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MORPHOLOGY OF
CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH
Remus BEJAN Camelia BEJAN
2010
LIMBA ŞI LITERATURA ENGLEZĂ
Morphology
of Contemporary English
2010
© 2010 Acest manual a fost elaborat în cadrul "Proiectului pentru Învăţământul
Rural", proiect co-finanţat de către Banca Mondială, Guvernul României
şi comunităţile locale.
ISBN 973-0-04113-X
Cont ents
Contents
Introduction 2
Objectives of the course 2
Specific competences 2
Presentation of content 3
Course tasks 4
Evaluation, assessment and testing 4
Plan your study 5
Summary 6
Further reading 6
Diagnostic test 6
Answers to diagnostic test 8
I
Cont ents
UNIT TWO. Nouns 33
Objectives of the unit 34
2.1. Types of nouns 34
2.1.1. Proper nouns 34
2.1.2. Common nouns 35
2.2. Noun formation 36
2.2.1. Derived nouns 36
2.2.2. Compound nouns 38
2.3. Number 39
2.3.1. Countable vs. uncountable nouns 39
2.3.2. Regular plural formation 39
2.3.3. Irregular plural formation 46
2.3.4. Foreign plurals 48
2.3.5. Nouns resistant to number contrast 49
2.4. Case 51
2.4.1. The common case 51
2.4.2. The genitive case 51
2.5. Gender 55
2.5.1. Lexical expression of gender 55
2.5.2. Morphological expression of gender 56
2.5.3. Dual gender nouns 57
Summary 58
Key terms 59
Further reading 59
Send-away assignment (SAA)2 59
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs) 2.1 – 2. 10 62
III
Cont ents
Bibliography 211
IV
Introduction
Introduction
1. Introduction 2
1.1. Objectives of the course 2
1.2. Specific competences 2
1.3. Presentation of content 3
1.4. Course tasks 4
1.5. Evaluation, assessment and testing 4
1.6. Plan your study 6
Summary 6
Further reading 7
Diagnostic test 7
Answers to diagnostic test 9
1
Introduction
1. Introduction
This book will introduce you to the study of English morphology. The
grammatical content of the book is presented in 6 independent units,
as follows:
Unit 1 gives a bird’s eye view of the whole course and defines
the basic units of grammar (phrase, word and morpheme). Units from
2 to 6 give a detailed description of the main word-classes of English
(noun, determiner, quantifier, pronoun, verb, adjective and adverb).
The units are further divided into sections, each one being conceived
as a learning component with appropriate practice tasks.
Every unit begins with a statement of the aim and lists its main
objectives. They are designed to assist you in your preparation and
offer a review for study purposes. Through its objectives, each unit
specifies what you will be able to do when you have finished it. The
objectives will help you monitor your own progress and decide on the
work that you need to do in order to get the best possible results.
Each of the six study units which make up the course is
accompanied by intensive practical work. We advise you to build up
a portfolio of the tasks to be undertaken. These and any work in
English that you consider relevant to your training should be
collected at any time for future reference. They will also assist your
preparation for the progress tests and the final examination.
The summary and the list of key terms organized
alphabetically, which we have placed at the end of every unit,
together with the glossary of grammatical terms at the end of the
book are meant to reinforce the main grammatical aspects
discussed.
To stimulate your interest in studying this course, each unit
contains a variable number of topics for reflection and study. We
encourage you to experiment and apply the ideas and the techniques
used in the course in your own activity, to reflect upon the results and
develop ideas and procedures adapted to the environment in which
you work.
3
Introduction
4
Introduction
These assignments, which you will find at the end of each unit,
are based on the material you have studied in the units. You can use
extra material if you wish (you might find the suggestions for further
reading at the end of each unit useful). At the beginning of each
assignment you will find detailed instructions on how to do it. You will
have to spend about 60 minutes in doing each assignment, provided
you have completed all the tasks required by the unit.
We would prefer that you type your assignments but writing
them legibly will do as well. Once completed, send them to your tutor,
and he or she will send feedback on all of them (commentary and
assessment) within two weeks. It is of utmost importance that you
meet the deadlines specified in the course map. Remember that your
tutor has planned his or her time around these deadlines. If you do
not observe them, he or she may be unable to read your assignment
and send feedback quickly to you.
Every SAQ and every SAA contain a variable number of
exercises and items, depending on the specific learning tasks that
derive from the objectives mentioned at the beginning of each unit. In
establishing the weight of each SAA (see table on page 5), we have
taken into account the relative importance of objectives covering the
content of the unit, the difficulty that you are likely to face in their
realization, their degree of complexity and novelty, the time allotted
by the syllabus for dealing with them. For each exercise, a 50%
success rate should be considered as minimal. In case you fail to
solve any of the items, we strongly advise you to re-read the relevant
sections of the course, refer to the glossary of grammatical terms to
revise basic definitions and other material suggested in the ‘Further
reading’ and in the general bibliographic list.
You will also sit a written examination (which counts for 60%
of the overall mark) at the end of the semester. You will have to
answer various questions and do exercises covering the major
problems dealt with in the course (units 1-6). Your grammar
competence will be evaluated by means of a variety of testing
structures such as multiple choice, modified cloze, text completion,
paraphrase, true – false, error identification, word changing,
word/clause order.
Your grade will be based on your ability to understand and
describe the structure of English sentences (form and function), your
knowledge of vocabulary for thinking and about and discussing
grammar, your competence in the mechanics of writing
(demonstrated in your writing) and in communicating grammatical
concepts to others. Your grammar knowledge will also be
demonstrated by your ability to produce sentences, both written and
oral, which are perceived as grammatically correct.
5
Introduction
Summary
The material for study is divided in six rather independent units. Unit
2 is important in the sense that it provides the essential information
about the basic units of grammatical analysis: the clause, the
phrase, the word and the morpheme. The following units give
details about the noun, the verb, the adjective, the adverb and the
grammatical categories associated with them: gender, number,
case (for nouns), tense, aspect, mood (for verbs). Each unit
contains a significant number of exercises of different types (SAQs)
that will allow you to practice the most important problems studied. At
the end of each unit, a Send-away assignment (SAA) tests what
you have learned in the respective unit. Reflection points (Think
first!) allow to link your study with your own activity. Throughout the
book we use a number of icons to identify the main types of activities.
6
Introduction
Further reading
We strongly encourage you to consult other works that will help you
find additional information on special grammar aspects. At the end of
each unit, you will find useful recommendations. However, when you
do this, remember to read critically. Sir Francis Bacon once said:
Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for
granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.
Diagnostic test
7
Introduction
26) I didn't realize that the shop was ……… the other side of the
road.
a) by b) for c) on d) in
1) a; 2) d; 3) b; 4) a; 5) b; 6) d; 7) a; 8) a; 9) c; 10) b;
11) d; 12) a; 13) d; 14) d; 15) b; 16) a); 17) b; 18) a; 19) a;
20) b; 21) d; 22) c; 23) d; 24) a; 25) c; 26) c; 27) b; 28) c;
29) c; 30) d
9
Basic concepts
UNIT 1
Basic concepts
Objectives 11
1.3. Words 17
1.3.1. Word vs. lexeme 18
1.3.2. Morphological structure of words 18
1.3.3. Word classes 23
1.3.3.1 Lexical words 23
Nouns 23
Lexical verbs 23
Adjectives 23
Adverbs 23
1.3.3.2. Function words 23
Determiners 24
Pronouns 24
Auxiliary verbs 25
Modal verbs 26
Prepositions 26
Adverbial particles 26
Coordinators 27
Subordinators 27
The negative particle ‘not’ 27
The infinitive marker ‘to’ 27
Numerals 28
Summary 29
Key terms 29
Further reading 29
Send – away assignment (SAA) 1 30
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs) 1.1 – 1. 7. 31
10
Basic concepts
Aim
This unit will introduce, define and illustrate the terminology used in
the grammatical analysis of English, with a view to enhancing your
awareness of the relationship between grammatical form and
meaning. We will examine the constituents of the simple sentence,
the major word-classes and their characteristics, the structure of the
word and will sketch the context in which any correct grammatical
analysis should be carried out.
Objectives
After you have completed the study of this unit and have done
all the tasks recommended, you should be able to:
11
Basic concepts
a. [John] is [a farmer].
b. [That farmer] is my uncle.
c. [Those farmers] are my neighbors.
d. [That farmer with a shovel in his hand] is my uncle.
postmodification
e. [That tall hardworking farmer] is my uncle.
premodification
f. [That tall hardworking farmer feeding the cattle] is my uncle.
premodification postmodification
g. [That tall hardworking farmer who is feeding the cattle in the
premodification postmodification
stables] is my uncle.
SAQ 1.1.
13
Basic concepts
T V writes
T perf. V has written
T progr. V is writing
T perf. progr. V has been writing
T modal V will write
T modal perf. V will have written
T modal progr. V will be writing
T modal perf. progr. V will have been writing
passive V is written
T perf. passive V has been written
14
Basic concepts
15
Basic concepts
16
Basic concepts
SAQ 1.2.
Identify the type of phrase (NP, VP, AP, AdvP). The first
has been done for you.
1) NP;
1.3. Words
Phrases are made up of words. Although they look familiar to
everyone, their definition is far from simple. Words are however
identifiable by such criteria as:
SAQ 1.3.
Look up the entries for study and intellectual in a dictionary.
Identify the lexemes for each, together with the
corresponding word forms.
18
Basic concepts
A free morpheme is one which can stand alone (farm, job, task,
man, child, box, etc.). The morpheme farm, for instance, cannot be
broken down into smaller bits, and it typically has semantic content,
in our case, “an area of land, and the buildings on it, used for growing
crops and/or keeping animals”.
A bound morpheme is one which cannot occur as an
independent word (re-, dis-, -tion, -er, etc.) and has to be attached to
other morphemes to build words: replay, dislike, education, farmer.
Their semantic content is more difficult to isolate. Bound morphemes
are typically called affixes.
SAQ 1.4.
19
Basic concepts
care [root]
care [root and stem 1] + less [derivational suffix 1] > careless (adj)
careless [stem 2] + ness [derivational suffix 2] > carelessness (n)
SAQ 1.5.A.
1) impossible 6) peacefully
2) cloudiness 7) exceptionally
3) childhood 8) parental
4) teacher 9) friendship
5) development 10) industrialize
20
Basic concepts
SAQ 1.5.B.
B. Complete the words in italics with the correct
derivational suffix: -ness, -ize,- able, -ity, -ible, -ive, -ment, -
fy. –hood. Write your answers in the space provided below
and then compare them with those given at the end of the
unit:
21
Basic concepts
SAQ 1.6. A.
SAQ 1.6. B.
1) John’s – genitive;
2)
22
Basic concepts
Nouns
Lexical verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
23
Basic concepts
Determiners
Pronouns
Auxiliary verbs
The three auxiliary verbs of English, be, have and do are used
to form up complex verb phrases. Have specifies perfective aspect:
25
Basic concepts
Modal verbs
Prepositions
Preposition (about, at, by, do wn, in, of, etc.) are invariable
words that introduce prepositional phrases and connect them with
other elements of the clause.
There's nothing you can do about it now.
The stone rolled down the hill.
The kids were playing in the street.
Adverbial particles
26
Basic concepts
Coordinators
Subordinators
To is often used before the base form of a verb to show that the
verb is in the infinitive:
27
Basic concepts
Numerals
SAQ 1.7.
28
Basic concepts
Summary
Key terms
• affix • modality
• aspect • morpheme
• case • phrase
• clause • root
• comparison • sentence
• determination • stem
• grammatical category • tense
• grammatical meaning • voice
• inflection • word
• mood
Further reading
29
Basic concepts
Complete the following test to find out how much you know
about basic morphology.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Ch. 2. “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”
30
Basic concepts
SAQ 1.2.
1. NP; 2. AP; 3. AdvP; 4.NP; 5. PP; 6. NP; 7. NP; 8. AP; 9. AdvP; 10. PP;
11. NP; 12. AP.
SAQ 1.3.
study, studies (noun); studies, studying, studied (verb); intellectual
(adjective); intellectual, intellectuals, intellectuals’ (noun)
Should your answers to SAQs 1.1 – 1.3 not be comparable to those
given above, we strongly advise you to revise sections 1.1. – 1.2.
SAQ 1.4.
rewrite, redo, reevaluate, reunification
SAQ 1.5.
A. 1. possible; 2. cloud; 3. child; 4. teach; 5. develop; 6. peace; 7.
exception; 8. parent; 9. friend; 10. industrial.
B. 1. drinkable; 2. prioritize; 3. forgetfulness; 4. unforgivable; 5.
parenthood; 6. productive; 7. government; 8. owner; 9. notify; 10.
popularity.
SAQ 1.6.
A. Inflectional affix: eggs, walked, singing, John's, faster, given,
quickest.
Derivational affix: react, goodness, capitalism, worker, employee,
jobs.
SAQ 1.7.
word class item
noun elephants, holiday, beach, day, s wim, sea, pair, trunks
determiner the, a
pronoun it, they
adjective hot
numeral two, one
verb went, sat, was, fancied, having, couldn’t, had
adverb down, very, unfortunately, only
preposition on, in, of
conjunction and
32
Nouns
UNIT 2
Nouns
Objectives 34
2.3. Number 39
2.3.1. Countable v. uncountable nouns 39
2.3.2. Regular plural formation 39
2.3.3. Irregular plural formation 46
2.3.4. Foreign plurals 48
2.3.5. Nouns resistant to number contrast 49
2.4. Case 51
2.4.1. The common case 51
2.4.2. The genitive case 51
2.5. Gender 55
2.5.1. Lexical expression of gender 55
2.5.2. Morphological expression of gender 56
2.5.3. Dual gender nouns 57
Summary 58
Key terms 59
Further reading 59
Send away assignment (SAA) 2 59
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs )2.1 – 2.10 62
33
Nouns
Aim
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
34
Nouns
36
Nouns
SAQ 2.1.
pattern example
SAQ 2.2.
2.3. Number
The grammatical category of number in nouns correlates with
the notion of countability. The number system has two terms:
singular, which denotes ‘one’, and plural, which denotes ‘more than
one’.
Think first!
d) plural numerals
e) nouns ending in -ful: the suffix –ful can be added to almost any
noun denoting some kind of container to form a quantifying noun:
basketful, bellyful, mouthful, plateful, pocketful, teaspoonful:
40
Nouns
She scooped up handfuls of loose earth.
SAQ 2.3.A.
SAQ 2.3.B.
41
Nouns
a flush / team of _______ _______
_______
a shoal of
_______
a flock of
_______ _______
a herd / team of
_______
a plague of
_______
a stud of
_______
a team / yoke of
_______
a flight / flock of
_______
a colony / bury /nest of
_______
a hover of
Think first!
42
Nouns
The plural ending is pronounced /z/ when the singular ends with
a vowel or with a voiced consonant:
The plural ending -es , pronounced [iz], is added when the noun
ends in sibilants [s, ʃ, ʧ,, z, ʒ: ]
/s / horse – horses
/ʃ / bush – bushes
/ʧ / church – churches
/z / prize – prizes
/ʒ / mirage – mirages
If the singular form ends in a consonant +y, the plural ends in -ies:
SAQ 2.4.A.
44
Nouns
SAQ 2.4.B.
1) It was just a potato and tomato salad but it was the best
John had ever had.
2) If you listen carefully, you will hear the echo coming back
from the mountain.
3) In times of trouble anybody can become a hero.
4) On the piano there was a framed photo taken ten years
ago at their wedding ceremony.
5) Granny was watching too many soap operas on TV and
she never listened to the radio.
Think first!
45
Nouns
grown-up grown-ups
stand-by stand-bys
forget-me-not forget-me-nots
sit-in sit-ins
Vowel change
In a small number of nouns, there is a change of vowel sound and
spelling (‘mutation plurals’) without an ending, which distinguishes the
singular form from the plural one:
46
Nouns
Zero plural
Some nouns have the same form both in the singular and in the plural.
They fall into three main categories: names of animals, quantifying
nouns and nationality names.
When these animals are not seen as a pray, they have the
regular –s plural:
47
Nouns
bacillus - bacilli
stimulus - stimuli
corpus - corpora
genus - genera
index - indices
matrix - matrices
analysis - analyses
axis - axes
basis - bases
crisis - crises
hypothesis - hypotheses
parenthesis - parentheses
thesis - theses
criterion - criteria
phenomenon - phenomena
48
Nouns
SAQ 2.5.
-a → -ae
-um → -a
-is → -es
-on → -a
49
Nouns
b) Plural nouns (also pluralia tantum) are nouns with only one form,
the plural. The set includes binary nouns (also known as
summation plurals). They refer to entities which comprise two
parts: tools and instruments (scissors, forceps, scales, tongs), and
articles of dress (jeans, pants, pajamas, shorts, trousers):
My family are at the seaside. They are all on the beach now.
My children are playing and my wife is watching them.
My firm are wonderful. They do all they can for me.
SAQ 2.6.
50
Nouns
2.4. Case
Case is a grammatical category determined by the syntactic
function and the semantic role of a noun. Morphologically, English
nouns have two cases: the unmarked common case and the marked
genitive case.
Genitives Analogues
a) possessive genitive
Mary’s passport “Mary owns a passport.”
the car’s wheel “The car has a wheel.”
b) subjective genitive
the parents’ consent “The parents consented.”
c) genitive of origin
the girl’s story “The girl told / wrote a story.”
England’s cheeses “the cheeses produced in England.”
d) objective genitive
the family’s support “somebody supports the family”
the boy’s release “somebody released the boy”
e) descriptive genitive
a women’s college “a college for women”
a doctor’s degree “a doctoral degree / a doctorate”
51
Nouns
a) geographical names:
52
Nouns
SAQ 2.7.
53
Nouns
SAQ 2.8.
54
Nouns
2.5. Gender
Gender is a grammatical category characteristic of nouns that
have male and female referents. It is therefore connected to
distinctions of sex and, consequently, the corresponding nouns tend to
be in separate classes, namely masculine and feminine. Such
distinctions are not normally made in the case of nouns referring to
’things’, which are therefore classified as neuter.
55
Nouns
chairman chairwoman
spokesman spokeswoman
businessman businesswoman
congressman congresswoman
masculine - feminine
actor → actress
governor → governess
mayor → mayoress
mister → mistress
god → goddess
hero → heroine
[the arrow → shows the direction of derivation]
masculine - feminine
56
Nouns
SAQ 2.9.
57
Nouns
SAQ 2.10.
Summary
In this unit we have discussed the morphological criteria used to
identify a number of noun classes: proper nouns, which name unique
entities, and common nouns, which name ordinary things, further
grouped into countable and uncountable. Such distinctions correlate
with different grammatical patterns (countable nouns have singular
and plural number, while uncountable have only one form, either in the
singular or in the plural). The category of number indicates the
opposition between ‘one’, and ‘more than one’. Although most English
common nouns mark the plural by means of an –s suffix, a large
number of nouns do not follow this pattern and use other markers:
vowel change, ‘zero plural’, etc. The English case system consists in
the unmarked common case (corresponding to the nominative, dative
and accusative cases) and the marked genitive case. The choice is
between a premodifying ’s genitive and a postmodifying genitive (of-
genitive) and depends on gender distinctions, the ’s genitive being
favored by animate nouns. In English, the grammatical category of
gender is closely connected with sex distinctions. Animate nouns are
masculine or feminine. Inanimate nouns are neuter.
58
Nouns
Key terms
case gender
collective noun genitive
common noun noun
compound noun number
countable proper noun
uncountable quantifier
foreign plurals zero plural
Further reading
Baciu, Ileana (1999). English Morphology: Word Formation. A
generative perspective. Bucuresti: Editura Universitatii din
Bucuresti, 195 - 209.
Coser C. Vulcãnescu R. (2004). Developing competence in English.
Intensive English Practice, Polirom, Iasi, pp. 11-40.
Gãlãteanu, Georgiana, Ecaterina Comisel (1982). Gramatica limbii
engleze, Editura didacticã si pedagogicã, Bucuresti, pp 71 – 93.
Hulban, Horia (2004) Syntheses in English Morphology, Editura
Spanda, Iasi, 16 – 95.
Parlog, Hortensia (1995). The English Noun Phrase. Hestia Publishing
House. Timisoara.
59
Nouns
substances: coffee
human qualities:
feelings:
activities:
abstract ideas:
subjects of study:
sports events:
games:
illnesses:
60
Nouns
guests,___________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
61
Nouns
SAQ 2.1.
1. helplessness; 2. sincerity; 3. confidence; 4. precedence; 5.
dramatist; 6. appreciation.
SAQ 2.2.
1. a paper factory; 2. a war story; 3. a teacher trainer; 4. the garage
door; 5. a newspaper headline; 6. chicken soup; 7. tooth paste; 8.
moonlight; 9. the sea waves; 10. bookcase.
62
Nouns
SAQ 2.3.
A. 1. piece; 2. item; 3. flight; 4. sheet; 5. lump; 6. head; 7. slice; 8.
set; 9. blade; 10. clap
SAQ 2.4.
A. 1. keys; 2. authorities; 3. replies; 4. juries; 5. secretaries; 6.
countries.
B. 1. potatoes; tomatoes; 2. echoes; 3. heroes; 4. pianos; 5. radios.
SAQ 2.5.
[-us > -i] [-a > -ae] [-um > -a]
nucleus – formula – datum – data
nuclei formulae
/nucleuses /formulas
fungus –fungi larva – larvae curriculum –
/ funguses curricula
syllabus – bacterium –
syllabi / bacteria
syllabuses
[-ix, -ex > -ices] [-is > -es] [-on > -a]
index – indices thesis – theses phenomenon –
synthesis – syntheses phenomena
criterion - criteria
SAQ 2.6.
1. spend; 2. was; 3. were; 4. have; 5. has; 6. have; 7. are; 8. decides;
9. are; 10. are.
SAQ 2.7.
1. d; 2. h; 3. e; 4. f; 5. g; 6. b; 7. i; 8. j; 9. c; 10. a.
SAQ 2.8.
A. 1. two year project; 3. the town’s name/ the name of the town;
4. the color of the fence; 5. yesterday’s newspaper; 6. the cause of
the accident; 7. the mayor’s approval of the funding; 8. the pupil’s
63
Nouns
mistake; 9. the end of the village road; 10. the mountain’s forests /
the forests of the mountain; 11. the meaning of the word; 12. Dad’s
consent to our marriage; 13. a five minutes’ walk / a walk of five
minutes; 14. the cow’s milk; 15. the windows of the cottage.
SAQ 2.9.
A. 1. bride; 2. heroine; 3. mare; 4. niece; 5. queen; 6.
businessman; 7. lion; 8. congressman; 9. he-goat.
SAQ 2.10.
a) hog sow pig
b) nephew niece -
c) ram ewe sheep
d) bachelor spinster -
e) engineer female engineer engineer
f) billy-goat nanny goat goat
g) widower widow -
h) stag hind deer
i) stallion mare horse
j) chairman chairwoman chairperson
k) cock hen -
64
Determiners and pronouns
UNIT 3
Determiners and pronouns
Objectives 66
3.1. Determiners 66
3.1.1. The article 67
3.1.1.1. The indefinite article 68
3.1.1.2. The zero article 70
3.1.1.3. The definite article 72
3.1.2. Possessive determiners 76
3.1.3. Demonstrative determiners 76
3.1.4. Quantifiers 77
3.1.5. Numerals 81
3.1.6. Semi-determiners 85
3.2. Pronouns 87
3.2.1. Personal pronouns 87
3.2.2. Possessive pronouns 89
3.2.3. Reflexive pronouns 90
3.2.4. Reciprocal pronouns 91
3.2.5. Indefinite pronouns 92
3.2.6. Demonstrative pronouns 955
3.2.7. Interrogative pronouns 966
3.2.8. Relative pronouns 977
Summary 98
Key terms 99
Further reading 99
Send-away assignment (SAA 4) 99
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs) 3.1 – 3.13 102
65
Determiners and pronouns
Aim
In this unit we will continue our study of the noun phrase by focusing
on those items that precede the head - generically called determiners.
The second section will examine various types of pronouns and their
function as substitutes for nouns in appropriate contexts.
Objectives
3.1. Determiners
Determiners are words that specify the reference of a noun, i.e.
the entity in the real world to which a noun refers. The combinations
of nouns with certain determiners differ depending on the type of
noun. Among determiners, three sub-groups may be identified
according to their position:
a) articles: the, a,
b) demonstrative determiners: this, these, that, those
c) possessive determiners: my, your, his, etc
66
Determiners and pronouns
In contrast, that (sg) and those (pl) are used for referring to a
person/persons or thing(s) that is/are not near the speaker or as near
to the speaker as another/others:
67
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.1.
In these examples, the nouns diamond ring and cat take the
indefinite article when used for the first time, because they are new
information in the discourse. When used for the second time, they
take the definite article (or are replaced by pronouns) because they
are already known information.
68
Determiners and pronouns
d) in idiomatic expressions with verbs like have, go, make, take, etc.,
to indicate an action:
SAQ 3.2.
69
Determiners and pronouns
Institutions
at / to / from school
at / to / from university (college)
at / in / from / to church
in / into / out / to / from hospital
70
Determiners and pronouns
Meals
We use the ‘zero’ article with the names of the days of the week
and months of the year:
a unique position
The bell in the church tower rang before and after Mass and at
noon.
Will the children be left alone at night?
However, the use of the definite article shows a certain period of the
day:
71
Determiners and pronouns
double expressions
h) block language
A rod, a line and some hooks are all you need, but the rod
must be flexible and the line very strong. The hooks can't be
too small.
The use of the definite article may also reflect the situational
context. It may be obvious from the situation which particular object(s)
is/are being referred to. Situational reference depends on the
immediate speech situation or on the larger shared context.
Reference may be to a unique event or to an ordinary, common one:
72
Determiners and pronouns
e) with parts of the body and the human make-up (mind, intelligence,
intellect, soul, heart, will) referred to generally:
Notice however that when we talk about the parts of the body
as affected by some external action, we prefer a prepositional phrase
+ the:
73
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.3.a.
SAQ 3.3.b.
a-4;
SAQ 3.3.c.
singular plural
near this book these books
distant that book those books
76
Determiners and pronouns
3.1.4. Quantifiers
Some determiners specify nouns in terms of quantity and are
therefore called quantifiers. They combine with both definite and
indefinite noun phrases. In the latter case, they are generally
followed by of:
a) Inclusive
77
Determiners and pronouns
Each can be used with reference to two entities, every with
reference to three or more:
b) Large quantity
A good many pages [C] of the book are an account of his life.
Gymnastics requires a great deal of character. [U]
A good deal of English [U] was spoken on the beach.
Some /sʌ m/ also has other uses that need to be distinguished from
the one above. It expresses admiration or approval and it is strongly
stressed, as in:
Few and little have a negative meaning. They suggest that the
quantity is less than expected:
79
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.4.a.
SAQ 3.4.b.
1. There aren’t ………… buses but you can take the train.
2. I’ve got ………… interesting ideas if you are willing to hear
them.
3. They never have ………… fun.
4. Can I offer you ………… wine?
5. If there’s ……………. milk left, put it in the fridge.
6. Do you know if ……….. of John’s friends is coming to the
party?
7. Hardly …………. of the new cars have acceptable prices.
80
Determiners and pronouns
3.1.5 Numerals
A numeral is a word, functioning most typically as a modifier of
a noun that expresses quantity or sequence. There are two main
types of numerals: cardinal numerals and ordinal numerals.
Cardinals are clearly related to quantifying determiners but differ from
these in providing a numerical rather than a more general
specification, i.e. they are used to express how many objects are
referred to:
81
Determiners and pronouns
40 forty 40th fortieth
50 fifty 50th fiftieth
60 sixty 60th sixtieth
70 seventy 70th seventieth
80 eighty 80th eightieth
90 ninety 90th ninetieth
100 one hundred 100th one hundredth
101 one hundred and 101st one hundred and first
one
1,000 one thousand 1,000th one thousandth
1,001 one thousand and 1,001st one thousand and
one first
1,254 one thousand, two 1,254th one thousand, two
hundred and fifty- hundred and fifty
four fourth
2,000 two thousand 2,000th two thousandth
100,000 one hundred 100,000th one hundred
thousand thousandth
658,902 six hundred and 658,902nd six hundred and fifty-
fifty-eight eight thousand, nine
thousand, nine hundred and second
hundred and two
1,000,000 one million 1,000,000th one millionth
Other numerals
British American
1,000,000,000 one thousand million one billion
1,000,000,000,000 one billion one trillion
a. Fractions
310/ 605 ‘three hundred and ten over six hundred and five’
82
Determiners and pronouns
b. Decimals
Decimal fractions are said with each figure separate. The full
stop (called ‘point’) not a comma is used before fractions:
0.5 ‘nought point five or point five’ (US: ‘zero point five)’
5.375 ‘five point three seven five’
e. Measures
83
Determiners and pronouns
1 yard (yd) = 3 feet = 90 cm
1 mile (m) = 1,760 yards = 1.6 km
1 ounce (1 oz) = 28 g
1 pound (1 lb) = 16 ounces = 455 g
1 stone (British only) = 14 pounds = 6.4 kg
1 kg = 2.2 pounds (2.2 lb)
f. Calculations
84
Determiners and pronouns
g. The figure 0
SAQ 3.5.
3.1.6. Semi-determiners
In addition to the determiners proper, there are some
determiner-like words which are often described as adjectives. They
differ from adjectives however in that they have no descriptive
meaning. Most semi-determiners co-occur either only with the
definite article or with the indefinite article but not with both. There
are four major parings of semi-determiners: same and other, former
and latter, last and next, certain and such.
Same may be added after the definite article to emphasize that
the reference is exactly to the person or thing mentioned before:
We were almost the same age. She was fifteen and I was
twelve.
These teams carried out the same operations in different areas.
85
Determiners and pronouns
In the next chapter they will give attention to the style of writing.
The committee analyzed its defeat of last autumn.
86
Determiners and pronouns
3.2. Pronouns
I me my mine myself
you you your yours yourself
he him his his himself
she her her hers herself
it it its - itself
we us our ours ourselves
you you your yours yourselves
they them their theirs themselves
87
Determiners and pronouns
John killed the spider by hitting it.
SAQ 3.6.
88
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.7.
89
Determiners and pronouns
With subject noun phrases, they may also be placed later in the
clause and have greater positional mobility. Compare:
90
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.8.
1. You’d better check yourself. You don’t seem to feel too well.
R
2. Don’t tell me to check the lights! Check them yourself.
…
3. We visited the gardens but the museum itself was closed.
…
4. How much time do you give yourself to get ready?
…
5. The lights switch themselves on as soon as it gets dark.
…
6. You yourself have to take this decision.
…
7. There are plenty of cakes. Help yourselves!
…
8. One can easily lose oneself in the woods.
…
91
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.9.
1) Hearing the noise the three boys became silent and looked
at ….……………………...
2) Jane and Maggie used to help ….……………………... with
their Maths lessons.
3) The government and rebel delegations had begun to build
up some trust in ….……………………...
4) Ann and I allow ….……………………... absolute freedom.
5) Dear Lord, help each of us to care for . …..................... to
love ….……………………... and to help….……………… .
6) The two smile at ....... and then move to hold one hand
together.
7) Everyone knew ….……………………... by name in the
village.
8) A committee of parents try to help ….…………………find
accommodation.
9) Europeans learn a little more about ….……………………...
10) Jerry holds his arms out and they both hug …......... and
pat ................................ on the back.
d) in conditional clauses
93
Determiners and pronouns
a) substitute one
One is often used to replace or to avoid repeating a noun. A
singular noun is replaced by one, a plural noun by ones:
b) generic one
One may also refer to people in general (‘including you and
me’). It is a rather formal and impersonal pronoun in this use:
SAQ 3.10.
94
Determiners and pronouns
Make up your mind. Which do you want? This one or that one?
c) with periods of time related to the present: this week / month / year:
95
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.11.
96
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.12.
The relative pronoun whose refers to people but can also refer
to things or animals:
97
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.13.
Insert in each blank the necessary relative pronoun.
Compare your answers with those given at the end of the
unit:
Summary
In this unit we have examined two types of noun phrase
constituents: determiners (articles, possessives, demonstratives and
quantifiers) and the nominal substitutes (pronouns). The semantic
function of articles (definite, indefinite, zero) is to present the
referents of a noun as indefinite, definite or generic. Possessive
determiners specify a noun phrase by relating it to the speaker (my,
our), the addressee (your) or other entities mentioned in the text (his,
her, its, their). The demonstrative determiners this/that and
these/those in addition to marking an entity as known, specify
whether the referent is near or distant in relation to the speaker.
Quantifiers (fe w, some, all, much) specify nouns in terms of quantity.
Cardinal numerals provide a numerical specification and are used in:
fractions, decimals, dates, prices, measures, calculations, telephone
numbers, bank accounts, games scores. Pronouns typically replace
noun phrases. Personal pronouns replace nouns and distinguish
between the speaker (I, we), the addressee (you) and a third referent
(he, she, it, they) in a communicative act. Possessive pronouns
(mine, yours, ours) express ownership. Reflexive pronouns (myself,
yourself) always co-occur with nouns or pronouns in subject position.
Reciprocal pronouns (each other, one another) express a mutual
feeling or action among the referents of a plural subject. Indefinite
pronouns (everybody, someone, nothing, anything) refer to entities
which the speaker/writer cannot specify more exactly.
Demonstrative pronouns (this, these, that, those) specify whether
the referent is near or distant in relation to the addressee. Relative
pronouns (who, which, that) are used to join the dependent clauses
they introduce to their own antecedent, i.e. the nouns to which the
relative pronouns refer.
98
Determiners and pronouns
Key terms
article personal pronoun
cardinal numeral possessive pronoun
definite article postdeterminer
demonstrative predeterminer
pronoun pronoun
determiner quantifiers
generic reference quantifying nouns
indefinite article reciprocal pronouns
indefinite pronoun reference
interrogative pronoun reflexive pronoun
ordinal numeral zero article
Further reading
Baciu, Ileana (2004). Functional Categories in English. Bucureşti:
Editura Universităţii din Bucureşti, 89 – 137.
Foley, Mark and Diane Hall (2003) Advanced Learner’s Grammar.
London: Longman, 264-280.
Greenbaum, Sidney and Randolph Quirk (1991). A Student’s
Grammar of the English Language. Harlow, England: Longman,
70 -128.
Hulban, Horia (2004). Syntheses in English Morphology, Editura
Spanda, Iasi, 95 - 160, 178 - 230.
100
Determiners and pronouns
D. Complete each sentence with the most suitable word or
phrase. (5 minutes: 5x 2=10 points)
SAQ 3.1.
1. an; 2. a; 3. an; 4. an; 5. a; 6. an; 7. a; 8. an; 9. an; 10. a; 11. an;
12. a; 13. a; 14. a; 15. a; 16. a; 17. a; 18. an; 19. an; 20. an.
SAQ 3.2.
1) a., _; 2) _, _, _; 3) a, _,a; 4) a, _, _; 5) a, a, _, a, _, a; 6) a, _, a,
_; 7) a, a, a; 8) _, a; 9) a, _ 10) a, a, an, a.
SAQ 3.3.
A. 1. the; 2. the; 3. my; 4. his; 5. the; 6. _; 7. a; 8. your; 9. her; 10.
my; 11. his. 12. his.
B. a - 4; b – 1; c – 5; d – 6; e – 2; f – 9; g – 7; h – 8; i – 3.
C. 1. the, _, the, _; 2. the, the, The, the, the, the; 3. the, the. The, a,
the, _, the; 4. _, the, the.
SAQ 3.4.
A. 1) much/(a) little; 2) much; 3) many/few; 4) little; 5) a few; 6)
little/much; 7) many; 8) much; 9) few; 10) few.
B. 1. any; 2. some; 3. any; 4. some; 5. any; 6. any; 7. any.
SAQ 3.5.
1) one thousand nine hundred and five; thirty-three; one hundred and
seventy-nine; two thousand and eighty-nine; four; two hundred and
thirty-one; nine hundred and forty-one; 2) the fifth; the eighth; the
ninth; the twenty-fourth; the two hundred and forty-third; the nine
hundred and fifty-second; 3) three/fifths; six/eighths; two/thirds;
one/half; 4) nought/zero point three four one; five point four two
seven; nought/zero point two five one; 5) The second of
January/January the second nineteen seventy-eight; the twenty-third
of November/November the twenty-third two thousand and three; the
thirtieth of September/September the thirtieth seventeen eleven; o-
seven-one-five-two-o-seven-two-two/double two; o-six-one-seven-
two-one-o-three-four; ten pounds (and) forty-five; thirty-five dollars;
forty-five Euros and ninety cents.
SAQ 3.6.
1. I, me, me, I, me; 2. us, me; 3. I; 4. I; 5. me
SAQ 3.7.
1. his, mine; 2. his, hers; 3. mine; 4. yours; 5. hers, ours.
102
Determiners and pronouns
SAQ 3.8.
1. R; 2. E; 3. E; 4. R; 5. R; 6. E; 7. R; 8. R.
SAQ 3.9.
1. one another; 2. each other; 3. one another; 4) each other; 5)
one another; 6) one another/one another/ one another; 7) one
another; 8) one another; 9) one another; 10) each other/each other.
SAQ 3.10.
1) Nobody; 2) everybody; anything; 4) anyone; 5) nothing; 6) one; 8)
anyone; 9) someone; 10) everything.
SAQ 3.11.
1. this (P); 2. those (D); 3. this (P); 4. that (D); 5. that (D); 6. These
(D); 7. that (P); 8. That (D); 9. that (D).
SAQ 3.12.
1. which; 2. what; 3. what; 4. who; 5. whom; 6. which; 7. what; 8.
whose; 9. who; 10) whose.
SAQ 3.13.
1.whose; 2. (that); 3. whom; 4. whose; 5. which/that; 6. which; 7.
that/which; 8. that; 9. who/that; 10. who/that.
103
Verbs
UNIT 4
Verbs
Objectives 105
104
Verbs
Aim
In this unit, we discuss the morphological properties of lexical verbs
and show how these verbs are classified according to semantic and
syntactic criteria. You will also learn about the auxiliary verbs: be,
have, do. You will use new concepts in the analysis of verbs and
develop practical skills by solving exercises.
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
105
Verbs
-(e)s is pronounced:
/s/ after voiceless consonants /p, t, k, f/, except /s, t/: hits, sleeps,
walks, laughs.
/z/ after vowels and voiced consonants: tries, moves, falls;
/iz/ after /s, z, ʃ,ʧ/: passes, reduces, recognizes, pushes, watches.
-ed is pronounced:
-(e)s is spelt –es when the final letter of the verb is: s, z, sh, or ch:
pass - passes, push - pushes, watch - watches
106
Verbs
SAQ 4.1.
1) argue; ……………………………
2) cancel; ……………………………
3) die; ……………………………
4) dye; ……………………………
5) enjoy; ……………………………
6) hop; ……………………………
7) hope; ……………………………
8) hurry; ……………………………
9) lie; ……………………………
10) live; ……………………………
11) occur; ……………………………
12) offer; ……………………………
13) picnic; ……………………………
14) panic; ……………………………
15) prefer; ……………………………
16) refer; ……………………………
17) regret; ……………………………
18) stop; ……………………………
19) travel. ……………………………
107
Verbs
Class 2 verbs take a -t or -d suffix to mark both past tense and
past participle, with a change in the base vowel:
Class 3 verbs take the regular -ed suffix for past tense and the -
(e)n suffix for past participle:
Class 4 verbs have no suffix for past tense forms but the suffix -
(e)n for the past participles, with a change in the vowel for one or
both:
Class 5 verbs have past tense and past participle forms marked
only by a change in the base vowel:
Class 6 verbs have past tense forms and past participle forms
identical to the base form:
108
Verbs
SAQ 4.2.
109
Verbs
type of multi-
word words that combine examples
combination
phrasal verb verb + particle pick up
prepositional verb + preposition look at
verb
prepositional verb + particle + preposition get away with
phrasal verb
idiom verb + NP + preposition take a loot at
verb + NP + PP take into account
verb + verb make do
110
Verbs
111
Verbs
SAQ 4.3.
112
Verbs
4.2.4. Idioms
Fixed combinations of verb plus prepositional phrase
occasionally form idiomatic units, or idioms. Some of them can be
replaced by simple lexical verbs: bear in mind - ‘remember’, give sb.
the cold shoulder - ‘reject’, give sb. the creeps - ‘frighten’, have
second thoughts - ‘change one’s opinion’, have green fingers - ‘be
good at gardening’, keep/lose one’s head - ‘act calmly’, etc.:
A few verbs, such as do, have, make, and take combine with
noun phrases and prepositional phrases to form set verbal
expressions:
The auxiliary verb have is used with the past participle to form
perfect tenses:
113
Verbs
Not only does she speak Spanish, but she's also good with
computers.
Summary
The verb expresses our perception of events, states, and acts of
consciousness. Lexical verbs can express a wide range of
meanings. Most English verbs are regular and have only four
morphological variants, involving three suffixes added to a base: -
(e)s, -ing and -ed. About 200 verbs have irregular morphological
variants for past tense and past participle forms. New verbs can be
114
Verbs
formed by suffixation from nouns and adjectives, or by prefixation
from other verbs. Multi-word combinations include a verb, a particle,
a preposition and a noun phrase. The main classes of such
combinations are known as: phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs,
prepositional phrasal verbs. The auxiliary verbs (be, have, do)
indicate tense and aspect.
Key terms
auxiliary prepositional
idiom phrasal verb
lexical verb phrasal verb
multi-word lexical prepositional verb
verb regular / irregular
Further reading
A. True or False?
10 minutes: 8x2=16 points)
115
Verbs
116
Verbs
SAQ 4.1.
1) argue -- arguing – argued; 2) cancel – cancel(l)ing – cancel(l)ed;
3) die -- dying – died; 4) dye -- dying – died; 5) enjoy -- enjoying –
enjoyed; 6) hop -- hopping – hopped; 7) hope -- hoping – hoped; 8)
hurry -- hurrying – hurried; 9) lie -- lying – lied; 10) live -- living –
lived; 11) occur -- occurring – occurred; 12) offer -- offering – offered;
13) picnic -- picnicking -- picnicked; 14) panic -- panicking –
panicked; 15) prefer -- preferring – preferred; 16) refer -- referring –
referred; 17) regret -- regretting – regretted; 18) stop - stopping –
stopped; 19) travel – travel(l)ing – travel(l)ed.
SAQ 4.2.
1. Adj. immune + -ize; 2. Adj. industrial + -ize; 3. en- + Adj. rich; 4.
dis- V. trust; 5. dis- V. please; 6. en- + N. courage; 7. de- + Adj. moral
+ -ize; 8. dis- + N. heart + -en; 9. Adj. Institutional + ize; 10. Adj. legal
+ -ize.
SAQ 4.3.
1. b; 2. c; 3. a; 4. c; 5. b; 6. c; 7. a; 8. b; 9. b; 10. a; 11. b; 12. b.
117
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
UNIT 5
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
Objectives 119
Summary 164
Key terms 165
Further reading: 165
Send-away assignment (SAA) 5 166
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs) 5.1 – 5.21. 168
118
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
Aim
Tense, aspect, voice and modality are fundamental categories in
grammar. Each of them represents perspectives from which we view
our experience of events. The category of tense marks the order of
events in time, while the category of aspect marks the temporal
contour of events, i.e. their duration, their being accomplished or not.
Tense and aspect are obligatory categories. With modality we add to
our statements such subjective meanings as possibility, probability,
necessity, prediction, or obligation.
Objectives
5.1. Tense
Time is a basic concept that exists independently of human
language. Tense, on the other hand, is the linguistic expression of
time relations realized by verb forms. It is a way of expressing events
as occurring at points situated along the linear flow of time. The
normal point of reference is the moment of speaking or the speech
time.
The moment of speaking is the point versus which some events
are anterior, i.e. they take place before the moment of speech, they
are recollected, posterior to the moment of speech, i.e. they are
anticipated and therefore will take place after the moment of
speaking, while other events are simply simultaneous with the
moment of speech, i.e. they happen at the same time.
Tense distinctions are largely dependent on whether the verb is
stative or dynamic. Stative verbs refer to a state of affairs, while
dynamic verbs refer to a sequence of separate events, as in:
119
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
English verbs are inflected only for two tenses: present simple
and past simple.
The marker of the present simple is the morpheme –(e)s for the
third person singular:
120
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.1.A.
SAQ 5.1.B.
121
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
a. generic present
The present simple refers to statements that apply to all time,
including the speech time, to ‘eternal truths’, i.e. states of affairs that
existed, exist now and will continue to exist in the future:
Birds fly.
Cows eat grass.
The sun rises in the East.
Water freezes at 00 C.
b. instantaneous present
Sometimes the event is presented as coinciding with the
speech time and without having any duration beyond the moment of
speaking:
c. habitual present
The present simple refers to events which repeatedly occur
over an unspecified period of time:
d. historical present
in newspaper headlines, in order to dramatize the event:
If past tense were used in the reporting verb, the validity of the
information would no longer be emphasized:
SAQ 5.2.
1) go--habitual present;
124
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.3.A.
1)struck;
125
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.3.B.
A bird made a nest in this tree. It laid five eggs. Tommy saw
the nest. He climbed the tree. He held on to a branch with one
hand. He took two of the eggs. He put them in his mouth. He
needed both his hands. He began to climb down. One of the
branches broke. Tommy fell and hurt his arm. The eggs broke,
too. They tasted nice.
126
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
c) in indirect speech
A way of rendering speech in writing, by rewording what
somebody said as a nominal that-clause or as an indirect question,
instead of the simple present when the reporting verb (tell, ask) is in
the past:
SAQ 5.4.
1) lost;
127
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.2. Aspect
Think first!
128
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
Stative verbs are typically used in the simple aspect. One can
say I like your coffee, but not *I am liking your coffee.
When stative verbs are used in the progressive aspect their
meaning is altered. Verbs of cognition and relation take on dynamic
meanings, indicate temporary behavior or an attitude on the part of
the speaker. Verbs of perception combine with the progressive to
refer to deliberate actions rather than involuntary perception.
Compare the progressive and the non-progressive uses of certain
verbs:
129
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.5.
1) hear;
130
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
131
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.6
1) am studying-temporary situation;
Ann was listening to loud music on her stereo when the door
bell rang. She turned the stereo down and stood up to answer
the door. An old woman was standing on the steps.
The boys were playing football, while the girls were watching
them.
SAQ 5.7.
133
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
a) anteriority
The present perfect is used when the speaker does not want to refer
to a definite moment in time but simply to the anteriority of the event
in relation to speech time. The action is viewed as occurring at an
indefinite or unspecified time in the past. Adverbs that can be used
with the present perfect include adverbs of frequency, which are
themselves indefinite as regards time specification: already, always,
ever, in the last five years, lately, never, recently, sometimes, yet:
134
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
c) continuative perfect
SAQ 5.8.A.
135
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.8.B.
I’ve been phoning you for hours! Where have you been?
The typical adverbs of time are for (for many years / two weeks
/a long time, etc.) and since (since 5 o’clock /January /1999, etc.)
136
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.9.A.
SAQ 5.9.B.
137
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
They had hardly come out of the room, when it started to rain.
The band had no sooner started to play, than he went away.
Hardly had they come out of the room, when it started to rain.
No sooner had the band started to play, than he went away.
After she had finished, they left. (“she had to finish first”)
As soon as I had done it, I sent it to her. (“I had to do it first”)
She wouldn't sign the contract before she had seen it.
(“she had to see it first”)
When she saw the mouse she screamed. (“she saw it first”)
Compare:
When she sang, she sat down. (‘she sat down while singing’)
When she had sung, she sat down.
(‘she sang first, then she sat down’)
138
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
Direct Speech:
Ann: ‘John returned from his trip two days ago. He has already
heard the news.’ (past simple, present perfect)
Reported Speech:
Ann told me that John had returned from his trip two days
before and he had already heard the news.
SAQ 5.10
Use either the past simple or the past perfect of the verbs
in parentheses. Write your answers in the space provided
below. Compare them with those given at the end of the
unit. The first has been done for you:
1) had left;
139
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
The grass was wet because it had been raining all day.
The kids were very tired because they had been playing
baseball since early this morning.
SAQ 5.11.
5.2.4.2. Going to
With the adverb just, going to future conveys the same meaning
as be about to:
141
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.2.4.3. Be to
SAQ 5.12. A.
SAQ 5.12.B.
142
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
When the President arrives, the band will play the National
Anthem.
If you press this button, the door will open.
143
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
I will have been studying English for three years by the end of
this term. duration completion
By the time the meeting is over, the committee will have been
arguing about which candidate to interview for three hours.
SAQ 5.13
144
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.3. Voice
Voice refers to the semantic roles (the actual role a participant
plays in some real or imagined situation) of the subject of the
sentence. It indicates whether the subject is an agent (the person is
the doer of the event), a patient (a person or a thing which is
affected) or beneficiary of an event.
In the active voice, the subject is the agent of the action, the
participant that causes the change occasioned by the event. In the
passive voice, the subject is the undergoer, the participant that
suffers the change occasioned by the event. The agent performing
the action may appear in a by-phrase or may be omitted. Compare:
the auxiliary be
the lexical verb in the past participial form
an optional by prepositional phrase containing the agent
145
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.14.
146
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
Think first!
Situation 1
Situation 2
You discover that you need two more dollars. How would
you ask your friends for some more money?
147
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.4. Modality
e) Modal verbs are not marked for tense and aspect. What is
historically the past tense mark (could, would, might, should) no
longer indicates past time:
148
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
She may have been reading a book when you phoned her.
active They could paint the house before they sell it.
passive The house could be painted before they sell it.
modal + be + verb -en
active They could have painted the house before they sold it.
passive The house could have been painted before they
sold it. modal + have + been + verb -en
149
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
The major semantic values of the modal verbs are given the
following sections.
physical or mental
ability
He is walking along the shore now. What can he see, hear, feel
now?
He lives in a small village on the shore. What does he see, hear,
feel every day?
150
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.15.A.
1) possibility;
151
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.15.B.
152
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
153
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.16.
1) present, possibility;
154
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.4.3. Must
155
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.17.
156
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
volition
meaning shall
the speaker’s volition
(imposed on 2nd, 3rd pers. You shall stay with us as long as you
subjects) like.
weak volition (willingness) (‘I am willing to have you here.’)
modality
expressed should/ ought to must
obligation He should/ ought to He must pay for the
imposed by the pay for the broken broken window.
speaker window.
logical necessity Our guests should / Our guests must be at
ought to be home by home now.
now. (I am sure. They have a
(I am not sure, they might fast car.)
have had a breakdown)
157
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
158
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.18.
5.5. Mood
Mood is a grammatical category that signals the relationship of
the verb with reality and intent. In traditional terms, there are four
moods: the indicative, the imperative, the conditional and the
subjunctive.
5.5.1. Indicative
159
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
5.5.2. Imperative
Go away!
John, give me the book please!
Please, don't move until you've finished!
5.5.3. Conditional
The conditional mood is manifested in independent clauses by
means of the modal auxiliary would added to the bare infinitive of the
main verb:
160
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
I would have come, if you had rung me. (“I did not come”)
perfect conditional past subjunctive
5.5.4. Subjunctive
The subjunctive is rare in main clauses in present-day English,
and survives in some set formulas whose subjunctive meaning is
either concession or a wish: far be it from me, so be it, suffice it to
say:
161
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.19.
1) Henry is taking his driving test for the sixth time. It’s time
he (take) it.
2) ‘I am sorry I don’t speak a bit German.’ ‘I wish you
(speak) German.’
3) I would go for a walk if it (stop) raining.
4) The young man felt as if the ground (slip) beneath his
feet.
5) My stomach hurt after a large meal. I wish I (not eat) so
much.
6) We could have gone skating, if the river (not be) frozen.
7) Even if the work (be) twice as difficult I wouldn’t have
refused to do it.
8) He looked as if he just (come) from a very long travel.
1) took;
would + infinitive
negative purpose clauses The road was icy and the old woman
after lest in expressions of fear was terrified lest she should slip and
fall.
conditional clauses If the phone should ring, please say
(the action is unlikely to occur) that I’ll be back at noon.
SAQ 5.20
1) should sell ;
163
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.21.
1) clause of purpose;
Summary
Key terms
Further reading:
Coşer C., Vulcănescu R. (2004). Developing competence in
English, Intensive English Practice. Iaşi: Polirom. 94-158.
Gălăţeanu-Fârnoagă, Georgiana, (1987). Sinteze de gramatică
engleză, Editura Albatros.Bucureşti , 11- 275.
Hulban, Horia (2004). Syntheses in English Morphology, Editura
Spanda, Iasi, 324 – 365.
Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan
Svartvik (1976). A Grammar of Contemporary English.
Longman. 61 – 123.
165
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
A. True or false?
(15 minutes: 18x2=36 points)
1) All verb forms are marked for tense and aspect. T/F
2) The present tenses are marked by the third person singular
–s inflection. T/F
3) The past tenses are marked by -ed. T/F
4) The past tenses refer only to past time. T/F
5) Sometimes we can use both the past tense or the past
perfect with the same time reference. T/F
6) Progressive tenses are often used as background for
simple present or past actions. T/F
7) The present tense may refer to past, present or future time.
T/F
8) We rarely use verbs with stative meaning in the present
progressive tense. T/F
9) The present perfect tense is incompatible with ‘past’
adverbs like yesterday. T/F
10) English has no future tense. T/F
11) Shall and will are used for pure future of prediction. T/F
12) Modals form questions by inversion with the subject. T/F
13) Modals form their negatives with not. T/F
14) Modals are used to express attitude. T/F
15) Can and could usually have the modal meanings of ability,
permission, opportunity and theoretical possibility. T/F
16) May and might are used to refer to possibility and
permission. T/F
17) Will and would have the modal meanings of volition. T/F
18) Questions starting with shall/should inquire about the
wishes of the person spoken to. T/F
166
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
167
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.1.
A. 1. teaches; 2. do you visit, misses; 3. doesn’t like; 4. don’t you trust;
understand, does not believe, say; 5. creates, endangers; 6. plant;
B. 1. A housewife has … She cooks … lays … washes … cleans …
mends ... she does … looks …; 2. Her name is Susan. She is …
She writes … answers… meets … types … puts … helps …
reminds … works….
SAQ 5.2.
1. habitual actions; 2. planned future action; 3. generic present; 4.
instantaneous present (cooking recipes); 5. announcements; 6.
historical present.
168
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.3.
A. struck, heard, smelt, hit, tore, did not burn, killed, struck, tore, fell,
started, called, came, put out, were, missed
B. Did it lay five eggs? Did Tommy see the nest? Did he climb the tree?
Did he hold …? Did he take …? Did he put ...? Did he need …? Did
he begin …? Did one of the branches break? Did Tommy fall and
hurt …? Did the eggs break? Did they taste nice? Did you last go, did
you see; went, saw.
SAQ 5.4.
1. lost, lasted, turned, came, blew, happened, made, planted, gave,
had, started.
SAQ 5.5.
1. hear; 2. like; tastes; 3. am smelling; 4. am seeing; 5. is thinking;
thinks; 6. do you smell; think; 7. care; desire; 8. are you being; 9. does
your library contain; 10. does not hear.
SAQ 5.6.
A. 1. am studying; 2. am being; 3. am going, am working; 4. is giving;
5. am dining, am having; 6. are playing; 7. are growing; 8. are you
growing.
B. 1. temporary action; 2. temporary behavior; 3. plans for the near
future; 4. actions annoying the speaker; 5. personal plans; 6. action
happening at the speech moment; 7. 8. with the verbs get and grow
transition from one state to another
SAQ 5.7.
A. 1. was pouring (action in progress at a specified time), was
talking (action in progress at a specified time); 2. was eating, was
drinking (simultaneous actions in progress); 3. was working (an
action that began before, and probably continued after a shorter
action expressed by a verb in the past simple); 4. were your
parents living (an action that began before, and probably continued
after a shorter action expressed by a verb in the past simple); 5.
were having (action in progress at a specified time); 6. was always
inviting (a frequently repeated past action, which annoyed or
pleased the speaker); 7. was staying (an action that began before,
and probably continued after a shorter action expressed by a verb
in the past simple).
B. 1. an action in progress at a certain past moment; 2. two actions
going on at the same time in the past; 3. contrast between a
prolonged action and a momentary action; 4. contrast between a
prolonged action and a momentary action; 5. an action in progress
at a certain past moment; 6. annoying events in the past; 7.
contrast between a prolonged action and a momentary action;
169
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.8.
A. 1. past simple; 2. past perfect; 3. past perfect; 4. past simple; 5.
past simple; 6. past perfect.
B.1. wrote; 2. have written; 3. did you write; 4. wrote; 5. have you
written; 6. wrote; 7. did Mozart write; 8. wrote; 9. hasn’t written; 10.
wrote.
SAQ 5.9.
a) present perfect progressive; b) present prefect simple; c) present
prefect simple; d) present perfect progressive;
1. have been earning; 2. has he earned, has earned; 3. has the
child been watching, has he watched; 4. have driven, have (you)
been driving, have been driving; 5. has been ringing; 6. has just
rung.
SAQ 5.10.
1. had left, arrived; 2. wondered, had left; 3. had scarcely entered,
began; 4. asked, had not done; 5. hardly had the car gone, had; 6.
had been, had; 7. had he left, returned, had rung him up, had
broken; 8. filled, decorated, had prepared, had kept.
SAQ 5.11.
1. had Mary been watching, had been watching, had watched, had
watched; 2. had Jim been studying, had been studying, had studied,
had studied; 3. had been planning; 4. had been writing; 5. had been
rising; 6. had been supplying; 7. had the lion ever left; 8. had closed; 9.
had listened.
SAQ 5.12.
A. 1. Will she find; 2. are just going to leave; 3. will walk; 4. is not
going to finish; 5. is going to sink; 6. is not going to rain.
B. 1. am going to plant; 2. will come and give; 3. is going to play; 4.
will go and get; 5. will help.
170
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
SAQ 5.13.
1. will be interviewing; 2. will have bought; 3. will have been taking; 4.
will be performing; 5. will have been living; 6. will have been working;
7. will have returned.
SAQ 5.14.
It was midday. Passengers were squashing one another to get into
the bus. A long-necked young man wearing a hat was grumbling at
the man standing next to him because he was jostling him. Seeing a
vacant seat, the young man precipitated toward it and sat down.
SAQ 5.15.
A. 1. possibility; 2. negative deduction; 3. permission; 4. ability; 5.
past ability; 6. inability in the past; 7. future ability; 8. past ability,
not used.
B. 1. will be able to; 2. have never been able to; 3. will be able to; 4.
weren’t able to; 5. he is already able to; 6. wasn’t able to; 7. have
been able to; 8. hadn’t been able to; 9. used to be able to; 10. to be
able to.
SAQ 5.16.
1. present possibility; 2. possibility (note that in questions may is
replaced by do you think, be likely; 3. present possibility of
something happening now; 4. less likely possibility; 5. possibility,
less likely possibility in the future; 6. a less likely possibility in the
past; 7. possibility that an action was going on at a certain time in
the past; 8. permission; 9. asking for permission, refusal of
permission; 10. permission in indirect speech.
SAQ 5.17.
1. logical necessity (deduction); 2. an action was not necessary in
the past; 3. you washed it although it was unnecessary; 4.
obligation imposed by the speaker; 5. obligation imposed by others;
6. obligation deriving from regulations; 7. external obligation; 8.
171
Tense, aspect, voice, modality and mood
obligation deriving from regulations; 9. absence of obligation at
present; 10. obligation deriving from regulations.
NOTE: Should your answers to SAQ 5.17 not be comparable to
those given above, please revise section 5.4.3.
SAQ 5.18.
1. typical behavior in the present; 2. typical behavior in the past; 3.
insistence; 4. an obligation at the moment of speaking; 5. unfulfilled
past obligation; 6. unfulfilled obligation to perform an ongoing action
at a moment in the past; 7. logical necessity; 8. logical necessity in
the past.
SAQ 5.19.
1. took; 2. spoke; 3. stopped; 4. slipped; 5. had not eaten; 6.7. had
been; 8. had just come.
SAQ 5.20.
1. suggested; 2. proposal, should buy; 3. important, should learn; 4.
lest, should forget; 5. agreement, should organize; 6. for fear,
should see; 7. if, should win; 8. so that, should not get.
SAQ 5.21.
1. so that, clause of purpose; 2. afraid, expression of fear; 3. that,
clause of purpose; 4. fear, expression of fear; 5. afraid, expression
of fear.
172
Adjectives and adverbs
UNIT 6
Objectives 174
6. 1. Adjectives 174
6.1.1. Semantic classes 175
6.1.2. Order of adjectives 176
6.1.3. Comparison of adjectives 177
6.1.4. Alternative inflectional or phrasal comparison 178
6.1.5. Formation of adjectives 181
6.1.5.1. Derived adjectives 181
6.1.5.2. Compound adjectives 182
6.1.5.3. Participial adjectives 184
Summary 194
Key terms 194
Further reading 195
Send-away assignment (SAA) 6 195
Answers to self-assessed questions (SAQs) 6.1 – 6.11 198
173
Adjectives and adverbs
Aim
This unit focuses on the basic forms, meanings and syntactic roles of
adjectives and adverbs.
Objectives
6. 1 Adjectives
174
Adjectives and adverbs
Certain adjectives can be used only predicatively: well, ill, and
adjectives prefixed by a-: afraid, ajar, akin, alive, alone, ashamed,
asleep, awake:
Others are used only attributively: elder, live, little, sheer, mere,
lonely, sick, etc.:
SAQ 6.1
175
Adjectives and adverbs
We can distinguish two broad semantic groups of adjectives:
descriptors and classifiers. Descriptors are typically gradable and
denote such features as the following:
meaning adjectives
color/brightness black, white dark, bright
size / quantity / extent and big, huge, long, large, little, high
weight
chronology / age / frequency annual, daily, late, new, old,
young
emotion / evaluation bad, beautiful, fine, good, right
characteristics adjectives
relational / classificational /additional, complete, different,
restrictive final, following, general, initial,
necessary
ethnic (designate the national American, Chinese, Christian,
or religious group to which a Democrat
referent belongs)
topical (giving the subject chemical, (= connected with
area or showing a chemistry’), commercial, human,
relationship with a noun) legal, medical, official, oral,
political
det./
numeral quality age size shape color origin material purpose noun
poss.
my two old tiny oval blue Chinese vases
the large cinema hall
her new French steel tennis racket
176
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.2.
*more previous
*very motionless
*most continuous
177
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.3
Age (years) 12 11 10
Height (cm) 140 154 135
Weight (kg) 40 43 45
Money (dollars) 90 70 25
178
Adjectives and adverbs
The adjectives good, bad and the quantifiers little, much / many
have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms more:
good – better – the best, bad – worse – the worst, little – less – the
least, much / many – more – the most.
179
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.4
SAQ 6.5
180
Adjectives and adverbs
181
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.6
The sort of people who live and work here are well educated
and open-minded.
182
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.7
183
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.8
184
Adjectives and adverbs
6.2. Adverbs
Morphologically, we may distinguish three classes of adverbs:
Not all adverbs ending in -ly are formed by the addition of -ly to
an adjectival form. Some adverbs are derived from adjectives that
already end in -ly: In these cases the adverb is normally formed by
zero derivation.
SAQ 6.9
185
Adjectives and adverbs
The player hit a fast ball over the left fielder's head. adjective
He was learning fast. adverb
During early childhood boys tease and bully. adjective
The farmer must get up early, and, at times, work late at night.
adverb
adjective adverb
hard hard
high high
late late
little little
long long
loud loud(ly)
low low
much much
straight straight
wide wide
SAQ 6.10
186
Adjectives and adverbs
With adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and
most for the superlative:
The moral is: don't transplant it any oftener than you must.
We should do that more often!
187
Adjectives and adverbs
188
Adjectives and adverbs
189
Adjectives and adverbs
Shade trees, too, are a big help so keep them if you can.
He, too, believes in good intentions.
This tool can also be made with a lathe.
The job also covers a number of other items.
190
Adjectives and adverbs
The food was good and we loved the atmosphere and the
people. Altogether it was a great evening.
apposition: namely
191
Adjectives and adverbs
If you need to use more than one adverb of time at the end of a
sentence, use them in this order: duration – frequency – time:
192
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.11
193
Adjectives and adverbs
Summary
Key terms
194
Adjectives and adverbs
Further reading
Foley, Mark and Diane Hall (2003). Advanced Learner’s Grammar.
London: Longman, 216-243.
Greenbaum, Sydney and Randolph Quirk (1991). A Student’s
Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 129-203.
Hulban, Horia (2004). Syntheses in English Morpgology, Editura
Spanda, Iasi. 160 – 175.
Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik
(1976). A Grammar of Contemporary English. Longman, 229-
297.
195
Adjectives and adverbs
3. The Austin used to be ___________ sports car.
a) a fine English b) an English, fine c) a fine, English
4. Everyone was home for the holidays. What could make for
___________ Christmas than that?
a) a merryer b) the merriest c) a merrier
196
Adjectives and adverbs
1) I’m / there / to tell you the truth / when he’s on duty / very
rarely.
2) After lunch / to your place / actually / to return the money
/ if it’s convenient / I could come.
3) At nine thirty / the exam starts / on Thursday the fifth /
promptly.
4) Steadily / for the rest of the day / in the garden / they
worked.
5) A fine old woman / here / two weeks ago / in London / I
met.
SAQ 6.1.
1. Their chief concern was to solve the problem. 2. The door is ajar.
3. The kittens are asleep. 4. …the sheer slopes…. 5. This is the
main street. 6. The volunteers are ready. 7. The dog is afraid (of
people). 8. …the principal reason… 9.Her baby is alone. .
198
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.2.
1. those three tiny birds; 2. all six thick quilts; 3. his ten medium-
sized pumpkins; 4. our warm, damp, four-week-old puppy; 5. a thick,
heavy, round carpet; 6. their low, oval table; 7. her lively, six-month-
old baby; 8. a long white satin dress; 9. ten narrow cement steps; 10.
the cool, damp basement.
SAQ 6.3.
1. Ray is older / taller / heavier / richer than Carl. 2. Denise is the
oldest / tallest / heaviest / richest child in the group. 3. Ray is
younger / shorter / lighter / poorer than Denise. 4. Carl is the
youngest / shortest / lightest / poorest child in the group.
SAQ 6.4.
1. better; 2. farther; 3. less; 4. more; 5. worse
SAQ 6.5.
1. It was darker and darker outside and I couldn't see much. 2. The
grass is becoming greener and greener. 3. The child’s hands were
dirtier and dirtier. 4. The situation is growing worse and worse. 5. It
is becoming clearer and clearer that this problem will not be easily
solved. 6. The mist became thicker and thicker. 7. Her work is
getting better and better. 8. The trees are growing taller and taller. 8.
The soil is becoming drier and drier. 9. The time remaining grew
shorter and shorter. 10. She is weaker and weaker because of her
illness.
SAQ 6.6.
1. critical. 2. influential; 3. glorious; 4. magnetic; 5. boyish; 6.
realistic; 7. discouraged; 8. helpless; 9. experimental; 10. advisable
SAQ 6.7.
1. a; 2. b; 3. d; 4. c; 5. a.
SAQ 6.8.
1. demoralizing; 2. falling; 3. excited; 4. fascinating; 5. disturbing; 6.
finished; 7. shooting; 8. confusing; 9. amazed; 10. tired.
SAQ 6.9.
1. fatally; 2. intentionally; 3. athletically; 4. Fortunately; 5.
occasionally; 6. heartily; 7. gracefully; 8. heroically; 9. reluctantly; 10.
methodically.
199
Adjectives and adverbs
SAQ 6.10.
1. light; 2. clearly; 3. cheerfully; 4. heavy; 5. quietly; 6. Favorably; 7.
Unusual; 8. Relatively; 9. hot; 10. briefl.
SAQ 6.11.
1. This may be the last time a competition is organized in France for
some years. 2. We see John running in the park after lunch every
day of the week. 3. Jim enthusiastically lectures to his students
about folk art. 4. The coach works at the gym in his office on the
main campus every day of the week. 5. Bacteria grow rapidly at the
edge of the pond in the marshes all summer. 6. My father was born
in the backroom of a farmhouse in Iowa. 7. Jane made an
appointment to see her doctor at two o’clock next week. 8. She
leaves the island after dark in the months of December and January.
9. The children whispered excitedly on Christmas Eve in front of the
tree. 10. Try to get back before we leave on Monday.
200
Glossary of grammatical terms
Active voice There is no morphological marker of the active voice. Typically, the
subject of an active verb phrase is the 'doer of an action':
Adverb phrase A phrase with an adverb as its head. The head may be preceded by
an intensifier (another adverb: even faster, too abruptly) and followed
by a postmodifier (usually a clause: more slowly than he expected.)
201
Glossary of grammatical terms
Central Central adjectives are adjectives which fulfill all the criteria for the
adjectives adjective class: they are gradable, can be modified by an adverb of
degree, and may be used attributively or predicatively. The group
includes adjectives of size and dimension (big, tall, small), and
adjectives of time (new, old, young)
Collective noun A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of entities (family,
army, government) that may be considered either as individuals or as
one larger entity.
202
Glossary of grammatical terms
Concrete noun A concrete noun refers to people or things, which have physical
existence: a doctor, a dog, rice.
Degree adverb The term refers to adverbs like enough, fairly, rather quite, very,
which broadly answer the question To what extent?
203
Glossary of grammatical terms
Determiner Determiners are words that express the reference of a noun, i.e. they
‘determine’ the meaning of the noun. Examples include the definite
article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an), possessive adjectives (my,
your, her), demonstrative adjectives (this/these, that/those) and
quantifiers (few, little).
Double genitive The genitive can be expressed by ’s-genitive (the farmer’s tools) or
the of-genitive (the tools of the farmer). In a double genitive, both
constructions appear in the same phrase: a horse of my uncle’s
(“one of my uncle’s horses”).
Dynamic verb A dynamic verb refers to an activity, action or event: talk, run, fly,
read. Verbs which are not dynamic are referred to as 'stative’. The
distinction between stative and dynamic verbs is relevant for the use
of the progressive aspect and the passive voice, both of which occur
mostly with dynamic verbs.
Extended verb The extended verb phrase consists of a lexical verb at the head,
phrase preceded by up to four auxiliaries. The order in which the auxiliaries
occur is fixed and depends upon the grammatical meaning they
convey. The features of grammatical meanings which can be
expressed in an extended VP include the following: tense, modality,
aspect, voice. Examples: will have arrived; may be walking.
Finite verb A finite verb is a verb form that occurs in an independent clause, and
form is marked for: tense, aspect, voice, person, number. Examples:
reads, is reading, will read, has read, had read, etc.
Focus adverbs Focus adverbs are adverbs like even, just, merely, and only which
can precede the word they modify to focus attention on it: Only Mary
succeeded.
Foreign plurals The term refers to some plurals of nouns of foreign origin that are not
formed with s. Nouns of foreign origin are frequently used in scientific
and technical contexts. Some have only foreign plurals (sg. basis -
pl. bases), others also have anglicized forms (sg. cactus – pl. cacti
/cactuses).
Frequency The term refers to adverbs like always, often, usually which answer
adverbs the question How often?
204
Glossary of grammatical terms
Head (of a The head of a phrase is the element that determines the syntactic
phrase) function of the whole phrase. In a noun phrase, the head is the noun
that refers to the same entity to which the whole phrase refers, such
as horse in a fine black horse.
205
Glossary of grammatical terms
Intensifier Intensifiers are adverbs which are used with gradable adjectives and
adverbs (very slow/ very slowly) and in some cases, verbs (I entirely
agree). An intensifier normally strengthens the meaning. Compare:
Typical intensifiers are very, such a/an, so, and –ly adverbs instead
of very (extremely).
Lexical verb A lexical verb is a verb that belongs to the primary verb vocabulary of
a language. The verb working in must be working is a lexical verb.
We played badly.
He is extremely tired.
Frankly, I don't trust you.
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Glossary of grammatical terms
Manner adverb Manner is a semantic role that notes how the action, experience, or
an event is carried out. Adverbs of manner answer the question
How? Most of them end in –ly and are formed from adjectives: badly,
happily.
Mid position This term is often used in connection with adverbs of frequency,
which normally come after be when it is the only verb in the clause
(He’s always late), after the first auxiliary (He has often gone to the
USA), and before the main verb (I never drink coffee).
Mood Mood is a verbal category that signals the relationship of the verb
with reality and intent. In traditional terms, there are four moods: the
indicative, the imperative, the conditional, and the subjunctive.
Morphology Morphology is the study of how morphemes combine into words, and
of how words are inflected.
Non-finite A nonfinite verb is a verb that is not fully inflected for the categories
verb form of tense, person and number: working (present participle), to work
(infinitive).
207
Glossary of grammatical terms
Noun Nouns are names given to people, things, places, etc. in order to
identify them. Nouns may act as subjects, (direct or indirect) objects
of the verb, object of a preposition or attribute of a noun.
Noun phrase A noun phrase is a phrase that has a noun as its head. A noun
phrase generally includes one or more modifying words (the man
next door).
Operator The first auxiliary in an extended verb phrase, such as will in She will
be coming, or do in Do you study English?
Passive (voice) The passive is a category of the verb phrase. The passive voice is
marked by the grammatical auxiliary be + past participle:
Past tense Past tense verbs most commonly refer to actions / events / states
that belong to the past. The past tense form of regular verbs ends in
–ed: (play - played - played). In irregular verb conjugation, the past
tense form is the second form cited (go - went - gone; write - wrote -
written).
208
Glossary of grammatical terms
I like him
He likes me.
Prepositional Prepositional phrasal verbs (get out of, get back to, get away with, go
phrasal verb out for, catch up with, turn away from, look forward to, put up with,
come down to, end up with) consist of a lexical verb combined with
an adverbial particle plus a preposition.
Phrasal verb Phrasal verbs are combinations of a lexical verb with an adverbial
particle (give up, do with, switch off, take after). A phrasal verb may
be transitive, and thus accompanied by a direct object. If the object is
realized as a pronoun, it is placed between the verb and the particle,
but if it is realized as a full noun phrase, it tends to be placed after
the particle:
The verb and the particle form a close semantic unit, whose meaning
is often not predictable from the meaning of the verb + the meaning
of the particle (give + up). Compare with prepositional verb.
Place adverb Adverbs of place are words or phrases that answer the question
Where? Where to? Where from? They may be: single words (here,
there, away, upstairs) or phrases (in hospital, on the left)
209
Glossary of grammatical terms
Present tense Present tense verbs usually refer to actions/events/states that belong
to the present time, or that have general validity. The present tense
form is identical to the base form of the verb, except for third person
singular subjects, when the verb ends in -s. A present tense form can
combine with the progressive aspect (he is sleeping), with the
perfective aspect (he has slept), or with the passive voice (he has
been asked questions), or any combination of aspect and voice (he
has been sleeping).
210
Glossary of grammatical terms
Proper noun A proper noun is used for a particular person (Julia), place
(Australia), the months of the year (March), etc., which is thought to
be unique. It is normally spelt with a capital letter. Articles are not
generally used with proper nouns.
Reference Reference is the relationship that a linguistic expression has with the
concrete entity or abstraction it represents. Here is an example of
reference: the noun man refers to a person, the noun pen refers to
an object, the noun storm refers to a natural phenomenon, etc.
Root A root is a lexical morpheme, i.e. a word or part of a word which has
meaning, and which cannot be divided into smaller meaningful units.
It can function as a stem, and it may combine with derivational and
inflectional affixes. In the word popularity, the root is popular, while -
ity is a derivational affix (morpheme).
211
Glossary of grammatical terms
Semantic roles A semantic role is the relationship that a participant in a situation has
with the main verb in a clause. It is the actual role a participant plays
in a situation. Compare: John hit Ben and Ben was hit by John. In
both clauses, someone named John deliberately hits someone else
named Ben. It follows that John is the agent (the doer) of the action,
while Ben is the patient (the one who suffers the effect). The
semantic role of John is the same (agent) in both sentences,
although in the first John is the Subject of the clause, while in the
second, the prepositional object. In both sentences, Ben has the
semantic role of patient. The main semantic roles are:
212
Glossary of grammatical terms
Complex sentence:
They irrigated the land when they got the pumps.
main clause subordinate clause
Sentence form / Sentence form refers to the typical word order of a clause/sentence.
type The sentence types in English are declarative (marked by the word
order S+V), yes/no interrogative (marked by the word order V+S),
wh-interrogative (marked by the word order wh-word+V+S), and
imperative (marked by the word order V, with the verb in the
imperative, and usually no subject. Sentences express different
types of meaning.Typically, declaratives function as statements, they
provide information about situations or states; interrogatives function
as questions, imperatives as commands and exclamatory sentences
express strong emotional states:
Stative Stative verbs refer to a state, and require no action on the part of the
subject: be, have, contain, know, resemble. The distinction between
stative and dynamic verbs is relevant for the use of the progressive
aspect and the passive voice, since neither combines easily with
stative verbs. Note that verbs of perception (see, hear), and verbs of
opinion and of thinking (think, believe, understand) behave as stative
verbs when denoting involuntary perception/cognition.
Stem The stem is the main part of a word to which inflectional morphemes
may be added, such as the base form of a verb (write), the singular
form of a noun (field), the positive form of adjectives (nice) and
adverbs (quickly). It consists of a root, sometimes in combination
with derivational affixes. In the word farmers, the stem is farmer, and
's is an inflectional suffix. The root is 'farm', and 'er' is a derivational
suffix. The word disgraceful is a stem consisting of the root 'grace'
and the two affixes 'dis-' and '-ful'.
213
Glossary of grammatical terms
Superlative The superlatives of adjectives and adverbs are formed with –est or
the most/least. We use the superlative when we compare one person
or thing with others in the same group. The definite article the is used
before a superlative:
Syntax An area of grammatical study, syntax refers to how the words in the
phrase can be combined, e.g. the order of modifiers and head, or the
number/types of modifiers that go with a head), or to how clause
elements are combined, i.e. what kinds of clause elements can occur
together, and in which order they can occur.
Both the present and the past tense can combine with the
progressive and the perfective aspect.
Time adverbs Adverbs of time are words or phrases that answer the questions
When? How long? How often? They refer to duration (since Monday,
for three years), definite time (today, on Friday), indefinite time
(another time), frequency (always, never):
Verb phrase A verb phrase is a phrase that is composed of a main verb (the
head) and auxiliary verbs or particles related to the verb (drinks,
must have been drinking, drank up).
214
Glossary of grammatical terms
Viewpoint adverbs modify the whole clause (that is why they are also
called sentence adverbs). They come at the beginning of the clause,
and are marked off by commas. They do not affect the word order of
the rest of the clause.
Voice Voice is a category of the verb that expresses the semantic functions
attributed to the Subject of a clause, whether it is the agent, the
patient or the recipient of the action/state of the verb. The following
clause in the active voice: James ate the cake, while the next is in
the passive voice: The cake was eaten by James. Their meaning is
similar (someone by the name of James ate the cake) but, in the
former the agent (or doer), James, is the subject of the clause, while
in the latter, the agent is the prepositional object (by John).
Word The word is the smallest linguistic unit that can have a syntactic
function. A word has an expression side (combination of sounds, or
of letters) and a content side (an independent meaning).
215
Bibliography
Bibliography
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Bibliography
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