The system of grammatical categories of the verb: person

and number, tense, aspect, voice, mood.

Finite verbs have seven grammatical categories: Tense, mood, person, number, voice, as -
pect, time correlation. Finite forms are immediately associated with the doer of the action, both
semantically and formally. The main task of finite forms in a sentence is to carry the predication.
Their only function is the predicate of the sentence.
Like finite verbs , the non-finite forms of the English verb (the infinitive, the gerund, the
participle) are semantically linked with the doer of the action. But since they have no categories of
person and number connection with the agent (or the recipient) of an action is not marked mor-
phologically.
Of the seven categories of the English verb the non-finite forms have only three: aspect,
voice, time correlation. Those are categories which are neither connected with the doer of the ac-
tion nor with the predication. All the functions of non-finite forms in a sentence, except the func-
tion of a part of a compound verbal predicate are nominal: they can be used as a subject, a predi -
cate, an object, an attribute or an adverbial modifier.

1. Grammatical categories of person and number

The categories of person and number are closely connected with each other. There is a con -
cord between the subject of a sentence and its finite verb predicate. That is, the subject dominates
the predicate determining the person and number of the predication , while the predicate domi-
nates the subject, ascribing to it some action, state or quality (e.g.: Ann plays the piano every day.
We play the piano every day.). Therefore, grammarians consider grammatical categories of person
and number as syntactically conditioned categories.

2. Grammatical category of tense

When we speak about the expression of time by the verb, it is necessary to distinguish be -
tween the general notion of time and the grammatical time proper, which is called tense.
TIME, like space, is considered to be a universal form of existing things and phenomena that
are continually changing. Semantically time is represented by the present, future and past times.
The present coincides with the moment of speech-making. Anything ahead of the present mo-
ment is in the future, and anything behind it is in the past.
TENSE (from Lat. tempus) is a grammatical time that is realized with the help of verbal in-
flexion. Since English has no inflected form of the verb for expressing future time, the threefold
semantic opposition of time is reduced to two tenses: the present tense and the past tense (Green -
baum & Quirk 1991: 47-48; Biber, Conrad & Leech 2003: 150-156).
This category denotes the relation of the action either to the moment of speaking or to some
definite moment in the past or future. There are four groups of tenses: Indefinite, Continuous,
Perfect and Perfect Continuous. Each of these forms includes four tenses: Present, Past, Future
and Future in the past. The Indefinite form shows that the action takes place in the present, past
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or future. The form of the verb gives no indication as to its duration or completion. The Contin-
uous form denotes an action in progress at the present moment or at a given moment in the past
or future. It is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to be in the required tense and Participle I
of the notional verb. The Perfect form denotes an action completed before the present moment
( and connected with it ) or before a definite moment in the past or future. It is formed by means
of the auxiliary verb to have in the required tense and Participle II of the notional verb. The Per-
fect Continuous form denotes an action in progress before a definite moment in the present,
past or future. It is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to be in one of the perfect tenses and
Participle I of the notional verb.
The main principle of the morphological classification of English verbs is the way how they
form two of their forms: simple past and past participle (i.e. participle II). Accordingly verbs are
divided into two large groups: regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs form their past simple
and past participle by adding the inflectional suffix -ed while irregular verbs form these forms in-
dividually.

Some means of expressing future time

In the absence of an inflectional future tense, there are several ways to express future time in
English.
1. The most common way to express future time is by means of modal auxiliaries will /shall +
the bare infinitive. E.g.: He will be here in half an hour. Shall I help you with the work?
2. The semi-modal to be going to + the bare infinitive is used to denote a projected (planned)
future action.
When are you going to get married?
3. Present progressive is usually used to denote a projected event that will occur in the nearest
future: I’m taking the children to the zoo next week. Ann is meeting her friends tomorrow.
4. The simple present tense is used to denote a future event which is certain to take place ac-
cording to the schedule: The train leaves at eight o’clock. The match starts at 2.30.
5. The simple present tense is used to denote a future event in conditional and adverbial clauses
of time: He’ll do it if you pay him. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from her.

3. Grammatical category of aspect

Aspect is a grammatical category that adds time meanings to those meanings of the verb
which are expressed by tense. In linguistics, aspect is a grammatical category that expresses how
an action, event, or state, as denoted by a verb, extends over time.The category of aspect answers
the question: ‘Is the event or state described by the verb completed or is it continuing?’

The category of aspect shows the way in which the action develops, whether it is in
progress or completed, etc. The members of the aspect opposition are the non-continuous and
continuous forms of the verb. The non-continuous form presents an action as a mere fact. That
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is why it is used to denote habitual, recurrent actions, well-known facts, a succession of events,
etc. The continuous form presents an action as a developing process. It is used to denote an action
going on at a given moment or period of time. In English the category of tense predominates
and aspect is subordinated to it. Some of the English tenses denote time relations, others denote
both time and aspect relations. The indefinite tense forms have no aspect characteristics, but the
continuous, perfect and perfect continuous tense forms denote both time and aspect relations.

There are two aspects in English: perfect and progressive (sometimes known as continuous).
The perfect aspect usually describes events or states that took place during a preceding period of
time (I have sent him a letter .). It is formed analytically with the help of the auxiliary have + past
participle (participle II) of the main verb. The progressive or continuous aspect describes an event
or state in progress (I am writing my paper.). It is also formed analytically with the help of the
auxiliary be + present participle (participle I) of the main verb.
Both perfect and progressive aspects can be combined with present or past tense. E.g.:
They have been unhappy for a long time.
We had lived in Amsterdam for five years when Grandmother died.
He’s working in the garden.
I felt he wasn’t listening.
Verb phrases can be also marked for both aspects at the same time, which is known as perfect
progressive aspect. The perfect progressive is a hybrid form when the perfect and progressive as-
pects are combined in the same verb phrase to refer to a temporary situation leading up to the
present (It has been raining since morning . - the present perfect continuous) or to some point in
the past (The fire had been raging for over a week when the fire-engines arrived. - the past per-
fect continuous).

Terminative / non-terminative verbs

A terminative verb denotes an action which has a limit in its development. A non- termina-
tive verb denotes an action which doesn't admit of any limit in its development. Sometimes the
terminative character of the verb is clear from the context: He is writing a letter. - He writes well.
Non-terminative verbs usually denote perception of senses, mental perception, emotions, po -
sition in space and the like.
Semantically all verbs can be divided into:
Terminative / non terminative
1) Terminative verbs imply a limit beyond which an action can’t continue.
(to break). This means that in case of terminative verbs an action has a final aim in view.
They are all actions limited in time;
E.g. to break, to bring, to throw, to jump, to fall, to close, to open, to recognise, to escape.

2) Non – terminative verbs denote an action which don’t imply any limit.
They express continuous actions. E.g. to carry, to live, to know, to see, to sleep, to have, to
belong, to love, to possess.

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 3)Verbs of double aspective nature.
They are capable of expressing either a "terminative" or "non-terminative" ("durative")
meaning depending on the context as in context their character is easily determined on
the bases of their distribution:
to write well (non-terminative ) and to write a letter (terminative)
He turned to the corner and found himself among a busy crowd of people (terminative).
The earth turns round the sun. (nonterminative)

4. The category of voice

Most transitive verbs can occur in two voices: active and passive. The active voice shows that
the action described by the verb is performed by the subject of the sentence, while the passive form
indicates that the action is performed upon the subject:
The butler murdered the detective. (active voice)
The detective was murdered by the butler. (passive voice)
The active is an unmarked voice while the passive is a marked member of the voice opposition
as it is formed with the auxiliary be + the past participle of the main verb . Compared to active voice,
passive voice reduces the importance of the agent (i.e. the doer of the action).
E.g.: The house has been repaired and furnished.
However, passive verb phrases can also be formed with the auxiliary get, and it is called “the
get-passive” (get caught, get dressed, get arrested, get run over, etc.). Get-passives are usually used in
conversation or in informal English. E.g.: It’s about these people who got left behind in Vietnam.
There are short and long passives. In short passives (also called agentless passives) the agent is
not specified while long passives contain a by-phrase which specifies the agent of the action. For in-
stance:
The children were sent to the camp. (Short passive)
The children were sent to the camp by their uncle. (Long passive)

5. The category of mood

The category of mood is a morphological expression of modality. It marks the modality of real -
ity or unreality of an action or state as viewed by the speaker. Grammarians differentiate three
moods in modern English: the indicative mood, the imperative mood and the subjunctive mood.
The indicative mood presents an action as a real fact that happened in the past, is happening
now or will happen in future. That’s why it is called a real mood or a fact mood. The indicative
mood is rich in forms reflecting all grammatical categories of the finite verb (the categories of person
and number, tense, aspect and voice). For instance:
Nick speaks French and English fluently but I speak only German.
When I got to the station the train had already left.

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 The imperative mood actually does not give any information as to the reality of an action de-
scribed by the verb. An imperative mood typically urges the addressee to do or not to do something.
It is used to give orders or requests, and expects some action from the addressee. Most imperative
sentences don’t contain a subject in their surface structure. They are formed with the help of the
“bare” infinitive of the verb, that is, infinitive without the particle – to. For instance:
Get off the table. Don’t forget to send a letter to Nick.
A special type of imperative, which refers to the first or third person both singular and plural,
is formed according to the formula: let smb. do /not do smth:
Let’s take a taxi. Let him try this.
The subjunctive mood presents an action as unreal or hypothetical. There are two forms of the
subjunctive mood: synthetic and analytical. Synthetic forms of the subjunctive mood are repre-
sented by the present and past subjunctive.
The form of present subjunctive coincides (ემთხვევა) with the infinitive of the verb. Present
subjunctive is used in certain set expressions: God bless you. Long live the King. God save the
Queen, etc.
Synthetic past subjunctive is identical in form with the simple past of the verb (e.g.: If I had
time, I would go and see her. ). The exception is the verb be which occurs in the past subjunctive as
were with all the persons both in singular and plural. Because of this, the past subjunctive is some -
times referred to as “were-subjunctive”. The past subjunctive is hypothetical in meaning. It is used
mostly in conditional clauses and in object subordinate clauses after the verbs wish and suppose:
If I were you, I would travel in Africa.
I wish he were here.
There are two analytical forms of the subjunctive mood:
a) The first form is homonymous with the past perfect. It is used in conditional clauses of the
third type (so called, “unreal for ever clauses”), expressing the situation which was not fulfilled in
the past. For instance: If I had lent him money he would not have committed a crime. = ფულიი
რომ მესესხებინა მისთვის, ის დანაშაულს არ ჩაიდენდა.
b) the second form is represented by the mood auxiliaries should/would + indefinite or perfect
infinitive of the main verb. E.g.: If I had money I would go to the concert (second conditional). =
ფული რომ მქონდეს, კონცერტზე წავიდოდი. If I had had money, I would have gone to the con-
cert (third conditional). = ფული რომ მქონოდა, კონცერტზე წავიდოდი (ე.ი., ვერ წავედი
იმიტომ, რომ ფული არ მქონდა.)

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 1.Read the sentences and choose between transitive/ intransitive verbs
1.Did your family agree with you? ___________
2.This child 2 year-old child speaks very well. ___________
3.They help people who are sick. ___________
4.Someone’s interviewing the president. ___________
5. This car is always breaking down. _________
6. Luke’s been offered a new job. . ___________
7. By the time I got back, someone had ordered the coffee. . ___________
8. Old Mr. Brown cannot hear well. ___________
9. Auctioneers will sell the painting at auction. . ___________
10. Nick smokes much. He has become an addict. ___________

2. Read the sentences and decide whether one and the same verbs are transitive in one
meaning and intransitive in another
1. I didn’t know where to find him as he had changed his address.
2. I was glad to see that he had not changed at all.
3. He ran uphill past a block of houses.
4. She ran the shop quite competently.

3. Read the sentences and choose between terminative and non-terminative verbs
1. Nick closed the door and left the building.
2. The Smiths have lived in London for over twenty years.
3. I saw his face quite clearly
4. I recognized John the very moment I saw him.
5. Helen was playing the piano when the door bumped open.
6. When I had heard he was in hospital I saw him at once.

4. Read the sentences and analyze the verb forms according to their structural role in the sen-
tence (notional verbs, auxiliaries etc.)
1. The party is at eight. You must dress suitably for it.
2. He was a middle-aged man. It became very hot by noon.
3. He looked at me, waiting for the next words.
4. I couldn’t do anything under the circumstances.
5. The hotel remained empty all through the winter. The cottage seemed deserted.
6. Do you know why he said that?
7. He is married and has three children.
8. He looked quite happy.
9. I had to reconsider my position
10. We had arranged to meet in the usual place.

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