Verbs Flashcards
Variable lexeme
Lexemes that have a number of different inflectional forms that are required or permitted in various grammatical contexts.
Example: lexeme fly -> flown, flew, flies
Verb paradigm & (chart)
The set of inflectional forms of a variable lexeme (w/ grammatical labels)
Primary forms: preterite, 3SP, plain form
Secondary forms: plain form, gerund-participle, past participle
3 clause constructions in which plain form is used
Imperative, subjunctive, infinitival
Two main kinds of function of gerund-participle (rebate examples)
In Latin grammar, a gerund verb form is similar to noun. Participle is similar to adjective. English verb forms used both ways.
1a. She argued against [buying any more of them.] GP
1b. She argued against [any further purchases]. Noun
2a. People [earning $50,000 a year] don’t qualify for the rebate. GP
2b. [Moderately affluent] people don’t qualify for the rebate. Adj
Two major constructions of past participle (Dallas to Brussels flight example).
Perfect and passive
1a. She has flown from Dallas. (perfect)
b. She may have flown to Brussels. (perfect)
2a. The Brussels-Dallas route is flown by only two airlines. (passive)
b. A route flown by only two airlines is bound to be expensive.
Shape sharing between preterite and past participle
Use a substitution test: select a verb with distinct forms
Example: change walk with fly
Preterite= walked, flew
Past participle= walked, flown
Shape sharing between plain present and plain form
Use a substitution test with be.
Present tense= write/writes/wrote, am/is/are
Plain form= write, be (no change to agree with subject in imperative, subjunctive, to-infinitival, bare infinitival
Finite clause
Clause that is either headed by a primary verb form (Ed is careful), or is imperative (be careful), or is subjunctive (I insist that he be careful). Main clauses are always finite. Subordinate clauses may be finite or non-finite.
Main clause
Normally, a clause that is not embedded as a dependent within some larger clause. A prototypical main clause can stand alone as a sentence (It is raining).
Non-finite clause
Subordinate clause headed by a gerund-participle (his writing it), past participle (having written it), or plain form in the infinitival construction (to write it).
Distinctive properties of auxiliary verbs
- Subject-auxiliary inversion
Aux verb inverts, lexical verb inserts dummy do - Negation (two types)
A. Aux adds not, lexical adds dummy do
B. Aux have negative inflectional form (n’t), lexical verbs don’t.
Distinctive properties of modal auxiliaries
- Lack of secondary inflectional form (plain, GP, PP uses same form). Contrast with have.
- No distinct 3SP agreement form (I must, she must v. Have)
- Prototypical modal takes a single complement with the form of bare infinitival clause (exception ought)
4 dually-classified verbs
- Do: dummy = aux (test with interrogative and negative forms)
- Have: dynamic / lexical takes dummy do
- Need: aux= bare infinitival complement, non-affirmative context
- Dare: like need (bare inf, non-aff con).
General definition of auxiliary verb
Small subclass of verbs whose members are characteristically used to mark tense, aspect, mood, or voice.
Perfect v. Imperfective interpretations of clauses
Perfective= when a clause describes a situation that considers it as a whole, in totality, without reference to any internal temporal structure or subdivision it may have
ex. She wrote a novel.
Imperfective= when a clause describes a situation in a way that makes reference to its internal temporal structures or subdivisions
Ex. She was writing a novel.
2 primary tenses and purposes
Present tense (plain present and 3SP) Preterite
Present tense used for present time (perfective interpretation time of utterance , Imperfective interpretation for habits, etc.). Also used for future time (recurrent events in nature, events scheduled in advance). Also used for future time in subordinate clauses and “historic present” used in narratives.
Preterite used for past time, modal remoteness and backshift.
Primary forms vs. secondary forms
Primary forms show inflectional distinctions of tense (Preterite v. Present) and can occur as the sole verb in a canonical clause.
Secondary forms have no tense inflection and cannot occur as the head of a canonical clause.
Gerund
Participle
Traditionally and English
Gerund: verb form functionally similar to a noun
Participle: verb form functionally similar to adjective
English no form for separate uses but…
Gerund-participle: serves both functions
Ex:
she argued against buying any more of them.
She argued against any further purchases.
People earning $50000 a year don’t qualify for the rebate.
Moderately affluent people don’t qualify for the rebate.
Present perfect and time adjuncts
Allows some time adjuncts referring to present, Preterite does not.
Ex. By now
Does not allow time adjuncts referring to past, Preterite does.
Ex. Yesterday
Present perfect and current relevance
Pp indicates some current relevance, Preterite does not.
- Past experience influence current status
- Hot news
- Concern is on present results of past events
Uses of Preterite perfect
1. Locate event relative to another She had gone to bed. 2. Modal remoteness It would have been better if she had gone to bed. 3. Backshift You said she had gone to bed.
Perfect in clauses without primary tense
Have in secondary form, serves to locate situation in past time
- We believe her to have been in Bonn at the time.
- Having reached an agreement yesterday, we don’t need to meet today.
Aspect
A grammatical form or construction qualifies as an aspect if its main use is to indicate how the speaker views the situation described in the clause with respect not to its location in time but to its temporal structure or properties.
Properties of progressive
- Has duration, rather than instantaneous
2. Is dynamic, not static
Progressive futurate
I’m seeing my broker today.
Mood
Grammatical category associated with semantic dimension of modality.
Modality deals with two contrasts:
1. Factual v non-factual
2. Asserted v. Non-asserted
