- •Module 10
- •The grammatical system in middle english and early new english
- •The verbal system
- •Outline
- •1. Changes in the verbal system in Middle English and Early New English
- •1.1. Simplifying changes in the verb conjugation
- •1.2. Morphological classification of verbs in Middle English
- •1.2.1. Strong verbs.
- •1.2.3. Minor group of verbs
- •1.2.2. Weak verbs
- •Conjugation of oe bēon, me ben, ne be
- •1.2.4. The origin of modern irregular verbs
- •Development of new grammatical forms categories of the English verb
- •2.1. Growth of the future tense forms
- •2.2. New forms of the subjunctive mood
- •2.3. Interrogative and negative forms with do
- •2.4. Perfect forms. The category of time-correlation
- •2.5. Continuous forms. The category of aspect
- •2.6. Passive forms. The category of voice
- •2.7. Development of the verbals
- •Conclusions
-
Conclusions
The changes in the verbal system in Middle English and Early New English can be reduced to the following:
1. Strong verbs reduced the number of their principal forms from four (the infinitive – past singular – past plural – past participle) to three (the infinitive – past – past participle) with the exception of the verb bēon which preserved four forms.
2. The number of stems in the weak verbs was reduced from three to two.
3. New, analytical forms (subjunctive mood, interrogative and negative forms with do, perfect, passive, continuous) expressing the category of order, voice and aspect came into being.
4. Future tense was formed.
5. Subjunctive I and II was formed on the basis of OE subjunctive forms.
6. The infinitive changed its form and meaning.
7. A new part of speech – the gerund – developed.