grammar 3

Overview of Verbs

  • Definition: Verbs describe an action, state of being, or occurrence.

  • Reflect person and number of the subject:

    • First person: I, we

    • Second person: you, you all

    • Third person: he, she, it, they

  • Inflectional Morphemes:

    • Example: Third person singular -s (He sings).

Types of Verbs

  • Main Verbs: Primary descriptors of an action/state.

    • Example: "Tim sings opera."

  • Auxiliary Verbs (Helping Verbs): Clarifies the action/state described by the main verb.

    • Example: "Tim is singing opera."

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

  • Define modality: express obligation, certainty, doubt, or likelihood.

  • Common modal auxiliaries: can, may, will, shall, should.

    • Example: "They can play football."

Be Verbs

  • Forms: I am, you are, he is, they are, etc.

  • Can serve as:

    • Main Verb (Copula):

      • Examples: "He is cool", "The window was open."

    • Auxiliary Verb:

      • Examples: "He is running the marathon."

Categories of Be Verbs

  • Contractible Be Verbs: Can form contractions.

    • Examples: "He is (he’s) running."

  • Uncontractable Be Verbs: Cannot be contracted without losing meaning.

    • Example: "He was running."

Verb Classification based on Transitivity

  • Transitive Verbs: Require an object.

    • Examples: "He plays (what)? Tennis."

  • Intransitive Verbs: Do not require an object and can stand alone.

    • Examples: "She sneezes."

Tenses of Verbs

Overview of Tenses

  • Basic Tenses: Past, Present, Future.

Past Tense

  • Simple Past: Completed actions in the past.

    • Using regular form: Adding -ed (He played).

    • Irregular forms: Example: "ran" instead of "runned".

  • Past Progressive: Ongoing actions in the past.

    • Example: "He was playing when his mom called."

  • Past Perfect: Actions completed before another past action.

    • Example: "He had reviewed notes before the exam."

Present Tense

  • Simple Present: Current actions.

    • Example: "I play chess."

  • Present Progressive: Ongoing actions.

    • Example: "I am playing chess."

  • Present Perfect: Actions started in the past but relevant now.

    • Example: "She has won the race."

Future Tense

  • Simple Future: Actions that will happen.

    • Example: "I will play chess tomorrow."

  • Future Progressive: Continuous actions in the future.

    • Example: "I will be playing chess next week."

  • Future Perfect: Actions completed before a future event.

    • Example: "We will have missed the train."

Voice of Verbs

  • Active Voice: Subject performs the action.

    • Example: "Steven directed the movie."

  • Passive Voice: Action performed on the subject.

    • Example: "The movie was directed by Steven."

Infinitives and Gerunds

  • Infinitive: Formed by combining "to" with a verb.

    • Example: "He is coming to help us."

  • Bare Infinitive: Absence of "to".

    • Example: "Help me open the window."

  • Gerund: Verb acting as a noun by adding -ing.

    • Example: "Running is my favorite sport."

Dialectal Features

African American English (AAE)

  • Non-obligatory past tense -ed.

  • Non-obligatory third person singular -s.

  • Presence of habitual be for continuous actions.

  • Contractible forms of be can also be omittable.

Spanish Influenced English

  • Non-obligatory -ed and -s.

  • Future tense marked by "go" + to.

Chinese Influenced English

  • Non-obligatory past tense -ed.

  • Limited noun-verb agreement, often omitting be.

Conclusion

  • Importance of understanding regional dialects for linguistic assessment and to avoid mislabeling language variations as disorders.