Chapter 1.

The Verb as a Lexical Class

THE VERB AS A LEXICAL CLASS Main issues: 1. Introduction and definition; 2. Verb classification criteria: the criterion of lexical interpretation; the criterion of formal interpretation; the criterion of functional interpretation; the criterion of structural interpretation; the criterion of distribution; the criterion of semantic interpretation. Learnin !b"ecti#es When you have studied this presentation you will be able: - to distin uish between various !inds of verbs "applyin various criteria# - to analy$e %n lish verbs and characteri$e them from various perspectives 1. Intr!$ucti!n an$ $e%initi!n Various tendencies have been recorded concernin the most accurate classification of the branches of eneral lin uistics. &he distinctions and the borderlines are sometimes so fu$$y that it is very difficult to both state and be unanimously accepted by the reat ma'ority of the lin uists where one field stops and the other one be ins. ( hu e amount of terminolo y has been accumulated in all these fields and) conse*uently) based on the same reality students have to face and et familiar with a considerable set of metalan ua e. What follows is an attempt to simplify and clarify thin s) if verbs are considered to be one of the most important parts of speech. +any metaphors to emphasi$e their role have been produced alon the years. ,ome say that the verb should be loo!ed upon as -the bac!bone. of the %n lish lan ua e) while the rest of the parts of speech would stand for its -ribs.. /efinitely) verbs may be the -bric!s. of the lan ua e while the other lexical classes are its -mortar.. &his chapter consists of two ma'or directions) "a# a modest in*uiry re ardin the types of definitions provided for the %n lish verb) and "b# the criteria accordin to which verbs are more easily described in terms of common features "be they formal or semantic#. &he definitions iven to the verb as a lexical class vary both from one school of rammar to another and) very often from one lin uist to another. ,tartin from didactical purposes if some definitions iven to the verb are interpreted in point of the criterion they are based on) one could distin uish the ontolo y) the form or the function to have been used as primary criteria. %ach of them may stand by itself to constitute the basis of the definition or one of the three may combine with another one. &o ma!e a ood approach to the %n lish verb system some words on the definitions assi ned to this lexical class should be considered. 0rammarians very often say that 1it is practically impossible to ive the exact and exhaustive definitions of the parts of speech2 "3espersen 1455: 55#. In an attempt to exemplify several types of definitions) we shall be in with a special version provided by 3espersen "1455: 56#) who does not explicitly define verbs) but exemplifies them usin the terms -activity.) -state. and -process.: 7I] go, take, fight, surprise, eat, breathe, speak, walk, clean, play, call "7I am in8 acti#it&# 7I8 sleep, remain, wait, live, suffer "7I am in8 a state# 7I8 become, grow, lose, die, dry, rise, turn "7I am in8 a pr!cess# &his sta e of non-formulatin a definition was not a common practice either at the be innin of the 29th century or even much earlier. :almer "1461:;4# critically *uotes <esfield.s definition of the verb which is -even worse 7than that of the noun8 because it is utterly uninformative -( verb is a word used for sayin somethin about somethin else.. 1
1

3.=. <esfield.s 1+anual of %n lish 0rammar and =omposition2 was published in 1>4>.
1

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class =onsiderin simplicity as a feature of the definitions iven to the %n lish verb) we shall *uote (lexander.s version "14>>:1;4# -( verb is a word " run# or a phrase "run out of# which expresses the existence of a state "love, seem# or the doin of an action "take, play#.. &his is a late 29th century example of how simply a verb could be defined. <evertheless) there also exist complex definitions to combine two criteria) which is the case of the followin one which is based on a contrast between the noun roup and the verb roup: -a clause which is used to ma!e a statement contains a noun roup) which refers to the person or thin that you are tal!in about) and a verb roup) which indicates what sort of action) process) or state you are tal!in about.. "=ollins=obuild 144?:1@6# ,chibsbye "1469:1# defined the %n lish verb ta!in into consideration the function and the content of the verb. In his system of reference the verb is functionally defined as -the sentenceformin element of a word- roup.. ,emantically) a definition of the verb in terms of its content -is the most comprehensive) but also the va uest.. 0enerally) verbs may express an activity "and in this case their denominator is the auxiliary /A#) a state "and in this case their denominator is the auxiliary B%#) and a chan e "and in this case their denominator is the auxiliary 0%&#) (lthou h definin the %n lish verb is a tas!) we su est a simple version: the verb is the lexical class which includes words expressin actions) events) states) and processes. &o classify %n lish verbs is a very difficult tas! since literature offers a wide variety of criteria for such an end. <evertheless) most of them show overlaps) vi$. basic forms) composition) content) predication) etc. &his presentation will also consider them and) possibly) some others) followin the same lin uistic description from form to content. '. Verb Classi%icati!n Criteria (s mentioned in the precedin para raph the classification of the verbs in %n lish may prove difficult in that there may be numerous criteria to consider. &his presentation does not intend to 'oin all the possible criteria accordin to which verbs may be classified with a view to a certain purpose. a( the criteri!n !% lexical interpretati!n Lexic!l! icall& classified) the verbs of the %n lish lan ua e may be the result of $eri#ati!n carried out either by means of pre%ixes or su%%ixes or by means of the double addin of the two lexical morphemes resultin in paras&nthetic %!r)ati!ns. +ost fre*uently used verb formin suffixes are those of A.%.) Catin or 0ree! ori in. &he prefixes of A.%. ori in include fore"foresee, forego#) out- "outlive, outnumber#) and un-"uncover, undo#) while those of Catin ori in could be exemplified by ante- "antedate#) con- "concentrate# or col- "collaborate, collocate#. &he verb formin prefixes of 0ree! ori in are usually exemplified by anti- "anticipate# and en"enlarge, enrich, encourage#. &he most fre*uently used verb formin suffixes are D en "strengthen, shorten#) -ify "purify, humidify#) -ise / -ize "oxidize, vaporize, civilise, modernise. organise#. &he combination of the above mentioned affixes may act to produce parasynthetic formations) such as simple simplify) oversimplify. ,ince %n lish is !nown to be a very flexible lan ua e) this flexibility may account for the use of various parts of speech as verbs. &hus) as a result of c!n#ersi!n not only nouns may be used as verbs "hand to hand, face to face, paper to paper, iron to iron # but ad'ectives and adverbs) too "for instance) black to black and slow to slow) out to out) respectively# . ( very small number of verbs result from bac*+%!r)ati!n) where nouns are reduced to verbs) as in the followin examples baby-sitter to baby-sit, blood-transfusion to bloodtransfuse, or electrocution - to electrocute. Very fre*uently used in pop music) especially (merican pop music) are the c!ntracte$ forms of verbs) such as ain t "isn t or hasn t#) lemme "let me#) wanna "want to#) gimme "give me#. b( the criteri!n !% %!r)al interpretati!n ,!r)all&) the %n lish verbs are re ular "i.e. they form the past tense) the past participle and the indefinite participle accordin to several spellin and pronunciation rules# or irre ular "where such rules are not applicable#. &he spellin rules for the basic forms of the re ular verbs are
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class included in the reat ma'ority of the volumes dedicated to the %n lish verb and that is why we encoura e the possible readers of this volume to loo! for further information in more popular rammars. c( the criteri!n !% %uncti!nal interpretati!n Eunctionally) the %n lish verbs fall into two lar e cate ories: the full meanin ) main or notional verbs and the "semi-#auxiliaries. c.1. Main #erbs &he %n lish verbs have been defined considerin their form and function. &hus) verbs may have a full meanin and play the !ey role to the whole sentence) which is the case with the lexical) main) principal or full verbs. Very numerous) they represent the lar er roup of verbs in %n lish and they were denominated differently by the authors dealin with them. &hese notional) main) lexical or principal verbs "or full verbs# have an independent meanin and function in the sentence. &hey are used to form the simple verbal predicate and express an action) a state) an event of or about the person or the thin denoted by the sub'ect. :almer "1464:2?# asserts that -both modals and main verbs are basically verbs and both can) in theory) share the same rammatical features.. <evertheless) thin s are different with the two roups of verbs. &he main verbs are thorou hly described in various boo!s of rammar and because of this reason they will not be insisted on in this presentation. &he aim of this course is that of spotli htin those features or details not very fre*uently considered in the speciali$ed literature. c.'. Auxiliar& #erbs &hey may be used in different positions. &hey are basically used as mar!s of rammatical cate ories) and *uite often as )!$als- lin*.in ( verbs) or as parts !% c!)p!un$ pre$icates. (s mar!s of rammatical cate ories they will help the spea!ers chronolo ically order the events they are tal!in about) to describe the phase of a process or activity or even a state) to underline who is doin somethin for someone else) to as! *uestions or to ive ne ative answers. When they play the part of lin* #erbs they are followed by a predicative to ma!e up the nominal predicate. Aut of these lin! verbs mention shall be made only of: to be, to become, to get, to remain, to appear, and to grow. &he lin! verbs may be interpreted as a syntactical cate ory by means of which the sub'ect is connected with the predicative. &hey may be considered a morpholo ical cate ory similar to but not identical with that of the auxiliary verbs. Fnli!e auxiliaries) lin! verbs actually represent the tense and they preserve some of their lexical value. ( special cate ory of verbs which partially play the part of an auxiliary are the catenati#e #erbs and they will be described in the last section dedicated to the auxiliary verbs . (FGICI(HI&I is a rammatical function which affects the verb phrase in various ways. It is expressed by the -auxiliary. or -helpin . verbs. &his roup of verbs is subdivided by most of the rammarians into -primary auxiliaries. "B%) J(V%) /A# and -modal auxiliaries. "=(<) +(I) WICC) ,J(CC) =AFC/) +I0J&) ,JAFC/) WAFC/ and +F,&#. /espite this classification the auxiliary verbs share one common syntactic feature: they may act as operators when holdin the first position within a verbal phrase. &hus) no matter whether expressed by primary or secondary or modal auxiliaries) operators will help buildin the interro ative and ne ative verb forms) as below: !s she wor!in on our pro'ect or on her paperK "ave they been buildin houses or bloc!s of flatsK &hey won t do that 'ob. ,he cannot play computer ames. #oes she not !now the answerK "ad they not finished that 'ob before noonK (uxiliarity may 'oin to ether up to four components) as exemplified by Luir! et al. "14>;:129) fi ure @.21#:
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class

Je ,ub'ect

might aux.1

have aux2

been being Verb phrase aux@ aux?

*uestioned main verb

by the police. by-phrase

c.'.1. /ri)ar& Auxiliaries &he auxiliaries very few in number) have no lexical meanin ) they are simply instruments by means of which rammatical or stylistic shades of meanin or are implied. &hey build up the analytical forms of the %n lish verb. &hey may be the mar!s of rammatical specifications) such as: tense "perfect tenses#) aspect "the pro ressive#) tempo-aspectuality "perfective and imperfective pro ressivity#) mood "sub'unctive) conditional and imperative#) voice "active) passive or causative patterns# and verbal forms "interro ative) ne ative and interro ative ne ative#. &he auxiliary carryin out a stylistic function is &A /A) when it is emphatically used. %ven if these primary auxiliaries are mainly described for their use as labels for the rammatical cate ories of tense) aspect and voice) they may fre*uently play the part of the verbal predicate of any sentence. BE &his is the first of a lon list of verbs) which may carry different meanin s and may play different roles. It is intended to facilitate the understandin of the flexibility) which characteri$es the %n lish lan ua e. (s a )ain verb) B% expresses existence) and displays a copular function: 3immy is in his room. &hat is the %mpire ,tate Buildin . +ary is a beautiful irl. (s an auxiliar& it can occur in two different patterns: M with the present participle of the full verbs to express aspectuality) i.e. pro ressivity or perfective pro ressivity: +iriam is learning (rabian. Jer behaviour has been improving lately. M or to express a entivity) with a main verb in the past participle: +adonna has been awarded lots and lots of pri$es. Fnli!e the rest of the auxiliaries B% has a very hi h fre*uency of occurrence due to its flexibility in bein both a mar! of aspectual forms as well as an auxiliary for passive constructions. HAVE Jave displays two different functions in the rammar of the %n lish lan ua e) actin either as a mainNfull verb or as an auxiliary. In its %ull )eanin #alue- have may be: M stati#el& used it expresses possession and may be replaced by the verbs to own and to possess or by the informal construction to have got: &hey have $got%/possess an impressive house. Je does not have $own/possess% a ship but a fleet. I have $got% a splittin headache. M $&na)icall& used to subsume the senses of the verbs to receive, to take, to experience and of many other verbs) which may result from the combination have O eventive ob'ect as in to have a shower/dream/walk/talk/chat, etc.. /ynamically used the verb to J(V% normally expresses the interro ative and the ne ative with the help of the verb to /A: #oes she have e s with her brea!fastK #id you have a ood time on your holidaysK

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class With the same meanin ) the verb may be followed by an ob'ect and a past participle in order to express the fact that the rammatical sub'ect of a sentence causes someone else to carry out an action for himNher. &he causal meanin of the verb to have is obvious in a context as: &hey sub'ect verb. (s an auxiliar& the verb to J(V% is the mar! of perfectivity "either simply used or in combination with pro ressivity or modality#: ,he has 'ust finished the translation. &hey had already translated the poem when the teacher entered the classroom. Je will have been working in this shop for two years by the end of this month. Iou must have been working very hard for the last ei ht hours since you loo! exhausted. ,he may have said the truth but I doubt it. 01 &his is the last verb of the current section to exemplify the double status of some verbs) that of auxiliaries and full meanin Nlexical verbs. (s a main verb /A may be used: M transiti#el& ,he has done her homewor! and now she will o out for a wal!. M intransiti#el&) as a verbal predicate: 1What have you been doing latelyK2 1<othin of importance) I.m afraid.2 M as a pr!+pre$icati!n: I cannot wor! as hard as I did when I was youn er. Ci!e the verb to J(V%) /A may ac*uire various meanin s dependin on the ob'ect followin it: &he children will have to do the dishes: +ary will wash and Ered will dry them. Ben has always done my old alarm cloc!. "to repair# Bernadette has done really ood essays this term. "to write# "ave you done the silver) +aureenK "to polish# Betsy) do these potatoes) will youK "to peel or to cook# (s an auxiliar&- /A is the mar! of the interro ative and in association with the ne ation not) the mar! of the ne ative. &hus) with its auxiliary role it is used in: M &es2n! 3 4uesti!ns: #o they wor! hardK 5 special 4uesti!ns "in the present or past tense simple#: Jow did they start their businessK When do they usually meet to discuss the further steps of their businessK M in ne ati!ns "in the present or past tense simple#: &hey don t earn as much as they dreamt they would. Iou didn t meet 3ohn yesterday. M in 4uesti!n ta s "when the verb in the assertive is in the present or past tense simple#: &hey !now the poem) don t theyK &homas does not understand Italian) does heK Je stole his parents. savin s) didn t heK M in re$uce$ clauses where /A is the dummy operator precedin the ellipsis of a predication:
;

had -causal have.

their house ob'ect

redecorated past participle

last year. time adverbial

Luir! et al. "14>;:1@2# include this pattern amon the uses of the verb to J(V% as a main

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class %mily runs faster than I do. I did not watch &V but my sister did. M unli!e the other verbs /A is used e)phaticall& "when the verb to be emphasi$ed is in the present or past tense simple#: In emphatic positive constructions: I do love my children. +iriam did say she would help you) didn.t sheK M in 6persuasi#e7 i)perati#e: #o come and have a coffee with us tomorrowP 1+ay I use your phoneK2 1Ies) by all means) do2. &his very concise presentation of the dual character of some verbs should be well remembered. It particulari$es one feature of the %n lish verbs which arises from their flexibility in usa e and which will be mentioned a ain in the case of other verbs "catenatives or mar inal modals#. c.'.'. M10AL A8XILIARIES &he last roup of verbs is represented by the )!$als or semi-auxiliaries "the pseudoauxiliaries) or the *uasi-auxiliaries# which have no independent meanin and conse*uently no independent function in the sentence. &hey are used as part of a "verbal or nominal# predicate. &he main lexical meanin is comprised in the second element of the predicate which is expressed by a noun) an ad'ective or verbal. ,yntactically) they are used in a finite form and express the predicative cate ories of person) and the rest of them already mentioned in the fore oin . (s part !% c!)p!un$ pre$icates these auxiliaries may e*ually accompany verbal and nominal predicates: &hey can go immediately. "compound verbal predicate# &hey must be being working very hard at this time of the day. "compound verbal predicate# &hey may be happy with their dau hter.s success. "compound nominal predicate# &he modal verbs which may display the two functions are shall, should, will and would. SHALL &hall behaves as an auxiliar& in declarative sentences) in combination with the first person sub'ect "both in the sin ular and in the plural# to express futurity related to a present reference: INwe shall o on a pac!in tour on 1 of 3uly. SH18L0 &his is considered an auxiliar& by those authors who admit the existence of the conditional mood in %n lish. (ccordin to them) ,JAFC/ combines with a first person sub'ect and the bare infinitive of a main verb to su est condition either seen from a present or past perspective. &he combination I29e : sh!ul$ : present in%initi#e su ests present conditional: ! should go to the theatre on condition we went /utch. (Q mer e cu tine la teatru cu condiRia ca fiecare sS-Qi plSteascS biletul. &he pattern I29e : sh!ul$ : ha#e : past participle will su est the idea of past conditional: ! should have gone to the theatre on condition we had one /utch. ,hould is also considered as an auxiliary to express "perfect# futurity related to a past reference: INwe admitted !/we should go on a pac!in tour the next wee!. I promised ! should have copied the text in less than an hour. ;ILL
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class &his verb behaves as an auxiliar& in declarative sentences havin a second or third person sub'ect to su est "perfect# futurity related to present reference: 'ou/&he/(hey will go on a pac!in tour next month. 'ou/&he/(hey will have made up their minds by this time tomorrow. ;18L0 &his is another example of verb displayin a double function: (s an auxiliar& it is always preceded by a second or third person sub'ect "sin ular or plural# and followed by an infinitive to su est condition: M the pattern <!u 2she2 the& : 9!ul$ : in%initi#e su ests a# a present conditional "in subordinate clauses expressin a condition#: &he would )oin him to the theatre on condition they went /utch. b# simple futurity related to a past reference: &hey told us they would set out on a cruise on the +editerranean next year. M the pattern &!u 2 she 2 the& : 9!ul$ : ha#e : past participle su ests: a# a past conditional: &he would have accepted his invitation on condition they had one /utch. b# perfect futurity related to a past reference: &he children promised their parents they would have done their homewor! before ; p.m. c.'.=. LI>?2LI>?I>@ C1/8LATIVE VERBS &he lin! or lin!in verbs are those verbs) which lin! to ether the sub'ect and the complement of one sentence to express *ualities or features re ardin the sub'ect. &hey may be used to convey two different meanin s: to indicate a state or to indicate a result. &he former roup of lin! verbs represents the current lin*in #erbs whose purpose is that of indicatin a state and they include to appear "happy#) to lie "scattered#) to remain "uncertain) perplexed) a bachelor#) to seem "restless) a mindful person) an efficient secretary) successful businessman#) to stay "youn #) to smell "sweet#) to sound "surprised#) to taste "bitter#. -Why) indeed) he does seem to have had some filial scruples on that head) as you will hear.. "3. (usten) 1469: 46# &he latter roup i.e.) the lin*in #erbs expressin result indicate that the role of the verb complement is a result of the event or process described in the verb. &his roup includes examples as to grow "tired#) to fall "sic!#) to run "wild#) to turn "sour#) to become "old-fashioned#) to get "nervous#. c.'.A. CATE>ATIVES &hey represent a special roup of verbs) which also have a dual character sharin the position of auxiliaries but the morpho-syntactical patterns of the main verbs. ,ome rammarians include amon the catenatives to appear, to carry $on%, to come, to fail, to get, to happen, to manage, to seem, to start out, to tend, to turn out and to keep $on%. (s catenatives their main feature is that they are always followed by the infinitive. 1Iour brother wishes to marry my dau hter) and I wish to find out what sort of a youn man he is. ( ood way to do so seemed to be to come amd as! you) which I have proceeded to do.2 " J. 3ames. D W.T,. 54-69# Fsed as catenatives to carry on, to go on, to keep $on% and to start out may be followed by the present participle "in pro ressive constructions# or by the past participle "in passive constructions#: &he ardener started out / kept $on% N went on wor!in in the arden. Aur team got beaten by the visitors. "Luir! et al. 14>;: 1?6# Eor didactic purposes we shall have to consider that auxiliaries represent a special class of verbs whose main purpose is that of helpin the full meanin verbs to express tenses) aspectual
6

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class meanin s) a entivity) as well as interro ative and ne ative patterns. &o simplify thin s) the auxiliaries may be further subclassified into: Mprimary auxiliaries "B%) J(V%) /A# which are mar!s of pro ressivity) perfectivity) i.e. of tempo-aspectuality) and interro ation and ne ation constructin patterns; Msecondary "modal# auxiliaries which are) in turn) rouped into: - central modals "those modals which share a set of morpho-syntactic features# ; - mar inal modals "which share only some of the enerally ac!nowled ed morpho-syntactic features of the modals# In spite of various particular features they still share one common trait D they behave as operators "to switch their position with the sub'ect to build the interro ative or to accept the enclitic ne ation <A& to build the ne ative#. Fnli!e the primary auxiliaries) which are mar!s for the previously mentioned rammatical cate ories) the secondary or modal auxiliaries add various shades of meanin to the verb they accompany. &hey are considered to produce the compound verbal predicates and to express the spear!er.s personal opinion or attitude. ,pecial subdivisions were dedicated to some verbs) which have a double status in the rammar of the %n lish lan ua e: "1# verbs which overlap meanin s of full verbs and auxiliary verbs "B%) J(V%) /A#; "2# verbs which develop characteristics of primary auxiliaries and modals ",J(CC) ,JAFC/) WICC) WAFC/# "@# verbs which display meanin s and characteristics of both full verbs and modal auxiliaries " <%%/ and /(H%# $( the criteri!n !% structural interpretati!n Structurall&) the verbs are divided into 6sin le+9!r$ #erbs7 and -multi+9!r$ #erbs7. &he considerable ma'ority of the %n lish verbs is represented by this first cate ory. 1. The 6sin le+9!r$7 #erbs are simple "do) o) as!) loo!) ta!e) etc.# and compound. &he compoundin elements are parts of speech belon in to the same or to different sets: M a$"ecti#e : #erb: to whitewash) M n!un: n!un2#erb: to pinpoint, to spotlight M a$"ecti#e : n!un2#erb: to highlight, to lowrate M prep!siti!n : #erb: to understand, to undertake, to undergo, to overestimate. M a$#erb : #erb: to broadcast, to outcast. '. The 6)ulti+9!r$7 #erbs are not so numerous but they are very fre*uently used due to their simple structure which ma!es them more practical for the economic) pra matic and wellcalculated native spea!er of %n lish. &his label accounts for the so-called complex verbs) which li!e the -simple-word. verbs may be further classified into four different sub roups) as follows: M t&pe A c!)binati!ns) also called the -c!)pleti#e intensi#es7 are those complex verbs where the particle does not chan e the meanin of the verb but it is used to su est that the action described by the verb is performed thorou hly) completely or continuously. Eor example) in the case of spread out to the basic meanin of the verb to spread the ideas of direction and thorou hness are added; in the case of to lin! up) the particle up adds the su estion of completeness to the initial meanin of connection and finally) in the case of to slave away and to slo away) the element which is common to the two examples adds an idea of continuousness to the idea of hard wor!. M t&pe B c!)binati!ns) also !nown as 6literal phrasal #erbs7 are the combinations where the verb and the particle both have meanin s which may be found in other combinations and
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class uses) but there is overwhelmin evidence that they "may# occur to ether: to fi ht bac!) to sin bac!) to phone bac!) to stri!e bac!. M t&pe C c!)binati!ns) traditionally these are the #erbs 9ith c!)puls!r& prep!siti!n these are the combinations where the verbs are always accompanied by a particular preposition and they are not normally found without it. ,ome of the verbs with compulsory preposition are to allude to, to aim at, to debate on/upon, to decide on/upon, to interfere with but their more comprehensive list may be found in (nnex 1. M t&pe 0 c!)binati!ns or -phrasal #erbs7 are more common in spo!en or informal %n lish but rarely used in formal or technical contexts. Fnli!e the verbs with compulsory preposition) the - phrasal #erbs7 share the followin features: - they may produce derived forms) i.e. nouns or ad'ectives: If someone ma!es a getaway) they get away from a place in a hurry) perhaps after committin a crime. (n off-putting person is sNhe who puts you off or causes you to disli!e him. &he two examples illustrate individual situations where the derived form may or may not reverse the order of the compoundin elements; there are cases where one combination may produce these two derived forms) the identical pattern is turned into the derived nouns or ad'ective but the newly formed derivative may also have the reversed order. &his case may be exemplified by the phrasal to break out) that is to be in suddenly: ( fire broke out on the ?th floor. War broke out in %urope on ?th of (u ust. (n outbreak is a sudden occurrence of somethin unpleasant: a severe outbreak of food poisonin . ( break-out is an act of escapin from a place: we debated whether to ma!e our brea!-out on =hristmas %ve. - they accept a direct ob'ect between the verb proper and the particle: (o take off one s hat may also be expressed as a# (ake your hat offP and b# (ake it offP - they may consist of more than two elements) as to loo! forward to) to loo! down on) to put up with) etc. The complex verbs may be made up of: M #erb : prep!siti!n this structure accounts both for verbs with compulsory preposition and for the phrasal verbs. We shall sustain the precedin statement with the example of the verbs to look after and to fall* A 3 #erb 9ith c!)puls!r& prep!siti!n B 3 phrasal #erb

&A CAAU (E&%H V ! m looking after the do chasin V (hey look after their son.s children. "ei au ri'S the cat. "mS uit dupS...# deW# &A E(CC A< V to be/set on* V to attack suddenly: +y birthday falls on a &hursday this &errorist roups were falling indiscriminately on men year. and women in the street. "Watacau fSrS "cade pe# discriminareW#
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class V to hug eagerly with happiness and excitement: :eople were falling on each other in deli ht and tears. "Wse XmbrSRiQauW# M #erb : a$#erb the meanin of the phrasal verbs cannot be inferred from its compoundin elements. &hus) there are some verbs which are accompanied by meanin fully opposite particles but their new patterns do not convey the sum of the meanin s of the compoundin elements. &his is the case of the verb to lead : to lead in means to start a formal discussion or meeting by making a short speech and to lead out means to connect directly "used about buildin sN rooms) etc# &wo tiny rooms led off the livin room. ,ome other examples of patterns of this !ind are included in (nnex 2. M #erb : a$"ecti#e this structure is not so very actively used; for instance to fall flat. M #erb : a$#erb : prep!siti!n this pattern will be exemplified with: - to lead up to D to radually uide the conversation to a point when they can introduce the sub'ect - to hedge around with: to cause somethin to be very difficult or complicated : Jer freedom was hedged around with duties and restrictions. - to fall in with: to accept "a plan) idea) system# and not to try to chan e it: I didn.t !now whether to fall in with this mana ement - to live up to/ match up to Y to be as " ood as # the sub'ect expects you to be. &he film didn t live up to my expectations. ,he succeeded in livin up to her extraordinary reputation. e( the criteri!n !% $istributi!n /istribution considers the elements meanin fully connected to the verb. &hus) six types of verbs may be drawn by the way they are complemented or distributed within lar er contexts: Mintransiti#e #erbs: these verbs may be accompanied by adverbials only: to arrive, to die, to come, to fall, to go I lay there for hours. M lin* #erbs: they ta!e a complement Je looked trained and respectable. ,he seemed a child. M )!n!+transiti#e #erbs: they ta!e a direct ob'ect I lost my suitcase. 5 $i+transiti#e verbs: they may ta!e both a direct and an indirect ob'ect &hey kept the pie for me. &hey had to give the key to the landowner. Mc!)plex transiti#e #erbs: they ta!e both ob'ects and complements I considered it too large for my room. I shall make my position perfectly clear. Mcatenati#es: they are -ordinary verbs which are followed by non-finite forms of other ordinary verbs. " Brou hton 1449 : ;4# &he cars began climbing throu h wooded countryside.2 %( the criteri!n !% pre$icati!n When considerin the semantics of the %n lish verb a new concept mi ht be used with a view to meanin fully classifyin this lexical class) i.e. predication. :redication is a lexico2

Eor further information on catenatives see 0eoffrey Brou hton) 1449) +enguin ,nglish -rammar. . / for .dvanced &tudents) :en uin Boo!s
19

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class rammatical cate ory referrin to all the instances when a verb ma!es sense by itself or re*uires somethin else to be added to complete its meanin . (ccordin to this criterion verbs are subdivided into: M verbs of c!)plete pre$icati!n; these verbs may convey a messa e by themselves) without any other additional information. In the example below) the predicate expresses by itself a particular ability concernin the sub'ect of the sentence. +ary writes. M verbs of inc!)plete pre$icati!n; they need a !ind of complementation to convey a meanin ful messa e. &his is usually the case of the transitive verbs. +ary writes e-mails. M verbs of $!uble pre$icati!n "dependin on the context they are part of) some verbs may have either complete or incomplete predication#. +ary writes e-mails to her friends every week. &he verbs of complete predication may usually be the intransitives and the reflexives: the auxiliaries) the lin! verbs) the modals) and the "in#transitives. ( the criteri!n !% se)antic interpretati!n (lthou h most of the %n lish verbs bear more than meanin it is convenient for the Homanian learner to have them classified into seven ma'or semantic domains: activity) communication) mental) causative) aspectual) of simple occurrence and of existence or relationship. Biber et al. "1444# distin uish two !inds of meanin s) the -core meanin . "the meanin the spea!ers tend to thin! of when they first hear the word as a part of the communication process# and the non-core meanin s. +any verbs have multiple meanin s which derive from different semantic domains. ( verb is most comin with a non-core meanin . 1. Acti#it& #erbs: denote actions and events that could be associated with choice: bring, buy, carry, come, give, go, leave, move, open, run, take, and work. &he airline had opened the route on the basis that it would be the first of many. &hey can be used transitively "for example: %ven the smallest boys bought little pieces of wood and threw them in# or intransitively "Erom Jaworth they went to Jolyhead and to /ublin# '. C!))unicati!n #erbs: can be considered a special cate ory of activity verbsthat involve communication activities: ask, announce, call, discuss, explain, say, shout, speak, state, suggest, talk, tell, and write. Iou said you didn.t have it. I would shout my love to you. =. Mental #erbs denote a wide ran e of activities and states experienced by humans; they do not involve physical action and do not necessarily entail volition. &his cate ory includes: c! niti#e )eanin s "think, know#) and e)!ti!nal )eanin s expressin attitudes or desires " love, want#) perception "see, taste#) receipt of communication "read, hear#. +any mental verbs describe c! niti#e acti#ities that are relati#el& $&na)ic in meanin ) for example calculate, consider, decide, discover, examine, learn, solve, study . +ore stative in meanin "describin co nitive states# believe, doubt, know, remember, understand and emotional and attitudinal states "en)oy, fear, feel, hate, like, love, prefer, suspect, want #. &he co nitive states: we all believe that. I somehow doubt it. %motional or attitudinal states: I feel very sorry for you. (s a child he hated his wee!ly ritual of bathin . I preferred life as it was. A. Verbs !% %acilitati!n or causati!n are exemplified by allow, cause, enable, force, help, let, re0uire, permit. &hey indicate that some person or inanimate entity brin s about a new state of affairs. /istributionally) these verbs often occur to ether with a nominali$ed direct ob'ect or complement clause which reports the action that was facilitated. Erom a distributional point of view) the causatives are followed by
11

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class M a nominali$ed direct ob'ect: ,till other rules cause the deletion of elements from the structure. &his information enables the formulation of precise 0uestions. M or by complement clauses: :olice and council leaders a reed to let a court decide the fate of the trees. &his law enables the volume of gas to be calculated. B. Verbs !% si)ple !ccurrence primarily report events "typically physical events# that occur apart from any volitional activity; they are also called occurrence verbs and are exemplified throu h become, change, happen, develop, grow, increase, occur. &he word of adults has once a ain became law. &he li hts changed. C. Verbs !% existence or relati!nship report a state that exists between entities "most of these verbs are lin! or copular verbs#) which is the case of be, seem and appear. ,ome of them report a particular state of existence "exist, live, stay# or a particular relationship between entities "contain, include, involve, represent#. &he state of existence is illustrated by: I o and stay with them. ,he had one to live there durin this summer holiday. Helationship will be expressed by: &he exercise will include random stop chec!s by police) and involve special constables and traffic wardens. Well) she has a day off school. D. Aspectual #erbs normally characteri$e the aspectual features which describe an activity) event or process) namely sta e) duration) attitude of the sub'ect) the "non#repeated character of an activity or event and) last but not least the natural end or limit of a process or an activity. - the sta e of pro ress of some other event or activity) typically reported in a complement clause followin the verb phrase. %xamples of aspectual verbs should include: begin, continue, finish, keep, start, stop, cease, and end. ,he kept runnin out of the arden. Je couldn.t stop tal!in about me. (fter another day he began to recover. - the $urati!n of an activity or a process or even a state is the feature accordin to which verbs may be considered durative and time-point verbs. &he durative verbs which express actions) processes and states which last in time may be illustrated by examples as to work, to exist, to fly, to run, to sleep, to read, to study. &he time-point or momentary verbs) expressin actions and states spannin a very short interval of time#: to come across, to run into, to start, to enter, to get out, and to win. &he attitude of the sub'ect roup of aspectual verbs denominate voluntary actions or involuntary actions) #!liti!n thus becomin a selectin feature in the case of these aspectual verbs. &he voluntary actions are expressed by verbs of active perception as to watch, to look at, to contemplate, to listen to. &he verbs expressin involuntary actions or inert perception are to see and to hear. &he iterati!n or fre*uency divides the aspectual verbs of this roup into se)el%acti#es) i.e. those verbs expressin an event or activity which lasts an extremely short time interval) such as to hit, to knock, to cough, to )ump, and iterati#es whose meanin is that of underlyin the fact that the activity expressed by any of the semelfactives and many other verbs !eeps repeatin for a specified moment or interval. Telicit& "or the reachin of a natural end) or limit or boundary or the feature of boundness# divides verbs into telic and atelic verbs. &he former roup is represented by those verbs whose activity or process reaches a natural end: ,he is smoking a ci arette. Je is making a chair.
12

Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class &he latter roup of verbs is outlined by those verbs whose contextual meanin shows that no end will ever be reached: ,he smokes "implicature she belon s to the cate ory of smo!ers# &hey make chairs "possible meanin D to earn their livin # &his is a controversial criterion) because there may also exist situations where the sentence sub'ect is an inanimate entity) which cannot be said to intervene and produce a natural end to the action expressed by the verb: &he stone was rolling to the river ban! is the example =harlotta ,mith provides to sustain a statement similar to the precedin statement. &o sum up) understandin the meanin of telicity is a must since this feature distin uishes between the uses of pro ressive or common verb forms in the correct production of an %n lish sentence. &his section aimed at offerin a wide ran e of criteria helpful for a better understandin of the %n lish verb system. &hese are not the only classifyin criteria) but it is worth mentionin that their bein included in this chapter is supported by the followin reasons: - main and auxiliary verbs behave differently in statements) interro ations and ne ations; - re ular and irre ular verbs show different rammatical patterns in statements) interro ations and ne ations; - modality) as an issue peculiar to the %n lish lan ua e) re*uires not only rammatical !nowled e and experience but a clear understandin of its concepts and implicatures) also; - modals verbs represent a hi h de ree of difficulty verbal class) due to both their morpholo ical features and to their semantics which relies mainly on the context they are part of; - the semantic classification of verbs is helpful in the learnin of aspectual distinctions) which a ain are difficult to understand for Homanian learners since aspect is not a fully represented rammatical cate ory in the Homanian verb system. &o find a perfect correspondence between %n lish and Homanian verbs would be an impossible thin to do) if we consider catenatives) central modals or aspectual verbs. <evertheless) some of the %n lish roups of verbs are to be found in Homanian) too "as it is the case with the primary auxiliaries B% and J(V%) or with the classification into transitive and intransitive) as well as with the semantic classification of verbs) which at least partially) shows some common elements#. Su este$ assi n)ents 1. Answer the following questions: 1. =ould you enumerate some of the criteria which were used to classify the verbs in %n lishK 2. Jow many types of -multi-word. verbs do you !nowK " ive examples# @. =ould you name the primary auxiliariesK ?. What is the ma'or difference between the primary auxiliaries and the modal auxiliariesK ;. Jow do you distin uish the central from the mar inal modalsK 5. Jow would you define the catenativesK " ive examples# 6. Jow would you define the lin! verbsK " ive examples# >. What is a transitive verbK 4. What is a verb of complete predicationK 19. Jow do you distin uish between a verb with compulsory preposition and a complex "or phrasal# verbK 11. =ould you ive examples of three ditransitive verbs in sentences of your ownK 12. Which of the classifications seems more practical to you and whyK 2. Translate the following verbs using causatives:
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class 1. +i-am aran'at astfel pro ramul $ilei de astS$i XncZt sS am timp sS a'un la coafor sS mS coafe$ Qi sS-mi fac un hiile. 2. Ca spital) Xnainte sS fie introduQi Xn sala de operaRie) tuturor pacienRilor li se de$infectea$S rSnile. @. C-am XntZlnit ieri cam pe la ora 19 Qi mi-a spus cS se ducea la croitor sS-Qi facS un costum pentru balul care urma sS aibS loc peste 2 sSptSmZni. ?. :entru cS au fost invitaRi de onoare nu au avut de cheltuit prea mulRi bani; astfel) li s-a plStit hotelul cStre =onsiliul Britanic) iar transportul de cStre compania &arom. ;. :reQedintele companiei a fost pus Xntr-o situaRie dificilS: el a trebuit sS-Qi amZne vi$ita pentru cS nu i s-a tradus cuvZntarea la timp. 5. /eoarece capitala 0ermaniei unite trebuia sS fie Xntr-un sin ur oraQ) uvernul acestei RSri a promis cS va muta toate ministerele la Berlin pZnS la sfZrQitul lunii au ust 1449. 6. :entru cS au cZQti at la loterie) s-au hotSrZt sS-Qi construiascS o casS Qi) Xn acest scop) au ne ociat cu mana erul unei firme de construcRii din BucureQti. >. Ari de cZte ori vine la oraQ) XQi reparS maQina la service-ul Victoria Qi le explicS tuturor prietenilor lui cS muncitorii de aici sunt nu numai foarte pricepuRi) ci Qi foarte serioQi) corecRi Qi de Xncredere. 3. Translate the following sentences into English, using phrasal verbs: 1. 2. @. ?. ;. 5. 6. >. 4. 19. 11. 12. AdinioarS casele romZneQti de la RarS erau construite numai din lut Qi lemn. :SlSria aceasta a fost fScutS din fetru) mStase Qi pan lici. 0rupul de reviQti se XndreaptS acum spre clSdirea uvernului. +aQina era destul de departe de mine aQa cS nu i-am putut vedea numSrul. =hiar dacS am au$it doar frZnturi din conversaRia lor) mi-am dat seama cS se XntZmplase ceva neaQteptat. Fnii reporteri sunt atZt de talentaRi XncZt fac o poveste interesantS dintr-un eveniment banal. (pa este alcStuitS din hidro en Qi oxi en. (u renunRat la ultima excursie a vacanRei lor la Homa pentru cS erau extenuaRi de vi$itele la obiectivele turistice din oraQ. +ulte rupSri politice s-au creat din partide"le mai# mari dupS 1442. "brea! away# +-am XnQelat din cau$a pre$entSrii produsului prin reclama tv. "to be ta!en in by# Elorile rSspZndeau un parfum discret Xn Xntrea a XncSpere. %ra foarte atentS la cel mai mic detaliu ca sS nu se dea de ol arStZnd cZt de multe Qtia despre povestea lor.

4. Translate into English using verbs with compulsor preposition: 1. :entru cS se abRinuse sS dea replica pe care interlocutorul o merita) tremura de mZnie Qi era albS ca varul. "tremble in wrath# 2. [n fiecare $i citeQti Xn $iarul local cS un oarecare Qi-a ucis mamaNtatSlNfiulNfiica Xntr-un acces de mZnie Qi apoi s-a sinucis. @. Ca aflarea veQtii cS un urs a scSpat din captivitate vi$itatorii au Xnceput sS tremure de fricS Qi s-au rSbit sS plece acasS. ?. =Znd a fost acu$atS cS a furat banii cole elor ei de camerS nimeni nu a cre$ut cS este vinovatS; cZnd au Ssit XnsS banii ascunQi sub perna ei am cre$ut cS fata va muri de ruQine. "die for shame# ;. =ei doi tenismeni au fost felicitaRi pentru demonstraRia de talent Qi ambiRie cu care au luptat pZnS la sfZrQitul meciului. 5. ,pectatorii au reuQit sS-Qi exprime spri'inul pentru cel mai tZnSr dintre actorii de circ: un bSieRel de numai patru ani. 6. +ulRi medici i-au urmat lui :opescu la conducerea spitalului) dar puRini dintre ei au reuQit sS RinS pasul cu cerinRele ministerului mai mult de un an. >. /ramatur ia lui ,ha!espeare constS din tra edii) comedii Qi piese istorice.
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Chapter 1. The Verb as a Lexical Class

!. "ea# the e$cerpt an# #istinguish between phrasal verbs an# verbs with compulsor preposition. Translate it into "omanian. &here was in him a union of the manly race and sublime simplicity) of chivalry with the intellectual splendour of the (ttic (cademe. &he only character in %n lish history that would) in some respects) draw near to him is ,ir :hilip ,idney: the same hi h tone) the same universal accomplishments) the same blended tenderness and vi our) the same rare combination of romantic ener y and classic repose.\ (s for his own ac*uaintance with the :rince) it had been) he said) \one of the most satisfactory incidents of his life: full of refined and beautiful memories) and exercisin ) as he hopes) over his remainin existence) a soothin and exaltin influence.\

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