Introduction
Conditions ofreforming of all education system the question of the world assistance toimprovement of quality of scientific theoretical aspect of educational processis especially actually put. As President I.A. Karimov has declared in theprogram speech «Harmoniously development of generation a basis of progressof Uzbekistan»: … all of us realize that achievement of great purposes puttoday before us noble aspirations it is necessary for updating a society".The effect and destines of our reforms carried out in the name of progress andthe future results of our intentions are connected with highly skilled,conscious staff the experts who are meeting the requirements of time.
Thisqualification paper is dedicated to the study of passive voice forms in, theirqualification and functional development in the English language. The problemof passive forms has always been one of the most important and disputable subjectsof English Grammar.
The theme ofthe given qualification paper is «structural – semantic and functionalfeatures of the category of voice in languages of different system».
A number ofgreat linguists and scientists points of view about the structural development,functional position and the fiction of passive voice forms is taken as the baseof our qualification paper.
The subjectmatter of this qualification paper is the study of functions passive forms andtheir use, i.e. their importance is grammatical structure.
The actualityof the given qualification paper is direct to the necessity of learning foreignlanguages through the problem of passive forms in English Grammar, specificallyfunctional words.
The aim of ourqualification paper is the linguistic analysis of passive forms and itsproperties in Modern English. According to this main aim following particulartasks are put forward.
1. togive general notes on passive forms as a part of English Grammar;
2. tostudy the structural peculiarities of passive forms;
3. toanalyze the functional development of passive forms in English Grammar
4. togive the classification of the ways of passive forms in English in Russian.
The mainmaterial of our qualification paper is illustrated with the examples taken fromEnglish literary texts. There also given the analysis of the usage offunctional identity of perfect continues – forms in English speech.
The novelty ofthis qualification paper is determined by the concrete results of investigationwhich is to distribute the ways of passive forms into various groups accordingto their structure and semantics.
To investigatethe research work more clearly a lot of methods have been used Analyticalmethods of componential and distributable analyzes.
Thetheoretical value of this qualification paper is that the theoretical positionof the paper can be used delivering lectures on English grammar on the problemsof passive forms.
The practicalvalue of the given qualification paper is that practical results of theresearch can be used as the examples or tasks in seminars on Practical Grammarof the English language.
Structurally,this qualification paper consists of Introduction, two chapters withparagraphs, Conclusion and Bibliography.
Chapter I. General view on the problem of grammatical categories in English
1.1 Grammarin the systemic conception of language
Language is ameans of forming and storing ideas reflection of reality and exchanging them inthe process of human intercourse. Language is social by nature: it isinseparable connected with the people who are its creators and users; it growsand develops together with the development of society.
Languageincorporates the three constituent parts each being inherent in it by virtue ofits social nature; these parts are the phonological system, the lexical system,the grammatical system. Only the unity of these three constituent parts form alanguage, without any one of them there is no human language in the abovesense.
Thephonological system is the sub foundation of language; it determines thematerial appearance of the significative units. The lexical system is the wholeset of naming means of language, that is, words and stable word-groups. Thegrammatical system is the whole set of regularities determining the combinationof naming means in the formation of utterances at thinking process.
Each of thethree constituent of language is studied by a particular linguistic discipline.These disciplines a serial of approaches to their particular objects ofanalysis give the corresponding «descriptions» of language consistingin ordered expositions of the constituent of language in question. Thus, thephonological description of language is effected by the science of phonology;the lexical description of language is effected by the science of lexicology;the grammatical description of language is effected by the science of grammar.
Any linguisticdescription may have a practical or theoretical purpose. A practicaldescription is aimed at providing the student with a manual of practicalmastery of the corresponding part of language. Since the practice of lingualintercourse, however, can only be realized by emplaying language as a unity ofall its constituent parts, practical, linguistic manuals more often than notcomprise the three types of description presented in a complex. As fortheoretical descriptions pursue analytical aims and therefore present thestudied parts of language in relative isolation, so as to gain ensights intotheir inner structure and expose the intrinsic mechanisms of their functioning.Hence, the aim of theoretical grammar of a language is to present a theoreticaldescription of its grammatical system, i.e. to scientifically analyze anddefine its grammatical categories and study the mechanisms of grammaticalformation of utterances out of words in the process of speech making.
In the earlierperiods of the development of linguistic knowledge, grammatical scholarsbelieved that the only purpose of grammar was to give strict rules of writingand speaking correctly. The rigid regulations for the correct ways ofexpression, for want of the profound understanding of the social nature oflanguage, ere often based on purely subjective and arbitrary judgments ofindividual grammar compliers. The result of this «prescriptive»approach was, that alongside of quite essential and useful information, non-existent«rules» were formulated that stood in sheer contradiction with theexisting language usage, i.e. lingual reality Traces of this arbitraryprescriptive approach to the grammatical teaching may be easily be found evenin to-date’s school practice.
To refer tosome of the numerous examples of this kind, let us consider the well-known ruleof the English article stating that the noun which denotes an object «alreadyknown» by the listener should be used with definite article. Observe,however, English sentences taken from me, works of distinguished authorsdirectly contradicting "I’ve just read a book of yours about Spain but I wanted to ask you about it" – «It’s not a very good book, I’m afraid»(S.Maugham). I feel a good deal of hesitation about telling you this storylike other stories I have been telling you; it is a true story(J.K.Jerome).
Or let us takethe rule forbidding the use of the continuous tense – forms with the verb beas a link, as well as with verbs of perceptions. Here are examples to thecontrary.
My holidayat Crome isn’t being a disappointment (A.Huxley). For the first time,Bobby felt, he was really seeing the man (A.Christie).
The givenexamples of English articles and tenses, though not agreeing with above «prescriptions»,contain no grammar mistakes in them.
The saidtraditional view of the purpose of grammar has lately been re-stated by somemodern tends in linguistics. In particular scholars belonging to these trendspay much attention to artificially contructing and analyzing incorrectutterances with the aim of a better formulation of the rules for «theconstruction» of correct ones. But their examples and deductions, too, areoften at variance with real facts of lingual usage.
Worthy of noteare the following two artificial utterances suggested as far back as 1956. Colourlessgreen ideas sleep furiously. Furiously sleep ideas green colourless.
According tothe idea of their creation, the American scholar N.Chomsky, the first of theutterances, although nonsensical logically, was to be classed as grammaticallycorrect; while the second one, consisting of the same words placed in thereverse order, had to be analyzed as a disconnected, enumeration a «non-sentence».Thus, the examples, by way of contrast, were intensely demonstrative of thefact that grammar as a whole amounted to a set of non-semantic rules ofsentence formation.
However, acouple of years later this assessment of the lingual value of the givenutterances was disputed in an experimental investigation with informantsnatural speakers of English, who could not come to a unanimous conclusion aboutthe correctness or incorrectness of both of them. In particular, some of theinformants classed the second utterance as «sounding like poetry».
To understandthe contradictions between the bluntly formulated «rules» arereality, as well as to evaluate properly the results of informant tents likethe mentioned above, we must bear in mind that the true grammatical rules orregularities cannot be separated from the expression of meanings; on thecontrary they are themselves meaningful. Namely they are connected with themost general and abstract parts of content inherent in the elementsof language.These parts of content, together with the formal meanings thorough which theyare expressed are treated by grammarians interms of «grammaticalcategories» such are, for instance, the categories of number or mood inmorphology, the categories of meaningful, it becomes clear that the rules ofgrammar must be stated semantically, or more specifically, they must be wordedfunctionally. For example, it would be fallacious to state without any furthercomment that the inverted word order in the English declarative sentence isgrammatically incorrect. Word order as an element of grammatical form is ladenwith its own meaningful functions. It can express, in particular, thedifference between the control idea of the utterance and the marginal ideabetween emotive and un emotive modes of speech, between different types ofstyle. Thus, if the inverted word order in a given sentence does express thesefunctions, then its use should be considered as quite correct. E.g. In thecentre of room, under the chandelier, as become a host, stood the head of thefamily, old Jolyon himself (J.Galsworthy)
The wordagreement in the utterance expresses a narrative description, with the centralinformative element placed in the strongest semantic position in narration,i.e. at the end. Compare the same sort of arrangement accompanying a plainerpresentation of subject matter: Inside on a wooden bunk laid a young Indianwoman (E.Hemingway).
Compare,further the following:
And evendid his soul; tempt him with evil, and whisper of terrible things. Yet did itnot prevail against him, so great was the power of his love (O.Wilde). Here theinventor word order is employed to render intense emphasis in a legend –stylized narration. One thing and one thing only could she do for him(R.Kipling). Inversion in this course case is used to express emotionalintensification on the central idea.
Examples ofthis and similar kinds will be found in plenty in Modern English literary textsof good style repute.
The nature ofgrammar as a constituent part of language is better understood in the light ofexplicity discriminating the two places of language, namely, the plane ofcontext and the plane of expression.
The pane ofcontext comprises the purely semantic elements contained in language while theplane of expression comprises the material units of language taken bythemselves, apart from the meanings rendered by them. The two planes areinseparably connected, so that no meaning can be realized without some materialmeans of expression. Grammatical elements of language present a unity ofcontent and expression (or in some what more familiar terms, a unity of formand meaning). In this the grammatical elements, though the quality ofgrammatical meanings as we have stated above, is different in principle fromthe quality of lexical meanings.
On the otherhand, the correspondence between the planes of context and expression is verycomplex, and it is peculiar to each language. This complexity is clearlyillustrated by the phenomena of polysemy, homonymy and synonymy.
In cases ofpolysemy and homonymy two or more units of the plane of content correspond toone unit of the plane of expression. For instance, the vertically renders thegrammatical meanings of habitual action, notion at the present moment actiontaken as a general truth homonymically renders the grammatical meanings of thethird person singular of the verbal present tense, the plural form of the noun,the possessive form of the noun i.e. several units of plane of content.
In cases ofsynonymy; conversely, two or more units of the plane of expression correspondunits of the plane of expression correspond to one unit of the plane ofcontent. For instance, the forms of the verbal future indefinite, futurecontinuous and present continuous can in certain contexts synonymically renderthe meaning of a future action.
Taking intoconsideration the discrimination between the two planes, we may say that thepurpose of grammar as a linguistic discipline is, in the long run, to discloseand formulate the regularities of the correspondence between the plane ofcontent and the plane expression in the formation of utterances out of thestocks of words as part of the process of speech production.
Modern linguisticslay on a special stress on the systematic character of language and all itsconstituent parts. In accentuates the idea that language is a system of signswhich are closely interconnected and independent. Units of immediateinterdepencies within the framework of all the lingual signs are to giveexpression of human thoughts. The systematic nature of grammar is probably moreevident than that of any other sphere of language, since grammar is responsiblefor the very organization of the informative content of utterances. Due to thefact, even the earliest grammatical treatises, within the cognitive limits oftheir times disclosed some systematic features of the described material. Butthe scientifically sustained and consistent principles of systematic approachto language and its grammar were essentially developed in the linguistics ofthe twentieth century, namely, after the publicationb of the works by theRussian scholar Beaudion de Courtenay and the Swiss scholar Ferdinand deSaussure. These two great men demonstrated the difference between lingualsynchrony and diachrony and defined language as a synchronic system ofmeaningful elements at any stage of its historical evolution.
On the basisof discriminating synchrony and diachrony, the difference between languageproper and speech proper can be strictly defined, which is of crucialimportance for the identification of the object of linguistic science.
Language inthe narrow sense of the word is a system of means of expression, while speechin the same narrow sense should be understood as the manifestation of thesystem of language in the process of intercourse.
The system oflanguage includes, on the one hand, the body of material units sounds,morphemes, words, word-groups; on the other hand, the regularities or «rules»of the use of these units. Speech comprises both the act of producingutterances, and the utterances and the utterances themselves, i.e. the text.Language and speech are inseparable; they form together an organization unity.As for grammar, being an integpart of the lingual marcosystem it dymamicallyconnects language with speech, because it categorically determines the lingualprocess of utterance production.
Thus, we havethe broad philophical concept of language which is analyzed by linguistics intotwo different aspects into two different aspects – the system of signs and theuse of signs. The generalizing term «language» is also preserved in linguistics,showing the unity of these two aspects.
The signs inthe system of language have only a potential meaning. In speech, the potentialmeaning of the lingual sign is «actualized», i.e. made situationallysignificant as part of the grammatically organized text.
Lingual unitsstand to one another in two fundamental types of relations: syntagmatic andparadigmatic.
Syntagmaticrelations are immediate linear relations between units in a segmental sequence.E.g.: the spaceship was launched without the help of a booster rocket.
In thissentence syntagmatically connected are the words and word-groups "thespaceship", «was launched», «the spaceship was launched»,«was launched without the help», «the help of a rocket», «abooster rocket».
Morphemeswithin the words are also connected syntagmatically. E.g.: spaceship,launched, without, booster
Phonemes areconnected syntagmatically within morphemes and words, s well as at variousjuncture points.
Thecombination of two words or word-groups one of which is modified by the otherforms a unit which is referred to as a syntactic «syntagma». Thereare four main types of national syntagmas: predicate (the combination of asubject and a predicate), objective (the combination of a verb and its object),attributive (the combination of a noun and its attribute), adverbial (thecombination of a modified notional word, such as a verb, adjective, or adverb,with its adverbial modifier).
Sincesyntagmatic relations are actually observed in utterances, they are describedby the Latin formula as relations «in praesentia».
The other typeof relations, opposed to syntagmatic and called «paradigmatic», aresuch as exist between elements of the system outside the strings where theyco-occur. These intra-systematic relations and dependencies find theirexpression in the fact that each lingual unit is included in a set or series ofconnections based on different formal and functional properties.
In the sphereof phonology such series are built up by the correlations of phonemes on thebasis of vocality or consonantism voicedness or devoicedness, the factor ofnazalisation, the factor of length, etc. In the sphere of the vocabulary theseseries are founded on the correlations of synonymy and antonymy, on varioustopical connections, on different word-building dependencies. In the domain ofgrammar series of related forms realize grammatical numbers and cases, personsand tenses, gradations of modalities, sets of sentence – patterns of variousfunctional destination, etc.
Unlikesyntagmatic relations, paradigmatic relations cannot be directly observed inutterances, that is why they are referred to as relations «in obsentia»(in the absence).
Paradigmaticrelations conxist with syntagmatic relations in such a way that some sort ofsyntagmatic connections is necessary for the realization of any paradigmaticseries. This is especially evident in a classical grammatical paradigm whichpresents a productive series of forms each consisting of a syntagmaticconnection of two elements one common for the whole of the series, the otherspecific for every individual form in the series (grammatical feature –onflexion, suffix, and auxiliary word). Grammatical paradigms express variousgrammatical categories.
The minimalparadigm consists of two forms – stages. This kind of paradigm we see, forinstance, in the expression of the category of number boy – boys. A morecomplex paradigm series, i.e. into the correspondence sub paradigma (ofnumerous paradigmatic series constituting the system of the finite verb). Inother words, with paradigms, the same as with, systematically organizedmaterial, macro and micro – series are to be discriminated.
Units oflanguage are divided into segmental and suprasegmental. Segmental units consistof various status (syllable, morpheme, words, etc) such rasegmantel units donot exist by themselves, but are realized together with segmental units areexpress different modificational meanings which are reflected on the strings ofsegmental units. To the supra-segmental units belong intonations, accents,pauses, and patterns of word-order.
The segmentalunits of language form a hierarchy of levels. This hierarchy is of a kind thatunits of any higher lever are analyzable into units of the immediate lowerlevel. Thus, morphemes are decomposed into phonemes, words are decomposed intomorphemes, phrases are decomposed into words, etc.
But thishierarchical reation is by no means reduced to the mechanical composition oflonger units from smaller ones; units of each level are characterized by theirown, specific functional features which provide for the very recognition of thecorresponding levels of language.
The lowestlevel of lingual segments is phonemic, it is formed by phonemes as the materialelements of the higher level segments. The phoneme has no meaning, its functionis purely differential; it differentiates morphemes and words as materialbodies. Since the phoneme has no meaning, it is not a sign.
Phonemes arerepresented by letters in writing. Since the letter has a representativestatus, it is a sign, though different in principle from the level-formingsigns of language.
Units of allthe higher levels of language are meaningful; they are called «signemes»as opposed to phonemes.
The levellocated above the phonemic one is the morphemic level. The morphemic is theelementary meaningful part of the word. It is built up by phonemes, so that theshortest morphemes include only one phoneme. E.g.: ros-y [i]; a-fire[ә]; come-s[z].
The morphemeexpresses abstract, «significative» meanings which are used asconstituents for the formation of more concrete, «nominative»meanings of words.
The thirdlevel is the level of phrases (word-groups), or phrasemic level.
Tolevel-forming phrase types belong combinations of two or more notional words.These combinations like separate words; have a nominative function, but theyrepresent the referent of nomination as a complicated phenomena, be it aconcrete thing, an action, a quality or a whole situations. Cf., respectively:a picturesque village, the unexpected arrival by separate words.
Notionalphrases may be of a stable type and ofa free type. The stable phrases form thephraseological part of the lexicon, and are studied by the the phraseselogicaldivision of lexicology. Free phrases are built up in the process of speech onthe existing productive models, and are studied in the lower division ofsyntax. The grammatical description of phrases is sometimes called smaller syntax,in distinction to «large syntax» studying the sentence and itstextual connections.
Above thephrasemic level the level of sentences, or «proposemic» level.
The peculiarcharacter of the sentence as a signemec unit of language consists in the factthat, naming a certain situation, or situational event, it expressesprediction, i.e. shows the relation of the denoted event to reality. Namely, itsows hether this event is real or unreal, desirable or obligatory, stated as atruth or asked about, etc. In this sense, as different from the word and thephrase, the sentence is predicative unit. Cf.: to receive – to receive aletter. – Early in June I received a letter from Peter Melcrose.
The sentenceis produced by the speaker in the procedd of speech as a conrete, situationallybound utterance. At the same time it enters the system of language by itssyntactic pattern which all as the syntagmatic and paradigmaticcharacteristics.
But thesentence is not the highest unit of language in the hierarchy og levels. Abovethe proposemic level there is still another one, namely, the level ofsentence-groups «supra-segmental constructions». For the sake ofunified terminology, this level can be called «supra-proposemic».
Thesupra-sentential construction is a combination of separate sentences forming atexual unity. Such combinations are subject to regular lingual patterningmaking them into syntactic elements. The syntactic process by which sentencesare connected into textual unities is analyzed under the heading of cumulation.Cumulation, the same as formation of composite sentences, can be both syndeticand asyndetic. Cf.: He went on with his interrupted breakfast .Lisette didnot speak and there was silence between them. But his appetite satisfied, hismood changed; he began to feel sorry for himself rather than angry with her,and with a strange ignorance of woman’s heart he thought to arouse Lissete’sremorse by exhibiting himself as an object of pity (S.Maugham).
In the typedtext, the supra-sentential construction commonly coincides with the paragraph.However, unlike the paragraph, this type of lingual signeme is realized notonly in a written text, but also in all the varities of oral speech, sinceseparate sentences, as a rule, are included in a distance not singly, but incombinations, revealing the corresponding connections of thoughts incommunicative progress.
We havesurveyed six levels of language, each identified by its own functional units.If we now carefully observe the functional status of the forming segments, wecan distinguish between them more self-sufficient and the latter being definedonly in relation to the functions of other level units. Indeed, the phonemic,lexemic and proposemic levels from the functional points of view: the functionof the phoneme is deferential, the function of the word is nominative, thefunction of the sentence is predicative. As deferent from these, morphemes areidentified only as significative compounds of words, phrases presentpolynominative combinations of words, and supra-sentential constructions markthe transition from the sentence to the text.
Furthermore,bearing in mind that the phonemic level forms the sub foundation of language,i.e. the non-meaningful matter of meaningful expressive means, the two notionsof grammatical description shall be pointed out as central even within theframework of the structural hierarchy of language. These are, first the notionof the word and, second, the notion of the sentence. The first is analyzed bymorphology wich is the grammatical teaching of the word; the second is analyzedby syntax, which is the grammatical teaching of the sentence.
1.2 Generalnotion of the problem of grammatical categories in English Grammar
The immediateexpression of grammatical time, or «tense», is one of the typicalfunctions of the finite verb. It is typical because the meaning of process,inherently embedded in the verbal lexeme, finds the complete realization only ifpresented in certain time conditions. That is why the expression ornon-expression of grammatical time, together with the expression ornon-expression of grammatical mood in person-form presentation constitutes thebasis of the verbal category of finitude, i.e. the basis of the division of allthe forms of the verb into finite and non-finite.
When speakingof the expression of time exposes it as the universal form of the continualconsecutive change of phenomena, time, as well as, space is the basic forms ofthe existence of matter, they both are ineluctable properties of reality and assuch are absolutely independent of human perception. On the other hand, likeother objective factors of the universe, time is reflected by man through hisperceptions and intellect, and finds its expression in his language.
It is butnatural that time as the universal form of consecutive change of things shouldbe appraised by the individual in reference to the moment of his immediateperception of the outward reality. This moment of immediate perception, or «presentmoment», which is continually shifting in time, and the linguistic contentof which is the «moment of speech», serves as the democration linebetween the past and the future. All the lexical expressions of time, accordingto as they refer or do not refer the denoted points or periods of time,directly or obliquely to this moment are divided into «present oriented»or «absolutives» expressions of time.
The absolutetime denotation in compliance with the experience gained by man in the courseof his cognitive activity distributes the intellective perception of time amongthree spheres the sphere of the present with the present moment included withinits framework the sphere of the present by way of retrospect; the sphere of thepresent day by way of prospect.
Thus, wordsand phrases like now, last week, in our century, in the past, in the yearsto come, very soon, yesterday, in a couple days, giving a temporialcharacteristic to an event from the point of view of its orientation inreference to the present moment, are absolute names of time.
Thenon-absolute time denotation does not characterize an event in terms oforientation towards the present. This kind of denotation may be either «relative»or «factual».
The relativeexpression of time correlates two or more events showing some of them either aspreceding the others, or following the others, or happening at one and the sametime with them. Here belong such words and phrases as after that, before that,at one and the same time with, so time later, at an interval of a day, ordifferent times, etc.
The factualexpression of time either directly states the astronomical time of an event, orelse conveys this meaning in terms of historical landmarks. Under this headingshould be listed such words and phrases as in the year 1966, during the timeof the First World War, at the epoch of Napaleon, at the early period ofcivilization.
In the contextof real speech the above types of time of naming are used in combination withone another, so that the denoted event receives many sided and very exactcharacterization regarding its temporal status.
Of all thetemporal meanings conveyed by such detailing lexical denotation of temporalmeaning conveyed by such detailing lexical denotation of time, the finite verbgeneralizes in its categorical forms only the most abstract significations,taking them as dynamic characteristics of the reflected process. The fundamentaldivisions both absolute time and of non-absolute relative time find in the verba specific presentation, idiomatically different from one language to another.The form of this presentation is dependent, the same as with the expression ofother grammatical meanings, on the concrete semantic features chosen by alanguage as a basis for the functional differention within the verb lexeme. Andit is the verbal expressions of abstract, grammatical time that forms thenecessary background serving as a universal temporal «polarizer» and «leader»,the marking of time would be utterly inadequate. Indeed, what informativecontent should be following passage convey with all its lexical indications oftime, if it were with all its lexical indications of time achieved through theforms of the verb – the unit of the lexicon which the German grammarians verysignificantly call «zuwort» – the «time word».
My ownbirthday passed without ceremony, I would as usual, in the morning and in theafternoon went for a walk in the solitary woods behind my house. I have neverbeen able to discover what it is that gives these woods their mysteriousattractiveness. They are like no woods I have ever known (S.Maugham).
In ModernEnglish, the grammatical expression of verbal time, i.e. tense, is effected intwo correlated stages. At the first stage, the process receives an absolutetime characteristic by means of apposing the past tense to the present tense.
The markedmember of the opposition is the past form. At the second stage, the processreceives a non- absolute relative time characteristic by means of opposing theforms of the future tense to the forms of no future making. Since the twostages of the denotation are expressed separately, by their own oppositionalforms and besides, have essentially different orientation characteristics, itstands to reason to recognize in the system of the English verb not one but twotemporal categories. Both of them answer the question: in the «what is theterming of the process?» But the first category, having the past tense asits strong member, expresses a direct retrospective evalution of the time ofthe event reflected on the utterance finds its adequated location in thetemporal context, showing all the distinctive propeties of the lingual presentationof time mentioned above.
In accord withoppositional marking of the two temporal categories under analysis, we shallcall the first of them the category of «prospective time», orcontractedly prospect.
The categoryof primary time, as has just been stated, provides for the absolutiveexpression of the time of the process denoted by the verb, i.e. such anexpression of it as given its evolution, in the long run, in reference to themoment of suffix –(e)d, nemic interchange of more or less individual specifications.The suffix marks the verbal form of the past time leaving the opposite is to berendered by the formula «the past tense – the present tense», thelatter member representing the non-fast tense according to the acceptedoppositional interpretation.
The specificfeatures of the category of primary time, that it divides all the tense formsof the English verb into two temporal planes: the plane of the present and theplane of the past, which affect also the future forms very important in thisrespect is the structural nature of the expression of the category: thecategory of primary time is the only verbal category of primary time is onlythe category of immanent order which is expressed by inflexional forms. Theseinflexion forms of the past and present coexist in the same verb+entry tospeech with the other, analytical models of various categorical expression,including the futures; on the other hand, the future of the present, isprospected from the present; on the other hand, the future of by the speakerthe meaning of the present with this connotation will be conveyed by suchphrases at this very moment, or this instant, or exactly now, or some otherphrase like that. But an utterance like «now while i’m speaking»breaks the notion of the zero time proper, since the speaking process is not amomentary but a durative element. Furthermore, the present will still be thepresent if we relate to such vast periods of time as this month, this year,in our epoch, in the present millennium, etc. The denoted stretch of timemay be prolonged by a collocation like that beyond any definite limit. Stillfurthermore, in utterances of general truths as for instance, «Two plustwo makes four» or «The sun is a star», the idea of time as suchis almost suppressed the implication of constancy, unchangeability of the truthat all times being made prominent. The present tense as the verbal form ofgeneralized meaning covers all these denotations, showing the present time inrelation to the process as inclusive of the moment of speech incorporating thismoment within its definite or indefinite stretch and opposed to the past time.
Thus, if wesay, «Two plus two makes four», the linguistic implication of it is «always,and so at the moment of speech». If we say «I never take his advice»,we mean linguistically «at no time in terms of the current state of myattitude towards him, and so at the present moment». If we say, «Inour millennium social formations change quicker than in the previous periods ofman’s history», the linguistic temporal content of it is «in ourmillennium, that is, in the millennium including the moment of speech».This meaning is the invariant of the present, developed from its categoricalopposition to the past, and it penetrates the uses of the finite verb in allits forms, including the perfect, the future, and the continuous.
Indeed, if theradio carries the news, «The two suspected terrorists have been taken intocustody by the police», the implication of the moment of speech refers tothe direct influence or after-effects of the event announced. Similarly thestatement «You will be informed about the decision later in the day»describes the event, which although it ahs not yet happened, is prospected intothe future from the present, i.e. prospection itself incorporates the moment ofspeech. As for the present continuous its relevance for to present moment itself-evident.
This, theanalyzed meaning of the verbal present arises as a result of its immediatecontrast with the past form which shows the exclusion of the action from theplane of the present and so the action itself as capable of being perceived allthe verbal forms of the past, including the perfect, the future and thecontinuous. Due to the marked character of the past verbal form, the saidquality of its meaning does not require special demonstration.
Worthy ofnote, however, are utterances where the meaning of the past tense stands incontrast with the meaning of some adverbial phrase reffering the event to thepresent moment. Cf.: Today again I spoke to Mr. Jones on the matter, andagain he failed to see the urgency of it.
The seeminglinguistic paradox of such cases consists exactly in the fact that theirtwo-typed indications of time, one verbal grammatical and one adverbial-lexicalapproach the same event from two of opposite analysis. But there is nothingirrational here. As a matter of fact, the utterances present instances oftwo-plane temporal evaluation of the event described: the verb-form shows theprocess as part and gone, i.e. physically disconnected from the resent as forthe adverbial modifier, it presents the past eent as a particular happening,belonging to a more general time situation which is stretch out up to thepresent moment inclusive, and possibly past the present moment into the future.
A casedirectly opposite to the one shown above is seen in the transpositional use ofthe present tense of the verb with the past adverbials, either included in theutterance as such, or else expressed in its contextual environment. E.g.: Thenhe turned the corner and what do you think happens next? He faces nobody elsethan Mr. Greggs accompanied by his private secretary!
The stylisticpurpose of this transposition, known under the name of the «historicpresent» is to create a vivid picture of the event reflected in theutterance. This is achieved in strict accord with the functional meaning of theverbal present, sharply contrasted against the general background of the planeof the utterance content.
Thecombination of the verbs shall and will with the infinitive have of late becomesubject of renewed discussion. The controversial point about them is wetherthese combinations really constitute, together with the forms of the past andpresent, the categorical expression of verbal tense, are jus modal phraseswhose expression of the future time does not differ in essence from the generalfuture orientation of other combinations of modal verbs with the infinitive.The view that shall and will retain their modal meanings in all their uses wasdefended by such a recognized authority on English grammar of the oldergeneration of the twentieth century linguists as O.Jesperson. 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, «modalauxiliaries» expressing the meanings of capability, probability,permission, obligation, and the like.
A wellgrounded objection is against the inclusion of the constructionwill+Infinitive. In the tense system of the verb on the same basis as the formsof the present and the past has been advanced by L.S.Barhudarov. His objectionconsists in the demonstration of the double making of this would be tense formby one and the same category; the combinations in question can express at onceboth the future form time and past form time which hardly makes any sense interms of a grammatical category. Indeed, the principle of the identification ofany grammatical category demands that the forms of thecategory in normal useshoul be mutually exclusive. The category is constituted by the opposition ofits forms, not by their co-opposition.
However, reconsideringthe status of construction shall/will+Infinitive in the eight of oppositionalapproach, we see that, far from comparing with the past – present verbal formsas the third member – form of the category of primary time, it marks its owngrammatical category, namely, that of prospective time. The meaningful contrastunderlying the category of prospect time is between an after action and non-after-action. The after-action or the future having its shall/will – feature,constitutes the marked member of the opposition.
The categoryof prospect is also temporal, in so far as it is immediately connected with theexpression of processual time, like the category of primary time. But thesemantic basis of the category of prospect is different in principle from thatof the category of primary time: while the primary time is absolutive, i.e.present – oriented the prospective time is purely relative; it means that thefuture form of the verb only shows that the denoted process id prospected as anafter-action relative to some other action or state or event, the timing ofwhich marks the zero-level for it. The two are presented, as it were, inprospective coordination: one is shown as prospected for the future, the futurebeing relative to the primary time either present or past. As a result, theexpression of the future receives the two mutually complementarymanifestations: one manifestation for the present time – plane of the verb, theother manifestation for the past time – plane of the verb. In other words, theprocess of the verb is characterized by the category of prospect irrespectiveof its primary time characteristics, or rather as addition to thischaracteristic, and this is quite similar to all the other categories capableof entering the sphere of verbal time, e.g. the category of development(continuous in opposition), the category of retrospective coordination (perfectin opposition), the category of voice (passive in opposition): the respectiveforms of all these categories also have the past and present versions, to whichin due course, are added the future and non0future versions. Consider thefollowing examples: 1) I was making a road and all the coolest stunk. 2)None of us doubted in the least that Aunt Emma would soon be marveling againat Eustace’s challenging success. 3) The next thing she wrote she sentto a magazine, and for many weeks worried about what would happen to it. 4)She did not protest for she had given up the struggle. 5) Felix knewthat they would have settled the dispute by the time he could be ready to havehis say. 6) He was being watched chased by that despicable going ofhirelings.
As we havealready stated before, the future tenses reject the do-forms of the indefiniteaspect, which are confined to the expression of the present and past verbaltimes only. This fact serves as a supplementary ground for the identificationof the expression of protest as a separate grammatical category.
Of course, itwould be an ill turn to grammar if one tried to introduce the above circumstationalterminology with all its pedantic strings of «non’s» into theelementary teaching of language. The stringed categorical «non-terms»are apparently too redundant to be recommended for ordinary use even at anadvaced level of linguistic training. What is achieved by this kind ofterminology, however, is a comprehensive indication of the categorical statusof verb-forms under analysis in a compact tense presentation. Thus whenever apresentation like that is called for, the terms will be quite in their place.
In analyzingthe English future tenses the modal factor naturally should be through takeninto consideration. A certain modal colouring of the meaning of the Englishfuture cannot be denied especially in the verbal form of the first person. Butthen, as is widely known, the expression of the future in other languages isnot disconnect from modal semantics either and this is conditioned by the merefact that the future action, as different from the present or past action, asdifferent from the present or past action, cannot be looked upon as a genuinefeature of reality. Indeed, it is only foreseen, or anticipated, or planned, ordesired, or otherwise prospected for the time to come. In this quality, theRussian future tense does not differ in principle from the verbal future ofother languages, including English, suffice it to give a couple of exampleschosen at random:
Я буду рассказывать тебеинтересные истории. Расскажу о страшных кометах, о битве воздушных кораблей, огибели прекрасной страны по ту строну гор. Тебе не будет скучно любить меня(А.Толстой). Немедленно на берег.
The future offorms of the verbs in the future of the above Russian examples clearlyexpresses promise; those in the second examples render a command.
Moreover, inthe system of the Russian tenses there is a specialized modal form ofanalytical future expressing intention (the combination of the verb стать with the imperfective infinitive). E.g. Что же вы теперь хотите делать? – Тебе это не касается чтоя стану делать. Я план обдумываю. (А.Толстой)
Within theframework of the universal meaningful feature of the verbal future, the futureof the English verb is highly specific in so far as its auxiliaries in theirvery immediate etymology are words of obligation and tne survival of therespective connotations in them in backed by the inherent quality of the futureas such. Still on the whole, the English categorical future of differsdistinctly from the modal constructions with the same predicator verbs.
In theclear-out modal uses of the verbs shall and will the idea of the future eitheris not expressed at all or else is only rendered by way of textual connotation,the central semantic accent being laid on the expression of obligation,necessary, inevitability, promise, intention, desire. These meanings may beeasily seen both on the examples of ready phraseological citation, and genuineeveryday conversation exchanges.
The modalnature of the shall/will+Infinitive combinations in the cited examples can beshown by means of equivalent substitution:
® Hewho does not work must not eat either… ® All right Mr.Crackenthorpe, I promise to have it cooked… ® None are so deaf thosewho do not want to hear…® I intend not to allow a woman to come near the place.
A counting forthe modal meanings of the combinations under analysis, traditional grammargives the following rules: shall + Infinitive with the first person, will +Infinitve with the second and the third persons express modal meanings, themost typical of which are intention or desire part for I will and promise orcommand on the part of the speaker for you shall, he will. Both rules apply torefined British English. In American English with all the persons, shall asexpressing modality.
However, thecited description, though distinguished by elegant simplicity, cannot be takenas fully agreeing with the existing lingual practice. The main feature of thisdescription contradicted by practice is the British use of will the firstperson without distinctly pronounced modal connotations. Cf.:
I will callfor you and your young man at seven o’clock. When we wake I will take him upand carry him back. I will let you know on Wednesday what expenses have beennecessary. If you wait there on Thursday evening between seven and eight I willcome if I can.
That thecombinations of will with the infinitive in the above examples do express thefuture time, admits of no disputes. Furthermore, these combinations, seemingly,are charged with modal connotations in no higher degree than the correspondingcombination of shall with the infinitive. Cf.:
Haven’t time, Ishall miss my train. I shall be happy to carry it to the House of Lords, ifnecessary. You never kow what may happen I shan’t have a minute’s peace.
Granted oursemantic institutions about the exemplified, uses are true, the question thenarises what is the real difference if any, between the two British first personexpressions of the future, on with shall the other one with will? Or are theyactually just semantic doublets, i.e. units of complete synonymy, bound if bythe paradigmatic relation of the alternation?
Observingcombinations with will instylisticall neutral collocations the first step ofour study we note the adverbial of time used with this construction. Theenvironmental expressions, as well as implications, of future time do testifythat from this point of view there is no difference between will and shall bothof them eqully conveying the idea of the future action expressed by theadjoining infinitive.
As our nextstep of inferences, nothing the types of the infinitive environmental semanticsof will in contrast to the contextual background of shall, we state that thefirst person will – future express an option does not at all imply that thespeaker actually wishes to perform the action or else that he is determined toperform it, possibly in defiance of some contrary force. The exposition of theaction shows it as being not bound or by any special influence except thespeaker’s option; this is exhaustive characteristic. In keeping with this, theform of the will- future in question may be tentatively called in «voluntaryfuture».
On other hand,comparing the environmental characteristics of shall with the correspondingenvironmental background of will it is easy to see that, as different from willthe first person shall expresses of future process that will be realized withoutthe will of the speaker, irrespective of his choice. Inform of the first personfuture should be referred to as the non-voluntary i.e. as the weak member ofthe corresponding opposition.
Furtherobservation of the relevant textual data show that some verbs constituting atypical environment of the non-voluntary shall-future occur also with thevoluntary will, but in a different meaning, namely in the meaning of an activeaction the performance of which is freely chosen by the speaker of. Yourarrival cannot have been announced to his majesty. I will see about it.
At the finalstage of our study the disclosed characteristics of the two first-personfutures are checked on the lines of transformal analysis. The method willconsist not in free structural manipulations with the analyzed constructions,but in the textual search for the respective changes of the auxiliariesdepending on the changes in the infinitival environment.
Applying theseprocedures to the texts, we note that when the construction of the voluntarywill – future is expanded a syntactic part re-modeling the whole collocationinto one expressing an indunatary action, the auxiliary will is automaticallyreplaced by shall. In particular, it happens when the expanding elements conveythe meaning of supposition or uncertainty. Cf.:
Give me agoddess’s work to do, and I shall do it. ® I don’t know what shalldo with Barbara. Oh, the only very well, very well. I will write anotherprescription. ® I shall perhaps write to your mother.
Thus, weconclude that within the system of the English future tense a peculiar minorcategory is expressed which affects only the forms of the first person. Thecategory is constituted by the opposition of the forms will+Infintive andshall+Infinitive expressing respectively the voluntary future and thenon-voluntary future.
The future inthe second and third persons, formed by the indiscriminate auxiliary will doesnot express this category, which is dependent on the semantics of the persons:normally it would be irrelevant to indicate in an obligatory way the aspect offuturity option otherwise than with first person, i.e. the person of self.
This categoryis neutralized in the contracted form –‘ll, which is of necessity indifferentto the expression of the futurity opposition. As is known, the traditionalanalysis of the contracted future states that –‘ll stands for will, not forshall. However, this view is not supported by textual data. Indeed, bearing inmind the results of our study, it is easy to demonstrate that the contractedforms of the future may be traced both to will and to shall.
Form theevidence afforted by the historical studies of the language we know that theEnglish contracted form of the future –ll has actually originated from theauxiliary will. So, in Modern English an interesting process of redistributionof the forms ha staken place, based apparently on the contamination will –‘ll–shall. As a result, the form –‘ll in the first person expresses not the same «pure»future as it the expresses by the indiscriminate will in the second and thirdpersons.
The describedsystem of the British future is by for more complicated than the expression ofthe future tense in the other notional variants of English in particular, inAmerican English where the future form of the first person is functionallyequal with the other persons. In British English a possible tendency to asimilar leveled expression of the future is actively counteractions of thefuture auxiliarities in the negative form, i.e. shan’t and survival of shall inthe first person against the leveled positive contraction –ll’. The second isthe use of the future tense in interrogative sentences where the first persononly shall is normally used. Indeed it is quite natural that a genuine questiondirected by the speaker to himself, i.e. a question directed by the speaker tohimself, i.e. a question showing doubt or speculation, is to be asked about anaction of non-wilful, involuntary order, and not otherwise. Cf.: what shall webe shown next? Shall I be able to master shorthand professionally? The questionwas, should I see Beatrice again before her departure.
The semanticsof the first person futurity question is such that even the infinitives ofessentially volution governed actions are transferred here to the plane ofnon-volution, subordinating themselves to the general implication of doubt,hesitation, and uncertainty.
Apart fromshall/will+Infinitive construction, there is another construction in Englishwhich the framework of the general problem of the future tense. This is thecombination of the predicator be going with the infinitive. Indeed, the highfrequency occurrence of this construction in contexts conveying the idea of animmediate future action can’t but draw a vey close attention on the part of alinguistic observer.
Thecombination may denote a sheer intention to perform the action expressed by theinfinitive thus entering into the vast set of «classical» modalconstructions.
I’m goingto ask you a few more questions about the mysterious disappearance of thedocument. Mr.Greff. he looked across at my desk and I thought for a moment hewas going to give me the treatment too.
But thesesimple modal uses of be going are countered by cases the direct meaning ofintention rendered by the predicator stands in contradiction with itsenvironmental implications and is subdued by them. Cf.: You are trying tofrighten me. But are not going to frighten me any more (L.Helman). I didnot know now I was going to get out of the room (D.du.Mawren).
Moreover, theconstruction dispute its primary meaning of intention presupposing a humansubject is not infrequently used with non-human subjects is not infrequentlyasked used with non0human subjects and even in impersonal sentences. Cf.: Sheknew what she was doing and she was sure going to be the worth doing(W.Sarayan). There is going to be a contest over Ezra Grolley’s estate(E.Gardener).
Because ofthese properties it would appear tempting to class the construction in questionas a specific tense form, namely, the tense form of «immediate future»,analogous to the French future immadiat (Le spectacle va carn mencer).
Still, oncloser consideration, we notice that non-intention cases of the predicator begoing are not indifferent stylistically. Far from being neutral, they moreoften than not display emotional coloring mixed with semantic connotations ofoblique modality.
For instance,when the girl from the first of the above examples appreciates something as «goingto be worth doing; she is expressing her assurance of its being so. When onelabels the rain as „never going to stop“ one clearly expresses one’sannoyance at the bad state of the weather. When a future event is introduced bythe formula „there to be going to be“, as is the case in the secondof the cited examples, the speaker clearly implies his foresight of a likenature. Thus, on the whole, the non-intention uses of the construction begoing+Infinitive cannot be rationally divided into modal and non-modal, onthe analogy of the construction shall/will+Infinitive. It broadercombinability is based on semantic transposition and can be likened to broaderuses of the modal collocation be about, also of basically intentionsemantics.
Theoppositional basis of the category of perspective time is neutralized incertain uses, in keeping with the general regularities of oppositionalreductions. The process of neutralization is connected with the shifting of theforms of primary time (present and past) from the sphere of absolute tensesinto the sphere of relative tenses.
One of thetypical cases of the neutralization in question consists in using a non-futuretemporal form to express a future action which is to take place according tosome plan or arrangement. Cf.: The government meets in emergency sessiontoday over the question of continued violations of the cease-fire. I hear yoursister is soon arriving from Paris? Naturally I would like to know when he’scoming, etc.
This case ofoppositional reduction is oppositional; the equivalent reconstruction of thecorrelated member of the opposition is nearly always possible. Cf.: Thegovernment will meet in emergency session…®Your sister will soonarrive from Paris? ®When will he be coming?
Another typeof neutralization of the prospective time opposition is observed in modal verbsand modal word combinations. The basic peculiarity of these units bearing onthe expression of time is, that the prospective implication is inherentlyin-built in their semantics, which reflects not the action expressed by theinfinitive. For that reason, the present verb-form of these units actuallyrenders the idea of the future. Cf.: There is no saying what may happen next.At any rate, the woman was sure to come later in the day. But do you have topresent the report before Sunday, there’s no alternative.
Sometimes theexplicit expression of the future is necessary even with modal collocations. Tomake up for the lacking categorical forms, special modal substitutes have beendeveloped in language, some of which have received the status of suppletiveunits. Cf.: But do not make plans with David. You will not be able to carrythem out. Things will have to go one way or the other.
Alongside ofthe above and very different from them, there is still another typical case ofneutralization of the analyzed categorical opposition, which is strictlyobligatory. It occurs in clauses of time and condition. Whose verb-predicateexpresses a future action? Cf.: If things turn out as has been arranged, thetriumph will be all ours. I repeated my request to notify me at once wheneverthe messenger arrived.
The lattertype of neutralization is syntactically conditioned. In point of fact, theneutralization consists here in the primary tenses shifting from the sphere ofabsolutive time into the sphere of relative time, since they become dependentnot on their immediate orientation towards the moment of speech, but on therelation to another time level, namely, the time level presented in thegoverning clause of corresponding complex sentence.
This kind ofneutralizing relative use of absolutive tense forms occupies a restrictedposition in the integral tense system of English. In Russian, the syntacticrelative use of tenses is, on the contrary, widely spread. In particular, thisrefers to the presentation of reported speech in the plane of past, where theRussian present tense is changed into the tense of similarity, the past tenseis changed into the tense of priority, and the future tense is changed in thetense of prospected posteriority. Cf.: 1) Он сказал, что изучает немецкий язык. 2) Он сказал, чтоизучал немецкий язык. 3) Он сказал, что будет изучать немецкий язык.
In English,the primary tenses in similar syntactic condition retain their absolutivenature and are used in keeping with their direct, unchangeable meanings.Compare the respective translations of the examples cited above: 1) He saidthat he was learning German. 2) He said that he had learned German. 3) he saidthat he would learn German.
It doesn’tfollow from this that rule of sequence of tenses in English complex sentencesformulated by traditional grammar should be rejected as false. Sequence oftenses is an important feature of all narration, for, depending in thecontinual consecutive course of actual events in reality; they are presented inthe text in definite successions ordered against a common general background.However, what should be stressed here is that the tense-shift involved in thetranslation of the present-plane reported information into the present0plane reportedinformation is not a formal, but essentially a meaningful procedure.
1.3 Generalnotion of the problem of voice in English Grammar
The verbalcategory of voice shows the direction of the process as regards theparticipants of the situation reflected in the syntactic construction.
The voice ofthe English verb is expressed by the opposition of the passive form of the verbto the active form of is the combination of the auxiliary be withthe past participle of the conjugated verb. The passive form as the strongmember of the opposition expresses reception of the action by the subject ofthe syntactic construction; the active form as the weak member of oppositionleaves this meaning unspecified, i.e. it expresses „non-passivity“.
In colloquialspeech the role of the passive auxiliary can occasionally be performed by theverb get and probably, become. Sam got lickedfor a good reason.
The categoryof voice has a much broader representation in the system of the English verbthat in the system of the Russian verb, since in English not only transitive,but also intransitive objective verbs including prepositional ones can be usedin the passive. Besides, verbs taking not one but two objects, as a rule, canfeature both of them in the position of the passive subject. E.g.: I’ve justbeen rung up by the police. The diplomat was refused transit facilities through London. She was undistributed by the frown on his face. Have you ever beentold that you’re very good looking? He was said to have been very wild in hisyouth. The dress has never been tried on. The child will be looked after allright. I won’t be talked to like this, etc.
Still, not allthe capable of taking an object are actually used in the passive. In particular,the passive form is alien to many verbs of the statal subclass, such as have,belong, cost, resemble, fail, and misgive, etc. thus, in accord with theirrelation to the passive voice all the verbs can be divided into two large sets:the set of passivised verbs and the set of non-passivised verbs.
A questionthen should be posed whether; the category of voice is a full-representativeverbal category, i.e. represented in the system of the verb as a whole, or apartial representative category, confined only to the passivised verbal set.Considerations of both form and function tend to interpret voice rather as afull-representative category, the same as person, number, tense and aspect.Three reasons can be given to back this appraisal.
First, theintegral categorical presentation of non-passivised verbs fully coincides withthat of passivised verbs used in the active voice; second, the active voice asthe weak member of the categorical opposition is characterized in general notby the „active“ meaning as such, but by the extensive non-passivemeaning of a very wide range of actual significations, some of them approachingby their process-direction characteristics those of non-passivised verbs.Third, the demarcation line between the passivised and non-passivised set is byno means rigid, and the verbs of the non-passivised order may migrate intopassivised order in various contextual conditions.
Thus, thecategory of voice should be interpreted as being reflected in the whole systemof verbs, the active voice form if not directly, then indirectly.
As a regularcategorical form of the verb the passive voice is combined in the same lexemewith other oppositionally strong forms of the verbal categories of thetense-aspect system, i.e. the past, the future, the continuous, the perfect.But it has a neutralizing effect on the category of development in the formswhere the auxiliary be must be doubly employed as a verbid, so that the futurecontinuous passive, as well as the prefect continuous passive are partically notused in speech. As a result, the future continuous active has as its regularcounterpart by the voice opposition the future indefinite passive; the perfectcontinuous active in all the tense-forms has as its regular counterpart theperfect indefinite passive. Cf.: The police will be keeping an army of reportsat bay. ® An army reporter will be kept at bay the police. We havebeen expecting the decision for a long time. ® The decision has been expectedfor a long time.
The categoryof voice differs radically from all the other hitherto considered categoriesfrom the point of view of its referential qualities. Indeed, all the previouslydescribed categories reflect various characteristics of process, both directand oblique, as certain facts of reality existing irrespective of the speaker’sperception. For instance, the verbal category of person expresses the personalrelation of the process. The category of prospect expresses the timing of theprocess from the point of view of its relation to the plane of posteriority.Finally, the analyzed aspects characterize the respective inner qualities ofthe process. So each these category does disclose some actual property of theprocess denoted by the verb, adding more and more particulars to the depictedprocessual situation. But we cannot say the same about the category of voice.
As a matter offact, the situation reflected by the passive construction does not differ inthe least from the situation reflected by the active construction – the natureof the process is preserved intact, the situational participants remain intheir places unchanged quality. It is clearly seen when comparing any pour ofconstructions one of which is passive counterpart of the other. Cf.: Theguards dispersed the crowd in font of the Presential Palace. – The crowd infont of the Presential Palace was dispersed by the guards.
In the twoconstructions, the guards as the doer of the action are the same; the same alsois the place of action, i.e. the space in front of the Place. The Presentationplanes, though are quite different with the respective constructions, they arein fact mutually reverse. Namely, the first sentence, by its functionaldestination, features the act of the guards, whereas the second sentence, inaccord with its meaningful purpose, features the experience of the crowd.
All thefunctional distinctions of the passive, both categorical and contextualconnotative are substained in its use with verbids.
The gerundialphrase that is given below conveying the principal categorical meaning of thepassive, suppresses the exposition of the indefinite subject of the process: Afterbeing wrongly delivered, the letter found its address at last.
The followingpassive participial construction: when the enemy batteries had been put out ofaction, our troops continued to push on the offensive. Cf.: the clausalequivalent of the construction: When the enemy batteries had been put out ofaction, our troops continued to push on the offensive.
The pastparticiple of the objective verb is passive in meaning and phrases built up byit display all the cited characteristics. E.g.: Seen from the valley, thecastle on the cliff presented a fantastic sight. Cf.: the clausal equivalent ofthe past participle range of the unmarked member of the voice opposition. Letus consider the following examples: I will shave and wash and be ready forbreakfast in half an hour. I’m afraid Mary hasn’t dressed up yet. Now I seeyour son is thoroughly preparing for the entrance examination.
The indicatedverbs in the given sentences are objective transitive, used absolutely in theform of the active voice. This kind of verbal meanings of the action performedby the subject upon it is classed as „reflexive“. The same meaningcan be rendered explicit by comparing the verb with the reflexive „self-pronoun“.Let us take examples of another type: The friends will be meeting tomorrow.Unfortunately, Nillie and Christopher divorced two years after theirmagnificent marriage. Are Phil and Glen quarreling again over their toy-cruiser?
The citedreflexive and reciprocal uses of verbs are open to consideration as specialgrammatical voices, called respectively, „reflexive“ and „reciprocal“.The reflexive and reciprocal pronouns within the framework of the hypotheticalvoice identification of the uses in question should be looked upon as the voiceauxiliaries.
To distinguishbetween the two cases of the considered phrasal-derivative process the formercan be classed as „organic“, the latter as „inorganic“reflexivization.
Thederivative, i.e. lexemic expressions of voice meanings may be likened, with duealteration of details, to the lexemic expression of aspective meaning. In thedomain of aspectuality we also find derivative aspects, having a set of lexicalmarkers and generalized as limitive and non-limitive.
Of course, thefactor of semantics as the criterion of the dynamic force of the constructionis quite in its place, since the dynamic force itself is a meaning factor of language.
But the „technically“grammatical quality of the construction is determined by the categorical andfunctional properties of its constituents, first and foremost, its participialpart. Thus, if this part, in principle, expresses processual verbality, howeverstatal it may be in its semantic core, then the whole construction should beunderstood as a case of the finite passive in the categorical sense. E.g.: Theyoung practitioner was highly esteemed in his district.
Thus, with theconstruction in question the context may have both voice-suppressing „statalising“effect and voice-stimulating „processualising“ effect. It is very interestingto note that the role of processualising stimulators of the passive can beperformed alongside of action-modifying adverbials, also by some categoricalforms of the verb itself, namely, by the future the continuous, and the perfect– i.e. by the forms of the time-aspect order other that the indefiniteimperfect past and present.
The fenceis painted. – The fence is painted light green. – The fence is to be painted. –The fence has just been painted. The fact that the indefinite to this graduation ofdynamism in passive constructions.
Chapter II.Contextual and functional features of the Passive forms in English and Russian
2.1 Theformation of the Passive Voice
The passivevoice is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to be in therequired form and Participle II of the notional verb.
a) Thepresent, past, future indefinite passive are formed by means of the present,past, and future indefinite of the auxiliary verb to be andParticiple II of the notional verb.The Present Ind. Passive The Past Ind. Passive The Future Ind. Passive I am invited I was invited I will be invited He is invited He was invited He will be invited We are invited We were invited We will be invited You are invited You were invited You will be invited They are invited They were invited They will be invited
b) Thepresent, past, future indefinite passive are formed by means of the present,past, and future pefect of the auxiliary verb to be andParticiple II of the notional verb.The Present Perfect Passive The Past Perfect Passive The Future Perfect Passive I have been invited I had been invited I will have been invited He has been invited He had been invited He will have been invited We have been invited We had been invited We will have been invited You have been invited You had been invited You will have been invited They have been invited They had been invited They will have been invited
c) Thepresent continuous, past continuous passive are formed by means of the presentcontinuous, past continuous of the auxiliary verb to be andParticiple II of the notional verb.
The present continuous passive The past continuous passive I am being invited I was being invited He is being invited He was being invited We are being invited We were being invited You are being invited You were being invited They are being invited They were being invited
The FutureContinuous, the Present Perfect Continuous, the Past Perfect Continuous and theFuture Perfect Continuous are not found in the Passive Voice.
2.2 The useof Passive Voice in English
Passive voicecan be used:
a) Withoutthe doer of the action being mentioned. In this case the doer is either unknownor unimportant. E.g.: In silence the soup, was finished excellent if alittle thick and fish was brought. Tom Tusher was sent off early, however, to aschool in London (Thackey).
b) Withthe doer of the action being mentioned. This occurs only with the doer of theaction is to some extent emphasized. The noun or pronoun denoting the doer ofthe action is introduced by the preposition by. E.g.: He waswrenched from his blank wretchedness by the sound of the door openingfrom his mother’s room (Galsworthy). This room was dimly lighted from theceiling by a single electric lamp (Bennett).
2.3 Theuses of the tenses in the Passive Voice
The use oftenses in Active and in the Passive voice is the same:Indefinite Present New schools are built every year. Future New schools will be built in spring. Past New schools were built a month ago Perfect Present New schools have been built this year. Future New schools will have been built by May. Past
New schools had been built by the 1st of May. Continuous Present New schools are being built in Khiva Past New schools were being built when I came.
All boyshave shells…in other words, they are never seen, or if seen would (b) not berecognized (Th.Dreiser).
The newswas brought that the little boy at the „Three Castles“ was ill (Th.Drieser).
Furthermeeting will be hold tonight and tomorrow night (Th.Drieser).
You havebeen told three times this week that she is coming home for a year for herhealth(Th.Drieser).
I have beenvery unhappy since she died. I have been slighted and taught nothing and thrownupon myself and put to work not fit for me (Th.Drieser).
By 12o’clock a jury reasonably satisfactory to both sides had been chosen (Th.Drieser).
Don’t youdisturb him? He is working at his wonderful poem.
An immortalwork of art is being created (Th.Drieser).
When he gotto the stables, a horse was being saddled (Th.Drieser).
To express anaction going on at a definite moment in the future only the Future ContinuousActive is possible. Thus the Russian sentence Когда вы придетев лабораторию, опыт уже будет производиться must be translated in the following way: When you come to thelaboratory, we shall already be making the experiment.
To denote anaction which began before a definite moment in the present, past or futureperfect continuous active are generally used.
Уже два часа как правяткорректуру.
They have beenreading the proofs for two hours.
Когда пришел главныйредактор, корректуру правили уже два часа.
When theeditor-in-chief came, they had been reading the proofs for two hours(Th.Drieser).
The PresentPerfect Inclusive Passive and the Past Inclusive Passive are found with verbsnot used in the Continuous form, in negative sentences and with sonicnon-terminative verbs. She has always been admired (Th.Drieser). Thelibrary has not been used for months (Th.Drieser).
2.4 Ways oftranslating the Passive into Russian
There arethree ways of translating the Passive Voice into Russian:
a) By the verb быть+краткая форма причастия страдательного залога. In the present the verb isnot used.
b) Byverbs in –ся.
c) Bymeans of indefinite personal construction (неопределенно-личные предложения). The last way of translating is possible only if the doerof the action is not mentioned.
Houses arebuilt of stone.
Дома строятся из камня.
Дома строят из камня.
The house wasbuilt in1932.
Дом построили в 1932 году.
The experimentwas made by a famous scientist.
Опыт был произведен знаменитымученым.
Опыт производился знаменитым ученым.
2.5 Uses ofthe Passive Voice peculiar to the English language
There arecases when the use of the Passive Voice seems to Russian students very peculiarbecause we find no analogous constructions in Russian. These cases are asfollows:
1. The verbs toaccord to advice, to allow, to ask, to award, to deny, to envy, to forbid, toforgive, to give to grant, to offer, to order, to pay, to prescribe, topromise, to refuse, to show, to teach, to tell are used in the PassiveVoice. These verbs always take an object expressed by a noun or an infinitive.The action expressed by the Passive Predicate passes on the subject and theobject. This subject corresponds to the Russian indirect object. E.g. He wasgranted ten day’s leave has he been shown the documents? The patient wasprescribed a strict diet. He was ordered a change of scene. We were to wait(Th.Dreiser).
Note – Theseverbs admit of another type of passive construction if the object is expressedby a noun. Thus, we can say not only I was given a book. He was shown abook, but also A book was given to me, A book was shown to him. The choiceof the construction depends on the logical stress: in I was given a book.The book shown to him the person is emphasized.
2. ThePassive Voice is possible with intransitive verbs used with preposition: toaccount for, to agree upon, to allude in, to arrive at, to call for, to callupon, to comment upon, to depend on, to dispose of to hear of to insist on, tointerfere with, to laugh at, to look down, to look up, to provide for, to putat, to put up with, to read to, to run over, to send for, to speak about, tostore at, to talk about.
At last anagreement was arrived at. His strange behavior was largely commented upon. Hecan be depended upon to keep strict silence. This is certainly to keep strictreferred to.
The compositeverb to do away with the proposition with can be used in the Passive Voice.
In our countryilliteracy was done away with many years ago. Note – To send for can be usedonly in connection with people. E.g. The doctor was sent for.
3) Thefollowing verbal phraseological units can be used in the Passive Voice: tofind fault with, to lose sight of, to make fun of, to make use of, to payattention, to put an end to, to set fire to, to take care of.
4) Quitepeculiar is the case when the subject of the Passive predicate corresponds toRussian adverbial modifier. This is the case with the intransitive verbs tolive and to sleep with the proposition in. e.g. Thebed was not slept in. the room is not lived in (Th.Dreiser).
5) There are anumber of transitive verbs in English which correspond to intransitive verbs inRussian. They are: to affect, to answer, to assist, to attend, to follow, tohelp, to influence, to join, to watch.
These verbsnaturally admit of the passive construction while their Russian equivalentscannot be used in the Passive Voice.
She wasgreatly affected by the scene (Th.Dreiser).
The report wasfollowed by a discussion (Th.Dreiser).
Such sentencesare rendered in russian by indefinite – personal sentences unless the lattercase either the Active Voice is used which occurs rather seldom or the PassiveVoice.
The poor childwas always being found fault with (Th.Dreiser).
2.6 Thegrammatical semantics of the combination to be + Participle II
Thecombination to be + Participle II can denote an action in which case it is asimple predicate expressed by a verb in the Passive Voice. It can also denote astse, then it is a compound nominal predicate consisting of a link verb and apredicative.
As thedirector was ill, the documents were signed by his assistant (Th.Dreiser).
The compound nominalpredicate expressed by the verb to be and Participle II can be translated onlyby the verb быть + краткая форма причастия. In the present the verb быть is not used.
The statue isbroken (Th.Dreiser).
Статуя разбита.
When I comethe papers were signed and lay on the secretary’s table (Th.Dreiser).
Когда я пришел, документыбыли подписаны и лежали на столе у секретаря.
The use oftenses is closely connected with meanings combination to be + Participle II.
When I came upto the gate, it was already locked (Th.Dreiser).
Когда я подошел к воротамони уже были заперты.
The predicateindicates an action completed before a definite moment in the past
Don’t try topen the gate. It is locked (Th.Dreiser). (state).
It has justbeen locked (Th.Dreiser). (action).
Conclusion
passivegrammar semantics translation
The categoryof voice differs radically from all other hitherto considered categories fromthe point of view of its referential qualities. Indeed, all the previouslydescribed categories reflect various characteristics of processes, both directand oblique, as certain facts of reality existing irrespective of the speaker’sperception. For instance, the verbal category of person expresses the personalrelation of the process. The verbal number, together with person. The verbalprimary time denotes the absolutive timing of the process, i.e. its timing inreference to the moment of speech. The category propect expresses the timing ofthe process from the point of view of its relation. But we cannot say the sameabout the category of voice.
As a matter offact, the situation reflected by the passive construction does not differ inthe least from the situation reflected by the active constructions – the natureof the process is preserved intact, the situational participants remain intheir places in their unchanged quality. What is changed then, with thetransition from the adjective appraisal of the situation by the speaker theplane of his presentation of it. It is clearly seen when comparing any pair ofsituation by the speaker, the plane of his presentation of it.
The propertyof the category of voice shows the its immediate connection with syntax, whichfinds expression in direct transformational relational between the active andpassive constructions
The saidfundamental meaningful difference between the two forms of the verb and thecorresponding constructions that are built around them goes with all theconcrete situational contexts. In particular, we find the object – experiencefeaturing achieved by the passive in its typical uses in cases when the subjectis unknown or is not to be mentioned for certain reasons, or when the attentionof the speaker is centered on the action as such respectively.
Another actof terrorism has been committed in Argentina. Dinner was announced, and ourconversation stopped.
All thefunctional distinctions of the passive both categorical and contextualconnotative are sustained in its use with verbids.
For instance,in the following passive infinitive phrase the categorical object experiencefeaturing is accompanied by the logical accent of the process characterizingthe quality of its situational object. This event will never be forgotten.
The pastparticiple of the objective verb is passive in meaning, and phrases built up itby display all the cited charateristics. E.g. Seen from the valley, thecastle on the cliff presented a fantastic sight.
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