5

Verbs

GRAMMAR BITES in this chapter

_A Verb functions and classes

>- Main verbs v . auxiliary verbs
Lexical verbs v. primary verbs v. m odal verbs
>- Lexical verbs across registers
B Single-word lexical verbs
>-' T he meanings that lexical verbs can express
>- Th e different uses of the twelve most common le).'ical verbs
c lexical verbs: structures and patterns
with regular and irregular morphology
The creation of new verbs with derivational affixes
>- Verb valency patterns
D Multi-word lexical verbs
The use of multi-word lexical verbs. including ph rasal verbs, p repositional
verbs, and phrasal- p repositional verbs
E Primary verbs
The uses of t ne th.ree primary verbs: be, have, and do
F Copular verbs
>- T he copula be
>- Other verbs that can fu nction as copuJar verbs
>- The major uses and mean ings of copular verbs
 Verb fun cti ons and cl a sses l'·ii
5.1 Introduction
Verbs provide the focal point of the clause. The m ain verb in a clause determ ines
the oth er clause elements thal can occur and specifies a meaning relation among
those elements. However, there are m any different kinds of verbs, including
le:cical v. auxiliary verbs, different sema ntic classes, and si11gl e-word v. multi-
word verbs.
In the six Grammar Bites of this chapter, we describe several m ajor classes of
verbs. In Grammar Bite A, we survey the major fu nctions and classes for verbs,
considering oppositions Ltke main v. auxi liary verb. In Grammar Bite B, we focus
o n single-word lexical verbs. ·w e describe their meanings-using semantic
classes-and the most common verbs in each semantic class. Then in Gra mmar
Bite C, we discuss structural aspects of lexical verbs: their valency patterns, verbs
wit h irregular morphology, and the creation of new verbs with a ffi xes.
ln Grammar Bite D, we turn to a type of verb that is often challenging fo r
learners of English: multi -word lexical verbs, including phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs, and ph rasal-prepositional verbs. Then, in Grammar :Si te
E, we take a closer look at t he three primary verbs (be, hnve, and do). Finally, in
Gramm ar Bite F, we identify the verbs that function as copular verbs, illustrating
their major uses and meanings.

GRAMMAR BITE

A Verb functions and classes

5.2 Verb func-tions and classes

5.2.1 Main verbs v. auxiliary verbs

Main verbs play a cenrral role in clauses. They usually occur in the middle of a
clause, and they are the most important element in l.be clause because they
determine tl1e other clause elements. T he pattern of these other clause elements is
called the valency pattern. For example, a clause with the main verb go/went
canno t take a direct object (e.g. went the house). H owever, go!we111 can be
followed by an adverbial (underlined below):
{ went into the empty house. (FlCT)
l n contrast, a clause witl1 the main verb give usuaiJy occur_s with both a d irect
object and an indirect object. ln the following example, llim is rhe indirect object
and n message is th e direct object:
I could give him a message. (Frcr)
Auxiliary verbs, on the other hand, occur before a m ain verb and qualify th e
meaning of th e main verb. [n t he fo llowing example, could and be are auxiliary
verbs, and staying is the main verb.
jack the Ripper could be staying there. ( coNvt)
Chapte r 5 : Verb s GRAMMAR BITE A

fn this example, could adds unreality to the meaning of the main verb, and be
signals an ongoing process. The overall meaning is quite different from the
sentence without auxiliary verbs, Jack the Ripper stays there.

5.2-.2 Lexical verbs v. primary verbs v. modal verbs

Verbs can be grouped tnto three major classes according to therr ability to
function as main verbs or auxil iary verbs:
• Lexical verbs (e.g. run, eat, think ) functio n only as m ain verbs.
• Primary verbs (be, have, and do ) can functio n as both auxiliary and mam
verbs.
• Modal verbs (can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must) function
only as auxiliary verbs.
Lexical verbs (sometimes called ' full verbs') are used ooJy as main verbs.
Children and dogs ran from side to side. (Ficrt)
He barely ate or slept that nigllr. (FJcr)
The class of lexical verbs is an op en class, which means that the English language
is always adcting new lexi cal verbs.
Most lexjcal verbs have regular endings for forming past and present tense
(e.g. call, calls, called) . However, many of the m ost common lexica] verbs in
English have irregular morphology. 1n the above example sentences, the verbs
show irregular past teJlSe forms : run-ran, eat-nte, and sleep-slept. (See 5..5-- 7.)
One distinctive feature of English grammar is that lexical verbs often occur
as m ulti-word tmits (see 5.8-12):
He turned on the lights. (FJCr)
1 looked at that one again. (cONv)
T here are only three primary verbs: be, have, and do, the most cotmnon verbs
in English. These verbs form a separate class because they can be used either as a
main verb or as an auxiliary verb. For example, compare the fo liowing uses of
each primary verb:
• primary verbs--main verb function:
He does my waslri11g. (coNv)
H is dad was an art professor. (cowt)
Every atom has a dense nucleus. ( Ac... ot)
• primary verbs--auxiliary verb func tion ( with maio verb underlined):
He doesn't look at the numbers. (cm:v)
He was wearing a dark ski m ask. (NEwst)
A particular combination of results has ocwrred. (."o.o)
Primary verbs are described further in 5.13- 15.
Finaliy, modal verbs are used o n ly as a uxiliary verbs. In tbe following
examples tbe main verb is again underlined :
People thought he might have been joJ...--ing. (r-:Ews)
H e would probably like it soft-er. (NEws)
Modal verbs a nd other auxiliaries are covered in detail in Chapt er 6.
 Verb funct ions and classes i{•f»

5.2.3 lexical verbs across registers

Lexical verbs are much more
common than primary verbs o r Figure 5.1
modal verbs (see Figure 5.1). T his is Overall frequency of verb classes
not surpris ing as there a re hundreds .2=<= 140
of different lexical verbs, and most
clauses occu r with a lexical verb as 120
8.-s
main verb. In contrast , there are few
primary verbs a nd m odal verbs, and l: 0
100 I
so
many clauses occur w ithout an
60 •
auxiliary verb.
Wh e n the verb be (am, is, was, 40
were, etc. ) is used as a main verb it is 20 .
termed the copula, because of its
spec ia l linking or ' coupling' function. lexica l copeula prima ry modal
ft is the single most commo n verb verbs b auxiliary verbs
verbs
occurring as a m ain verb.
£nterestingly, the copula be is more
common in academic prose than in Figu re 5.2
the o ther registers. Lexical verbs,
Frequency of lexical verbs and cop1,1la
however, are relatively rare in
be across registers
academic prose; they are much 1 60
m o re com m on in conversation and :=c
·e; 14o
fiction (Figure 5 .2) . ,_ 0 -

The Lex:t samples C"'O

120
illustrate the differing uses of main 100
verbs in conversation and a cademic 8ll
prose. Lexical verbs are in bold, and 60
the copuJa be is underlined. AuxiJjary 4()
verbs are not marked (e.g. are in the 20
phrase are taki11g). (Auxiliary verbs
__JL_L__
express verb aspec t, voice, and CONY FICT NEWS ACAO
modality, which are covered in
Chapter 6.) IfJ copula be • lexical veob> I
T exl sample 1 : CONVFJlSA"n O N

A: Those hyacinths in the com er are takittg a long time to come out,
arett 't they? l'd have thought th€ tulips in tlle coal scuttle, the tulips in
rite cauldron, 1 thought they'd had it, they were ly ing down completely.
B: I know, but they've straightened our. (cot·N)
T ext sample 2: ACADEMIC PROSE
In going from atoms to quarks rhere is a change of scale by a factor of at
least 10 million. It is impressive that quanhtm mechanics can take that in
its stride. Th e problems of interpretation cluster around two issues: the
nature of reality and tire trature of measurement. (.>.CAD)
These t \'\'0 short samples illustra te important differences in the use of lexical
verbs and the copula be across registers. Although the samples are nearly t h e
same length, the conversation contains many m o re lexical verbs (eight) t han the
 106 Chap ter 5 : Verb s GRAMMAR BITE B

academic prose sam p le (th ree). T he con versatio n bas frequ ent, short clauses, and
most o f t hese clauses con tain a lexical verb.
Acaden:Uc prose has fewer lexical verbs for two reasons:
• First, it uses longer clauses than co nversation does. Each clause has long noun
phrases and pre positional phrases, but only one main verb--and with fewer
clauses, there are consequently fewer main verbs.
• Second, more of the main verbs are forms of t h e copula be. These are used to
state th e existence of conditions (there is a change of scale .. . ) and to give
evaluations (it is impressive ... ).
5: Maj or points of GR A MMAR BITE A : Verb functions and classes

·->C»

CP
>- Verbs perform two major funct ions in clauses: main verbs v. auxiliary
ve rbs.
a:: Main verbs are the central element in a
Am:iliary verbs qualify the meaning of the main verb.
>- Verb forms can be grouped into rhree major classes according to their
ability to fun ction as main verbs or auxiliary verbs.
>- Lexical verbs (e.g. run, em, thirtk) function only as main verbs.
,... Primar}' verbs ( be, 1rave, and do ) can function as both auxiliary and main
verbs.
Modal verbs (aw , could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, m11st ) function
only as auxiliary verbs.
)Jo- Lexical verbs are much more common than pr.imary verbs or modal verbs.
)1>- Lexical verbs are most common in conversation and fiction.

GRAMMAR BITE

Single-word lexical verbs

5·3 Semantic categories of lexical verbs
Although many verbs h ave more than one meaning, we find it useful to
di tinguish seven semantic categories: activity verbs , communication verbs,
mental verbs, causative verbs, verbs of occur rence, verbs of existence or
r elationship, and verbs of aspect.

A Activity verbs
Activity verbs w;ually refer to a volitional activity-that is, an action performed
intentionally by an agent o r ' doer' . Thus, in the fo llowing examples, the subject
( underlined below) performs the actio n by choice:
Then you should move auy obstacles. (co;. .:vt)
He bought biscuits and condensed rnilk. (Acr)
In many of these jobs, women are working with women only. (A<..AD)
Many com monly used verbs are activity verbs. T he twenty most common, in
conversati on, fiction, newspaper wri ting, and academic prose combined, are:
 bring buy come
Seman t ic categories of lexical ve rbs

follow
.•
,,.
get give go leave
make meet move pay
play put nm show
take try use wo-rk
Activity verbs can be transitive, taking a direct object, or intransitive,
ocnwring without any object:
• transitive activity verbs, with the direct object underlined:
Well give it to the dogs, they'Ll eat it. (col'--v)
Ever1 the smallest boys brouglu: little of wood and tlrrew them in.
( Acrt)
• intransitive activity verbs:
They ran, OTJ rubbe-ry legs, through an open gate. (FJcrt)
Go to the hospital! (co..:v)
Activity verbs are also sometimes used to express events that occur without
the volition of an agent. For example, move an d give were used in the exa mples
above as volitio nal activities. In the foUowing exam ples the subjects ( underlined )
do not perform th e activity by their will:
Duri11g that time continents> oceans, and mountain chaitJS have moved
horizo, tally and vertically. (ACAot)
A few simple, rough calculations will give surprisingly good estimates.
(ACAD)

8 Communication verbs
Communication verbs are a special subcategory o f activity verbs that involve
communication activities, particularly verbs describing speech a nd writing:
You said you didn't have it. (cmN)
'Stop that', he shouted. (Rcr)
The organiser asked me if I war'Jted to see how the mo11ey was spent. (NEWS)
Too marl)' stude11ts write Jar too little about their research methods. (ACAnt)
T he twelve most common 'commu11icatio n' verbs in conversation, fiction,
newspaper wri ti ng, and academic prose combined are:
ask call claim describe
offer say speak suggest
talk tell thank write

c Mental verbs
Mental verbs refer to mental states and activities. For example:
I think it was Freddie Kruger. (co:w)
I wanted very much to give him my orange b11r held back. (FICT)
T hese verbs do not involve ph ysical action. Some o f the verbs convey volition;
others do not. Mental verbs express a wide range of mean ings:
• mental states or processes (e..g. think, know)
• emotions, attitudes, or desires (e.g. love, want)
108 Chapter 5 : Verbs G RAM M AR BITE B

• perceptions (e.g. see, taste)

• tbe receiving of communication (e.g. read, hear}.
Many mental verbs describe mental activities that are relatively dynamic in
meaning, such as the followi ng:
They decided ro watch TV. (co1--rv)
Ar1d uh then I studied Russian at Berkeley. (cm.:v)
\•Ve might even discover that he uses a lower number of abstract nouns
than other writers of his time. (ACAD)
Other mental verbs are more s tatiye_j_n that is, they 9escribe a
rather than an action. These include yerbs describing mental states, such as
believe, remember, and as weU as many verbs describing emotions or
attitudes, s uch as enjoy, fear, hate, and prefer.
• •ncnta1 stales:
Oh yealr, right we all that. (CONv)
Somehow I doubt it. (Ficr)
• emotions/attitudes:
He h ated this weekly ritual of bathing. (Flcrt)
I preferred life as it was. (News)
The twenty most common ' mental' verbs in conversation, fiction, newspaper
writing, and academic prose combined are:
believe consider expect feel
filld hear know like
listen love 1nean need
read remember see suppose
think understand want wonder

0 Causative verbs
Causative verbs, such as allow, amse,force, and help, indicaLe that some person or
thing beJps to bring about a new state of affairs. These verbs often occur with a
derived noun (see 4.11 ) as th e direct object, which reports the action that was
facilitated. For example, deletion and formulation in the fo llowing sentences are
fanned from verbs (the direct objects are underlined):
Still other rules cause the deletion o[ elements {rom the (ACAO)
This information enables the formulation o[ precise questions. (,..CAot)
The use of derived nouns with causative verbs is particularly common in
acad emic prose. In other cases, the resulting action or event is expressed in a
complement clause that follows the causative verb (underlined in the following
examples):
What caused you to be ill? (FICT)
This law enables the volume o( a gas to be calculated. (ACADt)
This would l1elp protecr Jaguar from {luct.ua rions in the dollar. (NE\\'St)
Complement clause structures are discussed in Chapter I 0.
Compared with other semantic classes o·f verbs. there are only a few common
causative verbs:
allow help let require
 Sema ntic categorie s of lexkal 11erbs fi·P»
E Verbs of occurrence
Verbs of occurrence report even ts that occu r w itho ut an actor. Often the subjects
o f these verbs are affected by the event that is described by the verb, as in these
examples (subjects are underlin ed):
The lights changed. (coNv)
Resistant may develop in the alimentary tract'. (aCAot)
The term 'feature' has occ11rred many times in this clwpter. (AC.AO)
Seven verbs of occurrence are especially commo n, in conversatio n, fiction,
newspaper writing, and academic p rose com bined :
become change develop die
grow occur

F Verbs of existence or retationship

Verbs of existence or relationship report a stat e of existence or a logical
relationship that exists between ent ities. Some o f the most co mmo n existence
verbs are copular verbs, such as seem and appear:
Witnesses said Jze appeared happy and relaxed. (NEws)
All these uses seem natural and serviceable. (.A.CAD)
CopuJar verbs are discussed in detail in Grammar Bite F.
O ther verbs in this dass rep ort a state of existence or a relationship between
entities:
• state of existence:
I go and stay with them. (coNv)
These varyi11g conditions may exjst in close proximity. (ACADt)
• relation.'>hip:
Tlte exercise will itu:lude random stop cl1ecks by police, and ittv olve special
comtables a11d traffic wardens. {t-;Ews)
Tlrey contained large. quantities of 11itrogen. (AC.O\DT)
Som e commo n •existence/relationship' verbs are:
nppear contain exist include
indicate involve live look
represent seem st(lnd .stny

G Verbs of aspect
Verbs of aspect characterize the stage of progress of an event or activity. These
verbs usually occur with a complem ent cl ause following t he verb. ln the
following examples t he co mplement clause is underlined:
She kept rwming out of tfle room. (coNY)
He couldn't stop talking about me. (COl'.'Vt)
Tears started to trickle down his cheeks. (Rcr)
Complement clauses are covered in detail i n Chapter lO.
Some common •aspect, verbs are:
begin contin11e keep srart srop
 1.10 Chapter 5 : Verbs GRAMMAR BITE 8

5.3.1 Verbs with multiple meanings

Many verbs have more than o ne m eaning. ln some cases, the verb's meaning
covers two or more sem antic cat egories simultaneously. for example, the verbs
hesitate and pretend can convey the physical activity aspects of h esitating and
pretending as well as the m ental asp ects.
She IJesitated and chen said 'Why not. ' ( FICT)
She can j ust p retend it's her new car. ( CON\' )
Also, some verbs have differe nt meanings in d iffere nt co ntex"ts. T his is especially
true of activity verbs, which often have seco ndary m eanings in another category.
For example, raise can refer to a physical activity or an act of communjcat ion
(e.g. raise your hand o r raise t:he subject) and look can refer to a physical action
(look down ), to a m ental p rocess (look at the offer) , or to a st ate of existen ce ( you
look happy). T h ese differe nt meanings are also often associated with differ ent
valency patterns (see 5.7) .
The context usuall y m akes t he jntended m eaning of a ver b obvious. In the
fo llowil1g pairs of examples 1 has a physical meaning, a nd 2 has a mental or
communication meaning:
1 Many patients are quite fit when admitted to the surgical ward. (ACAot)
2 1 must admit it gave me a bit of a s1rock.
1 He jumped and raised his right elbow so that i-t projected Ollfwards.
(;m vst)
2 The issue was raised b)' Mr. Btmts at a meeting witlt rile Transport.
Secretary. ( l''&W )
1 1 chink I was half ready to follow her. (Ficr)
2 1 don't f ollow you, begging your pardon. ( Flcr)

5·4 The most common lexical verbs

9 Th e twelve most com mo n lexical verbs in English are all activity o r m ental verbs,
e.xcept for the verb say, which is the single m ost common lexical verb overall (see
Figure 5.3):
• activity ver bs: get, go, make, come, take, give
• me ntal verbs: know, think, see, want, mean
Figure 5.3 Frequency of the most common lex i ca l verbs in the LSWE Co rpus (over 1,000
per million words)
i! 5000
450 0
c
4 000
e 3500
l 3000 - -
c
"'::a
J
2500
2000 -
nn
1500
1000 -
500
0
say get go k n ow t h ink see make com e take
I I
want g i ve mean
 The most common lexical verbs iff+

• communication verb: say.

(The primary verbs be a nd have are also ex.'tremely common expressing ex:jsten.ce
or relationship. T hese verbs are discussed in 5.1 3-14

A Say
T he verb sny is the most common lexicaJ verb overall. Speakers and writers rely
heavily on say to report t he speech of themselves and others, rather than some
comm unication verbs like tell, ask, offer, or explain. [n all registers, this verb is
m ost common in the past tense, in re port ing a past utterance:
You said y ou didn't have it. (CorN)
N o use sitting about, he said. ( FICr )
He said tl1is campaign raised 'doubts about the cwthenticiry of rhe evenrual
allegedly free choice'.
However, conversation differs from the written it also commonly
u ses say in th e present te nse. Often, as in the fi rst examp le below, th ese
occurre nces still report past speech, but the use of the present tense conveys a
feeling of immediacy and personal involvement:
So he says, Oh my God! (CONV)
Rachel says she thinks that Pam's just acting like a spoiled brar. (Co)'..v)
P resent tense say is al so commonly used for repeated o r habituaJ behavior, as in:
Look mum, he says lwrrible things ro m e. ( COI'N)
lnterestingly, present tense say is also common in jokes, conveying a sense of
immediacy:
A nd the daz1ghter comes home f rom school one day and says, mum 1 want
to be like you. (co:-.-v)
A 11d she says yes e11ery rime she' s got her bubble grun in, she says no whe11
she hasn't got tire bubble gllm in lrer mouth. (coNv)
See 10.5.2 for the use of say with complem ent clauses, an d 12.4.3 for its use in
reporting clauses.

B Get
Although it is eas y to overlook, Lhe verb get is more common in conversation
than any other lexical verb in any register. Get is so common because it is
extremely versatile. Although it is often used as an activity verb, it actually has a
wide range of meanings and grammatical patterns. T he major meanings of get
include:
• obtaining something (activity):
See if they cm1 get some of that beer. (
• m oving to or away from something (activity):
Get in the car. ( CONV)
• causing som ething t o move (causative):
\1\fe ought to get these wedding pictures into an album of some sort. (coNv)
• causing som ething to happen (causative):
It gets people talking agt1in, right. (cow.•)
112 Chapte r 5 : Verbs GRAMMAR BITe B

• cha nging from one stale to a no ther (occurrence):

Size's getting ever so grubby-looki11g now. (coNv)
Once you got to know him you liked f1im. (coNvt)
• understanding something (mental):
Do you get it? (coNv)
In addition Lo these meanin.gs, get in the perfect form have got is equivaJent to
lhe primary verb have with a statjve meaning, as in:
Tile Amphibicar. It's got little propellers itr the back. (cm,'v)
< compare: It has little propellers. ..>
Have you got any plan.> fo r this weekend? (coNY)
<compare: Do you have any plans . . .>
In speech, have is som etimes omitted from the perfect form of get, as in:
You got your lwmework done, Jason? (coNv )
< compare: Ha ve yor1 got. .. ?>
The verb get is also extre mely versatile from a grammatical point of view. ln
addition to being a mai n verb, it functions as part of t be semi-modaJ (have) got
to (or gotta, see 6.9.2) . It can also be used like a n auxiliary verb to create a passive
construction, the so-called •get passive' :
I got caught once before. (co!'vt)
< compare: I was caught once before.>
Finally, get occurs in idiomatic multi-word phrases;
He was no good she says, she got rid of him. (COI\.'V)
My mom lol'es lrhn. He can get away with a11ytlring - ire could get away
with murder and my tnom would still love him. (cor-:v)
G iven its versatility, it might seem surprising that get is n ot extremely
com mon in all registers. However, it is relatively rare in most w.; rten regi ters. ln
general , it is considered an info rmal word and is therefore avoided in formal
wri ting. 1n its place, written registers use a wide range o f lexical verbs with m ore
specific meanings, such as obtain, cause, enco11rage, become, and understand.

C Other extremely common verbs

Most of the other e>.:trem ely commo n activity verbs are used to d ifferent e.:xtents
across the regjsters. Go is extremely commo n in conversation and also very
common in fictio n:
We m ight as well go and see Janet. ( COl'fV)
Then they went and sat in rocking chairs in tl1e fron t room . (FJcr)
The verb come, wh ich is related to go in mea ning, .is also most commo n in th ese
two registers:
He came with Alan. ( cor-:v)
'Ma, the permit isn't going to com e', he said. (Flcr)
[n fiction and news, two other activity verbs are common-make and take:
I thought I m ight make coffee for them all before I go. (1'1CT)
The intruders took money aud jewelry, commission sources said. (NEws)
Like get, both make and take commonly occur as part of idiom atic expressions.
For example:
 The most common verbs tn:e
You have to take advantage of every mo111enr. (COl'N)
Without shame he details how lie came ro make a mark in espi-onage
history. ( l'<"t.WS)
Mental verbs, especially know, think, see, want, and mem1, are particuJarly
common in co nversation. Th ese verbs report states of awareness, certainty,
perception, and d esire. Mental verbs usually go with I or you as subject:
I think ir was a worm that ir had in its mouth. (coNv)
ln many cases, these verbs occur together in the same utterance:
l see what you menn. (coNv)
You know what I m ean. ( COI'.'V)
l really wanted her to wear it, you know? (cmw)
Fiction, too, has relatively high frequencies of the verbs know, think, and see.
T h ese verbs typically occur in t he past tense, reporting the thinking and
perceptions of fictiona1 characters:
She knew what had happenerl to them. (ncr)
T t1rouglrt I would go a11d see the Pope. ( Ficr)
She saw the light again. (Acr)
Su rprisingly, the verb see is also relatively common in academic prose, where it is
used to report scien tific observations, or for references to other studies:
The Type T disease is usually seen in calves grazed intensively. (ACADt)
T here 11ow exists an extensive literature on the construction of social
indicators (see, for e.-cample, Knox 1978c). {ACAOt )
Finally, the verb give is relatively common in all registers. In most registers,
t his verb is used with activity meanings:
H e's nor gonna give it to you 1wice rlto11gh. (cm-;v)
She was too shy to give him more than a covert glance. (FICT)
The vehicles will be giverJ to the National Association of Boy s' Clubs. (NEWS)
However, in academic prose give often expresses causative or existence meanings:
A good method of analysis is one that gives a large correla tion
(ACAD)
K values are giverr in Fig. 2.5. (ACAD)

5.4.1 Repeated use of the most common verbs

Figure 5.4 (on page 114) compares the frequency of t he twelve most common
verbs with the frequen cy of all other lexical verbs. As a group, the commonest
verbs occur much m o re frequently in conversation than in the other t hree
registers. They are used so often that they account fo r nearly 45 per cent of all
lexical verbs in conversatio n. In contrast, the commonest verbs account for only
11 per cent of all lexical verbs in academic prose.
The following two excerpts from con versations illustrate speakers' frequent
use of the com monest verbs: ·
A: She and Cathy might like to come because she did say ro me, how is
Cathy and I sa id she was <... >
13: She knows about Cath)I'S problem?
11.4 Chapter 5 : Verb s GRAMMAR BITE 8
Figure 5.4
A: Yes, she said so do )'Oll
tlrin k Cathy wo11ld mind if Distribution of t he most common
I rnng her?- and I said no lexical verbs v. other ve rbs
I'm sure she wouldn't. j-i 160
= c:
(U>l\vt) e; 14o
.. 0
A: I used to get really 11crvo11s 120
whe11 1 came to CIJincse
restnurm1ts. I never k new
whnt to choose.
I ao

n
60
B: Really?
A: But gradually over the yetJrs 40
you get the hang of it. Some 20
people get r!Je hang of these 0
things more quickly tlu m l CONV FICT NEWS ACAO

do.
B: We didn't go ofiell enough n Other lexical
12 most common a..xJcal """"'
dear, that's the other thi11g.
(LO:\\. )
These s ho r t exchanges a re typical of conversations: participants repeatedly use
the most common verbs to s hare experiences, thoughts, and speech .
The wril1en registers rely less o n the most com mon ver bs. In part, this m ight
refl ect a wider range of subject matter-especially in news and academic prose. l r
may also rcflecl a wi h lo make the text more interesti ng by varying vocabulary-
especiaJiy in fiction. Further, varied and p recise wo rd choice is easier for writers,
because they have time to plan and revise. Speake rs in conversations, in contrast,
have lillie opportunity for plann ing or revising, so t hey rely m ore heavily on the
most commo n verbs (see 13.2.5 for m ore on t he repetitiveness of conversation ).
3: M ajor p o ints of GRAMMAR BITE B : Single-wo rd lexical verbs

·->
Gl

Gl
,.._ Lexical verbs fall into seven major seman tic categories: activity verbs,
communication verbs, mental verbs, verbs, verbs of occurrence,
a: verbs of existence or relatio nship, and \'erb of aspect.
,.._ Many lexical ,·erbs have more than one meaning.
,.._ Twelve verbs are especially common in English. Their main uses fall into
th.ree types:
,.._ activit)' verbs: get, go, make, come, tnf.."e, give
,.._. mental verbs: k/l()w, r1Ji11k, see, wa11i, mean
,._ com munication verb: ,ay.
,.._ [n conversatio n, these twelve verbs are extremely common. Wr itten registers
like academic p rose tend to use a range of different verbs.
 Regu lar and i rregu lar ve rb end i ngs 1ft•
G RAMMAR Jl iTE

Lexical verbs: structures and

patterns
5·5 Regular and irregular verb endings

5.5.1 Regular verbs

Inflections a re morphemes that e..xpress grammatical meanings like person and
number. Most verbs are regular, meaning that they use the same inflections to
mark person, tense, aspect, and voice. For example. all regular verbs mark third
person singular with an -s suffix and past tense with a n -ed suffix. Yet many
grammatical distin ctions are not marked on verbs in English. For example, there
is no difference between the verb form for fust person present tense (e.g. l walk),
second person present tense (you walk) , and the infinitive of regular verbs ( to
walk). Some other grammatical distinctions a re marked by the use of auxiliary
verbs (such as have for perfect aspect and be for passive voice), rather than by
inflections. Consequently, English verbs have few mo rphological forms. ReguJar
verbs have only four morphological forms . These forms involve three suffixes
added to a base:
form use
base infinitive, present tense except thrrd person singular. a nd
s ubjunctive
base + suffix -(e)s t hird person singular present tense
base + suffix -ing ing-partidples (as in progressive aspect)
base + suffix -ed simple past tense and ed-participles (or p ast participle, as in
perfect and pas.s ive const ructions)

For example:
base look move try p ush reduce
base + -(e)s looks moves tries pushes reduces
base + -ing looking moving trying pushing reducing
base + -ed l ooked moved tried pushed reduced

Pronunciation of suffixes:
• -ing: /riJ/
• -(e)s: /s/ after voiceless consonants except If, 1f. <:./: looks, hopes,
laughs
lz/ after vowels and voiced consonants except / 3, d,3, z/: tries,
mo1'es, minds
/Iz/ after /J, 1f, s, 3. (5. z/: passes, reduces, recognizes. pushes,
massages, watches, manages
• -ed: /t/ after voiceless consonants except /t/: watched, looked, pushed
!d! after vowels and voiced consonants except / d/: tried, moved
116 Ch apter 5 : Ve rbs GRA MMAR BITE C

/rd/ after / t, d/: waited, wanted, iucluded

Spelling of suffixes:
• -(e);;: -es after the letters s, z, x, sh o r ch: pass- passes, push-pushes,
wa tch-wa tdres
-s after all other letters
• -ing and -ed: if the base of the verb ends in consonant+ e, the final e is
dropped before adding the suffix: reduce-reducing- reduced;
compare a base endi ng in vowel + e: agree- agreeing-agreed.
• -(es) and -ed: if the verb ends in a consonant .,... y, the spellings become -ies
and -ied: copy-copies-copied, try-tries-tried; otherwise,
final y rakes the usual endlngs: pltty-plays- played.

5· 5·2 Irregular verbs

There is a m uch smaller set of irregular verbs-that is, they have irregular past
tense and et.i-participle forms-but these include many of the most common
verbs. Note that the ed-participle is a good label for regular verbs, since all
regular verbs ha're an ed-participle ( i.e. past participle) ending in -ed. But it is a
misleading Label to use for irregular verbs, since irregular past participles (like
cut, eaten) ra rely end in -edl
There are seven main patterns used to mark past tense and ed-participles in
irregular verbs:

A Class 1
A -t suffix marks past tense and The t may replace a final d of t he
base: e.g. build- built, send-sent, spend-spent. Or the t may be added to the
base: e.g. spoil-spoilt, leam-learnr. Some of the verbs that add t to the base also
have a regular form: e.g. learnt and learned both occur.

B Class 2
A -tor -d suffix marl<s p ast tense and ed- participle, and the base vowel changes.
For example:
base form past tense ed-partidple
mean /m i :n/ meant /mcot/ meant
think /9tl)kl thought thought
sell !!;ell sold sold
tell lteV told /t:)oldl told

C dass 3
T he regular -ed su ffix marks past tense, but an -(e)11 sttffi.x marks ed- participles.
Fo r example:
base form past ten se ed-participle
show showed shown (n ote: showed also occurs)
 Re gu la r a n d irre gul a r ver b e nd ings IF£•
D Class 4
No suffix is used for the past tense, bu t ed-participles have an -(e) 11 suffix; in
additio n, the base vowel changes in either the past tense, ed-participle, or both.
For example:
base form past tense ed-partidple
give Ill gave /cr/ gi ven It/
know /;;ml knewl(j) u:l kn own
see l i:l saw 1-:J:/ seen (t:/

E Ctass 5
The base v0\ve1 changes in the past tense, the ed-participle, or bo th ; there are no
other changes. For exam ple:
base form past tense ed-partidple
b egin lrl began I re/ b egun /A!
come /A! came ler.l come !AI
find /aJf fo und f ool found f ool

F O ass 6
Past tense and ed-participle fonns are identical to the base fonn. For example:
base form past tense ed-participle
cut cut cut
h it hit hit

G Class 7
O ne of the fonns is completely different. For example:
base form past t e nse e d -pa rtkipte
g o lg<JUI w ent /wen t/ g one BrE /gon/ ArnE /g-:m /

5·5·3 Preference for regular v. irregular endings

Many irregular verbs also have regular alternatives. For example, two d ifferent
forms are used for the past tense of speed: the irregula r sped, and Lh.e reg11lar form
speeded. In most cases, one form is used more t han th e other. For example, the
irregular forms hung, lit, quit, and sped are m ore common than the regular fo rms
hmtged, lighted, quitted, and speeded. In con trast, the regular forms dreamed.
knitted, and leaned are m uch more common .than the irregular fo rms dreamt"'
krzit, and leartt.
For a few verbs, different forms are associated with d ifferent granuna ticaJ
fu nctions. For exam ple, the regular fo rm spoiled is used mo re commonly fo r past
tense, but t he irregular form spoilt is used more commo nly fo:r t he ed-participle
( in British English).
I n American English, the verb get is unusual because it has rwo irregular ed-
participle fo rms that occur following have: got and gotteu. l n British En glish, the
 118 Chapter 5 : Verbs G RAMMAII BITE C

com bination luJve + gotten almost never occu rs. l n both American English and
Bri tish English, the combi nation have got can express a meani ng ro ughly
eqttivalent to have as a lexkal verb, o r it can express t he perfect aspect meaning
of get:
• meanings equivalent to have as a lexical verb:
Look at that face. He hasn't got any teeth. (ArnE cor-:v)
<compare: H e doesn't have any teeth.>
Have you got an exam 0 11 Monday? (.orE co:w)
<compare: Do you have an exam on Monday?>
• perfect aspect of get:
lt could ltave got put in storage or something. (Am£ CONV)
\.Ve h ave got ourselves i11to a rut. (lirE N1lwst)
In con trast, have gotten in American English almost always bas a per fect aspect
mean ing, as in:
I can't believe Ginger's bike hasn 't gotten stolen yet. (MtE cONV)

5.6 Verb formation

Derivational affixes are incomplete u nits of language that form a new word
when they are added to an existing word {the base). Prefixes are attad1ed to the
front of the base, while s uffixes are attached to t he end of the base.
Verb prefixes usua lly do not change the word class. That is., when a prefix is
attached to a verb base, the new wo rd remains a verb. However, the meaning
changes:
base verb derived verb w ith prefix base verb derived verb with prefix
like dislike cook overcook
lead m islead seal reseal
do o ut do zip u nzip

Verb derivational su ffixes.. on the o ther h and. are added to a no un or adjective to

create a verb:
adjective base derived verb with su ffix noun base derived verb with suffix
active activate assassin assassinate
simple simplify class classify
actual actualize alphabet alphabetize
b lack b lacken height heigh ten

5.6.1 Most common derivational affixes

There are man y di ffe.rent d erivational p refixes used to fo rm n ew verbs i n English .
T he most commo n d erivation al prefixes, in order of frequency of occurrence,
are:
 Valency patterns IU.
prefix meaning of prefix examples
re- again reabsorb, rearm, rebuild, redefine, refinance
d is- opposite, apart disallow, disarm, disconnect, discontinue, dislike
over- too much, across, beyond overbook, overcome, overeat, overhear, overreach
un- opposite, in reverse unbend, uncouple, unfold, unload, unpack
mis- wrong, poorly m isbehave, mishandle. m isinform, mispronounce
out- beyond, further outbid, outdo, outgrow, outperform, outweigh

T he prefix re- is used most often in formal written registers, like academic prose
and news. Many verbs formed with re- have been in use for a considerable time,
but re- is also frequently used to creale new words in technical discourse: e.g.
redeploy, redimen:;ion, retransmit.
There are only a few derivational suffixes used for verb fo rmation, although
some of the suffixes combine with many different words. The suffixes are listed
below in order of frequency of
suffix meaning of suffix examp les
-izel-ise to (ca use to} be<:ome computerize, energize, itemize, stabilize
-en to (cause to) become awaken, flatten, lengthen, moisten
-ate to (cause to) become activate, liquidate. regulate, pollinate
-(i)fy to (cause to) become beautify, codify, exemplify, notify

Notice rhat all four of the most frequent derivational suffixes have a basic
meaning of 'become' or 'cause to be'. However, when different suffixes are added
to d1e same base, separale meanings can result. For example, liquidize is usuaJJy
used with an agent making a substance ' liquid', but liquify is often used without
an agent, and liquidate is used in a financial context, when assets are 'made
liquid '.
The suffix -ize is often spelled -ise in BrE.

5-7 Valency patterns

The main verb in a clause determines the other elements that are required in that
clause. The pattern of the clause elements is called the valency pattern for the
verb. T he patterns are differentiated by the required clause elem ents that follow
the verb within the clause (e.g. direc t object, indirect object, subject predicative).
AU valency patterns include a subject, and optional adverbials can always be
added.
There are five major valency patterns:

A Intransitive
Pattern: subject + verb (S + V). Intransitive verbs occur with n o obligatory
element following the verb:
subject verb
More people came. (Ftcr)
120 Chapter 5 : Ve rbs GRAMMAR BITE C

B Monotransitive
Pattern: s ubject + verb + direct object ($+ V +DO). Monotransitive verbs occur
wit h a single direct object:
subject verb d irect object
She earned a long whippy w illow twig. (FleTt)

C Ditransitive
Pattern: subject + verb + indirect object + direct object (S- V + 10 +DO).
Ditransitive verbs occur with two object phrases--an indirect object and a
d irect object:
subject verb indirect object d i rect object
Fred Unsworth gave her a huge vote of confidence. (Newsf )

D Complex transitive PA - AA

Patterns: subject + verb ..L direct object + object predicative (S + V + DO+ O P)

or subject+ verb+ direct object + obligatory adverbiaJ (S + V + DO+ A).
Complex transitive verbs occur with a direct objectPC - AC (a no un phrase) which is
followed by either ( 1) an object predicative (a noun ph ra e or adjective), or (2)
an obligatory adverbial:
sub ject v erb d i rect object object predicative
1 people called h im Johnny. (Newst)

subject verb d irect o bject obligatory adverbial

2 He put h is hand on the chifd·s shoulder. (Rcrf)

E Copular
Patterns: subject+ verb + s ubject p redicative (S + V + SP) or subject+ verb
+ obligatory adverbial (S- V + A). Copular verbs are followed br ( 1 ) a subject
predicative (a noun, adjective, adverb or prepositional phrase) or (2) by an
obligatory adverbial. (Copu lar verbs are further d iscussed in Grammar Bite E.)
subject (copular) verb subject predicative
1 Carrie felt a little less bold. (Acrt)

subject (copular) verb obligatory adverbial

2 'II keep in touch with you . (cONVt)

F Variations on transitive patterns

T he monotransitive, ditransitive, and complex t rans1t1ve patterns are t he
transitive patterns; they all require some type of object. As in t he above
 V a l e ncy patterns lfJ+
examples, the most comm on structure fo r the o bjects is a noun phrase. H owever,
in some cases other structures can function as objects. For example:
• monotransitive pattern with a complem ent clause for t he d irect object:
subject verb direct object
He said he was goin g to make a copy. (coNVt)

• ditra ns:itive pattern a prepositional ph rase ex.-pressing the indirect object:

subject verb direct object indirect object
He gave all that info to the FBI. (NEWST)

< note t hat the indirect o bject prepositional phrase could a1so be ana lyzed as
an adverbial>
• ditransit ive pattern with a noun phrase for the indirect object and a
complemen t clause fo r the d irect object:
s ubject verb indirect object direct object
Staff i n the told me tha t the train had beerr
information office delayed unt il 18.15.

Verbs in all patterns can occur with optional adverbials. For exam ple:
• intransit ive with optional adverbial (S + V +(A)):
subject verb optional adverbial
He went to the comer shop. (FICT)
{Then] they fell in the sea. (Ficr)

• transitive with optional a d verbial (S + V + 0 + (A)):

subject verb object optional adverbia l
He ate nearly all those chip s tonight. (CONV)
He left it in the bushes. (F•crt)

5·7·1 Verbs with multiple valency patterns

Grammarians sometim es identify a verb as · a n intransitive verb' or •a transitive
verb', as if one verb norma1ly takes just o ne pattern. However, the reality is
different from this. Most common verbs allow m o re than one valency patte rn,
and some allow a w ide ra nge. For example, speak and help can occur with
intransitive or monotransitive patterns:

intransitive monotransitive
Simon spoke first. (FtCT) The stewards all spoke French. (NEWS)
Money helped. too. (NEws) As Australia's f orward coach, Evans did great-work
when he helped Alan Jones. (NEWs)

Similarly, find and make can occur in tl1e m o notransitive o r complex transitive
patterns:
122 C h apter 5 : Ver bs GR AMMAR BITE C

monotransitive complex transitive

We might find a b o dy . (NEWst) You might find these notes useful. (ACAo)
Malcolm m ade no sound . (F•cr) The sheer intensity of the thing made me nervous.
(ACT)

Further, ver bs that have the same possible valency pat terns often use them with
difrercnt meanings and very different frequenc ies. We ill ustrate th is po int below
with a brief case study of three verbs.

5·7·2 Intransitive and monotransitive patte rn s

Many verbs can take both intransitive and monot ransitive patterns, but these
verbs differ in their preference for o ne pattern over ano ther. For example, stand,
clumge, and meet are possible with bot h valency patterns. However, stand usually
occurs as an int ransitive verb, while dw11ge and meet most commonly occur in
the monotran sitive pattern.

A Stand
The most common pattern is intranc;itivc with an optional adverbial
(S + V - ( A )):
subject adv erbial verb optional adverbial
, just stood there . (cow)

Monolransitive stand is ra re and fou nd primarily in conversation and news in

idiomat ic expressions, such as to stand a chance or can 't staud someone or
som ething:
subject verb d irect object
Yo u don't: stand a chance. (coNvt )

subject adverbial verb direct object

really couldn' t stand him. (CONV)

Mono t ransitive stand with a com plement clau e as the direct object is rare and
fo und primarily in fictio n;
subject verb d irect object (complement clause)
(Could] you mnd being alone with me for five or six d ays? (Acr)

B Change and meet

With these verbs, m o notransitive (S + V - DO) is the most common p attern:
subject verb direct obj ect
I (want to] change my clothes. (co NV)
.. you (will never] change the world. (F•crt)
Sh e met several leadin g a ctors and musicians. {NEV'JSt)

i ntransitive (S + V) is the second m ost common pat tern, especially for change:
 Mul ti -wor d verbs: structure an d meaning lfJi
subject verb
People's circumstances change [and er . .. they vote differently]. (coNY)

I ntra ns itive with optional adverbials (S + V +(A)) is also found:

subj ect verb optio n al adverbial
We could meet in Tucson (coNvt)
The work had changed in the post-war period. (ACAot)

Major poi nts of GRA M MA R BITE c: Lexical verbs: rtructur es and patterns
>- Two areas are impo.rtant in the s tr u cture of Lexical verbs:
>- their inflectional morphology, which marks person, tense, aspect, and voice.
a: > their derivational morphology, which shows how verbs have been created.
>- In their utflectional morphology, most verbs occUI with regular suffixes.
>- Many of the most common verbs have irregular morphology.
>- Some verbs allow both regular and irregular morphology.
>- New verbs can be fo rmed with derivational morphology.
>- The prefix re- is frequently used for forming new words.
The suffix -ize is also frequently used fo r forming new words.
Four derivational suffixes are all com mon and are used with similar
meanings: -ize, -ate, -(i)fy, and -en.
>- The main verb determines the other elements that are necessary for lhe
clause-Le. the valency pattern.
._ There are five major valency patterns: intransitive, monotra nsitive,
ditransitive, comp lex transitive, and copular.
Many verbs can occur with more than one valency pattern, and they often
have differe nt meanings witb each pattern. Further, each verb occurs with
very different freq uencies for the d ifferent patterns.

GRAMMAR BITE

Multi-word lexical verbs

5.8 Multi-word verbs: structure and
meaning
Man y multi-word w1its functio n like a s ingle verb. These combinations usually
have idiomatic meanings. That is, their m eaning cannot be predicted from the
meaning of each individual word.
These m ulti-word verbs fall into four classes:
• phrasal verbs
• prepos itional verbs
• phrasal-prepositional verbs
• oth er mul6-word v er b constr uctions.
124 Cha pte r 5: Ve rbs GRA MMAR BITE 0

Phrasal verbs consisl of a verb followed by an ad verbial particle (e.g. carry

out, find out, o r pick up). W hen these adverbial particles a re used independently,
they have literal meanings signifying location or direction (e.g. our, in, up, down,
on, off). H owever, in phrasal verbs th ey are commonly used with less literal
meanings. For example, the meaning of find out does no t include the 'place'
meaning o f our.
Prepositional verbs consist of a verb followed by a preposition, such as look
m, talk abour, listen to.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs contain both an adverbial particle and a
preposition, as in get· away wirh.
Because they are idiomatic in meaning, it is sometimes possible to replace
multi-word verbs b y single-word verbs with a similar meaning:
multi-wor d verb single-word verb
carry out undertake
look at observe
put up w ith tolerate
find out disco ver
talk about discuss
make off with steal

Tn contrast to multi-word ver bs, free comb inations consist of a single-word

lexical verb followed by an adverb or preposition with a separate meaning (e.g.
come dow11, go back). In practice, it is hard to make an absolule distincLion
between free combinations and multi-word verbs. It is better to think o f a
continuum w here some uses of verbs are relatively free and others relatively
idiomatic.

5.8.1 Characteristics of phrasal verbs and

prepositional verbs
The m eanings and structu res of phrasal verbs, prepositional veibs, and free
combinations differ in many ways. However, ju.'>t three criteria are usually
sufficient fo r <listingu ish.ing among the types of multi-word com binations. The
criteria a re:
• whether o r not there is an idiomatic meaning
• whether or not particle movement is possible
• how the wh-question is formed.
The natu re o f a multi-word expression is determined by whether or not there is a
following noun phrase. When there is no follow"ing noun pbiase (e.g. sh11t up or
go away), there are only two possible interpretations. It m ust be either an
in transitive p hrasal verb, o r a free combination of verb + adverb. 1f there is a
following noun phrase (e.g. find out the meaning), there are three possible
in terpretation s. Either it is a transiTive phrasal verb, a transitive prepositional
verb, or a free combination of verb + adverbial prepositional phrase.
 Multi-word verbs: structure and meani ng lf'J'.
A Idiomatic meaning
Checking for an idiomatic meaning is especially usefuJ when Lhere is no
following noun phrase, and you \vish to distinguish between an intransitive
phrasaJ verb a nd a free combinatio n. Intransitive phrasal verbs usuaJly have an
idiomatic meaning, while the words in f ree combinations retain their own
meanings. For example, the intransitive phrasal verbs come on, shut up, get up, get
out, bnwk down, and grow up all have idiomatic meanings beyond the separate
meanings of the two parts (e.g. grow up means to act/become more mature. not
literally to grow in an upward direction ). In contrast, both the verb and the
adverb have separate meanings in free combinations like come back, conze down,
go back, go in, look back.
• Intransitive phrasal verbs:
Shut up you fool! (cOt-'\·)
Come o1l! Tell us then! (cor-:v)
• intransitive free combinations:
If this was new, I wouldn't let people go in. (COi'o'V)
Come back, or 1'11 fire. (Ficr)
He was afraid to look back. ( Fio)

B Particle movement
\.Yheo multi-word combinations have a following noun phrase, tests using
structure are more important than those involving idiomatic meaning. The first
important test is particle moveme nt: that is, whether the adverbial particle can
be placed b oth before and after the object noun phrase. Transitive phrasal verbs
allow particle movement. In the follmving exampl es the object noun phrase ts
shown in brackets.
I went to Eddie's girl's house to get back [my wool plaid shirt]. (Ftcli )
fve got tO get {rhis one} back for her 1110111. (t.:ONV)
K came back a11d picked up [rl1e note]. (Her)
He picked [rile plro11e] up. ( n cr)
When the object of a transitive phrasaJ verb is a pronoun, the adverbial partide is
almost always after the object:
teah I'll pick {them] up. (coNv)
So I got {it] back. (Co'<v)
(Other factors influencing particle movement are discussed in 12. 13.4.)
Particle m ovement is not possible with pre positional verbs. Instead, the
particle (actually, a preposition) always comes before the noun phrase that is the
object:
\Vel/ those kids are waiting fo r their bus. (CO'<V)
< compare: "Well those kids are waiting their bus for. >
It was hard to look at him. (NEws)
Availability depends on their being close to tire root. ( Aont)
1.26 Chapt:er 5 : Verbs GRAMMA.R BITE D

C Wh-question formation
Wh-question formatio n is a second important structural test for decidi ng the
type of multi -word verb. This test is especially useful for d istinguish ing between
a transltlve prepositional verb+ object and a free com bination of
verb + adverbial preposition al ph rase. I n sentences with a prepositional verb,
wh-questions are typically formed with what or who. These questions ind icate
that t he nou n p hrase that follows the p reposition fun ctions as the object of the
prepositionaJ verb:
Wha t are you talking abou t? (co:-.'V)
What are you laugl1ing at? (Acr)
<compare the statement: I am talking about I laughing at somethi11g.>
Who a re yo11 working witJr? (CONY)
\Vho was he talking to? (coNv)
<compare the stalemenr: I am working with I talking to somebody.>
I n contrast, 1vh- questions for free combinations can be fo rmed usi ng the
adverbial wit-words where and when. These questio ns ind icate that the
p repositional phrase is an adverbial that foUo"'rs the verb:
• place:
Where a re you walkit1g? (CO!';v)
<compare the statement: I am walking to that place.>
Where will we meet? (FJcr)
<compare the statement: We will meet at that place.>
• time:
'Wizen are you playing? (coNv)
<compare the statement: I am playing at that time.>
\<\!hen nre you leaving? (Ftcr)
<compare the staten1ent: I am leaving at tlmt time.>
Com paring these features does not always result in dear-cut distincrjons between
all multi -word verb combinations. Many combinations can fun ction as more
than one type, depending o n the context. Further, some combinations can be
in terpreted as belonging to more than one category. Section 5.8.2 illustra tes
several of th ese problematic cases.

5.8.2 Multi-word combinations in multjple

categories
Sometimes m ulti-word com binations frt into m o re than on e category. for
e.xample, the combinatio n fit in can be an intransitive phrasal verb (l ), or a free
combination of verb + adverbial p repositional phrase ( 2 ) :
1 He just doest1't fit i11. (cor-:v)
2 The 1/lllslrroom was too big co fit fin n special d1yer ar P11rdue University's
plat1t mui fimgi co/Jectionf. (NEwst)
In additio n, some combi nations have the cbaiacteristics of more t ban o ne
category even in a single occurrence. For exa mpl.e, consider come back. with the
meaning to ' recover' or ' resume an activity'. This comb ination might be analyzed
as a free combinatio n because come an d back both co ntribute indepen den tly to
 Ph ras a l ve rbs iff•
the meaning. Bot the combination could also be regarded as an intransmve
p hrasal verb, because the combined meaning of the parts is idiomatic.
3 Everton came back from a goal down to beat Blackburn 2-1. (m:ws)
4 Vlhen lim went to the police station, officers told him to com e back another
dny. (mws)
Sentence 4 might seem more clearly a free combination because the adverb back
has a literal directional meaning, while 3 has a more dearly idio matic meaning
('recover' ). However, 4 also has a
5.5
meaning that can be represented by a
Dis tribut ion o f mult i-word ve rbs
single verb: return. In this sense, it, too,
is idiomatic. In sum, as for many a cross reg isters
grammatical categories, the distinction 9000
il> not ahvays clear-cut.
8000
5.8.3 Frequency of multi-
7000
word verb types
6000
Prepositional verbs are far more
common than phrasal verbs or ph rasaJ-
5000
prepositio nal verbs (Figure 5.5). Both
phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional 4000
verbs are extremely rare in acad emic
prose, while in the other registers 3000
phrasal verbs are more common t ban
phrasal-prepositjonal verbs. The greater 2000
frequency of prepositional verbs goes
wit h the greater d iversity of the
meanings they express. Phrasal and
phrasal-prepositional verbs are most 0
CONV
commonly used for physical activities,
while prep ositional verbs cover a wide
• phrasal verbs • prepositional verbs
range of seman tic categories.
0 phrasal-preposillonal verb'

5·9 Phrasal verbs

There are n..;o major subcategories of phrasal verbs: intransitive and transitive.
• lntransitive phrasal verbs:
Com e o n, rellme about Nick. (CON\')
Hold Otll Wha r are you doing there? (FICr)
1 just broke down in tears when I saw the letter. ( NEWS)
• Transitive phrasal verbs:
Dirl you point out tl1e faults 011 it the11? (cONV)
I ventured to brir1g up the subject of the future. ( Ac r)
I want to find ou t the relative sizes of t"he m ost common dinosa urs. (."CAOt)
With transitive phrasal verbs the particle can be placed after the d irect object.
T lti:; is Lbc normal wuru o rder whe1 1 the object is a pronomJ:
128 Ch apter 5 : Verbs GRAMMAR BITE D

Terri tunted iron. (coNv)

I just thought l would point it o ut to you. ( CONV)
The warden said that she would turn the heating on. (ACAot)
In addition, a few v hrasal verbs a re copular, suc h as turn out, end 11p, and wind
up. We return to these verbs in 5.16-17 below.

p 5.9.1 Most common phrasal verbs

A lntransit.ive phrasal verbs

As Figure 5.5 above shows, conversation and fi ction use phrasaJ verbs m uc h
m o re frequently t han n ews and academ ic prose do. This difference is especially
noteworthy fo r intra nsitive phrasal verbs. Th.ey are extremely commo n in
conversation and fictio n, but exrremely rare in news and academic p rose. One
reason for this difference is that most phrasa.l verbs are colloquia l in rone.
ln fact, the m ost common inlransitive phrasaJ verbs are activity verbs that
are used as directives. They often occur as imperatives. Since imperative clauses
a re most co m m o n in conversatio n and fi ction, .i t is not surprising that these
intransitive phrasal ver bs are also most common in those registers:
S hut up! just f orget it. (COIN)
Go off to bed 11ow. (coNv)
Sta nd up straight! People are laokiug! ( Her)
fn declarative clau ses, the common intransitive phrasal verbs usually have buman
subjects ( underlined below):
No, Ire came over to the study.
Cro we sat up and stared at Frederica. (Acr)
l sat doum behind my desk. (Prcr)
The intransitive combination come on in conversation is the m ost common
ph_rasaJ verb in any register . T h is verb has three m ajor functions:
• as an exclamat ion in a caU for action:
Co m e on, Jet Andy do it. (coNv)
• as a pre-departure swnmons to move:
Come on, we bener go. {<'..ONv)
• as the m ain verb in a clause, m eaning •to start' or 'become activated ' :
17re heating did1z't com e 0 11 this m orning. (CON \ ')
The int ra nsitive phrasa] verb go on is also extremely common. Go on is similar to
come on in having a nu mber of differen t functions. H owever, unlike come on, go
on is used often in both ·written and spoken registers:
• as an exclam atory call fo r actio n (like com e 011 above):
It's alright, rub it in. Go on! (cot-:v)
• to express continuation:
I j ust ignored lzer n11d went on. l didn't have time t:o talk. (co!'v)
As time went 011, Liebig developed Jzis thesis. (Ac .. ot)
 Prepositional verbs if{·»
• to mark continuation of some general action (as a transitive verb with a
complement ing- or to- infinitive clause as d irect object):
Labour would go on getring the public's support by constructing strong tmity
of purpose. (NE\\St)
Bjomsso11 went on to study the newspapers of 11 countries. {AcAu)
• to mark an unspecified activity, with a meaning similar to 'happe n':
Think IVhnt's on. lt 's drendfitl. (rt<.l)

B T ransitive phrasal verbs

Transitive phrasal verbs are more evenly spread across written and spoken
registers. For example, verbs such as put on, make up, and find our are relatively
common in both conversation a nd the written expository registers:
Some people they read the top bit ami rend the bottom bit, n11d sort of
make up the bit in the middle. (co:-:v)
Beawse you might fmd out it works. (co-..:v)
Htlllen 't )'OU found that out yet? (I'ICT)
For tf.IC modem matiJemnticitw tlrese mmzbers would make llp rile ordered
pair (Vl. \f2). {ACAD)
l n fac t , a few transitive phrasal verb are actually more commo n in expository
writing than in conversation. These include carry out, tnkc up, tnkc 011 , set up, and
point out:
lt is common pmctice to carry out a series of design poim cafculatiom.
(,\CADI)
The rule also affected He11ry Cotto11, who took up the post at Royal
Waterloo, Belgium, in 1933.
When the Spanish arm of tire operatiou needed assistance lie was asked to
take on n role.
The EJT was set up last yet1r to help fum/ 1111iversity research. (NI::w st)
Gushchin (1 934) pointed out mall)' of the weaknesses of tlrese nttemprs.
(AL\Dt )
Finally, the combination rum our is unusual in that it is a common phrasal verb
that can functio n as a copular verb. lt is d iscussed in 5.17.

5.10 Prepositional verbs

All prepositio n al verbs take a pre positional object, i.e. the nou n phrase t hat
occurs after the p reposition. There are two major structural patterns for
prepositiona l verbs: with a single prepositional o bject (Pattern I) , and with a
direct object and a prepositional object (Pattern 2):
• Pattern I: NP V - prep+ KP ( prepositio nal objects are underlined)
It )liSt looks like the barrel. (lO'II\)
I' ve nrwr evetr thought about f.!. (C0:-1\')
• Pattern 2: NP - V + NP + prep + N P (direct o bjects and prepositional objects
are underlined):
1.30 Chapter 5 : Verbs GRAMMAR BITE D

[Yeah it's renlly pretTy]. it reminds me of some parts o(Boston. ( COKV)

He said farewell to rts [on clris very spor]. (FJcr)
But McGaughe)' bases his prediction on first-hand experience. (NEwst)
The two-object prepositional verb (Pattern 2) is also com mon with passive verbs.
The noun phrase t hat corresponds to the direct object is placed in subject
posi tion:
The media is falsely accused of a lot of things. (co:-.· vt)
<compare the active voice: People falsely ncwse rfre media of a lot of
things.>
The initiative is based on a Scottish scheme.
<compare the active voice: Someone based the initiative 011 a Scottish
scheme.>
Most prepositional verbs occur with only one pattern. However, some
prepositional verbs occur with both Patterns 1 and 2. These include apply
{l'-TP) to, connect ( NP) with, provide (NP) for , ask (NP) for, hear (NP ) about, know
(NP) about:
• apply to with Pattern I :
The regulations also apply to new buildirrgs. (r>:Ewst)
• apply to with Pattern 2 :
The;' were cosmologists wrest-ling to apply quantum nJeclranics to Einstein's
general thwry of relativity. (ACAD)
• ask for with Pattern l :
But I've asked for muclr roo much already. (FICl)
• ask for with Pattern 2:
H e asked Stan for a job. (co.w)
T he structure of a prepositional verb ca n be analyzed in nvo ways. On the
one hand, it can be considered a single-word lexical verb that is followed by a
prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase functions as an adverbial. This
analysis is s uppor ted by the fact that it is usually possible to insert another
adverbial between the verb and the prepos itional phrase in Pattern 1. The
adverbials exactly and mucll are between the verbs and prepositional phrases in
these examples:
She looked exactly [like Kathleen Cleaver}. (Her)
T never thoug/rt muclz {abou t it/. (Rcr)
Howeve r, t he verb + preposition can also be considered as a multi-word unit--a
single ' prepositional verb'. T his analysis is supported by the fact that
prepositional verbs often have idiomatic meanjngs that cannot be derived
from the meanings of the two parts. T he two-word units can often be replaced by
a si ngle transitive verb with a similar meaning:
thought about it - considered it
asked for permission -+ requ est-ed pernrissiou
statJd fo r it --+ tolerate il
Also, as explained in 5.8.1 , wlz-questions with p repositional ver bs are formed
using wlzo or what (e.g. What are your thinking about?), rather than a wh-adverb
where, when, or how.
 Prepos it io nal verbs Qf8

5.10.1 Most common prepositiona I verbs

Unlike phrasaJ verbs, prepositional verbs are commoo in academic writing as
well as in conversation and fi ction. H owever, different kinds of prepositional
verbs are preferred in each register.

A Conversation and fiction

Because of th e typical topics and purposes Ln conversati.on and fictio n, these
registers have many common preposiLional verbs that are acuvtty,
co m munication, o r mental verbs. T he most common prepositional vcrb is look
at. 1L is used in two main ways:
• to direct the attention of others:
Look at that great big tree stuck under tfu: bridge! ( COl':V)
• to describe actions involving sight:
The boys looked at each other temfrtlly unbelieving. (F1cr)
The communication verb say to (say NP to NP) is also very commo n in
conversation and fi ction. This p repositional vcrb is used lo report the content of
speech (the direct object), w hile also identifying the addressee (rhe prepositional
object):
She said somethi11g to mom and dnd earlier on. (corv"\·t)
l went to say thank you to Doris. ( FJCr)
I.n many examples with sny to, a clause is used as the direct o bject, to report the
conten t of the speech. Often, followin g the princip le of end-weight, such lengthy
di rect objects are in final position:
I said to j ohn something about the house on Frazier Street. (co:-;v)
< com pare: I said something- about the house on Frazier Street to John.>
I keep saying to Michael it's so expensive. (co""')
< compare: f keep sayirtg it's so expensive to Michael. >
tn addition to these two very frequent preposirjonal verbs, conversat ion and
fiction use a number of ot her common prepositional verbs to indicate activities,
communications, a nd mental processes:
• activity verbs:
Pity we couldn't go for a romp around a isn' t it? (CONV)
Plll'rice held her breath, waiting for Lettie's reply. (BeT)
He stared at me blankly, llnbelievingly. (Ficr)
• communication verbs:
Just talk to her. (coNv)
I was talking about the old sort of diesel multiple unit. (COI'-'Y)
He spoke to Paul in a bitter, comrolled tone. (Flcrt)
• mental verbs:
What did they thu zk of the brochure then? (Col':v)
I was about the playgroup (coNv)
Since whe11 does nobody listetl to you? ( coNV)
 SJ2 5 : V erb s GRJI<MMAR SITE 0

B A.cademic prose
Academ ic p rose also uses several comm o n prepositional verbs that mark physical
activities a nd mental states. However, these are m ostly verbs t ha t take the double
o bject pattern (Pattern 2). They a re often used in the passive voice. The most
com mon of these is use NP in, and its passive counterpart (be used in) :
'vVe will continue to tlSe T able 4.2 in our economic analysis. (AO\a>t )
Another type of football was Ul the second in China to
celebrate the emperor's birthday. (ACAO)
Oth er commo n p reposition al verbs used in academic prose include the
following:
• activity verbs:
For example, the Message Ty pe cnn be derived from irs imernal stmcturc.
(ACAO)
Similarly other parts of the body may be u sed as bases to start from.
(ACM>t)
The met/rod outlined couUJ now be applied to a selecte-d number of points
along the blade length. ( ACAO)
• mental verbs:
This induced musti11ess is known as Sierra rice. (,\CAU)
The electron may be regarded as n tiny mnss cnrrying a negnt1ve charge.
( A<".ADt)
All members of the specified Role Class are considered as possible senders of
the received message. (.-K.ADt)
In general, academic prose focuses on the rela tions amon g inanimate enti t ies,
with less concern for the people who are per formi ng act ions. The p reference for
passive voice wiLh prepositional verbs reflects th is general focus. Thus, by us ing
the passive, the above examples avoid mentio ning the people who derh1e, use,
apply, know, reg(u·d, or cousider.
Academic prose also commonly uses prepositional verbs t hat express
causation, exi stence, or simple occurrence. T hese verbs, too, specify relations
among e ntities rather t han describ ing aoions:
• causative verbs:
Further experimentation mig/11 lead to the ide11tijicarion of orlter difficulty
faaors . (;\CADT)
Replacing the 110nsense stems by Englislt stems would have resulted in a
grammatically correct se{juence. (ACADt )
• existence verb:
It. will depet1d on the p11rpose o}: and audience for, the (AC:AD)

5.11 Phrasal-prepositional verbs

T he third major type o f multi-word verb shares ch aracteristics of both p hrasal
a nd prepositi o nal verbs. Phrasal-prepositional verbs consist o f a lexical verb
comb ined with both a n adverb ia l particle a nd a preposition. For exam p le, look
 Phrasa l-preposit ional verbs QJii
fonvard to has the lexical verh look, the adverbial particle forward, a nd tbe
prepositi.on to:
rm looking fonvard to the weekend.
This type of verb is s imilar to a pre posit ional verb, as the complemenl of the
preposition (the weekend} functions as the preposi"tio nal object of the verb
( looking forward ro).
Here are some m o re examples, with the complement of the preposition
underlined:
Pt>rhaps l can get out of it without having to tell her anything. ( Fic r)
I would st.in end up with a lot o( mon ey. (NEws)
A few phrasal-prepositional verbs can take two objects:
1 could hand him o ver to Sadiq. (Frcr)
Who put you up to tlris? (FICT)
P hrasal-prepositional \'erbs fu nct ion as a semant ic unit a nd can sornetimes be
replaced by a single t ransitive lexical verb with similar mean ing. for exam ple:
p ut up with such treatment - tolerate sudr treatlnent
get out of it -- avoid it
come up witf1 n proposal - make a proposal

5.11.1 Most common phrasal-prepositional verbs

Like phrasal verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs are more frequen t in conversation
a nd fiction than in expository writ ing. H owever, com mon phrasal -prepositional
verbs ar e used for a limited range of m eanings. Most are activity verbs.
T he most frequent phrasal-prepositional verb is ger ortt of O ften it is
imperat ive ( 1) or declarative (2 ) :
I just ge t out of my way. (co:-1v)
2 We have to get out of here. (Her)
Sever al o ther phTasal-prepositio naJ verbs are relatively common with activity
meanings. For example:
Stop yakking and get on witl1 it! (co'N)
He said he would get back to me. ( FicrT)
Bums went up to the soldiers and started talking. (Flcr)
ln news, two phrasal-pr epositio nal verbs with activity meanings are relatively
common: get back to a nd come up with:
It's going to take time for you to get back to full strength. {Nr:ws)
Tire panel will be asked to come up with the best all-time team on earth.
(NEWS)
In addition , the m ental verb look Jonvard to is rd atively common in fic tion a nd
news:
She lwd been looking forward to rlris momenr. (Ficr)
I n the case of news, look fo n •mrd to typically occurs i11 direct ( 1) or .rep orted
speech (2):
1 '\IVe are looking forward to the game'. (NEws)
2 He said he was lookin.g fonva rd to the results of the inquiry. (NF.wst)
 134 Chapte r- 5: V er-bs GRAMMAR BITE 0

5.12 Other multi-word verb constructions

rn addition to t he three types of multi-word verbs d iscussed above, verbs are
also used in relatively fixed or idioma tic multi-word constructions:
verb + prepositional phrase combinations, verb + verb combinations, and
verb + noun phrase combinat ions.

A Verb + prepositional phrase combinations

Many verb+ prepositional phrase com bi nations are idiomatic. Such
combinations function semant ically as a unit that can o ften be replaced by a
single lexical verb, as in the following sentences:
I afso have to bear in mind the interests of 111)' wife ami family. (NJ:.wst)
remem ber>
The triumph came as a surprise to marty. ('l:t\\ -.)
<compare: surprised>
You lu1ve to take into accormt where rile yottilget sl100ts tlre dominarrt.
(HCT)
<compare: consider>

B Verb + verb combinations

A second idiomatic category verb + verb combinations, s uch as make do
( with) and let NP go/be:
Patients lind to make d o with quiche or ham salt1d.
He wa$ 'very relucta/11' ro let him go. (1\L\,•st)
l think il is time to let it be.

C Verb + noun phrase combinations

T here a re a few verbs-such as take, make, have, and do--that can be used fo r
many meanings. These verbs can combine with noun phrases to form idiomatic
verbal expressions. Tn man)' ca es, the combination also incl udes a fotlo""'ing
preposition. For example:
But }'Ott know how you make fiw of m e sometimes. (< m.\)
Let's have a look at this. (co:-.\)
Do yo11 wnflt me to do your hair? (< o r-. v)
Yes, I'll take care of it. (11cr)

Major points of GRAMMAR BITE o : Mu lti-word lexical verbs

·->Cll

Cll
>- There are three major types of mult i-word verb: phrasal verbs, prepositional
verbs, and phrasal-prepositional verbs.
1:11:: combinations can al o be free combinations.
> Phrasal verbs consist of a verb + adverbial particle; they can be intransitive
or transitive.
Phrasal verbs are especially frequent in conver ation and fiction. The most
common verbs express physical activities (e.g. come 0 11 , get up, pick ttp).
A few phrasal verbs arc especially common in academic prose (e.g. carry
out).
 Be IU.
,... Prepositional verbs consist of a verb + prepositio n. They can have one o r
two objects.
>- Preposilional verbs are common in all registers.
>- Prepositional verbs with activity and communication mean ings are especially
common in conversation (e.g. look at, go for).
>- Passive voice prepositional verbs are especially common in academic prose
(e.g. be based on, be associated with ). They have causative or existence
meanings.
,... Phrasal-prepositional verbs consist of a verb + pa rtide + preposition.
.,.. Like phrasal verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs are especiaHy frequent in
conversation and fiction. The most common verbs express physical activity
(e.g. get out of, ger 0 11 wic/1 ).
,... Tnere are also other kinds of multi-word verb const ructions that occur w ith
idiomatic meanings (e.g. bear i11 mind, make do and take time).

G RAMMAR BITE

Primary verbs
.13 Be

5.13.1 Main verb be

A a ma in verb, be- the copula-is the most important copular verb in English.
It li nks the subject ooun phrase with a subjecl predicative (l ) or an obligatory
adverbial ( 2):
1 Radio waves are useful. (NEwst)
2 She wns in Olie's room n lot.
The use of cop ula be is discussed further io 5.1 7 below.

5.13.2 Auxiliary verb be

As an auxiliary verb, be bas two distinct grammatical fu nctions:
• progressive aspect (be+ i11g-participle):
nre last light was fading by the tinre he entered the town. (ncr)
• passive voice (be + ed-partic ip le) :
This system of intergovernmental transfers is called fiscal federalism. (ALAI>)
These two a uxiliary uses of be can occm together in the same clause ( the
progressive passive; see 6 .8) :
A mutual investment fund for Eastern Eumpe is being= launched today with
the backing of Cotttittental Grain.
Progressive aspect and passive voice verbs are discussed further in 6.3, 6.5 and
6.6-8.
 136 C:ha p t-e r 5 : V eri:Js BITE E

5.14 Have
5.14.1 Main verb have
Because have is a p rimary ve rb, we have not covered its use un de r o ur earlier
d iscussion o f lexical verbs. H owever, as a transitive m ain verb, !lave is as
com mon as the most com mo n lexical verbs in English. H ave is mos t common in
conversat ion and least com m o n in academic prose. With in academic prose,
though, ltave is m ore com m on than any lexical verb.
Si mila r to get, the m ain verb have can be used w it h m any different meanings.
For exam p le:
• showing physical possession:
O ne in three of these f amilies has two cars.
• telling family co n nections:
H er story was this: she had a lntslumd and child. (FICT)
• d escribing eati ng or ddnkin g:
The kids had 'superhero sundaes' which turned out to be m erely ice cream.
(N!::WST)
• showing where someth ing exists (similar to an existe n tial the re
construction):
But it really would be 11ice to lzave a young person about tlze house again.
(PIC:T)
< co m pare e.xistential rhere: It would be nice if there was a )'Ollng person
about the house.>
• linking a p erson t o a n abstract quality:
1 hope she has fun. (cow)
Her visitor ltad a strong p 11ngent odor of a winter's dny. ( I'ICT )

• linking a n ina nim ate subject to an abstract qu ali ty:

Stylistics ca11 have other goals than this. (AcAot)
In these extensions soil science will always have a maj or role. (AC.Aot)
• showing t hat someo ne causes so mething to be done:
Maybe you should h ave it dyed black as well. (cu;w)
In add ition, the verb have occurs as part of the sem.i-modal have to (mean.ing
m ust):
I'll have to bla11k it out. (coNv)
T h is sem.i- modal is d iscussed in 6.9 and 6.10.2.
Finally, have occurs in a number of idiom atic multi-w ord phr ases, s uch as
hm-e a
I'll /rave a look. (cmw)

5.14.2 Auxiliary verb have

As a n auxiliary verb, have is the m a rker of perfect aspect. Past te nse had marks
past perfect, and p resent has/have marks present perfect:
 DoQf»
Ttventy years before, Charlie had passecl a whole day from rising to retiring
without a driuk. (FICT)
No one h as ever seen anything like thar before. ( NEWS)
Perfect aspect verbs are discussed in 6.3-4.

5.15 Do
5.15.1 Main verb do
As a main verb in transitive constructions, do has an activity meaning. 1L can take
a direct object:
in that momenr Frn11klin Field did a wonderful thing. (FICT)
or an ind irect objecl-.direct object:
Will you do me a favor? (co!"Y)
However, do more commonly combines with a noun phrase to form relatively
fixed, idio matic expressions such as do the job, do the dishes, do time {meaning 'go
ro prison' ), do some wo1·k, do the wash, do your llair. For example:
It does tiLe job. it's 110t a bad little thing. (CONV)
\Yell we'd better do some work yo11 htow. (coJ>.-v)
I'm used to it. 1 do tlze dishes every da;r. (co;-..v)
In these expressions, do has little lexical content. It refers to the perfo rmance o f
an act ivity that is relevant to the object noun phrase, b ut it does not specify that
activity.

A M ain verb do as a transitive pro-verb

Do also commonly functions as a p ro-ver b, subs tiLuting for a lexical verb. Pro-
verb do is especiaLly common in conversation. I t often combines with it, this/that,
or so, to form a t ral'lSitive pro-verb construction:
1 didn't do it. (
\Vel/ that's why he did it. (cor-w)
That reall}' hurts my ears when you do that. (co:-rv )
The Englisllmall, l1a.lf asleep, had broke1t Lazzaro's right am1 and k11ocked
him unconscious. The Englishman who had done tlzis was helping to cnrry
Lazzaro in now. ( FICT)
<done this = broken his right arm and knocked him unconscious>
'The Chancellor lws had to face very difficult economic cirwmstances both
abroad, which affects us, and at home, ' he said. ·He has done so with great
courage. • ( NEwsf )
<done so = faced very difficult economic circumstances>
Notice that e).:pressions like do this and do so can substitute for a large number of
words.

B Main verb do as an intransitive pro-verb

In B-ritish English conversation after an auxiliary \'erb, do as an intransitive pro-
verb provides an alternative to ellipsis:
138 Ch a p ter 5: Verbs GRAMMAR BITE E

A: No, no signs of /rim resig11ing.

8: Well they kicked him out.
A: They should have don e, br1t they won' t. (COI'v)
<done = kicked him out>
However, it is more common fo r speakers to use ellipsis rather than do (i.e. they
should have rather than they should llllve do11e).

5.15.2 Auxiliary verb do

A Do-support in negatives and interrogatives
Do functio ns as an atL'Ciliary verb when lexical main verbs are made negative or
used in interrogatives. For example:
n egative: He doesn' t smoke or drink. (NE.ws)
yes/no interrogative: Do you like scallops? (F1cr)
wh-interrogative: So what did you bring for liS tl1is time? (coNv)
This use of do is known as do-support, because do is added merely to s upport the
construction of the negative or interro gative. The do does not contribute any
independent meaning. In these constructions, present o r past tense is marked on
the verb do, not on the main verb. Thus compare:
negative clause positive clause
I d i dn' t realize it was from smoking. I realized it was from smoking.
(CONV)

inte rrogative clause declarative

Di d you see Andy today? (coNv) You saw Andy today.

Negatives are discussed further in 8.8 and interrogatives in 8.11. Do is here

termed a ' dummy operator' (see 8.7), since it takes the role of an auxiliary verb
where there is no auxiliary verb in the corresponding positive and declarat ive
clause.

B Emphatic do
Emphatic do occurs as an auxjliary verb in a clause that is not negated and is not
a question. It is used to emp hasize that the meaning of the majn verb (or the rest
of the clause) is positive, in contrast with w hat one m ight expect. In speech,
emphatic do is usually stressed. lt most comm only occurs in conversation and
fiction.
1 I did have a protractor, b11t it broke. (CONV)
2 I renlly did go to see lrinL (Ficr)
3 B11t in the final hour he did d eliver the goods. (NEws)
4 Gascoigne, tlto11gh, d oes lrnve a problem - Jzis Lazio team is not a good
side. (-:-rEws)
Emphat ic do cannot be combined .,.,.j-th another atLxiliary_ For example, it IS
ungrammatical to say ""It does tnight help.
Emphat ic do usually marks a state of affairs that contrasts ..vith an expected
state of affairs. The contrast js sometimes explicitly marked by connec6ves s uch
 DoUJi»
but, however, nevertheless, thougT1, and although, as in 3 and 4 above and the
following:
Nevertheless, great changes do occur and have been well documented.
(hCAO)
.-\special use of emphatic do is in commands (or suggestions/ invitations that use
the imperative form ). Altho ugh this use sounds conversational, it occurs more
commonly in fictional dialog than in actual conversation:
Oil do shut up! ( CO:-<V}
Do comi! and see me some time. (Ficr)
Do get on witlr your work, Beth. (FI<..s)
I do beg you ro consider seriously rile poim.s J've pur ro you. (FICJ")
)JormaUy the copula be behaves like an a uxiliary, and therefore does not take
emphatic do in dedarative clauses: -""T11ey do be ... W ith imperative clauses,
however, do + be is possible:
'Do be sensible, Charles, ' whispered Fiona. (FICI)

C Auxiriary do as a pro-verb
like main verb do, auxiliary do can act as a pro-verb, standing in for the whole
verb phrase+ complement. It is used in both positive and negative clauses:
A: He doesn't even know you.
B: He does! (CONY) <does = does know me>
I think his mom wants him to come back but his dad doesn 't. (coi>:v)
<doem'r = doesn 't wmrr him to come back>
In these examples, do can be considered a stranded operator {8.7}. That is, do, as
the empty au.xiliary, is left 'stranded' wjthout the main verb which normallr
follows an au>.,-iliary. T he rest of the clause, as "'ritb other a uxiliaries, is missing
through ellipsis.

0 Auxiliary do in question tags

Do fun ctions as an auxiliary in question tags:
But Fatmy looked after you, didn't she? (Ficr)
This delay solves norhi11g, does it? ( ncr)
This construction is obviously related to do-suppo rt (as in A a.bove): it occurs
where the preceding main verb ( underlined above) has no a uxiliary.

Major points of GRAMMAR BITE E: Primary verbs

Q.l T he three primary verbs-be, have, and do-can serve as both main verbs
>
Q.l and auxilia ry verbs. Tht.'Y differ, however, in their specific main and
a: auxiliary fun ctions.
Be:
As copula (a main verb}, be is the most common copular verb in English.
As an auxiliary verb, be marks progressive aspect and passive voice.
Have:
As a main verb, have is one of rhe most common lexical verbs in English.
• It has a particularly wide range of meanings.
As an auxiliary, have marks perfect aspect.
 140 Chapter S: Verbs GRAMMAR BITE F

,._ A a main verb, do is a general transitive verb of action (e.g. do some work).
,._ It often combines with a noun phra$e to fo rm idiomatic e.'\pressions (e.g. do
rile dishes).
,._ A a main verb, do can also funct ion as a transitive pro-verb (do it. do tlrm')
or an intransitive pro-verb (e.g. 1 must have done.)
,._ As an atLx:iliary verb, do is used in the do-support coostrucrion for forming
negation and questions (e.g. Didn't you know?).
,._ Auxiliary do is also used for emphat:ie rneaning (e.g. Oh do shut up!).

GRAMMAR BI TE

Copular verbs
5.16 The copula be, and other copular
verbs
Copular verbs are used to associate an attribute with the subject o f the clause.
The at tribttte is usually expressed by Lhe subject predicative fo llowing the verb .
For example, in the clause:
You're ven' stupid. (coNv)
you is the subject, and the phrase very stupid is the subject predicative that
speci fies the attribu te tha t is associated w ith the subject. The copula be
(contracted as ' re) Links this altribute to the subject.
Many copuJar verbs are also used lo locate the subject of the clause in ti me
o r space. T imes a nd places are expressed by an obl igatory adverbial of position ,
duration, or direction that occurs after the copula. For
I was in the kitc!Jen. (COK\· )
Several verbs-like go, grow, and come-can function as ei ther a copular verb or
a transitive/int ransitive verb, depen ding on the context:
• copular verb :
It makes your teerh and your bones grow stTo11g and healthy.
It's beginning to go bad for you. ( n c r )
Yo11r prophecy of last night has come tr ue. ( HC'l)
• t ransitive verb:
So you said siJe started to grow sesame herbs. (coNv)
• in t ransitive verb :
It was when \\fharton Horricker a11d 1 went to A1exico. (Hcr)
He came from the far north. (Ficrt)
There are m any verbs that can function as copular verbs. Th ey fall into two main
categories: current copular verbs and resuJt copular verbs.
 Fu nc t ion s o f copu la r verb s Q1+
A Current copular verbs
Current copular verbs have two subclasses. The first subclass identifi es
that are in a continuing state of existence. This includes: be, seem, appear, keep,
remain. stay. T he other subclass repo11:s sensory perceptions. This includes: look,
feel, sound, SH-tell, raste.
• state-of-existence:
We are all humm1. (Flcr)
I may have appea Fed a little sltort with m y daugl•ter rllat morning. (l'lCT)
David Elsworth seem ed quite satisfied with the performance of Bambrook.
(NEWS)
• sensory perception:
1 reany do look 11 wjitf. (COl'.'V)
Oo/1 that feels good. (co:-.'Y)
They j11S1 so1md really bad when they 're recorded an. (cor-:v)

B Result copular verbs

Result copular verbs identify an attribute that is the result of a process of d1ange:
She'll e:n d up preg11anr. (COl'-'V)
His breathi11g becam e less [ramie. ( r-1cr)
My heart grew sick and I awldn 'r ear. (FTcr)
Other result copular verbs include: becam e, get, go, grow, prove, come, turn, tum
out, et1d up, wimi up.

5.17 Functions of copular verbs

? Copular verbs differ in their meanings and in the complements that they take.
Overall, most· copula r verbs occur with an adjective phrase as the subject
predicative, but some verbs are aJso strongly associated with other structures,
such as a noun ph rase or complement clause. Some verbs are limited to one type
of com plen1en t, whi le others occur with man>'· rn the following subsections, we
review the associations between rhe most common copular verbs and their
complements, and discuss how these associations reflect the differences in
meaning and function of the verbs.

5.17.1 Current copular verbs: state of existence

A Be
The copula Z,e is by far the most common verb in English. Surprisingly, the
copuJa be differs from most lexical verbs b ecause it is much more frequent in
academic prose than in conversation, newspapers, or fiction. Be also occLtrs witb
a wide range of complements.
Unlike most copular verbs, be occurs most commonly with a noun phrase as
subject predicative. ln these str uctures, the noun p hrase following be h as two
common ftu1c1ions: to characterize the subject noun phrase in some way, or to
identify the subject noun phrase:
 142 Ch a p ter 5 : Verb s GR-'MMAR BITE F

• characterizing:
0/r, my dad was a great gu}', too. (co:-:v)
Tomorrow could be a SWill)' day. (c.o:-.'\·f)
• identifying:
Tlznt's our back yard. (CON\ )
The kernel is rite part o{ tlte plant o[greatest value. (M.AIJt)
Adjective phrases are also very common as subject p redica tives of be. The most
common of these predicati\'C adjectives express stance. ln conversation, these are
mostly general evaluat ive tcm1s, such as right, good, sure, 11icc, and fwm}'. lo most
cases, these adjectives occur witl1out complements after them:
Tlrat wasn't very nice. (CON\)
It was [rmny though. (co:-:v)
In contrast, academic prose uses a larger range of predicative adjecti\•es t hat
express more specific evaluat ion , uch as important, possible, necessary, difficult,
and useful. ln most cases, these adjectives occur witll a com plement clause or
prepositional phrase. The p red icative adjective eJrprcsscs a n eva luation that
applies to the foUowing clause o r phrase:
It is also important to gain tire cooperation of workshop participants.
(A< .Ant)
Tt is possible to have more than 011e major hypothesis. (A<..AI>f)
T he common predicative adjectives occurring with be are described fully in 7.8.
Prepo:.itionaJ phrases are m uch less common as complements of be. They are
used for two functions:
• as a subject p redicative describing a characleri!>'tic of the
Umuofia was in n festival mood. {Ficr)
The resistive voltage drop is in phase with the current. (A<-:Ao)
• as an adverbial ex.rpressing position or direction:
I wish )'Oil were at tire s/,ack with me last night. (co:-:v)
The /rouses are in a consen ,ntiotr area.
Finally, be sometimes occur with a complemen t dause as subject predicative:
The capital i.s to be provided b)' the Frendt government.
But the dcwger was duu tile pound would fall {itrther than planned. (;..Ews)

B Other state-of-existence copular verbs

Table 5. I summ arizes the patterns of use fo r five other state-of-existence cop ular
verbs. T hese verbs are aU relatively common but fa r less common than be. Seem
an d appear have a variety of while remain, keep. and smy all mark the
continuation of a state.

Table 5 .1 Sta t e-of-exist e n ce copula r ve rbs (in a ddition to be)

most common
verb frequ ency complements examples
seem most common to-complement clause This seemed to work. (Frcr)
co pu lar v erb
other than be
 Functions of c:o pular verbs £D
>.1 continued
most common
verb frequency complements examples
adjectives. especially Sometimes it seemed
conveying at titudes. impossible that he should
surprise and possibility in fail. (fiCT)
fiction
He seemed surprised by
that. (FICT)
adjectives of likelihood It seems likely that
in academic prose, with practical work has helped
extraposed that-clauses to develop these skills in
some students. (,c.CAo)
It seems clear that more
meals w ill be cooked over
charcoal in the future.
(ACAOf)
noun phrase as subject Fijisankei, itself privately
predicative. especially owned and independent
w ith perceptions that are seems the ideal partner.
not necessarily accurate (NEWSt)
preposit io nal phrase Now he seemed in control.
expressing an attribute (FICT)
of the subject
Most of the time he seems
like such a normal guy.
(fiCT}
appear less common to-comp lement clause The inheritance of leaf
than seem angle appears to be
polygenic. (ACAO)
adjectives of likelihood There was never a moment
in academic prose and when it appeared likely
news that we could get them.
(NEWS)
The courts have appeared
willing to go beyond the
rules of neutral justice.
(ACAD)
remain mort common of adjectives, often Friday's date for the
the three reporting absence of final remains unchanged.
con tinuation change (NEWS)
verbs;
particularly
common in
academic prose
and news
typical adjectives: The opening of the oviduct
unchanged, constant, remains intact. (ACAD)
in tact. motionless,
immobile. low, high,
open, closed,
controversial, uncertain,
unknown, obscure
 144 Chapter 5 : Verbs GRAMMAR BITE F

Table 5.1 continued

most common
verb frequency complements examples
keep less common typical adject ives: alive, It's funny how he manages
than remain awake. quiet. silent, to keep awake. (coNv)
secret, busy. fit, close,
warm
subj ect of keep is usu ally He was just trying to keep
an animate bein g warm. (ACT)
stay least common of typical adjectives: awake, I mean, if you stay sober.
the th r ee dry, sober. alive, clear. (coNV)
continuat ion loyal, healthy
verbs
subj ect of stay is usually Meanwhile, M illie's
human mistress stayed loyal to her
husband's ambitio ns. (ACT)

5.17.2 Current copular verbs: sensory perceptions

The patterns or use for sensory copular verbs are summarized in Table 5.2.
Sensory copular verbs-look, feel , sound, smell, taste--occur with adjectival
complements to report positive or negative evaluations. For example:
Do T look nice?
The food sm elled good to her. (F1cr)

Table s.2 Sensory copular verbs

most common functions and
verb f requency complements examples
look very common in often evaluates physical Oh he does look sad,
f iction; relatively appearance doesn' t he? (coNV)
common in common adjectives: awfvl. Quite frankly she
conversation different, happy, lovely, pal e. looked terrible. (Ftcr)
puzzled, sad , small, surprised, You look lovely. (ACT)
terrible, t ired, well, young
feel very common in reports an assessm ent of physical It'll make you feel
f iction; mod erately or mental :;tate of being better. (rtEYr.>)
common in news My h a nds feel cold.
and conversat ion (Rcr)
common adjectives: ashamed. I always feel guilty
bad. better. cold. good. guilty, passing Mike's
sick, sure, tired, uncomfortable, house. (coHv)
uneasy
sound most common in literal use : evaluations of sound She doesn't sound
f iction and perceptions (FtCT)
conversation common adjectives: good. nice, He looked and
silly, stupid, in teresting. awful, sounded awful. (FICT)
angry. sad. strange
ad d it ional use: reactions to Oh how nice. That
ideas/suggestions sounds good to me.
(coNV)
 Functions of copula r verbs IQ4.
s.2 cont in ued
most common functions and
verb frequency complements examples

I know it sounds
stupid. b u t I wanted
to go. (coNv}
. .
smell gener ally rare reporb evaluations of smell It smell::. f u nny in
p erceptions here. (coNV)
common adjectives: awful. bad,
funny, musty, odd, rotten,
terrible. delidous, fresh. g ood.
lo vely, nice
taste rare; occasio n al reports e valuations of taste They just taste
occurrences in perceptions a wful. (coNV)
conver-sation a nd common adjectives: awful,
f iction horrible, nice, wonderful

Here, tbe copular verb identifies the sense (e.g. sight, bearing), while tbe
predicative adjective reports the evaluation. The gene ral evalua ting adjectives
nice, good, and bad occur common ly as subject p redicative with an five sensory
copular verbs.

5.17.3 Result copular verbs

The verbs become, get, go, grow, prove, come, turn , tum out, end up, and wind up
are all used to describe a process of change. However, despite this general
similarity, these verbs differ greatly in their specific meanings, collocational
preferences> and register d istributions.

A Become
The result copular verb become is especiaUy common in academic prose a nd
fict Lon. Jt is used to describe the p rocess involved in cl1angu1g fro m one state to
another. In academic prose, it often refers to an in1persoual process of moving
from a state of ignorance or disbelief to one of knowledge o r belief (i.e. without
mentioning individual people who experience tJ1e change). The adjectives detlr
and apparent are most common with this fu nction, but there are a number of
other adjed ives that occur with become, including difficult, evident, important,
possible.
In the joint-stock company, the social character of production has become
apparent. (ACAO)
It soon becomes clear that there is muc!1 more ro compreheusio11 than
vocabulary. (ACADI)
Perfo rmance and jimctionali:ty only 11ecome important with Release 3.
(AC..Wt)
ln fiction., become usually refers to a specific person. lt describes a change in that
person 's state of awareness o r s tate of being:
Raymo11d soon became aware tllf!t his strategy and hard work was payi11g
dividends. (FICT)
146 Chapter 5 : Verbs GRAMMA R BITE f

It all becnme clear rome wlreu I renclted street level. (Her)

I became silent, ovenvludmed suddenly by the great gulf betv.·een us. (Hcrt)

B Get
The result copular verb get is usually u ed to describe a person changing to a new
state. Get is very common, especiaJJy in conversation and fict io n, a nd it has many
uses, describing both physical and mental changes. T he adjectives ready and
worse arc the most common subject predicatives wi th get, but a number of other
adjectives recur: angry, bigger, better, bored, cold, dressed ( up), drunk. lost, mad,
mixed ( up), old, older, p issed (off), sick. tired, upset, wet. Many o f these mark some
affective or attitudinal stance. For e>.ample:
Well he's only gmma get worse. (cow)
And if she doesu' t win, site eitlrer gets upset and cries or gets angry. (co:-.-v)
And people get pissed off. don't tlzey? (co:-:v) < note: pissed off i slang and
may be offensive to some people>

C Go
T he copular verb go is w.uaUy used to describe a change towa rds an undesirable
state, especially in conversation and fict ion. Go describes changes experienced by
humans and other natural p roce c:.. The adjectives craZJ'• mad, and wrong are
the most commo n complements of go, but several other adjectives recur: bad,
cold, den[. fmmy, limp. quiet, red, wild.
You ca11 ' t go wrong wnh tllnt, can you? (co:-:Y)
Yeah I knoiV. I IVOuld go mad. (cor-:v)
Mama will go crazy. (Ftcr)

D less common result copular verbs

Although become, get, and go are the most common result copular verb , several
others deserve mention. The.<>e verbs and their funct ions are summarized in Table
5.3.
M ajor points of GRAMMAR BIT E E: Copular verbs
.! )too CopuJar verbs are used to expres a relationshi p between the of the
i; dause and an attribute.
a: )too CopuJar verbs usually take an obligatory subject predicalivc.
Some copular verbs can also occur with a n obLigatory ad verbial.
>- Many different verbs can funct ion as copulas. These verbs ca n be grouped
into two major categories: current copular verbs and resuh copular verbs.
Cu rrent copulae verbs express states of existence or sensory perceptions (e.g.
be, feel).
Result copular verbs express the result of a process of change (e.g. become,
tum out).
The copular verbs differ in their meanings and in the compleme nts that
ther can take.
There are h ighly systematic patterns o f use associated with copular verbs
+ co mplements.
 Fu nct io ns of c-o pu la r verbs IQ!f»
T..ole 5.3 Less common result copular verbs
most common functions and
verb frequency complements examples
come generally rare , usu ally describes a change to It literally is a dream
occurs m ainly in a better condit ion come t rue. (NEWSt }
fictio n a nd news recurring adjectives: ali ve, Sfowly his face came
awake. clean, loose, sh ort, true, alive and he grinn ed.
u nstuck (Ftcr)
grow primarily used in describes g radual change We should grow old
fiction often makes an imp licit here together. (FICT)
comparison wi th a n earlier The wind dropped and it
sta te through use of suddenly grew cold . (r1cr)
compara t ive adjective as The girl's deep black
complement eyes grew darker. (Hcr}
recurring a djectives: ang ry, She continued to lose
big, bright, cold, dark, hot weight ilnd grow
large, o ld, p ale, tall, tired, weak er. (fiCTt)
w arm, weak, bigger, darker,
larger, louder, older, shorter,
smaller, stronger, w armer,
w eaker, w orse
prove u sed primarly in reports an assessment Looking for tourist
acad emic prose recurring a djectives: costly, highli ghts in
and news decisive, difficult, fatal, Montepuldano can
necessary, popular, possible, prove difficult. (NEWs)
successful, suitab le, use ful, He was confident t he
wrong units would prove
popular w i th travellers.
(NEWS)
Yet it has proved
n ecessary to attempt this
task. (ACADf }
turn occasionally used turn + adje ctive describ es The canals in the suburbs
in fiction; rare in change in a p pearan ce; typically appear to tum black.
other re g isters refers to co lor changes (FICT)
recurring adjectives; black, She had turned p ale and
brown, (bright) red, wh ite, pale her voice shook. (FtCT)
turn out gene ra lly rare emphasizes the end -point of a A Jot of times they
process with simple p osit ive or tu rned o ut wrong. (FJCT)
flegalive evaluat ion The marriage w ill turn
recurrin g adjectives: good, o ut all righ t. (flcr)
(Jpsty, nice, (all) right, wrong
end up genera lly rare describe an unintend ed And this argument wen t
and w ind negative event o r state on.
up Danny ended up in t ears
and I ended up really
(coNV)
He says M arilyn ended
up pregnant after her
aHair w ith Presidenr
Kennedy. (NEWS)
An d the young bucks
who rore th e place apart
invariably w o und up
dead. (F•crt)
6
Variation in the verb phrase:
tense, aspect, voice, and
modal use
GRAMMAR BITES in this chapter

A Tense
>- Description of past a nd present tenses
>- Functions and meanings of past and present tenses
>- The expression of future time
)1- Frequency of tense use for particular verbs
B Aspect
>- Descriptio n of perfect and progressive aspect
>- Combinatio ns of aspects and tenses
)1- Functions and meanings of perfect and progressive aspect
)1- Most commo n verbs with each aspect
>- Use of time adverbials and dependent clauses with past perfect
c Voice
>- Forms of passive voice constructions
>- Functions and frequencies of passive voice across registers
>- Verbs that rarely occur in passive voice
>- Voice and asp ect combinations
D Modals and semi- moda ls
>- Description of modaJs and semi-medals
)1- Functions a nd meanings o f medals and se:mi-modals
>- Use of modals and semi-modals across registers
,.. Combina tions of medals, semi-medals, aspect, and voice
 Intro du ctio n It&»
6.1 Introduction
T here a re six major kinds of ,·ariation in the structure of verb ph rases. These a re
illustrated below wilb the verb see:
• tense:
present ( sees)
past (saw)
• aspect:
unmarked (also called simple aspect) (sees)
perfect (has seen)
progressive (is seeing)
perfect progressive (has been seeing)
• voice:
active (sees)
passive (is seell)
• modality:
unmarked (sees)
w ith modal verb (wi/1/cnnl might see)
• negation:
positive (sees)
negative (doesn't see)
• lin.ite clause type (aLoso called 'mood '):
declarative (you saw)
interrogative (did you see?)
imperative/subjun ctive (see)
In this chapter we concentrate on the first four kinds of variation in the verb
phrase: tense, aspect, voice, and modality. ( Negation and finite clause types are
described in 8.8, 8.9-13 and 8.17.) These structures can be combined in
numerous ways, as you will see th roughout the chapter. For example, the verb
phrase will be enti11g has a modal + p rogressive aspect, and have been eater1 has
perfect aspect + passive voice. The parts of the verb phrase-and therefore the
auxiliary verbs associated with each p art-follow a consistent order (optional
elements are in parentheses):

(m o dal) (perfect) (progressive) (passive) main verb

(form of have) (f o rm of be) (form of b e)
example: will have been being eaten

Verb phrases with all of these structures are extremely ra.re, but are possible.
T he variations in the verb phrase are related lO many d ifferences in
meanings. However, it is not possible to figure out the meaning simply by
looking at the fonu. Rather, a single fo rm can be used to express several
meanings, and the same meaning can be expressed by more tha n one fo r m.
 150 Ch apter 6 : Variation in the verb phras e G8AMMA R BITE A

The complex relatio nship between form and m ean ing is easy to see by
contrru>ting verb tense and time m eaning. People commonly assume that present
tense verbs refer to the present time. However this is not always true. In fact,
pre en t tense verbs are sometimes used to refer to a time in t he past. Compare:
• pre ent (habitual) time with present tense:
He goes there a lot.
• past time with present tense ( the historic present):
1 wnm ed just a small box. He wasu' t stuisfied wit/, It - He goes and makes
a big one as welt. (corw)
O n the other hand, in tem1s o f time, different forms can be used to express the
same meaning. For example, in 1 bclow, fu ture time is expressed with a present
tense verb, while in 2. future Lime is expressed with t he mod al will + in finitive:
• future time with present tense:
1 Goalkeeper Stephen Pears goes into hospital tomon·ow for tlll operation on a
clleekbor1e it1jury. (N L\' :.t)
• future time with modal will:
2 This parr of tire project will go ahead extremely rapidly . ( NEws)
The fo llowing Gr;unmar Bites introduce the range of verb co nstructions used
in the English verb phrase, and the meanings that each of them ex-presses.

GRAMMAR BITE

6.2 Tense and time distinctions: simple

present and past tense
In English, finite verb phrases can be marked fo r onJy two tenses: present and
past. Verb ph rases that arc m arked for tense are called tensed verb phrases. (See 5.5
fo r a discussion of verb morphology for ten e with regular and irregular verbs.)
Other main verb phras(.-'S may include a modal verb . l lowever, these two
o ptio ns cannot occur together: a fi nite verb phrase either h as a modal or is
marked for tense, bu t not both . Non -finite phrases, in to-clauses and mg-
clau !>CS, do not include either tcn:.ed or mo dal verbs (see Fig. 6. L) .

Figure 6.1 Basic choices in the verb phrase (apart from asp ect and voice)

n on -fini1e f ini te

I tensed modal can eat

eaten
participle

ed-partlclp le
I
infin itive
(to) eat

ing -participle
eating
n
pas t
te nse a te
present
tense eat(s)
 Tense and time di stinctio ns : simple pre sent and past tense Aj+
A Simple present tense and t ime
Simple presenr tense often refers to present time, as in these examples:
1 I want a packet of crisps. (CONY)
2 The pigment occurs i11 the epidermal cells. (Acm)
3 She's vegetarian but she eats chicken. (co:-N)
4 He da nces and moves about a lot_ (J>:F.ws)
5 Here com es your motl1er. ( COi"•IV)
6 Oh, my good11ess. There he goes. Look at l1im walk. (col\v) < talking about
a toddler>
There are three major meanings for simple present tense when it refers to present
time:
• It can describe a state that exists atthe present lime. You can see th is meani11g
in 1 and 2. The state may be temporary, as in 1, or it may last fo r a longer
time, as in 2 .
• lt can refer to a habitual action. as in 3 and 4. In these examples, simple
present tense is used to refer to an a ctivity that is repeated on occasion, rather
than to a state of being.
• Jt can describe an action that is happeni ng at the presenr time, as in 5
and 6.
In addition, simp le present tense can sometimes be 11sed to refer ro past or fu ture
time. These specia l meanings are described in 6.2. 1 below.

B Simple past tense and past time

Simple past tense is m ost often used to refer to past time. ln fict io nal narrative
and description, the use of simple past tense is common for describing imagined
vast slates and events:
The clock 0 11 the tower of St Michael-in-the-Moor chimed nine as he came
onto the road. TT1e milkman's van was on the gree11; Mrs Southworth from
the Hall was tiT the pillar box, posti11g a letter. He walked on away from
the green and the houses up the bit of ]ackley Road from which Tau Way
tumed off. (l'tCT)
In addition, simple past tense is sometimes used for a situation at the present
tj me. In t his case, the vast tense gives information about st ance. l t is usually used
with verbs like think, wonder, and want. T he clause refers to a curre n t state of
mind, but th e past tense conveys tentativeness and shows that the speaker is
being polite: ·
Did you want a cup of tea? (coNv)
1 just wattted ro rhank you guys for allowing me to tape-record you.
(CONVT)
Furthe rmore, in som e types of depende nt clauses, the sjmple past tense is used as
the subjunctive, to show h ypothetical or ' unreal' conditions (see 1 L LO. I ):
Arzd if J'O II were in the mood we could at least go.
Timotlz}'. it's time you got mmried. (Frcr)
152 Cha pter 6 : Variation in the verb phrase GRAMMAR BITE A

Simple present tense used for past or future

time
A Simple present tense used for past time
In special cases, simple presenr tense is used to refer 10 past events or fu ture
e vents. Wben it refers to pas t time, it is called the historic present tense. This use
is most co mmo n in conversation:
1 No. He says, are you going home to11iglrt? He tho11ght I was going home to
my parents. (coNv}
2 A11d the daughter comes home from sclrool o11e day and says, m Lim 1 wam
to be like you. And the mum goes, okay dear. (coNvt) < note: goes = says>
3 All right. a fortune teller and tlte mau goes to the fortune teller a1Ld
the fortune teller goes < .. .> 1 cnn tell you tire fuwre. ( co:-<Yt)
Ai. these examples illustrate, the historic present is particularly common with
verbs expressing directional movement ( come and go) and with verbs that
describe speaking (e.g. say, go). T he verb go is especially inleresting, because it is
used to e x'l'ress both types o f meaning. This pattern is u suaUy fo und in personal
stories (as in l ) or in jokes {which are often told enti rely in the historic present,
as in 2 and 3 ) .

B Present tense used for time

When the present tense is used to refer to fut ure t ime, some other gramm atical
fea ture usuaUy occurs in the clause:
• a time adve rbial that refers to the fu1ure (see I below)
• an ad verbial clause o f time or conditjon t ha i has fu ture time reference (see 1
and 2 below):
1 A new era begins for the bomb-dtrmaged Ulster landmark {when the
c11rtai11 goes up 011 Jack mrd tire Bennsralk {in December]]. (Nr:wst)
2 {If T refuse to do what she says this time,) who kuows where my defiance
will end? (Ftcr)
In l , the time adverbial whetl tire curtain goes up ... in December pinpoints the
specific fu ture time when the new era begins. In addition, the time adverbial in
December teUs the specific time reference for the verb goes up. In 2, the use of a
present tense verb refuse in an ifclause indicates that m igbt occur in
future time; the modal verb will later in this entence furthe r reinforces the
fut u re time reference here.

6.2.2 Tense in reported speech

Simple past tense has a special use in re ported speech o r tho ught. The original
speech o r thoughts ma y have been in present tense, but past tense is usuaJJy used
for the reports:
1 Then the next day he snid Ire no longer loved me. (coNY) <direct speech: ·1
no longer love you.'>
2 And 1 thought I was going to go home early. (coNv) < direct th o ught: 'I
am going to go home early.'>
 Tense a n d t ime distinctions: s imple present and past tense i{ji
3 A bbey said there was a m eeting planned to discuss the contract this week.
(NEws) <direct speech: <There is a meeting. . .'>
The tense of Lhe verb in the indirect quote agrees with the past tense o f the
reporting verb (e.g. said-loved in 1). If a speaker is reporting the speech of
someone else, t here is also a corresponding shift in pronouns, for example from I
to he in L Notice Lhat the circumstances may still be continuing even though
pa t tense is used. For example, in 3 t he meeting may still be planned.
Although this use of pasl tense in r eported speech is common, reported
speech also occul's with other tenses. Consider these e xamples:
She said she feels good now. (
Graham said the messy habit makes tf1en1 the ideal bird fo r tl1e study.
(NEWS)
Here, the reporting verb (Silid ) is in the past tense, but the verb in the indirect
quote remains in the present tense. emphasizing that the circumstances
expressed by feels and m akes a re still continuing.
A further variation in tense in reported speech occasionally occurs in
conversation, where p resent tense is used for the reporting verb and past tense
for t he indirect quote:
He says he bought another Amign. ( CONY)

6 .2.3 Future time

There is no way to mar k future te nse on verbs in English. T hat is, verbs cannot be
inflected for futme tense in the same way that they can be inflected fo r present
and past tense. Lnstead, future time is usually marked in the verb phrase with a
modal (su ch as will or .<;hall) or semi-modal (such as be going to; see 6. 11):
Even more preci.'ie coordinnrion win be neccssa1y.
We shall give 011 accoum of the Einstein-Podolski-Rosen paradox. (ACAot)
And fze's goitzg to see it. (COl\\")
The semj-modal be going ro can be used for present or past tense. When the past
tense is used ( was goitzg toj, this semi-modal refers to a projected future time
seen from a point in the past:
1 Ir was in the sum m er holidays and lltfatthew was going to start school.
(CONY)
As you can see in 2, the reference can be to a situation that never actually
occurred:
2 I was going to be called Kate if I was a girl. (<:oNv)

6.2.4 Tense use across registers

From a grammatical point of view, tense a nd modals belong to a single system:
all fiJ1ite verb phrases either have tense or a modal. but not both. As Figure 6.2
shows, tensed verb phrases are much more common t han verb phrases with
modals.
When modals a re used, they usually express stance; the degree of certainty.
or meanings such as obligatio n, necessity or giving or asking permission (see
Grammar Bite D below). However, most cla uses i n English are n ot marked for
154 Chapter 6: Var ia tion in the verb phrase GAAMMAII BtTE A

stance. Ra ther, they are marked fo r Figure 6 .2

time orientation, which requires a Frequency of presentlpas1: tense v.
tensed verb. (There a re othe r ways of modal verb s across registers
marking stance with tensed verbs,
such as us ing stance adverbials; see
11.2, 11. 13-16.)
= E
c
160
140
0
Figure 6.2 also shows that presen.t 120
tense verbs are sLightly m ore com mon 100
<Tit
than past tense verbs. Present tense 80
eA-presses a wider range of meanings 60
than past tense. As we have seen, it
can refer to events in the past, to
present sta tes, to habitual behaviors,
and to future events. Past tense is
CONV FtCT NEWS ACAD
more restricted in its meanings. It is
used mainJy for past time. Thus, the C modal vubs
frequen.cy of p resent tense is related to D
the greater variety of its uses.
Ho\. .,cver, there a re important
differences in the p referred tense
• present terue

across registers. Present tense is particularly common in both conversation

and acadenlic prose-but fo r very different reasons. In conversation , present
tense is used to refer t o t he immediate context and curren t states or events:
A: C've do11e this thing today, I've to come up witl1, I'll do this afternoon.
l'm quire proud of it.
B: Wlrat do you do at Dudley Allen then?
A: W lm t the :;chool?
B: Yeah. Do you -
A: No Fm , I'm only on the PTA. <PTA = Parent-Teacher Association>
B: You're j ust on the PTA.
A: That's it. (CO!-."V)
In t his conversation, p resent tense is used for c ur.rent states (I'm quite proud ) as
well as habitual actions (\"/hat do yoll do ... ).
In academic prose, on the other band, present tense is used lo show that a
proposition is true regardless of time. Consider the following:
A fault tree analysis reveals the Logkal comtectiotzs existing between an
undesired event in a technical system and component systems which lead to
it. 111 rile case of safety analyses for process plants, tfw rmdesired event
usually is a fi re <...> (ACAilt)
fn this example of academic p rose, simple present tense is bei ng used to convey
general truths. Fo r e.xample, when t he author writes the analysis revenls the logical
conneai01 zs, this would be true at any t ime.
In contrast to conversa tion and academic p rose, fiction has a higher
frequency of past tense. In fact, m any fictional na rratives a re wri tten entirely in
the past ten se, with present tense u sed only for d1e direct s peech o f characte rs. In
the following example, past tense verbs are in bold and p resent tense verbs are
unde rlined:
 Tense and time d istinction s: si mple p resent and past tense Ai•
Hurriedly draining lrer cup, she frowned at 1\1arge, who ltad hardly touched
rlie roffee tlrat she just ltad to have before traveling any farther. 'Look, hon,
we have to hurry. Mom 's real rogetl1er about serving Thanksgi1'ing dinner
on time.' 'All right-' Marge replied. (Ftcr}

p 6.2.5 Verbs that are often used in present or past

tense
verbs are used more frequently in either simple past or simple present
tense. For example, bet and doubt are usually used in the present tense, whjJe
remark and sigh are usually used in the past tense.

A Verbs that usually occur in the present tense

• Verbs that occur in the presenl tense over 80 per cent of the time:
bet , doubt, know, matter, mean, mind, reckon , suppose, think
• Verbs that occur in the present tense over 70 per cent of the time:
care, differ. fancy, impl)', tend, want
of the verbs that usually occur in the present tense describe mental or
logical states. They are often used to express emotions or attitudes, especially in
conversation. For example:
I don't want oue. (CONV)
T bet he's stan ing for real grub. (Nrws) <note: gntb is an informal term
1

for 'food'>
These verbs a re also used to refer to logical thinking or analysis:
B11t I recko.n they have got it just right with the Mondeo. (NEWS)
Customs differ, but the meaning's the same. (NEWS)
TI1e sP.quem:e implies a history nf Muav sedinu.'71tat:ion and buriaL (AC\ot)
Transplanting tellds to reduce lodging. (AC.W)

B Verbs that usually occur in the past tense

• Verbs that occur in the past tense over 80 per cent of the time:
exclaim, eye, glance, nod, pause, remark, reply, shrug, sigh, smile,
whisper
• Verbs that occur in the past tense over 70 per cent o f lhe time:
bend, bow, lean, lighc1 park, seat. set off, shake, stare, tu rn mvay, wave,
wrap
The verbs that usually occur in the past tense have very different m eanings from
rhe verbs tbat prefer present tense. Many of these past tense verbs are used to
describe hwnan activities: bend, bow, eye, glance, grin , lean, etc. A special subset
o f these verbs are verbs describing speaking: exclait1'1, re·m ark, reply, whisper. AU of
these verbs are especially common in fiction, but they occur in other registers as
well.
 156 Cha p teT 6 : Va r iat io n in t h e verb p hrase GRAM M AR BITE e

• Human activities:
She just sl1n1gged her shoulders. (C:ONv)
Rachel glanced at her unde.. ( t-lcr)
She waved to well-wishers lit Sadler's \1\fe//.s in Lcndon. (KE\vsf)
• Communication verbs:
Well he whispered to me last nigllt, you know. (coNv)
"A fine thing,' D r. Saito re m arked to me. (FIC'r)

Major points of GRAMMAR B ITE A : Tense

>- Verbs in English have o nl)• two tenses marked on them: present and past.
>- Verb phrases can either be marked for tense or have a modal verb, but not
a:: both.
>- Verb phrases that a re marked for tense are more common than verb phrases
with modal verbs.
>- There are several different meanings expressed by present and past tense.
>- Present tense verbs often refer to present time, either describing a state that
exists at tbe present time or describing a habitual action.
>- Present tense is also used to show past or future time.
>- Past tense often refers to past time, but it is sometimes used to mark present
time and fo r hypothetical conditions-
Future time is usually marked in English with modals or semi-modals.
>- M any verbs tend to occur with a part ic ula r tense.
>- Verbs describing mental states are commonly in the present tense.
Verbs about activity and communication are common!}' in the past tense.

GRAMMAR B ITE

Aspect
6.3 Perfect and progressive aspect
As explained in Grammar Bite A, tense can be used to mark past and present and
refer to future time. Aspect adds ti.me meanings to those expressed by tense.
Aspect answers t he questi on 'Is the event/state described by the verb completed,
o r is it contin uing?' . There are two aspects in English: perfect and progressive
(someti mes known as 'continuous') . Verbs that do not have asp ect marked on
them are sa id to h ave simple aspect.

6 .3.1 Meanings of perfect and progressive aspect

T he perfect aspect most often describes even ts or states taking place dur ing a
preceding period of time. The progressive aspect' d esnibes an event or state of
affairs in progress o r con tinuing. Perfect a nd progressive aspect can be combined
with either present or past te nse:
 Perfect and progressive aspect lfj»
• perfect aspect, present tense:
We have written to lv/r. Steven, b11t he has igrrored our letters. (NJ::ws)
• perfect aspect, p ast tense:
He had seen him picking purses. (FI<.T )
• p rogressive aspect, present tense:
Jeff is growing his beard out. (co:-.,.,,)
• progressive aspect, past tense:
That's why I was thinking I m ight hang onto the Volvo. (cmsv)
Present perfect verbs often refer to past actions with effects that continue op to
the present time. f or example, consider th e sentence:
M r. Hawke Ita$ embarked on a crusade. (NE.W'st)
The action (em barking on a crusad e) began sometime previously, but Mr H awke
contin ues to be on the crusade a t the time this sentence \·vas ,..,rritten.
In contrast, past perfect verbs refer to actions in the past that are completed
at or before a giveL1 time in tbe past. The actual time is often specified :
Two brothers told a cou rt yesterday how they watched their terminally-ill
mother )ade away' after she was given an i11jection. Widow Lilian Boyes,
70, lwd enrlier pleaded with doctors to 'finish her off,' Winchester Crown
Court heard. ( NEWS)
In this example, the events of the seco nd sentence-the pleading- a re completed
by the time of the events d escd bed in the fi rst sentence. The first sentence
describes a past time with t he simp le past te nse, and then the past perfect is used
in the second sentence ro refer to an even earlier t ime. You can lind more
information o n past perfect and present perfect in 6.4 below.
T he meaning of progressive aspect is less complicated: it is typically used to
report situatio ns or activities that a re in p rogress at some point in time (past,
present, o r in the near future). For mo re information about the mean ing a nd use
of the progressive see 6.5 below.

6.3.2 The perfect progressive

Verb ph rases can be marked for both aspects (perfect and progressive) at the
same time:
• present perfect p rogressive:
God knows how long I've been doi1tg it. Have I been talking out loud?
(FICT)
• past perfect progressive:
He had been keeping it in a safety deposii box at the Bank of America.
(FICT)
For m or1ths she had been waiting for that particular corner locario11. ( ACT)
T he perfect progressive aspect is rare, occurring usually in the past tense in
fiction. It combines the mean ing of t he p erfect and the progressive, referring to a
past s ituation or act ivity t ha t was in p rogress for a period of time.
158 C h apter 6 : Variation i n the ve r b phr ase GRAMMAR BIT£ e

6.3.3 Perfect and progressive aspect across registers

and dialects
A Register differences
Figure 6.3 presents the distribution of Figure 6.3
simple, perfect, and progressive Freq uency of simple, perfect and
aspt!cts across registers. Perfect progres.sive aspect across registers
progressive aspect is omitted
because it is too rare to show up on
t he ch art.
The figure shows that the large
majority of verb phrases are not
marked for aspect. In fact, almost
90 per cent of aU verbs are simple
aspect. Perfect aspect is used in aU
registers, but it is som ewhat more
common in fiction and news.
P rogressive asp ect is more common CONV ACT NEWS ACAD
in conversatio n t han in th e written
registers. 0 progressiv-e aspect
lt might surprise some readers

•
• perfe<laspect
t hat simple aspect verbs are mud1
more common than progressive
aspect verbs in conversation, since many people believe thn.t progressive verbs
are the normal choice in conversation. [tis true that progressive verbs are more
common in conversation than they are in newsp'<lp er language o r in academic
prose. However, as Figure 6.3 shows, simple aspect verbs are the typical choice
even in conversation. P rogressive aspect verbs are comparatively rare, reserved
for special use to express contin uing action or srates.

B Dia lect d ifferences

Fig ure 6.4
Conversation and news clearly reflect
Frequency of perfect and progressive
the differences bet\veen American and
aspect i n ArnE v . BrE conversation
British English. You can see from
and news
figure 6.4 that America n English
conversation uses progressive aspect '2 10000
much more than British English r-'
8000
conversation does: e:;
Nothing's happening over here. Q.
6000
.-- r--
r--
e-
(Aml! CON\1) .."
c:
cr 4000
r--
'-
Oh yeah, but he's roamitrg
around on the range? (AmE
2000
CONV)
One time, I saw a seal <. .. > 0
The seal was begging. ( Arn E AmECONV BtE CO!I.'V AmE !I.'EWS BrE NEWS
CO>nr)
aspen
 Perfect as·p ect in use 6@
Although British English has similar constructions, they are used much less
commonly.
In conLrast, British English uses perfect aspect m uch more than Am erican
English d oes. Am erican English often uses past tense in con texts where British
English uses the present perfect. This difference is especially noticeable when th.e
· emence also includ es yet ot a/rendy:
AmE con versation BtE conversa1:ion
Hey, did you read thro ugh this yet? Have you read i t yet ?
No not yet I didn't. I didn't get a chance. I haven't sofd it ye t.
We already gave h im a down payment. They've given me that already .

Strangely, the British English preference for perfect aspect shows up most
strongly in news. You can see th e contrast in these examples:
The ceremony took place itr the tnain State Departmerlt lobby next ro tlte
honor roll of American diplomats who gpve their lives in the line of duty.
(Mlf NEWSt)
She praised the gallcmtry, determination and sense of duty of the servicem en
and w om en who had given tfwir Jives for their country. (orE NEWS)

6.4 Perfect aspect in use

The present perfect is much m o re common than past perfect in conversation,
news, and academic prose. However, past perfect is somewhat more common in
fiction . One of the easiest ways t o see the functio ns of presen t and past perfect is
to consider the verbs that are m ost common \ovith these aspects.

6.4.1 Verbs that are common in the present perfect

A Has/have been
The present perfect have/has been is common in all registers. It often has a
copular use;
Rowlands h as been critical of Welsh officia ls. (NEW )
Have/has been can also have a meaning similar to go:
\rVhere IJa.v e you beerr? (CONY)
<compare: ltVhcre did you gv?>

B Has/have got and has/have had

T wo othe r common present perfect verbs a re has/have got and has/have had. Has/
have got is extremely common in Brilish English conversation. ft has a range of
meanings simila r to the simple p resent tense have:
1 ]ones 1Jas got the letter. (BrF.
2 I l1ave got a problem acwally. (BrE CONV)
3 She's got blond hair. ( BrE CONY)
4 He's got a bad temper. (orE CONV)
160 Chapter 6 ; Variation i:n the ve rb phrase GRAMMAII ern: B
Speakers aJso sometimes use the ed-participle of the verb (got) but omit the
perfect aspect marker (has/have) . This expression bas a meanlng like the present
perfect have/has got. It is equivalent to the present tense of l1ave rather than the
normal past tense meaning of get ( that something was acquired). (Note that in
formaJ "rritten English , this form is considered non-standard.)
Oh I got loads left. (nrl! CONY)
<compare: I have got loads left NOT I acquired loads>
Alld the11 somethiug else I got here is pea11ut butter pie. ( BrE CONY)
<compare: Something else I have got here is peanut butter pie NOT
Somethir1g else 1 acquired here . ..>
In American English conversation, the present tense form of have is much more
common than has/have got when speakers want to convey the meaning of
possession:
This friel!d of mine h as a vault in his house. ( Am E CON\')
Santn Barbara has Rep11blican tendencies. (AmE CONY)
In American English there is a meaning difference between hns!have got and has/
have gotten: has/have got usually refers to current possession, while llas/ llnve
gotten means that something has been acquired or that a change o f state has
occurred:
And we still haven't gotten knobs on the doors. ( ArnE coNv)
fn British English, the meaning of current possession is freq uently expressed by
have got, as in examples 1-4 above. In contrast, has! hm'e hnd e.xpresses the
current relevance of some state that came into being in the past. This expression
is especially common in conversat ion and news:
No but r mean he h.as had Q bad start. (BrF CONV)
1 have ltad a few years in which to practise cooking. (BrE :-mws)

C Other verbs that are common in present perfect aspect

The other verbs most commonly used with present perfect aspect are som e of the
most common verbs overall (e.g. gone, done, made, seen, come, said, taken,
become, given, slzown, thought, called; see 5.3). Most of these are physical or
commttnication verbs and their consequences may persist over an extended
period of time:
He's gone home. (co;-.nr) < implying that he is still there>
Doctors in the region have called for a review of the prescription cllnrge
system. (Newst) < implying that it is still C)..'pected to be done>
l n academic prose, the present perfect is often used with different verbs to stale
that earlier findings or practices continue to be valid:
Experiments }rave shown that nitrogen deficiency tends to strengthen the
lower nodes. ( ACAOT)
It h as become the usual practice to 11se only maintenance applications.
(ACi\DT)
 Pe rfect asp e ct in u se !S·$8

6.4.2 Verbs that are rare with perfect aspect

Some verbs rarely occur with the present perfect. T hese are mostly verbs that
describe mental or logical states:
• mental states:
He n eeds it for something.
But l1e doubted it. (r-1cr)
• logical states:
Again. tl1is represents a transposition of tendencies. (."'CAot)
Durkheim seeks to delimit what constitutes crime.. (ACADT)
You can see fro m the last example that academic prose writers often use simple
present tense even when reporting Lhe \rtews and writings of scholars in the pasl.
<Durkheim died in 1917.)
Other verbs t hat are rarely used in the present perfect refer to pbysical
actions (like glance, kiss, nod, scream, smile). These verbs usually describe brief
actions:
She glanced at him shyly. (F1CT)
/11dge Crawford kissed tl1e woman oh both cheeks. (I'EWs)

9 6.4.3 Verbs that are common in the past perfect

Like the simple past ten se, past perfect verb phrases are especially common in
fiction. They are used esp ecially for reference to an earlier period in the mi ddle of
a past tense narrative:
He had11 '1 even been jealo11S of l!er dead husband. (Flcr)
Nancy had gone with thm1. (ACT)
He had taken ir himself. (FTcr)
I kept remembering wlzat A dd)' had said. (FK:T)
Rick hatl seen that before in androids. (Ftcr)
The most common verbs with the past perfect are some of the most com mon
verbs overall (see 5.3). These a re mostly verbs t hat describe physical movements
and other activities (e.g. gone, come, left, given, got, etc.), speech acts (said, told ),
and mental percept ions or thoughts (see, heard, known ) .

p 6.4-4 Choices between perfect and simple aspect

Past time can be expressed by the simple p ast tense, tbe present perfect, o r tl1e
past perfect. How do speakers choose the most suitable of three o ptions?

A Present perfect v. simple past

Both the present perfec t and the simple past tense nomu1lly refer to an event or
state in the past. In addition, both can be ust!d to refer to a state that existed over
a period of time. The prima.ry difference in meaning between the two is thai t he
present perfect evokes a situation th at continues to exist up to the present time,
while t he simple past tense describes an e"Vent that took place at a particular time
in the past.
 162 Chapter 6 : Variation in the verb phras e GRAMMAR BITE a

This meaning difference is often made explicit by tim e adverbials. W ith th e

simple past tense, t he adverbiaJ describes w hen the event or state occurred .
Adverbials are under}jned in the following examples:
I saw f1im vesterday. (coNv)
At that moment, Tony knocked . ( FJCT)
The most commo n time adverbiaJ used with sim ple past tense is then. l t typLcaUy
describes a sequence of events:
A11d then they said have you lzeard of tire papt!l'? A nd l said yes but 110t tH
er as a window. Then they said well and ther1 1 realiz ed that it was
Fennite. (coNv)
Other tim e ad verbials with the simple past are used to specify a period of past
time:
Thro11ghouL the rest o[ the week we rack ed our brair2 s. ( FICT)
I m et Giova1111i during mv secon d year iu Paris. (FICT)

B Past perfect v. simple past

Past p er fec t verb phrases look back to an exten ded t ime period t hat was
com pleted in the past. i n m:der to clarify t:he time reference, time a.dnTbials are
often used with verbs in past perfect:
l Vhen he ret umed the priest had already used the special 11eedle-sharp quill
atld i11k. (AcrT)
So he sat dowr1 and brearhed deeply as the Zen teachers had taught l1im
years ago. (Fic r )
Past perfect verbs also tend to occur in dependcn l clauses. 1n this case, t he simple
past tense ill the ma in clause p rovides the perspective for interpreting the time
reference. T he event in d1e depend en t clause was complet ed by the time of t he
event in the main clause:
1 [ \l\1hen 1 had sorted that out], 1 sh rugged. (t:ICr)
2 It came almost as a shock to re11/ize [thm her night had been peaceful]. (I'ICT)
For exam ple, in I , the action described by had sorted was com p leted before the
action of shrugged took place. ln 2. t he use of had been shows t hat the night was
completed by the time the narrator realized t be peacefulness of it.

6.5 Progressive aspect

The progressive aspect describes activities o r events in p rogress at a particul ar
time, usually for a limi ted am o unt of Lime. T he present progressive describes
events that are cur rently in progress, o r events that are going to take place in the
fu t.ure and about wh ich th e speaker feels quite certain:
• p resent progressive describ ing an even t in progress:
\ VIza t 's she do i11g? (cm.rv)
l'm. looki rrg for an employee of yours. ( FICT)
• present progressive with fu ture tim e reference.:
But she's com i 11g back tomorrow. (coNv)
I'm with him next week. (FICr)
 Pro g ressive asp e ct lfiii
Past progressive verbs describe events that were in progress at an earlier time:
I was just coming back from Witham.
Well he was saying that he's findillg it a bit difficult. (co:-w)
It is sometimes assumed that the progressive aspect occurs only with dynamic
verbs that describe activities. However, the progressjve is also used with verbs
that describe a situation or a state. In this case, the progressive refers to the
ongoing continuation of the state:
On-is is living there now. {cor-:v)
Twas sitting in my office smoking one of fames's cigarettes. (Her)
Some of the most common verbs occurring with the progressive aspect d escribe a
sho rt-term state. like most of the examptes a bove.

6.5.1 Verbs with the progressive aspect

Progressive aspect is l!_lOst cgmmon in conversation and fiction (see 6.3.3) . In
conversation, m ost progressive verb phrases are in the present tense, while R,ast
verbs are preferred in fiction. There are tv1o notable exceptions to
this general trend, however: the past tense forms was/were saying and was/were
thinking are more common in both registers.
are most often used in the progressive aspect. In fact, ome (e.g.
q_le_ed and starve) almost atways occur as verbs. The common
progressive aspect verbs come from many semantic domains, including both
verbs (e.g. chase, shop ) and stative verbs (e.g. look forwn rd to ). Other
verbs, like t])Iest or ?_hmg, almost never occur as progressive verbs. These verbs
have an ' insta ntaneous' meaning, and_are diffi cult to use in a sense of 'ongoing
}ll9gress'.
T he following lists identify the verbs most strongly associated with
progressive aspect and the verbs that almost never occur wilh progressive aspect.
• Verbs occurring over 80 per cent of the time in progressive aspect:
activity/pbysicaJ verbs: bleed, chase, shop, starve
communication verbs: chat, joke, kid, moan
• Verbs occurring over 50 per cent of the time in progressive Cl!lpect:
activity verbs: dance, drip, head (for) , march, pound, rain, sweat
contmun icalion verb:.: sueam, talk
mental/ attitude verbs: look forward, study
• Verbs that occur less than 2 per cent of the time in the progressive aspect:
activity verbs: arresr. dissolve, find, invent, rule, sl111t, shrug, smash,
swtlllow, th row
communication verbs: accuse, comm1111icate, disclose, exclaim, label, reply,
rhar1k
mental/attitude verbs: agree, apprecia te, believe, conclude, desire, know,
like, want
perceptual states/activities: detect, hear, perceive, see
facilitat ion/ causation cotrvince, guaramee, initiate, oblige, prompt,
provoke
164 Chapter 6: Va r iation in the verb phrase GRAMMA R BITE a

M any previo us descriptions of p rogressive aspect describe it as occurring w.itb

dynamic verbs. However, it t urns out that both dyna m ic verbs and st ative verbs
occur \llith the progressive. Similarly, verbs rarely used in lhe progressive form
include both dynam ic ver bs and stative verbs.
Two characteristics deternUne whether a verb is commonly or rarely used in
the m:ogressive form:
• whether the subject is an agent or an experiencer
• .!_he d uration of the action described by the verb.
First, the verbs that are comm o n with the progressive usually have a human
agent as the subject of the clause. The agent actively controls the action or state
expressed by the verb. In contrast, many of the verbs that rarely occur in the
progressive have human experiencer as the subject of the clause. The
experiencer does not control the actio n or state, but experiences its effect.
This fi rst characteristic helps to e}..-plain why some verbs that d escribe states
and p erceptions occur as p rogressives while others do not. f or example, the
perceptio n verbs look, watch, stare, and Jisren are all common in progressive
aspect, and the subject of the verbs is usually a hum an agent.
He's staring at m e now. (<-'O·,rv)
1 was looking at that one just now. (coNv)
And tire p olice are always watcl1ing. (Flc;rt)
1 felt l1e wasn't listening. ( fJCr)
Tn contrast, the perception verbs s§_e and hear rarely occu r in the progressive.
They describe perceptions which ar e experienced, bu t which are not controlled
by t he subject. T he su bject m ay refer to a h uman, l;.>ut the hu man is an
experiencer rath er than an agent:
I saw him the other day. ( COK\')
Yeah, 1 l1eard abour that. (COl'iV)
You can also see the influence of the first characteristic with n1ental verbs. Verbs
like think and wonder, which com mo nly occur in the p rogressive, involve an
active agen t who controls the mental activity.
Yo tt should be wondering why. ( CO!':V)
0/r, I was just thinking, it'd be nice to go there. (co:w)
I was wondering hOli ' often she did this. (l'lcrt)
In contrast, verbs like appreciate, desire, know, like, and want describe a state of
min d rather than an activity:
We{[ r rettlly app1'ecia:te your having done so much already. (COl-'\")
He didn't know wlzy. (FJCT)
Naturally 1 wat1t to help. (FICI' }
Verbs that rarely have human subjects are also rare in t he progressive. T hese are
most com mon in academ ic prose, where they usually describe a relationship
involving abstractions:
The main problem of the present investigation concemed tl1e effectiveness of
the game crossing sign. (ACAOT)
Serum ferritin levels correlate well with the evide11ce of iron deficiency,
(ACADt )
 Progressive aspect !'{J•
The second major characteristic that influences whether the progressive is used
wi th a verb concerns the question 'How long does the sta te or action described
by the verb last?' . The action, state, or situation described by common
progressive verbs often extends over a substantial period of time. In contrast, the
verbs that rarely occur in the progressive usually refer to an action that happens
very quickly, or a temporary state of short du ration.
Some mental verbs t hat occur with human agents fit the category of a process
that extends o-.·cr time. For c..xrunple, verbs like hope, think, and wonder can s ignal
mental processes that last for a long time. They therefore commonly occur in t he
progressive. Stative verbs also can refer to situations that extend over time, so
they frequently occur in the progressive. Such verbs include slay, si1, sland,
and live. \Vhen used in the progressive, they imply that the state extends over
time, but is not a permanent state. For exam ple, l clearly states d1at Sandy is
staying a few days, a nd 4 implies that the writer no longer lives in Furukawa:
l Sandy's staying with her for «few days. (cON\ ")
2 We were waiting for the train.
3 I w as standirtg there the orher night. (cor-:v)
4 When T first came to this city as a young man, 1 was living in Furukawa.
(Rcrt)
Many activiry verbs (e.g. bring, dri11e, move, play, walk) also refer to an action that
e.xtends over time, and therefore Lhey occur io the progressive:
H e was his van, delivering copies of First Rebel. ( FI<...I)
A Lot of people are chasing m e. They're shouting. (Ficr)
ln contrast, there are many dynamic Yerbs that refer to an action that takes place
instantaneously. For example, shut, smash, swallow, aud throw have virtuaUy no
duration. Such verbs rarely occur in the progressive:
Tlze rnan threw me off the bus.
The)' sltut tfte sliding doors behind them. (CONv)
I smashed the electric light brJib. (Ficr)
O ther verbs that rarely occur in the progressive report the end-point of a process.
Consider this example:
A disciplinary hearing in June ruled tlrat Mr. Reid should be dismissed.
(NEws f)
T h e hearing m ay have extended over a period o f time, but the ruling c.ame at the
end. Other verbs of this type include attain, dissolve, find, and invent.
The use of progressive aspect Y.-ith saying and thinking often conveys a more
vivid image and a greater sense of involvement than the simple past tense. This is
most common in conversation, with the past progressive:
Aunt Margaret was sayit1g it's from my great-grandmother. (coNVt)
l"m thinking ir would be a lot easier if you. dropped it off on Sunday .
(cor-·v)

3: Major points in G RAMMAR BITE B: Aspect

Q,l
·-
>
Q,l
>- There are two aspects in English: perfect and progressive.
>- Each aspect can be combined with present and past tenses.
rz: >- P erfect aspect ' point-; back' to an earlier ti me, and usually s ignals that the
circwnstance, or its result, continued up to a given time.
 "66 Chapter 6 : Va r i ation in the verb ph r ase GR AMMAR BIT£ c

>- Perfect aspect is most common in fictio n and news.

>- Bri6sh English newspaper writing uses perfect aspect m uch more than
America n English newspapers do.
>- Perfect aspect ver bs are often used with time adverbials that make the time
reference explicit.
Past perfect often occurs in dependent clauses, and the main clause makes
the time reference clear.
>- Progressive aspect signals an event currently in progress or an event in Lhe
futu re that is quite certain.
>- Progressive aspect is used more commonly io conversation Lhan in writing.
>- American English conversation uses progressive aspect Lhe most, far more
than British English conversation.
> Surp risingly, the most co mmo n verbs in progressive aspect include both
dyn amic verbs a nd stative verbs.

GRAMMA R DirE

6.6 Active and passive voice

Most trans itive verbs ca n occu r in two voices: active voice and passive voice.
T he acti ve is the mosl common, umnarked voice. Passive verb phrases are less
common and used for special discourse functions. They reduce t he importance
of th e agent o f an action a nd ful fill other discourse fu nctions described in 6.6.1
and 6.6.2.
Most passive constructions are fo.rmed \ vjth the auxiliary be and an ed-
p artidp le:
The results of one experimem are given i11 T able 1.1 .27. (ACAD)
However, passive verb phrases can also be formed with the auxi liary verb get,
called the get-passive:
It's about these people who got left behind in Viet11am. (col'nr)
The p assive voice is possi ble \Ni th m ost t ransitive verbs. T he subject noun phrase
in t he passive sent ence usually con·esponds to the di rect object in the equivalem
active voice sentence:
I {Turbofan and turboprop engines] are then discussed in turn. (A<:J\Ot)
<compare active voice: \!Ve then discuss {turbofan and turboprop engines]
in turn.>
Passives can occur as either short or long passjv es. In s hort passives (also called
agentJess passiv es) the agent is not specified. T hus, in 1, it is no t stated who
exactly is discu sssing the engines. SimilarLy, in 2, th e agent is an unspecified
'someone':
2 T o do so, {the cooling curves} are plotted for the hvo pr1re components.
( t\CADt)
<com pare ac tive voice: Someone plotted {the cooli11g curvesf->
 Act ive and pas sive voice ltf•
Lo ng passives contain a by-phrase which, in typical cases, sp ecifies the agent of
rhe action. (In some cases the by-p hrase ,vilJ specify a differe nt semant ic role,
s uch as experiencer.)
The proposal w as approved by the Project Coordinating Team . ( ACAD)
<compare active voice: The Project Coo rdinating Team approved the
proposal.>
Short passives are about six times as frequ ent as long passives.
Passive constructions a re also common with two-object prepositional verbs:
{Dormancy] is associated with {sl!orr duration] (ACAo t)
<compare active voice: Researchers associate [dormancy/ with [short

{Elements] are usually classified as {metals or non-met·als/. (ACAD )

<compare active voice: Researchers usually classify {elemems] as {metals or
non-metals].>
The subject of a passive verb can also cotTespond to the indirect object of a
d itransitive verb:
{Mariko/ was given [permission to go to Osaka}. (FICT)
<compare act ive voice: Someone gave {Marikoj {permission to go to
Osaka}.>
or the prepositional object of a one-<>bject prepositional verb:
The problem was dealt with by developing a reference test. (ACADt)
<compare active voice: Someone dealt with {tile problem} by...>
These kinds of verbs a re discussed in 5.1 0.
Most passive voice verbs a re easy to identify. However, som etimes words
look like passive verbs, but are actually predkative adjectives describing a state or
quality. For example:
We are delighted with the result. ( ::-<E\VS)
I ought to be excited. (ncrt)
These participial adjectives ftUlct ion as subject pred icatives.. They are usually
gradable and can be modified by very.
Some participial forms (like broken or frozen ) can occur as both passives a nd
predicative adjectives. ln some contexts they are clearly fu nctioning as passive
,·erbs, describing an aclion with an agent (as in 3 below). However, in other
seote11ces the same form may express a state a nd behave like an adjective (4
below):
3 The silence was broken by the village crier. (FICT)
4 Tlte wire is nlwnys broket1. ( Ac rt)

6.6.1 The use of the short passive across registers

The frequency of both forms of t he passive varies greatly across registers. as
shown in Figure 6.5. Passives a re most com mon in academic prose, whe re they
account for about 25 pe r cent of all fi nite verbs. Passives are also com mon in
news (about 15 per cent of all fi n ite verbs). l n contrast, passive voice verbs are
rare in conversation.
ln many e:x:pository prose t exts (such as academic research a rr:ides), p assive
>oice verbs are especially common . For exam ple:
168 Chapter 6 : Variati on in the verb phrase GRAMMAR BIT E c

J11ree communities 011 a Figure 6 .5

brackish marsh of the Rhode Frequency of finite p assive v . non-
River, a sub-estuary of the passive verbs across reg rsters
Chesapeake Bay, were .§ 140
= c:
exposed to elevated carbon 120
dioxide concentmtions for two 8. -s
growing seasons beginning in ..
" 0
100
April 1987. The study site and <r 3: 80
experimental design are
described in Curtis et at.
60 n
40
(1 989a). One community was
dominated by the 20
carbon 4 grass sparrina patem. 0
(t.CAOt) CONV FICT N EWS ACAO

O ften, t he hum an actor (or agent) is

not important in academic writing.
I I
0 passive v.,-bs 0 non· passive verbs
So the p assive voice is useful: it
reduces the importance of the agent nou n phrase by putting it in a by-phrase or
noL men tioning it a t alL A l the same t ime, the passive sentence gives the status of
topic to the direct object of the corresponding active voice clause. T h us, compare
the following active voice alternat ives to sentences in the passage abo ve:
[We, the researchers, ] exposed three communities to elevated carbon dioxide
concentrations.
{We, the researchers, ] describe the study site cm d experimental design in
C 11rtis er al. ( /989a).
ln an active voice clause, the agent is the subject of the clause. H owever, because
read ers already know that ' the researchers' usuall y do the work in a study, there
is really no need to mentio n t hem. Here t ile short passive b ecomes a useful
device: it allows the objects of study (' the three communities', 'the study site',
and ' the expe rimentaJ design') to be th e subject of sentences, thereby ghring them
topic status.
T he e>.i:ensive use of passives also gives a sense o f objective detachment in
expository prose. Tnis sense of objectivity is part of scientific c ul ture, and is often
expected in scientific writing.
fn contrast, conversation is generally much mo re concerned with the
experiences and actions of people. lt t herefore us ually expresses the agent as
subject , aod rarely uses passive voice.
News is s imilax to academic writing in using the passive voice to make the
agen t less p rom inent. Often the focus of a news story is a n event that involves a
person or institution. The agent may be easy to guess or unimportant.
Furth ermore, presen ting only the new in formation can save space, which is
desirable in newspaper writin g. It is natural in such cases to omit agents and usc
the passive voice. For example, refere nce to ' the police' is omitted in the
fo llow ing:
Doherty w as arrested in New York i11 june. (NEWST)
In other cases, the agents may not be known, or t he}' cannot be mentioned for
legal reasons:
The officer was beaten and repeatedly kicked in the head. {1'-'EWS)
 Active- and passive voice !JD

? 6.6.2 The use of the long passive across registers

Although the long passive (with a by-phrase) is much less common than the
short passive, it is similar in being most comm o n in academic writing, and least
common in con-versation.
In principle, the long passive can be replaced by an active clause with the
same meaning. For example, the sentence we have just used is a long passive, and
we could have used an active clause i nstead:
la In principle, the passive can be replaced b)' an active clause with the same
meani11g. <passive>
Jb I11 principle, an active clause with the same meaniug can replace the
passive. <active>
However, th is active clause would have been less appTopriate than the passive
clause we used. W h y? There are three interconnected motivations for choosing
the long passive:
• Principle l: The long passive is chosen to accord with the information-flow
principle: the preference for presenting new info rmation at the e nd of a clause
(see 12.1.1 ). This means t hat given informatio n (information already shared
by the wciter a nd the reader, often because of previous mention) is p laced
before new inform a6on.
• Principle 2: The lo ng passive is chosen to accord with the end-weight
principle (see 12. L4). This means that a 'heavier' (or more lengthy) element
of the clause, in this case the agent, is placed at the end, where it does not hold
up the processing of the rest of the clause.
• Principle 3: The long passive is chosen to place injtiaJ emphasis o n an element
of the clause which is the topic, or theme, of the current discourse.
Example la iUustrates all t hree o f these principles well:
• la, unlike 1 b, begins with given info rmation: the passive bas already been
mentioned, and the ·use of the s1gnals its ' familiar' status in the discourse. ln
contrast, an active clause with the same m eaning is new information, signalled
by the indefinite article an and the postmodifying p repositional phrase (with
the same nreaning) which identifies the specific type o f 'active clause' in
questio n.
• la, unlike lb, begins with a short two-word phrase as its subject (the passive).
It ends with a longer phrase {an active clause with the same meani11g) as its
agent. T h is situation is reversed in lb.
• la, unlike lb, begins with a reference t o the passive, w h ich is the current topic
of the discourse, as shown, for example, by the beading of the section. In lb,
the topic would have been placed at the end of the clause.
Although we have presented these as three factors, it is dear tha t they are not
really separate. Principles I and 2 tend to support one another: a 'given' element
will generally be shorter than a ' new' element. For example, in 2 below, the
subject is a personal pronoun, which is a dear instance of given information,
referring back to someone already mentioned; pronouns are also as s hort as
possible, being a single word consisting of a single syllable:
2 /11 two minute:>, lie was surrowzded by fa rhzg of men}. (FICT)
 170 C hapter 6 : Va riation i n the verb p hrase GRAMMAR BITE c

The agent, in contrast, introduces a ring of men w hich has not been mentio ned
before, and w h ich is conside rably longer, con isting of fo ur word s.
Similarly Principle 3 tends to support Principle 1, because the topic of
discourse is likely to be som eone or something that has been already introduced
to th e reade r.
ft is important to note tha t t he three pri nciples mentioned above a re not
str icl grammatical rules. O f the first h-vo p rinci ples, the information flo w
p rinciple (1) is more important than the end -weight principle (2). T hus. it is not
too unusual to find examples in whlch the in formation fl ow principle is upheld
but the end-weight principle vio la ted:
The vapour a t this boiling te m perature I S represented b)' [poi11t D). (AC.\0)
T1u achievem ent of tl1 is objective is JCOpnrdised b)" { conduct].
(At..-\I))

6.7 Associations between verbs and

passive voice
Som e verbs usu ally take the passive voice; other ve rbs a re rare in the passive.

6.7.1 Verbs that are common in the passive voice

Th e following lists identify the verbs most stro ngly associa ted with passive voice:
• Ver bs occurring over 90 per cent of the time in the passive voice:
alig11ed ( with), based ( 011), bom, coupled ( wltlz), deem ed , effected, en titled
(to), jlmtctled, iuclined, obliged, positioned, siwnted, smiued, s11bjected ( to)
• Verbs occu lTing over 70 pe r cent of the time in the passive voice:
approved, associated (with), a ttributed (to), classified (as), composed (oj),
cottfilled ( to), desigtred, dillgnosed (as) , distributed, estimated. grouped
( with), i11tended. labelled. linked (rolwirlr), located (at/in), plotted,
recruited, stored, viewed
This shows the verbs wi th the stro ngest p refere nce for passive voice. There are a
few verbs that almost always o cur in the! passive, fo r example b<' bom and be
repu ted:
Brtwdon Lee was boru in Oakland, California. (r-:Fwst)
Tile deal is reputed to be wortl1 £ 1m.
Other verb , like be based on, be deemed, be p ositioned, a nd be subjected to, a re
grammatical in both the active a nd passive voice, but they are used over 90 p er
cent o f the time in the passive voice:
Tile material w as deem ed Ja 11lty.
Anyoue found guilty of d ri11king alcohol may be subjected to 80 lashes of a
cane. (NEws)
Tlu:y were based em his book 'The Principles ofQuantum Mechanics'. (ACADtl
 Associations b etwee n ver bs and p ass ive vo ice m+
A Common passive verbs in academic prose
Passive voice is especiaUy com mon in academic prose, and m any of tbe common
passive verbs refer to scientific methods and analysis:
The same mechanism was analysed on each. (.o\CADt)
Thei r occurrence is m easured in a few parts per million. (ACA1>)
The test object cla11se will allow flr1)' object to be tested. (ACAD)
Other passive verbs report fi ndings o r ex-press logical relationships:
These effects are believed to be associated witl1 n diswrbance of mtxin
metabolism. (ACAJ>)
The mre constal'lt can be interp reted in terms of entropy. (ACAD)

B Common verbs in news

ln news, a differenT set of verbs is common in the passive voice. Many of these
verbs report unpleasant o r dramatic events. The agent in these clauses is
unimportant, unknown, or previously mentioned:
He was accused of using threatening and insulting behavior. (NEWS)
He wa s jailed for three monrlrs. (NEWS)
Neither man was injured d11ring the incident. (NEWS)
Everybody remembers where they were when JFK was sl1ot. (News)

C Common passive verbs in conversation

Although the passive is generaUy rare in conversatio n, a few passive ver bs are
more common in conversation than i n the registers. The most comm on
is the fixed expressio n can't be botl1ered:
J can't be bothered really. (coJ-..-v)
I can 'r be botltered to play the pia11o.
Be done is also relatively common:
It's gorrn be doue. (co('.."V)
Other passive verbs rn conversation are more stative in meaning and migh t be
interpreled as predicative adjectives. These examples could be analyzed as either
passives or predicative adjectives:
Most of our garden will be fin-ished one day. (Co!'.<v)
1 might have been concerned about my hair or coucemed about barzd or
something like that.

6. 7.2 Verbs frequently used in the get-passive form

The get-passive is rare in aU registers, bu t is o ccasionally used in conversation.
Only five verbs have a notable freq uency with the get- passive:
• over 20 per million words: get + mMried
• over 5 per mill ion words: get + hit, involved, left, sruck
Ylan y of these verbs have a different emphasis when used with the get-passive
rather than the be-passive. With be. they express a state, such as the state of
172 Chapter 6: Var iat ion in t h e verb p h ·r ase GRAMMAR BITE c

'being married' or ' being involved.' With get, th ey are m ore dynamic, describing
the processing of getting into that state_
be passives
I was married for a couple of years in the
seventies.
They weren't involved for that lon g.
You're gonna be left alone to get on
with your job.
You wouldn't be stuck at home.
get passives
She go t married when she was eighteen.
And then we start to g et involved in
local society.
The one that got the short straw got left
out or something..
My head got stuck up there.

Get-passives are typical only in conversation. The v.'Titren registers usually use
become jnstead .

6.7.3 Verbs that are uncommon in the passive voice

T here are many transitive verbs and si.ngle-object prepositional verbs that rarcl)'
OCC\.lr in the passive voice:
• Verbs occurring in passive voice less than 2 per cent o f th e time:
single word tra nsitive verbs: agree, exclaim, guess, hate, 1zave, hesitate, joke.
lack, let, like, love, mind, pretend, quit, reply, resemble, try, want, watch,
wish, wonder
single-object prepositional verbs: agree to/with, belong ro, bet orz, come
across/for, compete wirh, cope with, correspond to, glallce at, lauglz about/at,
listen to
Many of these transitive verbs usually occur in th e active voice. Fo r example:
He has money. (coNv)
Sinead wants a biscuir. (CO:-.'\·)
J lacked the courage to be alone. (Frcr)
Although these verbs are possible as passives, t hey simply are not used tn the
passive voice very often.
Some of the verbs that are rare in the passive usually take a post-predicate
complement clause rather t han a simp le noun phrase as dllect object. For
example:
I wished /I /lad a job like that}. (coNv)
He's also agreed {to deal with a few other thingsf. {I'ICf)
1 pretended /to be another friend]. (Ftcr)
These complement clauses make it d ifficu lt to forrn the passive voice. For
example, we cannot say: *To be another friend was prete11ded by me.
As we see fro m the above List, many SLtlgle-object prepositional verbs rarely
occur in the passive voice.
They're all w aiting for m e. (co:wt )
\Ve can srni1e at them. (Ftcr)
The eigenvectors must obviously corresporzd to special smtes. (ACAO)
 Voice a n d as pect com b i nation s Uii
The passive voice is awkward, if not impossible, with these verbs, because there
would be a stranded ,preposition after the verb. for example: being waited
fo r by them.
However, a few single-object prepositional verbs do easily occur in t he passive
\'Oice. The subject correspond s to the prepositional object of the active version,
in:
Your sister can be relied on to remember when your birthd ay is. (r-•crf)
< compare the active: You can r·ely o n your sister to remember when your
birthday is.>
[n cont rast to single- object prepositional verbs, two-object prepositional verbs
usually allow the passive voice. tn fact , man y of these verbs normaUy occur in the
passive voice (e.g. be associated with, be based on ). The subject is the direct objecl
of tbe active form. T he passive subject corresponds to the direct object of the
active verb, rather than £he prepositional object, so there is no stranded
preposition:
{Some definitions of style] have been based on this assumption. (."CAD)
<compare the active: Someo11e based [some definhiom of sryle] O tl this
assumption. >
ln general, p assive subjects are easier to form from direct objects than from
prepositional objects.

6.8 Voice and aspect combinations

ln English verb phrases, the passive can combine with perfect and/or p rogressive
aspect. In actual use, t ho ugh, the perfect passive is only moderately common
while the progressive passive is rare. The perfect passive with present tense is
preferred in academic prose and news, while t he past perfect passive is
moderatdy common in fiction .
Perfect aspect and passive voice are both comn10n in academic prose and
news, and so it is not surprising that the two are used togeth er in those registers.
Perfect passive verb p hrases with present tense typically retain the meaning of
both the perfect and the passive. They show past time with present relevance
( through perfect aspect) and they reduce the im portance of the agent (t hrough
the passive voice) :
H e has been jailed for explosives offenses in Ulsrer and h as previously bee,
denied a visa. (NEWS)
Since 1916 m uch governmtmt money hm b een spent 011 these developments.
(ACADt)
[n fiction, perfect passives are also m oderately common, but they are usually in
the pasl tense:
He had been thrown from a moving train. (FICT)
Most of the lights ilad been turned off ( Hcrt)
The passive with p rogressive aspect i rare, but it does occur occasionally in news
and academic writing:
A police spokesman said 11obody else was being sought in connection with
the incident. (NEWS)
 174 Ch a pte r 6 : v aria1:io n i n th e verb phra se GRAM MAR BITE o

E'Y:penses are still being incurred while a budget for the j11ture is being
prepared . (AC.•\Ot)

3: Major points in GRAMMAR BITE C: Voice

<U .,.._ There are three types of passive voice verb phrases: short passives, lo ng
>
<U passives, a11d get-passives.
a: .,.._ Compared to active voice, passive voice reduces d1e importance of ilie
agent of the action and anows the receiver of the action ro become the
subject of d1e sentence .
.,.._ Passive voice verbs a re most common in the expository registers, "''h ere
agents a re often unknown or unimportant.
Lo academic prose, passiYes often relate to scientific methods or logical
relationships.
• In news, passives often report negative events that happened to someone.
Get-passives are ra re, and used almost exclusively in conversation.
Some verbs usuaJiy occur as passives (e.g. be bom, be based on). O ther verbs
rarely occur in the passive voice (e.g. hnte, like, want) .
Voice and aspect combinations art:- possible; in use, the perfect passive is
moderatcly common and the progressive passive is rare.

G R A MM AR BI TE

o Modals and semi-meda ls

6.9 Modals and semi-modals
There are nine central modaJ verbs in English: can, could, rnay, miglrt, must,
should, will, would, and shall. Modals have several distinctive characteristics:
• They act as an auxiliary ver b in verb phrases (e.g. 1 cnn go).
• They do not take in.flections to show agreement or tense (e.g. I can go, He/she/
it can go). Th at is, the form does no t vary (e.g. He cans go).
• They precede the negative particle in not negat ion (e.g. 1 cannot go).
• They precede the subject in yes-no questions (e.g. Can you go?).
• They take a bare infinitive verb as the main verb in t he verb p hrase (e.g. He
can go, not *He can to go or *He can goes or *He cnn well!).
• They express stance mea nings, related ro possibility, necessiry, obligation, etc.
In most dialects of English, only a single modal can be used in a verb p h rase.
However, certain regional d ialects (such as sou them Amt) allow some
combinations of modals (e.g. might could or might should).
Semi-modals (also called ' periphrastic modals' or ' quasi-modals') are multi-
word constructions that funct ion like modal verbs: (had) better, ha ve to, (have)
got to, ought to, be supposed to, be going to, used to. In orthographic
representations of the- spoken langu age, betTer, gotta, and gonna often occur as
the reduced forms o f had better, Ttave got to, and be going to.
 Moda ls and semi-moda ls RJ»
Serni-modals express meanings that can usuaUy be paraphrased with a
central modal verb_ For example:
1 llave t·o read it again. (C.ONV) I must read it agailz.>
Mosquitoes aren 't stlpposed to be inside here. (coNv) < paraphrase:
Mosquitoes should not be iiiSide here.>
In addition, some semi-modals are fixed expre&sions, wh ich cannot be inflected
for tense or person. However, som e of the semi-modals, like have to and be going
to, can be marked for tense and person:
• past tense:
He lrad to call the police. (coJ:-."V)
• t hird-person agreement:
Maybe she has to grow up a bit more. (C():-N)
T hese serni- mo dals can sometimes co- occur w rth a centraJ modaJ ver b or
another sem i- modal, underlined in the examples:
• co-occurrence with a modal:
I might lwve to tell him_ (Her)
• co-occurrence with another semi-modal:
l think the teachers are gomza llave t;o be there. (CONV)
T he re a re some lexical verbs and adjectives that have meanj11gs similar to
modal auxiliaries, in that they ex-press stance meanings, but they a re neither
idiomatic no r fixed expressions. Rather, these verbs a nd adjectives ex'Press their
core lexical meanings of desire, obligation, possibility, etc. Examples are: need to,
dare to, want to, be able to, be obliged to, be likely to, be willing to, etc. These
expressions are disct1ssed further in lO.J 3.3, 10.15. (In Br E, need and dare are
sometimes used in grammatical patterns similar to modal verbs; see 10.13.)

6.9.1 Time distinctions with modals and semi-

medals
The central modals can be used to make time distinctions, even though they are
not marked fo r tense. For example, the modals will and shall can be used to refer
to future time. The semi-modal be going to is also used for fut ure time.
There wUZ be no outcry from the corporate sector about tile disarray ill the
accountancy professum. (:-<Ews)
We slrall deal with these questions in 4.4.
lt's going to be hot. (c:oNv)
In addition, it is possible to group the cent ral modals (except must) into pairs
with related meanings that sometimes distinguish between past time a nd no n-
past tim e:
modals referring to corresponding modals that
present and future time can refer to past time
can could
may might
shall should
will would
176 Chapte r 6 : Var iation in t h e verb p h rase GRAMMAR atn o

Compare the following pairs. The modal in the second example of each pair
refers to a past time:
1 tJ1ink we ccm beat Glenavm1. (NEws)
in 1971 he thought he could help his brother in his illness by wri1ing about
tlteir childhood. (NE\.-;s)
You know he'll come. (cmw)
I knew .T would put on weight. (CO}-.'V)
ln general, though, it is misleading to describe modals as referring to past time
and no n-past time, as the next section explains.

6 .9.2 Typical meaning distinctions for modals and

sem i-modals
There are many mean ing distinctions made by modals beyond t hose o f time. In
fact, the main functions are related to stance: e.g. the expression o f possibility or
obligation. As a result, moda.ls that can be associated wi th past time (like could)
are also used for hypothetical situations with present or future time reference. In
these contexts, the modals convey politeness and tentativeness:
Could l !>'it here fl mimtte, Joyce? (CON\' )
Could you sign one of these too? Would you n-rind? (CONV}
Each modal can have two different types of meaning: personal or logical. For
example, must can be used to show personal obligation (Yo u must brush your
teeth) o r logical necessity ( Today must be your birthday, said after noticing a
birthday cake). Tllese two types o f meaning are also called intrinsic and eA-trinsic.
Personal (intrinsic) modal meaning refers to the control of actions and events by
human and other agents. These meanings are personal permission, obligation,
and volitlon (or intention). Logical (extrinsic) modal mearung refers to the
logical status of states or events. It usually refers to levels of certainty, likelihood ,
or logical necessity.
Modals and semi- modals are grouped int o three categories based on their
meanings and each category contains both personaUintrinsic and logical/
e..xLTinsic me.mings. (The semj-modal used to is excluded from these categories,
being the on.ly modal thi:lt refers pdma.rily to past time. )
name of category modals meanings
permission/ability can, could, may, might person al meaning: p ermission or
possibility, ability
logical meani ng : possibility
obligationfnecessity must, should, (had) personal mean ing: obligation
better, have (got) to. logical meani ng : necessit y
need to, ought to, be
supposed to
volition/prediction wifl, wo uld , shall, be personal meaning: volition or
going to intention
logical meaning: prediction
 M odals a n d semi -mod al s lfl»
Often, you can tell t h e difference between personal and logical meanings by the
structure of the clause. Pe rsonal meanings have two typical characteristics: t he
subject of the verb phrase usually refers to a h uman being, a nd the main verb is
usually a dynamic verb that describes an activ ity or event that can be controlled.
Consider th ese examples:
You cnn' t nrark wit/rout a schem e. You mus t rn.ake a scheme. (coNv)
<personal ability and obligation meanings, with human s ubject you and
dynamic verbs mark and make>
We shall 110t attempt a derailed account of linguistk categories i11 this book,
but w ill use as far as possible those which are we/1 enough k11own. {ACAnt)
<personaJ voLition or intention meanings, wit h b.uman subject we and
dynamic verbs attempt and use>
l n contrast, modal verbs with logical meanings usuany occur with non-hwnan
ubjects and/or with main ver bs that e.x-press states:
Well, it must be somewhere in the office. (coNv) <necessity meaning, with
stative ma in verb be>
But in other cases his decisions will seem more radical. (M:.\o) <prediction
meaning, with non-human subject (his de.cisians) and stative verb seem>
The personal and logical uses of modal verbs are discussed in more detail in 6.1 0.

6.9.3 Modals and semi-modals across registers

Figure 6.6 shows that the nine central modals differ greatly in freq ue ncy. T he
modals wi/1, would, and can are extremely common. Slzall is rare. The other
modals fall in between..

en cy of modal auxiliary verbs in t he LSWE Corpus

-=igure 6.6
..Frequ
1'!
0
5000
:t 4500
c:
4000
·e
..
Q.
3500
3000
e-
c: 2500
u
:>
r:r 2000
1500
1000
500
0 11 11 11 I
will would can could may should must might shall

lfyou consider the pairs o f central modals, the tentative/past time member is
usually less frequent than its partner. For example, will is more common than
would, and can more co mmon than could. The exception is shall/should, because
should is mo re common.
You can see from Figure 6.7 that modals and semi-modals a re most
common in con versation and least com mon in news and academic prose. Semi-
medals are m uch more common in conversation than they are in the written
expository registers. It is m ore surprising that th e central modals are also more
com mon in conversation, since resea rc hers have often assumed that modal verbs
 178 Ch a p ter 6 : Variation in the ve r b p hrase GRAM MAR BITE o

are especially characteristic of writing. H owever, it tu rns o ut that bo th modals

and sem i-m odals are extremelr common in conversation, where they a re one of
several used to express stance.
Com pare Figure 6.8 with Fjgure 6.6. H ere you see that many individual
modals-especiaUy will, ca11, and would- are ex.'tremely common in
conversation. On the other hand , the less common modal may is extremely
rare in conversation. Academic prose, included in the figure for comparison,
shows a very different set of tendencies.

Figure 6.7 Figure 6.8

Frequency of semi- modals an d Frequency of modal verbs across
modals across registers r egisters
6000
o:::-
..&
0
30
-=E " 5000
25
o. -5 e
e--; a.
4000
20
3000
! 15 <T
! 2000
10
1000
5
0
0 ., ..
t s;; Ea .s
::!;! c:: .<::::: 2 E .!3
CON\/ FICT NEWS ACAD :> 3 :;
a E 01 ....,.. l:
1; 001
...s. ..,."'
.!;

I0 semi-modal w rb$ modal verbs I ..,"'

:;-
!
;::.

• CON\/ 0 ACAD

6.10 Personal and logical meanings of

modals
ln the following sections, individual modals and sem i-modaJs are discussed in
mo re detail, focusing on their use with personal and l ogical meanings. We will
concentrate on conversation and academic p rose because these show the d earest
con trasts.

p 6 . 10. 1 The permission/possibility/ ability modals

Figure 6.9 summarizes the use of can, cauld, may, and might \>\rtth permission,
possibility, and ability meanings.
In academic prose, could, ma}', and might are used almost e-xclusively to
mark logical possibility:
The two processes could well be independe11t. (ACAI>)
Of course, it m iglat be the case that it had been settled lo11g before that.
(ACAI>)
May is especiaJJy common with this function:
 Personal a nd logical me aning s of modals W»
fil;ute 6.9 Frequency of permission/ possibility modals with intrinsic, extrinsic, and
ability meanings
"€ 3000
2500
2000
11.

..
c:
::>
<T
1500

1000

500

0
can could may might can coulrf may might
' - - - - - - CONV ACAD - - - - - - - - '

0 intrinsic-permission II extrinsic-possibility II ability

The only problem may be that the compound is difficult to remove. (ACAt)t)
In contrast, am is used for both ability and logical possibility. In fact, in some
cases can is ambiguous:
An isolated system is an idenl system. It cannot be achieved in practice.
(ACAO)
This sentence could me-dn that 'no o n e bas t he ability to achieve an iso.Laled
system' or lhat 'it is not possible that an isolated system will be achieved'.
In conversation, could and might are used m ost commonly for logical
possibility, just as they are in academic prose. They usually express doubt, with
could showing the greatest degree of uncertainty or tentativeness:
TluH could be her. (CONv)
He might relent and show up unexpectedly but 1 doubt ir. (cm.-v)
T he modal can usually expresses ability, buLit is often ambiguous with a logical
possjbility meaning:
• can marking ability:
l ca11 hear wl1at sl1e's saying to somebody.
He goes, I can't swim. (cOl\'V) <note: goes = says>
• can ambiguously marking ability or possibility:
Well you can get cigarettes [rorr1 there. can't you? (co:-ov)
• can is also relatively common with permission meanings:
Can I have some? (CO!'-'V)
You can read my book. (co:w)
l n contrast to the otber modals in this set, may is rarely used in conversation.
When it does occur, it usually expresses logical possibility rather thao
pemrission:
He may not see ;; as a joke. (coNv)
That may be wro1zg, though. (cOl'.'\')
 18o Cha p-ter 6 : Varia-tion in -the ve r b phrase GRAMM AR BITE o

Despit e a weU-known prescription that may rather than can sbould be used for
permission, this use of may is rare in the LS\1\TE Corpus. When it does occur, may
indicating permissio n is usually produced by parents or teachers talking to
children. For example:
Yes CCirl. You may do some maths if you want to. < . .. > You may do your
language work if yo11 want to. <. .. > No you may 110t d raw a picture.
(COJ:o..'V)

6 .10.2 The obligation/necessity modals and

semi-modals
Obligationfnecessity modals a nd sem i-modals are less couunon overa\1 than the
other modal categories. Figure 6.10 summarizes the meanings usually expressed
by each modal.

Fig ure 6. 10 Frequency of obligation/ necessity modals with intrinsic and extrinsic
meanings
'2 3000
0

<: 2500
e 2000
X.
..
u>-

::1
r:r
1500

1000
500

0
must should have to m ust should have to
..__ __ CONV - - - - ' ' - - - - - ACAO - - - - '

I:J [J e)Ctrinsic-ne<essity

Except for the modal m11st, these modals and semi-modals usually express
personal obligatio n. This is especially true fo r should and lwve to in conversation:
'Well l have to get at ten thirty in the morrting to take this tltittg back.
(COJ'."V)

Whnr do we laave to do?

You should relax.
Even tho ugh writers of academic prose usually suppress their own personal
feelings in their wr:iting, tbey also use these m odals to express personal obligat ion
rather than logical necessity:
However one should not despise too hastily sudJ hnnd-W(lving discussions.
(ACAD)
If tile crop is to be harvested by nuuhinery, varieties should be cultivated
which do not readily shatter. (ACAO)
We luwe to await the completion of David Dilks's biography. (ACA.Ot)
 Personal and l ogica l meani n gs of modals E:J+
The modal must is particularly interesting because its distribution is the opposite
of what you might ex-peel. Tbe logical meaning (logical necessity) is most
common in conversation; the personal mean ing (personal obligation) is most
common io academ ic p rose.
• must expressing logical necessity in conversation:
Your mum must not care. ( COl'.'V)
Tt must h cn,e fallen out trying to fly. (coNv)
Y01rr feet must feel wet now. (coNv)
• must expressing personal obligation in academic prose:
I mriSt 110w cottfess something which 1 kept back from you in Chapter 3.
(ACAD)
This is tire sort of case in which judges mus t exercise the discretionary
power described a nwment ago. (AcAot)
The ra rity of nwst fo r obligation in conversation is probably due to the strong
impression must makes when used in face-to-face interaction. Should and have ro
are less threatening ways to express obliga6on in conversalion.
Both must and should are also relatively common in academic prose fo r
expressing logical necessity. For example:
II m u st surely be the cnse that the cat is competellt to act as observer of its
own survival or demise. (ACAD)
If the preceding work has been d011e with care there should be fev,, if any,
off-types. (ACAD)

6.10.3 The volition/prediction modals and

semi-modals
These verbs all express future tim e meanings. The differences lie in whether the
modal expresses a personal intention ro perform some furure act, o r just t he
prediction of the probability of something occurring in the fu t ure. In academic
prose, these modals usuaUy express prediction:
Such deviations will often be the clue to special imerpretnrio11s. (AC:AD)
If the marble is not moving ftut enough it will nm Ottt of kinesic energy
before it reaches tire top. (ACAot )
Cl!enp money would have tire same effect by increasing private investment.
(t\CADt)
Tn conversation , will and would are used fo r both voJjtion and prediction, and
the distinction between the two is 11 0 1 always dear. Utterances e.x pressing
volition usually have a first- person pronoun as subject, while those e>..-pressing
p redictjon have ot her subjects:
• will and would marking volition in conversation:
l I'll come a11d show you it in regLStratio11 Tuesday moming. < . .. > 1 wou't
be here early enough to show you before school. (col'.•v)
2 I tl1ink for sure J would go if my friends wei"e going to go. (CON'vi)
• and would marking prediction in conversation:
3 ft won't be that difficult to do. (coNv)
 "182 Ch a p ter 6 : Variation in the verb phra se GRAMMAR BITE o

4 Will my coat be dry? (cor-:v)

5 She would just feel better if she went out. ( CO:l'-'V)
ln the case of w hether' for prediction or volition. the meaning is often
hypothetical. Thus, 2 implies 'I am not going because my mends are not going'.
Similarly, for 5, 'sbe' hasn't gone out and she might not go out at all-so the
speaker's prediction is hypothetical.
T he combination of first-person pronoun+ would can also express advice.
When speakers tell wh at they themselves would do, it may mean mean 'J thi11k
you should . .. '. For example:
1 wo11ld just read the book as well. (coNY) <possible meani ng: I think you
should just read the book as well>
I would give it back. < possible meaning: 1 tl1i11k you should give it
lmck>
Be going to, like wi/1, ca n express intention or prediction, hut the intention
m eaning is tbe most common one:
I'm going to put my feet up rest. (COl'.l'\' )
I said 1 was goirrg to collect John's suitcase from Susan . (cor-.•v)
This meaning, of course, is also related to future time and prediction: by showing
intention. the speakers also predict future events. l n contrast, be goh1g to is very
rare in academ ic p rose.
Fina11)•, shall is interesting because, although rar e, it is used to ma rk personal
volition in botb conversatio n (especially ere) and academic prose. Jn academic
prose, this use of shall (l below) is somewhat form al and old-fushioned.
1 We shall here be concemed with onl;r s and p orbitals. (ACAO)
2 Sh a ll we wait for them? (BrE c:ONV)
Shall is typically in a question .in conversation (as in 2 ), where it is used to make
an offer or suggestio n . (This use is rnainly Bre.) In both regjsters, shall is usually
used with I or we as s ubject.

6.11 Be going to and used to

The semi-modals be going to and used to a re different from the other semi-
medals because they a re used mostly to mark time distinctions rather than stance
meanings.
The sem i-modal be going to is a commo n way o f marking future time in
conversation and fictional diaJog:
1 We're goi11g to wait. (col'.'V)
2 1 think I'm going to die. (AcT)
As we saw in 6.10.3, the marking of future time often involves personal volition.
In 1, the meaning o f be going to expresses the speaker's intention as well as a
prediction of the future. [n 2, however, be going to is used to jokingly predict the
fut ure, with no meaning of intention.
Used to shows past h abitual behavior or a past state. This semi-modal, like be
going to, is relatively common in conversation but rare in academic prose:
Oh Nigel used to have a perm, didn't h.e? (cOJ-.'V)
He used to sleepwalk. (co.-w)
 Modals co mbi ned w i th a spect o r vo i ce Jt:¥t
The seq uence used to can be confusing because ir occurs with several different
functions. T he fu nction d escribed in this Grammar Bite is as a semi-m od al.
H owever, used to can also represent an adjective + preposition, mea rung
'accu stomed to'. T his meaning is also common in conversation:
I'm u sed to it. l do the dishes e 1•ery da)'. (coNv)
A third functio n of used to is as a passive lexical verb (used) followed by a to -
clause (shown in [] beLow). Combinations with this meaning a re prono unced
differently from t he other two mcanings-/ju;zd .. ./ rather than /ju;st. . ./. T hjs
meaning is m ost com mon in academ ic prose.
Water control may be ttsed {to reduce liability to lodging). (ACAot)

6.12 Modals combined with aspect or

•
VOICe
Modals cannot combi ne with te nse, but they can com bine with aspect a nd voice:
• m odal with perfect aspect (m odal +have + ed-particip le):
T he demawf for subject access may lta ve w m e as a shock to the library
professioll. (ACAD)
• modal with progressive aspect {m odal+ be + ing-participle):
Nancy will be com ing back.
• m odal with passive voice (modal+ be + eel-participle)
To produce the best result·s the pla11 t slrould be supp lied wit/1 water which
carries no cotltamination. {ACAD)
The great majority of modals do not occur with m arked aspect o r voice.
However, there a re a few cases wh ich deserve discussi011.

p 6.12.1 Modals with perfect aspect

Perfect aspect occurs sometimes with the o bligation/necessity modals mrlst and
should in fi ction and news. Som etimes should+ perfect aspect shows a past
obligatio n (unfulfilled), as in the following:
Pnpa shorlld h ave d on e it long before. (ncrt)
Mor e comm o nly, however, these m od als a re used to m ark logical necessity rather
than personal obligation. In fact, with the perfect aspect, must is interpreted o nly
as necessity. The logically necessary events occurred a l some point in the
past:
So the wind 11uLSt ]ra ve blown it here. (Flcr)
Tl1ey should have won and would surely have do11e so lnct for a miud-
boggling rn.iss by Andy Sinton wlum it wru 2-2. (NEwst )
If they say she's made a payme11r, she mus t /ra ve made a payment. (coNv)
May a nd m igflt a re used with the perfect to express a cert ain degree of do ubt
about past events or situations:
Also he m ay h ave had qu ite a job ji11ding it. (Ficr)
Yesterday he confessed lze nrigllt h a ve f orgottefl one. (NE\\IS)
 184 Chapter 6 : Var i a ti o n in t h e verb phr ase GRAMMAR BITE o

6.12.2 Modals with progressive aspect

Relatively few modals o r semi-modals occur "\lith progressive aspect. '·Vill and the
obligation/necessity modals and semi-rnodals in conversat ion (and fictional
dialog) are occasio nal exceptions lo this generalization;
He must be ronning low. (t:ONV)
She's supposed to be coming in. (co;-:v)
This has got to be m oving around this way. (CON\rf)
'May I ask who you wil1 be voting for?' asked Andrew. {FlCT)
fjnally, although the modal shall is rare overaU, it often occurs with progressive
aspect when it is used:
l We shall be campaigning for rlre mrvival of local govemment in
Cleveland. (NEws)
2 We shall be meeting with all parties it1 the near futu re.
Wi[[ could also be used in place of shari in 1 and 2.

6.1.2.3 Modals with passive voice

Can and could are relatively common with passive voice. T he use of the passive
avoids identification of the agent of t he main verb. As a result, t h e permission
meaning does not occur, and the ability meaning is also less likely to occur than
in the active; therefore, the possibility m eaning is most common in passive;
Each interpretation catJ be seen to flow through the abbreviated
text as n whole. (ACAD) < possibility>
<compare active voice: We can see each interpretation . .. --ability.>
The methods could be refirred and made more accurate. (,,CAD)
<possibility>
<compare active voice: We could refine the methods._ . - ability.>
As t he examples suggest, can + passive is m ost common in academic prose.
In academic p rose, must and should are also relatively common with the
passive voice, and are used to express a kind of coUective o bligation. The passive
voice is useful in allowing the "'Titer to avoid explicitly identifying who bas tbe
obligation:
Care must be taken to ensure that tile diffusion in stator is kept at a
reasonable level. (ACAD)
It sllould be noted thar tire following scenario is 110thi11g more than one of
many potential scenarios. (ACAD)

6.13 Sequences of modals and

p semi-modals
T he semi-modals have to and be going to can occur in series following another
modal or semi -modal:
The researchers warn that they will have to treat many more patients
before they can report a cure. (NEWS)
 Sequences of m o d als and semi - modals IJ;f»
f' m gomuJ Juw e to smy. (coNV)
r thought, perhaps,
you might be going to be married. (FICT)
Sequences of m odaJ + have to are relatively common in all fo ur registers,
especially in com bination with volition/prediction modaJs:
He would have to wait a whole year again to taste it. {Flcr)
To succeed again they will have ta improve their fimess tmd co11.amrration.
(NEWSt)
Tf this programme is to make any sense we sl1all l1ave to find t'l wny to
r1ssociare numbers with our operators. (ACAr>)
T hese complex verb phrases are generally less common in conversation than in
the written registeTS, even though semi-modals are m ore common in
conversation overall. The only complex modal combinatio n that occurs
comm o nly in conversation is the one that combines the two most common
semi-modals, be going to + have to:
Because you're goitlg to have to say something. (CONY)
This combination enables speakers to express two modal meanings in one clause:
future t ime + obligation.
3: Major p oi nts in GRAMMA R B ITE D : M odals and semi-modals
IU )oo- There a re nine central medals in English: can, could, may, might, shall,
·:;: should, will, would, and must.
CD
a: )oo- ln addition, there are a number of semi-modals (e.g. be going to, have to);
these are sequences of words t hat fu nction like modal verbs.
)oo- The m ain function of modals a nd semi- modals is to convey stance.
)lo. Modals fall into t.hree major caregories of meaning; each category combines
personal (intr insic) mean ings and logical (ex1rinsic) meanings.
The categories are: permission/possibility or ability; obligation/ necessity, and
volition.lprediction.
)lo. Four m odaJs and semi-modaJs are used primar ily to express time meanings:
will, shall, and be going to for futu re time, and used to for past time.
)lo. Moda1s are common i11 all registers, but they are most common in
conversation.
)lo. Semi-modals are especially common in conversation and rare in news and
academ ic prose.
)lo. Modals can be used in combination with bot h aspects and passive voice.
Most modals occur with simple aspect and active voice.
)oo- T he semi-modals ha"e to, need to, and be going to can follow a modal or
other semi-modaJ in a series.