Chapter 2

Verbs And The Verb

Phrase
 1.Types Of Verbs
2.Verbal Forms
3.Morphology Of Lexical Verbs
4.Auxiliaries Do, Have, Be
5.Modal Auxiliaries
6.Finite And Non-finite Verb Phrases
7.Order In The Complex Verb Phrase
8.Contrasts Expressed In The Verb
Phrase
9.Tense, Aspect And Mood
10.Uses Of Modal Auxiliaries
 1. Types of verbs

Verb Lexical (run, teach, learn…)

Auxiliary Primary (do, have,
be)
Modal
(can, may, shall, will, could, might, should, would,
must, ought to, used to, need, dare)
 2. Verbal forms
1. base (V): - All the present tense except 3 rd person singular
- Imperative
- subjunctive
- bare and to infinitive
2. -s form (V-s) - 3rd person singular present tense
3. past (V-ed1) - past tense
4. -ing participle (V-ing) - progressive aspect
- in -ing participle clauses
5. -ed participle (V-ed2) - perfective aspect
(past participle) - passive voice
- in -ed participle clauses
 3. Morphology of lexical verbs
a) Regular lexical verbs
- Forms: V (base)
V-ing (ing participle)
V-s (-s form)
V-ed (past/-ed participle)
- The -ing and -s form
- The past and -ed participle
- Further inflectional spelling rules
+ Doubling consonant
+ Treatment of -y
+ Deletion of -e
b) Irregular lexical verbs (7 classes)
Class 1: V-ed1 is identical with V-ed2
Suffixation is used but voicing is variable
Vowel identity in all parts
Class 2: V-ed1 is identical with V-ed2
Suffixation is used but voicing is variable
Change of base vowel
Class 3: All three parts V, V-ed1, Ved2 are identical
No suffix or change of the base vowel
Class 4: V-ed1 is identical with V-ed2
No suffixation
Change of base vowel
Class 5: V-ed1 is regular
V-ed2 has 2 forms, one regular, the other nasal
Class 6: V-ed1, V-ed2 are irregular
V-ed2 always suffixed and usually with-(e)n.
( there are 5 subclasses)
Class 7: V-ed1 and V-ed2 irregular
No suffixation
Always some vowel change
 4. Auxiliaries do, have, be
a) Do
• Past, present form
• Non-negative, uncontracted negative, contracted negative form
b) Have
• Base, -s form, past, -ing form, -ed participle
• Non-negative, uncontracted negative, contracted negative form
c) Be
• Base, -s form, past, -ing form, -ed participle
• Non-negative, uncontracted negative, contracted negative form
Note: - Aren’t I is used as there’s no contracted form for am not
- Lexical verb ‘be’ may have the do-construction in persuasive imperative
sentences
- Lexical verb ‘be’ has the do-construction regularly with negative
imperative
 5. Modal auxiliaries
• Forms (see table in 3.21)
Note: ought has the to-infinitive, but has bare infinitive in
negative sentences and questions in AmE
• Marginal modal auxiliaries
+ Used: no present tense; may take do-construction
+ Dare and need: constructed either as modal auxiliaries
(with bare inf. and with no inflected -s form) or as lexical
verbs (with to inf. and with inflected -s form)
 Modal auxiliary Lexical verb
construction construction
Positive He needs to go
now
He doesn’t need to
Negative He needn’t go now
go now
Does he need to go
Interrogative Need he go now?
now?
Doesn’t he need to
Negative- Needn’t he go
go now?
interrogative now?
 6. Finite and non-finite verb phrases
• finite verb phrases have tense distinction
• finite verb phrases occur as the verb element of a clause. There is
person and number concord between the S and the finite verb
• finite verb phrases have mood
• the non-finite forms of the verb are the infinitive, the -ing participle,
and the -ed participle. Non-finite verb phrases consist of one or more
such items.
 7. Order in the complex verb phrase

• MODAL, always followed by an infinitive

• PERFECTIVE, always followed by an -ed form
• PROGRESSIVE, always followed by an -ing form
• PASSIVE, always followed by an -ed form
 8. Contrasts expressed in the verb phrase

• Voice, involving the active-passive relations (this is dealt

with in 7.5 and 12.14-32)
• Questions requiring subject movement involve the use of
an auxiliary as operator. (this topic is dealt with in 7.44-57)
• Negation makes analogous use of operators (this is dealt
with in 7.33-42)
• Emphasis, which is frequently carried by the operators, is
treated in 14.35
• Imperatives are discussed in 7.58-62
 9. Tense, aspect and mood
• Tense and aspect
+ The present and past tenses in relation to the progressive and perfective aspects
+ The future
• Mood
+ The subjunctive mood: 3 categories of subjunctive:
• The mandative subjunctive in that-clause has only one form, the base (V).
→ can be used with any verb in subordinate that-clauses when the main verb
contains an expression of recommendation, resolution, demand, and so on
→ occurs chiefly in formal style (in less formal contexts should or to-infinitive is
used)
• The formulaic subjunctive: consists of the base (V) but is only used in
clauses in certain expressions which have to be learnt as wholes,
• The subjunctive were: hypothetical in meaning; used in conditional and
concessive clauses and in subordinate clauses after optative verbs like wish
+ Modal Past
 10. Uses of modal verbs
• Meanings
(see 3.48 to 3.53)
• The tense of modals
Present and past forms
• The modals and aspect