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Non-finite forms of verbs



The non-finite verbal forms or verbals are the present participle or Participle I, the past participle or Particip­le II, the gerund and the infinitive. Their main characte­ristic feature is determined by their syntactic functioning: verbals can never be predicate in a sentence and thus have no grammatical subject to agree with in person and num­ber. However, they may perform a predicative function, that is be part of predicate in association with finite verbal forms. For example: He is watching TV. The house was built. The book has been read. My aim is to master English.

Besides, verbals are characterized by their common traits with some other parts of speech. Infinitives and gerunds combine verbal and nounal characteristics while participles have both verbal and adjectival as well as verbal and adverbial features.

Verbals participate in the realization of some of verbal categories. Thus, the participle has two tense forms: the present — Participle 1 and the past — Participle II. For example: writing — written, cleaning — cleaned: reading read, working — worked.

Such verbals as the present participle, gerund and infinitive have Taxis and Voice distinctions. This means that they may be either perfect or non-perfect and either

active or passive. Compare: writing, being written, to write, to be written, to be writing (non-perfect) — having read, having been read, to have written, to have been written, to have been writing (perfect)writing, having written, to write, to have written, to be writing, to have been writing (active)being written, having been written, to be written, to have been written (passive).

The infinitive has also aspect distinctions: to read, to be read, to have read, to have been read non-continu­ous: to be reading, to have been reading continuous.

The three verbals retain the syntagmatic characteris­tics of the finite forms of the verb they are derived from. They may be transitive and intransitive. Compare: transi­tiveThe teacher told us to learn the poem by heart. (infinitive) I'm learning the poem by heart, (present par­ticiple) I've learnt the poem by heart, (past participle) On learning the news we got upset, (gerund); intransitive — I'd like you to come tomorrow, (infinitive) He's coming. (present participle) He's come, (past participle) On coming nearer I saw a friend of mine crossing the street, (gerund) See also 6.4.

As well as the finite forms of the verb participles, gerunds and infinitives are modified by adverbs: / was sitting in the armchair waiting patiently for her. She woke the child by talking loudly. Children must listen to the teacher attentively.

Participle

The participle is a non-finite verbal form which has some common features with the adjective or the adverb. There are two participles in English which are the two

realizations of the category of Tense: the present participle or participle I and the past participle or participle II.

The formal sign of the present participle is the -ing suffix added to the infinitive without to. being, having, doing, coming, flying, etc.

The formal sign of the past participle of regular verbs is the -ed suffix added to the first (or the present tense) form: cleaned, worked, loved and so on. Irregular verbs have past participles of their own: been, had, done, spo­ken, come, flown.

6.17.1.1. Verbal characteristics of the participle

The verbal characteristics of the present participle are determined by the Categories of Taxis and Voice. This results in the following set of forms: 1) active, non-per­fect — reading, 2) passive, nonperfect — being read, 3) active, perfecthaving read, 4) passive perfect ha­ving been read.

The non-perfect forms of the participle show that the action is simultaneous with the action denoted by the finite form of the verb in the sentence: He was sitting in the arm-chair, looking through a magazine. She sat next to him trying various topics of conversation.

The perfect participle indicates that the action pre­cedes the action expressed by the finite verb in the sen­tence. Having looked through a magazine he rose and went away. Having tried various topics of conversation she asked him to tell her who all the people at table were.

Participle II has only one form for each of verbs which is passive, be been, have had, come come, love loved, clean cleaned, work worked. There is no corresponding active participle in English, so its func-

tion is performed by a clause. Compare: I don't like books written in the first person. — The woman who wrote the book is a friend of mine.

The present participle of a transitive verb can take a direct object: Opening the window, he noticed a stranger in the garden.

The participle can be modified by an adverb: The room was crowded by people talking and laughing noisily. Deeply impressed she couldn't help crying.

6 Л 7.1.2. Adjectival characteristics of the participle Like adjectives the participle is related to a noun in the sentence, either as attribute or predicative. For exam­ple: The next minute we were welcomed by a smiling woman of about forty, (attribute) The young mother was looking at her little child, (predicative)

6.17.1.3. Participle and adjective

Both present and past participles should not be con­fused with homonymous adjectives ending in -ing and -ed. These adjectives form pairs like annoying annoyed, amazing —- amazed, amusing — amused, astonishing — astonished, boring — bored, confusing confused, depres­sing — depressed, disappointing disappointed, em­barrassing — embarrassed, exhausting — exhausted, ex­citing — excited, frightening frightened, horrifying — horrified, satisfying satisfied, shocking — shocked, sur­prising — surprised, tiring tired, worrying — worried.

6.17.1.4. Adverbial characteristics of the participle The adverbial character of the participle is mani­fested in its syntactic function of adverbial modifier: While travelling around the country we visited many interesting places. Having entered the house he heard some noise.

When left alone she spends her time at her writing table.

6.17.1.5. Syntactic functions of participle

The participle can fulfil the following syntactic func­tions:

1) attributive: I saw a running boy. It was a pleasant room overlooking a garden. There was a broken cup on the table. This was a story made up to impress me.

2) predicative: The boy was running. The cup was broken. I have broken a cup. The cup has been broken.

In the predicative function the participle may find itself in the Complex Subject (see also 6.17.3.1.}. The boy was seen running to the river. The children were heard laughing.

3)  objective as part of the Complex Object (see also 6.17.3.2.}: I saw a boy running along the street. She heard him playing the piano. In this function the past participle is used only after have to show an action done by someone: We have just had our house painted. (Someone has painted the house for us.) / have my hair cut once a month. (Compare: We have just painted our house. I cut my hair once a month.}

4) adverbial as part of the Absolute Participial Const­ruction. Turning round, he stared at me. While working so hard he needed fresh air. When dressed. I sat a long time by the window. He drove slowly, enjoing the evening.

Adverbial function may also be carried out by both participles when they find themselves as parts of the Absolute Nominative Participial Construction.

6.17.1.5.1. Absolute Nominative Participial

Construction

The Absolute Nominative Participial Construction or the Nominative Absolute is a special grammatical pattern in which either the present or past participle is in pre­dicative relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in the Nominative Case; the noun or pronoun is not the subject of the sentence. For example: She turned, losing her restraint, her eyes sparkling with honest indig­nation. (A. Cronin) He found that Ann had advanced into the hall, her hands folded upon her apron, her eyes con­templating him... (A. Cronin.)

The Nominative Absolute is mainly recurrent in fic­tion or intellective prose: Supper finished, he led him into the parlour... (S. Maugham) Sitting like that, his eyes half closed, tasting blood, an image began to form hazily in his mind. (I. Shaw) Africans who spoke different languages were purposefully grouped together by the slave traders to discourage communication between the slaves, the idea being to prevent slave revolts.

The Nominative Absolute may precede or follow the sentence it is attached to or sometimes be inserted bet­ween subject and predicate and is normally separated by a comma (commas): Then Ms face lightening, he ran to the desk. (A. Christie) She had the window opened, and sat looking out, the feeble sun shining full upon her. (T. Har­dy) The Strand, it being the hour when the theatres began

to empty themselves, was a roaring torrent of humanity and vehicles. (P. Woodhouse)

The Nominative Absolute usually expresses adverbial relations, that is time, cause, condition, or manner and therefore is used in the function of adverbial modifier. For example: This duty completed, he had three months' leave. (T. Hardy) It being now pretty late, we took our candles and went upstairs. (Ch. Dickens) One morning he stood in front of the tank, his nose almost pressed to the glass. (Th. Dreiser) Weather permitting, we shall start tomorrow.

The Nominative Absolute may be introduced by the preposition with and is then called the Prepositional Abso­lute Participial Construction. For example: The daughter sat quite silent and still, with her eyes fixed on the ground. (Ch. Dickens) The accent variations have provoked not a little controversy in recent years, with the broad Australian accent in particular having its critics and its defenders.

Besides participles absolute constructions may admit of adjectives, nounal phrases and adverbs. For example: Mansion went homeward alone, his heart full of strange emotion. (T. Hardy) He was there, writing busily at a dis­tant table, with his back towards the door. (Elliot) Break­fast over, he went to his counting house. (Ch. Bronte)

Gerund

The gerund is a non-finite verbal form which has some common features with the noun.

The gerund is homonymous to the present participle and thus is formed by means of the -ing suffix added to the infinitive without to: being, having, doing, coming, flying, etc.

6.17.2.1. Verbal characterisrics of gerund

Like the present participle the gerund has the same set of forms which is the result of the realization of such categories as Taxis and Voice: 1) active, non-perfect — reading, 2) passive, non-perfect — being read, 3) active, perfecthaving read, 4) passive perfecthaving been read.

The perfect gerund indicates that the action precedes the action expressed by the finite verb in the sentence. However, the same meaning may be rendered by means of the non-perfect form used as a direct object: He admitted having stolen the money. = He admitted stealing the money. They now regret having got married. = They now regret getting married.

To render finished actions the non-perfect gerund is often used with the prepositions on and after as adverbial modifier: On hearing the news she got pale. On arriving in the city the travellers went to the hotel. After leaving school he went to work at a factory. After looking through the book she gave it back to the shop assistant.

In the above sentences the actions denoted by the gerunds may as well be rendered by means of perfect participles: Having heard the news she got pale. Having arrived in the city the travellers went to the hotel. Having looked through the book she gave it back to the shop assistant.

Passive gerunds can be formed only out of transitive verbs or intransitive verbs with prepositions: She disliked both reading aloud and being read to. He was surprised at being surrounded by his former enemies and being spoken to.

Note that after the verbs to want, to need, to deserve, to require and the adjective worth the gerund is used in the active form, though it is passive in meaning. For example: The flowers need watering. The child deserves praising. The pictures are not worth looking at.

The gerund of a transitive verb can take a direct object: The boy has made progress in reading and speaking English.

The gerund can be modified by an adverb: She is fond of reading aloud. He objected to going there imme­diately.

6.17.2.2. Gerund and Participle

Although the gerund and the present participle are formally identical, their functions in the language are completely different.

As distinct from the participle the gerund may be preceded by a preposition, it may be modified by a noun in the possessive case or by a possessive pronoun; it can be used as subject and object. Although both the gerund and the present participle may be used as attributes and adverbial modifiers the gerund in these functions is always preceded by a preposition. Compare: The very idea of sailing makes me sick. — The sailing ship was on its way to the port, (attributes) On coming home he phoned his mother. — Coming home he found the gate open, (adver­bial modifiers)

6.17.2.3. Nounal characteristics of gerund

The nounal characteristics of the gerund are realized first and formost in its syntactic functioning as subject, object, and predicative. For example: Reading aloud is dying out these days, (subject) In the silence the boy began reading, (object) His hobby is reading aloud, (predicative)

The gerund can be preceded by a preposition: Without asking for his advice I have taken an important step. On receiving the telegram he went to the station. After stamping the envelope she went to post the letter.

The gerund can be attributed by a possessive pro­noun: They didn't approve of his playing a roulette. She was not pleased at my coming. They were surprised at their coming so early.

The gerund can be modified by a noun in the Pos­sessive Case: She was furious at her son's having disobeyed her. I was proud of my sister's dancing so well.

6.17.2.4. Syntactic functions of gerund The gerund is used as

1) subject: Swimming against the current was diffi­cult. Learning rules without examples is useless.

2) predicative: Her aim is learning English grammar. They couldn 't help laughing.

3) direct object: Avoid making mistakes. Excuse my interrupting you. They postponed giving a definite answer. The room needs cleaning.

4) prepositional object: / was never tired of talking to him. She is very good at reciting poems. He was accused of stealing the money. I object to going there.

5) attribute (always with a preposition, mostly of): He gave up the idea of becoming a professional singer. Could you do me a favour of introducing me to you wife?

6) adverbial modifier (always with a preposition): After talking to us for a moment he left to get his train on the other side. She left without saying «goodby». On coming nearer I could recognize my schoolfriend who was buying a newspaper.

6.17.2.4.1. Gerund and infinitive as a direct object

Some verbs and verbal phrases may be followed by 1) gerunds only, 2) by infinitives only (see 6.17.3.2.1.}, and 3) by both gerunds and infinitives.

The verbs that are usually associated with gerunds are: finish, delay, enjoy, mind, suggest, fancy, imagine, ad­mit, deny, avoid, consider, involve, practise, miss, postpo­ne, risk, give up (stop), put off (postpone), carry on (con­tinue), keep or keep on, like, dislike, hate, enjoy, can't stand. For example: / don't fancy going out this evening. Would you mind closing the door? He admitted stealing the car. She gave up trying to find a job. I enjoy meeting people. I can't stand being alone.

Gerunds are used after such verbal expressions as be interested in, be good at, be fed up with, be excited about, be/get used to, it's no use/it's no good, there's no point in, it's (not) worth, go ing. Are you interested in working for us? He is not very good at learning languages. They are not used to getting up early. I've got used to driving on the left. It's no use worrying about it. The book is not worth reading. I've never been sailing. I have to go shop­ping everyday.

The gerund is used after prepositional verbs like suc­ceed in, feel like, think about/of, dream of, approve/dis­approve of, look forward to, insist on, persist in, decide against, apologise for, accuse somebody of, suspect some­body of, congratulate somebody on, prevent somebody from, thank somebody for, forgive somebody for, warn somebody against. For example: Has he succeeded in finding the job? I'm looking forward to meeting them. He apologised for having been rude. They accused him of

telling lies. They warned us against staying at the hotel. What prevented him from coming to the meeting?

The verbs that may be followed by both gerunds and infinitives without any difference in meaning are as fol­lows: begin, start, intend, continue, love, can't bear. For example: The girl began crying. = The girl began to cry. It has started raining. = It has started to rain. He continued working after his illness. = He continued to work after his illness.

The verbs and verbal phrases that can be used with both gerunds and infinitives with some difference in mea­ning are as follows: stop, forget, remember, regret, try, be afraid, help. Compare: He stopped to smoke. — He stopped smoking. I remembered to lock the door before I left. — / clearly remember locking the door before I left. I regret to inform you that you are bankrupt. We've always regretted selling the farm. The two sides are still trying to reach an agreement. — If the car won't start, try pushing it. I was afraid to go out of the house at night. — I'm always afraid of being bitten by dogs. Can you help me (to) move the desk? We couldn't help laughing at the joke.

6.17.2.5. Gerund and verbal noun

The gerund must not be confused with the verbal noun that has the same -ing suffix. The points of differences between the two are given below.

Like all the verbals the gerund has a double natu­re — nominal and verbal while the verbal noun has only a nominal character. Besides, the nominal meaning of nouns is much wider since they are intended to name people, objects, states, abstract notions, and actions. Ge-

runds are supposed to name actions only. For example, as a noun teaching means «the work or profession of a tea­cher» as well as in the plural — teachings denote some­thing which is taught, especially the moral, political, or religious beliefs taught by a person of hisporical im­portance. Painting is used to refer to the act of painting houses, rooms, etc. and pictures, as well as to a painted picture. As gerunds they denote only actions of teaching and painting correspondingly.

The gerund is not used with articles whereas the verbal noun may be used with an article. For example: We have come to an understanding. I have only a limited understanding of economics. I lent him the money on the understanding that he paid it back the next month.

The gerund has no plural form while the verbal noun (countable) may be used in the plural: Hard work will be the making of him. She has the makings of a good doctor.

The gerund of a transitive verb takes a direct object whereas the verbal noun takes a prepositional object with the preposition of. Compare: He received so many letters that he gave up reading them. She tried to pull herself together and get ready to the reading of the letter.

The gerund can be modified by an adverb while the verbal noun may be modified by an adjective. Compare: On the course she got a thorough training in every aspect of the job. — The man insisted on shaking hands enthhu-siastically.

6.17.3. Infinitive

The infinitive is a non-finite verbal form that has some nounal characteristics. The infinitive is homony-mous to the present form of the verb with the exception of to be, its formal sign is the particle to: to come, to do, to have, to clean, to fly.

However there are cases in which infinitives are used without to. They are as follows:

1) after auxiliaries: We shall meet tomorrow. I don't speak French.

2) after modals such as must, can/could, may/might, shall/should, will/would: You must visit us when you are in Moscow.

3) as part of the Complex Object after verbs deno­ting sense perception: / saw him cross the street. We heard her singing.

4) as part of the Complex Object after the verbs ma­ke, let, have. He made her cry. Let us be friends. I had them take my baggage.

5) after such expressions as had better, would rather. You'd better go home now. I'd rather play tennis than swim.

The particle to may be used without the infinitive provided it is easily understood in the context: f couldn't go to the party yesterday but I wanted to. He can leave if he prefers to.

The particle may be separated from the infinitive by an adverb making a split infinitive. This is often consi­dered bad English: He was wrong to suddenly say that. But sometimes there is nowhere else to put the adverb: Your job is to really solve the problem.

6. 1 7.3.1. Verbal characteristics of infinitive

The verbal characteristics of the infinitive arc

determined by the categories of Taxis, Aspect and Voice

This results in the six forms:

1) active, non-perfect, non-continuous — to read,

2) active, perfect, non-continuous — to have read,

3) active, perfect, continuous: to have been reading,

4) active, non-perfect, continuous — to be reading,

5) passive, non-perfect, non-continuous: to be read,

6) passive, perfect, non-continuous — to have been read.

The perfect forms of the infinitive show an action as anterior to another action and thus are used to express a result or finality while its non-perfect forms indicate simultaneity. For example: It is better to live than to have lived.

The continuous forms of the infinitive denote an action in progress whereas the non-continuous forms show an action as a fact. For example: She seems to be reading now. She seems to read a lot.

The perfect continuous infinitive shows an action as lasting a certain period of time before another action of the finite verb: She seems to have been reading since morning.

Passive infinitives can be formed from either transi­tive verbs or intransitive with prepositions: She prefers to be told news rather than tell it. Such dishonest action is not to be thought of.

In sentences with the construction there is the infi­nitive of some verbs may be active or passive without any change in meaning. For example: There is nothing to fear/to be feared. There was no work to do/to be done.

The infinitive can be modified by an adverb: / can't speak French so well. I used to get up early but now I prefer to stay in bed till afternoon.

6.17.3.2. Nounal characteristics of infinitive The nominal character of the infinitive is revealed in its syntactic functions as subject, predicative and object. For example: To know a foreign language is to know its grammar and vocabulary, (subject) To learn is to gain knowledge of something. The train is to arrive at 5 p.m. (predicative) The boy has already learned to read and i write, (direct object)

i

6.17.3.2.1. Infinitive as a direct object

Infinitives are normally used as direct objects after the following verbs: afford, agree, appear, arrange, at­tempt, decide, fail, hope, learn, manage, offer, plan, pre­tend, promise, refuse, seem, threaten, would like, would love, hate, prefer. For example: They agreed to lend me some money. We can't afford to lose such a chance. She decided to say no. He pretended to be reading. I refused to answer the question. I would like to come to a party. I would love to meet with you tonight. She hates to be late for work.

6.17.3.3. Syn ta ctic fun ctions of infin itive In a sentence the infinitive may function as subject, predicative, object, attribute and adverbial modifier. For example: To keep silent under the circumstances is almost a crime, (subject) / can drive. One has to know a foreign language. The aim of the book is to give the reader the idea of literature, (predicative) My father taught me to

drive. Can you help me (to) move the table? (object) / ha­ve much work to do. I have no pen to write with, (at­tribute) To learn a foreign language one has to work hard. To be in time for the party we had to take a taxi.

(adverbial modifier)

Besides, the infinitive enters into the specific gram­matical patterns, namely Complex Subject and Complex Object.

6.17.3.3.1. Complex Subject

Complex Subject (or the Nominative-with-the-Infini-

tive Construction) is a pattern in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in the Nominative Case. Thus the pattern includes the two elements, the first functions as subject, the other one is part of the compound verbal predicate. For example: Susan is said to resemble me.

Complex Subject admits of any form of the infini­tive, i.e. perfect/non-perfect, active/passive, continuous/ non-continuous.

Complex Subject may be used with some verbs in the Active Voice, with other verbs in the Passive Voice, and with a number of verbal phrases.

Complex Subject is used after the following pairs of synonymous verbs in the Active Voice: a) seem, appear, b) happen, chance, c) prove, turn out. For example. Peter seems to have recieved the letter. The discussion appeares to have been friendly and fruitful. If you happen to find it, please let me know. She chanced to be in the park when I was there. Perhaps the book will prove to be useful after all. His statement turned out to be false.

Complex Subject is used with the following groups of verbs in the passive:

1. With verbs denoting sense perception: to see, to hear, etc. For example: The dark-haired man was seen to leave the house. He was heard to laugh heartily.

Note that with these verbs Complex Subject admits of present participles showing an action going on: They were heard talking together. She was seen descending the hill.

2. With verbs denoting mental activity: to think, to consider, to know, to expect, to believe, to suppose. For instance: The government is thought to be planning an election in June. The manuscript is believed to have been written in the twelveth century. He was supposed to have left the country.

3. With the verb to make: She was made to wait for hours.

4. With verbs to say, to report, to allege. He is said to be the richest man in the world. He is reported to have been seen in London. He is alleged to have passed on secret information to a newspaper.

Complex Subject can be used with verbal phrases like to be certain, to be sure, to be (un)likely. For example: She is certain to pass the exam. It is really a good film you are sure to like it. He is likely to arrive a bit late. It is unlikely to rain.

6.17.3.3.2. Complex Object

Complex Object (or the Objective-with-the-Infini­tive) is a pattern in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the Common Case or a pronoun in

the Objective Case. In the sentence the pattern functions as a complex object.

Complex Object is used with various groups of verbs. They are as follows:

1. Verbs of perception: to hear, to see, to watch, to feel, to observe, to notice, etc. The infinitive is used without the particle to. For example: / heard her say so. I saw him leave the house. I felt something touch my foot.

2. The verb to make which is followed by the infi­nitive without to. For example: The pain made her cry.

3. Verbs of mental activity: to know, to think, to considerate believe, to suppose, to expect, to find, to trust, to feel. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: The jury believed her to be innocent. I expect him to fail the exam. You can't trust the trains to run on time. She felt her story to impress him.

4. The verbs of willingness: want, would like, wish. They are followed by the infinitive with particle to. For example: He wants you to wait here. I wouldn't like you to think I was being unfair. Is there anything else you wish me to bring you?

5. The verbs to declare, to report. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: She declared herself to be a supporter of the cause.

6. Verbs denoting likes and dislikes: to like, to dislike, to love, to hate. They are followed by the infinitive with the particle to. For instance: / dislike you to talk like that. I hate you to think we were late on purpose.

7. Verbs of order and permission: to order, to allow, to have. They take the infinitive with the particle to. For example: The doctor ordered her patient to take a month's rest. Mother doesn 't allow me to smoke in the house.

8. Verbs of compulsion: to cause, to get, to have. For instance: His illness caused him to miss the game. I got him to help me when I moved the furniture. What would you have me say?

Note that Complex Object may admit of participles instead of infinitives. Infinitives as part of the pattern show an action as a fact while present participles show an action in process. Compare: / saw him leave the house. — / saw him leaving the house. I heard him lock the door. — / heard him locking the door.

Past participles as part of Complex Object are used only after have. This structure is used to show an action as performed by someone: Will you have my cases sent up, please? I've just had my roof fixed. She has her hair cut once a month.

Ш EXERCISES

/. Comment upon the morphological structure of the verbs below:

Run, blow up, daydream, specialize, disagree, mis­take, understand, put up with, remake, remark, widen, unite, take notice, catch cold, get hold of, make use of, break down, broadcast, look for.

2. Define the syntagmatic characteristics of the ita­licized verbs in the following extracts:

a) In the 1786 Sir William Jones (a British scholar who found it best to reside in India because of his

1

sympathy for the rebellious American colonists) delivered a paper in which he observed that Sanskrit bore to Greek and Latin 'a stronger affinity... than could possibly have been produced by accident'. Jones suggested that these three languages had 'sprung from a common source' and that probably Germanic and Celtic had the same origin. The classical philologists of the time attempted to disprove the idea that there was any genetic relationship between Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek, since if such a relationship existed it would make their views on language and lan­guage development obsolete.

b) For many languages there are historical records that go back more than a thousand years. These records are studied to find out how languages were once pro­nounced. The spelling in early manuscripts tells us a great deal about the sound system of older forms of modern languages. If certain words are always spelled one way, and other words another way, it is logical to conclude that the two groups of words were pronounced differently, even if the precise pronunciation is not known.

c) In Tolstoy's masterpieces all is probable and typical of human life. These are the sort of things that might happen to anyone. Things like them have probably happened to thousands. These are such people as we might meet any day. We can say without reservation, This is what life is like'.

d) But we cannot help noticing that until quite mo­dern times nearly all stories were of a different type. Just as all except bores relate in conversation not what is nor­mal but what is exceptional, so earlier authors told of the exceptional.

e) No one knows exactly how or why languages change. Certainly linguistic changes do not happen sud­denly. It is not the case that all speakers of English awoke one morning and decided to use the word beef for «ox meat». Nor is it true that all the children of one particular generation grew up to adopt this new word usage. Changes are more gradual, particularly changes in the phonological and syntactic system.

3. Define the forms of conjugation of the italicized verbs below:

a) Strictly speaking, metaphor occurs as often as we take a word out of its original sphere and apply it to new circumstances. In this sense almost all words can be shown to be metaphorical when they do not bear a physi­cal meaning; for the original meaning of almost all words can be traced back to something physical; in our first sen­tence above, for instance, there are eight different meta­phors. Words had to be found to express mental percep­tions, abstract ideas, and complex relations, for which a primitive vocabulary did not provide; and the obvious course was to convey the new idea by means of the nearest physical parallel.

b) A chronological investigation most obviously begins with the native tongue that was brought to these islands in the fifth century by the Germanic tribes who eventually overran the native Britons. The importance of this purely Germanic basis is often overlooked, largely because of the great number of foreign words incorporated in our present-day vocabulary. But an examination of

actual usage, as opposed to mere presence in a dictionary, shows how important the native words are.

c) While Nathaniel Hawthorn was still living, he took ' a place among the greatest American authors, a position he shows no sign of losing. During the last three decades, in fact, his achievement has been valued higher than ever before. As his works have been reassessed by standards which have been revised to accord with the critical view and tastes of recent years, enthusiastic recognition has been given to the consistency of his total thought, to the balance and perception of his social outlook, to his understanding of human character, particularly the darker elements, to the mastery he displayed in the use of indefiniteness, ambiguity, and suggestion, and above all to the richness of metaphor and symbol he achieved.

4. Comment upon the functions of be:

a) The linguistic effects of Anglo-Saxon wars were just as clear-cut. Many Celtic communities were destroy­ed, assimilated, or gradually pushed back westwards and northwards, into the areas we now know as Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, and perhaps also Scotland. Here the Celtic dialects were to develop in separate ways, resulting in such modern languages as Welsh and Gaelic.

b) Complaints about the state of the English lan­guage and the uses made of it are by no means new. They first appeared five centuries ago, after English had dis­placed French as a respectable vernacular and as the ins­trument for law and administaration, when English was beginning to compete with Latin as the medium for se­rious and scholarly writing. In the fifteenth century a

national standard language was emerging that was based on the dialect of London, the political and judicial capital of the country, but also its commercial, social and intellectual centre....Then, as now, the country needed a standard dialect that was not only generally intelligible but also, because of its naturality, did not distract through its regional peculiarities from efficient communication bet­ween people of different parts of the country. But at the end of the fifteenth century the standard language was not yet stable or uniform, though the invention of printing was to hasten its development.

c) By the end of the seventeenth century, conside­rable progress had been made towards the standardization of the printed language in spelling, syntax and vocabulary. It was agreed among the learned that English had reached in the recent past a near-perfect stage, having been purged of its impurities and inconsistencies. A major concern of the eighteenth-century writers was to prevent further change, to preserve English largely as it then was, remo­ving imperfections that they believed were creeping into the language in their own time. Any further changes, they feared, must be for the worse: that language must be pro­tected from corruption.

d) For generations of American children Mother Goose rhymes have been the first contact with the lite­rature of their native language and culture. At home and in their early years at school, the rhythmic lilt of these rhymes delights and instructs them. So well-known are these rhymes and their subjects that allusions to them permeate our adult conversation and writing; without a knowledge of them no English-speaking American has a truly complete literary education. It has been said that

there is something for everyone in Mother Goose. Even scholarly adults are intrigued by her possible origin, by the hidden meaning in the simple verses, and even which historical characters are being lampooned in them.

5. Comment upon the functions of have in the following extracts:

a) Scott, though he had some antecedents, including Maria Edgeworth's picture of Irish life in Castle Rackrent (1800), may be said to have invented the histotical novel.

b) As well as the ceaseless process of change, several factors have combined recently to blunt the angularities of Received Pronunciation. Some of them turn out to have affected more than the way we speak, in the revolution in the English language that is going through one of its rapid and violent phases, as after 1066 and in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.

c) Just as everyone has an accent, so everyone speaks a dialect. This point sometimes comes as surprise to people who have been brought up to think of dialects as belonging to country yokels. But rural dialects make up only some of the regionally distinctive varieties of English.

d) Now all of this happened in educated speech only. Since the fourteenth century, the pronunciation associated with the south-east of England, and especially that heard in the area around London, had acquired a special social status. This was where the Court was located. Anybody who was anybody in politics, the law, the church or commerce would have had an eye — and an ear — on London.

e) Conversation is usually spontaneous; speakers have to 'think standing up'. They therefore do not have the time to plan out what they want to say, and their grammar is inevitably loosely constructed, often con­taining rephrasing and repetition.

f) However, as we have already indicated, language is very much a social phenomenon. A study of language totally without reference to its social context inevitably leads to the omission of some of the more complex and interesting aspects of language and to the loss of oppor­tunities for further theoretical progress. One of the main factors that has led to the growth of sociolinguistic re­search has been the recognition of the importance of the fact that language is a very variable phenomenon, and that this variability may have as much to do with society as with language.

6. Comment upon the functions of do in the following extracts:

a) When we hear a language we do not know, it sounds like gibberish. We don't know where one word ends and another begins. And even if we did, we wouldn't understand the meaning.

b) The continual impoverishment of English speech, in its frank descripton of the passions and the crudities of life, deprives his style of the range which Shakespeare possessed. Nor did he penetrate into the hidden places of his characters' minds. Their conduct and emotions are governed by simple motives.

c) However, by talking to the other person about some neutral topic like the weather, it is possible to strike

up a relationship with him without actually having to say very much. Railway-compartment conversation of this kind — and they do happen, although not of course as often as the popular myth supposes — are a good example of the sort of important social function that is often fulfilled by language.

d) Taboo words occur in most languages, and failure to adhere to the strict rules governing their use can lead to punishment or public shame. Many people will never employ words of this type, and most others will only use them in a restricted set of situations. For those who do use taboo words, however, 'breaking the rules' may have connotation  of strength or freedom which they find desirable.

e) Languages are always in a state of flux. Change affects the way people speak as inevitably as it does any other area of human life. Language purists do not welcome it, but they can do very little about it. Language would stand still only if society did. . ..During the greater part of the 19th century, linguistic scholarship used the comparative method to establish the facts of language change. What features of language have changed in the past? When did they change? How did they change? ...Why do languages change?

f)...«poetry is the best words in the best order». It is not a good specimen of his (Coleridge's) wisdom, but it does serve to remind us that words cannot be treated in isolation, except in respect of their sound and spelling....It is a maxim he (writer) he does well to remember, all the same.

7. Define the meaning of the italicized modals in the extracts below:

a) This initial sampling gives them an expectation about the way the text should be read, and they use their background knowledge to 'guess' the remainder of the text and fill in the gaps. In this view, a text is like a problem that has to be solved using hypotheses about its meaning and structure.

b) A short narrative passage might first be presented on tape for aural comprehension. A series of pictures il­lustrating the story might then be provided on banda sheets for each pupil. Question-and-answer work may then ensue. If the teacher is going to pass from one acti­vity to another in this way, it should be noted that the passage mil be limited to only a small number of sen­tences. A following lesson may well allow the pupils to perform varied substitution, transformation and expansion exercises on the same sentences.

c) When addressing other research chemists, a scien­tist can say: «Chlorophyll makes food by foto-synthesis», and they will all understand the platitude he is expressing in simple jargon. When addressing a class of non-scien­tists, the research chemist could translate his statement into «Green leaves build up food with the help of light».

d) It must also be true, though equally tiresome to have to prove, that there is more jargon in the English language today than has been there since the immigrant Angles, Saxons, and Jutes started to develop their jargon of Englisc. As Jacob Grimm, the German philologist, recognized: «In wealth, wisdom and strict economy, none of the other living languages can vie with it». It has to

- express all the knowledge and opinion of all the learning and pseudo-learning in the world.

e) The more subtle kind of repetition we are advo­cating should be a built-in feature of any good language course. Structures and vocabulary items ought to be re­peated at regular intervals from lesson to lesson. The same linguistic units will occur in a number of different situa­tions and in conjunction with a range of varied visuals.

8. Translate into English using modals of obligation:

1. Ему пришлось лечь в больницу. 2. Никому не говори о том, что я сказал тебе. 3. Вам следовало со­общить об этом раньше. 4. Нужно всегда говорить правду. 5. Поезд прибывает в 5 часов вечера. 6. Вам не следовало приходить так рано. 7. Я должна прово­дить занятия по расписанию. 8. Почему ему приш­лось обратиться в полицию? 9. Не смей трогать этот выключатель. Это опасно. 10. Что нужно сделать, чтобы получить водительские права? 11. На экзамене я должен ответить на многие вопросы. 12. Боюсь, мы не сможем увидеться. Я завтра работаю. 13. Ему не следует так быстро ездить: он еще совсем неопытный водитель. 14. Всем надо идти на выборы. 15. Вы обя­зательно должны нас навестить.

9. Translate into English using modals of supposition:

1. Он был отличным теннисистом и мог бы обы­грать любого. 2. Вчера вечером мы могли пойти в театр, но из-за дождя решили остаться дома. 3. Мы только что пообедали. Ты просто не можешь быть

голодным. 4. Нигде не могу найти свою сумку. На­верное, я оставил ее в магазине. 5. Она не подошла к телефону. Наверное, она спала. 6. Хотя огонь рас­пространялся стремительно, всем удалось спастись.

7. Однажды у него был трудный матч с сильным соперником. Но ему все-таки удалось выиграть.

8. Возможно, цены на бензин снова поднимутся. 9. В последнее время я плохо сплю. 10. Она прошла мимо меня, не поздоровавшись. Должно быть, она меня не видела. 11. На прошлой неделе отменили футбольный матч, но я в любом случае не смог бы играть из-за болезни. 12. Вы целый день путешествовали и, долж­но быть, очень устали. 13. Наверное, он не видел, ку­да идет. 14. В дверь стучат. Это должен быть почталь­он. Он всегда приходит в это время. 15. Он должен сдать экзамен, так как много занимался.

10. Define the function of shall, will, should, would and the grammatical pattern in the following sentences:

1. The children of the village would shout with joy whenever he approached. 2. You should have phoned me at once. 3. I thought that by doing that, I would have solved all my problems at a stroke. 4. He said he wouldn't be late. 5. These poems will assuredly take high rank among the class to which they belong. 6. We will not have this man to reign over us. 7. Whoever commits robbery shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment. 8. For this opinion we shall proceed to give our reasons. 9. The handle turned, but the door would not open. 10. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said this. 11. In the afternoon he would go out and walk for hours. 12. Will you have a cup

of tea? 13. Let us ask this man what the creature is, and I will stand by what he shall say. 14. It is impossible that you should have said this. 15. Should he come this way, 1 will speak to him.

11. Analyse the italicised verbal forms in terms of the grammatical categories:

a) There are indeed many differences between the way grammar is used in writing English and the way it is used in speaking it. This is only natural. When we are writing, we usually have time to make notes, plan ahead, pause, reflect, change our mind, start again, revise, proof­read, and generally polish the language until we have reached a level which satisfies us. The reader sees only the finished product.

b) Meanwhile, the Bible, which had been appearing in various forms in the vernacular, was approaching the translation in which it was to become for centuries the best-known book in English. The English Bible as it is known today owes its form mainly to the labours of two men, William Tyndale (1490-15360) and Miles Coverdale (1488-1568). Already in the fourteenth century John Wycliff (1324-84) had laboured to make an English ver­sion, but his renderings were based on the Vulgate, or La­tin version, and his English was literal and stiff. His influence on the development of English prose has been exaggerated. Tyndale, who at Vilvorde in 1536 was strangled at the stake for heresy, and his body burnt, gave to his prose the simple vigour of phrase and the strong cadences, with which the Authorized Version of 1611 has made us familiar.

c) An experiment was carried out in the USA in which a number of people acting as judges were asked to listen to tape-recordings of two different sets of speakers. Many of the judges decided that speakers in the first set were black, and speakers in the second set white — and they were completely wrong, since it was the first set which consisted of white people, and the second of Blacks. But they were wrong in a very interesting way. The speakers they had been asked to listen to were ex­ceptional people: the white speakers were people who had lived all their lives amongst Blacks, or had been raised in areas where black cultural values were dominant; the black speakers were people who had been brought up, with little contact with other Blacks, in predominantly white areas.

d) Our perception of the English language and how it works has changed radically in the present generation. In the High Victorian world the pristine philologists saw the language in much the same way as they saw Victorian society: as a pyramid. At the top was the Queen's English (not, as it happens, spoken very well by Her Majesty, who retained a faint German accent all her life; she wrote it with naive charm and enthusiasm).

e) It is sometimes thought that only a few people speak regional dialects. Many restrict the term to rural forms of speech — as when they say that 'dialects are dying out these days'. They have noticed that country dialects are not as widespread as they once were, but they have failed to notice that urban dialects are now on the increase.

12. Comment upon the forms of the participle and its syntactic functions:

a) The news that fresh varieties of English are developing around the world, bringing in large numbers of new words, is seen by some as a good thing, adding still further to the expressive potential of the language; but many people shake their heads, and mutter about the language going downhill.

b) English is constantly being stretched in new directions. We wake up every morning to new discoveries, new concepts and fresh demands on language to express what we think and feel. All the time spoken English is lubricating the wheels of the written language, leaving it more easygoing.

c) Since the late 1980s, editors of dictionaries have become wary of criticism and hedge some entries with a new qualification: disp, short for disputed, meaning that there are many people who reject the way certain words are used or pronounced.

d) Although these comments can be supported, they are stretching language beyond reasonable limits. It takes two to communicate, and it is asking a great deal of the other person to pick up such reading-between-the-lines nuances.

13. Comment upon the forms of the gerund and its syntactic functions:

a) The best way to keep abreast of changing fashions in pronouncing place-names, as well as dealing with the more obscure places in the news, is to listen to

newscasters. They rehearse pronunciations carefully to be sure of saying any name that comes up with a cosmo­politan nonchalance.

b) Brackets are useful for including a piece of back­ground information, without holding up the flow of the sentence.

c) Translators aim to produce a text that is as faith­ful to the original as circumstances require or permit, and yet that reads as if it were written originally in the target language. They aim to be «invisible people». What they do is transferring content without drawing attention to the considerable artistic and technical skills involved in the process.

d) The best-known current example of external influence causing language change is the 'Americaniza­tion' of world culture, which has caused English words to appear prominently in city streets all over the world, reflecting the dominance of that culture's popular songs, films, television, high finance,  food and drink, and consumer goods.

14. Comment upon the forms of the infinitive and its syntactic functions:

a) It's only recently that people have begun to criticise the view that English ought to be shaped to fit the rules of Latin. These days, the fashion is to study a language as it is. Latin is no longer a dominant influence in education, though that is a source of regret to many.

b) But a hundred years ago, you couldn't be thought of as educated without knowledge of Latin. And, amongst other things, this meant showing in your English speech

and writing that you 'knew the rules'. To split the infini­tive became one of the signs of a lack of education, or of carelessness.

c) By contrast, the primary aim of phonology is to discover the principles that govern the way sounds are organized in languages, and to explain the variations that occur. A common methodology is to begin by analysing an individual language, to determine which sound units are used and how they pattern...

d) In 1350 the Black Death wiped out a third of the population in less than two years. Those who were left to speak English were speaking a less elaborate language that was ceasing to be inflected. Gender was going. The Eng­lish no longer wanted to remember that while woman was masculine, wife was neuter.

e) Although there seems to be little regional speech variation, factors to do with social prestige are important. In particular, Recieved pronunciation continues to exert a considerable influence.

75. Define the grammatical status and the syntactic function of the italicised -ing forms in the following extracts:

a) Central to the success of this rapidly emerging field lies the ability of researchers to devise satisfactory methods for eliciting linguistic data from children. The problems that have to be faced are quite different from those encountered when working with adults.

b) And anyone who has tried to obtain even the most basic kind of data — a tape recording of a represen­tative sample of a child's speech — knows how frustrating

this can be. Some children, it seems are innately pro­grammed to switch off as soon as they notice a tape recorder being switched on.

c) Spelling and pronunciation in English are very much like trains on parallel tracks, one sometimes racing ahead of the other before being caught up. An arresting example of this can be seen in the slow evolution of verb forms in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that turned hath into has and doth into does.

d) All language- teaching methods are necessarily based on some sort of analysis, for the very process of making a method involves the breaking down of the language into the elements which are to be taught. Lan­guage -teaching analysis depends ultimately on the recog­nition of these elements. The more we know about what a particular language contains, the more we can analyse the teaching of it.

e) And generally actors try to pronounce words clearly paying special attention to their endings, and with­out rushing weak syllables. In this way, the words can be heard more clearly at the back of the theatre. But their speech is much slower than normal conversation as a result.

f) The arguments in favour of spelling reform are easy to state. Children and foreign learners of English would save much time and emotional effort in learning to read and write. People using the language would save time and money, because they would be able to write English more rapidly, and with fewer letters — as many as 15 per cent fewer, according to some estimates. Over the years, the saving in terms of paper, ink, storage, and so on would be very great.

g) Bacon is the most complete representative of the Renaissance in England, learned, worldly, ambitious, intriguing, enamoured of all the luxury that wealth in his times could supply, and, while knowing so much, almost completely ignorant about himself. One can picture him in his study... with music playing softly in an adjoining room, running his fingers through a heap of precious stones, while his mind is contemplating the nature of truth...

h) Just as Hawthorn's starting point in planning an essay or a work of fiction was an idea, so his normal method of developing an idea was by accretion, by accumulating manifestations, frequently in the manner of a catalog or a procession, so as to reiterate, expand, or modify the initial idea. A loose parallel exists in Emer­son's method in his essays of stating the central idea over and over...

16. State the grammatical status of verbals and their syntactic function in the following extracts:

a) Reading and writing have long been thought of as complementary skills: to read is to recognize and interpret language that has been writen; to write is to plan and produce language so that it can be read. It is therefore widely assumed that being able to read implies being able to write — or, at least, being able to spell. Often, children are taught to read but given no formal tuition in spelling; it is felt that spelling will be «picked up». The attitude has its counterpart in the methods of 200 years ago, when teachers carefully taught spelling, and assumed that reading would follow automatically.

b) The educational setting presents them (children) with a variety of unfamiliar, subject-related styles of language. They have to learn a new range of linguistic skills — reading, writing, and spelling. And they find themselves having to talk about what they are doing, which requires that they learn a special technical voca­bulary — a 'language for talking about language', or meta­language.

c) We begin by considering the way foreign lan­guages can act as a barrier to international communica­tion and the various methods that have been proposed to reduce or eliminate the problem. One possible solution lies in translating and interpreting — a field whose future will be much affected by progress in computer appli­cations. Another is to promote the development of an existing language as a world language — something that currently seems to be happening to English. Each of these approaches is given separate discussion and illustration. A focus is provided by the branch of sociolinguistics known as 'language planning' — an area that has attracted in­creasing attention in recent years.

17. Translate into English using the Complex Subject:

1. Все, казалось, было в полном порядке. 2. По-видимому, они использовали эти сведения. 3. Похоже на то, что он опять не сдал экзамен. 4. Казалось, он подыскивал нужные слова. 5. Известно, что римляне построили на Британских островах хорошие дороги и много крепостей. 6. Полагают, что эта рукопись относится к VIII веку нашей эры. 7. Сообщают, что экспедиция достигла места назначения. 8. Валь-

тер Скотт считается основоположником историчес­кого романа. 9. Он, кажется, уже две недели работает над этой статьей. 10. Вы, случайно, не знаете при­чину его отсутствия? 11. Он оказался хорошим спорт­сменом. 12. Случилось так, что мы попали под дождь и промокли до нитки. 13. Нам уже случалось иметь дело с такими людьми. 14. Ее считают хорошим спе­циалистом. 15. Он поехал на юг, но климат оказался вредным для его здоровья. 16. Студентам не разреша­ется опаздывать на занятия. 17. Ее заставили изме­нить свое решение. 18. Маленьким детям не разреша­ется смотреть телевизор более двух часов в день. 19. Его статья, несомненно, будет опубликована. 20. Вы, непременно, найдете там много друзей. 21. Вряд ли она откажется выполнить эту работу. 22. Неужели он так и не выучил это правило? 23. Непохоже, что хо­лодная погода простоит долго. 24. Известно, что когда-то этот город был столицей. 25. Говорят, что он увлекается современным искусством.

18. Translate into English using the Complex Object:

1. Я почувствовал, что кто-то тронул меня за плечо. 2. Она чувствовала, что он говорит правду. 3. Он попросил подать машину. 4. Я слышала, как ваше имя упомянули несколько раз. 5. Я видел, как она вошла в дом и зажгла свет. 6. Дождь заставил нас вернуться домой. 7. Преподаватель велел студентам проработать текст. 8. Я хочу, чтобы мой сын стал врачом. 9. Все считали его порядочным человеком. 10. Мы не раз слышали, как он поет. 11. Я остано­вилась перед дверью и услышала, как он поет. 12. Мы

долго наблюдали за тем, как теплоход отчалил от берега и вскоре скрылся за горизонтом. 13. Он заста­вил меня снять пальто и выпить чашку чая. 14. Ди­ректор распорядился немедленно отправить счет. 15. Библиотекарь разрешил сделать ксерокопию ру­кописи.

CHAPTER YII

Adverb

7.1. Definition

Adverb as a part of speech includes words that describe circumstances in which an action takes place, and specify some characteristic features of an action, or a quality. For example, come tomorrow, to walk slowly, most interesting, very well. Thus adverbs add to or modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and therefore function mainly as adverbial modifiers in a sen­tence: I've just read a most interesting book. He speaks English very well. She was walking slowly. They won't come tomorrow.

7.2. Morphological structure of adverbs

According to their morphological structure adverbs are classified into 1) simple, 2) derivative, 3) compound, 4) complex.

Simple adverbs are devoid of affixes and consist of a root-stem: enough, back, here, there, then, quite, well, rather, too.

Derivative adverbs are formed by means of suffixes. The most productive adverb-forming suffix added to ad­jectives is -ly. For example: slowly, widely, beautifully, heavily, easily, lazily, differently, simply, etc.

There are also -ward/-wards suffixes: northward/ northwards, southward/southwards, earthward/earthwards, downward/downwards.

Compound adverbs are made up of two stems: any­where, anyway, anyhow, sometimes, somehow, nowhere, clockwise, likewise, longwise.

Complex adverbs include prepositional phrases like at a loss, at work, by name, by chance, by train, in debt, in a hurry, in turn, etc. (See 2.4.1.4., 2.5.3., 2.6.3.)

7.3. Classes of adverbs

According to the meaning adverbs can be divided into 2 main classes: 1) adverbs that denote the quality of an action, or the manner in which an action is performed, such as well, kindly, by heart, in turn and so on; 2) ad­verbs that denote various circumstances in which an ac­tion takes place, such as today, tomorrow, now, before, already, etc.

7.5.7. Adverbs denoting the quality of an action

Adverbs denoting the quality of an action include words that answer the question how? They can be further divided into 3 groups. They are as follows: a) adverbs of manner, b) adverbs of degree or quantity, c) adverbs of frequency.

Adverbs of manner are largely words derived from qualitative adjectives. For example: kindly, quickly, lazily, heartily, slowly, willingly, badly, well, fluently, beautifully, etc. They may have degrees of comparison. (See 7.3.1.2.)

This group also comprises numerous preposition + noun set phrases like at a loss, by name, in a hurry, in the main and others presented in sections 2.4.1.4., 2.5.3., 2.6.3. Besides it includes set expressions of another type, such as at once, at last, at least, one by one, head over heels, etc.

Adverbs of degree or quantity denote the degree of a quality, expressed by adjectives and adverbs, or point out the extent to which an action is performed. They are the following: very, most, quite, almost, nearly, only, merely, entirely, altogether, totally, wholly, utterly, exceedingly, too, sufficiently, enough, little, much, partly, half, hardly, scarcely and so on.

Adverbs of frequency include words like often, frequently, seldom, rarely, sometimes, occasionally, usually, always, ever, never, daily, weekly, monthly, year­ly, once, twice, firstly, secondly, finally, eventually, etc.

Besides this group comprises a number of set expres­sions like as a rule, as usual, at first, in general, in the beginning, in the end, at last, etc.

7.3.1.1. Adverbs and adjectives

Not infrequently adverbs and adjectives turn out to be so closely related to each other as far as their function in a sentence is concerned that one finds it difficult to tell one from another. Here are some points to take into consideration.

a) Some adverbs of manner are homonymous with their corresponding adjectives, such as early, friendly, lively, late, hard, long, far. For example: She rises early. (Compare: She is an early riser.) We arrived home late. (Compare: We were late for the party.) He worked hard to

get a promotion. (Compare: He got a promotion because of his hard work.) Stay as long as you like. (Compare: She is staying with us for a long time.)

Note that sometimes, homonymous adverbs and adjectives differ in meanings: pretty as an adverb is an informal word for «very», pretty as an adjective is «attrac­tive». Compare: I'm pretty sure you'll say yes. It's pretty cold today. She was a pretty girl of sixteen. What a pretty little garden!

b) Some words have two adverbial forms, both are used to modify verbs: cheap cheaply, close closely, dear — dearly, direct directly, late lately, loud loudly, pretty prettily, right rightly, slow slowly, sure — surely, wrong wrongly, wide widely. The choice is generally a matter of usage with forms in -ly considered more formal, the shorter forms more empha­tic: Buy cheap and sell dear. — He loves his wife dearly. The dresses were cheaply made. We live close to the church. They sat close together. It was a closely guarded secret. Mail the order direct to me. The clerk went directly home. Don't speak so loud. The child called loudly to the lifeguard. Turn right at the crossroads. Did I do it right/wrong? He was standing right in the middle of the room. — You were rightly informed. We be­lieve, rightly or wrongly that they have been badly treated. Go slow. John drove so slowly that he was late.

Note that in some cases the homonymous forms differ in their meaning: late means «after the necessary or expected time», lately «in the recent past»; pretty means «very», prettily «nicely, attractively». He always works late. He hasn 't been feeling well lately. This work

of yours is a pretty poor effort. He was never expected to behave prettily.

c) Both adjectives and their corresponding adverbs such as firm — firmly, silent — silently, complete completely, quiet — quietly, etc. function as modifiers: the modifier should be an adjective if it denotes the condition of the subject, but an adverb if it explains the action of the verb. Compare. We stand firm in our opinion. — We stand firmly by our decision. They stood silent as the ambulance passed. They listened silently to the soloist. The house has been restored complete in every detail. The house has been completely restored. The patient remained quiet. He walked quietly around the room.

Such verbs as be, become, appear, seem, prove, turn out, get, grow, feel, look, smell, sound, taste, used as link-verbs take an adjective to denote the quality or the condi­tion of the subject: The new secretary appears competent. The patient seems better today. She always looks cheerful. The flowers smell sweet. Susan felt bad about the delay.

The adjective bad and the corresponding adverb badly are both almost equally acceptable when following feel, although bad is usually preferred in formal writing. When preceded by look, smell, etc. the usual choice is bad. (See 3.4.)

d) There is also a special group of words in English formed with the prefix a-, such as afire, aflame, ajar, agog, aloof, alike, etc. which can be used as both adverbs and adjectives. Compare: He set the house afire. He went on working afire with enthusiasm, (figurative use)She treats all her children alike. The two brothers are very much alike. (See 3.4.)

Such words as little, a little, few, a few, much may function as adjectives, pronouns and adverbs. Compare: We have a little milk and few eggs. I've got much work to do. (adjective) There is only a little left, (pronoun) Can stay a little longer? This picture is much admired, (adverb) See also 3.3.1.

7.3.1.2. Degrees of comparison of adverbs Adverbs of manner derived from qualitative adjec­tives usually form their degrees of comparison analyti­cally, by adding more and most. For example: rarely more rarely most rarely, slowly more slowly most slowly, quickly more quickly most quickly, beau­tifully more beautifully most beautifully.

Some one-syllable adverbs homonymous with adjec­tives like long, wide, fast, hard, far, near, late form their degrees of comparison as the adjectives do: long lon­ger longest, wide wider widest, hard harder hardest, etc. For example: I can't wait for you longer than half an hour. You must work harder to pass the exami­nations.

Some adverbs have irregular forms of comparison homonymous with the corresponding adjectives. For instance: well better best, badly worse worst, much more — most, little — less least. Besides, the adverbs far, near, late homonymous with the adjectives have suppletive forms of comparison: near nearer — nearest, next, far farther/further — farthest/furthest, late — later — latest. (See 3.3.1.)

7.5.2. Adverbs denoting circumstances

Adverbs denoting circumstances in which an action is performed are further divided into groups: a) adverbs of time, b) adverbs of place and direction, c) adverbs of cause and purpose.

Adverbs of time denote the time of an action, thus answering the question when? They are as follows: yester­day, today, tomorrow, soon, late, now, then, before, just, already, still, yet, shortly, hitherto.

Besides to this group belong some set expressions like at present, in the past, by day, at night, in the begin­ning, in the end, from morning till night, etc.

Adverbs of place and direction indicate the place of the action or its direction, thus answering the question where? They are as follows: inside, outside, here, there, southward, northward, homeward, ashore, around, where, somewhere, nowhere, everywhere.

This group includes also such set expressions as back and forth, to and from, hither and thither, up and down, etc.

Adverbs of cause, purpose and consequence include why, therefore, consequently, finally, eventually, accor­dingly, as well as set expressions like in consequence, as a result.

7.4. Prepositional adverbs

Prepositional adverbs (or adverbial prepositions), namely about, around, down, in, off, on, out, over, up, and

so on form a special class of words which may function

both as units of full meaning or adverbs, and syncategore-matically, i.e. as prepositions. The double nature of prepo­sitional adverbs is accounted for by their position in a sentence.

When the prepositional adverb functions as a prepo­sition it is syntactically connected with both the preceding verb and the following noun. As an auxiliary word it is unstressed. For example: Get in the car, and we'll go for a drive.

When the prepositional adverb performs an adverbial function it is syntactically linked to and modifies the preceding verb. As a word of full meaning the preposi­tional adverb is always stressed. For example: I'll hold the car door open for you while you get in.

Examine the following pairs of sentences:

1. / looked round the station but couldn't see my friend anywhere.

2. / looked round but couldn't find my friend anywhere.

1. The boy climbed the wall and then jumped off it.

2. The boy climbed the wall and then jumped off.

1. The child was not tall enough to look over the wall.

2. The boy pulled himself to the top of the wall and looked over.

1. It is so difficult to deal with frer.

2. She is so difficult to deal with.

1. They have sent for the doctor.

2. The doctor has been sent for.

1. The country depends on its tourist trade.

2. What does the economy of the country depend on?

In the first sentences of each pair prepositional ad­verbs are used as prepositions while in the second sen­tences they function as adverbs.

Prepositional adverbs in the prepositional function regularly reproduced with a particular verb form preposi­tional verbs: abstain from, comment on, depend on, deal with, rely on, etc. Some verbs may associate with a num­ber of prepositional adverbs and thus reveal their poly­semantic character. For example: look at, look for, look after, look into, agree to, agree on, agree with, listen to, listen for, and so on.

Prepositional adverbs used syncategorematically find themselves in a fixed syntactic position: they always pre­cede an object. For example: She was looking for the lost books. I often listen to classical music. Phrases like She was looking the lost books for and I often listen classical music to are ungrammatical. (Compare with the patterns in which for and to are used as adverbs: What is she looking for? What kind of music do you often listen to? )

Combinations of verbs with prepositional adverbs in the adverbial function regularly reproduced in speech and functioning as equivalents of one word are usually termed phrasal verbs: bring up (educate), call up (shout), find out (discover) carry out (perform), put on (dress), etc. Their second component is a word in its own right and its position in a sentence may sometimes vary. For example: He put on his coat. He put his coat on. The case is full, I can't pack in any more clothes. I can't pack any more clothes in.

In most of phrasal verbs both verbs and prepositional adverbs no longer preserve their literal meanings, and thus the meaning of the whole is different from the meanings of the separate words, i.e. idiomatic. For example: She made up her face, (used cosmetics) You can just make out the farm in the distance, (see clearly) The washing ma­chine seems to have broken down again, (failed to work) The boy took in all those present, (deceived) When in doubt look up the word in a dictionary, (search for) Where can we put up tonight? (find food and lodging)

Some idiomatic phrasal verbs have their non-idiomatic counterparts in which both the verb and the prepositional adverb are used in their direct meanings. Compare: The boat is taking in water. I was buried in my book; when I looked up. he had gone. Put up your hand if you know the answer. (See also 6.2.)

7.5. Interrogative and connective adverbs

There are 2 more groups of adverbs that stand aside: interrogative and connective adverbs. The interrogative adverbs are used to introduce special questions: where, when, why, how. For example: Where and when were you born? Why didn't you come yesterday? How can I get to the town centre?

The same adverbs used in a complex sentence to connect its clauses are called connective adverbs. Besides their auxiliary function, as words in their own right, they perform an independent syntactic function in a clause they introduce.

Connective adverbs are subdivided into relative and conjunctive.

Relative adverbs where, when and sometimes why in­troduce attributive clauses. For example: This is the buil­ding where_I_work. (Where is adverbial modifier of place.) I remember the day when he left. (When is adverbial mo­difier of time.) Is there any reason why you can't come? (Why is adverbial modifier of cause.)

Conjunctive adverbs how and why introduce subject, predicative and object clauses: How he got in here is still a mystery for me. (Subject clause, how is adverbial modifier of manner.) This is why she did it. (Predicative clause.) / can't see why it shouldn't work. (Object clause, why is adverbial modifier of cause.)

When an adverb introduces an adverbial clause, it turns into the conjunction proper, i.e. a syncategorematic word that is used only to connect parts of a complex sentence and thus cannot be regarded as part of sentence: Things were different when I was a child. Crossing the street he at once saw her where he had left her.


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