Semi-defective verbs: need and dare

Need expressing necessity or demand and dare which has the meaning «be brave or rude to do something dangerous or difficult» are treated together because they both are semi-defective verbs. This means that they may function as both modals and meaningful verbs.

As meaningful verbs they 1) take the -s suffix in the third person singular of the present tense; 2) use infini­tives with to, 3) require the auxiliary do to form questions and negations. For example: He needs to study. He doesn't need to study. She dares to blame her mother for all her failures. He did not dare to meet his uncle.

In the modal function, on the contrary, they 1) ne­ver take the -5 suffix in the third person singular except for dare, 2) use infinitives without to except for need, 3) do not require any auxiliary to form questions and negative sentences. For example: Need he study? He needn't study. That is as much as I dare tell you. How

dare you accuse me of lying? I daren't tell you any more, ; because it is confidential.

I    Note that in Modern English dare tends to be more i recurrent in the modal function while need can be I observed in both. I    Both need and dare are not usual in the progressive

| (continuous) tenses.

I      6.16. Meaningful verbs: grammatical categories

I

I    Meaningful, auxiliary, and link-verbs find themselves

I in certain grammatical patterns (grammatical tenses) each I of which is the manifestation of a number of verbal I categories.

I    The verb is characterized by 11 grammatical catego-

I ries. They are as follows: Mood, Tense, Taxis, Aspect, ] Voice, Person, Number, Negation, Interrogation, Expressi- Ij vity, Representation.

t

'I

|'<      6.16.1. Category of Mood

(,     The category of Mood expresses modality, i.e. the

I relation of an action or state to reality and can be realized

I by only a predicative verb.

\     The category of Mood is constituted by the 6 ca-

tegorial forms in English. They are as follows: 1) the In­dicative Mood, 2) the Imperative Mood, 3) Subjunctive I, 4) Subjunctive II, 5) the Conditional Mood, 6) the Suppo­sitional Mood.

The Indicative Mood shows that the action or state denoted by the predicative verb is viewed by the speaker

as an actual fact of the present, past, or future either in the form of a statement, negation, or a question. For example: My children go to school. They are having dinner now. Their father has not come yet. Does he usually come late? He won't work on Sunday.

The category of Mood in the form of the Indicative is indissolubly connected with the category of Tense and the categories of Aspect, Taxis and Voice. This results in the system of 11 grammatical tenses of the Indicative Mood: Present Simple (Indefinite), Past Simple (Indefi­nite), Future Simple (Indefinite), Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect, Present Continuous, Past Conti­nuous, Future Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous.

The Imperative Mood shows the speaker's urge to make a person fulful an action expressed in the form of a command or request. For example: Stand up! Go out! Be quiet and listen to me! Don't make a noise.

Subjunctive I, Subjunctive II, the Conditional Mood, and the Suppositional Mood are usually termed as the Ob­lique Moods. Their general function is to show an action or a state as a wish, purpose, doubt, condition, or suppo­sition, problematic or contrary to reality. For example: The order is that he stay with us. Long live the Queen! (Subjunctive I) She looks as though she were ill. I wish it wasn't raining. It is high time we had dinner. (Subjunctive II) / wish you would mind your own business. I would pre­fer not to be interviewed on the subject. (Conditional Mood) He suggests we should go to the theatre. It is ne­cessary you should stay with us. (Suppositional Mood)

The Oblique Moods as the realizations of the category of Mood are associated with the category of

Tense with the exception of Subjunctive I (which has no tenses). This means that they have systems of tenses of their own: Present Subjunctive II, Past Subjunctive II, Present Conditional, Past Conditional, Present Supposi­tional, Past Suppositional.

Category of Tense

The category of Tense shows the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. It is manifested in the 3 categorial forms: present, past and future.

The present tense form shows that the action is; simultaneous with the moment of speaking. For example: He lives in London. She is doing her homework. She has already gone home. It has been snowing for two days.

The past tense form indicates that the action precedes the moment of speaking: He lived in London all his life. She was doing her homework when I visited her. She had already gone home when I rang her up. The train was pulled up by the heavy snowfall: it had been snowing for two days.

The future tense form shows that the action follows the moment of speaking. For example: He leaves for Eng­land, and will stay in London. She is busy tomorrow, she'll be doing her homework. If it snows today we'll go skiing tomorrow.

The category of Tense can also be manifested by the two forms of the participle, namely the present par­ticiple and past participle. For example: doing — done, walking — walked, singing — sung, shouting — shouted.

But in general, like the category of Mood, the category of Tense is expressed by the predicative verb. It

is always associated with the category of Mood and the categories of Taxis, Aspect and Voice and forms with them the system of 11 grammatical tenses. (See 6.16.1.)

Category of Taxis

The category of Taxis (категория временной отне­сенности) shows an action or state as related to another action or state. It is constituted by the correlation of perfect and non-perfect forms. Perfect forms express ante­riority and therefore finality, result or completion of ac­tion, while non-perfect forms render the idea of simul­taneity, incompletion of action.

The category of Taxis may be either connected or disconnected with the category or Tense. If the category of Taxis is related to the category of Tense, it manifests itself by the opposition of the perfect and non-perfect tenses. The perfect tenses are: the Present Perfect, the Past Perfect, the Future Perfect, the Present Perfect Conti­nuous, and the Past Perfect Continuous. The non-perfect tenses are the Present, Past, and Future Simple, the Present, Past, and Future Continuous.

The marked members of the opposition are perfect tenses which are expressed by the auxiliary have and the past participle of a meaningful verb.

The perfect tenses show an action as anterior or precedent to another action in the utterance. For examp­le: When we came to the theatre the performance had al-ready started. Our friends told us that they had been waiting for us for half an hour.

In the case of the Present and Future Perfect tenses the verbal forms show a period of time up to and

including the present and the future correspondingly: He has finished the work. We shall have finished the work by tomorrow.

The non-perfect tenses indicate that all the actions of the utterance are simultaneous or take place one after another: We came to the theatre and the performance started. My friends say they always have to wait for me long.

When the category of Taxis is taken separately, without any relation to the category of Tense, it is re­vealed by the opposition of perfect and non-perfect non-finite forms, i.e. present participle, gerund and infinitive. The strong members of the opposition are perfect forms which are represented by means of the auxiliary have and the form equivalent to past participle of a meaningful verb. Compare: reading, being read (non-perfect forms of the present participle/gerund) — having read, having been read (perfect forms of the present participle/gerund); to read, to be read, to be reading (non-perfect infinitives) — to have read, to have been read, to have been reading (perfect infinitives). (For details see 6.77.)

Non-finite perfect forms denote actions as precedent to the action expressed by the predicative verb while non-perfect non-finite forms indicate actions as simultaneous to the action expressed by the predicative verb. For example: Having read the book in two days the boy gave it back to the library. — While reading an English book in the original he had to consult the dictionary. He seems to read a lot. — He seems to have read the book.

Category of Aspect

The category of Aspect (категория вида) shows that the action described is either a continuing action or an action that happens always, repeatedly, or for a moment. It is constituted by the correlation of continuous and non-continuous or common forms. Continuous forms view an action as a process whereas non-continuous or common forms show an action as a fact.

The category of Aspect may be either connected or disconnected with the category of Tense. If the category of Aspect is brought together with the category of Tense, it is realized by the opposition of continuous tenses such as Present, Past, Future Continuous, and with the category of Taxis — Present Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous and non-continuous tenses, i.e. Present, Past, Future Simple, Present, Past, Future Perfect. The marked mem­bers are the continuous tenses which are formed by means of the auxiliary be and the participle I of a meaningful verb. For example: The teacher is talking to his colleagues. They are discussing the curriculum. I was very busy last week, I was getting ready for my last examination. If you come in the morning we will be taking our lesson.

When taken separately the category of Aspect is re­vealed by the opposition of the continuous and non-con­tinuous forms of the infinitive. The continuous forms are made up of the auxiliary be and the form equivalent to the present participle of a meaningful verb. Compare: to read, to be read, to have read, to have been read (non-conti­nuous) — to be reading, to have been reading (continu­ous). (For details see 6.17.3.)

Category of Voice

The category of Voice expresses the relation between the action and its subject, indicating whether the subject acts, i.e. the action is performed by the subject, or the subject is acted on.

The category of Voice is constituted by the correla­tion of active and passive forms. Active forms are used to show that the action is performed by the subject, that the subject is the agent or doer of the action. Passive forms indicate that the subject is acted on, that the action is done to the subject.

The category of Voice can be connected or discon­nected with the category of Tense.

If the category of Voice is combined with the cate­gory of Tense and other verbal categories such as Taxis and Aspect it is realized in the opposition of active or passive forms of the grammatical tenses. The marked member of the opposition is Passive Voice which is formed by means of the auxiliary be and the past parti­ciple of a meaningful verb. Compare: We hold regular me­etings. — The meetings are held regularly, I wrote a letter to a friend of mine. — The letter was written. We have built a house recently. — The house has been built re­cently. The building workers are painting the house now. — The house is being painted now. They will have finished their work by the end of the month. — The work will have been finished by the end of the month.

Taken separately, the category of Voice may mani­fest itself by the correlation of active and passive non-fi­nite verbal forms such as present participle, gerund and infinitive. The strong members of the opposition are

passive forms expressed by the auxiliary be and the form equivavlent to the past participle of a meaningful verb. Compare: reading, having read (active forms of the present participle/gerund) — being read, having been read (passive forms of the present participle/gerund); to read, to have read, to be reading, to have been reading (active forms of infinitive) — to be read, to have been read (passive forms of the infinitive). (For details see 6.17.)

Category of Person

The verbal category of Person manifests itself in 4 different ways in English. They are as follows.

1. The category of Person can be expressed by mea­ningful verbs in the third person singular of the Present Simple Tense. Its mark is the -(e)s suffix. For instance: He reads much. She knows English. It makes me feel nervous. He swims well.

The pronunciation of the -(e)s suffix of verbs in the third person singular is the same as that of the suffix -(e)s of nouns in the plural. (See 1.4.1.)

In the first person singular and plural, in the second and third person plural of the Present Simple Tense the category of Person is left unexpressed.

2. The category of Person is realized in the system of the verb to be as the meaningful, auxiliary, modal and link-verb in the present tense by means of the suppletive forms of the first person singular — am and the third person singular — is.

3. The category of Person is revealed in the third person singular of have as the meaningful, auxiliary and modal verb in the form of has: She has two children. The house has been built. She has lost her keys. It has been raining since morning. He has to leave tomorrow.

4. The category of Person is manifested by the opposition shall — will used to form the Future Tenses and should — would used to form the Future-in-the-Past. Shall and should are the marks of the first person while will — would are typical of the second and third persons. (See 6.11, 6.12, 6.13, 6.14)

Note that at present this opposition tends to be blur­red since will/would generally oust shall/should in the first person.

In the positions 1, 2 and 3 the category of Person works on a par with the category of Number.

Category of Number

The category of Number is closely connected with the category of Person and has 3 manifestations. They arc as follows.

1. The category of Number can be expressed by meaningful verbs in the third person singular of the Present Simple Tense. For instance: He reads much. She knows English. It makes me feel nervous.

In the first person singular and plural, in the second and third person plural of the Present Simple Tense the category of Number is left unexpressed.

2. The category of Number is revealed in the system of the verb to be as the meaningful, auxiliary, modal and

link-verb 1) in the present: am, is — singular, are — plu­ral; and 2) in the past tenses: was — singular, were — plural.

3. The category of Number is revealed in the third person singular of have as the meaningful, auxiliary and modal verb in the form of has: She has two children. The house has been built. She has lost her keys. It has been raining since morning. He has to leave tomorrow.

6.16.8. Category of Negation

The category of Negation is constituted by the correlation of affirmative and negative statements. This category manifests itself in each of the 11 grammatical tenses of the Indicative Mood and in the Imperative. The marked member of the opposition is the negative categorial form, its formal sign is the particle not, which is placed after a link-verb, a modal, or an auxiliary before a predicative in the form of a meaningful verb, noun, adjective, and so on. In spoken language not is often shortened to n't and clings to the preceding verb. For example: I'm not a student. He wasn't late. He couldn't understand the question. She doesn't speak English. They haven't come yet. He isn't watching TV, he is reading. Don't be so rude.

6.16.9. Category of Interrogation

The category of Interrogation is formed by the oppo­sition of affirmative and interrogative patterns. Is is re­vealed in each of the 11 grammatical tenses of the In-

dicative Mood. The marked member of the opposition is the interrogative form or the question that is normally ex­pressed by inversion, or reverse word order, with the help of auxiliaries. For example: I'm a teacher. — Are you a teacher? Have you been to England? When did you finish school? Was he waiting for you when you turned up?

There are 5 grammatical types of questions in English. 4 of them refer to various parts of a sentence and demand inversion. Besides they need the auxiliary do in the case of the Present and Past Simple Tenses. The last one, the question to the subject, takes a direct word order and requires no auxiliary in the Present and Past Simple Tenses. Here are the types of questions:

1. The general question which requires yes/no ans­wer: Are you a teacher? Have you been to England? Was he late? Can you swim? Was he waiting for you when you turned up?

2. The special question which is characterized by interrogative pronouns in the initial position and can be referred to any part of sentence except for the subject: Who were you talking with? (Question to the prepositional object) Whose book did you take yesterday? (Question to the attribute) When did he finish school? Where shall we go? (Questions to the adverbial modifier) What can I do? (Question to the direct object) How many languages do you know? (Question to the attribute)

3. The alternative question which may be referred to predicate and secondary parts of a sentence and expresses opposition by means of the conjunction or: Does he drink

or smoke? (Question to the predicate) Would you like tea or coffee? (Question to the direct object) Did you spend summer in Venice or Florence? (Question to the adverbial modifier) Shall we buy some red apples or green ones?

(Question to the attribute)

4. The disjunctive question or question tag which is

added to the end of a statement and is brought out by a

comma. Positive statements are followed by negative

question tags while negative statements are followed by

positive tags. In sentences with be, have and modals, the

verb is repeated in the tag, while with meaningful verbs

the auxiliary do is employed in the tag. Compare: October

is often a fine month, isn't it? — It isn't cold in October,

is it? Leaves turn red and gold then, don't they? — The

leaves haven't fallen yet, have they?

Note that as part of a question tag shan't is used for

shall not and won't for will not. I shall see you soon, shan 't

I? You will be quick, won't you?

The abbreviation 'd becomes either had or would in

a negative tag: He'_d seen it before, hadn't he? You'd like

to see it too, wouldn't you?

An important exception is a negative tag involving

the first person singular and the verb to be. Here the

plural form of the verb is used: I'm meeting you next

week, aren't I? The form 'Am I not? ' is also possible but

is rather formal.

The imperative may be softened by means of the question tag 'will you? ' For example: Lend me 10 dollars, will you?

The suggestion «Let's» might be followed by the tag «shall we? » For example: Let's see how quickly we can get this work finished, shall we?

 5. The question to the subject is formed by means of  the interrogative pronouns who and what. It requires a direct word order no the auxiliary do in the case of the Present and Past Simple Tenses: Who has done it? Who

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