Lecture 5
Verbs and Verb Phrases I
Erik Smitterberg (PhD, Docent)
Royal Swedish Academy of Letters,
History and Antiquities Research Fellow
Department of English
[email protected]
A1/HS1/T1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2012
Finite Verb Forms
• Finite verb forms express tense (present vs. past) and/or
mood (indicative vs. imperative vs. subjunctive)
– Tense:
Finite verb
• He pays my bills (present)
forms may also
• They pay my bills (present)
express number
• He/They paid my bills (past)
and person
– Mood:
• She pays my bills (indicative)
• I demand that she pay my bills (subjunctive)
• Pay my bills! (imperative)
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Finite vs. Nonfinite Verb Forms
• Unlike finite verb forms, nonfinite verb forms do not
express tense or mood (or number or person)
– We can play the violin
– We could play the violin
– He is going to the lecture
– He was going to the lecture when the bell rang
– She has played the violin for two years
– She said that she had played the violin for two years
• There are three nonfinite verb forms: the infinitive, the
present participle or -ing form, and the past participle
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Some Contexts Where Nonfinite
Forms Occur
• After the first auxiliary in a verb phrase:
– I am reading The Times
– You should have read the paper on the train
• As a complement of another verb (infinitives and -ing
forms; UGE 5.7)
– I started to read when the light came on
– I love reading a good book
• As part of subjects (mostly -ing forms) and prepositional
complements (-ing forms)
– Reading a book always makes me calm
– I am tired of reading boring novels
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
4
Finite and Nonfinite Forms
That Often Look Identical
• The past tense and the past participle of all regular verbs and
some irregular verbs:
spelade
– I played a lot of tennis in 2009
spelat
– I have played tennis for five years
• The infinitive, the present indicative (except the 3rd person
singular in (e)s), the mandative and formulaic subjunctive, and
the imperative of all verbs except modals and be:
– We would play tennis if we could
spela
– We often play tennis
– I demanded that she play better
spelar
– Play better!
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
5
Finite Verb Phrases
In a
finite verb phrase:
present indicative
The first verb form
is finite
Any other verb forms
are non-finite
I play tennis
infinitive
past
participle
past indicative
past
participle
This should have been done already
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Main Verbs and Auxiliaries
Intransitive
Main verbs
Transitive
Linking
verbs
Verbs
Primary
Auxiliaries
Modal
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
Can also be
main verbs;
have finite
and nonfinite
forms
Cannot be
main verbs;
only have
finite forms
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Auxiliaries
There are five possible combinations of an auxiliary and
another verb form in the same verb phrase in English:
do-support: do + infinitive
Did you wash the car?
Do-support is never used if there are other auxiliaries
modal: modal auxiliary + infinitive
I will wash the car
perfect: have + past participle
I have washed the car
progressive: be + present participle
I am washing the car
passive: be + past participle
The car was washed by me
Modal, perfect, progressive, and passive combinations can
co-occur in verb phrases. If they do, the order of auxiliaries is
always modal—perfect—progressive—passive
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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The Order of Verb Forms in
Complex Finite Verb Phrases
• A verb phrase can only contain one finite verb form, which
is always the first verb form in the verb phrase
• Modal auxiliaries are always followed by an infinitive
• The main verb is always the last verb form in the verb
phrase
infinitive;
past indicative;
perfect
modal auxiliary
auxiliary
past indicative? past participle?
I should not have left him
*I should not had left him
past participle;
main verb
×
√
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Modal Auxiliaries Corresponding to
Swedish Skulle
• The word normally corresponding to skulle is would, not
should (which often corresponds to bör and borde). But
there are exceptions:
– Should can be used with 1st-person subjects in BrE:
• If I knew the answer I would/should help you
– Should expresses low probability in if-clauses:
• If you should miss the bus, please take a taxi
– Should + infinitive is an alternative to the mandative
subjunctive (mostly in BrE; see also Lecture 6):
• I demanded that he (should) pay for my meal
• See the handout to Lecture 5 for more information on
modal auxiliaries!
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Voice I: The Active vs. the Passive
S in active
clause
active
verb phrase
O in active
clause
The board members accepted the proposal
The proposal was accepted by the board members
S in passive
clause: a
“passive
subject”
passive verb by-agent in passive clause
phrase (be + (only in c. 20% of cases)
past participle)
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
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Voice II:
Swedish/English Differences
Beslutet tas av styrelsen
The decision is made by the board
*The decision makes by the board
The Swedish -s
passive is not
used in English!
Djurgården blev nästan nedflyttat förra året
Djurgården was almost relegated last year
*Djurgården almost became relegated last year
Erik Smitterberg, PhD, Docent, Dept. of English
In English,
be, not
become, is
the passive
auxiliary!
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