A VERB PHRASE is a phrase that has a (lexical) VERB as its head and expresses

verbal categories.

15. Verbal categories

-VERBAL CATEGORIES ARE GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES WHICH CAN BE
EXPRESSED ON THE VERB BY MEANS OF INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES.
INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES ARE SUFFIXES.

-Verbal categories: Mood, Tense, Voice, Aspect & Modality

Verbal categories have very a important function in language as a system:
THEY MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO EXPRESS SOME ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS IN LANGUAGE
THEY REPRESENT THE VERY FOUNDATION OF OUR COMMUNICATIVE ABILITY

MOOD:
A verbal category which makes it possible for the speaker to express his/her
attitude toward the factual content of the sentence.
THE INDICATIVEMOOD:
Sebastian drives fast.
THE SUBJUNCTIVEMOOD:
Luca insists that Fernando drive faster.
THE IMPERATIVEMOOD:
Drive faster!!!

VOICE:
A verbal category which makes it possible for the speaker to express/viewone
and the same activity in two ways.
The Queen opened the bridge.
The bridge was opened by the Queen
LESS IMPORTANT (old) -----> MORE IMPORTANT (NEW)

TENSE:
A verbal category which makes it possible for the activity denoted by the verb to
be located in time. I.e. TENSE IS A GRAMMATICALIZED LOCATION IN TIME,
expressed by verbal infections.
There are only two verbal inflections for tense in English:

-S and ED
Therefore, THERE ARE ONLY TWO TENSES IN ENGLISH:
THE PRESENT TENSE
THE PAST TENSE

ASPECT:
A verbal category which makes it possible to express the INTERNAL TEMPORAL
STRUCTURE of the state or activity denoted by the verb.
John ate an apple. (FINISHED, complete, no segments)
John was eating an apple when I entered. (NOT-FINISHED, incomplete, many
segments)
ONE ASPECTUAL OPPOSITION IN ENGLISH IS:
PROGRESSIVE vs. NON-PROGRESSIVE
John lived in New York. (FINISHED, complete, no segments)
John has lived in New York since 1999. (NOT-FINISHED, incomplete, still relevant,
continuing duration)
THE OTHER ASPECTUAL OPPOSITION IN ENGLISH IS:
PERFECTIVE vs. NON-PERFECTIVE

MODALITY:
A verbal category which makes it possible to modify the factual meaning of the
verbso that it in addition to its original meaning it also expresses notions such as
ABILITY, PERMISSION, OBLIGATION, POSSIBILITY, DEDUCTION, ASSUMPTION etc.
John canswim. (ABILITY)
John mustpay the utilities. (OBLIGATION)
You may leave now. (PERMISSION)
He musthave done a lot of research for his book. (DEDUCTION)

When we say verb, what we actually mean is a lexical verb, i.e. a verb with full
meaning (e.g. catch, buy, sell, etc.), and not a verb such as must, be(as in am
running), etc.
Verbs such as must, be(as in am running), etc. are said to have no meaning:
instead they have grammatical function
In other words, verbs in English can be classified into:
LEXICAL/FULL VERBS catch, vanish, burn, publish
AUXILIARY VERBS be, have, do, can, may, must

AUXILIARY VERBS
They CANNOT function as HEADS of VPs:
They must have been tortured in Guantanamo Bay.
They are musting something.
HOWEVER:
Her children are beingnaughty.
They DO NOT HAVE 3rdperson s, inflected forms, nonfinite forms and tense
distinctions:
He must have been tortured in Guantanamo Bay.
He musts have been tortured something.
I want you to must be there.
HOWEVER:
Her children are being naughty.
To be or not to be that is the question.
I think, therefore I am.

Obviously, verbs such as BE, do not behave syntactically in the same way as
MUST, although they are all classified as AUXILIARIES :
This means that there are at least TWO subtypes of AUXILIARIES:
PRIMARY AUXILIARIES be, have, do
MODAL AUXILIARIES can, may, shall, will, could, might, should, would, must,
ought to, used to
MARGINAL MODAL AUXILIARIES dare, need

PRIMARY AUXILIARIES can function as both MAIN and AUXILIARY verbs:

I am a student. VS. I am reading a book.

I have two brothers. VS. I have been hearing voices in my head.
I do break dancing in my spare time. VS. I did not hear you.

MODAL AUXILIARIESDO NOT HAVE 3rdperson s, inflected forms, nonfinite forms

and tense distinctions and CANNOT FUNCTION AS HEADS OF VPs, i.e. they
CANNOT function as MAIN VERBS:
He musts have been tortured something.
I want you to must be there.
They are musting something.
MARGINAL MODAL AUXILIARIES dare, need
They can function as modal verbs, but also as main verbs:
I dare not do it. VS. I dont dare to do it.
I need not do it. VS. I dont need to do it.

In addition to MODAL AUXILIARIES, there are also other verbs/verbal expressions

that have MODAL MEANING:
He is to testify before the Senate Commission tomorrow.
I am going to see her there.
These verbs/verbal expressions are classified into:
MODAL IDIOMS: be to, used to, would rather, had better
SEMI-AUXILIARIES/VERB IDIOMS: be going to, be about to, be able to

13. The verbal paradigm

A PARADIGM is a set of grammatically/morphologically conditioned WORD FORMS
which are all derived from the SAME STEM/ROOT,
e.g. love, loves, loved, loved, loving
English verbal paradigm is relatively poor (e.g. in comparison with Serbian or,
even better, Latin), because it has only 5 (five) forms:
BASE FORM (sing)
3rdPERSON PRESENT-TENSE FORM (sings)
PRESENT PARTICIPLE, also called ingparticiple (singing)
PAST TENSE FORM, also called ED1 (sang)

PAST PARTICIPLE FORM, also called ED2 or EN (sung)

BASE FORM
BASE FORM is used to form:
INFINITIVE (sing to sing)
PRESENT TENSE all persons except 3rdperson singular (sing I/you/we/they
sing a tune.)
IMPERATIVE (sing Sing a tune.)
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE (sing I recommend that he sing in a choir)
FORMATION: The infinitive in English is the naked root form of the word.

3pspt FORM
3PSPT FORM is used to form:
3rdperson present-tense form (sing He singsa song.)
FORMATION: the suffix -sis added to the stem of the infinitive form, e.g. RUN+
-S= RUNS
If the base ends in a sibilant sound like /s/, /z/, //, /t / that is not preceded by a
silent E, the suffix is written as -es:buzz > buzzes; catch > catches
If the base ends in a consonant plus y, the ychanges to iwhen esis added: cry
> cries
Verbs ending in -otypically add -es: veto > vetoes

PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM

PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM is used to form:
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT (sing I have been singing for a long time.)
ADJECTIVES (sing a singing bush)
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
RELATIVE (sing A man singing a song entered the room.)
ADVERBIAL (sing Singing a song, a man entered the room.)

FORMATION: the suffix ing is added to the stem of the infinitive form, e.g. GO+
-ING= GOING
If the base ends in silent E, it is dropped before adding the suffix: believe >
believing

If the final E is not silent, it is retained: agree > agreeing

FORMATION:
If
the base form ends in a single consonant; AND
a single vowel precedes that consonant; AND
the last syllable of the base form is stressed
the final consonant is doubled before adding the suffix -ing: set > setting; occur
> occurring.
In British English, as an exception, the final -lis subject to the doubling rule:
yodel > yodelling(American English yodeling).
If the final consonant of a word subject to the doubling rule is -c, that consonant
is doubled as -ck: panic > panicking

Irregular forms include:

singeing, where the e is not dropped to avoid confusion with singing;
ageing, in British English, where the expected form aging is ambiguous as to
whether it has a hard or soft 'G';
a number of words that are subject to the doubling rule even though they do not
fall squarely within its terms, such as: diagramming, kidnapping, programming,
andworshipping.

PAST TENSE FORM (ed1)

PAST TENSE FORM is used to form:
PAST TENSE all persons (sing I/you/he/she/it/we/they sanga tune.)
FORMATION: the suffix edis added to the stem of the infinitive form, e.g.
WORK+ -ED= WORKED
If the base ends in e, -d(not ed) is added to it: hone > honed; dye > dyed
If the base ends in a consonant plus y, the ychanges to ibefore the -edis added;
e.g. deny > denied
If the base ends in a vowel plus y, the yis retained, e.g. alloy > alloyed
doubling the final consonant = the same rule(s) as the rule(s) for doubling in the
present participle

PAST PARTICIPLE FORM (ed2)

PAST PARTICIPLE TENSE FORM is used to form:
PERFECTIVEASPECT(singIhavejustsungasong.)
ADJECTIVES(sing a sungmelody)
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
RELATIVE(sing A melody sung with passion could be heard coming from the
neighbouring apartment.)
ADVERBIAL(sing Sungwith passion, this melody could be a real hit.)
FORMATION: the same rules as for the ed1form

FORMATION irregular vs. regular

The rules given here for formation of ED1 and ED2 forms only apply to regular
verbs, of course.
Forms of the irregular verbs basically have to be LEARNED BY HEART i.e.
MEMORIZED.
Ironically, the forms which we nowadays call IRREGULAR were completely
regular in the early stages of the development of the English language (450-1066
A.D.)

14. The verb phrase VP (simple/complex, finite/non-finite)

CLASSIFICATION OF VPs
VPs can be classified on the basis of THREE CRITERIA:
STRUCTUREOF THE VP
COMPLEXITIYOF THE VERB FORM IN THE VP
FINITENESS(whether or not the VP can express all verbal categories and whether
or not VP can express the agreement/concord in person and number with the
subject)
VPs STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION
Depending on how we analyze their structure, VPs can be classified into:
EXTENDED VPs = the verb form AND ALL its complements and modifiers, e.g.
John bought Mary a beautiful present.

RESTRICTED VPs = ONLY THE VERB FORM, e.g.

John bought Mary a beautiful present.

VPs COMPLEXITY CLASSIFICATION

On the basis of the complexity of the internal structure of VPs, they can be
classified into:
SIMPLE VPs = VPs which only consist of ONE (MAIN) VERB AND NO AUXILIARIES,
e.g.
John bought Mary a beautiful present.
He is happy.
John vanished.
COMPLEX VPs = VPs which only consist of ONE (MAIN) VERB AND AT LEAST ONE
AUXILIARY, e.g.
John has just bought Mary a beautiful present.
He must have been planning this raid for quite some time.
She was given a beautiful present.

WHAT ABOUT e.g. Do you like chocolate? and She didnt see him.:
COMPLEX OR SIMPLE?
If I am asking, probably SIMPLE.
YES! VPs such as these are SIMPLE.
WHY?
We are looking at the POSITIVE & DECLARATIVE (i.e. ASSERTIVE) sentences:
You like chocolate.
She saw him.
IN OTHER WORDS, DO-SUPPORT DOESNT COUNT WHEN WE ANALYZE THE
COMPLEXITYOF VPs

VPs FINITENESS CLASSIFICATION

FINITENESSn. of or relating to any of the forms of a verb that can occur on their
own in a main clause and that can formally express distinctions in person,
number, tense, mood, and voice, often by means of conjugation (MerriamWebsters Collegiate Dictionary)
IN OTHER WORDS, THIS CLASSIFICATION IS BASED ON TWO CRITERIA:

whether the VP can express ALL VERBAL CATEGORIES or just some of them
whether the VP can express THE AGREEMENT/CONCORD IN PERSON AND
NUMBER WITH THE SUBJECT
If we take FINITENESS as the criterion for classification of VPs, we can
distinguish two types of VPs:
FINITE, e.g. John likes Mary. He must have seen it.
NON-FINITE, e.g. John wanted to likeMary. Having seen it, he ran away.

FINITE VPs
FINITE VPs:
CAN EXPRESS ALL VERBAL CATEGORIES (TENSE, ASPECT, MOOD, VOICE,
MODALITY)
THEY ALWAYS EXPRESS AGREEMENT/CONCORD WITH THE SUBJECT(i.e. there is a
subject in the clause)
E.g. He likes chocolate cookies. He is running. He has done that many times
since he joined the company. He might have been delayed in the traffic.
What about Please dont go! or Go away!?
There is no subject in the clause, so they seem to be NON-FINITE.
They are actually FINITE.
Imperative constructions are FINITE, although they have no subject -the subject
is said to be IMPLIED.

NON-FINITE VPs:
CANNOT EXPRESS ALL VERBAL CATEGORIES: THEY CAN ONLY EXPRESS
ASPECT AND VOICE
THEY DO NOT EXPRESS AGREEMENT/CONCORD WITH THE SUBJECT (usually
there is NO subject in the clause containing a non-finite VP)
E.g. To play with hand grenades isa bad idea. (no subject)
He was found sitting in his chair. (no subject)
Having done that many times since he joined the company, he decided to help
them. (no subject)
He entered the arena, followed closely by his bodyguards. (no subject)
For him to do such a thing is truly unbelievable. (overt subject )

Mood is a verbal category which makes it possible for the speaker to express
his/her attitude toward the factual content of the sentence.

16. The imperative mood [SG-.................]

MOOD: IMPERATIVE
The imperative mood is used to express COMMANDS.
Forms: a verb in the imperative mood has the same form as the base form i.e. it
has a - (ZERO) suffix
Imperative verbs are FINITE, but they are restrictedin relation to their ability to
express most other verbal categories:
NO TENSE
NO MODALITY
NO PERFECT ASPECT
Passive voice and progressive aspect are possible:
Be preparing the dinner! (progressive)
Be prepared for the dinner! (passive)

MOOD: SUBJUNCTIVE
The subjunctive mood is used to express NON-FACTS.
There are two sub-types of the subjunctive mood: present subjunctive and past
subjunctive.
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
FORMS: the present subjunctive has the same form as the base of the verb: it
has a - (ZERO) suffix
I.e. the subjunctive paradigm of the verbs to be and to have looks like this:

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE types

Mandative Subjunctive, Non-Mandative Subjunctive and Formulaic Subjunctive
MANDATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE:
Used in SUBORDINATE, THAT-CLAUSES after:
SUASIVE VERBS:
I suggested that she be working on the project.
SUASIVE ADJECTIVES:
It is essential that the mission not fail.
SUASIVE NOUNS:
It is my decision that he be fired.

NON-MANDATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE
Used in SUBORDINATE CLAUSES OF CONDITION, CONCESSION AND PURPOSE:
CONDITION: If that be necessary, we will deny everything.
CONCESSION: Even if that be the case, we can still do it.
PUPROSE: He must do it, lest he get fired.
FORMULAIC SUBJUNCTIVE
Used in SET EXPRESSIONS and PHRASES:
Suffice it to say; perish the though, come what may, God save the Queen.

Present subjunctive is very common in AmE.

In BrEit is more natural to use should:
AmE: I suggested that he leave.
BrE: I suggested that he should leave.

Present subjunctive is NOTsubject to SEQUENCE OF TENSES:

Present: I demandthat the chairman resign.
Past: I demandedthat the chairman resign.

PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
The PAST SUBJUNCTIVE is often called WERE SUBJUNCTIVE.
It refers only to the verb to be where it takes the form WERE and has a
subjunctive meaning (hence the other name)
SUBJUNCTIVE MEANING: non-factual and/or hypothetical meaning

PAST SUBJUNCTIVE: usage

HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSES:
If I were you, I wouldnt do it.
CLAUSES OF HYPOTHETICAL COMPARISON:
He treats her, as if she were her boss.
CLAUSES EXPRESSING WISHES:
If only she were here.
OTHER HYPOTHETICAL EXPRESSIONS:
Imagine we were as rich as Bill Gates.

In informal situations, it is OK to use WAS in 1stand 3rd person singular:

I wish she was here.
PAST TENSE FORMS can be used with a HYPOTHETICAL MEANING:
I wish I knew the secret of wealth and happiness.
If only we had more time.
I wish you had warned me about the faulty brakes before I took the car for a
spin.
This hypothetical meaning is the same hypothetical meaning which is expressed
with past subjunctive, however THIS IS NOT PAST SUBJUNCTIVE (past
subjunctive uses only the WERE form).

How do we use PAST TENSE FORMS to express HYPOTHETICAL MEANING:

I wish I knew the secret of wealth and happiness.
If only we had more time.
I wish you had warned me about the faulty brakes before I took the car for a
spin.
WHAT ARE THE RULES?
PAST SIMPLE TENSE hypothetical meaning referring to the present
PAST PERFECT TENSE -hypothetical meaning referring to the past
WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?
WOULD + BASE FORM, e.g. I wish you would buy a new oven.

18. The verbal category of voice

A verbal category which makes it possible for the speaker to express/view one
and the same activity in two ways, without change in the facts reported.
The Queen opened the bridge.
The bridge was opened by the Queen.
Passive voice is restricted to transitive verbs only.

In English the grammatical category of voice is realized in the form of a binary

opposition:
ACTIVE(default) vs. PASSIVE(marked)
The active-passive relation involves changes/transformations on two
grammatical levels:
THE CLAUSE
THE VERB PHRASE
Additionally, the passive transformation is subject to one fundamental
constraint:
ONLY TRANSITIVE VERBS CAN BE PASSIVIZED

VOICE changes in the clause

At the clause level, passivizationinvolves rearrangement of two clause elements

and one addition:
THE ACTIVE SUBJECT BECOMES THE OPTIONAL PASSIVE AGENT
THE ACTIVE OBJECT BECOMES THE PASSIVE SUBJECT
THE PREPOSITION BY IS INTRODUCED BEFORE THE AGENT

VOICE changes in the verb phrase

The active verb phrase (VP) becomes the passive verb phrase (VP):

PASSIVIZATION the VP
The passive VP is constructed using the following formula:
PASSIVE AUXILIARY + PAST PARTICIPLE
e.g. is loved
e.g. is being loved
e.g. had been loved
The passive auxiliary is normally the verb BE.
The passive auxiliary can also be the verb GET

GET-PASSIVE
The GET-passive is restricted to constructions WITHOUT AN EXPRESSED
ANIMATE AGENT:
The boy got hurt on his way from work.
*The boy got given a violin by his father.
The GET-passive IS AVOIDED in FORMALstyle.
Even in informal English, the GET-passive is far less frequent than the BEpassive.

Some additional examples:

Our house is getting painted.
If they make such criticisms they will get treated with the contempt they
deserve.
The story eventually got translated into English.
GET is much more common as a resulting copula.
Sentences with GET as a resulting copula look superficially like the passive, but
they are NOT, because:
they cannot have an agent, and
what looks like the past participle is really an adjective (it can be modified).
E.g.
We are getting bogged down in all sorts of problems.
We are getting a bit bogged down in all sorts of problems.
?Somebody bogged us down in all sorts of problems.
*Our house is getting a bit painted. GET-PASSIVE

VOICE CONSTRAINTS
Although it is the general rule that TRANSITIVE VERB SENTENCEScan be EITHER
ACTIVE or PASSIVE, there are a number of exceptions where there is no simple
paraphrase restrictions.
Such exceptions are called voice constraints.
There are FOUR(4) types of voice constraints:
Voice constraints associated with THE VERB
Voice constraints associated with THE OBJECT
Voice constraints associated with MEANING
Voice constraints associated with FREQUENCY OF USE

VOICE CONSTRAINTS -VERBS

There are greater restrictions on verbs occurring in the passive that in the
active.
Intensive and extensive intransitive verbs can NEVER take passive.
However some transitive verbs CANNOT OCCUR in the passive:
They havea nice house. *A nice house is hadby them.
He lacksconfidence. *Confidence is lackedby him.

The room holds50 people. *50 people are heldby the room.
The dress becomesher. *She is becomeby the dress.
The coat does not fit you. *You are not fittedby the coat.
VERBS THAT BEHAVE IN THIS WAY ARE USUALLY STATIVE OR EXISTENTIAL
TRANSITIVE VERBS.

Conversely, with some transitive verbs only the passive is possible:

John was saidto be a good teacher. *They saidhim to be a good teacher.
John was reputedto be a good teacher. *They reputedhim to be a good
teacher.
In English, prepositional verbs can often occur in the passive, but not as freely
as in the active:
The engineers wentvery carefully intothe tunnel. *The tunnel wasvery
carefully gone intoby the engineers.
The engineers wentvery carefully intothe problem. = The problem wasvery
carefully gone intoby the engineers.
They arrived atthe splendid stadium. *The splendid stadium was arrived at.
They arrived atthe expected result. = The expected result was arrived at.
WHAT IS THE SYSTEM? WHEN CAN THESE VERBS OCCUR IN THE PASSIVE?

Prepositional verbs can occur in the passive when they have ABSTRACT
PASSIVE SUBJECTS:
The problem wasvery carefully gone intoby the engineers.
The expected resultwas arrived at.
When prepositional verbs have CONCRETE PASSIVE SUBJECTS, they CANNOT
OCCUR in the passive :
*The tunnel wasvery carefully gone intoby the engineers.
*The splendid stadium was arrived at.
However, although most prepositional verbs follow this pattern (go into,
arrive at, look into, care for, call for, look at, hope for, talk about, wonder at,
believe in, etc.), there are some exceptions:
John agreed with Mary. *Mary was agreed with.
John lived with Mary. *Mary was lived with.

VOICE CONSTRAINTS -OBJECTS

In order to understand VOICE CONSTRAINTS associated with the object, we must

first refresh our knowledge on types of structures that can occur as objects.
Generally speaking, verbs can be followed by either nominal objects or
clausal object.
Nominal objects can be realized as:
NPs: John loved Mary.
Pronouns: John loved her.
Clausal objects can be realized as:
Finite clauses: John saw that Mary was pretty.
Non-finite infinitive clauses: John hoped to kiss her.
Non-finite participle clauses: John enjoyed seeing her.

VOICE CONSTRAINTS NOMINAL OBJECTS

PRONOMINAL objects cannot be passivizedif there is a co-reference between
subject and object. This occurs with:
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS IN THE OBJECT:
John could see himself in the mirror. *Himself could be seen in the mirror.
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS IN THE OBJECT:
We could see each other in the fog. *Each other could hardly be seen in the
fog.
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE OBJECT:
The handsome, bald doctor shook his head. *His head was shaken by the
handsome, bald doctor. BUT:
The handsome, bald doctor shook her head. = Her head was shaken by the
handsome, bald doctor. (there is no co-reference between the SUBJECT and the
OBJECT)

VOICE CONSTRAINTS CLAUSAL OBJECTS

Lets try to passivizethe sentences containing clausal objects (mentioned in one
of the previous slides):
John saw that she was pretty.
It was seen (by John) that she was pretty.
?That she was pretty was seen (by John). (? = odd)
John hoped to kiss her.
*It was hoped (by John) to kiss her.

*To kiss her was hoped (by John).

John enjoyed seeing her.
*It was enjoyed (by John) seeing her.
???Seeing her was enjoyed (by John).
WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE?
OF THE CLAUSAL OBJECTS, ONLY THOSE CONSISTING OF A FINITE CLAUSE CAN
BE PASSIVIZED.

Finite clause objects that are introduced by THAT, WHETHER, or IF, normally take
passives with IT-SUBJECT and so-called EXTRAPOSITION.
In other words, the object finite clause remains behind the verb in the passive
sentence, but the passive sentence is introduced by IT:
You could hardly expect that Ruth would be on time.
It could hardly be expected (that) Ruth would be on time.
THAT is obligatory in that-clauses occurring initially as subjects, without
anticipatory IT:
You could hardly expect that Ruth would be on time.
?That Ruth would be on time could hardly be expected.
* Ruth would be on time could hardly be expected.

VOICE CONSTRAINTS -MEANING

In VPs containing auxiliaries with more than one meaning (e.g. shall, will and
can), a shift of voice may not be possible because if may be accompanied by a
shift of meaning.
E.g.
John cannot do it.
It cannot be done.
NOTE: We are not saying that it is wrong to say It cannot be done. We are only
saying, that It cannot be done. has a different meaning in comparison with its
active counterpart John cannot do it.
ABILITY: John is able to do it.
POSSIBILITY: It is not possible to do it

VOICE CONSTRAINTS -FREQUENCY

When we talk about FREQUENCY as a constraint on the use of the passive, we
are actually speaking about STYLISTIC PREFERENCES:

the passive should be used in informative writing

the passive should be avoided in imaginative writing
the passive sounds formal (it is not pragmatically suitable for everyday, informal
communication)

VOICE when it is used:

PRIMARY USE: change of information structure (theme rhemefocus)
The Queen opened the bridge. emphasis on the theme
The bridge was opened by the Queen. emphasis on the agent / doer
The bridge was opened. emphasis on the action

PASSIVE VOICE when it is used:

USES: specific cases which are based on the primary purpose of voice (change
of information structure)
Agent (=doer) is NOT KNOWN:
TupacShakurwas killed last night in downtown LA.
Agent (=doer) is NOT IMPORTANT or is OBVIOUS:
Wow, the snow has been cleaned!
We DO NOT WANT TO MENTION THE AGENT (=doer):
A serious error in the calculation was discovered yesterday.
SCIENTIFIC WRITING (in order to avoid using I and we):
The samples were then analyzed with a thermal scanner.
THE SUBJECT IS GENERAL:
The new Garniercommercial can be seen on all channels.
TO AVOID AN AWKWARD SENTENCE:
When the suspect arrived home, he was arrested by a detective.

26. Modal verbs: form, function, meaning

THE MODAL VP
In your textbook, modality is defined in a slightly different way as a verbal
category expressing intrinsic or extrinsic modality:
INTRINSIC MODALITYhuman control over events (~deontic):

permission,
obligation
ability
volition
EXTRINSIC MODALITYhuman judgment of what is or isnt likely to happen:
possibility
necessity
prediction

Verbs and modality

A subgroup of AUXILITY VERBS are most frequently used to indicate a modal
meaning.
Those auxiliaresare called MODAL AUXILIARIES.
Modal auxiliaries are normally followed by the bare infinitive of the verb, they
interact with.

Modal verbs have finite functions only:

Modal auxiliaries can only occur as the first element of the verb phrase.
They cannot occur in non-finite functions.

No 3rd Person inflection:

Modal auxiliaries are not inflected in the 3rdperson singular of the present
tense. They have no -s form.
You must write BUT: You like to write

He must write BUT: She likes to write

Abnormal time reference:

present and past forms of the modal auxiliaries can be used to refer to
present and future time.
I think he may/ might retire next May.
Will/ would you phone him tomorrow.
Contrast:
*I think he retired next May.
*Did you phone him tomorrow?

Modal auxiliares are usually called CENTRAL MODALS,as they are TYPICALLY
used to express modality.
CENTRAL MODALS ARE:
can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would and must
FORMS:
NONNEGATIVE

UNCONTRACTED

CONRACTED

NEGATIVE
Must

NEGATIVE

must not

mustn't

ARE MODAL VERBS NICE?

NICE-properties: syntactic properties shared by auxiliaries have, be and do as
well as modal auxiliares:
(i) Negation without do (isnt, mustnt vs doesnt go);
(ii) Inversion without do (is he?, must he? Vs does he go?),
(iii) Clitics (isnt, mustnt vs doesnt go),
(iv) Ellipsis without do (often called 'code': but I dont think Peter is /can vs but I
dont think Peter did).
Modals are distinguished from the three 'primary auxiliaries' by
(i) no -s form of the 3rd psnpres. sing.,
(ii) no non-finite forms (being, to have etc.),
(iii) no co-occurrence (*may will)

THE MODAL VP a VP which contains a modal , semi-modal auxiliary or a modal

idiom.
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: although there are formally past tense forms of modals
(e.g. will would, can could, etc.), they DO NOT convey the past tense meaning.
In other words, modal VPs do not necessarily express the grammatical category
of TENSE.
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: the modal VP can express the grammatical category of
VOICEand the grammatical category of ASPECTbut not all combinations of these
categories are allowed

ABILITYcan, could, be able to

NATURAL OR LEARNED ABILITY:
Can you hear the noise? / I cant drive./ I wont be able todo it.
ABILITY IN THE PAST -GENERAL:
I could / was able to run very fast when I was a child.
ABILITY IN THE PAST -SPECIFIC:
We were able to (*could) get tickets for the concert yesterday. / We couldnt get
tickets for the
ABILITY IN THE PAST ACTION NOT PERFORMED:
I could (not) have lent you the money, even if you

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING -PERMISSION

PERMISSIONmay, can, could, might, be allowed to
PERMISSION IN THE PRESENT/FUTURE:
May / Can / Could / Might (very rare) I smoke in here?
PERMISSION IN THE PAST:
On Sundays we could / were allowed tostay up late. (GENERAL) / I had a visa, so
I was allowed to cross the border. (SPECIFIC)

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING -OBLIGATION

OBLIGATIONshould, ought to, must, have to, neednt, mustnt
PRESENTOBLIGATION OR DUTY:
You should / ought tostudy harder.

PASTUNFULLFILLED OBLIGATION:
He should / ought tohave helped her. (HE DIDNT) / He shouldnt / oughtnt
tohave helped her. (HE DID, BUT THAT WAS A MISTAKE)
STRONG OBLIGATION
You mustphone home at once! (SPEAKERS AUTHORITY) / I have topay my road
tax soon. (EXTERNAL AUTHORITY)
LACK OF OBLIGATION
You neednthurry. (SPEAKERS AUTHORITY) / Tom doesnt have topay his road
tax. (EXTERNAL AUTHORITY)
LACK OF OBLIGATION IN THE PAST
You neednthave watered the flowers, because it is going to rain. (ACTION WAS
PERFORMED) / I didnt have / need totranslate it for him, because he knows the
language. (ACTION NOTPERFORMED)

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING -POSSIBILITY

POSSIBILITYmay, might, could, can
PRESENTOR FUTUREPOSSIBILITY:
He may / might / couldbe in his office now. / The road may / might / could be
blocked. (FACTUAL POSSIBILITY) / She may not (*couldnt)be driving the car.
GENERALPOSSIBILITY:
The road can / couldbe blocked. (THEORETICAL POSSIBILITY)
POSSIBILITY IN THE PAST:
He may / might / could have gone home.

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING -DEDUCTION

DEDUCTIONmust, cant, couldnt
POSITIVE DEDUCTION:
He mustbe at home now. / He musthave done a lot of research for his thesis.
NEGATIVE DEDUCTION:
You cant / couldnt be hungry. Weve just eaten. / She cant / couldnt have
moved the furniture all by herself.

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING PAST HABITUAL USE

PAST HABITUAL USEused to, would

PAST HABITUAL STATE:

I used tosmoke cigarettes, but now I dont.
PAST HABIT:
In those days, we used to / wouldvisit them every week.

TYPES OF MODAL MEANING -ASSUMPTION

ASSUMPTIONwill, should, ought to
ASSUMPTIONABOUT PRESENT ACTIONS:
Ring his number. Hell / shouldbe at home.
ASSUMPTIONABOUT PAST ACTIONS:
The plane will / shouldhave landed by now.
ASSUMPTION ABOUT FUTURE ACTIONS:
He will / should have plenty of time to get to the station.

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic

The meaningof the modal verbs can differ, depending on how / where they are
used.
They can have intrinsic and extrinsic meanings.
These two canalso overlap. So the meaningcan be somewhere in between.