ASPECT CORRELATION VOICE

Indefinite Continuous Perfect Non-Perfect Active Passive

TASK 1. Decide which of the following statements are true and which are false. Correct the false ones.

1. There are four verbals in English.

2. Non-finite forms of the verb in Russian fully coincide with those in English.

3. Non-finite forms of the verb do not show if the action refers to the present, past or future.

4. All the verbals can form predicative constructions.

5. Non-finite forms of the verb have the same categories as finite forms.

6. Non-finite forms of the verb have the category of mood.

7. Non-finite forms of the verb have the category of aspect.

8. Non-finite forms of the verb have the category of number.

9. Non-finite forms of the verb have the category of correlation.

10. Non-finite forms of the verb have the category of voice.

11. Gerund has the features of verb and adjective.

12. The double nature of participle shows through its verbal and adjectival characteristics.

THE INFINITIVE

double nature: verb + noun features

The infinitive is the non-finite form of the verb which names a process in a most general way.
It is the initial form of the verb and its special marker is the particle “to”. This particle is usually closely connected with the stem of the verb but sometimes an adverb or another particle can be used between them to emphasize the meaning of the verb. In this case it is called a split infinitive,

e.g. The secretary was asked to urgently type the report.

There are cases when the infinitive is used without the particle “to” and then it is called “bare infinitive”,

e.g. The teacher saw one of the students cheat at the exam.

The infinitive has the following features of the verb:

Morphologicalas it has the categories of

· voice, e.g.

The evening is the time to praise the day. (active voice)

To be praised by this strict teacher was a reward in itself. (passive)

· correlation, e.g.

I have no intention to keep you long. (non-perfect)

I am so distressed to have kept you waiting. (perfect)

· aspect; e.g.

She promised to read this book quickly. (indefinite/ common/ simple)

She happens to be reading this book now. (continuous)

Syntactical that show in its combinability as infinitive

· takes an object like a finite verb,

e.g. To tell Peter the truth was out of the question.

· takes a predicativeif it happens to be a link verb,

e.g. Mary didn’t want to look very happy, but she couldn’t help it.

· It can be modified by adverbials like a finite verb,

e.g. To be heard I had to speak very loudly.

The infinitive has the following features of the noun. They are only syntactical. Like a noun the infinitive can function in the sentence as a:

· Subject, e.g. To forget and forgive his behaviour was impossible.

· Predicative, e.g. Tom’s greatest wish was to finish with all that unpleasant business as soon as possible.

· Object, e.g. That was all Tina wanted to find out.

· Attribute, e.g. I saw the chance to escape into the garden.

· Adverbial modifier, e.g. I merely came back to water the roses. (adverbial modifier of purpose)

6. Infinitive can also be found in the sentences in the following functions:

· Predicate, e.g. Why not go for a walk. The day is lovely!

· Part of a compound verbal modal predicate, e.g. We were to meet at seven, but he must have forgotten about it.

· Part of a compound verbal aspect predicate, e.g. Molly began to feel rather hungry.

· Part of a Complex Object, e.g. I have never seen you speak like this before.

· Part of a Complex Subject, e.g. The girl was reported to have been found in the forest.

· Parenthesis,e.g. To tell the truth I disliked the man at once.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 514

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