Vocabulary in New English

Grammatical categories of the English verbs

Lecture 11

In new English there gradually developed three extra grammatical categories: order, voice and aspect.

These grammatical categories used a new grammatical means for the formation, namely, analytical forms. These analytical forms developed from free word combinations of the Old English verbs habban, beon/wesan + an infinitive (or a participle). The way of formation of those analytical forms was the following:

In the free word combination habban, beon/wesan + an infinitive (or a participle) the first element was gradually losing its lexical meaning, and the second its grammatical one, thus tending to become notionally and grammatically- inseparable, idiomatic.

The category of order was the oldest, formed already in the Old English.

Hīe hæfdon hīera cyninצ ãworþēnne

(They had already overthrown their king)

The category of voice appeared out of the free combination of weorþan (beon) + past participle

Old English hē wēarþ ofslæ צen

slain he was

The category of aspec t was formed in Middle English on the basis of the free combination of bēn (beon) + present participle

Singinge hē was al the dai

(He was singing all the day)

The Old English present and past tense forms were supplemented with a special form for the future tense which appeared in the Middle English out of the free combination of the Old English modal verbs “sculan” and “willan” with the infinitive. These free combination words was split into two groups: in the first, remaining free, the modal meaning is preserved:

You shall do it – necessity

I will do it – volition

In the second, the independent meaning is lost and the fixed word combination is perceived as the future tense form;

I shall go there

You will go there

The category of mood in Old English was presented by indicative, subjunctiveand imperative moods. At the beginning of New English two more subjunctive mood forms appeared making use of the analytical form building means:

I/he should be present – to show events which are probable, though problematic

- I should be present - to show imaginary events,

he would be present - contrary to fact.

Here should and would are subjunctive mood forms of the Old English sculaan and willan.

Internal means of enriching vocabulary

The principal inner means in New English is the appearance of new words formed by means of conversion. Usually new words are formed by acquiring a new paradigm and function within a sentence. Thus, book ( a noun) has the paradigm book-books. Book a verb has the paradigm book- books – booked –booking, etc.(The book is on the table. He booked a room.)

Similarly:

Stone (n) – stone (v) – stone (adj)

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