The verb. The category of tense.
The immediate expression of grammatical time, or tense, is one of the typical functions of the finite verb. It is necessary to strictly distinguish between the general notion of time, the lexical denotation of time, and the grammatical time proper.
The general notion of time is that the latter, as well as space, are the basic forms of the existence of matter, they both are inalienable properties of reality and as such are absolutely independent of human perception.
All the lexical expressions of time are divided into present-oriented (absolutive) and non-present-oriented (non-absolutive) expressions of time. The absolutive time denotation distributes the intellective perception of time among three spheres: the sphere of present, with the present moment included within its framework; the sphere of the past, which precedes the sphere of the present by way of retrospect; the sphere of the future, which follows the sphere of the present by way of prospect.
Thus, words and phrases like now, last week, in our century, in the past etc are absolutive names of time.
The non-absolutive time denotation does not characterize an event in terms of orientation towards the present. This kind of denotation may be either relative or factual.
The relative expression if time correlates two or more events showing some of them either as preceding the others (priority), or following the others (posteriority), or happening at one and the same time with them. Here belong such words and phrases as after that, before that, some time later etc.
The factual expression of time either directly states the astronomical time of an event or else conveys this meaning in terms of historical landmarks. Under this heading should be listed such words and phrases as in (the year of) 1066, during the First World War, at the early period of civilization etc.
The grammatical expression of verbal time (tense) is effected in two correlated 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. 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.
The verb. The category of voice.
The form of the verb may show whether the agent expressed by the subject is the doer of the action or the recipient of the action (John broke the vase - the vase was broken). The objective relations between the action and the subject or object of the action find their expression in language as the grammatical category of voice. Therefore, the category of voice reflects the objective relations between the action itself and the subject or object of the action:
|
|
|
The category of voice is realized through the opposition Active voice::Passive voice. The passive is marked both in meaning and in form and the active as unmarked both in meaning and in form. The realization of the voice category is restricted because of the implicit grammatical meaning of transitivity/intransitivity. In accordance with this meaning, all English verbs should fall into transitive and intransitive. However, the classification turns out to be more complex and comprises 6 groups:
1. Verbs used only transitively: to mark, to raise;
2. Verbs with the main transitive meaning: to see, to make, to build;
3. Verbs of intransitive meaning and secondary transitive meaning. A lot of intransitive verbs may develop a secondary transitive meaning: They laughed me into agreement; He danced the girl out of the room;
4. Verbs of a double nature, neither of the meanings are the leading one, the verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively: to drive home - to drive a car;
5. Verbs that are never used in the Passive Voice: to seem, to become;
6. Verbs that realize their passive meaning only in special contexts: to live, to sleep, to sit, to walk, to jump.
Some scholars admit the existence of Middle, Reflexive and Reciprocal voices.
- "Middle Voice" - the verbs primarily transitive may develop an intransitive middle meaning: That adds a lot; The door opened; The book sells easily; The dress washes well.
- "Reflexive Voice": He dressed; He washed - the subject is both the agent and the recipient of the action at the same time. It is always possible to use a reflexive pronoun in this case: He washed himself.
- "Reciprocal voice”: They met; They kissed - it is always possible to use a reciprocal pronoun here: They kissed each other.
We cannot, however, speak of different voices, because all these meanings are not expressed morphologically.
Дата добавления: 2019-07-15; просмотров: 1053; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!