Parts of speech. Noun

1. Different principles of classifying words into parts of speech.

2. Notional words and function words.

3. Difficulties in classifying words into parts of speech: pronouns, interjections, articles.

4. Noun as a specific part of speech: semantics, word-building patterns and syntactical functions.

5. Grammatical categories of a noun: case.

6. The category of number.

  Reading material.

1. Бархударов, Л.С. Грамматика английского языка / Л.С. Бархударов, Д.А. Штелинг. – М.: Высшая школа, 1973. – Р. 28–46

2. Блох, М.Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка / М.Я. Блох. – М.: Высшая школа, 1983. – гл. IV, V, VII, VIII.

3. Иванова, И.П. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. / И.П. Иванова, В.В. Бурлакова, Г.Г. Почепцов. – М.: Высшая школа, 1981. – P. 14–20, 21–33.

      

Tasks and Exercises.

I. What is a part of speech?

What is the main principle of logico-syntactical classification?

What is lexico-morphological classification?

What is positional (distributional) classification?

List the main criteria of modern classification of words into parts of speech.

II. Describe the hierarchy of the following:

Verb, noun, part of speech, adjective, notional word, particle, adverb, conjunction, function word, preposition.

III. a) What part of speech do these words belong to?

1. old

2. sick

3. poor

4. unknown

5. unemployed

6. disabled

7. valuable

8. but

9. if

10. sputnik

 

b) Define the part of speech of the words underlined. What criteria can be used for it?

1. Guests should not leave valuables in their bedrooms.

2. The disabled should have the same opportunities.

3. The old  and the young like football.

4. No ifs, please.

5. But me no buts.

6. We shall outsputnik the Russians.

7. He couldunderstand the rich and the poor.

8. The sick were hospitalized.

9. The  unemployed will not vote for this candidate.

10. He is afraid of the unknown.

 

IV. Single out the suffix. Is it a lexical or grammatical suffix.

Poetess, hostess, lioness, actress, waitress, princess, tigress.

 

V. Write out examples where “-s” is a lexical suffix?

Customs, traditions, airs, words, works, glasses, arms, pens, lamps, costs, spirits, looks, lamps, colours, tricks.

 

VI. Many nouns of abstract nature can be concretized. Decide what makes them concrete. Think of the shift of meaning. Study examples of the following kind:

       contribution — contributions

       difficulty — difficulties, a difficulty

Translate the following. Сomment on the nouns formed up by “s”.

1. A careful reading of the Prime Minister’s explanations … shows that the anxietie s of the MPs were more than justified.

2. He would go on taking chances.

3. Their own imaginations needed no comment.

4. She wanted to get out of  Warmlesley Vale, up into the hills and open spaces.

5. Over the past 20 years there have been considerable improvements.

 

VII. What is the exact meaning of the plural forms in the following examples?

1. She likes French wines.

2. This shop has a good choice of teas.

3. He is reaching “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”.

4. The country supplies different fruits.

5. He spoke about the sands of the Sahara and the frosts of the Arctic.

 

VIII. Identify the genitives (using transformations if needed).

a) children’s room                                  b) brother’ house

________ education                             _______ arrival

________ directness                             _______ arrest

________ tricks                                    _______ report

________ footware                                   _______ passport

 

c) a mile’s journey

two hours’ delay

a week’s holidays

cat’s manners

dog’s life

 

SEMINAR 3

VERB

1. Verb as a specific part of speech: semantics, word-building patterns and syntactical functions.

2. Finite and non-finite forms.

3. Grammatical categories of the verb: mood.

4. The category of voice. Types of passive constructions in English.

5. The category of tense.

6. The category of aspect.

7. The category of phase.

 

Reading material.

1. Бархударов, Л.С. Грамматика английского языка / Л.С. Бархударов, Д.А. Штелинг. – М.: Высшая школа, 1973. – Р. 131-140, 147-160

2. Блох, М.Я. Теоретическая грамматика английского языка / М.Я. Блох. – М.: Высшая школа, 1983. – гл. X, XII, XIV–XVII.

3. Иванова, И.П. Теоретическая грамматика современного английского языка. / И.П. Иванова, В.В. Бурлакова, Г.Г. Почепцов. – М.: Высшая школа, 1981. – P. 46–65, 68–80

Tasks and Exercises.

I.  What is the difference between verbs?

dynamic / static

terminative / durative

transitive / intransitive

Can semantics influence the grammatical properties of a verb?

II. Which verbs are – terminative

 – durative

                  – of double (mixed) character

1. break

2. live

3. see

4. move

5. open

6. kill

7. close

8. love

9. die

10. look

11. cut

12. find

III. What is the main principle of classifying verbs into:

A. notional

B. semi – notional

C. auxiliary

Group the verbs in the following sentences according to this principle.

1. The lesson began.

2. He began reading.

3. You must do it quickly.

4. Do you know this girl?

5. She was in the kitchen.

6. The was  the best student in the group.

7. The was  reading for a long time.

8. She was  tired.

9. She was  helped at the exam.

10. He stopped  to help his friend.

11. He  stopped  helping his friend.

12. He   was stopped by the police.

13. He looked  at the photo.

14. He  looked old.

IV. What are the grounds for treating Continuous and Perfect forms as:

1. tense forms

2. aspect forms

VI. Compare the structure and meaning of the following sentences. What aspect of semantics can influence the choice of grammatical form?

1. I have been decorating the room.

2. I have decorated the room.

3. I have been living here all my life.

4. I have lived here all my life.

5. He felt better after he woke.

6. He felt better after had slept.

 

 VII. Mark the sentences in which the paradigmatic aspectual meaning of the verb-form is shifted.

1. He is wasting time.

2. You are  being  awfully good to me.

3. They are watching TV.

4. He is just being  silly.

5. But I am forgetting  you: would you like some coffee?

6. He was playing  football with his friends.

7. Tarzan  was wishing  that they might walk on like that for hours.

8. She  is knowing  too much.

9. She  is thinking of  emigrating.

 

VIII. Identify the meaning of the predicate (active, passive, middle, reflective, reciprocal).

1. The poems don’t translate well.

2. They embraced and kissed.

3. He washed and shaved.

4. He’ll never wash his dirty linen in public.

5. The door opens inside.

6. He gets beaten quite often.

7. He gets letters quite often.

8. They met at midnight.

9. They met a stranger in the street.

10. They dressed quickly and went out.

      

 

Seminar 4