Lecture 3 - Verb forms (finite and non-finite)

Finite forms express the basic predicative meaning of a sentence or FULL PREDICATION. That means that the finite forms can be a predicate of a sentence. unlike finite forms, non-finite forms express not a full predication, so-called SEMI-PREDICATION or secondary predication it in their construction. there are 3 non-finite forms: the infinitive, the gerund and the participle.

The non-finite forms (the verbals) combine the characteristics of the verb with characteristics of other parts of speech. The infinitive and the gerund are the forms of the verb, which have the syntactical characteristics of the noun.

The partiple is the form of a verb which has the syntactical characteristics of the adjective and the adverb.They lack some of the grammatical categories of the verb. the non-finite forms of the verb have no categories of person, number,tense and mood. They have the category of voice, aspect and tense correlation.

The syntactical characteristics:

-the infinitive has the following functions in the sentence

(the subject, a part of a compound predicate, and object, an attribute an adverbial modifier, a part of the complex subject, the complex object and for-complexess with the infinitive)

-the gerund (the subject, a part of the compound predicate, an object, an attribute,an adverbial modifier, a part of complex object, the complex subject.)

-participle I (an attribute, an adverbial modifier, a parenthesis, a part of complex object, the complex subject, the nominative absolute participle construction)

-participle II (an attribute, an adverbial modifier,, a part of complex object, the predicative)

Lecture 5. Verbal Groups

Verbal groups can be of 5 types:

1. modal + infinitive

Could see, ought to see

2. have + present participle

Have telephoned, have seen

3. be + present participle

was playing

4. be + past participle

Be placed

5. do + infinitive

Didn’t like it.

The first 4 of those types can be combined with another to form more complex verbal groups:

1. George’ll have finished that book by Friday.

2. He has been learning English for 4 years.

3. By the next October, he will have been learning for 5 years.

4. The headmaster could be seen by everyone.

5. The roll is being called.

What is called the lexical meaning is contained in the last word, which is the lexical verb but only the first word is affected by person, number, tense (as in 2,4,5) and it is the first word that makes the group finite.

Lecture 6. Transitive and intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs are the verbs involving transition (passage moment). They pass over or affect something else.

Transitive verbs are the verbs accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive voice can be formed( the Russian grammar approach).

Intransitive verbs are the verbs that indicate a complete action without accompanied by a direct object and doesn’t from a passive. We can speak of verbal transitivity. 1. George telephones me every morning(transitive)

2. George has just telephoned. (intransitive)