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THEME 6
VERBS

1. The categorial meaning of English verbs

2. Lexical/grammatical subclasses of English verbs
2.1. Notional verbs
2.2. Semi-notional and functional verbs
3. The morphemic structure of English verbs
4. The categories of English verbs
4.1. Person and number
4.2. Aspect
4.3. Tense
4.4. Voice
4.5. Mood
5. The verbids
6. The syntactic functions of English verbs

1. THE CATEGORIAL MEANING OF ENGLISH VERBS

V. V. Vinogradov characterizes the verb as “the most complex and capacious

part of speech” due to its pivotal role in performing the predicative function in the
sentence, i.e. establishing a connection between the situation described and reality
(e.g. real/unreal, present/past/future, etc.). The complexity of the verb manifests itself
in the system of its grammatical categories and in the structure of its lexical/
grammatical subclasses.
The categorial meaning of the verb is that of the process presented
dynamically, i.e. developing in time. This general meaning can be traced in verbs
denoting physical states (e.g. He is recovering), existential states (e.g. Ice melts
at 0°), attitudes (e.g. He loves her), evaluative properties (e.g. He drinks/ gambles).

2. LEXICAL / GRAMMATICAL SUBCLASSES OF ENGLISH VERBS

According to their nominative potential, English verbs are divided into two
major lexical/grammatical subclasses: notional and semi-notional+functional verbs.
Notional verbs are those which have a full nominative value, i.e. they specify the
nature of the action or state of the entity named by the noun with they are linked
predicatively. Semi-notional verbs possess partial nominative value, i.e. they do not
specify the nature of respective actions or states. Functional verbs do not have any
nominative value at all: they express purely grammatical meanings. The subclass of
notional verbs is an open one, while the subclass of semi-notional and functional
verbs is closed.

2.1. Notional Verbs

English notional verbs undergo three main grammatically relevant
categorizations based on the following criteria: the nature of the entity that performs
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the role of the subject, the aspect features of verbal semantics, and the combinatory
potential of verbs.

2.1.1. The subject can correspond to an active doer or an inactive experiencer

of the action expressed by the verb. This distinction is reflected in the verbal
semantics.

STATAL VERBS ACTIONAL VERBS

denote the state of the inactive experiencer denote the action of the active doer
1. Physical
e.g. to thaw, to ripen, to deteriorate e.g. to write, to fight, to help
2. Mental
e.g. to notice, to forget e.g. to calculate, to compare
3. Perceptual
e.g. to see, to hear, to smell e.g. to look, to listen, to smell

The subdivision of notional verbs into statal/actional is grammatically relevant

since the two subclasses differ in their grammatical behavior (Continuous vs. Non-
Continuous verbs).

2.1.2. The aspect features of verbal semantics reflect inherent properties of the
action/process denoted by the verb. According to their aspect characteristics, English
verbs can be divided into the following groups:
- durative (continual): e.g. continue, linger, last, live, exist;
- iterative (repeated): e.g. reconsider, return;
- terminate (concluded): e.g. terminate, finish, end, conclude, close, solve;
- interminate (non-concluded): e.g. live, study, think;
- instantaneous (momentary): e.g. burst, click, drop, fall;
- ingressive (starting): e.g. begin, start, resume, set out;
- supercompleted: e.g. oversimplify, outdo;
- undercompleted: e.g. underestimate, underpay.
The examples given above demonstrate that lexical aspect meanings of English
verbs can be rendered by:
- stems (e.g. continue, linger, last);
- derivational morphemes (e.g. re-, out-, under-);
- verbal collocations (e.g. to begin/start/continue/finish/used to/would + a verbid).
Such aspect groups of verbs as limitive/terminative (e.g. arrive, start, come,
find) and unlimitive/non-terminative/durative/cursive (e.g. move, continue, live,
sleep, work, behave) subsume the above listed minor aspect groups of English
notional verbs. This division is based on the criterion of a process limit.
Lexical/semantic variants of some English verbs may belong to different aspect
groups, e.g. They walked in the park (unlimitive). – They walked the whole way to the
station (limitive).
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English verbs differ from Ukrainian ones in their aspect semantics. In English
the latter relates to a potentially limited or unlimited action, while in Ukrainian it
reflects the actual conclusion of the action.

2.1.3. The combinatory potential of the verb is determined by its ability to

combine with other notional words in a sentence. According to this principle, English
verbs can be divided into transitive/intransitive and objective/subjective.

TRANSITIVE VERBS INTRANSITIVE VERBS

take a prepositionless complement as a rule cannot take the direct
(the direct object) object (though sometimes they do)
OBJECTIVE VERBS SUBJECTIVE VERBS
combine both with the subject and the object are connected to the subject only

Both categorizations may cut through a lexeme, e.g. He opened the door. –
The door opened.

2.2. Semi-notional and functional verbs

Semi-notional and functional English verbs serve in a sentence as predication

markers, i.e. they reflect the nature of the connection between the nominative content
of the sentence and reality. The verbs of this lexical/grammatical subclass are
subdivided into auxiliaries, modals, semi-notional verbid introducer verbs, and links.

2.2.1. Auxiliaries are the grammatical elements of the category forms of verbs.
The list of English auxiliaries comprises the following verbs: be, have, do, shall, will,
should, would, may, might.

2.2.2. Modals are the predication markers of the speaker's rational evaluation
of the action expressed by the notional verb in the infinitive, such as ability,
obligation, permission, advisability, relational probability, etc. English modals are:
can/could, may/might, must, ought, shall/should, will/would, need, dare, used (to).
Besides, the verbs have and be reveal modal meanings in certain contexts of their use.
English modal verbs have a deficient system of grammatical forms, and that is why
they are supplemented by such word combinations as to be able, to be obliged, to be
permitted, to be likely, to be probable, etc., which are capable of expressing modal
meanings as well.

2.2.3. Semi-notional verbid introducer verbs, as it follows from the term itself,
are used with the verbids – mostly with infinitives and gerunds. They are not totally
devoid of meaning and thus can be of the following semantics:
- discriminatory relational (e.g. seem, happen, turn out);
- subject-action relational (e.g. try, fail, manage);
- phasal (e.g. begin, continue, stop).
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Semi-notional verbid introducer verbs should be distinguished from their
grammatical homonyms in the subclass of notional verbs, e.g. They began to fight
(a semi-notional verbid introducer verb) vs. They began the fight (a notional verb).

2.2.4. Link-verbs (copulas) introduce the nominal part of the predicate which
can be expressed with a noun (e.g. Hal is an engineer), an adjective (e.g. John seems
sad), a nominal phrase (e.g. Hal is in the next room) or an adjectival phrase
(e.g. Naomi is more optimistic than John).
Like modals and semi-notional verbid introducer verbs, copulas are not totally
devoid of meaning: their semantics is that of connection. English copulas are
subdivided into pure links (to be) and specifying links, which can be perceptual
(e.g. seem, appear, look, feel, taste), factual (e.g. become, turn, get, grow, remain,
keep) or notional, which perform the copulative function preserving their lexical
meaning (e.g. He lay awake; The sun rose red).

3. THE MORPHEMIC STRUCTURE OF ENGLSIH VERBS

Verb stems can be:

(1) simple (e.g. go, take, read). Simple stem verbs are not numerous in English.
Conversion of nouns into verbs, which is one of the most productive ways of forming
verbal lexemes in English, expands the number considerably;
(2) sound-replacive, which are formed from the corresponding nouns by the sound
change (e.g. food – to feed, blood – to bleed) and stress-replacive, which are marked
by the change of the stress pattern (e.g. 'import – to im'port, 'object – to ob'ject).
These ways of verb formation are non-productive in English;
(3) derivative, which comprise verbs formed by:
- suffixation: -ate (e.g. cultivate); -en (e.g. broaden); -ify (e.g. clarify); -ize
(e.g. normalize), etc.;
- prefixation: be- (e.g. belittle); en-/em- (e.g. engulf, embed); re- (e.g. restore);
under- (e.g. undergo); over- (e.g. overestimate); sub- (e.g. submerge); mis-
(e.g. misunderstand); un- (e.g. undo), etc.;
(4) composite-compound, which are etymologically derived and afterwards
conversed (e.g. blackmail, proof-read);
(5) phrasal, which are formed according to the following models:
- have/give/take + N (e.g. to have a smoke, to give a smile, to take a ride);
- V + a postposition (e.g. to stand up, to go on).

4. THE CATEGORIES OF ENGLISH VERBS

The categories which form the paradigm of the English verb are subdivided
into substance-relational (person and number), action-relational (tense and aspect)
and substance/action-relational (voice and mood). Besides, there is a
functional/semantic category of finitude based on the distinctions between the finite
and non-finite forms of English verbs (the infinitive, the gerund, the participle).
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4.1. The categories of person and number in the grammatical system of the
English verb are closely connected since they both reflect characteristic features of
the subject, which, in its turn, relates to substance that exists in the unity of quality
and quantity.
The categories of person and number of English verbs are confined to the
following grammatical subsystems:
(1) present indicative singular forms:
- the verb to be (e.g. I am; you are; he/she/it is);
- the rest of English verbs, which are inflected for the third person singular. Modal
verbs are an exception here: with them the category of person is neutralized;
(2) future forms: shall/will;
The categories of person and number in the present-day English language are
alien to the past forms of verbs.

4.2. The category of aspect is a grammatical reflection of the inherent

properties of the process denoted by the verb. It should be remembered that the latter
can be expressed lexically as well. The category of aspect is represented by two
aspect subcategories: development and retrospect.
The aspect subcategory of development presents the action as developing or
not developing in time. It is represented by the opposition CONTINUOUS :: NON-
CONTINUOUS. The strong member of the opposition is marked with the discontinuous
morpheme be +…ing.
The aspect subcategory of development has a verbid representation (e.g. to
work :: to be working), which is neutralized with the following lexemic subsets of
English verbs:
- unlimitive verbs (e.g. The night is wonderfully silent. The stars shine);
- statal verbs (e.g. I see that you've bought a new car);
- the perfect forms of verbs in the passive voice (e.g. It will have been done by 4 a.m);
- introductory verbs in participial constructions (e.g. The man stood smoking a pipe);
- "Emphatic Continuous" (e.g. She is always grumbling);
- anticipated future (e.g. I'll be seeing you soon).
The aspect subcategory of retrospective coordination (or just retrospect) relates
two actions by establishing the order of their succession in time. Besides, it expresses
the connection of the preceding action with the time limit set by the action which
follows. Reflecting both inherent and temporal features of verbal semantics,
retrospect is a complex category – temporal aspect.
The aspect subcategory of retrospect finds its expression in English in the
opposition of PERFECT :: NON-PERFECT. The strong member of this opposition is
marked with the discontinuous morpheme ha …+ …ed.
The grammatical meaning of retrospective coordination can combine with purely
aspect meaning of development, e.g. in Perfect Continuous forms.

4.3. The category of tense is a grammatical reflection of temporal characteristics

of the action denoted by a verb.
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It should be borne in mind that these characteristics can be rendered lexically as
well (absolutive: present-oriented, e.g. now, in this century; past-oriented, e.g. last
week, in the past; future-oriented, e.g. soon, in the years to come; non-absolutive:
relative, e.g. before/after that, at the same time; factual, e.g. in 1066, at the epoch of
Napoleon). Lexical denotations of time can combine with one anther in speech
contexts, providing a detailed many-sided temporal characterization of the action
described.
Traditionally, the category of tense of the English verbs is presented as a three-
member opposition: PRESENT :: PAST :: FUTURE. However, this three-tense model
presents a theoretical problem. A. I. Smirnitsky was the first to point out the
contradictory nature of the so-called "future-in-the-past" forms of English verbs. The
term runs counter the principle of mutual exclusiveness of the members of an
opposition, which runs that two members of one and the same opposition cannot
appear in a language form together. The explanation that this scholar offers is that
"future-in-the-past" forms of English verbs are a variety of mood (the conditional
mood), and not of tense.
The forms of the English verb denoting time relations can be arranged into the
following system of categories represented by binary oppositions:

The category of tense PAST NON-PAST

(primary time) worked works
was working is working
The category of retrospect PERFECT NON-PERFECT
(time correlation) has worked works
had worked worked
has been working is working
The category of prospect FUTURE NON-FUTURE
will work works
will be working is working
would work worked

4.4. Voice. This grammatical category of the English verb relates to the
perspective at which the speaker views the situation described by an objective verb,
which may be that of the doer of the action or the experiencer of the latter. Thus
voice forms of the English verb are relevant for the study of cognitive structures and
mental processes involved in speaking as well as for the status of the information
rendered as given or new (the syntactic category of Functional Sentence Perspective)
e.g. John gave Lisa a picture.
Lisa was given a picture.
The picture was given to Lisa.
The category of voice is represented in Modern English by the two-member
opposition ACTIVE:: PASSIVE (e.g. love :: is loved; loving :: having loved; has
loved :: has been loved).
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The category of voice in English is still in the process of its development. The
forms of Passive Continuous became standard in the XIX th century only, and
currently there are no Perfect Continuous forms in the passive.
There have been attempts to extend the content of the category of voice of the
English verb, namely by postulating the existence of the following varieties of the
passive:
- the stative: B. S. Khaimovich and B. I. Rogovskaya maintain that the passive
forms of the English verb and the combinations of the auxiliary verb to be with
Participle II should be viewed separately, e.g. The device is broken (=does not
work, stative) vs. The devise has been broken by John (=has been subject to some
influence, passive). Yet this distinction can be drawn only at the syntactic level,
since the corresponding meanings are actualized in context;
- the "new" passive (e.g. he got drowned; a wrong person gets punished). This
hypothesis is not consistent with language facts since the verb to get preserves its
lexical meaning "attainment" and thus cannot be viewed as an auxiliary; hence it
seems logical to treat these forms as lexical synonyms of grammatical (passive)
forms;
- reflexive voice (e.g. He cut himself); it is obvious, though, that here the
corresponding meaning is expressed by the pronoun;
- middle voice (e.g. The new paper-backs are selling excellently); it stands to reason
to treat such instances as metaphorical (transposed) usage of the active verb-forms
into the sphere of the passive.

4.5. Mood is a variety of a broader category which is called modality (the

speaker's evaluation of the referent situation, i.e. the situation described by the
sentence). Modality can be expressed by lexical or grammatical means.
Grammatical/objective modality, or mood, is expressed by the form of the
verb, which presents the referent situation, i.e. the situation described by the sentence,
as real or unreal.
e.g. He was confused. vs. If you were more careful, you would drive slowly.
Lexical/subjective modality attends grammatical modality, hence it is
secondary to the latter.
e.g. Perhaps you have seen the portrait in the papers.
Miller is not a very good driver, really.
Secondary modal meanings can be introduced by complicating the structure of
the predicate with the help of modal verbs or their equivalents.
e.g. He must have seen the light.
I'll be sure to come.
The number of moods of the English verb, according to different scholars, differs
from 2 to 17. In this connection O. Jespersen remarks that one can find an even
greater number of moods in English if one takes into consideration semantics only.
There have been attempts to reduce the traditional three-mood model of the
English verb (Indicative, Imperative and Subjunctive) to a two-mood model.
Structuralists (for example, R. Long, L. S. Barkhudarov) maintain that there is no
Subjunctive mood in the present-day English since there are no corresponding
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grammatical markers with the exception of the relics of the present and past tenses of
the Old English Subjunctive. Focusing exclusively on the form and distribution of
English verbs, structuralists ignore their semantic aspects, hence their argument could
hardly be taken as plausible.
Semanticists (for example, L. S. Yermolayeva), on the contrary, advocate the
view that the category of mood embraces only indicative and subjunctive forms of the
verb since imperative forms do not express modality – just the intention of the
speaker to elicit some action form the listener. This argument is fairly convincing, yet
it has not taken in linguistic theory, though certain scholars (G. G. Pocheptsov, in
particular) speak of a syntactic category of pragmatic orientation.

5. THE VERBIDS (individual work)

6. THE SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS OF ENGLISH VERBS

The finite verbs function as predicates, while the verbids perform the syntactic
functions of objects, modifiers or predicative complements.

Recommended Literature

Blokh M.Y. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar. – M., 1983. – P.85–202.

Khaimovich B.S., Rogovskaya B.I. A Course in English Grammar. – M., 1967. – P.
6–198.
3. Rayevska N.M. Modern English Grammar. – K., 1976. – P.99–159.
4. Иванова И.П., Бурлакова В.В., Почепцов Г.Г. Теоретическая грамматика
английского языка. – М., 1981. – С.46–86.
5. Морозова Е.И., Паповянц Э.Г. Методические указания и задания для
самостоятельной работы по курсу теоретической грамматики: Морфология. –
Харьков, 1989. – С.23–28.