Basic Verb Classes

Linguistics 222

 

Contents: Three Basic Classes | Non-modalAuxiliary Verbs | Modal Auxiliary Verbs | Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

There are three basic kinds of verbs plus many subclasses. Here we cover only the three basic types. Initially, verbs are divided into main verbs and auxiliary verbs. Then auxiliary verbs are divided into modal auxiliary verbs and non-modal auxiliary verbs. In English auxiliary verbs are syntactically differentiated from main verbs in several ways.

First, the auxiliary verb may occur at the beginning of the sentence in question formation; main verbs cannot do this:

  1. John has written a letter.
  2. Has John written a letter?
  3. John wrote a letter.
  4. *Wrote John a letter?

Second, the particle (free clitic) not may occur immediately after an auxiliary verb, but it may not occur immediately after a main verb in the same clause:

  1. John has not written a letter.
  2. *John wrote not a letter.

Third, a VP containing a main verb may be omitted under conditions, but an auxiliary is not necessarily omitted:

  1. John has written a letter and so has Mary (written a letter).
  2. *John wrote a letter and so wrote Mary (so did Mary).

Fourth, a tag copies only a pronominal form of the subject plus an auxiliary verb plus the opposite sign of negation:

  1. John has written a letter, hasn't he?
  2. *John wrote a letter, wrote he?

Fifth, when the sentence is emphatic, the emphasis is place on an auxiliary verb, not on the main verb:

  1. John has (so) written a letter.
  2. *John wrote (so) a letter.

Note, that wrote can be emphatic if the verb is in contrast with another verb; this is not an emphatic sentence:

  1. John wrote a letter, not read a letter.

Auxiliary verbs are divided into modal and non-modal. Modal verbs do not take the ending '-s' in the third person present tense:

  1. He will go.
  2. She must come.
  3. It may be the case.
  4. John shall do it by evening.
  5. Mary can do well if she wants.
  6. He needn't do that.
  7. Dare she do that?
  8. He ought to go now.

The latter three modal verbs are sometimes called "quasi" modal. They have a defective distribution.

Modals have lexical meaning unlike non-modal auxiliaries. Non-modal auxiliary verbs are used in certain grammatical constructions to mark tense, aspect, the perfect, or voice.

Whereas Radford considers the auxiliary verb do a modal verb, it does not meet the above criteria. Do has no inherent meaning. And '-s' occurs in the third person singular:

  1. He does sing well, doesn't he?

Radford's criterion is that modals cannot subcategorize each other. It is true that do can not subcategorize a modal. But it cannot subcategorize any auxiliary verb. Modal verbs can:

  1. *John does have sung.
  2. *Mary does be singing.
  3. John must have sung.
  4. Mary must be singing.

For these reasons we do not consider do to be a modal auxiliary verb, but a non-modal auxiliary verb.

Second, verbs are classified according to the complements they take or do not take. Traditionally verbs have been divided into transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs take a direct object, intransitive verbs do not:

  1. John died. Mary slept. (intransitive).
  2. John swatted a mosquito. Henry adores squirrels. (transitive).

Although some verbs take a PP but no NP, some take both a NP and a PP, some take S, some take NP and S, some take PP and S, there are no traditional terms for these subclasses of verbs.

Contents: Three Basic Classes | Non-modalAuxiliary Verbs | Modal Auxiliary Verbs | Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Go to Irregular Verb Classes

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