2
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
G.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University
Institute of Postgraduate Education
Department of English Philology
STYLISTIC POTENTIAL OF TENSE-ASPECT VERBAL FORMS IN MODERN ENGLISH
Content
Introduction
1. Theoretical background of the research of stylistic potential of
tense-aspect verbal forms
1.1 Perspective of the research
1.2 The analysis of the stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms
in modern English by foreign linguists
1.3 The analysis of the stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms
in modern English by home linguists
2. The analysis of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in
modern English
2.1 The types of transpositions of verbal forms as stylistic means in
the category of tense
2.2 The types of transpositions of verbal forms as stylistic means in
the category of aspect
3. Methodological recommendations for teaching of tense-aspect verbal
forms in English language using their stylistic potential
Conclusion
Literature
Introduction
More and more linguists and specialists in study of literature attract
their attention to problems of Stylistics and Stylistics itself is
divided into some special disciplines which tend to differentiate. But
at the same time as well as in any other science we can observe the
integration of the processes that is the intensification of different
parts of knowledge and appearance of new modern synthetic sections. New
problems have been involved in the sphere of stylistic researches, a lot
of data and programs have been studied and new aspects of language
factors and features have been discovered. Our interest in these points
is the first reason of the appearance of our paper.
From the point of our view English Grammar is the most difficult subject
for study not only for students but everyone who wants to be a
professional philologist. That why the second reason for writing of our
paper is the complications of the descriptions of some difficult grammar
areas especially «verb-section» in the frames of simplicity.
The verb as a party of speech is the most capacious grammar category. In
verbal word with all variety of its denotations, meanings and stylistic
potentials there are combinations with different grammar forms, organic
connections and associations with tenses and aspect, which characterize
all verbal system in the whole. So the third reason of our paper is to
analyze some verbal factors and features on the «brighter grammar» level
with taking into our consideration some interrelations between grammar
forms, their functional content and stylistic potential in contexts.
It will be very important to mark that General Morphology
(non-stylistic) treats morphemes and grammatical meanings expressed by
them in language in general, without regard to their stylistic value.
Stylistic Morphology, on the contrary, is interested in grammatical
forms and grammatical meanings in the stylistic sphere, explicitly or
implicitly comparing them with the neutral forms common for all
sublanguages.
The nature, the essence of stylistic phenomena is radically different in
cases where morpheme, word, phrase themselves are analyzed as chosen out
of the paradigm from the cases when we try to explain the effect
produced by given patterns of the combining units in speech and text.
When we use the form «aren’t» instead of «have not or am / is / are
not», the sentence «John here?» instead of «Is John here?», or one
meaning instead of another all could also employ. This is what
illustrates the paradigmatic branch of Stylistics.
In the utterances: I ask you / I pray you / I beseech you – we can
observe the interrelation between the meanings that is «pray» is
stronger than «ask»; «beseech» is the strongest of all three. They are
the systematic branch of Stylistics.
Stylistic morphology, both paradigmatic and systematic, has not yet been
given full attention, especially with regard to English language. It is
the fourth reason for our paper.
Thus, in the paper we turn our attention to the stylistic meanings
associated with tenses and aspect having already dealt with their
grammar forms.
Topicality of our problem includes some point. The role of some scholars
in development of Stylistics is very high especially in Stylistic
Grammar but in the whole, not specifically: Palmer, Hornby, Quirk, Yule,
Skrebnev, Block and others. There are only a few monographs devoted to
Stylistic Morphology as a specific researches. In our days the interest
in this problem increases because we can see some questions and problems
which are not studied enough, namely:
– connotations of tense-aspect verbal system conveyed by verbal forms in
different contextual situations including transpositions and emotional
expressiveness;
– lexico-grammatical categories in the peripheral field of aspect and
expantion them in the light of stylistic potential;
– idiomatic constructions with different meanings in contexts;
– how to use morphological means of Stylistics and expend their
stylistic potential;
– the deep work with tense-aspect verbal forms the main aim of which is
to help students understand contexts of English authors more intensive
and intensive.
These grammatical problems are very important, especially on the
pedagogical level in the frames of student’s study, and they were
presented by Rayevska N.M., Morokhovskiei A.N., Efimov L.P. and others.
Innovation. We present new types of tables, diagrams descriptions,
illustrative material to reach the high level of students knowledge and
to elicit their enthusiast in further investigations. New examples from
the original literature quoted from Dickens, Collins, Austen and other
authors not only confirm the grammatical investments of name scholars in
solution of practical value of Stylistic grammar for real seminar
studies. In our paper we actualize the topic problem by showing that the
general research area-stylistic potential of English verb – is
important, central, interesting, problematic.
Tense-aspect verbal form are used to express subtle stylistic nuances
and impretions in spoken English, in distributions of light and shade of
verbal paints; with the purposes to go over from one style to another.
The why the topic of our paper is determined as «stylistic potential of
tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English».
The object of our study is «The Tense-Aspect verbal form as many
aspectual factor in Theoretical English Grammar».
The subject of our study is «Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal
forms in modern English».
Language Level: Tense-Aspect verbal forms as constructive grammar means
for two types of transpositions and some expression from the peripheral
field in the frames of Spoken English.
Language material: Original text, dictionaries, thesauruses, monographs,
history sources, theoretical grammar textbooks by English, Ukrainian and
Russian authors, some pieces of information from Internet, a lot of
material from Foreign Philology Faculty of G.S. Scovoroda Kharkiv
National Pedagogical University (lectures, books, English Language
Encyclopedia), newspapers, journals.
Theoretical Value: The central interest in our paper is connected with
very specifical but important for real understanding of spoken English
problems in the frames of Theoretical English Grammar, connected with
tense-aspect verbal forms, their features, constructions and behavior in
specific environment. Analyzing tense-aspect verbal forms from these
positions we have marked connotative aspect and emotional overtones as
important semantic components of spoken English that is stylistic
potential of tense-aspect verbal form. All these ideas are based on
principle which are related by Theoretical English Grammar on the
university level.
Practical value: The discussion of the tense-aspect verbal forms and
their stylistic potential in modern English has been made concrete by
the use of illustrative examples in the practical part of our paper,
quotations from the original literature, tables, diagrams, comparison
with Ukrainian and Russian.
Main methods for researching of our topic problem:
Methods of scientific research used in our paper have been connected
with the general trends in the science of language, namely:
– critical and contextological analysis of some original texts with the
aim to present the samples and the cases of practice of stylistic
potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English;
– the historical approach that is retrospective exposure of native and
world experience;
– eliciting facts, samples and generalization them in borders of the
positive and real practice;
– philological observations using especially two types of transpositions
and principles of the peripheral field so that to expand the borders of
the traditional Theoretical English Grammar and obtain some cases to
wide students knowledge;
In the light of our philosophy and philological observations, critical
and contextological analysis of some original contexts our results were
obtained on the edge of some linguistic sciences: Stylistics (Decoding),
Functional Grammar, Syntax, Functional and Communicative Linguistics,
Theory of Interpretation of Text, Theory of Contextual Situation and
other.
At the end our paper, there are some ideas for teachers to help them of
exercises and activities for students.
Further Reading List has been given for teachers who wants to expand
their language skills by the way of additional investigations.
1. Theoretical background of the research of stylistic potential of
tense-aspect verbal forms
1.1 Perspective of the research
Interest in our main problem, how it originated, how it works and
develops, has existed in remote ages. Chronologically at once we pay our
special attention to individuals, whose contribution to the subject –
Stylistic Potential of Tense-Aspect Verbal Forms in Modern English – has
been well-known. In Table 1 that we have completed for students we
present some names of philologist, titles of their works, years who
began to research this problem many years ago up to now. [38; 43; 47]
Our short overview we begin with William Lily (1468–1522) who wrote «A
short Introduction of Grammar» and was the first between others in this
sphere. Then in 1580 «A Treatise for Declining Verb» was written by
Claudius Holyband (1580). After that William Bullokar (1530–1609)
created the first grammar of English «Pamphlet for Grammar» in 1586, a
short sketch based on Lily’s Lating Grammar.
Naturally in this years the struggle for national grammar and language
began and John Wallis (1616–1703) wrote Gramatica Liguae Anglicanae
(1649) for foreign students that was held in high esteem but has only
produced since the eighteenth century. John Walker’s Ryming Dictionary
of the English Language (1732–1807) is used in works on stylistic
problems by our contemporary scholars. Next was Lindley Murray
(1745–1826) who published his English Grammar, adapted to the different
classes of learners, and became the best-known scholar with the nickname
«Father of English Grammar».
In 1853 year Macel Claude Victor Andre (1793–1875) published his major
work Language as a Means of Mental Culture and International
Communication, written in English, where he showed his position that
«impression» – stylistic background of grammar – should always precede
«expression». Then a Grammar of Spoken English with a lot of stylistic
features was presented by Palmer Harold (1923). His friend who became
effectively Palmer’s «crown prince» – Hornby Albert (1898–1979) –
developed ideas and projects in his pedagogical grammar Guide to Pattens
and Usage in English (1954) where the author put the concept of «grammar
time» on the first place: what type of grammar time we need to use for
expressing of definite temporal relationship, positions and states.
In this time Eckersley C.E. (1893–1967) wrote Brighter Grammar (1953)
were he tried to approach English grammar in the same «scientific» way
and to show that it is not a collection of dull, dead words but a living
thing.
A lot of works on Linguistics which are used by Russian and Ukrainian
scholars were written by Ottor Jesprsen (1860–1943), especially his
monumental Modern English Grammar (1909–1949); The Philosophy of Grammar
(1924), Efficiency in Linguistic Change (1943) and others. Edward Sapir
wrote in a Danish newspaper:
«Your (Jespersen’s) work has always seemed to me to be distinguished by
its blend of exact knowledge, keenness of analysis, ease and lucidity of
STYLE, and by an imaginative warmth that is certainly not common in
scientific writing» [43; 95].
The reality can be seen in the three kilos of paper of A Comprehensive
Grammar of English Language (1985) written by Randolph Quirk and his
team. In our paper we will exploit Chapter 4 «The Semantics of the
Verbal Phrase». We have completed Table 1 for those students who wish to
continue their researches this problem in the historical frames.
Throughout of centuries English Scholar created the system of the
Morphology Grammar where English verbal forms as the basis of Grammar
have gradually been presented, studied and researched as a great
stylistic potential. Being placed in unusual syntagmatic environment
which change their canonized grammatical characteristics and
combinability, English Verbs acquire stylistic significant.
1.2 The analysis of the stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms
in modern English by foreign linguists
The motivation for Gearge Yuri’s classic work Explaing English Grammar
is to describe and explain the basic forms of the present and past
tenses, perfect and progressive aspects and main structures of the
English verb complex. Drawing on his experiment we want to add some
interesting points from his ideas.
According to G. Yuri’s system [32; 54–84] in order to describe the
different forms of a verb, we need to talk about tense, which often has
to do with the location of a situation in time, and aspect, which
characterizes the way in which that situation is perceived or
experienced. The author affirms that English has two distinct tense
forms, present and past tenses, and two distinct forms for aspect,
perfect and progressive aspects, which are marked on the verb. Giving
unusual table with the basic structure of English verb forms G. Yuri
underlines that the sense of team «tense» in English is not based on
simple distinctions in time.
e.g. And today I woke with splitting headache.
Tomorrow I fly to London for a big meeting.
Yesterday the land tells me my rent’s going up.
The present form here ties the situation described closely to the
situation of utterance. The past tense form makes the situation
described more remote from the situation of utterance. Situation in the
future are treated differently they are inherently non-factual. The
author means that the verb form that is traditionally called «future
tense» is actually expressed vie a modal verb which indicates the
relative possibility of the event.
If we look inside the situation we shall talk about aspect [32; 63–68].
Aspect is divided by author into two parts:
1. Lexical aspect (stative and dynamic verbs);
2. Grammatical:
– progressive viewed from the inside in progress;
– perfect viewed from outside in retrospect.
Tense is the location of a situation, aspect – the inside of a
situation.
In parts «Meaning in Contexts» [32; 68–72] Yuri G. shows how to use the
stylistic potential of tense and aspect in the practical approach. There
is a major qualitative difference between studying the components of
English Verb and studying how to use them basically. When we construct a
piece of connected speech or writing, whether in monologue or dialogue,
we are constantly tapping the lexical and grammatical resources of
English verb to find of making our composition and particular effect.
More clearly Peter Verdonk marks in his «Stylistics», Oxford, 2002:
«Style involves a choice of form without a change of message.
It includes the motives for choice and its effect. If all differences in
form are correlated with differences in meaning, then the style of a
piece of writing is simply its meaning. The work may stand out because
of its meaning, or the author may be exceptionally skilled in finding
the right words for his meaning and we take pleasure in his art, but the
wrong choice would have meant something less – they would not conveyed
the meaning» [40; 7–8].
Describing how to use deferent styles in a magazine article, news
reports, academic writing, narratives, spoken discuses and others Yuri
G. gives some easy explanations:
– information that is treated as part of the «background» will tend to
be expressed in the past tease;
– information that is current concern, in the «foreground» will be
expressed in the present tense;
– background scene-stting, particularly in stories, is often expressed
in the past progressive;
– ongoing current situations are described in the present progressive;
– viewing recent changes from the current situation is typically
expressed by perfect aspect.
Following the description of basic verbal forms, Yuri G. conveys not
only specific features of verbal forms and structures according to
tenses and aspects, but includes a piece of information on how meanings
of verbal forms can be shaped bf context and communicative purpose –
stylistic potential of verbal forms.
Written in a clear style and natural, intelligible language [38; 41] «A
Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language» is presented by Randolph
Quirk and his team in 1986. «In the fourth chapter we examine the
semantics of the verb phrase, and in particular of the finite verb
phrase», wrote Quirk R. [29; 175]. Some points from this interesting
material about time, tense and aspect will be very useful for discussion
in our paper. The authors give us a lot of tables and diagrams, examples
with the main aim to explain verbal system clearly and lucidly.
Beginning from the present tense the authors line down that on the
semantic level of interpretation «present» is the most general and
unmarked category.
e.g.: John spends a lot of money. (true for past, present, future)
cf.: John spent a lot of money. (true for past only)
The authors prefer to follow those grammarians who have treated «tense»
only as a category realized by verb inflection, and in their Grammar
they do not talk about «future» [29; 176] as a formal category but they
do say about expressing the semantic category of future time. We can add
the same points of view given by T.A. Rastorguieva and L.S. Barkhudarov.
[31; 28]
e.g.: Today is Monday, and tomorrow is Tuesday.
What are you doing tomorrow?
The semantic categories of past, present, future apply not so much to
time, as to happenings which take place in time, and which are denoted
by verbs.
e.g.: Mary hoped for success. (refers to «a past hope of Mary)
Peter knows a great deal. (refers to Peter’s present knowledge)
The home team will be defeated, (refers to «a future defeat of the
home»)
The authors shall distinguish different categories under the title of
situation types that is they talk of dynamic (count) and stative
(noncount) meaning rather then dynamic and stative verbs. This is
because one verb may shift from one category to another, for example,
– the stative meaning of «have» is «possess»;
– the dynamic meaning of «have» is «eat».
e.g.: The chair has beautiful carved legs quite frequently.
(has=possess, that is «having carved legs» is a state)
We have dinner at Maxim’s quite frequently.
(have dinner= eat, that is «having dinner» is an event)
All these verbs are divided into dynamic and stative verbs, which are
presented in two tables. We mean, that these two tables are not
convenient for teaching and studying and we have replaced and
reconstructed them according to our require (Tables 2–3).
Meanings of the simple present tense with reference to present time can
be divided into:
l. The state present, or so-called «eternal truths» or «timeless
present»:
e.g.: Honestly is the best policy.
Two and three is five.
2. The instantaneous present implies that event has little or no
duration and is completed approximately at the moment of speech:
– commentaries, demonstrations, special exclamatory sentences,
performatives.
e.g.: Black passes the ball to Fernanders…
Here comes the winner!
3. Special non present uses of the present tense:
– the so-called historical present with stylistic effect, which conveys
something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account. It is
found with verbs of communication: say, tell, etc, and the result – the
information communicated – is still operative.
e.g.: The Bible speaks…
Historical present describes the past as if it is happening now.
4. The simple present in fictional narrative: the events narrated by
means of the historical present are real, but narrated by fictional
«historical present» are imaginary. It is the stylistic effect.
e.g.: Millinson enters. The girls immediately pretend to be working
hard… (we can present the event of the play before our eyes)
Meanings of the past tense with reference to past time (Table 3) combine
two features:
a) the event / state must take place in the past with the gap between
its completion and the present moment;
b) the speaker or writer must have in mind a definite time at which the
event / state took place («last week, in 1932, several weeks ago, etc)
but stylistically the past tense itself means the definite past time.
e.g.: Did you lock the front door? – an immediate situation.
Byron died in Grees. – historical statements.
Rome was not built in a day. – presupposing.
The habitual and state meanings can be paraphrased by means of «used to»
(transference, transposition, transmission) used to live
e.g.: In those days we – in the counry.
lived
Meanings of the past tense with reference to the present and future
time:
– the phenomenon «backshift» (Did you say you have / had no money?)
– the attitudinal past (Do/Did you want to see me now?)
– the hypothetical past (if-clauses, expectations – «I wish I had a
memory like yours».)
To adhere to the main point from «A Comprehensive Grammar of the English
Language» it is essential to exhibit some facts from chapter «Perfective
and progressive ASPECT.» [29; 31]. The term «aspect» refers to a
grammatical category which reflects the way in which the verb action is
regarded and experienced with respect to t i m e. The two aspect
constructions of English: perfective and the progressive, can be seen as
realizing a basic contrast if aspect between the action viewed as
complete (perfective), and the action viewed as incomplete, i.e.
progressive. The morphological realization of tense and syntactic
realization of aspect are very closely connected. Quirk R. marks that
approximately 10% of finite verb phrases are only perfective. Perfective
aspect indicates ANTERIOR TIME – time preceding whatever time
orientation is signaled by tense or by other elements of the sentence or
its context.
We may now focus on the difference between two constructions:
1. State leading up to the present:
e.g.: That house has been empty for ages. – the state continues at least
up to the present.
cf.: That house was empty for ages.-but now it has been sold.
2. Identifinite events in a period leading up to the present:
e.g.: Have ever been to Florence? – the indefinite past.
cf.: Did you go to florence? – last summer! – we have to imagine the
definite past.
3. Habit event (recurrent) in a period leading up to the present:
e.g.: Mr Terry has sung in this choir ever since he was boy. – the
period identified must continue up to the present.
cf.: The journal was published every month from 1850 to 1888. – the
definite past.
Progressive aspect stylistically more frequent in conversations than in
scientific discourse. A count of a large number of verb constructions
has indicated that less then 5% of verb phrases are progressive, whereas
95% are nonprogressive [32; 29].
The meaning of the progressive can be separated into 3 components:
1. The happening has duration: Joan is singing well.
2. The happening has limited duration: Joan was singing well.
3. Incompletion – the happening is not necessary complete:
e.g.; Joan was reading the novel yesterday evening.
According to the chapter the progressive aspect can be divided into:
1. Stative progressive:
e.g.: We are living in the country. – temporal residence.
cf.: We live in the country.-permanent residence.
2. Event progressive:
e.g.: The referee is/was blowing of whistle. – repeated blowing.
cf.: The referee slows his whistle. – only one time!
3. Habit progressive:
e.g.: At that time she was having regular singing lessons.
Whenever I see her, she’s working in the garden.
The «temporal frame» of the present progressive is normally «now»,
recurrent or imaginary, in accordance with the interpretation of the
habitual, the historical, the fiction meanings.
The authors give a piece of information about the perfective progressive
meaning that the features of the progressive and the perfective aspects
are combined in the same phrase. This problem will be debated by
Ukrainian and Russian scientists.
R. Quirk and his team give a lot of information about time, tense and
aspect; the tables in which English verbs are divided into stative and
dynamic types; difficult theme as «aspect» is presented in clear and
lucid language. There are some problems which are debated up to now, for
example, «the reality of the perfective progressive».
1.3 The analysis of the stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms
in modern English by home linguists
N.N. Rayevska [3; 30] is a well-known Ukrainian (Kiev) scholar who
specialized in the study of English language and wrote two monographs:
1. The Essays on Stylistic Grammar of Modern English (1976) [3]
2. Modern English Grammar(1976) [30]
These monographs introduce the results of N.N. Rayevska’s philological
observations which convey theoretical grammar problems of verbal system
and their stylistic possibilities and potentialities. All these features
are very useful for insight into writer’s context and understanding of
their artists’ intentions. In Modern English Grammar N.N. Rayevska
accentuates:
«A major question in learning the grammar of the English verb is
therefore to look for the difference of distribution various context,
liguistic or situational, where each verb – form occurs» [30; 137]. The
result according to these points can be seen in Table 4–8.
The results according to the functional and semantic transpositions can
be seen in Tables 9–10.
Some words about trabsposition itself.
Transposition is a divergense between the traditional usage of a neutral
word and its situational (stylistic) usage.
Transposition of verbs is more varied than other parts of speech. It is
explained by a greater number of grammatical categories the meanings of
which may be transposed. One of peculiar features of English tense forms
is their polysemantism: the same form may realize various meanings in
spoken English and other styles.
Deviation from the general meaning makes verbs stylistically coloured.
Two types of transposition are presented in our table: functional and
semantic – where inherent resources and devices of – English verbs
create and establish a lot of subtle meaningful nuances by means of
Morphology.
N.N. Rayevska throws light upon the nature of the functional and
semantic peripheral field of the verbal voice and marks off it in her
diagram where paradigmatic verbal forms and language units of the other
levels are unified and consolidated together in the functional-semantic
field of the voices hip. As innovation we have completed Table 11 «The
Stylistic Potential of Peripheral Elements of the Passive Voice in
Modern Enflish» and mean that it will enrich the verbal system and help
and stimulate students’ intensification of its usage in the frames of
Theoretical English Grammar.
Presenting the functional-semantic field of the aspectual system of the
English Verb the author lines down the categores of the aspect and tense
as organically correlated: the form of the aspect is the form of the
tense (as in Quirk’s system) but she means there are two types of the
aspect in English Grammar which are itroduced as the oppositions:
l. the common aspect (speaks, spoke, will speak);
2. the continuous aspect (is speaking, was speaking)
N.N. Rayevska puts forward several interesting and stimulating ideas for
the further philological observations that according to her point of
view are very productive and prospective:
1. Development of grammat co-ideomatical structures.
2. Morphological correlations of interlevel units and inclusion them in
the peripheral field of verbal forms.
3. The Phrasiological System in its unity with garammatical functioning.
4. Paculiarities of lexical combinability and realization of
tense-aspect forms in the community of their syntactical structures and
others (a lot of ideas!)
The field arragement of tense-aspect: system for philological
observations expands the frames of the traditional English Grammar and
helps to reveal a lot. of stylistic colours and their shades.
In her turn the author of Stylistics of Modern English (Stylistic
Decoding), I.V. Arnold writes:
«Stylistic potential is possibility to add an idiomatic power to the
language and express various subtle distinctions of thoughts and
meanings». [4, 124]
The author divides transposition into two types and distribute this
material into two groups, Table 1.4 that have been complited by our team
as visual material for studatns:
1. Transposition with emotional expressiveness.
2. Transposition with functional-stylistic character.
In our practical part-the second part of our paper – we give a lot of
examples from original literature using this table and presenting some
connotations of tense-aspect system conveyed by verbal forms:
– historical presence;
– continuous verbal forms;
– echo-questions;
– popular language;
– modal verbs, particles, idioms;
– repetitions of grammar forms;
– archaic verbal forms.
Two types of transposition [Table 1.4] described by I.V. Arnold are used
in our practical part with the aim to expand the frames of their usage
as obvious and visuial examples from English original literature.
Y.M. Skrebnev in his book Fundamentals of English Stylistics (lines down
that «Stylistic Morphology, both paradigmatic and syntagmatic, has not
yet been given full attention, especially with regard to English that
has very few inflections, and most grammatical meanings are expressed
analytically». [33; 84] The author puts in the forefront the problems of
synonymy and transposition:
– variability of verbal forms;
– morphological difference between verbal forms;
– abolishing the morphlogical differentiations between Subjunctive II of
the verb «to be» and the past indicative;
– «ungrammatical» usage of verbal forms;
– «praesens historicum» and others.
Y.M. Skrebnev represents Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Morphology as
means of the sylistic stocks. The author treats practically all the
essentials of stylistics, gives numerous samples of text analysis,
teaches the students to interpret and find adequate verbal account for
stylistic impressions.
Satisfactory results in the philological training of students can be
achieved only on condition that students have firmly, mastered the basic
principles if every linguistic disciplin, stylistics included.
In the next monograph «English Stylistics» written by A.N. Morokhovskei
it is accentuated that Stylistics is a synthetico – linguisitic subject
and the language is researched as the system with a lot of elements that
united into:
1. Expression means on all linguistic levels.
2. STYLISTIC DEVICES ON ALL COLLOQUIAL LEVELS.
3. Functional correlations with a society and environment.
In chapter «Stylistic usage of the verbal means» the author underlines
that all stylistic possibilities of English verbs are very rich if we
take into account a variety of verbal forms vebals and their range of
meanings, tinges and nuances. The author considers that the tense-aspect
forms can be presented in the contexts by the ways of making and
creating their syntactic correlations (intercommunications) between
forms, structures, constructions and grammar categories. And it is not
disputed because the – verbal formations and» arragements are the main
dynamic means and devices of stylistic expressions in literary,
puplicistic and colloquial styles.
In this monograph these are a lot of interesting facts from different
connotations in the grammatical, semantic and polysemantic realisations.
e.g. Douglas: Cris is doing all right, Basil.
Greff: Is that true? Are you doing all right, Cris?
In the question we can catch of feel either ironic or warm intonation
but not duration expressed by the continuous tense. The forms of the
present indefinite and present continuous are used for the transmission
of facts, actions, events which have illsion of the Result but not
duration as in following:
e.g.: Thanks for breakfast. I’m catching the train home. We can mart;
that the modality of the obligation is shown by means of the continuous
tense.
1. The categories of the English voice also can be in the role of
stylistic means and devices:
e.g.: Since to love is better to be loved. It is the structure with
antithesis.
2. e.g.: I did help him.
«did» is «still, nevertheless, however».
e.g.: They did go.
«did» is «the last, finally, in the end».
The emphatic «DO» is a strong stylistic feature that in its correlation
with the verbal predicate creats the emphatic expression.
3. Implicit agent in scientific style is used in the introduction of the
facts.
e.g.: It is understood / mentioned / assumed / believed / known…
For students we have completed two tables (13,14) with interesting facts
and examples:
– how to use stylistic potential of the Imperetive mood;
– semantic and stylistic peculiarities expressed by the forms of the
Subjunctive mood.
In monograph Stylistics of English Language the authors show that the
diapason of stylistic devices is very high. We have marked only s some
of them but very expressive categories of time, voice and mood. All
these means can be used only in context. We consider that the subject
«The Theory of Context» must be included in the syllabus for students
from the foriegn language faculties. Our tables (13–14) which were
completed for students as HOs on the Theoretical Grammar will help them
to realise this garammatical material in practical frames.
In his very scientific monograph «Modification of Verbal Forms in Modern
English» A.I. Dorodnyh analises a lot of works written by outstanding
philologists, native and foreign, and gives his own system of English
verb, as follows:
1. Category of time: Past Nonpast
worked works
was working is working
2. Category of temporary retrospectiveness:
Perfect Nonperfect
has worked works
had worked worked
will have worked will work
has been working is working
3. Category of temporary perspectiveness:
Future Nonfuture
will work works
would work worked
will have worked have/has worked
will be working is working
The author’s verbal system is very individual and interesting for those
students and teachers who wants to expand their scientific skills in
Philological, sphere and continue to research some discussible problems,
namely:
l. What is the main factor of the evolution in the verbal system that
can be presented in the social community?
2. Is there the future category or future tense?
Can you as a teacher find more examples to argue your discoveries and
explain them to students more popularly then in the monograph by
A.I. Dorodnyh, and others.
M.Y. Blokh in his A Course in Theoretical English Grammar underlines:
«Language is means of forming and storing ideas as reflections of
reality and exchanging them in the process of human intercourse.
Language is social by nature: it is inseparably connected with the
people who are its creators and users; it grows and develops together
with development society».
Grammatical time, or tense, is one of the typical functions of the
finite verb. The author describing the present tense as opposed to the
past tense accentuates the stylistic features and peculiarities in the
linguistic circumstances, specifically «the historic present»,
If we say, «Two plus two makes four», the linguistic implication of it
is «always; at the moment of speech».
If we say, «I never take his advise», we mean «at the present time».
If we say «In our millennium social formations change quicker then in
the previous periods of man’s history’, the linguistic, temporal content
of it is «in our millennium including the moment of speech»… Here worthy
of note are utterances where the meaning of the past tense stands in
contrast with the meaning of some adverbial phrase referring the event
to the present moment.
The seeming linguistic paradox of such cases consists exactly in the
fact that their two-type indications of time, one verbal-grammatical,
and one adverbal-lexical, approach the same event from two opposite
angles. It is the transpositional use of the present tense with the past
adverbials, either included in the utterence as such, or expressed in
its contectual environment. The stylistic purpose of this transposition,
known under the name of the «historical present» is to create a vivid
picture of the event reflected in the utterance.
e.g.: Then he turned the corner, and what do you think happens next? He
faces nobody else than Mr. Greggs accompanied by his private secretary!
The «historical present» will be included in our practical part that is
why we want to describe this subject in details.
The Historical Present
The English «historical present» is usually described as a way of making
storytelling events more vivid.
e.g.: Last night Blackie (cat) comes with this huge dead rat in her
mouth and drops it right at ray feet.
These utterence has an adverbial of time «last night» establishing the
time of the event in the past, while the actions are described in the
present tense. The actual time is remote from the time of utterence, but
the actions described are presented as if they coincide with the time of
the utterence.
e.g.: My parents worked in the field all day. And I work in the fields
all day like them…
The so-called «historical present» is characteristic of popular
narrative style (or fictional present or fictional narrative). In Older
English, the simple present was used more widely with reference to a
present event which would now be described by use of the present
progressive (durative):
e.g.: I go = I’m going.
The «historical present» describes the past as if it is happening now;
it conveys something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness
account.
e.g.: I couldn’t believe it! Just as we arrived, up comes Ben and slaps
me on the back as if we’re life-long friends. «Come on, old pal», he
says. Let me buy you a drink! I’m telling you, I nearly fainted on the
spot».
A very different use of the present tense in reference to the past is
that found with verbs of communication:
e.g.: The ten o’clock news says that there’s to be storm. Such verbs
include also verbs like understand, hear, learn which refer to the
receptive end of the communication process.
e.g.: I hear that poor Mr. Simpson has gone into hospital.
These sentences would also be acceptable with the simple past or present
perfective, but the implication of the present tense seems to be that
although the communication event took place in the past, its result –
the information communicated – is still operate.
e.g.: The Book of Genesis speaks of the terrible fate of Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Thus, although the Book of Genesis wsa written thousands years ago, it
still «sreaks» to us at the present. The notion that the past can remain
in the present also explains the optional use of the present tense in
sentences reffering to writers, composers, artists, etc., and their
extant works.
e.g. In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky draws/drew his characters
from sources deep in the Russian soul.
It is something more than a figure of speech to suggest that author is
still able to speak to us through his works.
The present tense can even be used, without respect to any patticular
work, for general artistic characterization of the author, but
biographical details of the artist’s life must be normally reported
through the past tense. Hence there is an interesting contrast between:
e.g.: Murasaki write/wrote of life in 11th century Japan.
cf: Murasaki wrote in 11th century Japan.
The simple present is usually used in Newspaper Headlines.
e.g.: «NO SELL-OUT» SAYS P.M.
TRADE UNIONS BACK MERGER
There is a close connection between the «historical present» of above,
and the simple present as used in the «Fictional narrative». The only
difference is that whereas the events narrated by means of the
«historical present» are REAL, those narrated by the «fictional
historical present» are IMAGINARY.
This is stylistically marked in contrast to the normal convention of the
past tense for store-telling.
e.g.: The crowd swarms around the gateway, and seethes with delighted
anticipation; excitement grows, as suddenly their hero makes his
entrance…
A special exception in the use of the present tense in stage direction.
e.g.: Millinson enters. The girls immediately pretend to be working
hard. William assures a businesslike air, picks up two folders, and
makes for door.
Here the present tense is used by convention, as if to represent the
idea that events of the play are being performed before our eyes as we
read the script.
In his monography M.Y. Blokh debates a point how to use shall or will
future and marks «The view that shall and will retain their modal
meanings in all their uses was defended by such a recognized authority
on English grammar of the older generation of the twentieth century
linguists as O. Jespersen. In our times, quite a few scholars, among
them the successors of Descriptive Linguistics, consider these verbs as
part of the general set of modal verbs, «modal auxiliaries», expressing
the meanings of capability, probability, permission, obligation, and the
like».
The modal nature of the «shall/will + Infinitive» combinations can be
shown by means of equivalent substitutions.
e.g.: He who does not work neither shall he eat.
cf.: He who does not work must not eat.
As regards the second question-the aspect of the verb in modern English
– M.Y. Blokh picks up two main variants: the continuous and the
perfective.
l. The continuous forms are aspective because reflecting the inherent
character of the process named by verb, they do not, and cannot, denote
the timing of the process. The opposition constituting the corresponding
category is effected between the continuous and non-continuous forms.
2. The true nature of the perfect is temporal aspect reflected in its
own opposition, which cannot be reduced to any other oppositions. The
categorial member opposed to the perfect will be named «imperfect or
non-perfect».
The author underlines that the aspective meanings can be inbuilt in the
semantic structure of the verb and, on the other hand, the aspective
meanings can also be represented in variable grammatical forms and
categories. At this point of our consideration, we should differ the
categorial terminology and the definitions of categories.
A category, in normal use, cannot be represented twice in one and the
same word-form. The integral verb-form cannot display at once more then
one expression of each of recognized verbal categories, though it does
give a representive expression to all the verbal categories taken
together through the corresponding obligatory featuring. So in the
verbal system of English there are two temporal categories:
– the past tense as a direct retrospective evaluation of the time of the
process;
– the future tense – the timing of % he process in a prospective
evaluation.
There are two aspective categories:
– the continuous aspect;
– the perfect aspect.
N.Y. Blokh describes the aspective categories backed on the works of H.
Sweet and O. Jespersen. On the ground that aspective category is
constituted by the opposition of the continuous forms of the verb to the
non-continuous forms, they present some sentences with while-clauses:
1. While I was typing, Mary and Tom were chatting in the adjoining room.
2. While I typed, Mary and Tom were chatting in the adjoining room.
3. While I was typing, Wary and Tom chatted in the adjoining room.
4. While I typed, they chatted in the adjoining room.
We have to feel the difference in semantic connotations. The meaningful
difference consists exactly in the categorial semantics of the
indefinite and comtinuous: while the latter shows the action in the very
process of its realization, the former points it out as a mere fact…The
stylistic potential of the continuous aspect is in its possibility to
create a number of actions going on simultaneously in descriptions of
scenes implied by the narration.
e.g.: Standing on the chair, I could see in through the barred window
into the hall of the Ayuntamiento and in there it was as it had been
before. The priest was standing, and those who were left were kneeling
in a half circle around him and they were all praying. Pablo was sitting
on the big table in front of the Mayor’s chair with his shotgun slung
over his back.»
(E. Hemingway., p. 154)
In his A Course in Theoretical English Grammar M.Y. Blakh describes and
explains the category of retrospective coordination (the perfect aspect)
that has been interpreted in linguistic literature in four different
ways. In Table 15 «The Perfect Aspect» (The History of the Problem) we
present a piece of information about the authors, foreign and native),
who presented the perfect aspect as a problem. We present 5 subdivisions
according to the ways of the grammatical interpretations:
1. «The tense view».
2. «The aspect view».
3. «The tense-aspect blend view».
4. «The time correlation view».
5. «The strict categorial view» by M.Y. Blokh.
This table is very convenient for students who wants to get
post-graduated education and continue their philological observations in
the frames of Theoretical English Grammar.
Grammatical material from the textbook written by M.Y. Blokh is very
visual and inportant for students. There is no doubt that its numerous
particular propeties, as well as its fundamental qualities as a whole,
will be further exposed, clarified in the course of continued linguistic
research.
I.B. Khlebnikova in her book «Essentials of English Morphlogy»
underlines that the items selected for study in this book represent the
most debatable parts of English Morphology. It concerns, first of all,
the grammatical categories of the verb. The author marks that «the verb
is a two-face Janus»: when it is viewed as the carrier of some
generalized, abstract grammatical meaning, it belongs to morphology;
when it is viewed from the point of view of the position it occupies in
relation to different word-classes, it belongs to syntax. Taking into
account all these we can find a lot of reasons to present «the third
face of our Janus-verb» – stylistic features that are included in our
research. The author in chapter IV «The General Organization of
Morphlogical Forms» presents «Structural1 Principles of Organization» –
The Macrosystem of the English Verb», organized in the table (Table 16).
Being guided by Ukrainian, Russian, American and European linguistic
schools – A. Hill, B. Strangle, O. Jespersen, L. Barkhudarov, G. CURME,
G.N. Vorontsova and others – I.B. Khlebnikova expoands the
characteristic features of an analitical forms of English verb. They are
nine. Between them we can find the descriptions of:
– an auxiliary as a verb which has no lexical meaning of its plus
infinitive, participle I, II;
– a collocations as indivisible in grammatical sense, though its
components are separate words; it is idiomatic in grammar sense;
– auxiliary verbs realized the «present-past» dichotomy:
have done – had done;
is speaking – was speaking;
shall do – should do;
– verb as the whole macrosystem and in the central – microsystem of
tense-aspect;
– the abbreviation of the auxiliary component in colloquial speech:
I’ve done it, and etc.
The author presents the Microsystem and defines that the distinctive
features of tense comes first since it is tense, and not aspect, that
presents the frame of the system, though opinions may differ on this
score (cf.: traditional Russian term «aspect-tense system of Russian
verb»).
In her debates with O. Jespersen who denied the existence of future
tense as a grammatical tense in English and it was repeated in more
modern publications (By Barkhudarov, 1975) the author writes «the most
exact approximation of the real, notional time will be the division into
past, present and future, if the linguistic material admits such a
differentiation».
The paradigm of tense-aspect in English, from the point of the author’s
view, is based upon temporal divisions (both proper and relative),
forming a frame into which aspect differentiation is included within the
range of different temporal points. Special attention was given to
perfectnees.
Perfectness is the most enduring and essential category, acting in all
microsystems (Table 17).
Describing stylistical features of the present, past and future tenses
she marks that the present tense is widely used in narrations taking
place within the sphere of the moment of speech, especially in plays and
dialogues; «historical present»; permanent qualities, etc. The main
sphere of the use of the past tense is the narration in the past, the
representation of a chain of events which happened before the present’
time. The complete parallelism of the future I and the future 11 and
their purely grammatical meaning is exhibited an any contexts. The
following sentences can be represented by both future tenses.
e.g.: Then I will drive this pilum through you.
(He said he would drive that pikum through him).
I shall not bother about them.
(He said he would not bother about them).
We would give the descriptions of some terms according to
I.B. Khlebnikova:
transposition – the transference of some past actions into the range of
the another axis of orientation – the present tense which is the initual
point of temporal opposition.
neutralization – the future action is expressed by the present
Indefinite or Continuous.
oppositions – represent an event on the plane of content of
morphological forms which is reflected on the plane of expression.
e.g.: Mr. X arrives at London airport tomorrow.
I am taking the girl to London next week.
(neutralization)
The author gives definitions of abstract grammatical categories which
find expression in the tense-aspect microsystem (active). There are
three in number: tense, temporal relativity (perfect-ness) and aspect
(durative).
We agree with the author that «the items selected for study here
represent the most debatable parts of morphology. It concerns, first of
all, the grammatical categories of the verb». Before presenting some
facts at lecture a teacher have to transfer them according to the
student’s understanding.
Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms can be presented only
in conditions of an utterance. An utterance is expressed by means of
words and sentences. I.P. Verkhowskaya in her monograph «Tense-Aspect
forms in English Complexs Sentence» conveys some results of her research
work in the frames of the complex sentences (18290 examples). The author
presents three tenses: Present, Past, Future Indefinite and shows how to
use them according to the Sequences of Tenses. She pays her special
attention to how to use the Present and Past Perfect and completes
specific qualification in the frames of the complex sentence.
At the same time of discussion on a question about stylistic potential
of tense-aspect verbal forms in Modern English we, the teachers, have to
expand the students’ skill in the sphere of grammatical usage of these
forms in utterances. In this case we can elicit a lot of examples given
by I.P. Verkhovskaya in her monograph.
«Practical Stylistics of English» written by L.P. Efimov is an attempt
to supply the student of English Stylistics with a practical appendix to
the lecture and seminar course of stylystic study. The f purpose of this
book is to aid the teaching process by which a student becomes aware of
the richness and variety of English stylistic means of communication.
The author writes that the central notion of Morphologicai Stylistics is
the notion of transposition: a divergence between the traditional usage
of a neutral word and its situational (stylistic) usage. Transposition
of verb is even more varied than that of nouns. It is explained by a
greater number of grammatical categories the meanings of which may be
transposed. Mast expressive are tense forms, mood and voice forms. One
of peculiar features of English tense forms is their polysemantism: the
same form may realize various meanings in speech. Deviation from the
general meaning makes verbs stylistically coloured.
e.g.: (Present continuous as future time.)
Pete is staring a new life tomorrow.
(The present continuous introduces the negative connotations of
irritation, regret, sadness and others)
John is constantly grumbling.
There is a rule that verbs of sense perception and mental activity are
not used in the continuous tense forms. This rule is often broken
intentionally or subconsciously. In both cases verbal forms convey
additional stylistic meanings of subjective modality:
e.g.: I an seeing you = I am not blind.
e.g.: I am understanding you = You need not go into further details.
I am feeling your touch = So tender you are, etc.
The author marks that «historical present» brightens the narration,
raises its emotional tension, expresses intrigue, makes the continuity
of events visual and graphic.
e.g.: It was yesterday and looked this way. The perpetrator comes to his
victim, takes a long dagger out of his inner pocket and stabs the poor
man right into. – his belly without saying a word…
Transposition is not the only way to make expressive. A good many verbal
forms are expressive in themselves, for example, the imperative mood.
e.g.: Just come to me now – «may contextually imply love or hate, threat
of warning, promise or desire.
The wide range of subjunctive mood forms offers a good stylistic choice
of synonymous ways to verbalize one and the same idea.
e.g.: It is time for me to go (stylistically neutral)
It is time that I went (bookish and obsolescent)
In many contexts passive verbal forma are more expressive.
e.g.: A round table occupied the centre of the room,
cf: The centre of the room was occupied by a round table.
e.g.: They answered him nothing=He was answered nothing.
All these notes are very important for our paper: they give some
additional features to our subject but it is not enough for leaning in
the frames of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms.
Thus, the pedagogical quest has long been to find ways of developing a
student’s knowledge about grammar which are both enlivening and
rewarding, and it continues to be an important goal of contemporary
educational linguistics. The field of grammar is often divided into two
domains: morphology and syntax. In our case we have examined some points
from transformational relations that were involved in tense-aspect
formations of the morphological level. Different kind of transformations
depend on the purpose of communication and can be treated only in the
contexts.
In this case we can say about stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal
forms of modern English. Interactions between grammar and stylistics are
of the essence of language and probably the most significant point to
notice in studing of a language in general. A special interest attaches
to the correlation between meanings expressed by grammatical forms and
their stylistic meanings to which in our paper we repeatedly draw our
attention.
2. The analysis of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in
modern English
The main aim of the second part is to research and pick out some
interesting examples from original English literature according to two
tables (4, 12) that is two types of grammatical transpositions and
aspectuality in the frames of the peripheral field. Our purpose is to
confirm the central principles included in these tables and to present a
lot of samples to enrich the Theoretical Grammar with new visual and
practical material that gives real jerk to teachers to complete
students’ seminars on this subject more interesting and productive.
The main methords which have been used in our research paper are:
– philological observations;
– revealind some samples, examples, facts from original literature of
English authors and generalization;
– contextolpgical analysis of some contexts; description some important
fact in considerable details.
Our results were obtained on the edge of some liguistic sciences:
Sty1istics, Functional Grammar, Syntax, Functional and Communicative
Linguistics, The Theory of Interpretation of Texts, The Theory of
Contextual Situation and others.
The application of these methods makes it possible to establish the
concrete system in the frames of this students can observe stylistic
potential of verbal forms in real environment and circumstances. The
given gu tations from different sources serve to show how the two types
of transpositions and aspectuality in the frames of peripheral field
have been variously used by different English writers.
Stylistic Potential of Tense-Aspectual forms of English Verbs
2.1 The types of transpositions of verbal forms as stylistic came in the
category of tense
Transposition with functional-stylistic characters expressed by verbal
forms.
Archaisms are words which were once common but now are (Table 1.4)
replaced by synonyms. When the author consider the grammatical system of
English verbs as an adaotive system has to mark some, thing historical
important in narrative, description or poetry they use archaic verbal
forms. N.M. Rayevska characterizes: «The archaic variant forms are used
for stylistic purposes to create the atmosphere of elevated speech in
pictorical language, in poetry or in proverbial saying». (29, p. 55)
There are only some forms: Table «Archaic Forms of the Auxiliaries». The
forms given in the tables above are those of modern standard English.
One may also come across archaic forms, mainly in. poetry or texts where
an archaic effect is intended.
FormsGrammatical characteristicsVerbsdost [d?st], [d?st]Present
indefinite, 2nd person singularto dodoth, doeth (d?O), [d?O]Present
indefinite, 3rd person singulardidst [didst]Past indefinite, 2nd person
singularart| [a:t], [?t]Present indefinite, 2nd person singularto bewast
[wost], [w?st],
wert [w?:t], [w?t]Past indefinite, 2nd person singularhast [haest],
[h?st], [?st], [st]Present indefinite, 2nd person singularto havehath
[haeO], [h?O], [?O]Present indefinite, 3rd person singularhadst
[haedst], [h?dst], [?dst]Past indefinite, 2nd person
singularshall [?aelt], [??lt], [?lt]Present indefinite, 2nd person
singularshallshouldst, shouldest (?udst)Past indefinite, 2nd person
singularwilt [wilt], [?lt], [|it]Present indefinite, 2nd person
singularwillwouldst, wouldest [wudst]Past indefinite, 2nd person
singular
We can add some more examples:
Saith = says; Modal verbs:
endeth = ends; canst, needest, mayest.
knoweth = knows;
spake = spoke;
throve = thrived;
bare = bore
art = is;
stretchest, coverest fwalketh, maketh, layeth, gettest, didst, stiteth,
beginneth, heareth and others.
e.g.: Byron, George Noel GORDON, Lord -1788–1824.
«…For it hath been by sorrow nursed,
And ach’d in sleepless silence long;
And now ’tis doom’d to know the worst,
And break at once-or yield to song.»
(G.G. Byron. My soul is dark. 17, p. 16.)
«…Thy tree hath lost its blossoms, and the rind,
Chopp’d by the axe, looks rough and little worth,
But the sap lasts, – and still the seed we find
Sown deep, even in the bosom of the North;
So shall a better spring lees bitter fruit bring forth.»
(G.G. Byron, From Childe Harold’s Piligrimage, 17, p. 211)
«…Thou stand’st along unrevall’d, till the fire
To come, in which all empires shall expire!»
(G.G. Byron, Moscow!, 17, p. 214)
«…The river glideth at his own free will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!»
(W. Wordsworth1770–1850, Westminster Bridge, 17, p. 32)
e.g.: TO-MORROW
«Where art thou, beloved To-morrow?
When young and old, and strong and weak,
rich and poor, trough joy and sorrow,
Thy sweet smiles we ever seek,-
In thy place-ah! well-A0DAY1
We find the thing we fled-To-day.»
(P.B. Shelly, 1792–1816,17, p. 57)
«O heart of man! canst thou not be Blithe as the air is, and as free?»
(H.W. Longfellow, 1807–1892,17, p. 142)
«Old Yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the under-lying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.»
(A. Tennyson, 1809–1892, 1/, p. 182)
«The Spanish people will rise again as they have always risen before
against tyranny.
The dead do not need to rise. They are a part of the earth now and the
earth can never be conquered. For the earth endures forever. It will
outlive all systems of tyranny».
(B. Hemingway, 1899–1961,19,67)
«…Doubting Charley! Who trust nobody and believes nothing.
But even Charley can’t deny that Sam’s dead. He’s dead.
When thou know’st how dry a cinder this world is:»
(R. Hill, published in 2002, l, p. 62)
A lot of Shakespearisms are used in Modern English which are described
by A.V. Kunin in his book The Course of Phraseology of Modern English».
A.N. Morokhovsky lines out some phraseological units as arkhaisms; be at
accord with somebody = agree to smb.;
play upon advantage = to deceive;
at adventure = at random;
at fortune’s alms = as charity of a fate;
all and some = separately and together.
Numerous archaisms can be found in Shakespeare, but it should be taken
into consideration that what appear to us today as archaisms in the
works of Shakespeare, are in fact examples of everyday language of
Shakespeare’s time.
The use of archaic variant forms in fiction, for instance, in historical
novels, serves to characterize the speech of those times, reproduce its
atmosphere, its «couleur historique» (historic colour). As we have
researched numerous archaic forms can be found in poetry XVII–XIX, XX
centuries: G.G. Byron, W. Wordsworth, P. Shelly, H.W. Longfellow, A.
Tennyson; in prose written by E. Hemingway, R. Hill and others. For
those students who want to continue to research this aspect of
Linguistics there are a lot of unresolved points.
2. Popular language as a free and easy every-day speech
Acceding to Table 12 «Transposition with functional-stylistic
characters» the next aspect of our analysis is «Popular language as a
free-and-easy every-day speech».
I.V. Arnold writes in her monograph that authors use this phenomenon for
stylistic purposes: to portray the story-teller or hero (personage) when
their stories are about past events [4; 156].
Ain’t is a nonstandard contraction commonly (esp in AmE) in place of am
not, is not, are not, have not. Aren’t I is widely used, especially in
BrE, whereas ain’t I, usually considered nonstandard, is somewhat more
current in AmE. Amn’t I is mainly Scottish and Irish.
e.g. «Dear Mr. Pascoe,
Cambridge! St Godric’s College! The Quaestor’s Lodging!
Ain’t I the swell then? Ain’t Home Office commercial for the
rehabilitating power of the British penal system?» [Hill Reginal; 1;
13].
There are some illustrations from M. Twain:
e.g. «You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by name of
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain’t no matter…» [10; 21].
e.g. «Stuff! Stealing cattle and such things ain’t robbery, it’s
burglaty», says Tom Sawyer. «We ain’t burglars. That ain’t no sort of
style…» [10; 21].
e.g. «Well, I knows what I’s gwyne to set down here and listen tell I
hears it agin» [10, p. 17].
e.g. «Why couldn’t you said that before?» [10; 22].
e.g. «You git me that money to-morrow- I want it.
– I hain’t dot no money.
– It’s a lie. Judge Thatcher’s got it. You git it. I want it.
– I hain’t got no money, I tell you…» [10; 35].
Note: hain’t = h a v e n o t, h a s n o t.
e.g. «It ain’t my fault I warn’t born a duke, it ain’t your fault you
warn’t born a king – so what’s the use to worry?…» [10; 150].
e.g. «The duke done (has done) it, and Jim and me was (sing) pretty glad
to see it» [10; 150].
Note: warn’t = will not in the past tense.
e.g. «So, things I, I’ll go and search them (?) rooms… But I see I
couldn’t do nothing without a candle, and I dasn’t light one, of course»
[10, p. 207].
Ch. Dickens used a lot of the some examples in his novel «Our Mutual
Friend»
e.g. «But what you may call the Fates ordered him into it again? Which
is rumness, ain’t?…» [5; 422].
e.g. «Mr Riderhood next demands his shirt; and draws it on over his head
(with his daughter’s help), exactly as if he had just had a Fight. –
«Warn’t it steamer?» he pauses to ask her. – «Yes, father». [5; 424].
e.g. «– Hear me out! «cried Wegg.» – I knew you was a – going to say so.
But along I bore the anxiety, and alone I’ll bear the blame!»… [5; 468].
All these quotations present themselves the low colloquial sublanguage.
These dialogues (above) may not be exactly like others. Writers prefer
to paint their personages in words. A detailed analysis of these
non-grammatical speech patterns show that they are elements of a system,
which is not deprived of rationality. Substandard English is used by
millions of people in English speaking counties. It is a conspicuous
indicator of low language culture and educational level. Being
introduced into books, it becomes a picturesque means of protagonist’s
characterization.
3. Modal verbs and verbal forms with the modal meanings are very
important for us to present and use a lot of subtle stylistic
connotations in our speech.
The simple modals, such can, may, must, will, should have SINGLE forms,
whereas the more complex structures known as PERIPHRASTIC MODALS are
formed with the verbs be and have, as in be able to (can, could);
be allowed to (may, might);
be going to (will, would);
be supposed to (shall, should) – (meant, expected, obliged);
have (got) to (must);
to be to (have to according to the plan). [G. Yule. Explaining Grammar,
31, p. 86].
e.g. «Some books are to tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to
be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read in parts;
others to be read but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and
with diligence and attention».
[F. Bacon, 46; 156].
«I wonder», said he (Wickham), at the next opportunity of speaking,
whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.»
[Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 4; 81].
«One of them at any rate: I (Shirley) do not bargain for less: and she
is to appear in some such fashion as this. I am to be walking by myself
on deck, rather late of an August evening, watching and being watched by
full harvest-moon…»
[Ch. Bronte, Shirley, 11; 145].
«Might she only follow her own judgment, she thought she should be able
to find, perhaps a harsh, but effectual cure for her sufferings». [11;
242].
«I asked to be allowed to look at the note of terms which his
respectable patron had drawn up for my inspection.» [W. Collins, The
Woman in White, 2; 10].
«Why blame it all, we’ve got to do it. Don’t I tell you it’s in the
books?»
[M. Twain, 10, p. 21].
«Would you stop complaining about things? We’re supposed to do our best
and we should be able to finish this work before the boss has to start
screaming at us again. If you could just concentrate on getting
finished, we might be allowed to leave early this afternoon. You know
he’s not going to let us leave early if we can’t get the work done.
[G. Yule. 31; 86].
Stylistic Potential of the Periphrastic modals in Context
Modal formsMeaningsExamplesbe able toIt is used to convey each of the
different kinds of «potential». Difference is in the past tense: the
implication is that the actual event took place.
Note: can is used at least 10 times more often than be able to.a) We
could repair the old car.
b) We were able to repair the old car.be allowed to«Permission» as a
root modality is clearly appropriate when be allowed to occurs with
other simple modals.
Its interpretation differs from might in the past tense. With might, the
interpretation is remote possibility, but with were allowed to, the
interpretation is remote fact.a) Will we be allowed to light the fire?
b) Oh, no. You won’t be allowed to play with matches.
a) They might have a break after lunch.
b) They were allowed to have a break after lunch.have (got) toThere is
no past form of «must». Expressions of past necessity are generally
presented via the form have to for obligations and conclusions.
In the present tense have to can be used in a wider range of
constructions than must.
As uncontrollable external source that compels an action.
More typically found in informal speech have got to is used with the
root meaning of obligation.
It does not occur with other modal forms.
Mustn’t conveys an obligation not to do something, whereas don’t have to
means that there is not an obligation to do something.a) When I was in
school, we had to wear school uniform.
b) He was really dig, he had to be over 7 feet tall.
a) Do we really have to go this meeting?
b) Yes, and we will have to present our report.
a) Excuse me, but I have to sneeze.
a) They’ve got to try harder next time.
a) You mustn’t drink beer.
b) You don’t have to drink beer.be going to
(the immediacy)It is not used to express the «willingness» associated
with «will».
The future action is related to the present and will occur soon after
the time of speaking.
The action with be going to was already planned or decided.
CF: I’m gonna be sick (the reduced form of casual speech shown);
I will be sick (if I eat any more of this ice cream).a) I’m going to
finish these exercises.
b) And I’ll get round to the others later.
a) Close your eyes, I’m going to give you surprise.
b) Watch out! The monster is going to get you.be supposed toIt is used
with a function similar to should in its root sense of weak obligation.
This is an implication with be supposed to that the social requirement
being mentioned is external to the speaker and may be one that the
speaker feels is being ignored.
The social obligations are weaker than those marked by should.a) You’re
supposed to be studying, not watching TV.
b) I’m not supposed to be laughing about it but it’s very funny.Random
Quirk [28, p. 137] gives classifying them as: some interesting
information about the «The verb of intermediate function»:
1. Central Modals: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will/’ll,
would/’d, must.
2. Marginal Modals: dare, need, ought to, used to.
3. Modal Idioms: Had better, would rather / sooner, be to, have got to.
4. Semi-auxiliaries: have to, be about to, be able to, be bound to,
be going to, be obliged to, be supposed to,
be willing to.
e.g. «One had better (best) do smith» – [25, v. 2; 119].
«If you want to feel good and live a long life you had better take a
half-hour walk each day, preferably at a brisk pace». [3; 262].
«You had better ask us about the perfect diet in a perfect environment
and how to maintain your good health longer if you take the effective
doses of vitamins A, C, E, plus selenium, glutathione, cysteine, and
bioflavonoids» [3; 266].
«One o’clock has just struck. I am considering whether I had better wait
here for the arrival of the messenger from London, or slip away quietly,
and watch for him outside the long gate». [W. Collins, The Woman in
White, 2; 238].
«Or, perhaps – NO! it is quite revolting enough to feel that third
conjecture stir ring in my mind. I would rather not see it confronting
me in plane black and white». [2; 228].
«By whatever other circumstance the day may be marked. It is not the
day, Lavinia, on which I will allow a child of mine to pounce upon me. I
beg – nay, command! – that you will not pounce». [Ch. Dickens, Our
Mutual Friend, 5; 430].
«I had not spoken hitherto, and I would much rather nor have spoken now.
But the expression of distress in Laura’s face when she turned it
towards me… left me no other alternative than to give my option…» [W.
Collins, 2; 218].
«Many of these visitor were consumptive, who had yet to learn that the
bracing alpine air would sooner for their health…» [The Sunday Times,
Culture, June 27, 2004, p. 42].
«The one virtue of our electoral system is supposed to be that it
enables the people to «kick the rascals out» at election time…» [The
Week, 30 Oct. 2004, p. 34].
I.V. Arnold points at modal particles just, only but K.N. Kachalova,
[24, p. 303–305] includes too, also, as well, either, else, even, alone,
ever, simply, merely. They can express the additional shades
(connotations) in context.
e.g. «There was something hidden, beyond a doubt, under the mere
surface-brutality of the words which her husband had just addressed to
her». [2; 224].
«That was the very thing I was thinking just now, «said
Stickly-Prickly.» I think scales are a tremendous improvement on
prickles – to say nothing of being able to swim…» [The Children’s
Treasury of Humour, 12; 42].
«How strange! «cried Elizabeth.» How abominable! – I wonder that the
very pride of this Mr. Darcy has not made him just to you!» [J. Austen,
Pride and Prejudice, 4; 85].
«But I tell you, honestly, if you want to see me swim away, you’ve only
got to drop me into the water». [12; 39].
«June 19th. – I had only got as far as the top of stairs when the
locking of Laura’s door suggested to me the precaution of also locking
my own door, and keeping the key safety about me while I was out of my
room». [W. Collins, 2; 272].
Periphrastic modals are used to communicate a lot of connotations and
subtle shades and tinges. This process of activation of periphrastic
modals by relating them to our speaking and writing expands
possibilities and potentialities of texts and discourses in the frame of
their contexts. They convey the identities, knowledge, emotions,
abilities, beliefs, and assumptions of the writer (speaker) and reader
(hearer); association and the relationships holding between them. The
most striking instances of periphrastic modals presented above give us
additional material for the practical course in the frames of the
theoretical English grammar.
Stylistic transpositions of special connotative value in expressive
language conveyed by verbal forms. (Table 1.4.)
l. The Historical Present.
e.g. «Habits of writing and reading in Anglo-Saxon England were indeed
largely confined to monastic centers; but from the twelfth century
onwards the production and consumption of manuscript material increased
greatly, and some vernacular works of fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
survive in numerous copies.» [The Oxford Illustrated History of English
Literature, 20; 3].
«Such verse (alliterative) continued to be written in English, as we
shall see, to the end of the Middle Ages and it has bee revived in
modern times by poets such as W.H. Auden; but its principles, derived
from a common Germanic tradition of oral poetry, present difficulties to
the reader of Chaucer, Pope, or Tennyson. [20; 4].
«The evolution of Homo sapiens, being with the same physical
characteristics that we possess, was a long and complex process that is
still imperfectly understood. The earliest evidence for the existence of
Australopithecus, or «southern ape», dates from approximately 2 million
years ago and comes from the temperate regions of Africa and western
Asia (now known as the Middle East)». [Civilization of the World, 21;
4].
NOTE: The so-called «historical present» occurs in historical
information, in rather mannered and formal prose of an old-fashioned
tone, and furthermore it is common in colloquial spoken narrative,
especially at points of particular excitement. The time reference is
unequivocally past. [Quirk R., 28; 1457].
2. Colloquial spoken narratives with the «historical present» as
characteristic of popular narrative style.
e.g. «It was on the Merritt Parkway just south of New Haven. I was
driving along, half asleep, my mind miles away, and suddenly there was a
screeching of brakes and I catch sight of a car that had been overtaking
me apparently. Well, he doesn’t. He pulls in behind me instead, and it’s
then that I notice a police car parked on the side». [Quirk R., 28;
1457].
«I hand the first book to my math. Perhaps it is grammar, perhaps a
history or geography. I take a last drawning, look at the page as I give
it into her hand, and start off aloud at a racing pace while I have got
it fresh. I trip over word Mr. Murdstone looks up. I trip over another
word. Miss Murdstone looks up. [Ch. Dickens, 29; 141].
«She has escaped from my Asylum!»
I cannot say with truth that the terrible inference which those words
suggested flashed upon me like a new revelation. Some of the strange
questions put to me by the woman in white, after my ill-considered
promise to leave her free to act as she pleased, had suggested the
conclusion either that she was naturally flighty unsettled, or that some
resent shock of terror had disturbed the balance of her faculties. But
the idea of absolute insanity, which we all associate with the wery name
of an Asylum, had, I can honestly declare, never occured to me, in
connection with her.»
[W. Collins, The Woman in White, 2; 21–22].
«Mr. and Mrs. Veneering were bran-new people in a bran-new house in a
bran-new quarter of London. Everything about the Veneerings was
spick-and-span new. All their furniture was new, all their friends were
new, all their servants were new, their plate was new… This evening the
Veneerings give a banquet. Eleven leaves in the Twemlow; fouteen in
company all told. Four pigeon-breated retainers in plain clothes stand
in line the hall… Mrs. Veneering welcomes her sweet Mr. Twemlow. Mr.
Vereening we1coms his dear Twemlow…» [Ch Dickens, 5; 7].
«The poetry of Shakespeare was inspiration: indeed, he is not so much an
imitator, as instrument of nature; and it is not so just to say that he
speaks from her, as that she speaks through him». [Hazlitt, 14; 1].
«Shakespear’s imagination, by identifying itself with the strongest
characters in the most trying circumstances, grapp1ed at once with
nature, and trampled the littleness of art under his feet: the rapid
changes of situations, the wide range of the universe, gave him life and
spirit, and afforded full scope to his genius… The author seems all the
time to be thinking of his verses, and not of his subject, – not of what
his characters would feel, but of what he shall say; and as it must
happen in all such cases, he always puts in their mouths those things
which they would be the last to think of, and which it shews the
greatest ingenuity in him to fink out.» [14; 256].
«I was sitting at the bus stop the other day and this woman was sitting
across from me and I see this caterpillar drop behind her and start
squiggling its way up to her and I’m just like, «Should I tell her or
should I not?» I sat there for five minutes a and watched it get up to
her shoe and I decided I can’t tell her. I’ve got to see what happens».
[G.YULE, 31; 72].
«This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not agree. I
had hope that our sentiments coincoded in every particular, but I must
so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly
foolish». [J. Austen, 4; 29].
Another illustrative example:
«He holds him with his skinny hand»
«There was a ship», quoth he.
«Hold off! unhand me, grey-bread loon!»
Fftsoons his hand dropt he.
He holds him with his glittering eye –
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years’ child:
The Mariner hath his will.
The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.PRESENT
PAST
PAST
PRESENT
PAST
PRESENT
PRESENT
PAST
PRESENT
PAST[Coleridge S.T., The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 36; 40–41]
NOTE: These three verses show no less than seven shifts of tense,
backwards and forwards, from simple present to simple past.
The change of the tense-forms with one and the same time reference is a
most effective stylistic devices in expressive language. The historical
present describes the past as if it is happening now: it conveys
something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account. The
phenomenon of present/past tense alternation is common in informal
spoken narrative, conversations and letter writings.
3. Echo Utterances
In the discourse function echo utterances are either questions or
exclamations.
1 Recapitulatory echo questions:
a) a yes-no questions or questions which repeat part or all message:
e.g. A: The Browns are emigrating.
B: Emigrating?
e.g. A: Switch the light off, please.
B: Switch the LIGHT OFF?
or
Switch the LIGHT OFF, did you say?
(to make the meaning explicit)
b) a wh-echo questions which indicates, by wh-words, which part of the
previous utterance the speaker did not hear or understand;
e.g. A: It cost five dollars.
B: How much did it cost?
or
How much did you say it cost?
I (after wh-element only)
e.g. A: Switch the light off.
B: Switch WHAT off?
e.g. A: His son is a macro engineer.
B: His son is a WHAT?
NOTE: What may replace a verb: e.g.: She sat there and WHAT ted?
Stylistic purpose: to express irony, incredulity, or merely fill a
conversational gap.
c) questions about questions:
e.g.: A: Have you borrow my PEN?
B: (Have I) borrow your PEN?
(a yes-no question about wh-question;
a wh-question about a yes-no question;
a wh-question about a wh-question)
2 Explicatory echo questions
They are always WH-questions, which ask for the clarification, rather
than the repetition.
e.g.: A: Take a look at this!
B: Take a look at WHAT?
e.g. A: He’s missed the bus again.
B: WHO’s missed the bus?
e.g. A: Oh, dear, I’ve lost the letter.
B: WHICH letter I have you lost?
(do you mean you have lost?)
not «did»
3. Echo exclamations: the form of utterance to be repeated may be
declarative, interrogative, imperative, or even exclamative.
Stylistic purpose: to express astonishment, amazement, confusion,
wonderment, consternation.
e.g.: A: I’m going to London for a holiday.
B: To LONdon! That not my idea of a rest.
e.g.: A: Open the door, please.
B: Open the DOOR! Do you take me for a doorman?
Note: In the frame of our research we give follow examples from quoted
literature, namely:
Examples from Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice:
e.g.: Jane: I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second
time. I did not0 expect such a compliment.
Elizabeth: Did not you? I did for you.
e.g.: Mr. Bennet. The person of whom I speak is gentleman and a
stranger.
Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled.-A gentleman and a stranger! It is Mr.
Singly, I am sure. [4; 63]
e.g.: (Mr. Bingley) What think you of books? said he, smiling.
Jane. Books-Oh! no. I am sure we never read the same, or not with the
same feelings! [4; 97].
e.g.: Mrs. Bennet. I cannot bear to think that they should have all this
estate. If it was not for the entail, I should not mind it.
Mr. Bennet. What should not you mind?
Mrs. Bennet. I should not mind anything at all. [4; 135]
e.g.: Lady Catherine. Has your governess left you?
Miss Bennet. We never had any governess.
Lady Catherine. No governess. How was that possible?
Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! I never heard of
such a thing. Your mother must have quite a slave to your education. [4;
168].
e.g.: (Colonel Fitzwilliam) «We are speaking of musik, madam,» said he,
when to longer able to avoid a reply. Lady Catherine. Of music! Then
pray speak aloud. It is all subjects my delight… [4; 176]
Examples from Wilkie Collins. The Women in White.
e.g.: The Count. Gently, Percival-gently! Are you insensible to the
virtue of Lady Clyde?
Sir Percival. That for the virtue of Lady Clyde! I believe in nothing
about her but her money… [2; 298]
e.g.: Mr. Fairlie…. Inexpressibly relieved, I am sure, to hear that
nobody is dead. Anybody ill? «…Anybody ill?» – I repeated (Frederick)…
[2; 315]
e.g.: «Where are you going? He (Sir Percival) said to Lady Glade.
«To Marian’s room,» she answered.
«It may spare you a disappointment», remarked Sir Percival, «if I tell
you at once that you will not find her there.»
«Not find her there!»
«No. She left the house yesterday morning with Fosco and his wife.» [2;
342]
Examples from Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
e.g. «Are my feathers so very much rumpled? said Eugene, coolly going up
to the looking-glass. «They are rather out of sorts. But consider. Such
a night for plumage!
«Such a night? repeated Mortimer. «What became of you in the morning?»
[5; 167]
e.g.: «Now, Lammle, «said fascination Fledge by, calmly feeling for his
whisker, «it won’t do. I won’t be led into a discussion. I can’t manage
a discussion. But I can manage to hold my tongue.»
«Can? «Mr. Lammle fell back upon propitiation.» I should think you
could! Why, when these fellows of our acquaintance drink, and you drink
with them, the more talkative they get, the more silent you get. The
more they let out, the more you keep in». [5; 252].
Echo utterances are recapitulatory echo questions, explicatory echo
questions and echo exclamations. They repeat as a whole or in part what
has been said by another speaker. They may take the form of any
utterance or partial utterance in the language. The stylistic purpose is
to express irony, sarcasm, incredulity, doubt, astonishment, amazement,
confusion, wonder, or merely to fill in a conversational gap.
STYLISTIC POTENTIAL OF THE CONTINUOUS TENSE
1. Expression of anger or irritation with adverbs such «always, every
time, continually, constantly, forever»:
e.g. «I am astonished, «said Miss Bingley,» that my fattier should have
left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have
at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!
«It out to be good, «he replied,» it has been the work of many
generations».
«And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are ALWAYS buying
books.»
«I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as
these.» «Neglect!.»
[Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. 4; 38].
e.g. «Indeed, «replied Elizabeth,» I am heartily sorry for him; but he
has other feelings, which will probably soon drive away his regard for
mee. You do not blame me, however, for refusing him?»
«Blame you! Oh, no.»
«But you are ALWAYS blaming me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?»
«No…» [J. Austen, 4; 227].
NOTE: In combination with always, continually, or forever, the
progressive loses its semantic component of «temporariness» The speaker
seems to suggest that «buying books» or «blaming me» are an irritating
or deplorable habits.
e.g.: He is CONTINUALLY complaining about the noise Bill is ALWAYS
/CONTINUALLY / FOREVER working late at office.
[R. Quirk, 28; 199, 543].
2. Future arising from present arrangement, plan, programme:
e.g.: «A fine evening, Miss Peecher», said the master.
«A fine evening, Mr. Headstone», said Miss Peecher. «Are you taking
walk?»
«Hexam and I are going to take a long walk».
[Ch. Dickens. Our Mutual Friend, 5; 206].
e.g.: He (Sir Percival) stopped, and appeared to notice, for the first
time, that we were in our walking costume. «Have you just come in?» he
asked, «or were just going out?»
«We are all thinking of going to the lake this morning», said Laura.
«But if you have any other arrangement to propose»
«No, no», he answered hastily. «My arrangement can wait…» [W. Collins,
2; 203].
e.g.: «If you think I might risk it, Miss, I’d like to slip round to my
dentist.» – Oh! what race is being run this afternoon, then, topping?»
[Galsworthy, 29; 145].
e.g.: Brain said to his cousin, «I’m signing on as well in a way, only
for life.» I’m getting married».
Both stopped walking. Bert took his arm and stared,
«You’re not.»
«I’m. To Pauline. [Sillitoe, 29; 144].
e.g. «I am going forwards, said the stranger, for Frankfort – and shall
be back at Strasburg this day month…» –
«Its a long journey, Sir, replied the master of inn-unless a man has
great business.»
[Laurence Sterne. Selected Prose and Letters, 21; 171].
e.g. «Right ho! Then brinh me my whangee, my yellowest shoes, and the
pod green Homburg. I’m going into the Park to do pastoral dances».
[The Book of English Humor, 16; 85].
3. Imperative modality
e.g. He tried to brush Anthony aside. But Ahthony firmly stood his
ground. «I’m sorry,» he said, his teeth together,
«You’re not going in there». (Gordon)
NOTE: You are not going is SYNONYMOUS with Don’t go! = Don’t you go!
[N.M. Rayevska, 29; l45].
e.g. «We’re going after buff in the morning», he told her.
«I’m coming», she said.
«No, you’re not».
«Oh, yes, I am. Mayn’t I, Francis?»
«We’ll put on another show for you tomorrow», Francis Macomber said.
«You are not coining», Wilson said.
[Hemingway, 29; 145].
There are a lot of the subtle meaning associated with the progressive
aspect. Syntagmatic connotative meanings of the Present Continuous
signalled by different context, linguistic or situational, may denote:
expression of anger or irritation; future arising from present,
arrangement, plan and programme; the imperative modality and other
expressive elements. We used literary texts to illustrate how various
features of the continuous tense can be used in spoken English.
Transposition of grammatical forms will lead to their synonymic
encounter:
– the Past Tense and the Historical Present;
– the Future Tense and the Present Tense;
– verb-forms of the Imperative and the Present Tense, and others.
2.2 The types of transpositions of verbal forms as stylistic means in
the category of aspect
1. Iterative aspect
a) USE + TO infinitive: may denote not only repeated action in the past
but permanent state in the remote past:
e.g.: «I had a look at Brane yesterday; he’s changed a good deal from
when I used to know him. I was one of the first to give him briefs».
[Galsworthy, 29; 133]
e.g.: There used to be a cinema here before the war. Life is not so easy
here as it used to be.
[Hornby A.S., 45; 153]
e.g. «The workshops have been shut up half-an-hour or more in Adam
Bede’s timber yoard which used to be Jonathan Bridge’s».
[Eliot, 29; 133]
e.g. «There used to be an old apple tree in the garden. Oh, did there?»
[C.E. Eckersley, 3v; 255]
NOTE: «used to V» is used by 39 from 42 of Englishmen.
[A.I. Dorodnykh, 8; 148]
It is important to mark that in this situations in Spoken English used
to V is practised with verbs: to be (to exist), to grow, to know, to
love, to hate, to work, to belong, to own.
e.g. «I had a look at Brane yesterday; he’s changed a good deal from
when I used to know him.»
[Galsworthy, 3; 109]
e.g «Michael went up to Fleur in the room she used to have as a little
dirl- a single room, so that he had been sleeping elsewhere.»
[Galsworthy. 29; 133]
b) Would + V – infinitive as an action in the past:
e.g. «Catherine, weak-spirifed, irritable, and completely under Lydia’s
guidance, had been always affronted by their advice; and Lydia,
self-willed and bare less, would scarcely give them a hearing. They were
ignorant, idle, and vain. While there was an officer in Meryton, they
would flirt with him; and while Meryton was within a walk of Long-bourn,
they would be going there for ever».
[J. Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 4; 216]
e.g. «Sometimes Strickland would go down to the reef and come back wit a
basket of small, coloured fish that Ata would fry in coconut, or with a
lobster…»
[S. Maugham, 3; 111]
e.g. «Stimulated in course of time by the sight of so many successes, he
would make another sally, make another loop, would all but have his foot
on opposite pavement, would see or imagine something coming, and would
stagger back again. There he would stand making spasmodic preparations
as if for a great leap, and at last would decide on a start at precisely
the wrong moment, and would be roared at by drivers, and would shrink
back once more, and stand in the old spot shivering, with the whole of
the proceedings to go through again».
[Ch. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, 5; 505]
The historical past tense of «will» is «would», often reduced in speech
to «d. The combination of remoteness and likelihood as the conceptual
basis of would generally leads to an interpretation of some event as
being distant in time or possibility from the moment of speaking. The
remoteness element in would, combined with the epistemic interpretation
(deductions or conclusions made by the speaker) is an interpretation of
the past habitual behavior.
c) Iterative aspect expressed by Verb + ON and ON / OVER and OVER AGAIN
/ TIME and TIME AGAIN.
e.g. «Remembering Mr. Dawson’s caution to me, I subjected Mrs. Rublle to
a severe scrutiny at certain intervals for the next three or four days.
I over and over again entered the room softly and suddenly, but I never
found her out in any «suspicious action.»
[W. Collins. The Woman in White, 2; 329]
e.g. «She had hovered for a little while in the near neighborhood of her
abandoned dwelling, and had sold, and knitted and sold, and gone on. In
the pleasant towns of. Chertsey, Walton, Kingston, and Staines her
figure came time and time again to be quite well known for some short
weeks, and then again passed on.»
[C. Dockens. 5; 477]
e.g. On and on stormed the loud applause. He has gone through all that
over and over again. «You could have let that rom time and time again»,
says she. (Mansfield) [29; 134]
e.g. It was easy to talk on and on.
Men did the same job over and over.
[49, l002, 1025]
d) Syntactic reduplication:
e.g. «Hear the sledges with the bells-Silver bells! What a world a
merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night! [E.A. Po. The Bells, 9; 58]
NOTE: The frequentive character of the action (tinkle) is intensified by
syntactic reduplication.
e.g. «He talks, talks, talks about protecting women, and when the time
comes for him to do some protecting, where is he?» [Mitchell, 29; 134].
The important components of the peripheral field of aspect are the ways
of actions which find their positions in such verbal patterns as Verb +
on and on/over and over again/time and time again and syntactic
reduplications.
2. Inchoative Aspect
a) the model COME + TO VERB: some activity or state which has been
gradually approached and has now set in:
e.g.: I came to like the child. He came to like poetry. Poetry came to
be his gratest interest.
e.g. «…I don’t believe «Da» was beautiful, when I came to think of it,
and Mademoiselle’s almost ugly». [Galsworthy, 9; 130]
The modal COME + TO VERB can be presented as perfective or terminative
meanings:
e.g. «Mr. Bingley and his sisters came to give their – personal
invitation for the long-expected ball at Netherfield, which was fixed
for the following Tuesday».
[J. Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 4; 90]
e.g. «While the family were in this confusion, Charlotte Lucas came to
spend the day with them.» [4; 84]
e.g. «It’s gone now», said Betty.» I shall be stranger than I was afore.
Many thanks to ye, my dear, and when you come to be as old as I am, may
others do as much for you». [4; 102]
b) Gome + to Vinf = Get + To Vinf (in spoken English indicating that
some activity or state has just set in)
e.g. How do I get to know you better?
She got to think.
The children didn’t like living in the country when, they first moved
from London, but they’re getting to like it (becoming fond of it).
[45; l63]
He’s getting to be (is becoming) quite a good pianist.
He soon got to know (learnt) the wisdom of being patient.
c) Take + to – V ing = the ingressive character of an action orthe
beginning of a habit:
e.g. «Then he took to walking (addicted) along the street which he must
pass through to get to the shop and he would stand at the corner on the
other side as she went along.» (Maugham)
[29; 131]
e.g. «He forced himself at last to finish the magazine/and from the
steamer library he culled several volumes of poetry. But they could not
hold him, and once more he took to walking.» (J. London)
[3; 115]
d) Fall + to – V ing implies a sudden beginning of the activity:
e.g. «He started to take off his shoes, but fell to staring at the white
plaster wall opposite him, broken by long streams of dirty brown where
rain had leaked through the roof». (J. Galsworthy) [3; 80]
e.g. «Peggotty fell to kissing the keyhole as she could not kiss me».
(Ch. Dickens) [3; 25]
e.g.: «…One of the volumes was a Swinburne. He lay in bed, glancing
through its pages, until suddenly he became aware that he was reading
with interest. He finished the stanza, attempted to read on, then came
back to it. He reasted the book face downward on his breast and fell to
thinking». (J. London)
[3; ll6]
e) Phraseological units with verbs BREAK, BURST, FALL, PUT can be used
as impression:
e.g. «It just shows a lot o’good you can do when you stick up for your
kids», Ada remarked before breaking into a laugh when Johnny clomped
into the house that night». [A. Sillitoe, 3; ll8]
e.g. «It is hard to burst into laughter at in ray moments of sentiment,
as if my soul was like myself, old and over-grown. Observe, dear lady,
what a light is dying on the trees! Does it penetrate your heart, as it
penetrates1 mine?» [W. Collins. 2; 257]
e.g. «She burst into tears as she alluded to it, and for a few minutes
could not speak another word.» [J. Austen. 4; 278]
e.g. «From there one could look down at the river winding among poplars
and willows… Birds broke into song». [J. Galsworthy, 3; 118]
Inchoative Aspect (ingressive aspect) expresses a focus on the onset of
situations and is associated with verbs like begin and start.
Correlation between morphological, grammatical and semantic means can be
found in the frames of the peripheral field of aspect, mood and
modality.
3. Patterns with the emphatic DO
Patterns with the emphatic DO may be used to express various emotions,
such as: insistence, assurance, affirmation of reply to a question in
the affirmative or agreement with what has been said, sympathy,
surprise, indignation, irony, mild reproach, admonition and others.
Examples from W. Collins. The Woman in White:
«Have you forgotten the letter he wrote to her at the beginning of her
illness? It was shown to you, you read it yourself, and you ought to
remember it». – «I do ember it». [3; 344]
«You are heartily welcome, sir, to any think I can tell you», answered
Mrs. Clements. She stopped and looked at me wistfully. – «But I do
wish,» said the poor woman, «you could have told me a little more about
Anne, sir.» [3; 429]
«I am sorry to hear her mother say so.»
«Her mother does say so. How do you know she is dead?»
«I am not at liberty to say how I know it-but I do know it». [3; 438]
«How could I? I was too terrified to move or speak.»
«But when you did move-when you came out – ?»
«I run back here, to tell you what had happened.» [3; 252]
Examples from Austen J. Pride and Prejudice:
«Certainly, «replied Elizabeth – «there are such people, but I hope I am
not one of them. I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies
and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I
laugh at them whenever I can-But these, I suppose, are precisely what
you are without.» [4; 58]
«You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear
me? But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well.
There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at
the will of others.» [4; 177]
«After a few minutes reflect ion, however, she continued -» I do
remember his boasting one day, at Netherfield, of the implacability of
his resentments, of his having an unforgiving temper. His disposition
must be dreadful.» [4; 84]
The main function of DO is a syntactical function. The second purpose of
DO – using is to express the subtle shades of subjective modal meanings
which we can found only in the speech context or situation.
For foreign students there are not always easy to render the precise
effect of the emphatic auxiliary DO in all the variety of its
idiosyncratic use.
4. Actions of Single Occurrence:
a) momentaneous actions of single occurrence:
e.g. «Young Lolyon shot at him a penetrationg glance.»
[Galsworthy, 10; 35]
«He made a start towards at the moment as if he had some other farewell
words to say; but she only hurried off the faster, and Mr. Tarley
followed as in duty bound».
[Ch. Dickens, 5; 48]
«When his hammer tried to take a bite out of his thumb he swore with
such awful care and deliberation for five minutes that Vera went into
the other room until his vocabulary gave under the passing of time».
[A. Silitoe, 3; 119], [29; 134–135]
b) single actions of some short duration:
e.g. «He did not give it a thought». (Galsworthy)
«She gave him a little hurried kiss». (K. Mansfield) «…Then her meaning
flashed across his clever brain and he gave her a thought.» (S. Maugham)
Examples from W. Collins. The Woman in White:
e.g. «The line outside took a sudden turn to the left, ran on straight
for a hundred yards or so, and then took another sharp turn to the right
to join the high-road.» [2; 239]
e.g. «I collected myself sufficiently to make a sign in the
affirmative.» [2; 241]
e.g. «The discovery – I don’t know why – gave me such a shock, that I
was perfectly incapable of speaking to her for the moment.» [2; 249]
The stylistic range of such «phrasal» verbs is very wide. Their dynamic
character and the possibility of attaching various kind of attributes to
the nominal element makes them particularly suitable for use in
descriptive pictorial language, as compared to corresponding simple
verbs. Highly expressive in meanings these «metaphors» have contributed
significantly to the development of emotional and affective means in
present-day English.
5. Progressive (Durative) Aspect:
T h e d u r a t i v e (progressive) character of the action does not
find its expression only in the progressive (continuous) tense-forms of
the English verb.
The idea of duration may be also conveyed by verbs used to indicate
their continuing perspectives and treated as aspectual verbs (or
aspectualizers – (31, p. 223). These verbs do not denote separate
actions, their occurrence with complement verbs cannot be interpreted as
two actions in sequence.
Progressive aspect can be conveyed by such verbs:
STAND / STAY / LIE / CONTINUE / GO ON / KEEP (on) + V-ing.
e.g. «I stood looking down it, uncertain which way to take next, and
while I looked I saw on one thorny branch some fragments of fringe from
a woman’s shawl»
(W. Collins, The Woman in White, 2, p. 260)
«Nobody shall see me, but I will keep hearing of your voice, if anything
happens.» [2; 253]
e.g. «Sloppy stayed staring at the pattern of the paper on the wall,
untill the Secretary and Mrs. Boffin came back together».
[Ch. Dickens, 5; 306]
e.g. «He went to the door, stood looking down at the lock, and said,
«Thanks for a great weekend. I had the best time of my life.»
[H. Reginald. Death’s Jest-Book, 1; 115]
e.g. «This was cynicism so patent, that all the Forsyte in Soames
rejected it; and yet it would keep coming back.
«She stood looking at herself reflected in it, pale, and rather dark
under the eyes; little shudders kept passing through her nerves.» (J.
Galsworthy) [3; 113]
NOTE: V-ing means: the period of time/ongoing events or activity and
process.
In present-day English, especially in spoken English, these verb-phrases
are found more frequently: scarcity in morphological devices to indicate
aspect in English has necessitated the development of the conventional
practices.
The analysis of the distributional meaning of tense-aspect verbal forms
in present-day English, brief as it is, will remind us of the
constitutional value of syntactic morphology whose subject matter is
«grammar in context». Variations in the use of the tense-aspect verbal
forms, their potential polysemy and transpositions conditioned by the
mode of the speaker’s representation of the verbal idea are a source of
constant linguistic interest. Different tense-aspect forms are not yet
finally and absolutely fixed. Making for greater subtle-ties and finer
shades in expressing the speaker’s subjective attitude to the utterance
functional shifts are really taking place.
3. Methodological recommendations for teaching of tense-aspect verbal
forms in English language using their stylistic potential
At the end of our paper we shall give some ideas for teachers to help
them think steps, exercises and activities for students’ practical
studies.
1 step: to research and use the pedagogical literature.
Many rules are considerably more complex than can be done, and
linguistics are still researching areas of language. According to
Michael Swan, an author not only of textbooks but also of one of the
most widely-used pedagogic grammar, suggests anumber of measures of a
good rule (1994). These include «simplisity», «truth», «clarity», and
«relevance». From this point of view Raymond Murphy in his «Essential
Grammar in Use» (elementary, intermediate courses) gives a lot of simple
descriptions how to use and study the present perfect tense, for
example, Units 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21 from entermediate course.
«Longman Advanced Grammar» (Reference and Practice) written by
L.G. Alexander and his «Longman English Grammar» begin at about the
level of the Cambridge First Certificate, build up to the level of the
Cambridge Advanced Examination and culminate at the level of the
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency, This Grammar has three aims:
1. To serve as an advances «text decoder», ising the analysis of syntax
as the key to understanding difficult text.
2. To provide practice in advanced point of grammar.
3. To serve as an advanced reference grammar, where citations are to be
found in context, and not just quoted at sentence-level in isolation
from their source.
For example, Unit 19, p. 84. The text «Alaska’s dirty dollars» is
presented as difference between the present perfect tense and the past
simple tense which are used here. And we suggest to all teachers of
grammar to represent stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms
only in the frames of context.
Every teacher can elicit a lot of ideas for presenting and practicing
tenses in English from book written by Rosemary Aitken «Teaching
Tenses». In this book there are a lot of answers on teacher questions,
namely:
1. How to organize a tense for teaching: the main problems.
2. How to prepare to teach a tense: CASSIAL:
Choose, Analyse, Sequence, Select, Identify context, Auxiliary material,
Leaner error = CASSIAL. They are basic steps which it is helpful to
follow in planning a tense for teaching purposes. For example: the
present perfect is described through the analysis (table, questions to
draw the target, notes), meaning and function (for uncompleted action,
for action which took place in the past, etc), suggested context,
learner error: meaning and function.
Thus, teachers can find and use these books for supplementing of
supporting their classroom teaching.
On page 236 we can find a lot of interesting activities presented by
Penny Ur in book «Grammar Practice Activities»: we are saying about how
to understand and use the present perfect through communicated
methodology: use of present perfect to present current news (materials,
procedure, variantions, communicative context from a pile of
English-language newspapers); «find someone who…» (tables, a set of
cards with «ever-never»); «what has / have happened (two pictures
showing situation before and after accounting for moods (set of
photoes); I have lived here changes) for/since (to describe a past state
or process extending into the present, etc.: a lot of communicative
ideas.
Another interesting material we can suggest to teachers from «Play Games
With English» 1,2,3, plus, systematically and selectively, for example,
we can find the structures and language points in the second book «She’s
packed her suitcase», p. 32,42,76, and in the third book – «I’ve lost my
keys», p. 16,46. These exercises are given in visual pictures and
students like to use them in their grammar study.
In «Explaining English grammar» George Yule presents a lot of exercises
on difference between perfect and progressive aspects: «A number of
exercise types can be found to practice progressive aspect, with verb
that have both durative and stative aspect, for example» «What on earth
is (s) he doing?», p. 79; «Why are they smiling?”(photograph with two
old men), and others.
The teacher must be the researcher in the grammar ocean. Only in this
case working with different pedagogical literature according to the
specific grammar task and aim sistematically and selectively he or she
can produce and present English grammar brightly and clearly and will be
loved by students.
1.1. Throughout of centuries English Scholar created the system of the
Morphology Grammar where English verbal forms as the basis of Grammar
have gradually been presented, studied and researched as a great
stylistic potential. Being placed in unusual syntagmatic environment
which change their canonized grammatical characteristics and
combinability, English Verbs acquire stylistic significant.
1.2. Following the description of basic verbal forms, Yuri G. conveys
not only specific features of verbal forms and structures according to
tenses and aspects, but includes a piece of information on how meanings
of verbal forms can be shaped bf context and communicative purpose –
stylistic potential of verbal forms.
1.3. R. Quirk and his team give a lot of information about time, tense
and aspect; the tables in which English verbs are divided into stative
and dynamic types; difficult theme as «aspect» is presented in clear and
lucid language. There are some problems which are debated up to now, for
example, «the reality of the perfective progressive».
1.4. N.N. Rayevska puts forward several interesting and stimulating
ideas for the further philological observations that according to her
point of view are very productive and prospective:
1. Development of grammat co-ideomatical structures.
2. Morphological correlations of interlevel units and inclusion them in
the peripheral field of verbal forms.
3. The Phrasiological System in its unity with garammatical functioning.
4. Paculiarities of lexical combinability and realization of
tense-aspect forms in the community of their syntactical structures and
others (a lot of ideas!)
1.5. Two types of transposition [Table 1.4] described by I.V. Arnold are
used in our practical part with the aim to expand the frames of their
usage as obvious and visuial examples from English original literature.
1.6. Satisfactory results in the philological training of students can
be achieved only on condition that students have firmly, mastered the
basic principles if every linguistic disciplin, stylistics included.
1.7. In monograph Stylistics of English Language the authors show that
the diapason of stylistic devices is very high. We have marked only s
some of them but very expressive categories of time, voice and mood. All
these means can be used only in context. We consider that the subject
«The Theory of Context» must be included in the syllabus for students
from the foriegn language faculties. Our tables (13–14) which were
completed for students as HOs on the Theoretical Grammar will help them
to realise this garammatical material in practical frames.
1.8. Grammatical material from the textbook written by M.Y. Blokh is
very visual and inportant for students. There is no doubt that its
numerous particular propeties, as well as its fundamental qualities as a
whole, will be further exposed, clarified in the course of continued
linguistic research.
1.9. We agree with the author that «the items selected for study here
represent the most debatable parts of morphology. It concerns, first of
all, the grammatical categories of the verb». Before presenting some
facts at lecture a teacher have to transfer them according to the
student’s understanding.
1.10. At the same time of discussion on a question about stylistic
potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in Modern English we, the
teachers, have to expand the students’ skill in the sphere of
grammatical usage of these forms in utterances. In this case we can
elicit a lot of examples given by I.P. Verkhovskaya in her monograph.
1.11. All these notes are very important for our paper: they give some
additional features to our subject but it is not enough for leaning in
the frames of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms.
2.1. The use of archaic variant forms in fiction, for instance, in
historical novels, serves to characterize the speech of the times, to
reproduce its atmosphere, its «couleur historique» (historical colour).
Numerous archaic forms can be found in poetry (XVII–XVIII c) written by
W. Shakespeare, P.B. Shelly, G.G. Byron, W. Wordsworth, etc; in Bible,
but it should be taken into our consideration that what appear to us
today as archaic forms in Shakespeare’s times are in fact examples of
their everyday language.
2.2. All these quotations present themselves the low colloquial
sublanguage. These dialogues (above) may not be exactly like one’s.
Writers prefer to paint their personages in words. A detailed analysis
of these non-grammatical speech patterns show that they are elements of
a system, which is not deprived of rationality. Substandard English is
used by millions of people in English speaking counties. It is a
conspicuous indicator of low language culture and educational level.
Being introduced into books, it becomes a picturesque means of
protagonist’s characterization.
2.3. Periphrastic modals are used to communicate a lot of connotations
and subtle shades and tinges. This process of activation of periphrastic
modals by relating them to our speaking and writing expands
possibilities and potentialities of texts and discourses in the fraim of
their contexts. They convey the identities, knowledge, emotions,
abilities, beliefs, and assumptions of the writer (speaker) and reader
(hearer); association and the relationships holding between them. The
most striking instances of periphrastic modals presented above give us
additional material for the practical course in the fraims of the
theoretical English grammar.
2.4. The change of the tense-forms with one and the same time reference
is a most effective stylistic devices in expressive language. The
historical present describes the past as if it is happening now: it
conveys something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account.
The phenomenon of present/past tense alternation is common in informal
spoken narrative, conversations and letter writings.
2.5. Echo utterances are recapitulatory echo questions, explicatory echo
questions and echo exclamations. They repeat as a whole or in part what
has been said by another speaker. They may take the form of any
utterance or partial utterance in the language. The stylistic purpose is
to express irony, sarcasm, incredulity, doubt, astonishment, amazement,
confusion, wonder, or merely to fill in a conversational gap.
2.6. There are a lot of the subtle meaning associated with the
progressive aspect. Syntagmatic connotative meanings of the Present
Continuous signaled by different context, linguistic or situational, may
denote: expression of anger or irritation; future arising from present,
arrangement, plan and programme; the imperative modality and other
expressive elements. We used literary texts to illustrate how various
features of the progressive aspect can be used in spoken English.
Transposition of grammatical forms will lead to their synonymic
encounter:
– the Past Tense and the Historical Present;
– the Future Tense and the Present Tense;
– verb-forms of the Imperative and the Present Tense, and others.
2.7. The historical past tense of «will» is «would», often reduced in
speech to «d. The combination of remoteness and likelihood as the
conceptual basis of would generally leads to an interpretation of some
event as being distant in time or possibility from the moment of
speaking. The remoteness element in would, combined with the epistemic
interpretation (deductions or conclusions made by the speaker) is am
interpretation of past habitual behavior.
2.8. The important components of the peripheral field of aspect are the
ways of actions which find their positions in such verbal patterns as
Verb + on and on/over and over again/time and time again and syntactic
reduplications.
2.9. Inchoative Aspect (ingressive aspect) expresses a focus on the
onset of situations and is associated with verbs like begin and start.
Correlation between morphological and semantic means can be found in the
frames of the peripheral field of aspect, mood and modality.
2.10. The main function of DO is a syntactical function. The second
purpose of DO – using is to express the subtle shades of subjective
modal meanings which we can found only in the speech context or
situation.
For foreign students there are not always easy to render the precise
effect of the emphatic auxiliary DO in all the variety of its
idiosyncratic use.
2.11. The stylistic range of such «phrasal» verbs is very wide. Their
dynamic character and the possibility of attaching various kind of
attributes to the nominal element makes them particularly suitable for
use in descriptive pictorial language, as compared to corresponding
simple verbs. Highly expressive in meanings these «metaphors» have
contributed significantly to the development of emotional and affective
means in present-day English.
2.12. In present-day English, especially in spoken English, these
verb-phrases are found more frequently: scarcity in morphological
devices to indicate aspect in English has necessitated the development
of the conventional practices.
2.13. The analysis of the distributional meaning of tense-aspect verbal
forms in present-day English, brief as it is, will remind us of the
constitutional value of syntactic morphology whose subject matter is
«grammar in context». Variations in the use of the tense-aspect verbal
forms, their potential polysemy and transpositions conditioned by the
mode of the speaker’s representation of the verbal idea are a source of
constant linguistic interest. Different tense-aspect forms are not yet
finaly and absolutely fixed. Making for greater subtle-ties and finer
shades in expressing the speaker’s subjective attitude to the utterance
functional shifts are really taking place.
3.1. The teacher must be the researcher in the grammar ocean. Only in
this case working with different pedagogical literature according to the
specific grammar task and aim sistematically and selectively he or she
can produce and present English grammar brightly and clearly and will be
loved by students.
Bibliography
1. Верховская И.П., И.П. Расторгуева, Л.А. Бармина. Английский глагол:
Трудности употребления в речи: Учебн. пособие для ин-тов и фак. иностр.
яз. – М.: Высшая школа, 1987. – 192 с. (На английском языке).
2. Верховская И.П. Видо-временные формы в английском сложноподчиненном
предложении. Москва «Высшая школа», 1980. – 120 с. (На английском
языке).
3. Раевская Н.Н. Очерки по стилистической грамматике современного
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