1.2.0. Morphological Characteristics.

The finite forms of the verb have seven grammatical categories:

• Person (first, second, third)

I write – You write – He writes

• Number (singular or plural)

He writes – They write

• Aspects (continuous or common)

I am writing – I write

• Tense (present, past, future)

I write – I wrote – I shall write

• Order (perfect or non-perfect)

I have written – I write

• Voice (active or passive)

He writes – A letter is written

• Mood (indicative, imperative or subjunctive)

You write – Write –You should write

To express the grammatical categories the verb uses synthetic or analytical forms.

Synthetic forms mainly employ endings. Thus, for example, to form the 3^rd person from the 1^st you can use the endings “-s”:

I write – he writes

to form the past tense from the present – the ending “-d” or “-ed”:

I invite – invited

More often, however, English verb forms are built up analytically – with the help of one (or more) auxiliary verbs:

Shall, will – for future tense forms;

To be – for the passive voice forms or continuous forms or continuous forms

To have – for perfect forms, etc.

The auxiliary and the main verb form one indivisible unit both lexically and grammatically. They must be viewed as one word, the same as the synthetic form.

1.2.2. Aspect.

There arc two aspect forms in English. The choice between the forms is determined by the way the action is presented in the context, the following factors being of major importance here:

1. Number of enumerated actions. A single action ma) described in the context or a chain of successive actions. I was writing when he came. - Single action I wrote a letter, put it into an envelope and posted it.-A chain of successive action.

2. Frequency of the last action. The action may be presented as done once or repeatedly, permanently.

I said I was writing a letter to my friend. - Action done once I often wrote letters to my friend. – Repeated action

3. Presence of an exact indication of time. The time of the action may be exactly indicated or not.

I wrote a letter when he came. The time of the action is exactly indicated

I was writing a letter when he came.

I shall tell them that I wrote this letter. The of the action is not exactly indicated.

4. “Characte” of the action. The event may be presented as completed or not complicated at the time. I wrote a letter when he came. a completed event I was writing a letter when he came. An event that is not complted.

Thus the continuous form will be generally used to denote one action, done once, taking place at a moment (period) exactly indicated in the situation and presented as a continual process.

The non-continuous form will be used to denote a chain of .successive actions, a repeated or permanent action, an action the time of which is not exactly indicated or a completed event.

1.2.3. Tense.

The category of tense is formed by three tense forms: present, past, future. The present tense form is used to express present events, the past tense - past events, the future tense - future events. The present tense form may also be used to express future events:

1) It is obligatory in clauses of time or condition

Call on me when (if) he comes tomorrow.

2) It is possible.

a) to indicate that the event is going to take place in the nearest future.

The train comes at five.

My friend is coming at five.

b) for giving a more vivid description of a past situation in past time context.

Just imagine: yesterday I open the door, enter the room and see a friend of mine, whom I thought to be thousands of miles away at the time.

In the past tense context there are special forms which show that the action expressed by it is posterior to another past action or situation, i.e. it denotes a “future action” in a “past situation” – the future – in - the – past form.

He says that he will read the book as quickly as he can. He said that he would rend the book as quickly as he would be able to do it.