or more
either - singular countable nouns
- either house - refers of 1 of 2 houses, without specifying which
enough - plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- enough houses
- enough money
- a sufficient number of houses
- a sufficient amount of money
every - singular countable nouns
- every house - all houses, without exception, of a group of more than 2 houses
few - plural countable nouns
- few houses - a small number of houses
a few - plural countable nouns
- a few houses - a small, but sufficient number of houses
fractions - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- one-third of the house
- one-third of the houses
- one-third of the money
- a specific delimitation of a house- a specific number of a group of houses
- a specific amount of money
half - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- half the house
- half the houses
- half the money
- refers to one of the two equal parts of a specific house
- refers to one of the two equal parts of a specific number of houses- refers to one of the two equal parts of a specific
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amount of moneylittle - uncountable
nouns- little money - a small amount of
moneya little - uncountable
nouns- a little money - a small, but
sufficient amount of money
many - plural countable nouns
- many houses - a large number of houses
much - uncountable nouns
- much money - a large amount of money
neither - singular countable nouns
- neither house - no house of a group of 2 houses
no - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- no house
- no houses
- no money
- not any house
- not any houses
- not any money
one - singular countable nouns
- one house - a single house
only - plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- only houses
- only money
- nothing except houses
- nothing except money
other - plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- other houses
- other money
- different houses
- different money
possessives - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
my/our/your/his/her/their house
my/our/your/his/her/their house
my/our/your/his/her/their money
- shows to whom the house belongs
- shows to whom the houses belong
- shows to whom the money belongs
several - plural countable nouns
- several houses - more than 2 houses, but not a large number of houses
some - singular countable nouns
- some house - an unspecified house
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- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- some houses
- some money
- unspecified houses
- unspecified money
such - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- such a house
- such houses
- such money
- a house of a certain kind
- houses of a certain kind
- money of a certain kind
the - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- the house
- the houses
- the money
- refers to the house as a class/refers to something known or mentioned before
- refers to house as a class/refers to something known or mentioned before
- refers to money as a class/refers to something known or mentioned before
that - singular countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- that house
- that money
- a particular house, which is not nearby
- particular money, which is not nearby
these - plural countable nouns
- these houses - particular houses, which are nearby
this - singular countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- this house
- this money
- a particular house, which is nearby
- particular money, which is nearby
those - plural countable - those houses - particular houses,
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nouns which are not nearby
what(ever) - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- what house
- what houses
- what money
- asks in general for one house to be specified
- asks in general for particular houses to be specified
- asks in general for particular money to be specified
which(ever) - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- which house
- which houses
- which money
- asks for one house to be specified from a certain group of houses
- asks for houses to be specified from a certain group of houses- asks for some of certain money to be specified
whose - singular countable nouns
- plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- whose house
- whose houses
- whose money
- asks for the possessor of a certain house
- asks for the possessor of certain houses
- asks for the possessor of a certain amount of money
zero - plural countable nouns
- uncountable nouns
- houses
- money
- refers to a class
- refers to a class
I.5.4.2. The Pre-modifiersThe pre-modifiers describe or classify the nouns mainly by means of adjectives and
nouns, which are open-class items. Unlike the determiners, the use of pre-modifiers is
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optional; at the same time, “there is no grammatical constraint on the number of modifiers placed before a noun.” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 436)
The role of pre-modifiers can be played by (Downing & Locke, 2006: 436): - adjectives: good teacher; digital camera- nouns: music shop; a Paris café- -en participles: well-dressed woman; fallen leaves- -ing participles: breathtaking view; clarifying question- adverbs: the then leader
The pre-modifiers may function as epithets or classifiers (Downing & Locke, 2006: 436).
a) As epithets, the pre-modifiers present a quality of the noun (quality realized by adjectives), which can be either objective (a red car, a square table) or subjective (a stupid man, a horrible deed). In their turn, the epithets which express objective qualities may either describe a noun (He bought his wife a red car) or define it (He bought his wife the red car); the difference is given by the articles. The subjective epithets, which express the speaker’s or writer’s evaluation, can be either appreciative (a wonderful idea) or pejorative (a foolish idea). Some epithets can be used both objectively and subjectively:
Ex: A big piece of this machinery is missing. His show was a big failure.
b) As classifiers, the pre-modifiers sub-classify the noun and they are realized by nouns, adverbs and certain types of adjectives and participles. The classifiers are not gradable, as opposed to the epithets. They express a wide variety of relations, such as (Downing & Locke, 2006: 436):
- affiliations to national, political or religious groups: American; Liberal; Orthodox- norms, sizes, ratings: average; previous; personal- time, place: former; previous; left; right- institutions: municipal authorities; metropolitan police- professions: social worker; agricultural expert- devices: digital camera; mobile phone
Some pre-modifiers can function as both epithets and classifiers (Downing & Locke, 2006: 442):
Ex: fresh bread (epithet; freshly made) / fresh water (classifier; not salty) a criminal act (epithet) / the criminal court (classifier) a provincial attitude (epithet) / a provincial town (classifier)
I.5.4.3. The Post-modifiersThe post-modifiers provide information that helps to identify the referent of the
noun or “they add supplementary information not essential for identifying it.” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 446)
The role of post-modifiers can be played by:- prepositional phrases: the shop on the corner- adjectives: the room available- adverbs: the flat downstairs- nouns (functioning as appositions): my sister the teacher
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- reflexive pronouns: the president himself- finite relative clauses: the girl who is playing outside- non-finite verb forms: the girl playing outside; the woman to contact is Mary; the gift
received yesterday
a) The post-modifier elements which supply information enabling the identification of the referent of the noun are restrictive, integrated in the structure of the noun phrase. They include (Downing & Locke, 2006: 448):
- prepositional phrases: reliance on his help- adjectives: a number unavailable- adverbs: your intervention yesterday- nouns (functioning as appositions): the writer Shakespeare- reflexive pronouns: my sister herself- finite relative clauses: the man who is calling- non-finite verb forms: there’s nothing to say; the children shouting in the street; chips
fried in this pan
b) The post-modifier elements which add supplementary information about the referent of the noun are non-restrictive, not embedded in the structure of the noun phrase. They include (Downing & Locke, 2006: 448):
- prepositional phrases:Ex: His arrival, at 5 a.m., was welcomed by everybody.
- adjectival groups:Ex: He went out in the beautiful garden, full of flowers.
- nouns (functioning as apposition):Ex: Shakespeare, the writer
- finite relative clauses:Ex: They welcomed all the pupils, who arrived early in the camp.
- non-finite verb forms:Ex: The children, shouting, entered the classroom. The book, dedicated to his family, lay on the table.
Speaking about both pre- and post-modifiers, we should mention that their number in a single noun phrase can be unlimited (Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 96):
Ex: a small white cat (2 pre-modifiers) the three English poems I had to learn (2 pre-modifiers and 1 post-modifier) a young Romanian girl with a red dress, who was smiling (2 pre-modifiers and 2
post-modifiers)
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II. THE ADJECTIVE
II.1. DefinitionII.2. The adjectival phrase and its structure II.3. The properties of adjectivesII.4. The functions of adjectivesII.5. The position of adjectives in relation to the nounII.6. Classification of adjectives
II.6.1. According to meaning
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II.6.2. According to syntactic functionII.6.3. According to semantic distinctions
II.7. The Descriptive Adjectives II.7.1. The formation of adjectives II.7.2. The comparison of adjectives II.7.4. The order of adjectives
II.8. The Limiting Adjectives
II.1. DefinitionThe adjective is the principal part of speech which helps identifying or describing a
noun (Alexander, 1988: 106), denoting properties of objects, persons, places, etc. (Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 112), properties that relate to: quality (a good person), size (a small house), age (a young woman), temperature (a hot day), shape (a round table), colour (a black cat), origin (a Swiss chocolate).
II.2. The adjectival phrase and its structure The adjectival phrase consists of an adjective as head (h), which can appear alone or
accompanied by a modifier (m) and a post-head element. The post-head element, in its turn, can be either a modifier (m) or a complement (c); the post-modifier and the complement can co-occur in the same adjectival phrase. The difference between them is that the complement is controlled by the adjectival head (good at . . ., fond of . . ., glad that . . ., glad to . . . etc.), whereas the post-modifier is not. (Downing & Locke, 2006: 476; Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 118)
The basic structure of the adjectival phrase is as follows:
Modifier Head Post-head (modifier / complement)Very good indeed at chess
Other examples of full adjectival heads structures are:- extremely hot for this period (mhm);- very glad that you won the match (mhc);- quite fond of music (mhc)
II.3. The properties of adjectivesFrom a syntactic point of view, the adjectives in English have three main properties:
(Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 112; Quirk et al., 1991: 231):1. Function: adjectives can function attributively or predicatively. Adjectives in attributive position function as premodifiers of the following noung (the beautiful painting). Adjectives in predicative position function mainly as complement in the structure of the clause: subject complement (The painting is beautiful.) or object complement (She thought the painting beautiful.)2. Grade: adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms. They can inflect for grade, using the suffixes –er and –est (noisier – the noisiest), or they can form comparative and
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superlative adjective phrases with the help of more and the most (more beautiful – the most beautiful).3. Modification: adjectives can be premodified by adverbs, nouns or other adjectives with reference to a quality (strangely attractive, pitch black, light brown) or to a specific context (physically handicapped, duty-free) (Downing & Locke, 2006: 493). Adjectives can also be modified by the intensifiers very, quite, rather (This painting is very beautiful.)
II.4. The functions of adjectivesThe adjectives can function:
- in clause structure as: subject complement (Your idea is excellent.); object complement (I consider this impolite.); complement of a preposition (for good; in short);
- in phrase structure as: head of a noun phrase (adjectives qualifying personal nouns: the rich; adjectives denoting nationalities: the English) (Quirk et al., 1991: 251-252); modifier of another adjective (bright red; pale yellow); premodifier of a noun (a good man; heavy rain); postmodifier of a noun (something expensive; the person responsible).
Downing & Locke(2006: 482) also speak about peripheral adjectival groups:- stance adjuncts – make an evaluative comment on the content of the whole clause:
Ex: Odd / Strange, I’ve never thought of this.- detached predicatives – they add contextual information. They are encountered in writing and absent from conversation.
Ex: Sad and disappointed, she walked away.- adjectives as exclamations:
Ex: Great! Fine ! Fantastic !
II.5. The position of adjectives in relation to the nounThe adjectives usually precede the noun or pronoun they modify. They follow the
noun in a number of titles (Attorney General; Governor General; Poet Laureate; Sergeant Major) and in a number of fixed phrases (hope eternal; sum total; time immemorial; Goodness gracious!) (Alexander, 1988: 111). Adjectives also follow the indefinite pronouns ending in –body, -one, -thing, -where (Quirk et al., 1991: 248): anyone rich, something important.
A few adjectives formed with the prefix a- and the four adjectives absent, present, concerned, involved usually appear in postposition (Quirk et al., 1991: 248-249): the building ablaze, the ships afloat, the people absent/present/concerned/involved.
Some adjectives (mostly ending in –able and –ible: available, eligible, imaginable, etc.) can precede or follow the noun, usually with no change of meaning:
Ex: We will complete the work in the time available / available time.A few adjectives have different meaning depending on whether they precede or
follow the noun:Ex: the concerned person (= worried) / the person concerned (= responsible) the involved explanation (= complicated) / the person involved (= connected with) the present employees (= currently employed) / the employees present (= here
now) the proper question (= correct) / the question proper (= itself)
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II.6. Classification of adjectives
II.6.1. According to meaningDepending on what they refer to, there are two types of adjectives:
a) descriptive adjectives – they express a quality (good, bad, smart, etc.) or a physical state such as age, colour, size (old, brown, large, etc.)19;
b) limiting adjectives – they express distance, quantity, possession, placing restriction on the nouns they modify.
II.6.2. According to syntactic functionThe use of adjectives as attributive or predicative gives the following classification of
adjectives:a) central adjectives – they can be both attributive and predicative
Ex: a big car – the car is bigb) attributive only20
Ex: the mere truth - *the truth is merec) predicative only21
Ex: *a loath man – the man is loath to accept it
II.6.3. According to semantic distinctionsFrom a semantic point of view the adjectives can be classified into (Quirk et al., 1991:
265):- stative and dynamic
Most adjectives are stative. Unlike the dynamic adjectives, they cannot be used with a progressive aspect or the imperative mood:
Ex: *She’s being old. *Be old!Adjectives that can be used dynamically include: adorable, ambitious, brave, calm,
careful, friendly, funny, generous, gentle, kind, nice, patient, shy, timid, vulgar.
- gradable and non-gradableMost adjectives are gradable: “they denote scalar properties that can apply in varying
degrees” (Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 118). They can admit the use of such adverbs as more and most or suffixes such as –er, -est, which convey the degree of intensity of the adjectives, but they can also admit other intensifiers such as very, extremely, so.
Ex: interesting - more interesting – the most interesting very / extremely / so interesting old – older – the oldest very / extremely / so oldMost stative adjectives and all dynamic adjectives are gradable. Only a few stative
adjectives (the so-called “technical adjectives” and adjectives denoting provenance) are non-gradable, denoting “non-scalar properties” (Huddleston & Pullum, 2005: 118).
Ex: *more atomic19 For a list of descriptive adjectives see Appendix II.a20 For a longer list of adjectives used attributively see Appendix II.b21 For a longer list of adjectives used predicatively see Appendix II.c
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*very atomic *extremely Romanian
- inherent and non-inherentMost adjectives are inherent, characterizing the referent of the noun directly.
Gradable adjectives can be either inherent or non-inherent:Ex: a white bag (= the bag is white) – inherent a new friend (*=the friend is new) – non-inherentDynamic adjectives are generally inherent.Ex: a jealous husband (= the husband is jealous)
II.7. The Descriptive Adjectives
II.7.1. The formation of adjectives There are three ways of building up adjectives in English: derivation (using prefixes
and suffixes), conversion and composition.a) derivation- using prefixes (a-, ab-, bi-, dis-, extra-, in-, ir-, super-, etc.): alive, abnormal, bifocal,
disadvantageous, extraordinary, incapable, irregular, supernatural, etc.- using suffixes (-able, -ible, -ful, -ic, -ing, -some, -y, etc.): agreeable, sensible, useful,
historic, amazing, quarrelsome, dusty, etc.A special case is that of the Past Participle –ed and of the Present Participle –ing
(used as suffixes for forming adjectives): the former means affected in this way, the latter means having this effect.
Ex: alarmed – alarming confused – confusing insulted – insulting tired – tiringSome Past Participle forms are used only adjectively:Ex: on bended knees – she had bent her knees a shrunken material – the material has shrunk in the washing panic-stricken – they were struck with panic sunken wrack – the storm had sunk the ship
b) conversion- nouns changed into adjectives: a stone wall; a summer dress- verbs changed into adjectives: a make-and-break situation; the would–be actor- adverbs changed into adjectives: the above rule; his only friend
At the same time, in certain situations, the adjectives may function as other parts of speech:
- when they denote abstract notions and are preceded by the definite article, adjectives may function as nouns: the poor; the rich; the brave; the wounded
- when the adjectives designate nationalities, they also function as nouns: the English; the Russians; the Indians
- adjectives may serve as adverbs: to break loose; straight ahead-c) composition
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- adjective + noun: a long-distance call- adjective + Past Participle: a hard-boiled egg- adjective + noun + -(e)d: a dark-haired man- noun + Past Participle: heart-broken- noun + adjective: crystal-clear- noun + Present Participle: cancer-producing substances- noun + noun: a sound-proof room- adverb + Past Participle: well-meant- adverb + adjective: wide-open- adverb + Present Participle: hard-working- verb + noun: a telltale signal- verb + verb: a would-be champion- verb + adverb: a runaway man- preposition + noun: underage- numeral + noun + adjective: a five-year-old girl
II.7.2. The comparison of adjectives The comparison applies only to gradable adjectives, which have three degrees of
comparison: the Positive, the Comparative (of superiority, of equality and of inferiority) and the Superlative (the Relative Superlative and the Absolute Superlative).
The Positive degree is the root form of the adjectives that can be found in the dictionaries (Coghill & Magedanz, 2003: 170).
According to the way they form the comparative of superiority and the relative superlative adjectives may be divided into regular and irregular.
1) The regular adjectives – they may have two forms for the comparative and superlative: an inflected form (adding the suffixes –er and –est) and an uninflected form (using more and most). The adjectives that form the comparative by adding –er to the positive form of the adjective and the superlative by adding –est and a definite article to the positive form of the adjective include:
- the monosyllabic adjectives (except right, real, wrong) Ex: fat – fatter – the fattest soft – softer – the softest
- the disyllabic adjectives ending in –y or –ly:Ex: busy – busier – the busiest lonely – lonelier – the loneliest
There are some adjectives that can have both forms (inflected and uninflected) for the comparative and the superlative:
- the disyllabic adjectives ending in –er, -le, -ow, -some and –ure: Ex: clever – cleverer / more clever – the cleverest / the most clever noble – nobler / more noble – the noblest / the most noble shallow – shallower / more shallow – the shallowest / the most shallow handsome – handsomer / more handsome / the most handsome obscure – obscurer / more obscure – the obscurest / the most obscure
- some dissyllabic adjectives with the stress on the first syllable:Ex: idle – idler / more idle – the idlest / the most idle
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cruel – crueller / more cruel – the cruellest / the most cruel- numerous dissyllabic adjectives with the stress on the last syllable:
Ex: profound – profounder / more profound – the profoundest / the most profound severe – severer / more severe – the severest / the most severe sincere – sincerer / more sincere – the sincerest / the most sincere
The following orthographical rules should be noted and obeyed (Jespersen, 2006: 170-171):a) single final consonants are doubled when the preceding vowel is stressed and spelled with a single letter: big – bigger – the biggestb) the final –l is doubled when it follows an unstressed vowel: cruel – crueller – the cruellestc) the final –y remains unchanged when preceded by a vowel: gray – grayer – the grayestd) the final –y changes to –i when it comes after a consonant: happy – happier – the happiest e) adjectives ending in –e add only –r or –st: fine – finer – the finest
The adjectives that form the comparative by adding more in front of the positive form of the adjective and the superlative by adding the most in front of the positive form of the adjective include:
- the plurisyllabic adjectives:Ex: interesting – more interesting – the most interesting beautiful – more beautiful – the most beautiful
- the dissyllabic adjectives with the stress on the first syllable:Ex: fragile – more fragile – the most fragile constant – more constant – the most constant
- the participles and the adjectives with participial suffixesEx: upset – more upset – the most upset skilled – more skilled – the most skilled convincing – more convincing – the most convincing
2) The irregular adjectives They have different forms for the comparative and the superlative:
Positive Comparative Superlative Examplegood better the best This is a better car
than the one I used to have.He is the best student in his class.
bad worse the worst Your test paper is worse than mine.This is the worst meal I have ever eaten.
ill worse the worst *In American English ill is the formal equivalent of sick. *In British English ill
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is used only predicatively.
You look ill. / You feel ill.He is a sick child.The sick must be taken care of.
much (uncountable nouns)
more (the) most I need more time to solve this problem.Most cheese is made from cow’s milk.
many (countable nouns)
more (the) most There were more students present than I expected.Most students understand English.
little less the least I earn less money than my brother.He does the least work in his office.
old (for age of people and things)
olderelder (used only attributively, for the members of the same family)
the oldestthe eldest (for the members of the same family)
His elder brother is two years older than him.
late later (for time)
latter (for order; the second of the two, the opposite of the former)
the latest (for time; the most recent)the last(for order; the final)
Later rumours say that he is dead.This is his latest book.The latter half of May was very cold.This is his last poem.
far farther (usually for distance)further (for distance and time)*further alone means also additional
the farthest (usually for distance)the furthest (for distance and time)
Farther towns need water supply.This is the farthest village in the county.His arrival is further than we expected.His arrival was the furthest.I need further information on this matter.
near nearer the nearest (for distance)the next (for order)
His house is nearer to mine than yours.His house is the
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nearest to the town centre.The next bus will come in 10 minutes.
As previously mentioned, there are three types of Comparative and two types of Superlative, which have the following forms:
a) the Comparative – it is used in order to compare one person or thing with another. The comparison may be between:- single items: Mary is younger than Paul.- a single item and a group: Mary is younger than her sisters.- two groups: My sisters are younger than your sisters.
The Comparative can be:- of superiority: -er / more/ irregular form + than
Ex: This house is bigger / more interesting / worse than the other one.If two things of exactly the same kind are compared, the can be used before a
comparative in formal style:Ex: Which is (the) bigger? (of the two houses) My house is (the) bigger. (of the two house)There is a special construction, the + comparative + the, which is used to show cause
and effect:Ex: The more expensive cigarettes become, the less people smoke.
- of equality: as + adjective (Positive) + as (there is a great number of idioms which are comparatives of equality22)
Ex: My house is as big as yours.
- of inferiority: not as/ so + adjective (Positive) + as less + adjective (Positive) + than
Ex: This book is less interesting than the others I’ve read.
Sometimes, the modifiers of degree can have a submodifier placed before them, which may (Downing & Locke, 2006: 493):
a) attenuate a negative value: rather less interestingb) reinforce a positive value: only too pleased
b) the Superlative – it is used to compare one person or thing with several in the same group.
There are two types of Superlative:- the Relative Superlative: the …–est / the most … / the (irregular form)
Ex: She is the smartest / the most beautiful / the best in her class.Informally, the Superlative can be used instead of a comparative when comparing
two people or things:Ex: Who’s the richest, Tom or Jim?
22 For a list of these idioms see Bonta, Raluca, Introducing morphology: (the article, the noun, the adjective, the pronoun): workbook for students, Bacău, Ed. Alma Mater, 2009.
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- the Absolute Superlative: - the use of very / much + adjective (Positive)
Ex: It is a very cold day. I am (very) much obliged.
- the use of a great number of adverbs (equivalent with very and much) that are more expressive than the ones mentioned above: admirably, alarmingly, completely, considerably, dreadfully, excessively, extremely, greatly, highly, infinitely, perfectly, remarkably, shockingly, unusually, etc.
Ex: It was unusually cold this spring. I am dreadfully sorry.
* there are certain common collocations with a superlative meaning: freezing cold, blind drunk, fast asleep, stinking rich, highly controversial, deeply moving, horribly disfigured, etc.
- the use of some adverbs that may get the value of an absolute superlative: just, quite, positively, really, simply, etc.
Ex: It was just splendid. I was quite disappointed. It was positively / really disgraceful. She was simply awful.
- the use of some prefixes in the formation of adjectives: extra-dry, extra-strong, hypersensitive, oversized, superfine.
- the use of the relative superlative in sentences where the second element is very general or it is not present:
Ex: He has the worst of tempers. I saw the sweetest baby. She is the funniest child.
- the use of some exclamatory constructions:Ex: What a fine speech! You are so kind to me!
- the use of some genitive constructions:Ex: He was the villain of villains. Courage was the virtue of all virtues.
- the repetition of an adjective or adverb:Ex: He’s clever-clever. Naughty-naughty!
II.7.4. The order of adjectivesWhen more adjectives are used to describe a noun, the usual order is:
Quality size/age/shape colour origin past participle nounBeautiful big new oval black English handmade table
*the adjective indicating origin usually precedes an adjectival past participle. However, this is not invariable: a handmade English table. If a present participle is used, it precedes the one expressing origin: a quick-selling English handmade table.
*the general qualities precede the particular ones: a beautiful spacious room.
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II.8. The Limiting AdjectivesThe most important limiting adjectives are (Alexander, 1988; Bădescu, 1984; Paidos,
1993; Quirk et al., 1991):a) the possessive adjectives;b) the demonstrative adjectivesc) the interrogative adjectives;d) the relative adjectives;e)the indefinite adjectives.
a) The possessive adjectives – they are, for the singular, my, your, his, her, its and for the plural, our, your, their. They change according to the gender and number of the possessor.
Ex: The man has sold his car. The woman has sold her car.
The possessive adjectives function as determiners.Extra emphasis can be given to the idea of possession by the addition of (very) own to
all possessive adjectives (Alexander, 1988: 81):Ex: I’d love to have my (very) own car.
b) The demonstrative adjectives – they are this/that, these/those, the (=that), the other, such (a),the same, very.- this/that, these/those – this/these refer to somebody or something close to the speaker; that/those refer to somebody or something that is more distant from the speaker. They may have:
- deictic use – indicating spatial or temporal orientation:Ex: This car is mine. These days have been very happy for me.
- anaphoric use – referring to something known in the context or already mentioned:
Ex: I wanted to buy the last vase in the shop, but that vase was broken.- cataphoric use – pointing to something to be mentioned later:
Ex: Listen to this story I’m going to tell you now!- emotional use – implying that the participants in the conversation share the same views regarding the subject of discussion:
Ex: Hear this story!
- the (=that): I didn’t recognize him at the moment. (=at that moment) - such (a) – the meaning is this/that kind of: I want such a car.- same: We had the same views regarding this matter.- very: I didn’t like her from the very beginning.
c) The interrogative adjectives – they are what, which, whose, how many and how much.Ex: What number do you have at your office?
Which book did you like best? Whose car is this one? How much money have you spent so far? How many people have you invited to your party?
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d) The relative adjectives – they are what, (whatever), which, (whichever) and whose. Ex: I advised him what decision to take.
I didn’t know which blouse to choose. The man whose hair is white is her father.
e) The indefinite adjectives – they are a certain, certain, some, any, no, much, many, (a) little, (a) few, each, every, either, neither, all, whole, both (the), several, other, another, enough, most.- a certain: He brought a certain Mary with him.- certain: He has certain books that might interest you.- some is used:
- in affirmative sentences: She was carrying some books.- in interrogative sentences that express an offer, an invitation: Would you like some tea?- in interrogative sentences, when an affirmative answer is expected: Could you give me some money?- with the meaning certain, but not all: Some people believe everything they see on TV.
Some can also appear with some special uses: (Alexander, 1988: 91)- with the meaning extraordinary: That’s some painting you’ve got on the wall!- with the meaning several: I haven’t seen you for some years.- with the meaning approximately: There were some 200 people present.- with the meaning an unknown: There must be some doctor who could help you.- with the meaning no kind of: That’s some answer, I must say! (ironic)
- any is used:- in affirmative sentences, with the meaning no matter what: Any idea is encouraged.- in interrogative sentences: Are there any fruits in the fridge?- in negative sentences, when the verb is negated: I don’t have any friends.- after negative adverbs (hardly, scarcely, barely): I hardly have any friends.
Any can also appear with some special uses: (Alexander, 1988: 91)- with the meaning usual: This isn’t just any book. (it’s special)- with the meaning the minimum/maximum: She’ll need any help she can get.- with the meaning no matter which: Give me a plate. Any plate will do.
- no is used in negative sentences, when the verb is affirmative: I have no friends.- much and many have the same meaning, but they are used with different types of nouns. Much is used with uncountable nouns, while many is used with countable nouns.
Ex: He doesn’t have much money. He doesn’t have many properties.
- the pairs little/a little – few/a few have the same meanings, but they are used with different types of nouns. (A) little is used with uncountable nouns, while (a) few is used with countable nouns. Little means not much, few means not many, a little and a few mean at least some.
Ex: I have little money. I have a little money.
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I have few friends. I have a few friends.In theory, the comparative and superlative forms of few and little maintain the
requirements for the positive forms. In practice, however, the informal use of less and the least with plural countables or collective nouns such as people is commonly heard.
Ex: Less and less people can afford to buy a new house. This TV show attracts the least viewers.
- each refers to all members of a group, considering them one by one: Three men entered the room; each of them was carrying a bag.- every refers to all members of a group, considered together: She sent me three letters and every letter stresses how much she likes London.
Every may appear in a series of idiomatic expressions: every bit, every right, every now and then, every so often.
- either refers to singular count nouns, meaning one or other of the two: You may take either car.- neither refers to singular count nouns, meaning not one and not the other of the two: I gave them two books to read, but they read neither book. - all is used to indicate the entire quantity: All pupils start their holiday in June.- both (the) is used for two persons or things considered together: Both my children are at school.- whole means complete, every part of: He waited for her a whole year.- several indicates a large but indefinite number of persons or things: We are going to spend several days at the seaside.- other indicates something more or something different: I want to hear other opinions about this matter.- another means different or one more: I want another book, not this one.; Can I have another cup of coffee?- enough may appear before or after the noun: There are people enough / enough people in the room.- most indicates almost all of a quantity or a number: Most people present there were old.
III. THE VERB
III.1. DefinitionIII.2. The verb phrase and its structure III.3. The verb classesIII.4. The verb formsIII.5. Finite and non-finite verb phrasesIII.6. Types of verbs according to complementationIII.7. The grammatical categories of the verb
III.7.1. The category of tenseIII.7.2. The category of aspectIII.7.3. The category of voiceIII.7.4. The category of mood
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III.7.4.1. The Indicative MoodIII.7.4.2. The Subjunctive MoodIII.7.4.3. The Conditional MoodIII.7.4.4. The Imperative Mood
III.8. The non-finite verb phrasesIII.8.1. The InfinitiveIII.8.2. The GerundIII.8.3. The Participle
III.9. Modality and the modal auxiliariesIII.9.1. CanIII.9.2. CouldIII.9.3. MayIII.9.4. MightIII.9.5. MustIII.9.6. ShallIII.9.7. ShouldIII.9.8. WillIII.9.9. WouldIII.9.11. Used toIII.9.13. Dare
III.1. DefinitionThe verb is the principal part of speech by means of which people most typically
express their perception of events (Downing & Locke, 2006: 317).
III.2. The verb phrase and its structure The verb phrase consists of a main verb (v), which may be a lexical verb or a primary
auxiliary. The main verb can function alone or preceded by one or more auxiliaries (x). The first auxiliary is usually called the “operator” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 317)
The verb phrase may look like this:v: I went homeov: I am going home.oxv: I have been going home.
III.3. The verb classesBy means of the verb phrase people express their perception of activities, events or
states. The verb phrase consists of the following classes and forms of verbs (Downing & Locke, 2006: 318; Quirk et al., 1991: 69):
- lexical verbs: go, read, take, etc.;- auxiliary verbs:
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- primary auxiliary: - periphrastic do - aspectual be and have - passive be
- modal auxiliaries: shall, should, will, would, can, could, may, might, must, ought to; need, dare, used to
- semi-auxiliary verbs:- be able to, be about to, be apt to, be bound to, be due to, be going to, be liable
to, be likely to, be certain to, be sure to, be to, be unlikely to, be supposed to;- have to, have got to;- had better, would rather, would sooner.
The lexical verbs constitute an open set, meaning that new ones can be added to the lexicon at any time. The auxiliary and semi-auxiliary verbs form closed sets, being limited in number.
III.4. The verb formsNormally, the English verb has five forms (Quirk et al., 1991: 70): the base form, the –
s form, the past, the –ing participle and the –ed participle. The –ed form is identical for both the past and the past participle in the regular lexical verbs. With the irregular lexical verbs23, the number of forms may vary from three (cut, cuts, cutting) to eight (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been). The modal auxiliaries do not have the infinitive (*to can), the –ing participle (*canning) or the –ed participle (*caned).
FORM SYMBOL EXAMPLE FUNCTIONS1. the base form V walk
goa) the present tense (except IIIrd person singular): I/you/we/they walkI/you/we/they gob) imperative:Walk!Go!c) subjunctive:They demanded that I walk/go.d) the bare infinitive:He can’t walk.They may go.e) the to- infinitive:He wants us to walk/go.
2. the –s form V-s walksgoes
the present tense, IIIrd person singular:He/she/it walks.He/she/it goes.
3. the past V-ed1 walked the past tense:23 For a complete list of irregular verbs, see Appendix III
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went They walked/went home.
4. the –ing participle(present participle)
V-ing walkinggoing
a) the progressive aspect:He is walking/going home.b) non-finite –ing clauses:Walking/Going home is not easy.
5. the –ed participle(past participle)
V-ed2 walkedgone
a) the perfective aspect:She has walked/gone home.b) the passive voice:This alley was walked on many times.
III.5. Finite and non-finite verb phrasesThe above mentioned verb forms function in finite and non-finite verb phrases. The
elements that differentiate them can be seen in the following chart (Quirk et al., 1991: 71-75):
Finite verb phrases Non-finite verb phrasesThey have tense distinctions (present and past tense)Ex: She works hard. She worked hard.
They do not have tense distinctions.
They can function as the verb phrase of a main clause, having a concord with the subject. For the verb to be, the concord is between all persons and the verb. Ex: I am You are He/She is We areFor the other lexical verbs, the “concord is restricted to a contrast between IIIrd and non-IIIrd person singular present” (Quirk et al., 1991: 72).Ex: I go home. He goes home.The modal auxiliaries do not have a concord with the subject.Ex: I/you/he/we/they may go.
They cannot function as the verb phrase of a main clause:Ex: *She to come home early.
They have mood: indicative, imperative and subjunctive mood.
They do not have imperative mood.
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Ex: He goes home. Go home! They suggested that he go home.
Both the finite and the non-finite verb phrases can be either simple or complex (Quirk et al., 1991: 72-73).a) The simple finite verb phrase consists of only one verb, which can be present, past or imperative.
Ex: She goes home. She went home. Go home!
b) The complex finite verb phrase consists of two or more verbs. There are four basic types:A (modal/periphrastic) – modal or periphrastic auxiliary + the base of the verb phrase
head.Ex: He may call.
B (perfective) – the auxiliary have + the –ed participle of the verb phrase head.Ex: He has called.
C (progressive) – the auxiliary be + the –ing participle of the verb phrase head.Ex: He is calling.
D (passive) – the auxiliary be + the –ed participle of the verb phrase head.Ex: He is called.
These four types enter various combinations with each other:AB: He may have called.AC: He may be calling.AD: He may be called.BC: He has been calling.BD: He has been called.CD: He is being called.ABC: He may have been calling.ABD: He may have been called.ACD: He may be being called.BCD: He has been being called.ABCD: He may have been being called.
c) The simple non-finite verb phrase consists of only one verb in the infinitive or participle.Ex: to call
calling
d) The complex non-finite verb phrase respects almost the same patterns as the complex finite verb phrase, with the exception of A type, as the modal auxiliaries have no non-finite forms. Following the above-mentioned combinations, there can be distinguished the following types of non-finite verb phrases:
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B: to have called / having calledC: to be calling / *being callingD: to be called / being calledBC: to have been calling / having been callingBD: to have been called / having been calledCD: to be being called / *being being calledBCD: to have been being called / having been being called
III.6. Types of verbs according to complementationComplementation refers to the way in which a verb selects objects, the verb being
thus considered transitive. There are four main types of transitive verbs (Quirk et al., 1991: 319):
a) Copular (intensive) verbs – are those verbs whose meaning changes when the object following them is dropped: appear (sad), be (happy), become (rich), feel (tired), get (ready), grow (old), keep (silent), look (nice), smell (sweet), sound (terrible), turn (cold)
b) Monotransitive verbs – are those verbs which require a direct object and they may be classified further on into:
- verbs which allow the passive transformation: begin, believe, bring, call, cut, do, doubt, enjoy, lose, love, meet, receive, remember, say, start, study, etc.
Ex: My neighbour has cut the tree in front of his house. – The tree in front of my neighbour’s house has been cut by him.
- verbs which do not allow the passive transformation: have, lack, fit, suit, resemble.
Ex: He lacks confidence. - *Confidence is lacked by him.
c) Complex transitive verbs – are those verbs which are followed by an object and an object complement: call, drive, find, get, hold, imagine, make, prefer, suppose, turn, etc. Ex: Her behaviour drives me insane.
d) Ditransitive verbs – are those verbs followed by an indirect object (normally animate and positioned first) and a direct object (normally inanimate): ask, beg, charge, give, offer, wish, etc. Ex: He gave his secretary an envelope.
Some verbs do not accept any object after them, as they refer to actions or events which do not involve “anyone or anything other than the subject” (Cobuild, 1990: 130). These are the “pure” intransitive verbs (Quirk et al., 1991: 319): appear, come, die, fall, go, lie, rise.
There are some verbs which can be transitive or intransitive (Quirk et al., 1991: 319):a) with little or no difference in meaning: approach, drink, drive, enter, help, pass, play,
winEx: They drink (wine) every Saturday evening.
b) with considerable difference in meaning: begin, change, drop, grow, walk, work, runEx: Paul runs very fast.
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Jim runs a hotel.
III.7. The grammatical categories of the verb The categories that are used with respect to the English verb are tense, aspect, voice
and mood.
III.7.1. The category of tenseIn English there is a clear distinction between time and tense, the latter being only
loosely related to time. Time is “a universal concept with three divisions” (Quirk et al., 1991: 84), past, present and future. The category of tense is used to make reference to these extra-linguistic realities. Generally, in many languages, the changes in the verb forms indicate present, past and future. From this perspective, English has only two tenses, as there are only two cases where the form of the verb varies: present – which refers to present time (listen, come) and past – which refers to past time (listened, came) (Alexander, 1988: 159). Still, the combination of will + bare infinitive is considered to refer to the future; at the same time, the combinations of be + present participle and have + participle are also considered as tenses.
III.7.2. The category of aspectAspect refers to the manner in which the action of the verb is regarded or
experienced. Aspect cannot be disconnected from the idea of time; however, this connection is regarded in a different way than when tense is taken into account. Thus, tense relates an action to a time point, referring to the external time of a situation, while aspect relates the action to an internal time of a situation, denoting its internal time organization. In English, the contrast is between perfective/non-perfective aspect and progressive/non-progressive aspect. The categories of tense and aspect combine, resulting the following constructions:a) present perfect / past perfect
Ex: she has called / had calledb) present progressive / past progressive
Ex: she is calling / was callingc) present perfect progressive / past perfect progressive
Ex: she has been calling / had been calling
The perfect aspect indicates that the action expressed by the verb precedes a certain moment in time. This means that the action or state expressed by present perfect or past perfect is considered to be completed at the time of speaking or at a time spoken of.
The progressive aspect indicates that the action expressed by the verb is considered as being in progress, as proceeding continuously at a definite period of time. It indicates ongoing actions (instead of the occurrence of an action) or the continuity of a state (instead of the existence of that state). The progressive aspect can also show simultaneity, incompletion, emphasis or limited duration of time. In English there are some verbs which can occur in the progressive aspect and others which cannot do so. Generally, the distinction is between verbs in dynamic use (which accept the progressive) and verbs in stative use (which cannot be used in the progressive). The dynamic verbs include (Quirk et al., 1991: 95-96):- verbs that denote activities: call, drink, eat, listen, play, work, write etc.
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- verbs that denote processes: change, deteriorate, grow etc.- verbs of bodily sensation: ache, feel, hurt, itch etc.- transitional event verbs: arrive, die, fall, leave etc.- momentary verbs: hit, jump, kick, knock etc.
The stative verbs include:- verbs of physical perception: hear, see, taste, smell, sound- verbs of mental perception: believe, doubt, feel, forget, guess, imagine, remember, think, understand etc.- verbs of emotion or attitude: adore, care, like, dislike, forgive, hate, want, wish, surprise etc.- verbs showing possession: have, own, possess etc.- other verbs such as: be, appear, concern, contain, involve, lack, need, seem etc.
Some of these verbs can be used in the progressive aspect only in certain cases:1.To hear
- to receive news of or from:Ex: We’re hearing interesting news about our friend. - when referring to legal cases, meaning to try:Ex: The judge is hearing my neighbour, who is a witness in this case.
2. To see- to meet by appointmentEx: I’m seeing my family next week.- to visitEx: We are seeing the beautiful sights of Verona.- to have hallucinationsEx: I’m seeing things.
3. To smell- to try to get a particular sensationEx: Why are you smelling the fish?
4. To feel- the progressive form suggests that the state is temporaryEx: My mother felt well yesterday, but she is not feeling well today.- when it means to try to get a particular sensationEx: The doctor is feeling the patient’s arm.
5. To taste- to try to get a particular sensationEx: He’s tasting the wine.
6. To have- to eat, to drinkEx: I’m having lunch.- to have a bath / a chat / a ride / a good time / a laugh / a swimEx: I’m having a chat.
7. To be- for temporary activity or behaviourEx: You’re being so strange today!
8. To like; to love
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- to enjoyEx: I’m loving it.
9. To think- an opinion given or asked forEx: What are you thinking about?
III.7.3. The category of voiceVoice refers to the relations established between subject and action. The action can
be considered in two different ways, without altering the facts, the opposition being between active and passive constructions.
Ex: She will call me. I will be called by her.
The situation reflected by the passive construction does not differ from the situation reflected by the active construction — the nature of the process is preserved intact and the situational participants remain in their places. The transition from the active voice to the passive voice changes the subjective appraisal of the situation by the speaker, the plane of his presentation of it.
However, not all the verbs capable of taking an object are actually used in the passive. In particular, the passive form is alien to many verbs which display a weak dynamic force, such as have (direct possessive meaning), belong, cost, resemble, fail, misgive, etc. Thus, in accord with their relation to the passive voice, all the verbs can be divided into two large sets: the set of passivised verbs and the set of non-passivised verbs.
III.7.4. The category of moodMood indicates the way in which the speaker considers the action or state denoted
by the verb. It can be conceived as a fact, as actually taking place or as a command, desire, possibility or condition. Thus, the moods for the finite verb forms are the indicative, the subjunctive, the conditional and the imperative.
III.7.4.1. The Indicative MoodThe indicative mood shows that the speaker considers the action or state denoted by
the verb as real. It includes the present tense (simple and progressive), the past tense (simple and progressive), the present perfect (simple and progressive), the past perfect (simple and progressive) and the future (simple and progressive).
a) The Present Tense SimpleThe formulae describing the structure of the present tense simple are:Active voice: V
V + -(e)s (III person sg.)Passive voice: be (present simple) + V + -ed participleIt is a tense which can be used with or without any reference to a certain time.
Without reference to a certain time, the present simple falls into two categories, the generic present and the habitual present:
The generic present shows states that are valid not only at the speech time now, but also at any interval of time.
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Ex: Ice melts in the sun. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
It is used to express:1. General timeless statements (eternal truths)Ex: Man is mortal.
2. DefinitionsEx: Grammar is / represents the study of how words and their component parts
combine to form sentences.
3. Proverbs and sayingsEx: All’s well that ends well.
4. Geographical or mathematical statementsEx: The earth moves round the sun. Three and five make eight.
The habitual present indicates that a situation is repeated with a given frequency, during an interval.
Ex: A dog barks in my yard every day.
The markers (adverbs of frequency) normally used with the habitual present are: always, often, usually, frequently, generally, normally, every day/month/year, sometimes, rarely, seldom, regularly, twice a week/month/year.
With reference to a certain time, the present simple is used to express instantaneous activities, single actions begun and completed approximately at the moment of speech.
Ex: I place this flower into the hat and look, a rabbit pops out.
The situations when the instantaneous present is used are the following:1. Step-by-step instructions and demonstrationsEx: To get to the station you go straight on.
First I take a bowl and break two eggs into it.
2. Sport commentariesEx: The player hits and the ball goes into the audience.
3. Performatives (the uttering of the sentence is simultaneous with the action)Ex: I pronounce you man and wife.
4. Stage directionsEx: George enters the room: Hi!
5. Special exclamatory sentences (with initial adverbials: here, there, up, down, etc.)Ex: Here comes the winner!
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The present tense can also denote future time or it can have a past time reference.
The simple present with future reference shows that the action supposed to happen in the future is fixed in advance.
It is used in:1. Officially planned actions (timetables, statements about the calendar)Ex: The train for London leaves at six. Tomorrow is Tuesday.
2. Planned activities where the idea of certainty is impliedEx: She returns tomorrow morning.
3. Subordinate clauses of timeEx: I’ll call you when I get home.
4. Subordinate clauses of conditionEx: If you come here tomorrow, we’ll go to the cinema.
The simple present with past reference shows that past happenings are portrayed as if they are going on at the present moment.
It is used:1. With verbs of linguistic communication (to hear, to say, to learn, to understand)
which refer to the receptive end of the communication processEx: I hear she’s getting married.
2. In newspaper headlines in order to draw the attention of the readerEx: Plane crashes in Paris.
b) The Present Tense ProgressiveThe formulae describing the structure of the present tense progressive are:Active voice: be (present simple) + V + -ing participlePassive voice: be (present progressive) + V + -ed participleIt is used to express:1. An action happening at the moment of speakingEx: I’m writing an exercise now.
2. A temporary action (in contrast with an action usually performed)Ex: She usually cooks lunch, but today I’m cooking.
3. An annoying action (the verbs are usually combined with such adverbs as: always, continually, constantly)
Ex: You are always borrowing money from me!
4. A definite action planned for the near futureEx: I’m meeting my friend tomorrow.
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5. With activities / processes (to get, to grow) to express a transition from one state to another
Ex: It’s getting dark.
c) The Present Perfect SimpleThe formulae describing the structure of the present tense perfect simple are:Active voice: have (present) + V + -ed participlePassive voice: be (present perfect simple) + V + -ed participlePresent perfect is the characteristic tense used in order to indicate that a period of
time stretches between some time in the past and the present time. There are several types of present perfect, depending on the type of action indicated:
1. the resultative present perfect indicates: a) an action which is just completed, but the result is still present (the markers
are just, already).Ex: They have just solved the problem.
b) an uncompleted action that one is expecting (the markers are yet, still).Ex: We haven’t finished eating yet.
2. the continuative present perfect shows an action begun in the past and still continuing to the present, but only with non-continuous verbs.Ex: We have known each other since we were kids. This hut has been deserted for three days.
3. the experiential present perfect may refer to:a) general experiences (the markers are never, ever, often, seldom, always)
Ex: I have never visited America.
b) limited experiences (with words denoting an incomplete period of time: this week / month / year, today, this morning)
Ex: We have worked a lot this week.
The present perfect may have future reference, in adverbial clauses of time in order to express a future action, prior to the one represented by a future tense in the main clause.
Ex: We will paint the fence after we have had lunch.
d) The Present Perfect ProgressiveThe formulae describing the structure of the present perfect progressive are:Active voice: be (present perfect simple) + V + -ingPassive voice: be (present perfect progressive) + V + -ed participleThe present perfect simple and the present perfect progressive generally share the
same temporal relations; the present perfect progressive stresses the limited duration of an action or state.
The continuative present perfect progressive shows duration from the past until now (the markers are since, for, lately, recently).
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Ex: She has been teaching this class since Christmas. We have been working a lot recently.
The resultative present perfect progressive suggests that one can see, smell, hear or feel the results of an action that has recently stopped.
Ex: You have been fighting again. [I can tell from your black eye] She has been crying. [Look, her eyes are red.]
The present perfect progressive can have an incomplete event use, showing that the action is not completed
Ex: Who has been eating my dinner? [Some of my dinner is left.] Who has eaten my dinner? [All my dinner is gone.] The present progressive can also have an emotional use, conveying feelings of
irritation. Ex: I have been demanding an explanation for hours but nobody has yet
dared to speak up.
e) The Past Tense SimpleThe formulae describing the structure of the past tense simple are:Active voice: V + -edPassive voice: be (past tense simple) + V + -ed participleThe use of past tense simple is connected with a definite past time division which
may be indicated by several adverbials or by the linguistic or extralinguistic context.The definite past tense expresses an action or state wholly completed before the
present moment (the markers used are yesterday, last week / month / year, that day, once, in 1999, on Sunday, ago, etc.).
Ex: Yesterday I met my old friend Jack.
The habitual past expresses a past habit or a repeated action in the past.Ex: She drank three cups of coffee a day.
In this case, used to or would may also be employed.
The attitudinal past is related to the speaker’s attitude rather than to time, being most often associated with politeness. It is used with verbs such as hope, think, want, wonder. It is considered to be more polite than the present tense.
Ex: Did you want to see me now? I wondered if you could help me.
The past tense simple can have a past perfect value when it refers to past events that take place in sequence.
Ex: She knocked, entered and slammed the door.
The past tense simple can also have a future value (usually in literary style). In science fiction, future events are told as if they are recollected.
Ex: In the year 2201 the Martians visited Earth.
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f) The Paste Tense Progressive The formulae describing the structure of the past tense progressive are:Active voice: be (paste tense simple) + V + - ingPassive voice: be (past tense progressive) + V + -ed participleThis tense is used:
- to express an action in progress at a certain moment in the past, implied by the context or expressed by adverbials (at this time yesterday, at 1/2/3 o’clock yesterday / last week / last month, this time last week / month / year, etc.).
Ex: I was working at 8 o’clock yesterday.
- to indicate that an action was going on (like a “background”) at a time when something else, more important or more dramatic (the “foreground” action) took place.
Ex: While Mary was crossing (the “background”action) the street yesterday, she saw (the “foreground” action) an accident.
- to show that two or more actions were going on at the same time in the past.Ex: While Mary was cooking, her husband was reading the newspaper.
- to express a repeated action in the past which annoys the speaker.Ex: My husband was always getting into trouble.
- to express gradual progress without any temporal marker.Ex: The car was getting worse.
- with verbs such as hope, think, want, wonder it makes a request sound more polite but less definite.
Ex: I was wondering if you could help me.
f) The Past Perfect Tense SimpleThe formulae describing the structure of the past perfect simple are:Active voice: have (past simple) + V + - ed participlePassive voice: be (past perfect simple) + V + -ed participleDescribed usually as a past-in-the-past, the past perfect simple is generally used:
- to express a past action that took place before a past moment or before another action in the past (the markers are when, after, before, as soon as).
Ex: When I came home, he had already done his homework. I came home after he had done his homework.
He had done his homework before I came home.
- to express duration up to a certain moment in the past (marker: by the time.)Ex: By the time the rain started, we had got home.
- to show that a past action was finished a little time before another past action (the markers are: just, already, hardly / barely / scarcely and no sooner).
Ex: She told us that her brother had just left. We didn’t know that he had already repaired his car.
I had hardly / scarcely entered the room when somebody knocked at the door.
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With the last four markers inversion may be used:Ex: Hardly / scarcely / barely had I entered the room when somebody knocked at the
door.No sooner had she seen the photos than she remembered everything about the accident.
- with since and for when the point of reference is past.Ex: In 1999 I had been a teacher for ten years. I knew she had not seen him since Christmas.
- in Indirect Speech, to express a Past Tense or a Present Perfect from Direct Speech.Ex: “I saw this film last week”, Nick said.
Nick said he had seen that film a week before.
“I have never visited Madrid”, he explained. He explained he had never visited Madrid.
- to express a Past Conditional in a conditional clause.Ex: I would have given her the book if I had met her.
- to express an unfulfilled wish.Ex: I wish I had not missed the train.
- after would rather (when the subjects are different) or as if / as though.Ex: Yesterday I’d rather you had stayed here than gone there. She spoke about that play as if / though she had seen it.
- with such verbs as to expect, to hope, to intend, to mean to express past hope or intention which was not fulfilled.
Ex: I had hoped / intended / meant to find tickets for that performance but I wasn’t able to.
g) The Past Perfect Progressive The formulae describing the structure of the past perfect progressive are:Active voice: be (past perfect simple) + V + - ing participlePassive voice: be (past perfect progressive) + V + -ed participleThe past perfect progressive tense is used:
- to underline the continuity of a past action up to a past moment (the markers are since, for).
Ex: The pupils had been reading the lesson for five minutes when the teacher entered the classroom.
- to show that the effect of a past action was still apparent.Ex: She told me that her son had been fighting. (the blue eye was still visible)
- to convey the speaker’s irritation.
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Ex: I had been trying for hours to find him, but with no result.
h) Means of expressing future timeAs there is no obvious future tense in English corresponding to the time/tense
parallel for present and past (Quirk et al., 1991: 87), future time is rendered by means of simple present or progressive forms or by means of modal auxiliaries or semi-auxiliaries.
The present simple is used: 1.For future actions when we refer to programs, timetables etc. Ex: The bus arrives at 7.30.
2. In time and condition clauses Ex: I’ll come when you call me.
I’ll come if you call me.
3. For planned activities where the idea of certainty is impliedEx: She returns tomorrow morning.
The present progressive is used to express a definite action planned for the near future.
Ex: What are you doing tomorrow?
Be going to shows:1. Intention (the future fulfilment of present intention)
Ex: What is she going to tell us?
2. PredictionEx: It is going to rain in a few minutes.
3. Planned actions Ex: My uncle is going to buy a boat next year.
What is called future simple (construction with the modals shall/will + verb) is used: 1. For on-the-spot decisionsEx: Of course I’ll help you!
2. For promises, threats, warnings, requests, hopes and offersEx: If you repair the car, you’ll have a three days’ holiday. Will you help me?
3. For actions/situations/events which will definitely happen in future and which we can control
Ex: My friend will see an interesting thing in the afternoon.
SHALL as a modal also shows:a) determination, resolution
Ex: I shall help you immediately.
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b) promiseEx: If you repair this car, you shall have a three days’ holiday.
c) refusalEx: As you have not taken care of the book you borrowed, you shall not have another
one!
d) threatEx: If Mary has done such a thing, she shall pay dearly for it.
WILL as a modal also shows:a) willingness, determination
Ex: I will pay you as much as you ask for.
b) promiseEx: I won’t make such a mistake again.
c) possibilityEx: That girl under the tree will be his sister.
d) something unavoidable or that recurs very often Ex: Boys will be boys.
The future progressive is used: 1. To express a future activity that will begin before and will continue after a certain
moment in the futureEx: This time tomorrow we shall be watching TV.
2. To indicate that an activity will extend over a whole future periodEx: She will be writing letters all day.
3. To express future events that are plannedEx: We shall be spending our next holiday in the mountains.
The future perfect is used for actions which will be finished before a stated period of time Especially with words before, by, by then, until etc.
Ex: She will have delivered all the newspapers by 8 o`clock.
The future perfect progressive is used to emphasize the duration of an action up to a certain time in the future
Ex: By the end of next month, she will have been teaching for twenty years.
Be to indicates:1. Something that is destined to happen
Ex: The famous tennis player began the match in which he was to break his arm.
2. An official plan or arrangement
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Ex: She is to see her dentist tomorrow.
3. The will of a person, different from the speakerEx: This bad news is to be given to him after his exam.
4. DutyEx: What exercises are we to do?
5. Possibility, probabilityEx: Prices are to be much higher soon.
Be about to is used to express something that will happen in the immediate futureEx: I am about to go to the seaside.
III.7.4.2. The Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood expresses wish, hope, suggestion, demand or doubt. It may have either synthetical or analytical forms.
a) The Synthetical SubjunctiveIt has two tenses: Present and Past.
1. The Present SubjunctiveIts form is the base form of the verb.According to its uses, there are two types of subjunctive:
i. Formulaic Subjunctiveii. Mandative Subjunctive
i. Formulaic Subjunctive – expresses wishes or set expressions:Ex: God save the Queen!
Long live the Queen! God bless you! Heaven help us! Curse this exam!
ii. Mandative Subjunctive – is used in subordinate that-clauses when the main clause expresses a desire, a demand, a requirement, an obligation, a necessity, etc.
It appears in:a) direct object clauses, after such verbs as: to suggest, to order, to demand, to urge, to
recommend:Ex: She suggested that we start the meeting.
b) in subject clauses after such impersonal constructions as: it is necessary/advisable/possible/impossible, etc.
Ex: It is advisable that he study for this exam.
2. The Past Subjunctive
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Its form is the past form of the verb. However, it does not denote time, but unreality.
It is used:a) in conditional clauses, to express a Present Conditional.
Ex: If I were you, I would be more careful.b) after:
- wish: Ex: I wish I were younger.- it’s (high) time:Ex: It’s (high) time you started learning.
It’s (high) time for you to start learning.
- the Subjunctive indicates that it is a little late for the action.- the for+object+Long Infinitive construction indicates that the right time for
the action has arrived.- as if/though:Ex: He looks at me as if/though he didn’t understand me.
- even if/though:Ex: Even if/though I lost my job, I wouldn’t move town.- would rather/sooner (with different subjects):Ex: I’d rather/sooner you studied more.- suppose (that):Ex: Suppose (that) you were rich. What would you do?
3. The Past Perfect SubjunctiveIts form is identical to that of the Past Perfect Tense.
It is used:a) in conditional clauses to express a Past Conditional:
Ex: I would have left the country if I had had the chance.
b) after:- wish (to express a regretted action in the past):Ex: I wish you hadn’t said that.- as if/though:Ex: He was speaking English as if/though he had lived in England.- even if/though:Ex: I wouldn’t have told you the truth even if/though I had known it.
b) The Analytical SubjunctiveIt is formed with the help of a modal auxiliary (shall/should/would/may/might/could)
and the infinitive of the verb.
1. Shall + infinitive is used:
- in main clauses expressing suggestion:
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Ex: Shall I help you?- in subordinate clauses, expressing resolution:Ex: They have decided that you shall go there (= you must go)
2. Should + infinitive is used:
- in main clauses, expressing doubt:Ex: Why should you do such a thing?
- in different subordinate clauses:a) in subject clauses, after impersonal constructions like: it is/was
important/necessary/natural/surprising/ advisableEx: It is necessary that you should come.b) in conditional clauses, to underline the hypothetical nature of the action:Ex: If he should call you (= happened to call you), what would you tell him? c) in direct object clauses, after such verbs as to demand, to insist, to
command, to propose, to request, to suggest, etc.Ex: They insisted that you should come.d) in subordinate clauses of purpose introduced by lest, for fear (that), in case.Ex: I left in a hurry lest he should see me there.e) concessive clauses introduced by though, although, whatever.Ex: Whatever your son should do, don’t punish him.
3. May/Might + infinitive is used:
- in main clauses, to express a wish:Ex: May all your dreams come true!
- in different subordinate clauses:a) in subject clauses introduced by it is/was possible/probable/likelyEx: It is probable that it may rain today.b) in subordinate clauses of purpose introduced by that, in order that, so that.Ex: He took a seat in the front row so that he might hear better.c) in concessive clauses introduced by though, although, however, whatever,
no matter.Ex: However difficult it may/might be to you, you must accept the reality.
4. Could + infinitive is an alternative to may/might. It expresses purpose, having a higher degree of certainty.
Ex: He took a seat in the front row so that he could hear better.
5. Would + infinitive is used in:
a) direct object clauses after wish, to express a possible action.Ex: They wish we would visit them soon.
b) subordinate clauses of purpose, after that, in order that, so that.
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Ex: She studied all night so that she would be able to pass the exam.
III.7.4.3. The Conditional MoodThe conditional mood shows that the speaker considers the action or state
denoted by the verb as hypothetical.There are no verb forms inflected for expressing condition in English. The Conditional Mood uses different tenses of the Indicative Mood or some auxiliary
or modal verbs.It has two tenses, the present and the past conditional, described by the formulae:
Present conditional: would + infinitive
Past conditional: would + have + V + -ed participle
There is a variety of types of conditional sentences in English.The standard structures include:
Type Zero – expresses reality, what always happensIf –clause: PresentMain clause: PresentEx: If you mix red and blue, you get violet.
Type I – expresses an open/probable condition.If –clause: PresentMain clause: Future/ImperativeEx: If she sees John, she will give him the book.
If you see John, give him the book.
Type II – expresses rejected/improbable/hypothetical/unreal condition.If –clause: Past TenseMain clause: Present ConditionalEx: If I were you, I wouldn’t accept his offer.
If I had more time, I would help you.
Type III – expresses an impossible condition.If –clause: Past PerfectMain clause: Past Conditional Ex: If I had gone there, I would not have met him.
The mixed structures express supposition, the following combinations being possible:
a) If-clause: Past Tense Main clause: Future
Ex: If she left her umbrella in the desk, she will find it tomorrow.
b) If-clause: Past Tense Main clause: Present Tense
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Ex: If she stopped in Paris, she is unlikely to be back in one day.
c) If-clause: Present Perfect Simple/Progressive Main clause: Future
Ex: If he has bought a car, he will have to get his driving license. If he has been playing computer games for so many hours, he won’t be able to finish his homework.
d) If-clause: Present Simple Main clause: Future Perfect
Ex: If she wins, she will have studied hard.
The use of modal auxiliaries in if-clauses
a) Should expresses suppositionEx: If you should come across Bill, tell him to ring me up, please.
b) Will expresses:- volitionEx: If you will explain this problem to me, I’ll finish my work in time.- obstinate insistenceEx: If you will go there, you will be sorry.- hypothesisEx: If she will become a student, she has to work harder.- polite invitationEx: If you will wait here, I’ll tell the doctor that you have come.
c) Would indicates:- volitionEx: If Tom would help me, I would repair my car today.- highly polite requestEx: If you would accept our terms, we could sign the contract very soon.
The omission of IF
In conditional sentences of type II and III if may be omitted for stylistic purposes. In such cases there takes place an inversion.Ex: If he were to find us here, he would be very surprised.
Were he to find us here, he would be very surprised.
George could buy a new car if he saved enough money. Should George save enough money, he could buy a new car.
The team would have won the championship if they hadn’t lost the last match. Had the team not lost the last match, they would have won the championship.
A conditional clause may be also introduced by:
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- unlessEx: She will not understand the film unless she reads the book as well.- but forEx: But for this rain, I would go for a walk.- in caseEx: In case I meet her, I’ll let her know about you.- suppose/supposing (that)Ex: Suppose/supposing (that) I’m late! What would happen?- so long as/provided/providing (that)/on condition thatEx: He will lend you the car so long as/provided/providing (that)/on condition that
you bring it back in due time.
III.7.4.4. The Imperative MoodThe imperative form coincides with the short infinitive, having affirmative and
negative forms. The imperative mood is used only in the second person.Ex: Come here!
Do not shout!The imperative can also have a perfect form, rarely used in present day English:Ex: Have the car searched!Passive constructions correspond only to the formulae be + V + -ed participle.Ex: Be seated!
Be informed!
The imperative is generally used to express (Alexander, 1988: 185):1. Direct commands, requests, suggestions:
Ex: Go home! Open the window! Stay calm!2. Warnings:
Ex: Be careful!3. Directions:
Ex: Go straight on!4. Instructions:
Ex: Add some sugar and stir.5. Prohibitions (in public notices):
Ex: Keep off the grass!6. Advice (after always and never):
Ex: Always be polite! Never speak to strangers!7. Invitations:
Ex: Come and have a drink with me!8. Offers:
Ex: Have a cookie!
III.8. The non-finite verb phrases
III.8.1. The Infinitive
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The infinitive is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of a noun.
Like other non-finite forms (gerund and participle), the infinitive does not undergo an agreement with the subject and it does not have the category of person or the category of tense (in the traditional sense, which implies the idea of conjugation). However, the infinitive as a verb preserves the categories of aspect and voice. Thus, the forms of the infinitive are (Alexander, 1988: 299):
Active PassivePresent infinitive: (to) call (to) be calledPresent progressive infinitive: (to) be calling - Perfect infinitive: (to) have called (to) have been calledPerfect progressive infinitive: (to) have been calling -
The present infinitive refers to the same moment in time as the verb that precedes it:Ex: She makes / made / will make the child cry. The perfect infinitive refers to a time which is anterior to the one referred to by the
preceding verb:Ex: I hope to have done all in my work.
The infinitive as a noun can have the function of:a) the subject of a sentence:
Ex: To err is human.b) a direct object:
Ex: I want to help you.c) the predicative:
Ex: My wish is to travel all over the world.d) an attribute:
Ex: This is a house to live in for the rest of your life.
There are two types of infinitive: the full/long/complete infinitive (with the particle to) and the short/incomplete/plain/bare infinitive (without to).
The long infinitive is used: 1. after a series of lexical verbs: appear, attempt, authorize, begin, cease, change, compel, decide, design, enable, encourage, expect, forbid, hesitate, implore, like, manage, notify, omit, permit, persuade, prepare, pretend, require, resolve, seem, strive, try, want, wish, etc.
Ex: It has just begun to snow. He wants to win the competition.2. after semi-auxiliaries: have to, be to, be about to, be going to, be supposed to.
Ex: You have to work harder. It’s going to rain.3. after two modals: ought to and used to.
Ex: You ought to visit your relatives more often. We used to go fishing every week when we lived in the country.4. after some adjectives expressing moral or intellectual qualities: brave, clever, courageous, cruel, foolish, generous, good, kind, mean, thoughtful, wicked, etc.
Ex: It is very thoughtful of you to visit me. It was foolish of him to drive that fast.
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5. after ordinal numbers and superlatives.Ex: You will be the first to know.
She is the best to perform in this movie.
After such verbs as to want, to like, to wish, to hate, to hope, to try, etc. the infinitive is sometimes represented only by to, in order to avoid repetition.
Ex: “Did you visit Paris?” “No, I didn’t. But I would like to.”
The short infinitive is used:1. after modal verbs.
Ex: You must call them at once. I can help you.2. after verbs of perception.
Ex: He saw me leave the house. I heard him say that.3. after certain expressions: had better, would rather/sooner, had best, cannot but, need hardly.
Ex: You had better tell the truth. I’d rather stay home than go to work.4. after the verbs to make and to let.
Ex: Don’t make me laugh! Let me speak!
There are two usual constructions with the infinitive, called the Accusative with the infinitive and the Nominative with the infinitive.
The Accusative with the infinitive is a construction in which the infinitive is preceded by a noun or a pronoun in the Accusative. This construction is generally used (Paidos, 1993: 203-204):1. after verbs of perception: to feel, to hear, to perceive, to notice, to watch.
Ex: I heard him swear. He saw me cross the street.
These verbs can also be followed by present participle, the difference being that the infinitive expresses a complete action, while the present participle shows that the action is not complete.
Ex: He saw me cross the street. (He watched me from one side of the street to the other).
He saw me crossing the street. (He noticed me while I was crossing).2. after to let, to make.
Ex: They will let me know when my car is fixed. You make me laugh!3. after verbs expressing mental activities: to believe, to think, to understand, to imagine, to know, to suppose, etc.
Ex: I imagined her to be right. They considered me to be guilty.4. after verbs expressing volition: to want, to wish, to desire, to intend.
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Ex: I want you to listen to me.5. after verbs expressing permission or a command: to allow, to force, to command, to oblige, to order, to permit.
Ex: She allowed me to go out. I ordered him to stop the car.6. after verbs like to advise, to choose, to convince, to persuade, to send, etc. Ex: They advised me to pay my taxes. I persuaded him to surrender.
The Nominative with the infinitive is a construction in which the infinitive is preceded by a noun or a pronoun in the Nominative. This construction is generally used (Paidos, 1993: 204):1. after some verbs in the Passive Voice: to believe, to expect, to feel, to hear, to imagine, to know, to notice, to perceive, to say, to see, to suppose, etc.
Ex: She is known to be a good actress. You were supposed to come earlier.2. after to appear, to chance, to happen, to prove, to seem, etc.
Ex: They happen to be our best friends. She proved to be very nice.3. after some constructions: to be lucky/fortunate/unlucky/unfortunate, to be certain/positive/sure, to be likely.
Ex: You were lucky to find me. They are likely to arrive tomorrow.
III.8.2. The GerundThe gerund is the non-finite form of the verb which, like the infinitive, combines the
properties of a verb with those of a noun. Just like the infinitive, the gerund serves as the verbal name of a process. It may have tense and voice:
Present: Tom’s coming here is unexpected.Perfect: Your having admitted the truth hurt me.Active: She likes calling me three times a day.Passive: She insisted on being called at once.
The gerund has a more pronounced substantive quality than the infinitive, namely (Paidos, 1993: 215-216): a) it can be modified by a noun in the possessive case or its pronominal equivalents
Ex: The girl’s leaving so early was no surprise. They insisted on my arriving early.b) it can be used with prepositions
Ex: She began by drawing our attention upon three issues.c) it can have a plural form
Ex: I lost count of his goings abroad.d) it can have a genitive form
Ex: The idea of going abroad twice this summer pleased them.
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e) it can be preceded by the definite or indefinite articleEx: She is a dancing-teacher.
There were a lot of patients in the waiting-room.f) it may be the subject of a sentence
Ex: Playing the piano is her favourite hobby.g) it may be the predicative
Ex: Seeing is believing.h) it may be the object of a verb
Ex: He hates waking up early.
There are some verbs, nouns and expressions that require the use of the gerund:1. verbs: to admit, to advise, to avoid, to begin, to consider, to continue, to deny, to detest, to dislike, to enjoy, to excuse, to finish, to forget, to forgive, to hate, to like, to love, to regret, to start, to suggest, to try, etc.
Ex: I regret having hurt her. She didn’t want to risk missing the train.2. verbs with prepositions: to accuse of, to aim at, to agree with, to approve of, to consist in, to excuse from, to insist on, to prevent from, to rely on, to succeed in, to think of, etc.
Ex: They accused me of cheating. I rely on your supporting me.3. phrasal verbs: to go on, to keep on, to give up, etc.
Ex: Keep on trying! He gave up drinking two years ago.4. nouns with prepositions: apology for, disappointment at, experience in, habit of, necessity of, pleasure of, possibility of, reason for, surprise at, etc.
Ex: He has the bad habit of smoking. Please accept my apology for having been so rude. 5. expressions with be/get + adjective/past participle + preposition: to be afraid of, to be annoyed at, to be capable of, to be interested in, to be responsible for, to be suitable for, to be surprised at, to be/get used to, to be/get accustomed to, etc.
Ex: They are responsible for having lost the elections. My son is interested in collecting stamps.6. expressions: can’t help, can’t stand, it’s no good/use, to be looking forward to, to be worth, to feel like, etc.
Ex: It’s no use trying again. The book is worth reading.
There are some verbs which can be followed either by the gerund or by the infinitive, with or without any difference in meaning (Paidos, 1993: 218-220):
Verb Infinitive Gerundto begin, to cease Expresses and involuntary
action:Ex: It began/ceased to rain.
Expresses a deliberate action:Ex: He began/ceased playing the piano.
to stop Means the cessation of something else in order to
Means the cessation of an action.
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start doing an action.Ex: She stopped to talk to us.
Ex: Stop talking during the lecture!
to attempt, to intend, to learn, can’t bear
Used in informal English.Ex: I can’t bear to be alone.
Used in formal English.Ex: I can’t bear being alone.
to hate, to love, to like, to dislike, to prefer
Used for special occasions.Ex: I hate to wake up early on Sundays.
Used for general activities.Ex: I hate waking up early.
to remember, to forget, to neglect, to omit
Used for an action that follows these verbs.Ex: Remember to call me!
Used for an action that precedes these verbs.Ex: She remembered calling me the other day.
to deserve, to need, to require, to want
Used in the passive voice.Ex: This door needs to be painted.
Used more frequently.Ex: This door needs painting.
to try The meaning is to make an effort/attempt.Ex: Although she didn’t have too many chances, she tried to win the competition.
The meaning is to test, to make an experiment.Ex: He tried mixing the two substances.
to propose The meaning is to intend.Ex: She proposed to spend a week abroad.
The meaning is to suggest.Ex: She proposed spending a week abroad.
to mean The meaning is to intend.Ex: They mean to reach Paris early in the morning.
The meaning is to signify, to involve.Ex: To become a boss means working very hard.
III.8.3. The ParticipleThere are two participles in English: the present participle (ending in –ing) and the
past participle (ending in –ed, in the case of regular verbs, or having a special form, in the case of irregular verbs).
1. The present participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective and adverb. It coincides in form with the gerund (they both end in the suffix –ing). The present participle can have tense and voice, as verbal characteristics:
Present: callingPerfect: having called
Active: callingPassive: being called / having been called
The present participle is used as part of the progressive aspect and it can be modified by an adverb:
Ex: I am calling her now.
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As an adjective, the present participle can be used predicatively and also in different degrees of comparison:
Ex: His story is more amusing than yours. He told us the most amusing story we have ever heard.
There should be made a distinction between the present participle as a modifier and the gerund as a modifier (the present participle can be changed into an adjective clause):
Present participle: working class = a class that is workingGerund: working-shoes = shoes for working
Present participle: a swimming child = a child who is swimmingGerund: a swimming-pool = a pool for swimming
The present participle can be used as an adverb:Ex: They waved at us smilingly.
There are several construction with the present participle (Paidos, 1993: 231-232):
a) the Accusative with the participle – used after verbs of perception (to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, etc.), to express an incomplete action and after such verbs as to catch, to find, to imagine, to keep, to leave, to start:
Ex: I saw her crossing the street. He found her reading a newspaper.b) the Nominative with the participle – used with verbs of perception in the passive:
Ex: The boss was seen leaving the firm.c) the Absolute Nominative – in this construction, the subject of the present participle is different from the subject of the sentence:
Ex: Weather permitting, we’ll go out for a walk in the park.d) the Absolute participle – in this construction, the present participle has no subject:
Ex: Generally speaking, her work is very important for our company.
2. The past participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective.
As a verb, the past participle is used in the formation of perfect tenses:Ex: She has changed her car.
He had called her before he visited her.
As an adjective, it can function:a) as a simple adjective:
Ex: I saw in front of me a defeated man. I am not finished yet.b) as a compound adjective:
Ex: He came up with well-grounded objections. This is what I call a well-appointed expedition
III.9. Modality and the modal auxiliaries
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Modality is the category by which speakers express their attitude towards what they are uttering. It covers such notions as possibility, probability, necessity, volition, obligation, permission, doubt, wish, regret, desire.
The realization of modal meanings can be achieved through:a) modal auxiliaries
- central modal auxiliaries: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must.- marginal modal auxiliaries: ought to, used to, need, dare.
b) semi-auxiliaries: had better, would rather, have to, (have) got to, be supposed to, be going to, be able to, be obliged to, be likely to, be willing to.c) lexical verbs: to allow, to beg, to command, to forbid, to guarantee, to guess, to suggest, to warn, to wonder, to wish, etc.d) adverbs: probably, possibly, surely, hopefully, thankfully, obviously.e) adjectives: possible, probable, likelyf) nouns: possibility, probability, chance, likelihoodg) certain types of intonation (for example, the fall-rise intonation)h) the use of hesitation phenomena in speech
The modal auxiliaries have certain characteristics that differentiate them from the other verbs:
- they do not have long infinitive;Ex: *to can *to must
- they are not followed by long infinitive;Ex: *You must to wake up early.
- they do not have –ing participle;Ex: *maying
- they do not add –(e)s to the IIIrd person singular;Ex: He can speak Spanish very well.
- there is no co-occurrence between the modal auxiliaries;Ex: *I can must go.
(there is, though, co-occurrence between a modal and a semi auxiliary: Ex: You will have to speak louder)
- they have only two formal tenses: present and past;Ex: I can drive a car.
I could ride a bike when I was a child.- they can combine with aspect and voice:
Ex: They may not have meant what they said. (perfect aspect) They should be called. (passive voice)
- the negation is formed by adding not after the modal;Ex: You may not leave now.
- the interrogative is formed with an inversion.Ex: Can I go now?
III.9.1. CanIn the affirmative, can has the following meanings:
a) present or future physical or mental ability (the alternative construction is to be able to)Ex: I can lift this table.
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He can help us tomorrow.b) action in progress (with verbs of perception)
Ex: I can see you now.c) permission (in informal English)
Ex: He can go there next time.d) possibility
Ex: The doctor can see you now.
In the interrogative, can is used:a) to ask about present or future physical or mental ability
Ex: Can you lift this table? Can he help us tomorrow?b) to ask about actions in progress (with verbs of perception)
Ex: Can you see me now?c) to ask for permission in informal English
Ex: Can I borrow your car?d) to express disbelief
Ex: Can he be that bad?e) to express polite requests
Ex: Can I visit you later?
The negative form expresses:a) incapacity
Ex: I can’t lift this table. He can’t help us tomorrow.b) action in progress (with verbs of perception)
Ex: I can’t see you.c) lack of permission
Ex: You can’t go out.d) impossibility
Ex: It’s only 7 o’clock; she can’t be at work now. He can’t have given a better answer than this one.
III.9.2. CouldCould denotes in the affirmative:
a) a past physical or mental abilityEx: When she was young she could skate very well.
He could speak English when he was younger.b) past permission
Ex: When we were children we could play outside every day.c) possibility regarded from a moment in the past
Ex: I wondered if she could remember my address.
Could in the interrogative is used:a) to ask about a past physical or mental ability
Ex: Could you skate when you were a child? Could you speak English when you were younger?
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b) to express a polite request (more polite than can)Ex: Could you show me the way to the airport?
The negative construction denotes:a) lack of physical or mental ability
Ex: When she was young she couldn’t skate very well. He couldn’t speak English when he was younger.b) impossibility
Ex: We couldn’t see anything in the fog.
III.9.3. MayMay in the affirmative is used:
a) to express formal permission in the present or future (it can be replaced by to be allowed to / to be permitted to)
Ex: You may leave.b) to express possibility (it can be replaced by it is possible / maybe / perhaps)
Ex: It may snow today. She may be working now. (may + Progressive Infinitive = possibility of something that continues now) He may have called you twice yesterday. (may + Perfect Infinitive = possibility that an action took place in the past)c) to express wish, hope
Ex: May all your dreams come true!
In the interrogative may is used:a) to ask for permission (formal style)
Ex: May I go out?b) to express doubt, uncertainty
Ex: Who may that young lady be?
In the negative may is used:a) to express prohibition
Ex: You may not bring your books into the examination room. b) to negate the possibility
Ex: She may not be the best in her class, but she is the most hard working student.
III.9.4. MightMight denotes:
a) permission connected with the past (alternative constructions are was allowed to / was permitted to)
Ex: She told me I might visit her whenever I wanted.b) present / future / past possibility (a little remote than the one expressed by may)
Ex: Your sister might be at work now. (present) He might leave tomorrow. (future) I thought I might manage abroad. (past) He might still be working. (might + Progressive Infinitive = possibility of something to continue)
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They might have told the truth. (might + Perfect Infinitive = past possibility)c) uncertainty
Ex: I wonder who that old man might be.
III.9.5. MustMust denotes:
a) obligation imposed by the speaker. Its substitute is to have to, but there is a slight difference between them: the latter expresses obligation imposed by external authority or circumstances, which the speaker cannot control.
Ex: I must wake up early every day. I have to play with my son whenever he asks me.b) command and necessity
Ex: You must listen carefully to my advice. They must work hard if they want to earn more money.c) deduction, logical conclusion, probability
Ex: It’s late. He must be home. She must be still sleeping. She lost some weight. She must have kept a diet.
The negative construction shows prohibition:Ex: You must not park the car here.The lack of obligation is not rendered by must not, but by don’t have to, haven’t (got)
to or needn’t.Ex: You must learn all these poems.
You don’t have to / haven’t got to / needn’t learn all these poems.The negative deduction is not rendered by must not, but by can’t / couldn’t.Ex: He must be in his office.
He can’t / couldn’t be in his office.
III.9.6. ShallShall shows:
a) the intention of punishment (in the official style)Ex: Anyone who copies in the exam shall be punished.
b) threat (in the third person)Ex: If they break the rule they shall pay for it.
c) promiseEx: If you help me you shall be well paid.
d)commandEx: You shall answer the letter immediately.
In the interrogative form (first person) shall shows the will of the interlocutor:Ex: Shall I help you? (Do you want me to help you?)
When shall I call you? (When do you want me to call you?)
In the negative form shall denotes:a) refusal
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Ex: As you have broken my car, you shall not borrow it from me again another time!b) prohibition (synonymous with must not)
Ex: You shall not talk to anybody on your way to school!
III.9.7. ShouldShould expresses:
a) obligation (weaker than the one expressed by must)Ex: You should write your essay for tomorrow. (must = have no other choice)
b) an unfulfilled duty in the pastEx: You should have come here earlier. (but you didn’t)
c) suppositionEx: If it’s 10 o’clock, he should be in his office.
d) adviceEx: You should keep a diet.
e) almost certainty (similar to ought to)Ex: This should be their house.
III.9.8. WillWill can express:
a) volition, willingness in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences (it can also appear in if clauses)
Ex: I will pay you if you will help me. Will you help me? I won’t ask him anything.b) possibility, assumption
Ex: This will be his car.c) something unavoidable or that occurs very often (the will of fate) Ex: Accidents will happen.
III.9.9. WouldWould denotes:
a) volition in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentencesEx: If I would want that car, I would buy it.
Would you pass me the salt, please? I wouldn’t tell him the truth.b) probability
Ex: That woman would be his sister.c) a habit, a repeated action in the past
Ex: They would come every day for tea when they were my neighbours.
III.9.10. Ought toOught to expresses:
a) duty, moral obligationEx: You ought to phone home every day.
You ought to have phoned home every day. (unfulfilled duty or obligation)b) a strong suggestion
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Ex: You ought to keep a diet.c) expectation
Ex: There ought to come a lot of people at the wedding. There ought to have come a lot of people at the wedding. (expectation in the past which was not fulfilled)
III.9.11. Used toUsed to shows:
a) habitual actions in the pastEx: I used to come home late when I was working.
b) habitual states in the pastEx: There used to be a cinema near my house.
III.9.12. NeedAs a modal auxiliary, need has the meaning to have to. It has the same form for all
persons and is mainly used in the interrogative and negative.Ex: Need I wake up early every day? / Yes, you must.
You needn’t wake up early every day.
In affirmative sentences need occurs with such words as never, hardly and scarcely, which have negative implications:
Ex: I hardly/scarcely need mention their duty, since everybody knows what to do.
There are two variants for the negative form in the past, with different meanings: didn’t need to (the action was not necessary and was not performed) and needn’t have + past participle (the action was not necessary, but was performed).
Ex: I didn’t need to knock at the door since it was already open. I needn’t have knocked at the door since, in this way, I awoke the baby.
III.9.13. DareDare denotes:
a) doubtEx: Dare he come here again?
b) braveryEx: He dare speak.
c) impudenceEx: How dare you say something like this?
There are two main types of modality:- epistemic (extrinsic) modality: the modal auxiliaries and semi-auxiliaries state the
degree of likelihood regarding the truth of the proposition. The speaker comments on the content of the clause.
- deontic (intrinsic) modality: the modal auxiliaries and semi-auxiliaries refer to ability, permission, duty, willingness in relation to the subject. The speaker intervenes in the speech event.
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EPISTEMIC DEONTICNecessity, probability, possibility of the proposition
Volition, obligation, permission of the subject
CANa) possibility (affirmative, interrogative and negative forms)Ex: Anybody can make mistakes. Can I be wrong? He can’t be in his office. (negation of modality: It is not possible that …)**Could is also used, as a tentative form.
a) permission (in informal style)Ex: You can inspect the school. Can I go? You can’t go. (negation of modality: refuse permission)
b) necessity (only interrogative and negative forms. The affirmative form is with must). Ex: They must be on holiday. Can they be on holiday? They can’t be on holiday.
b) possibility (granting for permission)Ex: You can see for yourself. I’ll see what can be done and give you a
ring.
c) abilityEx: I can speak English.
MAYPossibility (affirmative and negative forms)Ex: You may be wrong. He may not be in his office. (negation of proposition: It is possible that he is not …)
a) permission (in formal style)Ex: You may inspect the school. May I go? You may not go. (negation of modality: refuse permission) b) possibility (granting for permission)Ex: You may see for yourself.
MUSTLogical necessity (affirmative form)Ex: They must be on holiday.
a) inescapable obligationEx: I must go.b) necessityEx: You must keep a diet.
WILL/WOULDa) predictionEx: The course will be over by now.
a) willingnessEx: Will you help me?
b) would - habitualityEx: I would swim when I was at the seaside.
b) refusalEx: The door won’t open.c) insistenceEx: I will come, no matter what you say.d) intentionEx: I will wait here until you come.
SHALLa) offer or suggestionEx: Shall I make some tea for you? Shall we walk in the park?b) inescapable obligationEx: All candidates shall remain in their seats.
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SHOULD/OUGHT TOProbabilityEx: They should be/ought to be home by now.
Escapable obligation/advisabilityEx: You should/ought to keep a diet.
IV. THE ADVERB
IV.1. DefinitionIV.2. The adverbial phrase and its structure IV.3. Characteristics of the adverb IV.4. The functions of the adverbsIV.5. The form of adverbsIV.6. Typology of adverbs
IV.6.1. Adverbs of mannerIV.6.2. Adverbs of placeIV.6.3. Adverbs of timeIV.6.4. Adverbs of degreeIV.6.5. Interrogative adverbsIV.6.6. Connective/Relative adverbsIV.6.7. Focus adverbs
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IV.6.8. Viewpoint adverbsIV.7. The comparison of adverbsIV.8. Inversion after adverbs
IV.1. DefinitionThe adverb is the principal part of speech which, as the name suggests (ad-verb),
adds something to the meaning of the verb or modifies it, showing how, when, where, etc. something happens or is done (Alexander, 1988: 122). From a semantic point of view, many adverbs express qualities of processes and situations (Downing & Locke, 2006: 502).
Ex: He gently explained the truth to his daughter.The adverb can also modify (Alexander, 1988: 122; Huddleston and Pullum, 2005: 122):a) adjectives: The test was extremely easy.b) other adverbs: Tell her I’ll come home very late.c) prepositional phrases: Your car is completely out of order.d) complete sentences: Strangely enough, he lost the competition.e) nouns: The little girl here is my niece.f) pronouns: The initiative was mostly his.
IV.2. The structure of the adverbial phraseThe structure of the adverbial phrase is similar to that of the adjectival phrase; that
is, it is composed potentially of three elements: the head h, the modifier m and the posthead element, either m(post-modifier) or c (complement). These elements combine to form the following four basic structures (Downing & Locke, 2006: 503):
Modifier Head Posthead (post-modifier/complement)Too early in the morning /than necessary
Other adverbial phrases:Ex: very late in the evening (mhm) far away from civilisation (mhc) quite clearly enough (mhc)
The head element is always realised by an adverb . The modifier is realised typically by grading and intensifying adverbs. The complement expresses a different type of meaning from that of the modifier, as it does in the adjectival phrases. It expresses the scope or context of the meaning expressed by the head (e.g. luckily for us); alternatively, it can serve to define the modifier more explicitly (e.g. more correctly than before). It is for this reason that complements of adjectives and adverbs are mostly realised by prepositional phrases and clauses, whereas pre-modifiers are usually realised by words (Downing & Locke, 2006: 504).
IV.3. Characteristics of the adverb The adverb has a series of characteristic features (Downing & Locke, 2006: 504):
1. adverbs modify verbs, nouns, pronouns, clauses, adjectives and other adverbs.2. adverbs function typically in the clause as adverbial modifiers, and in group structures as pre-modifier and post-modifier. In addition, they marginally realise subject, object, complement and adjunct functions in clauses.
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3. they express a wide variety of types and subtypes of meaning.4. they can occupy different positions in clause structure.5. they are very frequently optional, in the sense that they can be omitted without the clause becoming ungrammatical.
IV.4. The functions of the adverbsThe adverb may function (Downing & Locke, 2006: 509):
- in clause structure as: adverbial modifier (of manner, place, time) (He plays piano well.); subject complement (That’s all right.); direct object (I don’t know why.); stance adjunct (Luckily, she was at home.); subject (Today is the last Monday in the month.).- in phrase structure as: a) modifier in adjectival phrases: all wet; quite strange; too short.b) modifier in adverbial phrases: nearly there; more easily; very often.c) modifier in noun phrases: the then President; a nearby restaurant; quite a success.d) modifier of determiners: about double; roughly half; almost all.e) post-modifier in adjectival phrases: quick enough; very beautiful indeed.f) post-modifier in adverbial phrases: quickly enough; beautifully indeed; never again.g) post-modifier in noun phrases: the journey back; the way ahead.h) particle in verb phrases: pick up; put on; take out; pull off; go in.
IV.5. The form of adverbsAdverbs may be single words, derived from adjectives and nouns with prefixes and
suffixes (Paidos, 1993: 189-194) or compound forms (Downing & Locke, 2006: 504).a) single words: here, there, now, then, etc.b) derived from noun, followed by the suffixes –ways, -wards, -wise: sideways,
backwards, clockwise.c) derived from adjective / noun, preceded by the prefix a-(indicating mainly position or
direction): abroad, ashore, ahead, along, away.d) derived from adjective / noun, followed by the suffix –ly: gently, nicely, hourly, etc.e) shortened forms from prepositional phrases: downhill, indoors, inside, outside,
downstairs, etc.f) combinations of other classes of words: somewhere, anywhere, nowhere,
everywhere, etc.
There are also adverbial phrases: after all, at all, at first, at least, at present, by all means, by the way, in fact, in general, in vain, not at all, of course, here and there, in and out, every now and then, to and fro, up and down, etc.
In the case of the adverbs derived from adjectives, there appear two distinctive cases (Alexander, 1988: 125; Paidos, 1993: 190-194):
a) some adjectives add –ly to form the adverb, but they can also function as adverbs in their adjective form:
bright / brightlyEx: The diamond on her ring was shining bright / brightly.
cheap / cheaplyEx: I do not intend to sell my car cheap / cheaply.
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dead / deadlyEx: He is dead / deadly for this kind of food.
dear / dearlyEx: You’ll pay dear / dearly for what you did.
fair / fairly Ex: They didn’t fight fair / fairly for the first prize.
sound / soundly Ex: The baby is sleeping sound / soundly.
tight / tightly Ex: I couldn’t open the box as it was packed tight / tightly.
b) some adjectives add –ly to form the adverb; the adjective form can be also used as adverb, but the meaning changes:
clean = completely, entirelyEx: He clean forgot to come to the meeting.
cleanly = in a clean mannerEx: My son played the violin accompaniment cleanly.
clear = completelyEx: I slept clear through the night.
clearly = in a clear mannerEx: I could read clearly with my glasses on.
close = nearEx: Don’t say a word until he comes close.
closely = in a close manner (descriptive use)Ex: These two events are closely connected.
deep = far down, intoEx: Dug deep and you’ll find the treasure. He disappeared deep into the night.
deeply = very greatlyEx: He loved her deeply.
direct = straight and short, without deviationEx: They came direct to my house.
directly = without delay or hesitationEx: Come home directly.
due = exactly (used before the points of the compass)Ex: We went due West.
duly = at the proper time, punctuallyEx: The plane duly landed.
easy = with ease, in a relaxed manner, without speedEx: Go easy here, as the road is slippery.
easily = in an easy manner, without question, very probablyEx: He could be easily recognized. This is easily your best book. Take your umbrella; it may easily rain.
free = without restraintEx: The horses were running free in the field.
freely = in a free manner, willinglyEx: I can’t speak freely with my parents. I freely join you everywhere.
full = completely, entirelyEx: It was a full/fully grown tree.
fully = completely, at leastEx: It will take you fully two days to finish this report.
hard = with effort/pain/force/firmness, hardly = almost no/not/none/never
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slowly and with difficultyEx: She slammed the door hard. Bad habits die hard.
Ex: He hardly ever calls me.
high = at a great altitude, in a rich mannerEx: The kite flew high in the sky. They live high.
highly = very much, with approvalEx: He highly appreciates you. She speaks highly of his work.
just = exactly, very recently, on the point of, absolutelyEx: This piece of news is just what I expected. He has just called. I was just about to leave the house when they came. The present you have given me is just wonderful!
justly = with honestyEx: They were justly considered the best players in the team.
large = at a distance, in a boastful mannerEx: They sailed large to the South. He talked large about his achievements.
largely = mainly, to a great extentEx: This success is largely due to our common efforts. Our performance has been largely appreciated.
late = after the expected or usual timeEx: He comes late at work every day.
lately = recentlyEx: I haven’t seen them lately.
most = to a great extentEx: What upset me most was his rudeness.
mostly = mainly, usually, as a ruleEx: Mostly, I spend my holidays abroad.
near = at a very small distance from something/someoneEx: They moved near the big city.
nearly = in a close manner, almostEx: These events are nearly connected. We have nearly finished.
pretty = fairlyEx: They live pretty far from the town.
prettily = in a pretty mannerEx: The little girl was prettily dressed.
right = exactly, immediately, completely, in a correct mannerEx: He fell right on his arm. They came right after dinner. Here I feel right at home. He didn’t do his job right.
rightly = accurately, with honestyEx: He was rightly considered the best writer of his generation.
sharp = punctually, quicklyEx: The meeting started at eight o’clock sharp. The car turned sharp left.
sharply = in an aggressive manner, suddenlyEx: The shark attacked sharply.
short = suddenly, abruptlyEx: My lecture was stopped short.
shortly = soon, in a concise mannerEx: He called me shortly after I got home. He answered the police shortly.
IV.6. Typology of adverbsIV.6.1. Adverbs of manner
These adverbs generally answer the questions How? and In what way/manner? and they show:
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a) the manner in which the action of the verb is performed: accurately, badly, beautifully, carefully, correctly, differently, easily, fiercely, fluently, gently, heavily, nicely, peacefully, quietly, rapidly, silently, simply, thoroughly, urgently, violently, warmly, willingly, etc.
b) the circumstances of an event or situation: alone, collectively, illegally, legally, mechanically, naturally, openly, personally, publicly, etc.
c) the feelings of the person who performs the action: angrily, boldly, calmly, desperately, eagerly, furiously, gladly, happily, miserably, nervously, proudly, sadly, sincerely, etc.
There are several types of adverbs of manner (Bădescu, 1984: 461):a) Adverbs of quality: badly, beautifully, fairly, fluently, kindly, nicely, perfectly, well, etc.b) Adverbs of amount or degree: almost, completely, entirely, hardly, largely, wholly, etc.c) Adverbs of affirmation, probability or negation: yes, indeed, undoubtedly, certainly, truly, maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably, no, not, never, etc.d) Intensive adverbs: especially, exactly, only, precisely, simply, surely, at least, at most, etc.e) Restrictive adverbs: only, but, just, etc.f) Explanatory adverbs: as, namely, such as, that is (to say), etc.g) Exclamatory adverbs: How! What! So what!h) Introductory adverbs: accordingly, consequently, however, therefore, in any case, of course, etc.
Normally, the adverbs of manner are placed after the verb or after the object:Ex: She spoke openly to me about her situation. He speaks English fluently.Sometimes the adverbs of manner can appear between the subject and the verb to
emphasize the subject, or they can open a sentence for dramatic effect or to create suspense (Alexander, 1988: 127) (in narrative writing and only with such adverbs of manner such as gently, quietly, slowly, suddenly):
Ex: Mary gladly accepted the job proposal. They were all writing their papers quietly. Suddenly, a loud noise scared them all. When there are more different adverbs in a sentence, the usual order is: manner –
place – time.
IV.6.2. Adverbs of placeThe adverbs of place generally offer information about (Alexander, 1988: 127):
a) location: ahead, anywhere, around, ashore, downstairs, everywhere, here, indoors, nowhere, outdoors, somewhere, there, under, upstairs, etc. These adverbs showing location answer the question Where? and usually follow static verbs (be, live, stay, etc.)
b) direction: along, back, backward, forward, left, right, east, eastward, north, northward, south, southward, west, westward, etc. These adverbs showing direction answer the questions Where to/from? and usually follow dynamic verbs (come, go, run, etc.)
The adverbs of place, no matter whether they show location or direction, usually follow the verb:
Ex: We stayed indoors most of our holiday as it rained a lot.
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He drove eastward to reach the big city.In descriptive writing, however, the adverbs of place can begin the sentence in order
to emphasize the location:Ex: Upstairs it was quiet. Downstairs it was noisy.
IV.6.3. Adverbs of timeThese adverbs refer to (Alexander, 1988: 128):
a) definite time – they indicate current time or certain days, months, years (referring to past or future time) and answer the question When?: today, yesterday, last week/month/year, before, ago, on Monday/Tuesday …, at noon/dawn, etc. Normally this type of adverbs occurs at the end of the sentence:
Ex: I met them last year.However, there are cases when they can appear at the beginning of the sentence:Ex: Today I’ve received a very strange phone call.In the case of more adverbs of definite time in the same sentence, the progress is
from the more particular to the more general and thus the order is time + day + date + year:Ex: The meeting is at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday June 12th 2010.
b) indefinite time – they do not answer time questions precisely (Alexander, 1988: 129): afterwards, already, another day/time, at last, at once, eventually, immediately, lately, nowadays, yet, etc.
They are normally placed at the end of the sentence. However, they can appear before the verb or at the beginning of the sentence when the purpose is to focus the interest:
Ex: I phoned her immediately. (the normal unmarked position) I immediately phoned her. (the focus is on the action phoned) Immediately, I phoned her. (the focus is on the whole clause)
c) duration – the adverbs and prepositional phrases in this category show how long the action of the verb lasts or takes and answer the questions Since when? and For how long?.
- adverbs: ago, always, all day long, (not) any more, (not) any longer, no longer, no more, briefly, indefinitely, permanently, temporarily, etc.
Ex: They moved here temporarily.Among these adverbs there can be distinguished those which show how often an
action is repeated (they answer the question How often?). There are two cases (Paidos, 1993: 199):
- adverbs indicating definite frequency: once, twice, three/four…times (a day/week/month/year), every day/week/month/year, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.- adverbs indicating indefinite frequency: always, frequently, often, rarely, seldom, sometimes, etc.
- prepositional phrases beginning with the prepositions: after, before, by, during, for, from … to/till, since, throughout.
Ex: I haven’t spoken to him for three months.
IV.6.4. Adverbs of degree
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The adverbs of degree show “the extent of an action or the degree to which and action is performed” (Paidos, 1993: 199) and they answer the questions To what extent/degree?. Some of the most common adverbs of degree are: absolutely, almost, amazingly, awfully, badly, barely, completely, deeply, enormously, enough, entirely, extremely, fairly, far, fully, greatly, hardly, immensely, just, mainly, nearly, pretty, quite, rather, simply, terribly, truly, very, well, wonderfully, etc.
These adverbs are normally placed before the words they modify:a) adjectives: Your essay is fairly interesting.b) adverbs: He speaks English quite well.c) verbs: She simply quit her job.d) nouns (not very often): She is quite a specialist in linguistics.
IV.6.5. Interrogative adverbsThese adverbs are used in the beginning of questions and they are how, when, where
and why.Ex: How did you solve the problem?
When were they supposed to come? Where will you go this summer? Why are you upset?
IV.6.6. Connective/Relative adverbsThey are used to link clauses in various circumstances:
a) to introduce additional information: also, as well, besides, furthermore, moreover.Ex: This trip is very expensive; besides, we don’t have time for a holiday.
b) to introduce a comparison: as compared to, equally, likewise, similarly.Ex: My husband was fired and similarly, so was I.
c) to add a contrast: alternately, conversely, even so, however, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, rather, still, though, yet.
Ex: We didn’t trust John at all. However, we appointed him for this job.d) to show that something took place before or after an event already mentioned: afterwards, beforehand, earlier, finally, first, last, meanwhile, next, presently, simultaneously, soon, suddenly, then, throughout.
Ex: He worked all day to repair his car. Finally, he asked for some help.e) to summarize the things already mentioned: all in all, and so on, essentially.
Ex: This is what happened last year. All in all, it was a good year.f) to show how, when, where or why an action took place (the interrogative adverbs are used as relative adverbs)
Ex: I asked them how and where they had spent their holiday.Connective adverbs may appear in the beginning of the sentence or in mid-position.
IV.6.7. Focus adverbsThese adverbs focus attention on the word they qualify and they are: alone, chiefly,
especially, even, just, mainly, merely, mostly, notably, only, particularly, really, simply, solely, specially. Other adverbs such as too, also, as well, not … either focus attention by adding more information.
Ex: I was particularly interested in this matter. Mary is a student. She is also a nurse.
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According to the word they want to emphasize, the position in the sentence of some adverbs such as even and only is flexible and the meaning slightly changes:
Ex: Even Jim could repair the car. (i.e. although he is not very good at repairing things)
Jim could repair even this car. (i.e. although the problem was very serious) Only Tom entered this room. (i.e. nobody else) Tom only entered this room. (i.e. and did nothing else) Tom entered only this room. (i.e. and nowhere else)
IV.6.8. Viewpoint adverbsViewpoint adverbs qualify what is said or written, indicating the speaker’s or writer’s
attitude to what he is saying or writing (Alexander, 1988: 142). Thus, they may indicate (Paidos, 1993: 204-205):a) how sure the speaker/writer is about something: certainly, clearly, definitely, honestly, maybe, naturally, obviously, perhaps, possibly, really, remarkably, strictly.
Ex: You definitely need some help.b) what the speaker’s/writer/s opinion is: curiously, fortunately, frankly, happily, honestly, hopefully, ironically, miraculously, mysteriously, sadly, surprisingly, unfortunately, (un)luckily, unnecessarily.
Ex: Luckily, he offered to help me.c) that the speaker/writer is not going into details: anyhow, anyway, briefly, in brief/short.
Ex: Anyway, this is all he told me.Viewpoint adverbs may appear in the beginning of the sentence, in mid-position or at
the end of the sentence:Ex: I don’t think this will work, but you may try anyway.
IV.7. The comparison of adverbsThe comparative and the superlative degree apply only to gradable adverbs and this
category includes most adverbs of manner, some adverbs of time and some adverbs of place.
The comparison of adverbs functions like in the case of adjectives: the adverbs have three degrees of comparison: the Positive, the Comparative (of superiority, of equality and of inferiority) and the Superlative (the Relative Superlative and the Absolute Superlative).
According to the way they form the comparative of superiority and the relative superlative adverbs may be divided into regular and irregular.
For the regular adverbs the following rules apply:a) the comparative of superiority is formed by adding –er and the relative superlative is
formed by adding –est to the adverbs which have the same form as adjectives: early, fast, high, late, long, near.
Ex: He came earlier than you did. He came the earliest of all.
b) the comparative of superiority is formed by adding more and the relative superlative is formed by adding (the) most in front of adverbs made up of adjective + ly: carefully, nicely, slowly.
Ex: She planned her trip more carefully this time.
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This time she planned her trip most carefully.
The irregular adverbs have the following forms for the comparative of superiority and the relative superlative:
Well – better – (the) best Badly – worse – (the) worst
Far – further – (the) furthest
The formula for the comparative of equality is as + adverb + as:Ex: He plays tennis as badly as his son.
The formula for the comparative of inferiority is not … so/as + adverb + as:Ex: He does not play tennis so/as badly as his son.
The absolute superlative is formed with the help of very + adverb:Ex: He plays tennis very badly.
IV.8. Inversion after adverbsSometimes, an adverb may begin a sentence, with a direct consequence for the
normal subject-verb order. This means the sentence will have the following form: adverb + verb + subject + …. The adverbs which may appear in the beginning of the sentence triggering an inversion are:
a) negative adverbs: never, seldom, scarcely … when, no sooner … than, under no circumstances, on no account, little, not until, neither, nor, rarely.
Ex: Little did he know about her problems. Scarcely had we gone out when it started to rain. Rarely did he come to visit me.
b) restrictive adverbs: only now, only when, only then, only in this way, only there, not only.
Ex: Only now do I realize that he was right.c) adverbs of place like here and there with verbs of motion or with the verb be when
offering things or identifying location.Ex: There goes the last bus! Here comes the bride! Here’s a soda for you! There’s your stop!
d) adverbs of time or place may be followed by inversion for stylistic purposes.Ex: In that green field lay the beautiful mansion. Often have I wondered about you.
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PART IITHE SECONDARY PARTS OF SPEECH
V. THE PRONOUN
V.1. DefinitionV.2. Classification of pronounsV.3. The personal pronouns V.4. The reflexive pronounsV.5. The possessive pronouns V.6. The relative pronouns V.7. The interrogative pronouns V.8. The demonstrative pronouns V.9. The indefinite pronouns
V.1. Definition
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The pronoun is the secondary part of speech that can be used in place of a noun or a noun phrase. It has a deictic function, as it points “to objects, to their properties and relations, their local and temporal reference, or placement, without naming them.” (Beklyarova, 2007: 413)
V.2. Classification of pronounsThere are several subclasses of pronouns (Quirk et al., 1991: 140):- central pronouns, which include:
- personal pronouns- reflexive pronouns- possessive pronouns
- relative pronouns- interrogative pronouns- demonstrative pronouns- indefinite pronouns, that can be:
- positive- universal- assertive- non-assertive
- negative
V.3. The personal pronouns They have the forms: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they (in the Nominative) and me, you,
him, her, it, us, you, them (in the Dative and Accusative). Besides these distinctions in case, it can be seen that the personal pronouns have also distinctions in person (first, second and third) and in number (singular and plural) (Greenbaum & Nelson, 2009: 46). The forms in the nominative are normally used as the subject of the sentence: They are my friends.
The forms in the Dative and Accusative are generally used:- as direct objects: I’ll call her tomorrow.- as indirect objects: Paul offered me some flowers.- as objects of prepositions: Explain to them the whole truth.- in short answers: Are you tired? / Me? No.
The main function of the personal pronouns is “to help establish major referents in the discourse by setting up referential (or identity) chains by means of anaphora. This is an important part of referential coherence, of making important referents continuous and salient enough to be perceived and remembered by listeners and readers.” (Downing & Locke, 2006: 415)
There are some things to be mentioned about some of the personal pronouns:a) we can usually refer:
- to the locutor and interlocutor together (the inclusive we, that means me + you): Listen to what I suggest: we shall stay home tomorrow.- to the locutor and (an)other person(s), excluding the interlocutor (the exclusive we, that means me + other(s) – you): Ex: We don’t understand why you are acting so irrational.
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- to a group which the locutor is a part of (school, local community, etc.): We are a multicultural society.
There are also some atypical uses of we, when it may be used for:- one person alone (the locutor), who is an important person. It’s best known usage is by a monarch (that is why it is called royal we or majestic plural), such as a king, queen or pope, who is not only speaking on his own behalf, but also as leader of a nation or institution:
Ex: “In agreement with the Imperial Duma We have thought it well to renounce the throne of the Russian Empire and to lay down the supreme power24.”
- the locutor/author (the editorial columnist in a newspaper, who speaks on behalf of the media institution who employs him, or an academic, who speaks on behalf of the readers who agree with him) + the reader
Ex: “We hope Gov. Eliot Spitzer can help break a 15-year-old stalemate over a measure that would allow family members in New York State to act as decision makers for patients unable to direct their own care25.”
- the interlocutor (the patronizing we). This usage of we may be considered ironic or condescending.
Ex: Are we feeling all right today? (the doctor may ask a patient)
b)you may refer:- to the person(s) you are talking to: I want to talk to you, Mary.; You are not allowed to go out, boys!- to people in general (can be used interchangeably with one): You (one) never know(s) what you (one) can do until you (one) try (tries).
c) he and she are used when referring to persons, but they may also be used instead of it with personifications:
- he may refer to26: nouns denoting passions; names of things that suggest power, dignity- she may refer to27: nouns that suggest beauty, gentleness; nouns that denote negative traits of character; nouns that denote elements of nature; names of countries; names of ships, planes.
d) it is used to refer to things or abstract notions, but also:- to refer to animals and insects: The cat is not in the house; it must have gone out.- to refer to persons (baby, infant, child): When the baby woke up, it began to cry.- in impersonal constructions:
- to denote time: It’s ten o’clock.- to denote weather conditions: It’s sunny.- to denote distances: It’s no distance to the hospital.
- in introductory-anticipatory constructions:24 the abdication statement of Nicholas II of Rusia, www.wikipedia.org, retrieved on December 9th, 2010.25 The New York Times, May 13, 200726 See also the Gender of Nouns27 See also the Gender of Nouns
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- with verbs in the Infinitive: It’s difficult to drive. - with subject that-clauses: It’s necessary that she should come home
early.- in introductory-emphatic constructions: It is Paul who broke the window.- with such verbs as: to amaze, to bother, to disgust, to please, to interest, to surprise, etc.: It surprises me that you are still so undecided.- with some verbs in the Passive Voice: to believe, to consider, to expect, to imagine, to suppose, etc.: It is believed that he will move soon.- to replace a whole sentence: He hurt me; I’ll never forget it.
e) they is often used - to refer to people or things in general: They say she’ll leave town next year.- to refer to a group of people whose identity does not need to be stated: They arrested the thief. (= it is clear that they refers to the police)- after indefinite pronouns such as someone or anyone (even if the reference is just to the singular): If anyone wants to be a mediator, they must attend a course.
One is sometimes used as a singular personal pronoun, to make statements about people in general, but this use is considered formal (Cobuild, 1990: 45).
Ex: Going round Romania, one is struck by the beautiful scenery.
V.4. The reflexive pronouns They have the forms myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves,
themselves. There is another reflexive pronoun, oneself, which is the general form:Ex: One may hurt oneself with such a toy.The reflexive pronouns “reflect another nominal element of the sentence, usually the
subject, with which it is in co-referential relation” (Quirk et al., 1991: 211):- subject and direct object: The killer hurt himself.- subject and indirect object: She cooked herself a big lunch.- subject and subject complement: The one who did this for the first time was himself.- subject and prepositional complement: Talk about yourself!- subject and apposition: She herself couldn’t come.
There are two distinct uses of the reflexive pronouns: non-emphatic and emphatic (Quirk et al., 1991: 211-213).1. Non-emphatic use (they refer to the same person or thing as the subject does)It occurs in the following cases:a) with verbs which always require a reflexive object: to avail oneself (of), to betake
oneself, to pride oneself (on): He always prides himself on his achievements.b) with verbs where the reflexive pronoun may be omitted with little or no change in
meaning: to adjust (oneself), to dress (oneself), to prove (oneself to be competent), to shave (oneself), to wash (oneself): The little girl can’t dress herself.
c) with non-reflexive verbs where the reflexive pronouns are used to denote co-reference in contrast with non-co-referential objects: She saw herself / her in the mirror.
*herself = co-referent with the subject she
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*her = refers to another persond) after as, like, but, except, in variation with personal pronouns: For somebody like me/myself, this is a big accomplishment.
2. Emphatic use (they give emphasis to a person or thing)Reflexive pronouns in emphatic use occur in apposition and have greater positional
mobility (unlike the pronouns in non-emphatic use).Ex: I wouldn’t trust him myself. I myself wouldn’t trust him. Myself, I wouldn’t trust him.
V.5. The possessive pronouns The possessive pronouns indicate that something belongs to someone or is
associated with them. They have the forms mine/ours, yours, his/hers/theirs. In terms of syntactic functions, they can be:
- the subject of a sentence: Your house is small, but mine is big.- a subject complement of the verb to be: It’s not my car, it’s yours.- the direct object: He is driving Jane’s car today and Jane is driving his.- a prepositional object: We are not waiting for your friends, but for ours.
V.6. The relative pronouns They are: who, whom, whoever, which, whichever, that, whatever. They “introduce
relative clauses postmodifying nominal heads” (Quirk et al., 1991: 214).- who refers to persons and it is the subject of a relative clause:
Ex: The girl who is playing outside is my daughter.- whom refers to persons and it is the object of a relative clause (the form who may also be accepted):
Ex: This is the boy who(m) I was telling you about.- which refers to things or animals and may be the subject or the object of a relative clause:
Ex: The book which I read is very interesting. I saw the bear which attacked him.- that refers to people, things or animals and may be the subject or the object of a relative clause:
Ex: The girl that is playing outside is my daughter. The book that I read is very interesting. I saw the bear that attacked him.
That is preferred:- after superlatives: She is the meanest girl that I have ever seen.- after ordinal numbers: He was the first runner that finished the race.- after indefinite pronouns: Is there anything that I can do for you?- when the antecedent is both a person and a thing: Tell me about the people and places that you have seen there.
- whoever, whichever and whatever refer to persons or things that are unknown or indefinite:
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Ex: I’ll help whoever needs my help. I have several umbrellas; take whichever you want.
Tell me whatever you want.
V.7. The interrogative pronouns They are who, whose, whom, what and which. They appear in interrogative
sentences, being used as the subject or object of a clause, or the object of a preposition:Ex: Who has just called?
I have found a book; whose is it? Whom did you see there? What are you doing now? What are you thinking about? Which of you is guilty?
There are some idiomatic expressions with interrogative pronouns: what about …?, which is which, who is who, what’s what.
V.8. The demonstrative pronouns They are: this/these, that/those, the former/the latter, the other/the others, the
same, so, such, one/ones.- this/these, that/those may have several uses (Downing & Locke, 2006: 217; Quirk et al., 1991: 217):a) anaphoric (referring to a previous part of the discourse), with optional one/ones.
Ex: Of all the cars, I prefer this/that (one) these/those (ones)b) cataphoric (referring to a part of the discourse that is to come):
Ex: This is a test: One, two, over!c) exophoric (referring to something outside the discourse):
Ex: They never imagined things would come to this.d) deictic:
Ex: This/that is my house.e) determinative use (only that and those)
Ex: That which upset me most was his behaviour. Those who are lazy will never pass.f) emotive use in informal style:
Ex: Please don’t mention this again!
- the former/the latter – they have the meaning of the first and, respectively, the second of the two.
Ex: Mary and Jane are my friends; the former is 18, the latter is 20 years old.- the other/the others have the meaning not this/these ones, referring to people and things.
Ex: I’ll take this car and you may take the other. Some guests came on time, the others came late.
- the same means not different:Ex: He offered her a glass of wine and the same to me.
- so is normally used to replace a whole sentence:Ex: He pretends he is telling the truth, but I don’t think so.
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- such means in this way: Ex: Such is the present situation.
- one/ones:Ex: He gave me two books: a Romanian one and an English one. They are the ones elected.
V.9. The indefinite pronouns They are of several types:
a) positive- universal: - each: They each helped me. - all: They are all absent.
- every series (everyone, everybody, everything): I know everyone/everybody/everything here.
- assertive: - the multal group: much, many, more, mostEx: We have much to learn about them. A few people were absent, but many were present.
They asked for more.Most know English very well.
- the paucal group: little/a little, few/a few28:Ex: Little is known about her.
Is there any coffee left? Yes, a little.We expected many people, but few came.A few survived.
- several, enough:Ex: I found the eggs, but several were broken. I had enough to eat.
- one: Ex: One can never be sure of anything.
- some series (someone, somebody, something)29: Ex: I know someone/somebody/something interesting.
- non-assertive: - any series (anyone, anybody, anything)30: Ex: I don’t know anyone/anybody/anything.
- either: Ex: Which car do you prefer? Either.
b) negative: - no series (no one, nobody, nothing)31: Ex: I know no one/nobody/nothing.
- neither: Ex: Don’t mention Paul and Peter. Neither of them is my friend.
28 For their rules of usage, see The Adjective and the Adjectival Phrase29 For their rules of usage, see The Adjective 30 For their rules of usage, see The Adjective 31 For their rules of usage, see The Adjective
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As they constitute a closed system, all the types of pronouns mentioned above can be organized and exemplified in the following chart:
Subclasses of pronouns FormsCentral pronouns: personal pronouns - I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they(Nominative)
- me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them (Dative and Accusative)
Central pronouns: reflexive pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Central pronouns: possessive pronouns mine/ours, yours, his/hers/theirsRelative pronouns who, whom, whoever, which, whichever,
that, whateverInterrogative pronouns who?, whose?, whom?, what?, which?Demonstrative pronouns this/these, that/those, the former/the latter,
the other/the others, the same, so, such, one/ones
Indefinite pronouns: positive - universal - each- all- every series (everyone, everybody, everything
Indefinite pronouns: positive – assertive - the multal group: much, many, more, most- the paucal group: little/a little, few/a few- several, enough- one- some series (someone, somebody, something)
Indefinite pronouns: positive – non-assertive - any series (anyone, anybody, anything)- either
Indefinite pronouns: negative - no series (no one, nobody, nothing)- neither
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VI. THE PREPOSITION
VI.1. DefinitionVI.2. The prepositional phrase and its structure VI.3. The syntactic functions of prepositions VI.4. The classification of prepositionsVI.5. Classes of words with the same form as prepositionsVI.6. Constructions with prepositions
VI.1. DefinitionThe preposition is the secondary part of speech which has a relating function
(Downing & Locke, 2006: 531): it connects a noun or a noun structure to other structures in the sentence (Paidos, 1993: 225), the two parts of the sentence connected by the preposition having different syntactic functions (about, by, during, from, in, on, over, to, under, with, etc.). The prepositional phrase consists of a preposition together with its complement, which is typically a noun, a noun phrase or a clause (wh-clause or non-finite –ing clause) in nominal function (with certainty, in the school yard, from what she said, by signing the agreement, etc.).
VI.2. The prepositional phrase and its structure A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its complement, both being
obligatory, and an optional modifier, which intensifies the preposition (Downing & Locke,
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2006: 532). Unlike the case of the noun phrase, the adjectival phrase or the adverbial phrase, the preposition in the prepositional phrase cannot function alone as a head. The prepositional phrase can be thus represented as follows:
Modifier Preposition Complementright into his armsjust at that momentcompletely out of controlstraight along this road
The modifier generally shows intensification, but it can also take the form of direction, attenuation, quantification, description, focusing and reinforcement (Downing & Locke, 2006: 538).
a) intensifying modifiers: completely, directly, badly, right, well, all, etc.Ex: directly through the window all about this subjectb) directional modifiers: up, down, out, overEx: down by the river over on the other sidec) attenuating modifiers: partly, slightly, a bit, hardly, a littleEx: slightly/a bit out of reach hardly thanks to youd) quantifying modifiers: nearly, almost, miles, way backEx: way back in time almost at the same timee) descriptive modifiers: surprisingly, hopelessly, unexpectedlyEx: hopelessly in love with her unexpectedly close to failure f) focusing and reinforcing modifiers: precisely, mainly, just, chiefly, onlyEx: just for this purpose mainly after dinner
VI.3. The syntactic functions of prepositions The prepositions may have the following syntactic functions (Downing & Locke, 2006:
541-542; Quirk et al., 1991: 304):a) subject: After dark is the best moment to go for a walk.b) direct object: I don’t think next to the highway a good place to live.c) prepositional object: Stop tampering with the digital camera!d) subject complement: You must be out of your mind to accept!e) object complement: The accident left him without a family.f) adjunct: The children were playing in the garden.g) postmodifier in a noun phrase: The children in the garden were playing.h) complement in a noun phrase: She is a teacher of English literature.i) premodifier in a noun phrase: Off-the-record information cannot be used during
the trial.j) complement of a verb: They were listening to his speech.k) complement in an adjectival phrase: I’m sorry for your loss.
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l) complement in an adverbial phrase: I live far from here.m) complement in a prepositional phrase: The museum is opened every day except
on Mondays.n) disjunct (expresses information that is not essential to the sentence, but it shows
the speaker’s attitude towards the content of the sentence): She did, in all fairness, try to tell you the truth.
o) conjunct (adds information to the sentence that is not considered part of the propositional content, but which connects the sentence with previous parts of the discourse): In conclusion, they did not leave at all.
VI.4. The classification of prepositions a) according to their form, prepositions can be (Coghill & Magedanz, 200: p.151):- simple (one-word): about, across, after, as, at, by, down, during, for, from, in, near,
of, off, on, round, to, with, etc.- complex (two-word, multi-word). According to the parts of speech involved, there
can be distinguished three categories:- adverb + preposition: along with, apart from, away from, out of, up to, etc.- verb/adjective/conjunction + preposition: owing to, due to, contrary to, but for, because of, etc.- preposition + noun + preposition: by means of, in comparison with, etc.
b) according to their meaning, prepositions can be:- of place, which have the functions of adjuncts (relating an event to a location),
postmodifiers (relating an object to a location) or predicatives (following the verb to be). The prepositions indicating place show (Quirk et al., 1991: 307-316):
- simple position and destination: at, to, on, in(to), etc.- negative position: away from, off, out of, etc.- relative position or destination: by, over, under, etc.- passage: across, through, past, etc.- movement with reference to a directional path: up, down, along, etc.- orientation: beyond, over, past, etc.
- of time, which occur as adjuncts or postmodifiers. They are (Quirk et al., 1991: 317-318):
- prepositions that indicate time when: at, on, in- prepositions that indicate duration: for- before, after, since, until- between, by, up to
- of cause: because of, on account of, owing to, thanks to- of purpose: for- of instrument: with, by, without
VI.5. Classes of words with the same form as prepositionsSome one-word prepositions can have functions characteristic of verbs, conjunctions
and adverbs (Downing & Locke, 2006: 543-545).a) prepositions and verbs: some participial forms can function as both prepositions
and verbs: considering, excluding, following, including, regarding, given, granted.Ex: The museum is open every day excluding Monday. (preposition)
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I’m not excluding this possibility. (verb)b) prepositions and conjunctions: when referring to moments of time and introducing
declarative finite clauses, some items are regarded more as conjunctions than as prepositions: after, before, since, until.
Ex: before his departure; before leaving (preposition) before he left (conjunction)
c) prepositions and adverbs: when expressing circumstantial meaning, some words can function as both prepositions and adverbs: aboard, above, about, across, after, behind, below, between, down, in, inside, on, outside, under, up.
Ex: We walked in the house. (preposition) We walked in. (conjunction)
VI.6. Constructions with prepositionsA number of verbs, nouns and adjectives require the use of certain prepositions:
a) verbs with preposition32: to abound in, to account for, to accuse of, to belong to, to bring about, to call for, to depend on, to laugh at, to listen to, to look after, etc.b) nouns with prepositions33: aptitude for, astonishment at, belief in, confidence in, desire for, hunger for, in honour of, master of, objection to, a thirst for, a witness to, etc.c) adjectives with prepositions34: able to, absent from, curious about, disappointed with, guilty of, mad about, patient with, suitable for, unaware of, useful for, worried about, etc.
There are also some idioms with prepositions: above suspicion, at a loss, behind bars, by all means, from cover to cover, in no time, off the beaten track, out of touch, etc.
32 For a longer list see Appendix VI.a33 For a longer list see Appendix VI.b34 For a longer list see Appendix VI.c
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VII. THE CONJUNCTION
VII.1. DefinitionVII.2. Morphological classification of conjunctionsVII.3. Syntactic classification of conjunctions
VII.1. DefinitionThe conjunction is the part of speech that links two words that have the same
syntactic function or two sentences that share similar ideas (Coghill & Magedanz, 2003: 135).Ex: Painting and dancing are his favourite hobbies.
He called but he couldn’t find me.
VII.2. Morphological classification of conjunctionsAccording to their form, conjunctions can be classified into:
a) simple conjunctions – consist in one word: after, and, as, but, if, when, while, why, etc.
Ex: The boss entered the office after the secretary had typed all the letters.b) compound conjunctions – formed of two or more parts of speech written in one
word: however, otherwise, therefore, whenever, whereas, etc.Ex: You are guilty, therefore you should pay for your deeds.
c) correlative conjunctions – consist in two conjunctions separated by sentences or by parts of sentences: if … then, either … or, neither … nor, as … as, both … and, not only … but also, so … as, no sooner … than, etc.
Ex: No sooner had we entered the house than the rain started. Your letter was both affectionate and kind.
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d) conjunctional phrases – formed of different parts of speech, combined with conjunctions or with other parts of speech: as if, as though, as well as, for that reason, on that account, so long as, or else, in order to, that is why, as if, for instance, etc.
Ex: He behaves as though he didn’t know us.
VII.3. Syntactic classification of conjunctionsAccording to their function, conjunctions can be coordinating or subordinating
(Bădescu, 1984: 250):1) The coordinating conjunctions – they connect two similar parts of sentence, with
the same syntactic role, or two coordinate sentences. There are several types of coordinating conjunctions.
a) copulative or cumulative conjunctions – when a notion ads to another one: and, besides, further, as well as, both … and, neither … nor, not only … but also, etc.
Ex: Neither Paula nor her children knew about his accident.b) adversative conjunctions – when they express a contrast: but, but then,
whereas, while, etc.Ex: Michael is talented, but he is lazy.c) disjunctive conjunctions – when they express an alternative: or, else, or
else, otherwise, either … or, etc.Ex: Listen to her advice, or you’ll be sorry!d) conclusive/illative conjunctions – when they express a conclusion:
accordingly, consequently, hence, therefore, for that reason, on that account, that is why, etc.
Ex: I had to work late, that is why I couldn’t come to the meeting.e) explicative conjunctions – when they help an explanation: because, namely,
for instance, let us say, such as, that is to say, etc.Ex: She works hard because she has to raise four children.
2) The subordinating conjunctions and phrases – they link the subordinate clause to the main clause. There are several types of subordinating conjunctions and phrases.
a) conjunctions of time – they introduce temporal clauses: after, before, (ever) since, till, until, when, whenever, while, the first time, all the time, as soon as, by the time , etc.
Ex: The rain had already started by the time we got home.b) conjunctions of place – they introduce adverbial clauses of place: where,
wherever, as far as, etc.Ex: He won’t tell me where he’s going to spend his holiday.c) conjunctions of manner – they introduce adverbial clauses of manner: as,
as if, as though, etc.Ex: They behave as if they were rich.d) conjunctions of cause – they introduce adverbial clauses of cause: so,
because, for, now (that), since, etc.Ex: He didn’t take part in that race because he was not very well prepared.e) conjunctions of purpose – they introduce adverbial clauses of purpose: in
order that, for fear, lest, so as, so that, etc.Ex: They stopped talking lest they should be heard by the boss.
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f) conjunctions of comparison – they introduce adverbial clauses of comparison: than, as if, as … as, not so/as … as, etc.
Ex: This movie is not so/as good as you think.g) conjunctions of concession – they introduce adverbial clauses of
concession: although, even if, in spite of, etc.Ex: Although we are not very good friends, I feel sorry for her loss.h) conditional conjunctions – they introduce conditional clauses: as long as, if,
if only, on condition (that), provided (that), providing, suppose, supposing, unless, etc. Ex: Unless you stop yelling, we can’t continue our conversation.i) conjunctions of result - they introduce adverbial clauses of result: (so …)
that, such … that, etc.Ex: Fortunately he helped us, so that we ended our work on time.j) relative conjunctions - they introduce relative clauses: that, which, who,
whose, as, etc.Ex: This is the man who is going to run the firm.k) subject clause conjunction – it introduces subject clauses: thatEx: That you should go there is not surprising.l) object clause conjunction - it introduces direct object clauses: thatEx: They knew that I wanted to quit my job.m) attributive clause conjunction- it introduces attributive clauses: thatEx: The news that he was fired shocked me.
VIII. THE NUMERAL
VIII.1. DefinitionVIII.2. Types of numeralsVIII.3. The cardinal numeralVIII.4. The ordinal numeralVIII.5. The fractional numeralVIII.6. The collective numeralVIII.7. The multiplicative numeralVIII.8. The distributive numeralVIII.9. The adverbial numeralVIII.10. The indefinite numeral
VIII.1. DefinitionThe numeral is the secondary part of speech that expresses an abstract number, a
numerical determination of objects or the order of objects through counting (Bădescu, 1984: 231).
VIII.2. Types of numeralsThere can be distinguished the following types of numerals in English (Bădescu, 1984:
231):a) cardinal numeralsb) ordinal numerals
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c) fractional numeralsd) collective numeralse) multiplicative numeralsf) distributive numeralsg) adverbial numeralsh) indefinite numerals
VIII.3. The cardinal numeralThe cardinal numeral expresses an abstract number or a definite and exact number of
objects. The cardinal numerals are: zero, one, two, three … one hundred, two thousand, three million, etc.
In terms of their morphological composition, the cardinal numerals are of three types (Beklyarova, 2007: 437):
- simple: the cardinals from one to twelve, hundred, thousand, million;- derived: the cardinals from thirteen to nineteen (derived from the simple ones by
means of the suffix –teen) and the cardinals denoting tens (derived from the simple ones by means of the suffix –ty);
- compound: the cardinals from twenty-one to twenty-nine, thirty-one to thirty-nine, etc. and those over hundred.
The numerals hundred, thousand, million, dozen (12), score (20) and gross (144) are never used in the plural if they are preceded by a definite number or by several, a few or a couple of.
Ex: Three hundred years Two thousand euros Several million pounds A few dozen books Nine score boxes Two gross of pencilsThese numerals can be used in the plural when they express an indefinite number:Ex: Hundreds/thousands/millions/dozens/scores/grosses of people
The cardinal numeral can function as:a) an adjective, determining a noun: Ex: There were nine candidates for the
elections.b) a noun (in this case, it can have a plural form as well): Ex: She is in her fifties.c) one can also function as a pronoun: Ex: One knows one’s own story.
VIII.4. The ordinal numeralThe ordinal numeral indicates the order in a series or sequence (Jespersen, 2006:
153). With the exception of the first three numerals and the compound numbers formed with their help, the ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix –th to the cardinal numerals or to their equivalents. Thus, in terms of their morphological composition, the ordinal numerals are of three types (Beklyarova, 2007: 438):
- simple: first, second, third;- derivative: fifth, seventeenth, thirty-fifth, etc.;- compound: thirty-first, twenty-second, fifty-third, etc.The ordinal number may have the function of:
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a) an adjective: Ex: Her son is the first student in his class.b) a noun: Ex: I booked two firsts to Bucharest.c) a pronoun: Ex: The first house we visited was quite large, but the second was
huge.d) an adverb: Ex: When I first came here I was a young student.
VIII.5. The fractional numeralThe fractional numeral expresses fractions, that means one or several equal parts
from a whole.There are two types of fractions:a) The common/vulgar fraction – it has two terms: the numerator and the
denominator:Ex: 5/10 – numerator/denominator (five-tens)b) The decimal fraction – in some cases a fraction can be also expressed through a
decimal number:Ex: 3.25 – three point twenty-five
VIII.6. The collective numeralThe collective numeral expresses in a singular form the numerical idea of plural. It
includes: couple, pair, brace, dozen, score, gross, etc.Couple, pair, brace refer to groups of two: Ex: a couple of friends a pair of gloves a brace of dogs/ducks/pheasants (brace is a term used to refer to hunting)
Dozen, score, gross refer to groups larger than two.Ex: two dozen boxes three score years two gross of pens
VIII.7. The multiplicative numeralThe multiplicative numeral shows the proportion in which a quantity raises. It
includes: single, double (twofold), triple (threefold), fourfold, tenfold, etc. The forms with the suffix –fold are especially used in the literary style, the technical or the official style. In speech, they have been replaced by adverbial numerals: once, twice, thrice/three times, four times, ten times, etc.
VIII.8. The distributive numeralThe distributive numeral shows the distribution of objects in equal groups: one at a
time, two by two, by threes, by the hundred, four and four, every five days, etc.
VIII.9. The adverbial numeralThe adverbial numeral functions as an adverb and it shows:
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a) the frequency or the periodicity of an action: once, twice, three times, once more, once again, etc.
b) the place in a series: first, firstly, secondly, thirdly, in the first place, etc.
VIII.10. The indefinite numeralThe indefinite numeral shows an indefinite number of objects and it includes: a
number (of), a lot, lots, plenty, etc.
All the types of numerals mentioned above can be followed in the following chart:
Types of numerals FormsCardinal numerals zero, one, two, three, …, thirteen, fourteen,
…, twenty, twenty-one, …, one hundred, two thousand, three million, etc.
Ordinal numerals first, second, third, fourth, sixteenth, fourty-third, sixty-sixth, etc.
Fractional numerals two-tens, two point twenty, etc. Collective numerals couple, pair, brace, dozen, score, gross, etc.Multiplicative numerals single, double (twofold), triple (threefold),
fourfold, tenfold, etc.Distributive numerals one at a time, two by two, by threes, by the
hundred, four and four, every five days, etc. Adverbial numerals - once, twice, three times, once more, once
again, etc.- first, firstly, secondly, thirdly, in the first place, etc.
Indefinite numerals a number (of), a lot, lots, plenty, etc.
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APPENDIX
Appendix I.a
Partitives (Cobuild, 1990: 38-39)
a) Nouns referring to single items or amountsa bar of chocolate / soap / metala blade of grassa block of marble / ice / wooda box of matchesa book of stampsa cube of icea dash of sodaa flash of light / lightening / inspirationa head of hair / cattle / cabbage / lettucea heap of coal / dirt / rubbishan item / a piece of news / informationa jar of jama jet of watera loaf of breada lump of coal / sugara clap of thundera piece of wood / furniture / paper / glass / chalk / cotton / bread / advice / information / gossip / scandal / wisdom / knowledgea portion of fooda roll of paper
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a scrap of papera slice of bread / cake / meata sheet of papera stick of chalka strand of hair / wool
b) Nouns referring to small quantitiesa breath of aira cloud of dusta drop of oil / rain / watera grain of corn / dirt / rice / sanda pinch of salta puff of smoke / winda sip of teaa speck of dust
c) Nouns referring to measuresa gallon of petrola length of clotha litre of oilan ounce of golda pint of beer / milka pound of coffeea spoonful of medicinea yard of cloth
d) Nouns referring to containersa barrel of beera basket of fruita bottle of milk / wine / juicea flask of teaa glass of watera tin of soupa tube of pastea vase of flowers
e) Nouns referring to types and speciesa brand of soapa kind of biscuita species of fisha type of druga variety of pastaa make of cara sort of cake
f) Nouns referring to gamesa game of billiards / bridge / cards / chess / cricket / darts / tennis / volleyball
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g) Nouns referring to pairsa pair of boots / braces / glasses / gloves / jeans / pants / pliers / pyjamas / scissors / shoes / skis / slippers / socks / tights / tongs / trousers
h) Nouns referring to abstract conceptsa bit / piece of advicea bit of knowledgsa grain of trutha period of calma fit of angera wink of sleepa piece of researcha shred of evidence a spot of trouble
Appendix I.b
Collective Nouns (Cobuild, 1990: 40-41)
a) Referring to peoplea company of actorsa bench of bishopsa troupe of dancersa board of directorsa party of friendsa gang of labourersa bevy of ladiesa bench of magistratesa troupe of minstrelsa band of musiciansa tribe of nativesa band of pilgrimsa class / school of pupilsa crew of sailorsa horde of savagesa staff of servantsa choir of singersa crowd of spectatorsa staff of teachersa gang of thievesa congregation of worshippers
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b) Referring to animals, birds, insectsa swarm / hive of beesa flock of birdsa herd of buffaloesa herd of cattlea brood of chicksa herd of elephantsa shoal of fisha tribe of goatsa team of horsesa swarm / plague of insectsa litter of kittensa troop / pride of lionsa plague of locustsa troop of monkeysa team of oxena litter of pupsa nest of rabbitsa flight of swallowsa school of whalesa pack of wolves
c) Referring to plants and fruita bunch / hand of bananasa bunch / bouquet of flowersa bunch of grapesa tuft of grassa stack of hay a clump / forest of trees
d) Referring to thingsa flight / squadron of airplanesa sheaf / quiver of arrowsa library of booksa pack of cardsa set of chinaa packet of cigarettesa cluster of diamondsa chest of drawersa clutch / sitting of eggsa suite of furniturea group of islandsa rope / string of pearlsa collection of picturesa fleet / flotilla / squadron of shipsa collection of stampsa cluster of stars
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a flight of stepsa bundle of sticksa pile / heap of stonesa set / kit of tools
Appendix II.a35
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Appearance
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Personality
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Feelings
Adorable Aggressive Afraid
Attractive Ambitious Angry
Alluring Amused Anxious
Beautiful Brave Bad
Bewildered Bright Bored
Confident Cruel Calm
Cheerful Combative Confused
Cultured Co-operative Comfortable
Clumsy Cowardly Creepy
Drab Dangerous Depressed
Dull Diligent Disturbed
Dynamic Determined Dominating
Disillusioned Disagreeable Deceitful
35 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/list-of-descriptive-adjectives.html, retrieved on January 10th, 2011.
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Elegant Evil Envious
Fair Frank Faithful
Filthy Fearless Fine
Gentle Generous Good
Glamorous Gifted Grieving
Handsome Helpful Horrible
Homely Harmonious Happy
Hurt Hesitant Hungry
Ill-mannered Instinctive Ill
Jolly Jealous Jovial
Kind-hearted Knowledgeable Kind
Lovely Loner Lively
Magnificent Mysterious Mature
Nervous Naughty Nice
Pleasant Pleasing Proud
Perfect Placid Peaceful
Plucky Punctual Protective
Smiling Successful Sorrowful
Splendid Sedate Silly
Self-assured Sincere Sombre
Snobbish Selfish Sore
Thoughtful Talented Tired
Tense Thrifty Troubled
Timid Truculent Testy
Upset Unbiased Unwell
Vivacious Voracious Vengeful
Wonderful Witty Wicked
Worried Wise Weary
Wild Warm Wrong
Zaftig Zany Zestful
eg- What an adorable baby! eg- He was a brave knight. eg- She was in a jovial mood.
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List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Shape
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Size
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Time
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Quantity
Broad Big Ancient Abundant
Crooked Colossal Annual Bountiful
Circular Great Brief Cumbersome
Distorted Gigantic Early Empty
Flat Huge Fast Extra
Hollow Large Late Few
Narrow Miniature Modern Heavy
Round Mammoth Old Myriad
Square Petite Rapid Many
Skinny Tall Swift Multiple
Steep Thin Slow Numerous
Wide Tiny Young Substantial
eg- A skinny boy eg- A miniature train eg- An ancient book eg- Myriad stars
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Sound
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Taste
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Touch
List of Descriptive Adjectives Describing Color
Blaring Bitter Hard Azure
Cooing Delicious Loose Aqua
Deafening Fresh Rough Blue
Loud Hot Smooth Black
Melancholic Icy Slippery Crimson
Noisy Juicy Sticky Cyan
Soft Spicy Sharp Gold
Shrill Sweet Scattered Green
Squeaking Sour Soft Magenta
Silent Salty Tender Orange
Thundering Tasty Uneven Pink
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Whispering Tasteless Wet Turquoise
eg- Blaring loudspeaker
eg- Delicious pastry eg- Rough surface eg- Green diamond
Appendix II.b
Adjectives used only attributively (Cobuild, 1990: 75)
atomic, bridal, cardiac, countless, cubic, digital, east, eastern, eventual, existing, federal, forensic, indoor, institutional, introductory, investigative, judicial, lone, maximum, nationwide, neighbouring, north, northern, occasional, orchestral, outdoor, phonetic, preconceived, remedial, reproductive, smokeless, south, southern, subterranean,, supplementary, underlying, west, western, woollen
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Appendix II.c (Cobuild, 1990: 77)
a) Adjectives usually used predicatively
afraid, alive, alone, apart, asleep, aware, content, due, glad, ill, likely, ready, safe, sorry, sure, unable, unlikely, well
b) Adjectives usually or always used predicatively and followed by “to”
accustomed, adjacent, allergic, attributable, attuned, averse, close, conducive, devoted, impervious, injurious, integral, prone, proportional, proportionate, reconciled, related, resigned, resistant, similar, subject, subservient, susceptible, unaccustomed
c) Adjectives usually or always used predicatively and followed by “of”
aware, bereft, capable, characteristic, desirous, devoid, fond, full, heedless, illustrative, incapable, indicative, mindful, reminiscent, represents
d) Adjectives usually or always used predicatively and followed by the prepositions indicated
contingent on, descended from, inherent in, lacking in, rooted in, steeped in, swathed in, unhampered by, answerable for, answerable to, burdened by, dependent on, dependent upon, immune from, incumbent on, incumbent upon, insensible of, parallel to, parallel with, reliant on, burdened with, connected to, connected with, immune to, inclined to, inclined towards, insensible to, intent on, intent upon, reliant with, stricken by, stricken with
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Appendix III
Irregular Verbs (Cmeciu & Bonta, 1997: 331-343)
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /æ/ /Λ/
begin began begundrink drank drunk/drunken*ring rang rungrun ran runshrink shrank shrunk/shrunken*sing sang sungsink sank sunk/sunken*spring sprang sprungstink stank stunkswim swam swum
*drunken, shrunken and sunken are used attributively.
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /Λ/ /Λ/
cling clung clungdig dug dugfling flung flunghang hung/hanged (with a
difference in meaning)hung/hanged (with a difference in meaning)
sling slung slungslink slunk slunkspin spun spun/spanstick stuck stucksting stung stungstrike struck struck/stricken*swing swung swungwin won wonwring wrung wrung
*stricken is used attributively.
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /ou/ /ou/
break broke brokenchoose chose chosenfreeze froze frozensteal stole stolen
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speak spoke spokenwake woke wokenweave wove/weaved woven/weaved Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle
/o:/ /o:/bear bore borne/bornswear swore sworntear tore tornwear wore worn
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /e/ /e/
bereave bereaved/bereft bereaved/bereftbleed bled bledbreed bred bredcreep crept creptdream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamtfeed fed fedfeel felt feltflee fled fledkeep kept keptkneel knelt kneltlead led ledleap leapt leaptleave left leftmean meant meantmeet met metread read readsleep slept sleptsmell smelt/smelled smelt/smelledspeed sped/speeded sped/speededspell spelled/spelt spelled/speltsweep swept sweptweep wept wept
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /u:/ /o:/
draw drew drawnoverdraw overdrew overdrawnwithdrawn withdrew withdrawn
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /o:/ /o:/
beseech besought besoughtbring brought brought
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buy bought boughtcatch caught caughtfight fought foughtseek sought soughtteach taught taughtthink thought thought Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle
/ou/ /i/drive drove drivenride rode riddenrise rose risenarise arose arisenshrive shrove shrivensmite smote smittenstride strode striddenstrive strove striventhrive throve/thrived thrivenwrite wrote written
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle No change No change
bet bet betburst burst burstbroadcast broadcast broadcastcast cast castcost cost costcut cut cuthit hit hithurt hurt hurtlet let letput put putrid rid ridset set setshed shed shedshut shut shutslit slit slitsplit split splitspread spread spreadthrust thrust thrust
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /t/ /t/
bend bent bentlend lent lentrend rent rent
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send sent sentspend spent spent
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /au/ /au/
bind bound boundfind found foundgrind ground groundwind wound wound Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle
/ou/ /ou/sell sold soldtell told toldforetell foretold foretold
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /i/ /i/
bite bit bittenchide chid chidhide hid hidden
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /u/ /ei/
forsake forsook forsakenmistake mistook mistakenpartake partook partakenshake shook shakentake took taken
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /ei/ /i/
bid bade/bid bidden/bidforbid forbade forbiddenforgive forgave forgivengive gave given
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /æ/ /æ/
sit sat satspit spat spat
Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle /d/ /n/
hew hewed hewnmow mowed mown
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saw sawed sawnsew sewed sewnshow showed shownsow sowed sownstrew strewed strewn
Miscellaneousabide abode abodebe was/were beenbeat beat beatenblend blended/blent blended/blentbless blessed/blest blessed/blestbuild built builtburn burned/burnt burned/burntclothe clothed/clad clothed/cladcome came comebecome became becomeovercome overcame overcomedeal dealt dealtdo did doneoutdo outdid outdonedwell dwelt dwelteat ate eatenfall fell fallenforesee foresaw foreseenforget forgot forgottenget got got/gottengo went goneundergo underwent undergonehave had hadhear heard heardoverhear overheard overheardhold held heldbehold beheld beheld/beholdenwithhold withheld withheldknit knitted/knit knitted/knitlay laid laidmislay mislaid mislaidlean leant/leaned leant/leanedlearn learned/learnt Learned*/learntlie lay lainlight lighted/lit lighted/litload loaded loaded/laden*lose lost lostmake made mademelt melted melted/molten*
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pay paid paidrot rotted rotted/rotten*say said saidsee saw seenshave shaved shaved/shavenshear sheared sheared/shornshine shone shoneshoe shod shodshoot shot shotslide slid slidspill spilled/spilt spilled/spiltspoil spoiled spoiled/spoiltstand stood stoodunderstand understood understoodwithstand withstood withstoodswell swelled swollen/swelledtread trod trodden/trodwork worked worked/wrought*
*laden, learned, molten (iron), rotten, wrought (iron) are used attributively
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Appendix VII.a
Verbs with preposition (Paidos, 1993: 228-243)
to abandon to; to abide by; to abound in; to account/or; to accuse of; to accustom to; to acquaint with; to act on/upon; to agree on/upon; to agree to; to agree with; to aim at/for; to allow for; to answer for; to answer to; to apologize for; to apologize to; to apply for; to apply to; to approve of; to ask about; to ask for; to ask in; to assort with; to attend to; to be about; to be after; to be through; to be with; to believe in; to belong to; to bring about; to call at; to call for; to call in; to call on; to care for; to carry on; to change for; to change into; to charge for; to come across; to complain about/of; to connect with; to consist of; to consist in; to count on/upon; to deal with; to decide on/upon; to defend against/from; to depend on/upon; to discern between; to dissatisfy at; to dissatisfy with; to distribute to; to do about; to do for; to do in; to do without; to embark on/upon; to endow with; to excel in; to feel about; to fit with; to free from; to gaze at; to get after; to get to; to go for; to go in(to); to inherit from; to introduce to; to involve in; to involve with; to keep about/around; to keep on; to keep to; to know about/of; to know from; to laugh; to lead in; to learn from; to learn about/of; to leave for; to leave with; to listen to; to live on; to live through; to long for; to look after; to look at; to look for; to look in (on); to look on; to look to; to make after; to make at; to make for; to make of; to match with; to meet with; to mingle with; to mock at; to object to; to occupy in; to occupy with; to occur to; to originate from; to pass by; to pay for; to plead for; to plot against; to point at; to point to/towards; to provide for; to provide with; to pull at; to pull by; to punish for; to punish with; to race against; to reach after; to reach for; to read for; to refrain from; to require of; to rescue from; to resort to; to result in; to result from; to revolt against; to use against; to rise from; to run after; to run at; to run for; to run into; to say about; to say after; to see about; to see to; to seek after/for; to send for; to set about; to set for; to show around; to take about; to lake after; to take for; to tell on; to think about/of; to think in; to think to; to throw at; to wait for; to wave at/to; to wonder at; to wonder about.
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Appendix VII.b
Nouns with prepositions (Paidos, 1993: 244-245)
access to; accompaniment of; accord of; in accordance with; account, of; accu¬sation of; act of; action of; advance of; advertisement for; advice on ; affinity with; aggression against/ towards ; agreement among/about/as to/between; aim of; amusement at; anger against; in answer (to); antagonism to/ towards/between; appointement with; appreciation of; aptitude for; in associa¬tion with; astonishment at; attempt on/upon; attendance at; in attendance on; authority on/over; aversion to; bastion of; battle against/with (another group)/between (two partsrts); belief in; border between/of/with; bridge across/over; campaign against/for; care for; chance of; change of; charge with; claim for/to; in command; in company; in competition with; concern about/over; confidence in; in conformity with; consultation about (something)/with (some¬one); control over; conversion from; conviction of/for; cure for; decision about/on; decrease in; defence against; by definition; delight of; desire for; in diffi¬culty; disagreement between; in disguise ; in the distance; distinction between; dream of; on duty; off duly; on earth; at ease (with); embargo on; embar¬rassment at (something)/to (someone); enthusiasm for; entrance to/of; entry in(to); equality of; equivalent of; evidence about/of; for example; exception to; excursion (in) to; excuse for; exit from; experiment on/with; expert in/on/at; explanation for; faith in; in fashion; out of fashion; in favour (of); feeling about/for; fidelity to; on fire; under fire; in flower; on foot; in general; on the grounds of; by hand (= manually); at hand (- near); on hand (near and available); in harmony with; haired for/of; on holiday; homage to; in honour of; an honor to; in the hope of; hunger for; by implication; impression of; improvement in/of; inclination for/towards; an indictment against/of someone for a crime; in¬equality in/of/between; information about/on; inspiration for; for instance; instrument of/for; insurance against; intimacy with; introduction to; investigation into; joke about/with; judge of; judgement of; justification for; lack of; against the law ; in/by/ under law ; legislation against/for/on ; at liberty ; in the light (of); liking for; limit of/on ; link between ; at a loss for); love for; in love (with); in luck; out of luck; with luck ; mania for; margin of; master of; in the meantime ; memorial to ; memory of; at the mercy of; in a mess ; miracle of; by mistake ; misunderstanding between ; model of; in moderation; at the moment; for the moment; of the moment; monopoly of; monument to ; by (the) name ; in the name (of); by nature (naturally); in the nature of; necessity of/for; need for; at night; nostalgia for; obedience to; object of; objection to; occasion for; partiality for; participant in; on patrol; perspective on/of; by phone; in place of; by plane; in possession of; possibility of; power of; power over; prediction about/of; predilection for; preface to; prejudice against; prescription for; on prescription; probability of; promise to; proof of; in proposition to/with; in public; a question about; beyond question; in question (=involved); out of question; quotation from ; at random; at any rate; rationale for/of; in reality ; reason for; by reason of; recovery from; reference to; reflection-of/ on/ upon; refusal of; relation with/between/of/to ; relationship with/between ; relit from; remark on; remedy for; replacement for; replica of; with reservation(s); in reserve; respect for; responsibility for; revelation to; wider review ; at (the) risk (of); by road; rumour of; sanctions
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against; at sea; the secret of; sequel to ; in sequence ; out of sequence; in session; by ship; in sight; out of sight; on sight; a sign of; signal for; in silence; on stage.; in step ; out of step; in store on the street (homeless); in the street (outside); the strength of; stress on; study of; suggestion of; under suspicion; above suspicion; beyond suspicion; symbolof; sympathy for/with; symptom of; synonym for; a target for; a taste of by taxi; in tears; a technique of/for; by telephone; on television; in terme of; a testimony to; in theory; a thirst for; in touch with; on tour; without trace; translation from/to/into; a tribute to; in trouble; by truck; by tube; understanding of; in unison; in vain; on vacation; at variance with; a variation of/on; a variety of; a vehicle for; verdict on; on the verge of; in the vicinity of; with a view to; visit from; visitor from/to; a witness to.
Appendix VII.c
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Adjectives with prepositions (Paidos, 1993: 246-247)
able to; absent from; absorbed in; acceptable to; accountable for; accustomed to; afraid of something/to do something; ahead of; afflicted by; alarmed by; allergic to; amazed at/by; angry about (something)/with somebody; annoyed at/about/by; anxious about/for; armed with; ashamed about/of; astonished at; attentive to; available for; averse to; aware of; bad at/for; basic to; blind to; bored with; brilliant at; busy with; capable of; careful of/about/with; careless of/with; certain of; charged with; clear about/of; clever at/to; close to; comparable to/with; complementary to; concerned about/with; conscious of; content(ed) with; contrary to; convenientfor; crazy about (something)/to do (something); crowded with; curious about; deaf to; delighted with (a present)/at (hearing something)/to do (something); dependent on; descended from; determined to; different fro/than; disappointed with; displeased with; doubtful about; due to; eager for; easy about/to; embarrassed at/about/by; envious of; equal to; essential for/to; evident to; exclusive to; fair to; faithful to; familiar to/with; famous for; favourable to; fearful of; fit for; fond of; forgetful of; free for; friendly to; full of; furious at/with; generous to/with; gentle with; glad about/of/ to; good at; grateful to/for; guilty of; happy about/with; harmful to; hesitant about/to; heavy with; honest about; honoured to; hopeful about; hopeless at; hungry for; identical to/with; ignorant of; impatient at/of/with; important for; impressed by/with; incapable of; incompatible with; inconsistent with; independent of; inferior to; indispensable to; indistinguishable from; inherent in; inimical to; insensible of/to; inseparable from; interested in/to; intolerant of; intoxicated by; invisible to; involved in/with; invulnerable to; irrelevant to; jealous of; keen about/on; kind of/to; at large; late for; at last; likely to; loyal to; mad about; married to; mirrored by/in; mistaken about/as to; native (to); necessary for; nervous about/of; new to; nice to; notorious for; noted for; obedient to; obvious of/to; obsessed by/with; occupied in/with; of old; optimistic about; orientated to /towards; pardoned for; parted from; patient with; peculiar to; pleasant to; pleased with/to/about; poor in; popular with; populated by; positive about (sure); preferable to; prejudiced against; preoccupied with; proficient in; prompt to; proud of; puzzled about; qualified for/to; ready for; for real; receptive to; related to; relevant to; remote from; removed from; resident in; responsible for/to; reunited with; rich in/with; rooted in; sacred to; safe from; satisfied with; scornful of; sensitive to/about; sentimental about; separate from; serious about; short of; for/to; superior to; sure about/of; surrounded by; susceptible to; surprised at; symbolic of; sympathetic to/towards; synonymous with; thankful to/for; thirsty for; thrilled about; tired of; true to; unacceptable to ; unaccustomed; unacquainted with; unaffected by; unafraid of; unattractive to; unavailable for; unaware of; uncertain about/of; uncharacteristic of; unclear about; uneasy about; unconcerned with; unconnected with; unconscious of; undecided about; unequal to; unfair to; unfaithful to; unfamiliar to; unfit for; unhappy about/with; unempressed by; uninterested in; unique to; unkind to; unknown to; unprepared for; unsatisfied with; unsuited to; unsure about; wasted on; weak on; worried about; worthy of; wrong with.
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