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LESSON 10: The verb and the verb phrase (1)
1. PAST TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS
-ed ending:
- Pronounced as /d/ after a vowel or a voiced consonant ( played, pleased).
- Pronounced as /t/ after a voiceless consonant other than /t/ and /d/ ( locked).
- Pronounced as /id/ after /t/ and /d/ ( wanted,traded).
2. PAST TENSE OF IRREGULAR VERBS
Irregular verbs: Most common patterns are:
- Those in which only the vowel changes ( drink,drank,drunk).
- (^) Those which feature a vowel change plus a final stop consonant ( say,said,said/catch,caught,caught).
- Those with the same vowel in all three forms, but with a final stop consonant ( learn,learnt,learnt).
- Those in which all three forms are the same ( hit,hit,hit) Other examples: cast,cut,let,spread,shed.
3. PHRASAL VERBS
Put down is one of those transitive verbs in which the adverb may precede or follow the noun, we can say either He put his umbrella down or he put down his umbrella. In other cases, the position of the object depends on a number of factors:
- If the object is a pronoun, it must be placed between the verb and the adverb ( He put it down, he took it back)
- If the object is a noun phrase, it can go before or after the adverb ( he put his umbrella down/he put down his umbrella)
- If the object contains a clause, it must be placed after the adverb ( He put down the umbrella he had stolen from the shopping centre, he took back what he said about my wife).
- (^) ONOMATOPEIC VERBS To smash, to sniff, to crash, to pop, to buzz, to thump, to sizzle ... Tut-tut derives from the interjection tut, which is used to express impatience, disapproval or vexation.
5. VERBS OF MOVEMENT
Verbs denoting sounds can be used as verbs of movement, as in The car roared down the hill, the old engine chugged into the station ...
- FUNCTIONAL SHIFT The process of functional shift is mostly used to create new verbs from nouns ( to water ( from the noun water ) , to blackmail ( from the noun blackmail )and adjectives ( to dirty, to ready ).
7. VERBS WITH COGNATE OBJECTS
The verb die can also be used transitively with the noun death as object ( he would die a violent death). This kind of object is technically known as “cognate object” because it is etymologically related to the verb which governs it. Other examples are to run (to run a good race), tell (to tell a tale) and to live (to live a wonderful life).
8. WH- QUESTIONS WITHOUT AUXILIARIES
If the interrogative pronoun (who,what or which) is part of the subject, no auxiliary is added: Who want him dead? Who killed him? Who brough it there?
- QUESTION TAGS Sentences containing negative or restrictive words like nobody, never, hardly and scarcely require affirmative question tags: Nobody knew he was there, did they?, I have never promised anything, have I?
10. ERGATIVE VERBS
Such verbs as open, close, break, start, wash and sell is that when they are used intransitively, the subject is the same as the object of their transitive use: The door opened/He opened the door. The glass broke/Someone broke the glass.
- INDIRECT OBJECTS AFTER DITRANSITIVE VERBS Verbs like report, give and offer are sometimes called “ditransitive verbs”, because they take two objects, one direct and another indirect. In general, the order of the direc and indirect object can be reversed, and we can say either give your parents a present or give a present to your parents.
12. OBJECT COMPLEMENTS
Noun phrases or adjectives that function as complements of a direct object are normally called “object complements”. These complements give information about the state or condition of the direct object: Don’t call me a fool, they considered him a fraud ...
LESSON 11: The verb and the verb phrase (2)
1. USE OF COULDN’T
If the action is to be performed byu someone other than the grammatical sujecto f the sentence, it is necessary to use have or get followed by an object and a past participle, as in Patricia is going to have/get her hair cut. Both these verbs are causative because they indicate that the subject if the sentence causes something to happen.
9. UNFULLFILLED OBLIGATION
The modal verbs should and ought are often used to express obligation, recommendation or advice. The difference between should/ought and must/have (got) to is that the latter express a stronger obligation.
- USE OF OUGHT The usage of ought:
- Unlike other modals, it takes a to-infinitive ( I ought to do that).
- Like all modals, it forms its negative equivalent with not (You ought not/ oughtn’t to do that.
- The interrogative form OUGHT+SUBJECT+TO-INFINITIVE is extremely formal (Ought I to stay?), and most people prefer to use should instead ( Should I stay?).
- The infinitive particle to is not used in question tags (We ought not to tell him what happened, ought we?)
- It is more emphatic than should.
11. CAN VS. BE ABLE
The modal can is that it only has two forms, the present can and the past could. In all other tenses, we must use the substitute BE ABLE+TO-INFINITIVE: I won’t be able to find a decent job.
- (^) REMOTE POSSIBILITY Might expresses remote possibility. I might even be unable to understand my handwriting -> Be unable instead of can’t or couldn’t because modals cannot occur with each other.
13. USE OF DARE
Dare is a marginal modal, since in negative and interrogative sentences, it may be either a modal or a full verb, but in other contexts, it is usually a full verb. As a modal verb, it always takes a bare infinitive and its negative form is made by adding not (i.e. dare not, daren’t). As a full verb, it is usually, though not always, followed by a to- infinitive and it combines with do in negative and interrogative sentences:
- Dare used as a modal auxiliary: I dare not write a letter.
- Dare used as a full verb: I don’t dare (to) write a letter.
LESSON 12: The verb and the verb phrase (3)
1. PRESENT SIMPLE IN NARRATIVES
Present simple often indicates habitual actions, it can also be used to describe actions or events happening at the very moment of speaking. This use of the present simple is very common in narratives, sports commentaries and the like.
2. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
Actions or events happening at the moment of speaking are usually described in the present progressive (also called “present continuous”) This tense is also used for temporary situations or actions, as well as for actions which are happening during a limited period of time, even though they may not be taking place at the moment of speaking. When the actions we intend to carry out have already been arranged or planned, we can use the present progressive. A similar example is Next month I’m starting a typing course. Of course, some reference of time is required.
3. ALWAYS WITH PROGRESSIVE VERB FORMS
The adverb always, forever, constantly and continually may be used with progressive tenses to describe habits annoying to the speaker. In this case, the progressive aspect of the verb does not necessarily imply that the habit is temporary: He was always complaining about the food, She’s constatly pestering me.
4. PAST SIMPLE
When talking about a completed past action, we normally use the past simple. Time reference may be undestood, or it may be expressed by an adverbial of the type two weeks ago, yesterday, last week, in 2000... Ago must have a past tense, even though it may refer to arecent past: They left a moment ago.
5. PAST PERFECT
The choice between the past perfect or the past simple is:
- If the actions are written in chronological order, the past simple is used: He went home, read for a while and had a nightcap.
- For actions not written in chronological order, the past perfect is used to indicate which one happened first: His wife gave him a good dressing- down because of what he had done.
- WILL-FUTURE: FORM AND MEANING: The will-future consists of the auxiliary will or shall followed by the bare infinitive of the main verb. The most important difference between will and shall is that will can be used with all persons, whereas shall is restricted to the first person pronouns (I,we) The two most common uses of the will-future are:
- The will-future is used to refer to the future in a neutral way.
- It expresses a personal opinion about the future.
PERSONAL OPINION: Will-future can be used in that -clauses to express a personal opinion about the future. It should be observed, though, that the use of going to in these clauses indicates that there is some evidence on which our prediction is based.
- BE AS STATIVE VERB Verbs like be, understand, know, love and belong, and verbs of perception like see, hear, smell and taste are usually grouped together under the name of “stative verbs”. In contrast to “dynamic verbs” ( eat, rain, change) which denote actions or processes, these verbs may be used in simple tenses to refer to both habitual and progressive actions and situations.
energy”. Like other restrictive or negative adverbs, hardly may be placed in sentence initial position, in which case the interrogative form of the verb ( AUXILIARY+SUBJECT+MAIN VERB) is used. Hardly and scarcely are followed by a time clause beginning with when: Hardly/Scarcely had a girl disappeared in a small village when the news was publicly announced.
3. ADJECTIVES IN -LY
Adjectives ending in –ic, like fantastic, enthusiastic and pathetic, form their corresponding adverbs in –al- + -ly: fantastically, enthusiastically and pathetically. An exception is public, whose adverbial form is publicly, not publically.
4. EARLY, LATE AND SOON.
Early and late can be adverbs or adjectives: The TV crew arrived unexpectedly early; We should make an early start; They arrived late; You are late, whereas soon means “in a short time” and has a future reference.
- RELATIVE ADVERBS Where is a relative adverb, the antecedent of which is the place. An alternative relative structure is the place in which she had last been seen.
- LAST AND FIRST Last is an adverb meaning “for the last time”, as in Whenn did you last see him? (= When did you see him for the last time?) Similarly, the adverb first means “for the first time”, as in I first met him in London (=I met him in London for the first time).
- VERY VS. MUCH The adverb very modifies adjectives or past participles acting as adjectives ( He was very tired after the race), whereas much is used before past participles acting as verbs ( He was much admired by his colleagues).
8. ADVERSATIVE USE OF STILL
Both still and yet, when placed at the beginning of the sentence, are adversative conjuncts, with a meaning similar to however and nevertheless. Still, there was something strange... with the meaning of “aun así”.
- VERY VS. TOO Both very and too are adverbs of degree modifying adjectives and adverbs. Very simply intensifies the meaning of the following adjective or adverb, whereas too indicates excess.
- DISJUNCTS Although certainly is an adverb, it does not modify a particular part of the sentence, as adjuncts do, but the whole sentence. Adverbs of this type, called “disjuncts” usually express a value judgment or a personal opinion: Fortunately, strangely...
