Appunti di lingua inglese 1 - Verb forms, valency patterns, passive form

Types of phrase

Noun phrase, verbal phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase, prepositional phrase

In linguistics, phrases are categorized based on the head of the phrase. Examples include the noun phrase, verbal phrase, adjective phrase, adverb phrase, and prepositional phrase.

Different senses of "word"

• Orthographic word
• Grammatical word
• Lexical word (open class nouns, adjectives, adverbs)
• Function word (close class conjunctions, prepositions)

A lexeme is a set of grammatical words sharing the same basic meaning. For example: leave, left, leaving, leaves.

The verb phrase

The verb phrase is a grammatical unit built from words consisting of a lexical verb or a primary verb as head.

• Primary auxiliary verbs: To be, to do, to have

In verb phrases, auxiliaries precede lexical verbs. For example: "They must have been talking" (just 1 modal) [MODAL AUX AUX LEX].

Finite vs non-finite verb phrases

Finite verb phrases distinguish the tense, whereas non-finite verb phrases do not show the tense.

Example: "I think he smashed two cars coming down (non-finite) the road."

Variations in the verb phrase

Verb phrases can vary in terms of tense, aspect, voice, modality, negation, and finite clause type.

Auxiliary verbs (helping verbs)

• Primary auxiliary verbs: Be, do, have
• Modal auxiliary verbs: Will, could, shall, may, might, should, must (no inflections, no -ed, -ing, etc.)

Syntactic characteristics

Auxiliaries are directly negated by the negator NOT/N'T. For example: "They are not forgotten" or "They have not been very helpful." Lexical verbs cannot be directly negated.

Subject auxiliary inversion occurs when the auxiliary is inverted with the subject to form questions. Example: "We are delighted with the results. Are we delighted?" Lexical verbs cannot be inverted.

Example: "Not only will your answer keep me sane." Example: "Had it not been for human kindness, he would have ended up in prison."

Auxiliary verb "be"

1. Marker of progressive aspect (be + ing)
2. Marker of passive voice (be + ed)

Lexical verb "be"

1. Describes the subject of the clause
2. Identifies the subject
3. Says that something exists or is present

Auxiliary verb "have"

1. Perfect aspect - present perfect, past perfect

Lexical verb "have"

1. Possession
2. Quality
3. Family connections
4. Idiomatic multi-word phrase (e.g., I'll have a look)

The got forms of "have", such as "Her father has got a flat," are informal, in present form, and not used in short answers or tags.

Auxiliary verb "do"

1. To make a lexical verb negative
2. To form interrogative clauses
3. To emphasize (the only case where "do" is stressed)
4. As a pro-verb (e.g., "I felt something I did too")

Lexical verb "do"

1. Activity meaning
2. Idiomatic expressions
3. As a pro-verb (e.g., "Pleasure remains, so does the pain")

Auxiliary verbs: their use in conversations

• Short answers (e.g., "Are you happy? Yes, I am.") are more polite.
• Tagged declarative clauses (tag questions).
• Declarative clause + same auxiliary verb + pronoun (e.g., "Pierre is French, isn't he?").

Intonation in tag questions: falling intonation confirms something, while rising intonation asks a real question.