CARD №1
The noun as a class of words. The category of number
The noun is the main nominative part of speech, effecting nomination of the fullest value within the framework of the notional division of the lexicon. It has the categorial meaning of substance, and the power to isolate different properties of substances (direct and oblique qualities, and, also, actions and states as processual characteristics of substantive phenomena) and present them as corresponding self-dependent substances. E.g.:
Her words were unexpectedly bitter. – We were struck by the unexpected bitterness of her words.
The categorial functional properties of the noun are determined by its semantic properties.
The most characteristic substantive function of the noun is that of the subject in the sentence. The function of the object in the sentence is also typical of the noun as the substance word. The noun essentially differs from the other parts of speech with similar sentential positions. E.g.:
Mary is a flower-girl. The flower-girl is Mary. He lives in Glasgow. Glasgow is his place of residence.
The noun is characterized by some special types of combinability: prepositional and casal (possessive).
E.g.: an entrance to the house; to turn round the corner; red in the face – prep. combinability; the speech of the president – the president’s speech – the casal combinability.
As a part of speech, the noun is also characterized by a set of formal features determining its specific status in nomination. It has its word-building distinctions, including typical suffixes, compound stem models, conversion patterns. From this point of view nouns are divided into 5 subclasses:
1. Proper and common nouns. The basis of this division is “type of nomination”.
2. Animate and inanimate nouns differentiate on the basis of “form of existence”.
3. Human and non-human nouns differentiate on the basis of “personal quality”.
4. Countable and uncountable nouns differentiate on the basis of “quantitative structure”.
5. Concrete and abstract.
The category of number is expressed by the opposition of the plural form to the singular form of the noun. The strong member of this opposition is the plural, its productive formal mark being the suffix –(e)s {-z, -s, -iz} as presented in the forms “dog – dogs, clock – clocks, box – boxes”. The productive formal mark is connected with the absence of the number suffix in the sg. form of the noun. Also we can speajk about zero-suffix of the sg. in the English.
The other non-productive ways of expressing the number of opposition are vowel interchange in such words as (man – men, mouse – mice, etc.); the archaic suffix – (e)n in a couple of relict forms (ox – oxen, child – children).
In some cases the plural form of the noun is homonymous with the sg. form (sheep, deer, fish).
Plurality should be described as the potentially dismembering (разделение) reflection of the structure of the referent (sky – skies, tear – tears, etc.) the plural form can be presented both multiplicity of separate objects (discrete plural – three houses) and multiplicity of units of measure for an indivisible object (plural of measure – three hours).
The category of number is one of the regular variable categories in the grammatical system of the English language.
The most general quantitative characteristics of individual words constitute the lexico-grammatical base for dividing the nounal vocabulary as a whole into countable nouns and uncountable nouns. The “quantitative structure” is directly connected with the variable feature “number”, since uncountable nouns are treted grammatically as either singular or plural. Namely, the singular uncountable nouns are modified by the non-discrete quantifiers much or little, and they take the finite verb in the singular, while the plural uncountable nouns take the finite verb in the plural.
The two subclasses of uncountable nouns are usually referred to respectively, as singularia tantum (only sg.) and pluralia tantum (only pl.).
The uncountable nouns of the sg. tantum subclass is not excluded from the category of number and we can speak about “absolute” singular which is characteristic of the names of abstract notions (peace, love, joy, etc.), the names of branches of professional activity (chemistry, architecture, mathematics, etc.), the names of mass materials (water, snow, steel, hair, etc.), the names of collective inanimate objects (fruit, furniture, machinery, etc.).
The absolute plural form peculiar to the uncountable subclass of pluralia tantum nouns cannot combine with discrete quantifiers (many, few, etc.). it is characteristic of the uncountable nouns which denote objects consisting of two halves (trousers, scissors, etc.), the nouns expressing some sort of collective meaning (supplies, outskirts, clothes, politics, cattle, etc.), the nouns denoting some diseases as well as some abnormal states of the body and mind (creeps, hysterics, rickets, etc.) They don’t reflect an objective reality. E.g.:
Ice-cream is tasty. We cannot say “one ice-cream is tasty” because another one is too tasty too.
The category of case. Case is the immanent (неотъемлемый) morphological category of the noun manifested in the forms of noun declension (склонение) and showing relations of the nounal referent to other objects and phenomena.
CARD №2
The adjective as a part of speech.
The category of adjectival comparison.
The adjective expresses the categorial semantics of property of a substance. It means that each adjective used in the text presupposes (предполагает) relation to some noun the property of whose referent it denotes, such as its material, colour, position, state and other characteristics both temporary and permanent. Adjectives, unlike nouns don’t possess a full nom value.
Adjectives are distinguished by a specific combinability with nouns, which they modify, if not accompanied by adjuncts (обстоятельственное слово), usually in pre-position, and occasionally in post-position by a combinability with link-verbs (глагол-связка), both functional and notional; by a combinability with modifying adverbs
In the sentence the adjective performs the functions of an attribute and a predicative (именная часть составного сказуемого). The more specific function of the adjective is the attribute, since the function of a predicative can be performed by a noun as well. The predicative adjective expresses some attributive property of its noun-referent, whereas the predicative noun expresses various substantival characteristics of its referent, such as its identification (classification) of different types.
E.g.: It will be silent as a grave. – I’ll be like a silent grave.
To the derivational features of adjectives belong a number of suffixes and prefixes of which the most important are: -ful (hopeful), -less (flawless), -ish (bluish), -ous (famous); un- (unpleasant), in- (inaccurate).
All the adjectives are traditionally divided into 2 large subclasses: qualitative and relative..
1. Relative adjectives express such properties of a substance as are determined by the direct relation of the substance to some other substance. E.g.: wood – wooden hut; history – a historical event; surgery – surgical treatment.
2. Qualitative adjectives denote various qualities of substances which admit (позволять) of a quantitative estimation (оценка). The measure of a quality can be estimated as high or low, adequate or inadequate, optimal or excessive, sufficient or unsufficient. E.g.: an awkward situation – a very awkward situation, a difficult task – a too difficult task, etc.
In this connection, the ability of an adjective to form degrees of comparison is usually taken as a formal sign of its qualitative character, in opposition to a relative adjective and is understood as incapable of forming degrees of comparison by definition. E.g.: a pretty girl – a prettier girl; a hearty welcome – the heartiest welcome, etc. But there are 2 typical classes of contradiction should be pointed out here.
• Some qualitative adjectives are incapable to form degrees of comparison. Here refer adjectives like extinct, deaf, immobile, final, fixed, etc.
• Many adjectives considered under the heding of relative can form degrees of comparison. E.g.: a mediaeval approach – rather a …, a grammatical topic – a purely …, the most … .
The category of adjectival comparison expresses the quantitative characteristic of the quality of a nounal referent, thus, it gives a relative evaluation of the quantity or quality. The purely relative nature of the categorial semantics of comparison is reflected in its name.
This category is constituted by the opposition of the three forms under the heading of degrees of comparison:
1. the basic form – positive degree, having no features of comparison;
2. the comparative degree form, having the feature of restricted superiority;
3. the superlative degree form, having the feature of unrestricted superiority.
Some linguists exclude the positive degree from the category as one having no features of comparison, and recognize comparative and superlative degrees. But sometimes the basic form can express comparative degree, but as the unmarked member, not distinguished by any comparative suffixes, while the superiority forms are the marked members, distinguished by the comparison suffixes or comp. auxiliaries.
E.g.: The remark was as bitter as could be. That was the bitterest remark I’ve ever heard from the man.
Thus, at the upper level of presentation the superiority degrees as the marked member of the opposition are contrasted against the positive degree as its unmarked member. The synthetical forms of comparison in “-er” and “-(e)st” coexist with the analytical forms of comparison effected by the auxiliaries “more, most”, which perform a double function: they are used with the evaluative adjectives, that consist of more 2-syllable composition and cannot normally take the synthetic forms of comparison; the analytical forms of comparison are used to express emphasis. E.g.: The audience became more and more noisy.
Some scholars consider more/most and less/least-combinations to be free syntactic constructions and semantically analogous to each other. The inherent superlative semantics is emphasiszed by the definite article normally.
There exist suplative forms of degrees of comparisons: good – better – the best, bad – worse – the worst, etc.
CARD № 3.
The verb as a class of words. The classification of English verbs.
Grammatically the verb is the most complex part of speech. This is due to the central role it performs in the expression of the predicative functions of the sentence; functions establishing the connection between the situation named in the utterance and reality.
The general categorial meaning of the verb is process presented dynamically, that’s developing in time. This general processual meaning is embedded (отражать, запечатлевать) in the semantics of all the verbs, including those that denote states, forms of existence, types of attitude, evaluations, etc rather than actions. The processual categorial meaning of the notional verb determines its characteristic combination with a noun expressing both the doer of the action (its subject) and, in cases of the objective verb, the recipient of the action (its object); it also determines its combination with a adverb as the modifier of the action.
The non-finite verb performs different functions according to its nature (those of the syntactic subject, object, adverbial modifier, attribute), but its non-processual functions are always actualized in close combination with its processual semantic features. E.g.:
His rejecting the proposal surprised us. – That he had rejected the proposal surprised us.
So the non-finite forms of the verb (verbids) in self-dependent use perform a potentially predicative functions, constituting secondary predicative centres in the sentence. Verbids are the forms of the verb intermediary of their lexico-gram. features between the verb and the non-processual parts-of-speech: the infinitive, the gerund, the present participle, the past participle.
The finite verbs perform the functions of the verb – predicate, expressing the processual categorial features of predication: time, aspect and mood.
Verbs are characterized by specific forms of word-building, as well as by the formal features expressing the corresponding grammatical categories. The verb stems can be divided into:
1. Simple verb stems. Here we speak about conversion (zero-suffixation), the most productive ways of forming verb lexemes in modern English. (a house – to house; a park – to park).
2. The sound-replacive type of derivation and stress-replacive type of derivation are not productive (food – to feed; blood – bleed).
3. The composite (compound) verb stems correspond to the composite non-verb stems from which they are etymologically derived (blackmail n. – blackmail v.)
4. The phrasal verb stems. Among them two specific constitutions should be mentioned:
• The head-verb (have, give, take) + noun: to have a smoke – to smoke; to give a smile – to smile.
• The head-verb + postposition: to stand up, to go on, to give up, etc.
The grammatical categories are included:
1. Finite and non-finite forms of the verb (finites and verbids). This category has a lexico-grammatical force.
2. The categories of person, number, tense, aspect, voice and mood
The class of verbs falls into a number of subclasses distinguished by different semantic and lexico-grammatical features. The upper level of division includes:
1. Verbs of full nominative value (notional verbs) that includes the bulk of the verbal lexicon;
2. Verbs of partial nominative value (semi-notional and functional verbs) that serve as makers of predication in the proper sense, since they show the connection between the nominative content of the sentence and reality. These predicators include auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, semi-notional verbid introducer verbs, and link verbs.
Auxiliary verbs constitute gram. elements of the categorial forms of the verb (be, have, do, shall, will, should, would, may, might).
Modal verbs are used with the infinitive as predicative makers expressing relational meanings of the subject attitude type: permission, ability, obligation, advisability, etc. (can, may, must shall, will, ought, need, used to, dare).
Semi-notional verbid introducer verbs are distributed among the verbal sets of discriminatory relational semantics (seem, happen, turn out, etc.), of subject-action relational semantics (try, fail, manage, etc.), of phrasal semantics (begin, continue, stop, etc.).
Link verbs introduce the nominal part of the predicate which is commonly expressed by a noun, an adjective, or a phrase. These verbs are: seem, appear, look feel, taste; become, get, grow, keep, remain.
All notional verbs are divided into three main gram. relevant categorizations that are based on:
1. The relation of the subject of the verb to the process denoted by the verb. Here we can distinguish actional verbs (do, act, perform, make, go, read, learn, etc.); statal verbs (be, live, survive, worry, see, stand, etc.) and processual verbs (consider, neglect, support, display).
2. The aspective characteristics of the process denoted by the verb. It represents the process as durative (to go on, to prolong), terminate (to stop), interminate, momentary (to drop, to burst), ingressive (starting). Limitive verbs are momentary, ingressive, terminate. Non-limitive verbs are durative and repeated.
3. The combining power of the verb in relation to other notional words in the utterance.
CARD № 4
The verb. The category of tense.
Grammatically the verb is the most complex part of speech. This is due to the central role it performs in the expression of the predicative functions of the sentence; functions establishing the connection between the situation named in the utterance and reality.
The general categorial meaning of the verb is process presented dynamically, that’s developing in time. This general processual meaning is embedded (отражать, запечатлевать) in the semantics of all the verbs, including those that denote states, forms of existence, types of attitude, evaluations, etc rather than actions. The processual categorial meaning of the notional verb determines its characteristic combination with a noun expressing both the doer of the action (its subject) and, in cases of the objective verb, the recipient of the action (its object); it also determines its combination with a adverb as the modifier of the action.
The non-finite verb performs different functions according to its nature (those of the syntactic subject, object, adverbial modifier, attribute), but its non-processual functions are always actualized in close combination with its processual semantic features. E.g.:
His rejecting the proposal surprised us. – That he had rejected the proposal surprised us.
The finite verbs perform the functions of the verb – predicate, expressing the processual categorial features of predication: time, aspect and mood.
The immediate expression of tense is one of the typical functions of the finite verbs. It is typical because the meaning of process finds its complete realization only if presented in certain time conditions. That’s why the expression or non-expression of gram. time, together with expression or non-expression of gram mood in person-form presentation, constitutes the basis of the verbal category of finitude.
When speaking of the expression of time by the verb, it is necessary to distinguish between the general notion of time, the lexical denotation of time, and the grammatical time proper. All the lexical expressions of time are divided into “absolutive” expressions of time and “non-absolutive” expressions of time.
The absolutive time denotation includes three spheres of perception: the sphere of the present, the sphere of the past, the sphere of the future. Thus, words and phrases like now, last week, in our century, in the past, very soon, yesterday, in a couple of days are absolutive names of time.
The non-absolutive time denotation may be either “relative” (after that, before that, at one and the same time, some time later) or “factual” (in the year 1066, during the time of the First World War, at the epoch of Napoleon, etc.)
In Modern English, the grammatical expression of verbal time is effected in two correlative stages:
• At the first stage, the process receives an absolutive time characteristic by means of opposing the past tense to the present tense. The marked member of this opposition is the past form. It reflects direct retrospective evaluation on time of the process.
• At the second stage, the process receives a non-absolutive relative time characteristic by means of opposing the forms of the future tense to the forms of no future marking. That’s prospective characteristics of the time of the process.
According to the oppositional marking of the two temporal categories, we shall call the first of them the category of “primary time”, and the second, the category of “propective time”.
The category of primary time provides for the absolutive axpression of the time of the process denoted by the verb. The formal signs of the opposition constituting this category are: with regular verbs – (e)d, and with irregular verbs, phonemic interchanges of more or less individual specification. This category divides all the tense forms of the verb into two temporal planes: the plane of the present and the plane of the past, which also affects also the future forms. E.g.:
She returns home at five o’clock. – At five she returned home. – I know that she will return home at five. – I knew that she would return home at five.
The present tense is the unmarked member of opposition and may be understood as literally the moment of speaking. The meaning of the present may be conveyed by phrases as “at this moment, exactly now, this month, this year, etc. Here the present tense shows the present time in relation to the process as inclusive of the moment of speech.
The combinations of the verbs shall and will with the infinitive have of late become subject of renewed discussion. Sometimes they are just modal verbs, whose expression of the future doesn’t differ in essence from the general future orientation of other combinations of modal verbs with the infinitive.
The category of prospect is also temporal because it is closely connected with the expression of processual time. In difference from the category of primary time it is purely relative; it means that the future form of the verb only shows the denoted process as an after-action relative to some other action or state or event. The process of the verb is characterized by the category of prospect irrespective of its primary time characteristic and this is quite similar to all the other categories capable of entering the sphere of verbal time: the cat. of development (continuous in opposition), the cat. of retrospective coordination (perfect in opposition), the cat. of voice (passive in opposition).
In analysing the English future tenses their modal colouring cannot be denied, especially in the verbal form of the first person. Traditional grammar gives the following rules: shall + Infinitive with the first person, will + Infinitive with the second and third persons express pure future. From the point of view of modality I shall expresses intention and desire, I will – promise and command. In American English will is described as expressing pure future with all the persons, shall as expressing modality. E.g.:
I will call for you and your young man at seven o’clock.
I shall do it by 5 p.m.
Professor Barchudarov distinguishes three tense form classes:
1. Non-past tense form class, that has unmarked or zero-morpheme. The semantic contents of the past tense class can be defined by the action that is cut off and non-correlative with the moment of speech.
2. Past tense form class, that is marked by the morpheme “–ed”. Non-past action is simultaneous with the moment of speech.
From this point of view actions can be subdivided into:
1. Simultaneity.
2. Habitual action.
3. The action unlimited in its duration.
4. The future action.
Card № 5.
Sentence as the main object of syntax.
Some grammatical properties of the sentence.
Sentence is the immediate integral unit of speech built up of words according to a definite syntactic pattern and distinguished by a contextually relevant communicative purpose. Therefore the sentence is the main object of syntax as part of the grammatical theory.
The sentence, being composed of words, may in certain cases include only one word of various lexico-grammatical standings. E.g.:
Night. Congratulations. Away! Why?!
The actual existence of one-word sentences, however doesn’t contradict the general idea of the sentence as a special syntactic combination of words.
While the word is a component element of the word-stock and as such is a nominative unit of language, the sentence is a predicative utterance unit, linguistically. It means the sentence not only names some referents with the help of its word-constituents, but also, presents these referents as making up a certain situation, a situational event; and reflects the connection between the nominal denotation of the event and objective reality, showing the time of the event, its being real or unreal, necessary or unnecessary, etc. E.g.:
I’m satisfied, the experiment has succeeded. – I would have been satisfied if the experiment had succeeded. – The experiment seems to have succeeded – why then I’m not satisfied?
The sentence is characterized by its specific category of predication, which establishes the relation of the named phenomena to actual life. Predication is the connection between the subject and predicate. The centre of predication in a sentence of verbal type (which is the predominant type of sentence structure in English) is a finite verb, that expresses essential predicative meaning by its categorial forms (tense, mood). Besides the purely verbal categories, in the predicative semantics are included such syntactic sentence meanings as purposes of communication (declaration – interrogation – inducement), modal probability, affirmation and negation and others.
The sentence is intonationally delimited. Intonation separates one sentence from another. The role of intonation is especially important for sentences, which have more than one predicative centres. E.g.:
The class was over. The noisy children filled the corridors.
The general semantic category of modality is also defined by linguists as exposing the connection between the named objects and surrounding reality. But modality is not specifically confined (замкнутый, заключенный) to the sentence; this is a broader category. Thus, every word expressing a definite correlation between the named substance and objective reality should be recognized as modal with the meanings of “probability”, “desirability”, “necessity”. Here belong semi-notional words and phrases of probability and evaluation, such as perhaps, maybe, by all means, etc.; particles – just, even, would-be, etc. Predication reflects only syntactic modality.
Different sentences may express questions or statements. If it is a question the speaker expects to hear an answer. However, if it is a statement, the aim of the speaker is just to express some thoughts. The sentence has a question pattern if it is a question. The question is addressed to a listener. Generally, long sentences have some kind of punctuation. According to the purpose of communication we speak about the following types of sentence; all of them show marked peculiarities in their structure.
1. Declarative sentences expressing a statement;
2. Imperative sentences expressing inducement;
3. Interrogative sentences expressing a question.
4. Some linguists include one more type – exclamatory sentences expressing people’s emotions.
Card № 6.
Communicative types of the sentence.
Sentence is the immediate integral unit of speech built up of words according to a definite syntactic pattern and distinguished by a contextually relevant communicative purpose. Therefore the sentence is the main object of syntax as part of the grammatical theory.
The sentence is a communicative unit, therefore the primary classification of sentences must be based on the communicative principle. The principle is formulated in traditional grammar as the “purpose of communication”. Different sentences may express questions or statements. If it is a question the speaker expects to hear an answer. However, if it is a statement, the aim of the speaker is just to express some thoughts. The sentence has a question pattern if it is a question. The question is addressed to a listener. Generally, long sentences have some kind of punctuation.
In accord with the purpose of communication three cardinal sentence-types have long been recognized in linguistic tradition: the declarative sentence; the imperative (inducive) sentence; the interrogative sentence. These communicative sentence-types stand in strict opposition to one another.
The declarative sentence expresses a statement, either affirmative or negative. E.g.:
“We live very quietly here, indeed we do; my niece here will tell you the same.” – “Oh, come, I’m not such a fool as that,” answered the squire (D. du Maurier)
The imperative sentence expresses inducement, either affirmative or negative. That is, it urges the listener, in the form of request or command, to perform or not perform a certain action. The imperative sentence is situationally connected with the corresponding “action response”. E.g.:
Let’s go and sit down there!
“Send him back!” – “Nonsense, old chap.”
The interrogative sentence expresses a question, i.e. a request for information wanted by the speaker from the listener. It is naturally connected with an answer, forming together with it a question-answer dialogue unity. E.g.:
“What do you suggest I should do, then?” said Mary helplessly. “If I were you I should be waiting to the last moment.
Alongside the three cardinal communicative sentence-types, another type of sentences is recognized in the theory of syntax, namely, the so-called exclamatory sentence. It doesn’t possess any complete set of qualities that could place them on one and the same level with the three cardinal communicative types of sentences. In other words, each of the cardinal communicative types of sentences can be represented in the two variants, exclamatory and non-exclamatory. E.g.:
What a very small cabin it was! – It was a very small cabin. Why, if it isn’t my lady! – It is my lady. Her we can easy identify exclamatory sentences-statements with their non-exclamatory declarative prototypes.
Similarly, exclamatory questions are related in the syntactic system to the corresponding interrogative sentences.
E.g.: Whatever do you mean, Mr,Smith? – What do you mean?
Imperative sentences, naturally, are characterized by a higher degree of emotive intensity than the other two cardinal sentence-types. E.g.:
Peter, will you please try to speak loudly! – Try to speak loudly.
All the three pairs of variant communicative types of sentences (non-exclamatory – exclamatory for each cardinal division) make up distinct semantico-syntactic oppositions effected by regular gram. means of language, such as intonation, word order and special constructions with functional-auxilliary lexemic elements.
To Ilysh’s point of view sentences are divided into:
1. Declarative including emotional words;
2. Interrogative including emotional words;
3. Imperative including emotional words;
4. Purely exclamatory sentences. (“Great Heavens!”, “Good Lord!”, etc.)
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