Grammatical classes of words

The words of language, depending on various formal and semantic features, are divided into grammatically rele­vant sets or classes. The traditional grammatical classes of words are called "parts of speech". Since the word is dis­tinguished not only by grammatical, but also by semantico-lexemic properties, some scholars refer to parts of speechas "lexico-grammatical" series of words, or as "lexico-grammatical categories" [Cmерницкий].

It should be noted that the term "part of speech" is purely traditional, it can't be taken as in any way defining or explanatory. In modern linguistics, parts of speech are discriminated on the basis of the three criteria: "semantic", "formal", and "functional". The semantic criterion presupposes the evaluation of the generalized meaning, which is characteristic of all the subsets of words constituting a given part of speech.
This meaning is understood as the "categorial meaning of the part of speech". The formal criterion provides for the exposition of the specific inflexional and derivational (word- building) features of all the lexemic subsets of a part of speech. The functional criterion concerns the syntactic role of words in the sentence typical of a part of speech. The said three factors of categorical characterization of words are conventionally referred to as, respectively, "meaning", "form", and "function".

Words are divided into notional(the noun, the adjective, the numeral, the pronoun,the verb, the adverb) and functional.

The features of the noun within the identificational triad "meaning — form — function" are, the following: 1) the categorial meaning of substance ("thingness");2) the changeable forms of number and case; the specific suffixal forms of derivation (prefixes in English do not discrimi­nate parts of speech as such); 3) the substantive functions in the sentence (subject, object, substantival predicative); prepositional connections; modification by an adjective.

The features of the adjective: 1) the categorial meaning ofproperty (qualitative and relative); 2) the forms of the degrees of comparison (for qualitative adjectives); the specific suffixal forms of derivation; 3) adjectival functions in the sentence (attribute to a noun, adjectival predicative).

The features of the numeral: 1) the categorial meaning of number (cardinal and ordinal); 2) the narrow set of simple numerals; the specific forms of composition for compound numerals; the specific suffixal forms of derivation for ordinal numerals; 3) the functions of numerical attribute and numeri­cal substantive.

The features of the pronoun: 1) the categorial meaning of indication (deixis); 2) the narrow sets of various status with the corresponding formal properties of categorial changeabil­ity and word-building; 3) the substantival and adjectival functions for different sets.

The features of the verb: 1) the categorial meaning of pro­cess (presented in the two upper series of forms, respectively, as finite process and non-finite process); 2) the forms of the verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice, mood; the opposition of the finite and non-finite forms; 3) the function of the finite predicate for the finite verb; the mixed verbal — other than verbal functions for the non-finite verb.

The features of the adverb: 1) the categorial meaning of the secondary property, i.e. the property of process or an­other property; 2) the forms of the degrees of comparison for qualitative adverbs; the specific suffixal forms of derivation; 3) the functions of various adverbial modifiers.. To the basic functional series of words in English belong the article, the preposition, the conjunction, the particle, the modal word, the interjection. The article expresses the specific limitation of the substantive functions.

The preposition expresses the dependencies and.inlerdependencies of substantive referents.

The conjunction expresses connections of phenomena.

The particle unites the functional words of specifying and limiting meaning.

The modal word, occupying in the sentence a more pro­nounced or less pronounced detached position, expresses the attitude of the speaker to the reflected situation and its parts. Here belong the functional words of probability {prob­ably, perhaps, etc.), of qualitative evaluation (fortunately, unfortunately, luckily, etc.), and also of affirmation and negation.

The interjection, occupying a detached position in the sentence, is a signal of emotions.

It is known that the distribution of words between dif­ferent parts of speech may to a certain extent differ with dif­ferent authors.

 

32. Noun: the category of gender.

The category of gender is expressed in English by the obligatory correlation of nouns with the personal pronouns of the third person. These serve as specific gender classifiers of nouns, being potentially reflected on each entry of the noun in speech. The category of gender is strictly oppositional. It is formed by two oppositions related to each other on a hierarchical basis.

One opposition functions in the whole set of nouns, dividing them into person (human) nouns and non-person (non-human) nouns. The other opposition functions in the subset of person nouns only, dividing them into masculine nouns and feminine nouns. Thus, the first, general opposition can be referred to as the upper opposition in the category of gender, while the second, partial opposition can be referred to as the lower opposition in this category.

As a result of the double oppositional correlation, a specific system of three genders arises, which is somewhat misleadingly represented by the traditional terminology: the neuter (i.e. non-person) gender, the masculine (i.e. masculine person) gender, the feminine (i.e. feminine person) gender. The feminine subclass of person nouns includes such nouns as woman, girl, mother, bride, etc. The masculine subclass of person nouns comprises such words as man, boy, father, bridegroom, etc.

A great many person nouns in English are capable of expressing both feminine and masculine person genders. They are called nouns of the "common gender". Here belong such words as person, parent, friend, cousin, doctor, president, etc. The capability of expressing both genders makes the gender distinctions in the nouns of the common gender into a variable category. On the other hand, when there is no special need to indicate the sex of the person referents of these nouns, they are used neutrally as masculine, i.e. they correlate with the masculine third person pronoun. In the plural, all the gender distinctions are neutralised in the immediate exp`licit expression, though they are rendered obliquely through the correlation with the singular.

English nouns can also show the sex of their referents lexically, either by means of being combined with certain notional words used as sex indicators, or else by suffixal derivation: e.g. boy-friend, girl-friend; landlord, landlady; master, mistress; actor, actress; etc.

The category of gender in English is inherently semantic, i.e. meaningful in so far as it reflects the actual features of the named objects.

 

 

33. Noun: the category of number.

A noun is said to be in the singular number when it denotes one person or thing; it is said to be in the plural number when it denotes more than one person or thing.

ME distinguishes 2 numbers: singular and plural. So the category of number is expressed by the binary private opposition. The strong member is the plural and the weak member is the singular. The productive way of expressing the number is the morpheme –(e)s with allophones [s],[z],[iz].

The productive way of expressing the singular is by zero morpheme (coveral morpheme).

The other ways are vowel interchange as in man-men, woman — women (replacive morpheme). The archaic[ɑ:'keɪɪk] suffix –(e)n supported by phonemic interchange in a couple of other relict forms as in ox-oxen, child-children and the correlation of individual singular and plural suffixes in a limited number of borrowed nouns (formula — formulae, phenomenon — phenomena, etc.). In some cases the plural form of the noun is homonymous with the singular form (sheep, deer, fish, etc.).

The semantic nature of the difference between singular and the plural presents difficulty of interpretation. On the surface of semantic relations, the meaning of the singular will be understood as simply "one", as opposed to the meaning of the plural as "many" in the sense of "more than one". This is apparently obvious for such correlations as book — books, lake — lakes and the like. However, there exist plurals and singulars that cannot be fully accounted like that. This becomes clear when we look at such forms as potato (one item of the vegetables) and potatoes (food), paper (material) and papers (notes or documents). It is sometimes stated that the plural form presents both multiplicity of separate objects ("discrete" plural, e.g. three houses) and multiplicity of units of measure for an indivisible object ("plural of measure", e.g. three hours). Whereas three houses are three separate objects, three hours are a continuous period of time measured by a certain agreed unit of duration.

We must also consider two types of nouns differing from all others in the way of number: they have only one form. The nouns which have only a plural and no singular are usually termed " pluralia tantum " (which is the Latin for " plural only "), and those which have only a singular and no plural are termed " singularia tantum " (the Latin for " singular only'').

Among the pluralia tantum are the nouns of two types. On the one hand, there are the nouns which denote material objects consisting of two halves (trousers, scissors, etc.); on the other, there are those which denote a more or less indefinite plurality (e. g. environs 'areas surrounding some place on all sides'; dregs 'various small things remaining at the bottom of a vessel after the liquid has been poured out of it', etc.). Close to this group of pluralia tantum nouns are also some names of sciences, e. g. mathematics, physics, phonetics, also politics, and some names of diseases, e. g. measles, mumps, rickets.

The direct opposite of pluralia tantum are the singularia tantum, i. e. the nouns which have no plural form. Among these there are some nouns denoting material substance, such as milk, butter, etc., and also names of abstract notions, such as peace, usefulness, etc. Nouns of this kind express notions which are, outside the sphere of number: e. g. milk, or fluency.

Some nouns denoting substance, or material, may have a plural form. For instance, the noun wine denotes a certain substance, but it has a plural form wines used to denote several special kinds of wine. The noun beauty denotes a certain quality presented as an object, but it may be used in the plural to denote objects exhibiting that quality, e. g. the beauties of nature.

There are also such nouns as collective which are used to denote the group as a whole, and in that case they are treated as singulars. And there are nouns of multitude.

34. Noun: the category of case.

This grammatical category shows the relation of the noun with other words in the sentence and is expressed by the form of the noun. English nouns have two cases: the Common case and the Possessive case. The Com­mon case has no inflection and its meaning is very general. The Possessive case expresses possession, belonging and is generally used with animate nouns denoting people and animals. But in some cases the noun in the Pos­sessive Case has a purely descriptive character: a man's club, children's toys, a woman's magazine. Nouns denoting inanimate objects are not generally used in the posses­sive case. The "of + noun" phrase is used with them: The Possessive Case is formed in the following ways: 1)by adding the inflection's or just' (the apostrophe) to the stem of the noun in the singular not ending in s. the boy's to 2) by adding only an apostrophe (') to the noun in the plural. The sec­ond s is not used. students'

3) by adding an apostrophe -s if a proper name ends in -s. Little Liz's

4) By adding the inflection –s to the last element of compound noun:

a brother-in-law's virtue.now is a growing tendency use possessive c ase with inanimate nouns denoting:

1 ) time or distance: a moment's silence

2) seasons, Years, montha summer's morning

3) countries. cities. Towns: England's history

4) the sun.the moon.the earth.the world

sun’s rays

5) name of vessels:ship’s crew

6) ordinary objects:

the river's bed, the ocean's roar

3)If two coordinate nouns (joined by and, but, or), express joint possession, the apostrophe is usually added to the last noun. The whole phrase is called "Group Possessive".

James's father's office

4.There are some cases of the so-called "Absolute Possessive". It is called

"absolute", as it is used absolutely, without the noun, which is not re­peated for the sake of style My son would like to have a bike, like Steve's

Absolute Possessive is used:

1)to express some locality (with local meaning: a house, a shop, a clinic,
an auction, etc.)the baker's, the barber's, the hairdresser's, the vet's,

2)with partitive meaning which equals to "one of"

Bess is a friend of my mother's. Is she a client of Ms Morgan's

3) to express some strong emotions (mostly negative ones)How I dislike that new boyfriend of Susan's!

5. The Possessive Case is used in some set expressions which are survivals of Old English Genitive Case which was freely used with all nouns in Old English:

to one's heart's content (delight), at one's wit's end.

Note: When dedication is implied the Possessive Case is not used. The State Tretyakov Gallery.

The category of case

Case expresses the relation of a word to another word in the word-group or sentence (my sister’s coat). The category of case correlates with the objective category of possession. The case category in English is realized through the opposition: The Common Case:: The Possessive Case (sister:: sister’s). However, in modern linguistics the term “genitive case” is used instead of the “possessive case” because the meanings rendered by the “`s” sign are not only those of possession. The scope of meanings rendered by the Genitive Case is the following:

1.Possessive Genitive: Mary’s father – Mary has a father,

2.Subjective Genitive: The doctor’s arrival – The doctor has arrived,

3.Objective Genitive: The man’s release – The man was released,

4.Adverbial Genitive: Two hour’s work – X worked for two hours,

5.Equation Genitive: a mile’s distance – the distance is a mile,

6.Genitive of destination: children’s books – books for children,

7.Mixed Group: yesterday’s paper

There is no universal point of view as to the case system in English. Different scholars stick to a different number of cases.

1. There are two cases. The Common one and The Genitive;

2. There are no cases at all, the form `s is optional because the same relations may be expressed by the ‘of-phrase’: the doctor’s arrival – the arrival of the doctor;

3. There are three cases: the Nominative, the Genitive, the Objective due to the existence of objective pronouns me, him, whom;

Case Grammar.

Ch.Fillmore introduced syntactic-semantic classification of cases. They show relations in the so-called deep structure of the sentence. According to him, verbs may stand to different relations to nouns. There are 6 cases:

1.Agentive Case (A) John opened the door;

2.Instrumental case (I) The key opened the door; John used the key to open the door;

3.Dative Case (D) John believed that he would win (the case of the animate being affected by the state of action identified by the verb);

4.Factitive Case (F) The key was damaged (the result of the action or state identified by the verb);

5.Locative Case (L) Chicago is windy;

6.Objective case (O) John stole the book.

 

35. Verb: the category of tense.

Tense is the form of the verb which indicates the time of the action. The main divisions of time — present, past and future, are represented in English by the three primary tenses: present,past, and future.These three tenses are expressed in two aspect forms: the common and the continuous: The common aspect:

"We have a good deal of reading to do," explained Mrs. Da­vidson. (Maugham.) They talked for a long time... (Maxwell.) "I shall act and I shall act promptly." (Maugham.)

The continuous aspect:

What are you talking about? (Maugham.) The light was just failing when they went back into the music room. Sybil will be coming to see you at the end of this term. But besides these three primary tenses the English tense system comprises three secondary tenses: the present perfect, the past perfect and the future perfect.

The perfect tenses are also expressed in two aspect forms: the common and the continuous: The common aspect: "I think her voice has greatly improved." He had been there more than once, and knew the place and the people... "I shall soon have finished with the books..."

The continuous aspect:

"I've been thinking it over, Mr. Holmes..." The band had been having a rest. Now they started again. (Mans­field.) By the first of August we shall have been living at the seaside for a whole month.

The perfect tenses do not merely indicate that the action refers to the present, past or future (as do the primary tenses) but show that the action is brought into relation with some other action or situation in the present, past or future, that it took place before that action or situation. Therefore the perfect tenses are rela­tive tenses (относительные времена).

Present perfect: / have written my exercise — the action of writing is viewed back from the present situation.

Past perfect: / had written my exercise by 5 o'clock — the action of writing is viewed back from the past situation.

Future perfect: / shall have written my exercise by 6 o'clock — the action of writing is viewed back from the future sit­uation.

But besides a purely temporal element (relative time indication) which characterizes al 1 the three perfect tenses, the present perfect contains also some other meaning — it shows that the action which took place before the present situation is connected in its con­sequences with this situation. The character of this connection de­pends on the lexical meaning of the verb.

When the past perfect (indirect speech) corresponds to the past (direct speech), it is purely temporal, that is, it only refers the ac­tion to a moment in the before-past. When the past perfect (indirect speech) corresponds to the present perfect (direct speech), it not only refers the action to the before-past but also shows that the action in the before-past affects the state of things existing at the given past moment. The perfect tenses may also express an action begun before the given present, past or future moment and still going on at that mo­ment. This meaning of the perfect is characteristic of the perfect of the continuous aspect. As the continuous aspect shows the action in its progress and not in its completion, the perfect tenses of this as­pect are used to denote that the past (before-past or before-future) is connected with the present (past or future) not through the con­sequences of an accomplished action but through the uninterrupted progress of an action begun before the given moment and still con­tinuing at that moment. When the past perfect (indirect speech) corresponds to the past (direct speech), it is purely temporal, that is, it only refers the ac­tion to a moment in the before-past. When the past perfect (indirect speech) corresponds to the present perfect (direct speech), it not only refers the action to the before-past but also shows that the action in the before-past affects the state of things existing at the given past moment.

The perfect tenses may also express an action begun before the given present, past or future moment and still going on at that mo­ment. This meaning of the perfect is characteristic of the perfect of the continuous aspect. As the continuous aspect shows the action in its progress and not in its completion, the perfect tenses of this as­pect are used to denote that the past (before-past or before-future) is connected with the present (past or future) not through the con­sequences of an accomplished action but through the uninterrupted progress of an action begun before the given moment and still con­tinuing at that moment.

 

36. Verb: the category of aspect.

The aspective meaning of the verb reflects the realization of the process irrespective of its timing 2 systems of verbal forms should be evaluated the Continuous & Perfect forms.

Blokh distinguished 2 oppositions:

1.constitued by the continuos forms of the verb & non-continuous or indefinite form of the verb. It’s the aspective category of development. The strong member is the continuous –build up by the discontinuous morpheme be+ing.

Continuous form denotes an action proceeding continuously at a definite period of time, within certain time limits.

Non-continuous form denotes an action not limited but either occurring repeatedly or everlasting,without any notion of lasting duration at a given moment.

H.Sweet,O.Jespersen put them among the tense forms of the verb. Actually the continuous usually goes with a verb which express a simultaneous action. But the timing of the action is not expressed by the continuous. One more fact about the non-temperal meaning of the continuous it’s use in the verb form perfect continuous. It can only be understood as expressing aspectuality. The opposition of the category of development undergoes different reductions ex:The man stood (introductory word-neutralization”+”) smoking (participial construction “–“) a pipe

The 2 category of retrospect. It constitued by the opposition of the perfect form of the verb to the non-perfect. The strong member is perfect, which is built up by the discontinuous morpheme have-en. The categorial individuality of the perfect was shown by Smirnitsky (This category is different from both tense and aspect) The content of the category-priority expressed by the perfect form against the non-expression of priority by the non-perfect forms.

 

37. Verb: the categories of person and number.

Numbers in the verb: singular and persons: first, second and third.

The second person singular (thou speakest) is not used in Modern English, it has been replaced by the second person plural (you speak). Survivals of that form are found only in poetry and high prose: From the earth thou springest Like a cloud of fire.

2.The only personal inflexion of the verb in Modern English
is the inflexion -s, -es [z, s, iz] of the third person singular in the
present tense of the indicative mood; [z] after voiced consonants and
vowels (he reads, he plays), [s] after voiceless consonants (he
writes, he stops), [iz] after sibilants (he dresses, he brushes).

The archaic second person has the inflexion in spelling -est, -st [ist, st] (thou speakest).

3.The verb to be has three forms for person and number, in
the present indefinite: / am, he (she, it) is, we (you, they) are;
and two forms for the past indefinite: singular — was (I, he, she,
it), plural — were (we, you, they).

4.In all other cases only the combination of the verb with the
personal pronoun indicates the person and number of the verb.
Therefore the personal pronoun is hardly ever dropped in English as
it often is in Russian where the inflexion of the verb indicates
number and person: Will you go with me? Yes, I shall.

 

38. Verb: the category of aspect.

In English the verb has two aspect forms: the continu­ous aspect (длительный вид) and the common aspect (об­щий вид).

The continuous aspect: / am writing, I was writing»

I have been writing; etc.

The common aspect: / write, I wrote, I have written,

The difference between the two forms is not a temporal, the time indication being the same in both; the forms differ in the manner in which the action is presented. She is carrying water from this well (present).

She always carries water from well (present).

The continuous aspect in English considers the action in its pro­gress, thus corresponding to the Russian imperfective aspect (несо­вершенный вид).

I was writing a letter when she Я писала письмо, когда она

came. пришла.

They will be preparing their Они будут готовить уроки в 7

lessons at 7 o'clock. часов.

She is reading. Она читает

The continuous aspect expresses a concrete action in its development at a given moment (present, past or future), whereas the Russian imperfect­ive aspect shows an action in its development without concretizing it. Therefore the imperfective aspect may, depending on the context, express concrete actions in progress at the given moment and also actions of a more abstract, more general character (actions perma­nently characterizing the subject, general statements and universal truths).

Compare the following:

Take the kettle off the stove, Снимите чайник с плиты, во-

the water is boiling. да кипит.

Here we have a concrete action developing before the eyes of the speaker. In English it is rendered by the continuous aspect, in Russian by the imperfective aspect.

Water boils at 100° С. Вода кипит при 100° Цельсия.

Неге we have a general statement. The action is not developing before the eyes of the speaker; therefore it cannot be rendered by the continuous aspect in English but requires the common aspect. In Russian the verb is here also in the imperfective aspect.

Here are some more examples:

Are the children already sleep- Дети уже спят?

As the continuous aspect represents an action as a process going on at a given moment, it may be used only with verbs expressing actions of a certain duration (such as to read, to write), but not point-actions such as to jump, to drop, to burst, to clap.

We say: He was reading when I came in, but not: He was jumping to his feet when I came in.

But as the continuous aspect gives the subject only a tempo­rary, limited characteristic through an action or state going on at the moment of speaking, it is not used with verbs expressing actions or states of unlimited duration, such as to love, to hate, to possess, to have, to contain, etc., which characterize the subject in general and therefore require the common aspect:

The book contains short stories. She has (possesses) many good qualities.

The continuous aspect is used with such verbs as to love, to hate, etc., when we want to express that the feeling is only tempo­rary or to emphasize its character:

I asked her how Gray was liking Paris. (Maugham.)...she was loving him with greater and greater force. (Maxwell.)

Neither is the continuous aspect used with such verbs as to hear, to see, to understand, to remember, etc., with reference to a concrete action taking place at a given moment. With these verb we mark the action as merely occurring (see the use of the com­mon aspect), but not as developing before our eyes because we ar~ more interested in what we hear, see, etc. (in the object of the ac­tion) than in the action itself:

It is so dark that I don't see the lines.

In this connection, notice the two meanings of the verb to think, and accordingly the two aspect forms:

"I was thinking of these things to-night, dear, when I sat expecting you..."

Also in such cases as to see to... to see about (= to take care of... to attend), to see off:

He is seeing to it now. He is seeing about this affair now-I'm just seeing my friend off.

The verb to have is used in the continuous aspect when it means to enjoy, to experience, to partake of, to cause to:

I hope you are having a good time here.

On the following morning while I was having breakfast I was called on the telephone. (Maugham.)

When the continuous aspect is used with actions permanently characterizing the subject, it acquires emotional force. The speaker represents the action as if it were going on before his eyes and gives it an emotional colouring (praise, blame, indignation, etc.)

The adverbs always, continually, forever, perpetually, etc., which are often used in such cases, are emotionally coloured:

He is always thinking about other people.]

Verbs which are generally not used in the continuous aspect may be used in this aspect form in the above-mentioned function:

To be: He was continually being angry about nothing.

In narration when actions follow in succession, one beginning after the other, the common aspect is used. But when the writer or speaker begins to describe a certain scene, when the actions are already in progress before his eyes, the continuous aspect is used:

Night comes on, and everything is quite dark until the moon slowly rises and casts its pale, silvery light over the fields. (Potter.)

Dew was already on the paths. In the old oak-wood a mist was rising... The evening was deeping over the earth. (Law­rence.)

As the common aspect represents an action as simply occurring (but not in its concrete development) it may refer to concrete ac­tions and to actions of a more abstract, more general character as well. These two functions depend on the context:

39. Verb: the category of voice.

The verbal category of voice shows the direction of the process as regards the participants of the situation reflected in the syntactic construction.

2 sets of verbs:1.passivized 2.non-passivized (e.g. have, belong cost)

The category of voice is realized by binary-privative opposition, where the passive voice is the strong member (be…en). It denotes relations between an action and a subject and an object.

The big problem in connection with the voice identification in English is the problem of “medial” voices. Ex:The bells rang. The fabrics washes easily.

They are passive in their meaning but the forms are active. Such constructions are called causative à the bells were made to ring, but it is presented as if they rang themselves è Middle (neuter) voice. There is specific meaning, but no specific form.

Reflexive voice – e.g. He hurt himself (V + reflexive pronoun).

Iliysh: He hurt himself and the child – himself is a direct object, but not a part of the verb. But in some cases the pronoun can be omitted, e.g. He washed, dressed – the meaning of reflexivity remains.

Reciprocal voice – formed with the help of analytical means (each other, one another). The meaning of the reciprocal voice is obvious – mutuality. The subject is often plural, but meaning can be expressed implicitly.

They met (each other) at the station.

Passive voice (to be + PII)

Some linguists say that there are some other auxiliary verbs - to get, to become, e.g. He became surprised. Counter arguments: get and become retain their lexical meaning.

The radio was invented by Popov./Popov invented radio.

!!!!Actual division of the sentence changes.

Passive has its own sphere of use. For depersonifying in scientific literature. Passive can be a means of supra-phrasal connection.

Within passive structures we discriminate:

Direct,Indirect,Prepositional,Phraseological,Adverbial passive

Another controversial question concerns the border-line between the morphological form of the passive voice and syntactical form of the corresponding compound nominal predicate with the pure link be.