THE ENGLISH VERBS - Onyeji Nnaji

Verbs, founded by Plato as verbals (which he refers to as Rhema), are very central to the study of language. The long held idea about verbs is that verbs are doing words or action words of sentences. This long held view is considered archaic. Since the function of verbs in different sentences have been analysed and found to exceed just the exhibition of actions, the definition of verbs should include or indicate the totality or the various roles verbs perform in sentences. Verbs refer to words that connote actions, possessions and state of being. By implication, it means that verbs could tell the functions of nouns or pronouns in sentences; the condition or state of nouns or pronouns, and show possessions in sentences. The central role of verbs in sentences can be considered obligatory in these senses. Therefore, we may define verbs as the aspects or part of speech that serve the obligatory roles of the sentence. In other words, verbs can be considered as the obligatory element of the sentence.

The obligatory roles of verbs differ according to the differences among verbs and the nature of the sentences they appear in. Take for instance the sentences below:

- God is.

- Joe is an engineer.

- Emeka travels always.

- He looks quite strong.

- John killed the goat.

In the above sentences, the verbs is, travels, looks, and killed have different roles but related in their functions. In the first sentence above, is plays assertive role, while in the second sentence it plays an attributive role. In this sense, it attributes the engineering quality to Joe as the complement of the subject. The verbs in sentences (iii) and (iv) are related in their functions. The former indicates a habitual action while the latter is more stative as it expresses the state or condition of health. The last verb, killed, can be said to be more or purely active in its nature and action. we can establish here that verbs reflect not only aspect, but also voice, mood, person, number and transitivity.

Verb Forms:

English verbs have various forms. The forms of a verb refer to the various ways in which such a verb manifests itself in response to time, persons and number. Most English verbs have six forms; others have five and four forms. Only the verb be in the English language has eight forms.

(1.1) The forms of the verb be are stated below:

- Simple form-------------------------------be

- Infinitive form ----------------------------to be

- Present form-(first person singular)---am (I am)

- Present (plural) form-------------------------are

- Present (third person singular) form------is

- Past (singular number/person) form------was

- Past (plural persons) form------------------were

- Past participle form -------------------------been

- Present participle (gerund) form------------being

Note: It has been contested in few texts whether infinitive should be taken as one of the forms of the verb be or not. Some authorities accepted eight forms for the verb be while others insisted that infinitive should be included in the forms of the verb be since the rest of the primary auxiliary verbs have it as one of their    forms.  

(1.1.2) Six Forms:

- Simple form--------------------eat,        speak,                  draw,

- Infinitives---------------------to eat,         to speak,   to draw,

- Third person singular---------eats,          speaks,  draws,

- Past form-------------------------------ate,       spoke,          drew.

- Past participle form------------------eaten,    spoken,  drawn,

- Gerund (present participle form)—eating, speaking, drawing.

(1.1.3) Five Forms:

- Simple form------------------------talk, work           love,

- Infinitives-------------------------to talk to work        to love

- Third person singular---------talks             works          loves,

- Past and participle forms-----talked,          worked,       loved,

- Gerund (present participle form)-talking,  working       loving.

(1.1.4) Four Forms:

- Simple form--------------------------put       cut,       hit

- Infinitives----------------------------to put    to cut    to hit

- Third person singular----------------puts   cuts       hits,

- Gerund (present participle form)--putting, cutting   hitting.

(1.2) ASPECTS:

Aspects of verbs show whether the actions expressed through the verbs are in continuous (progressive) or completed (perfected) form. English language has different aspects of the present and past tense. These shall be summarised in three blocks as are discussed below.

(i) The progressive aspects.

(ii) The perfective aspects.

(iii) The combination of the above two.

The aspect of a verb is determined by considering whether the action of the verb is on-going or completed. The two primary aspects in English language are the progressive and the perfective aspects. As was indicated above, these two aspects can be combined to form a perfect progressive aspect.

(1.2.1) The Progressive Aspects:

The progressive aspect usually describes an event that takes place within a limit of time or period. The progressive aspect is made up of the combination of the form of the verb be with a lexical verb which ends with –ing. Eg

-Joel isreading now (present progressive).

- Adannawasreading when the visitor arrived (past progressive).

- Many people claim to know the narrow way but the broad way istrying to      overtake everybody (present progressive).

- Watching the exploits of Spartacus, I appealingly felt they were the true exploits of the hero, OnojaOboni (progressive participial).

These differ from the perfective aspect. The perfective aspect describes events occurring in the past but links it up to the later time, usually the present. The perfective aspect is formed through the combination of the form of the verb have with the main verb in the participle form. Examples

­          - I have been to London

- History hasrecreated William Shakespeare because he wrote        prolifically.

- Emekahadeaten before I came.

- At fifteen, life hastaught me that surrender is an honour especially when one has no choice.

The difference in the sentences above is that the first two explore present perfect verbs (have and has) while the second two explore participle verbs (had). Therefore, they can be grouped as perfective present and perfective past respectively. The combination of the progressive and perfective aspects gave rise to perfective progressive aspect. Example:

- I havebeencoming to the place for two years now.

- It appears it hadbeenraining before we arrived.

The former is a present perfect progressive while the latter is a past perfect progressive.

Aspects and tenses are closely related, nevertheless, they have their disparities. The progressive and the perfective aspects are treated in the manner of tenses since tenses are characterised by present and past features, but they differ a little. Tense is closely tied to morphological forms (eg. Write, writes and wrote) while aspect is concerned with time duration. In the English language, aspect is closer to syntax than morphology. Aspect is expressed by means of particles, separate verbs and verb phrases. It has a close relation with:

- Habitual present (progressive)

- Habitual past (perfective)

- Modality (modals) and

- Telicity.

Telicity refers to a verb phrase presented in such a manner that it has a clear end point. In contrast, a verb phrase presented in such a way that it indicates no clear end point is referred to as atelic. Examples of telic verbs include fall, kick, make etc. we can differentiate between the two by justifying whether one has an end point while the other does not. We test this by using gerunds form of the verb phrase as direct or complete object. By this we mean the natural point of a complete action. In justifying this, it is necessary to note here that only telic phrase can be used with –ing. Example:

-Watching Spartacus is quite interesting; I finished watching the series at 5.45pm.

Interesting is a good ending, depending on the nature of the question. But at 5.45pm in the next clause is preferably better. It shows when the speaker ended the programme involved in the passage. Therefore, the verbs in the sentence above may be grouped thus:

Telic                     Atelic

­watching               finish

Interesting

Note: Not every verb ending with -ing allomorph in every sentence is telic. The condition that makes any -ing verb telic is     clearly stated above. In the above sentence, we see interesting assuming the object of the gerund, watching. Both verbs        can play this role, therefore they are telic.

The combination of the progressive and perfective aspects give rise to perfective progressive aspect. Example:

          - I have been coming to the place for two years now.

          - It appeared it had been raining before we arrived.

The former is a present perfect progressive while the latter is a past perfect progressive.

(1.3.) Verb Features:

Verb forms and aspects are considered in this book as the nature of verbs. They are not considered as verb features. Verbs are characterised by various features. For instance, some verbs are finite while others are not, some are regular, transitive, active, stative where others are dynamic, irregular and passive. These are sometimes explained as the kinds of verbs in many texts. We shall explain these verb features as they occur in pairs. The diagram below reveals the grouping:

 (1.3.1) Finite and Non Finite Verbs:

A popular observation about finite verbs holds that it is the closer description of the verb feature which reveals or shows a relationship directly with the subject of the sentence by agreeing with it in both number and persons. Finite verbs are typified as those verbs which can stand as the root of an independent clause. Finite verbs are also limited to a particular number or person. It also shows gender, tenses, aspects, mood and voice. In sentences, one can identify finite verbs through the following features:

(i) They serve as the verb element of a sentence and show agreement with the subject of the sentence.

- Tabitahas a car (singular verb and singular subject).

- My uncles visit us often (plural verb and plural subject).

(ii) They show tenses:

- Emma works hard.

- Emma is working hard.

- Emma worked hard.

- Emma was working hard.

In the hierarchy of syntactic structure, finite verbs are distinguished from non-finite verbs such as infinitives and participles etc. that mark the grammatical categories to a reduced degree because they appear below finite verbs.

On the other hand, when a verb does not belong to the forms that mark gender, agree with the subject in both number and in person, show mood, voice, tenses etc. then it is not a finite verb. Such a verb can be called non-finite verb. The tendency of having more than one non-finite verb in a sentence being controlled by a finite verb is obviously real. Example:

­          - He is believed to have been told to have himself examined.

Here, we have believed, have been told, have and examined as non-finite verbs being controlled by just a finite verb, is.Non-finite verbs are characterized thus:

(i) They show the following forms:

-Infinitives – to work, to eat, to mourn, to talk etc.

-Gerund verbs – coming, going etc.

-Verbs of –ed or –en participle markers – worked, marked, eaten etc.

(ii) They do not indicate agreement:

­          - Obinna likes eatinggarri.

- The boys run to please their masters.

The verbs italicized do not establish any agreement in the sentences, instead they show functions.

(iii) They do not show tenses in sentences:

- James wants to eat.

- Eating is necessary to life.

- The eaten food tasted delicious.

In distinguishing between finite and non-finite verbs, one should pay attention to the inflectional condition of such a verb to know its responses to or agreement in number or person. Tense may not be completely reliable.

(1.3.2) Regular and Irregular Verbs:

The regular features of verbs are justified through the regularity of its past and participle markers. Regular verbs are those verbs (especially those belonging to five forms) which form their past participles by adding –edto the simple form. We have so many examples of these verbs.

Base	Past form	Past participle form
Arrive	Arrived	Arrived
Greet	Greeted	Greeted
Kill	Killed	Killed
Map	Mapped	Mapped
Talk	Talked	Talked
Work	Worked	Worked
Quarrel	Quarrelled	Quarrelled
Pray	Prayed	Prayed
Work	Worked	Worked
Believe	Believed	Believed
Attack	Attacked	Attacked

On the other hand, there is a set of verbs whose participle/perfect forms are not marked with –ed, they are not regular in the formation of their participles, therefore, they are called irregular verbs. Irregular verbs have three distinct ways of forming their participles. Some have three forms while others have two and one forms respectively. These are discussed in the next part.

(i) Three forms:

Base	Pastform	Pastparticipleform
Begin	Began	Begun
Bite	Bit	Bitten
Break	Broke	Broken
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Drive	Drove	Driven
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Lie	Lay	Lain
See	Saw	Seen
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Tear	Tore	Torn
Give	Gave	Given
Ring	Rang	Wrung
Sing	Sang	Sung

(ii) Two forms:

Base	Past forms	Past participle forms
Build	Built	Built
Buy	Bought	Bought
Deal	Dealt	Dealt
Hang	Hung	Hung
Lose	Lost	Lost
Make	Made	Made
Shine	Shone	Shone
Sit	Sat	Sat
Sting	Stung	Stung

(iii) One form:

Base	Past forms	Past participle forms
Cost	Cost	Cost
Split	Split	Split
Put	Put	Put
Shed	Shed	Shed
Set	Set	Set

(1.3.3) Transitive and Intransitive Verbs:

Verbs are transitive when such verbs have direct object. By direct object, we mean the position of a verb in a sentence which justifies the manner of relationship it establishes with the object of the sentence. For the verb to take a direct object such verb should be placed in a position that the object of the sentence receives it immediately. Examples of transitive verbs in the sentence include the following:

-         David killed a snake

-         Doris sang a beautiful song.

-         Joseph solved the problem for us.

-         Do you have a goat? Yes I do.

Asnake, abeautifulsong and theproblem are direct objects of their respective verbs. A goat in the last sentence also is a direct object in a way. But, unlike the former, it is an implied direct object since the sentence is not an assertive sentence, instead interrogative. Transitive verbs are also characterized by direct involvement of the subject of the sentence in the action performed by the verb of the sentence. The sentences above explain this. All the verbs are in their active forms revealing the direct involvement of the subjects in the roles performed by the verbs.

Intransitive verbs are the direct opposite of the transitive forms. As the former involves direct object, intransitive ones do not have direct objects. Example:

- The man died.

- Mary stumbled and fell.

- It rained heavily yesterday.

- The teacher complained the students.

All these have their actions resting on the subjects; they are not transferred to any recipient object. When the action of the verb is not transferable, we say that it is not transitive.

(1.3.4) Active and Passive Verbs:

When the subject of the sentence represents the doer of the action, the verb in such a sentence is said to be in active form. Put in another way, a verb is said to be in its active form when the subject of the sentence is seen being actively involved in the action performed by the verb. The verb realised in such a condition is considered active in nature. Take instance from the following sentences:

- Promise ate the food.

- The woman threw away the baby.

- The class prefect is pursuing after the boy.

- The lab attendant pushed the door.

Note:

The difference between transitive verbs and active verbs is that the former pays attention to the degree of the relationship between the verb and the object of the sentence, while the latter gives concern to the relationship between the verb and the subject of the sentence. In other words, as in transitive the verb takes direct object, in active the subject takes direct verb.  

There is a direct relationship existing amidst the subject of each sentence above and its verb. There are situations in some sentences where the subjects do not establish a better relationship with their verbs. In other words, the subjects are not directly involved in the action performed. Verbs in such condition are considered passive. Put in another way, passive verbs are those realised when the subject of the verbs turns around to become the bearer of the action more than it is supposed to be the doer. Examples: the food was eaten by Promise. The structure of this example negates directly the former sentence which was in active form. Conditions that compel a sentence to be in passive form include:

(i) When much value is placed on the action than on the subject.

- Lime stone is in Nkalaha.

- The Eagles Tribe was written in the 21^st century.

These sentences comprised a finite verb and a non-finite introduced by a finite verb. The value placed on the action (the verb) other than the subject is that the concern of the sentence is to know the location and duration of the subject; not the role of the subject.

(ii) When there is uncertainty in the subject’s information:

- He was stabbed during the crisis.

- The teacher has been sent for.

There is no location for the subjects and the certainty of where the actions took place. This condition is different from the succeeding condition as we shall read in the next point.

(iii) When information is certain about the subject but was not included willingly:

- The death occurred in Jos.

- They were all mad.

(iv) When it was intended to avoid repetitions:

- The rest had been treated previously.

- So much has been done about it.

(1.3.5) Stative and Dynamic Verbs:

A verb is said to be stative when such a verb indicates or shows the state of a thing or when it suggests an action that is distinctively unchanging in nature. A stative verb also shows quality. It is not inflected to progressive form. Example, it is ungrammatical to say,

- He is being tall,

-He is resembling his mother,

-He is wanting bread for breakfast.

Stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is quite static. It can be seen explicated below:

Perception  Affective     Psychomotor (Relative action)

See,             love,                      dare,

Hear,          hate,                     need,

Smell,                   like,                       ought,

Taste,          mind (care),          know,

Sound,        seem,                              possess,

Recognize,   have (to own),                resemble

                   Prefer,                 

                   doubt,                           

                   mean,

                   consist,

Dynamic verbs are not stative in nature; they are verbs that are inflected for progressive. Dynamic verbs are vast in their numbers. Few of them include:

Eat, drink, go, type, read, write,

Listen, talk, speak, watch, itch,

Grow, work, sleep, cook, make etc.

CONCORD.

Verbs in sentences (especially main verbs or the likes) occur in their right positions, agreeing with the subject of the sentence. The relationship between verbs in a sentence and their subjects is revealed with respect to number, person and notion. When the main verb in a sentence shows any of these responses, we say that concord or an agreement has occurred between the verb and the subject of the sentence. To be a good user of English language, greater care and attention are required to be taken in order not to break any of the rules guiding this requirement.

(2.1) Agreement of the Subject and Verb. This can occur in both number and persons.

(i) Number:

When a verb agrees with its object in number, it shows itself in singularity or plurality. These are explained thus:

(a) Singular Subject and Singular Verb.

- The boy talks too much

- James has many books.

- The car is very old

(b) Plural Subject and Plural Verbs:

- The books are good.

- James and Mark have many books.

- The cars are very old

(ii) Persons:

In our discussion of pronouns above, we identified three personal pronouns: the first, the second and the third person pronouns.

- First person = I, we.

- Second person = you.

- Third person = he, she, it.

These are mainly subjective. Otherwise, all persons agree with respect to singularity and plurality. Examples:

(a) Singular:

- He, she, it eats every morning.

- I am old enough to get married.

- He, she, it is old enough to get married.

(b) Plural:

- I eat every morning.

- You eat every morning.

- They eat every morning.

(2.2) Agreement with Compound Subjects.

Plural verbs – to indicate agreement – are normally used with compound subjects that are composed of several parts brought together by a conjunction or group of conjunctions.

- George and Edwin are friends.

- Chika, Amaka and Uche are here.

- The big boss and his brothers are in the camp.

Nevertheless, exceptional condition for this form of concord exists when a group of subjects is united by a conjunction to form a unit of word instead of the group they connote. In this case, if the unit of word represents an entity, it agrees with a singular verb while, it agrees with a plural verb when it represents more than one entity. Example: 

- The green and white flies freely (Nigerian flag).

- Skirt and blouse is on the street (a girl/a woman).

- The two white horses and an eagle stands firmly (coat-of-arms).

- His friend and acquaintance warns him but he ignores it.

(2.3) Agreement with Appositional Phrase.

An appositional phrase is the phrase that indicates or emphasizes the subject further. An appositional phrase re-emphasizes the noun at the subjective position. It clarifies the subject of the sentence. Example:

- Dr.Goodluck, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is here.

- Professor Chukwu, the Dean Faculty of Arts has just arrived.

- Professor Benson Oluikpe, the professor of professors is in the class. 

-The principal, Mr. Amah T. Amah is worried about the students’ poor                    performances.

The verbs agree with appositional phrases according to the number of the subject. The agreement established in this condition is not measured by the appositional phrase, rather the subject. The reason for this condition is that the subject can stand on its own as well as the appositional phrase, but when the phrase gains existence through the subject, then the subject should be accorded the respect as the head of the sentence. Therefore, it becomes the one in the right position to determine the agreement. That is, when the subject of the appositional phrase is singular, the verb agrees in singular, but when otherwise the verb agrees in plural.

(2.4) Agreement with Correlated Subjects.

Some subjects are united by such conjunctions as either-or, neither- nor and not only – but. In a subject characterised by the above conditions, the verb in the sentence agrees in number. When the subjects are each singular, the verb agrees in singularity. Example:

­          - Either Uche or James is still in school.

- Neither Uche nor James is still in school.

- Not Uche but James is still in school.

          - Not only Uche but also James is still in school.

When the subjects are in plural forms the verbs also agree likewise. Exceptional cases only abide when one of the subjects is singular while the other is plural. In this condition we say that the numbers vary. Therefore, the verb agrees with the very subject that is nearer to it. Example:

- Either the vehicle’s tyres or the load is heavy.

- Either the brake or the gears fail to respond.

    A    - Not the driver but the passengers are the cause.

- Not only the passengers but also the driver is the cause.

The reason for the verbs agreeing in these forms is because the circumstance addressed by each of the sentences is dual in their nature, such that each subject can stand, having a verb of its own. We may apply the litmus test used in testing structures to justify this. The litmus test is expansion. Now let us expand the sentences above by deliberately restating them thus:

- Either the vehicle tyres are weak or the load is heavy.         

     B    - Either the brakes fail to respond or the gear fails to respond.

- Not only the driver is the cause, but also the passengers are the cause.

Obviously we’ve realised two complete simple sentences (two independent clauses) united together through the use of correlative conjunctions. The declension, deletion or suspension of the predicates of the preceding subjects (in the first/earliest set of the group sentences) is just for convenience and relative appropriateness. I mean that (in each of the sentences in B) the expansion gave rise to the realisation of two predicates in each of the sentences, whereas in sentences A, each sentence has just one predicate.  The first predicate is suspended because it addresses the same situation that the second predicate addresses.

(2.5) Agreement with Collective Nouns.

Agreement of verbs in this form is determined by whether the noun is seen or regarded as representing a unit or a group. When the collective noun represents a unit the verb agrees in singular, while it agrees in plural when it represents a group.

- Where is your family now?

- How is the family doing?

- The parliament has passed the bill.

- The class has chosen Obi as her prefect.

- The union is concluded.

- The judiciary is on strike.

- The family members are here.

- The class members are fighting.

The first six sentences above connote a unit. Therefore, the verbs agree in singular. The remaining ones are in plural because their subjects suggest a group rather than a unit.

(2.6) Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns: Agreement of verbs with indefinite pronouns as one of the noun equivalence requires attention, mainly for the interest of learners of English grammar, because of the way different numbers of verbs (verb forms) are misused some times when the subject is an indefinite pronoun. Indefinite pronouns are those pronouns that do not specifically/directly indicate number. Example includes:

Any,           some,          all,              none,           few,   more,

Anybody,   somebody,  everybody,  nobody,      little, 

Anyone,      someone,    everyone,    no one,        many,

Anything,   something,  everything,  nothing,      several, etc.

Sentences that have any of these words as the subject require special attention to know the verb number that agrees with it. Agreement of verbs in this manner appears somewhat similar to that of notional concords. In the latter condition, the speaker has to know what idea the subject represents (whether it represents a collection or a unit) before he can have a conclusion about which verb number would be suitable for the subject. Prior information or mastering the rules; determining whether the pronoun connotes singularity or plurality is highly required. They can be used as follow:   

Any,            some,          all,              none,

Anybody,     somebody,   everybody,   nobody,      

Anyone,       someone,     everyone,     no one,        Singular verbs.

Anything,    something,  everything,  nothing,

Few

Little               Plural verbs.

Many
Several etc.

With a closer observation to these groupings one would understand that the group that goes with plurals has some evidence of number indications. Each of them conveys the notion of plurality. Therefore, they should agree with plural verbs.

                                                                                    

MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF VERBS

(lexical verbs). Lexical verbs are inflectional and derivative in nature.

(3.1) The Inflectional Conditions: The inflectional condition of lexical verbs is determined in two varying ways. These can be expressed through regular and irregular forms. Regular lexical verbs are those whose verb forms can be determined or predicted through a clear knowledge of their different bases. A good number of English verbs belong to this regular class. The table below illustrates these various regular verb forms.

Base	Call	Like	Try
-ing particle	Calling	Liking	Trying
-s singular	Calls	Likes	Tries
-ed past/participle	Called	Liked	Tried

- Inflectional Condition for Singularity.

The allomorph s, z and iz are used to condition lexical verbs to agree in singular form. These are also predictable through one’s concrete knowledge of the root as explicated in the examples above. The three forms of the allomorph -s are examined in the following conditions:

- Pronounced /s/ and spelled /s/. This is used after the base word ending in various voices different from voiced and voiceless sounds. Example: look – looks, tap – taps, map – maps, cut – cuts etc.

- Pronounced /z/ but spelled /s/. This is used after bases ending with voiced sound. Example: call – calls, rob – robs, flow – flows, grab – grabs etc. We may include primary auxiliaries such as do – does, go – goes, say – says and have – has.

-pronounced /iz/ and spelled /es/: This is used after bases ending in voiceless sounds. Example: push – pushes, camouflage – camouflages, pass – passes, buzz – buzzes, catch – catches, budge – budges etc.

- Inflectional Condition for Passivation:

The allomorph –ed₁, -ed₂ and -ed₃ pronounced /id/, /d/ and /t/ respectively are realised in past marking. /id/ is used after a base ending in /d/ and /t/ consonants. Example:

Permit                            permitted

Commit                 committed

Pad                      padded

Demand                demanded

Pat                       patted

Suggest                 suggested   

Amount                 amounted etc.

/d/, this is used after bases ending with voiced sounds. Bases ending in /d/ are not included. Examples:

Bored, borrowed, heard, married,

hugged, managed, geared etc.

/t/ is used when the base ends with voiceless sounds. Example: mapped, passed, marked, packed etc.

Many irregular verbs take /t/ in forming their pasts. Irregular verbs that form their pasts with /t/ are those bases whose last/final consonants are –d, -n, -l. Irregular verbs belonging to /t/ past marker with –ll root ending usually lost their last l for the consonant /t/. Irregular verbs belonging to this include

Learn          learnt,      Burn           burnt

Spoil           spoilt,       Spill            spilt

Smell           smelt,     Spell            spelt

Spend          spent,          Send            sent

Rend           rent,             Lend           lent

Build           built,           Bend           bent

Other irregular verbs in this category include those whose – ed₂ suffixation is used but voice is variable as a result of a change of the base vowel. Many of these have bases with silent ending vowels. Example:

Bereave                bereft

Cleave                            cleft

Lose                     lost                      

Others are those whose bases end with unaspirated consonants. Example:

Creep                   crept

Keep           kept

Sleep           slept

Sweep                  swept

Weep          wept

Mean          meant

Teach                   taught

Beseech       besought

Buy             bought       

Seek            sought

Teach                   taught

Think                   thought

Bring          brought

Mutation Past Markers: Many regular verbs form their past or past participle in mutation forms. What occurs to the words is just a change of vowels. Example:

Bleed          bled

Breed                    bred

Meet           met

Lead            led

Feed            fed                                                             

Fling           flung

Hold           held

Bind            bound

Find            found

Grind          ground

Wined                   wound

Cling           clung

Hang           hung 

Spin            spun

Strike                   struck

Wring                   wrung

Sting           stung

Win             won

Sit               sat

Spit             spat

Light           lit

Slide           slid

Stand          stood

Stride                   strode

Fight           fought

Neuter or Zero Past Markers: Those in this group are naturally invariable. The roots are unchangeable. Example: Bet, cast, hot, cost, hit, cut, shit, burst, shed, set, shut, slit, rid, quit, split, put, spread, let, sweat, wet etc.

The last group are those whose suffixes change to –ed₂ at the participle level. Example:

Know          -        knew           -        known

Shear          -        sheared       -        shorn

Hew            -        hewed                   -        hewn

Swell           -        swelled                  -        swollen

Sow             -        sowed                   -        sown

Break          -        broke           -        broken

Choose        -        chose           -        chosen

Freeze                   -        froze            -        frozen

Steal            -        stole            -        stolen

Forget                  -        forgot                   -        forgotten

Get              -        got              -        gotten

The morphological conditions of this category can be summarised in three forms.

Form 1, draw       -        drew           -        drawn /n/.

Form 2, fall          -        fell              -        fallen /in/.

Form 3, slay                  -        slew            -        slain /ein/.

(3.2) The Syntactic Features of Verbs

Verbs are known for various grammatical roles in their content sentences. In this condition, verbs found in various positions in the sentence are seen exhibiting the different actions due to such positions. Through these means verbs can function grammatically as:

(i) The head of a phrase: Verb phrases and phrasal verbs usually have their heads as verbs. When a verb begins a phrase, grammatically we say that such a verb functions as the head of its content phrase. Example: 

- give in to, take on to, look out for,

get away with , stay out, look up to,

tune on to,  look forward to, to anticipate,

come up to, amount to, stay away from.

(ii) The Subject of the Sentence (gerund). Verbs that take the subjective position of the sentence are usually inflected by -ing to form gerunds or participial. When a verb is used in this manner, such that it stands at the beginning of a sentence, we can say that it functions as the subject of the sentence. Example:

- Beholding a rubbery scene is the worst thing I ever prayed against.

          - Beginning your daily activities with prayers is a good habit.

(4) AUXILLIARIES.

Auxiliary verbs are verbs that render assistance to main verbs in sentences. Following the roles of auxiliaries in sentences – considering their features in different sentences – auxiliaries can be taken in two ways: those that disguise themselves in sentences as lexical verbs and those that are all-round impeccable as auxiliaries. The former is called primary auxiliary verbs, while the latter is considered as modals. 

(4.1) Primary Auxiliary Verbs:

Primary auxiliary verbs are three in number. They are the verb be, do and have. They show actions or occupy the position of main verbs in sentences when lexical verbs are absent. Example include:

Be – They are students of English language (be as a main verb).

      - They are studying English language (be as an auxiliary to studying).

Do –David did his own job (as a main verb).

      -  David did not come to school (as auxiliary to come).

Have-  I have a mathematics book (main verb).

          -  I have seen the mathematics book (auxiliary to seen).

(4.2) Modals:

Modals are thirteen in number. They include shall, should may, might, will, would, can, could, must, ought to, used to, need and dare. These are used in various sentences to show mood, and obligation.

The Uses of Modals

(4.2.1) Shall and Will:

In the English language study, shall is used more conveniently to express simple future for first person; I and we.

-We shall attend the party (assurance or certainty).

- Shall we meet at the hotel? (polite request).

Shall is also used to express determination, submission and insistence. Example:

- I shall do it (determination).

- I shall obey him (insistence or compulsion)

- We shall try our best (willingness on the part of the speaker).

- We shall do the job alone (willingness on the part of the speaker).

- I shall pay their salaries (willingness on the part of the speaker).

Shall is used to express anticipation and relative probability.

- looking at the weather, it shall rain today (anticipation).

- I shall return today if the weather permits (relative probability).

Will would be preferably used to express simple future for both second and third persons, not in the first person. Using will in the first person may express determination on the part of the speaker rather than the presupposed intention. Eg.

- We will end this matter tonight.

If shall is used in this sense, it would express certainty. Will is used in the following senses as we can find in the sentences:

- He will attend the party (certainty).

- You will obey him (command).

Now, consider the second sentence above which expresses command. Should we restate it, using the verb shall, the sense will change relatively. Eg.

-you shall obey him.

The sense here, on the part of the speaker is persuasive in nature. Of course, the tone is palatable and plea-like. Popular character among users of the English language is the misplacement of these modals against the respective persons. This situation may not change the meaning entirely, but many a time, the tone as well as the intention may be mistaken. There are exceptional situations which prove insistence on the respective persons. Good examples of such are seen in interrogative and some assertive cases/conditions below.

- shall we go now?

- shall we go to the market together?

- will you go now?

- will you be going to the market with me?

- I shall be there.

- We shall be there.

- You will be there.

- He will be there.

Each of these examples has its verb functioning well with its person. Any exchange of some may affect the meaning intended or render the sentence ungrammatical. Example, it will be ungrammatical to say,

- shall you go now?

- shall them go to the market together?

- will I go now?

Also, it won’t be assertive to say:

- I will be there.

- You shall be there.

It may be, to some senses, but such assertion would be relatively probable or subject to uncertainty. Remarkably, in English language, will and shall are particularly marked for future tense. The only relationship they establish with would is that it is the only alternative for future markers in a relative speculative, probable, uncertain and weak/loose sense. These three modals apart, the English language does not have a particular verb form for future marking. It is for this reason that many grammarians argue that there is no future tense in the English language.

(4.2.2) Should and Would:

Unlike shall and will expressed above, should and would are not assertive; they are weak and loose in their forms. They are relatively speculative in nature. The most popular and remarkable role of would and should is to show presupposition on the part of the person being addressed by the sentence. Example:

- You should have gone to school yesterday.

- I would have come but for the rain.

In expressing presupposition, the main verbs in the sentences above are by the weak nature of those modals compelled to be in their perfect forms. From the sentences we can see that the main verbs: gone and come are in the past and present perfect forms respectively. Apart from this role, there are other functions of should and would. They include:

(i) ­Should is used to express obligation and logical statements:

- You should go to school every day as a student.

- You should be early to work.

- You should greet your elders always.

(ii) To express conditions:

- I should travel to Lagos if I had the money.

- You should eat the food if you wish to.

- You should buy your own house if your salary is large.

(iii) To express habitual actions:

- You should say your prayers every morning.

- Everyone should read his Bible every morning.

Would is also used in this manner, but with a little difference mainly in their expressions, anticipation or scepticism. Included in the functions of would are:

(i) To express probability:

- It would rain if the sky continues to be dark.

- The lecturer would come if the traffic permits.

- That would be Godwin coming.

(ii) To express a polite request:

- I would like to come with you.

- Would you help me do some clean up today?

- Would you type these little lines for us?

(iii) To express habitual actions, mainly in the past:

- Before 8.30pm, every night, mother would set her food on the dining table.

- At 9.00 pm every day, the nation’s broadcasting service would have       network news on the T.V.

- Any day the Super Eagles play, everybody would go to the stadium.

(iv) To express reasons for an action or condition:

- I wouldn’t have collected the gift if not for his mother’s plea.

- I would be the first person if not that I missed the rule. 

- I would take first position but I failed English language.

- He would be a good judge if he had studied law.

(v) To express conditional actions:

- If I had a car I would travel often.

- The stew would be exhausted if nobody regulates it.

- The price would be too much if I had not bargained.

(vi) Would can also be used to express willingness:

- Would you please remove your laptop?

- I would give you my car if you want?

(4.2.3) Can and Could:

Can and could are used in various ways:

(i) To express permissions:

- You can go if you are through.

- You can copy the note if you are free.

- Alice can come along if she wants.

(ii) To express ability:

- James could climb the tree before 12minutes.

- Odumu can lift the load easily.

- Children can press the remote easily.

- He can speak French and English fluently.

(iii) To express possibility:

- Berger can build bridge across that river.

- American automobile can make a nice car (theoretical possibility).

-The woman could be healed if she believes.

(4.2.4) May and Might:

These two brother modals are relatively complicated in their functions. In the case of permissive sentences, may is used easily and more frequently. Might is very volatile and relatively tentative than may. Often times, looking at the way might is used, it appears as if it is begging the sentence. In other words, mightappears too spontaneous to some users as though it is not intended. To indicate permission, may is used more frequently than might. Example:

- May I come with you?

- You may go if you wish.

- You might come if you are through.

In these permissive roles, it is very complex to mark distinction about which of them should be used and which should not. The only peculiar difference is that might is preferable when the person addressed in the sentence is duty-free. Example:

- When I am through, might I come?

In the expression of possibility, may and might are used interchangeably:

- Jark may have arrived.

- James may come today.

- It might rain today.

- He might be my class teacher next term.

- She might be the next principal.

It might be spontaneously alternated or reversed in a case where the speaker appears somewhat probable. To express probability, might is frequently used than may. Example:

- It might rain today.

- It might be true.

- The bridge might fall if heavy trucks pass through it.

- The rain might stop in the next five minutes.

The above expressions suggest probability. Loosely, “may” might be used in the same slot to mean the same thing. But in the expression of polite request, might should be used rather than may.

   (4.2.5) Ought to & Need:

Oughtto and need are closely related in their functions, though they also have different meaning strictly. There are conditions in sentences where they may play similar function, yet opportunity still lies where they feature independently in a complete different slots.

(i) The Expression of Suppositions. When ought or need is used to express supposition it appears to assign roles to the subject. This role is generally obligatory in nature depending on the dominant condition in the sentence. Example:

          - You oughtto go to school to be socialised.

          - You need to go to the market so you may sell the goods.

          - John needs me to help him.

          - You need to be there and see things to yourself.

(ii) The Expression of Presuppositions. Oughtto and need are used to express presuppositions in their negative forms. The negative forms of the modals are oughtn’t and needn’t. They can as well be negated by the inclusion of not. Example:

          - You oughtn’t have attended the party.

          - You needn’t have come in the first place.

Phrasal verbs usually begin with verbs; particularly a transitive or verb of action, while an idiom begins mainly with a noun.

(5) The Syntactic Features of Auxiliaries.

The individual functions of modals have been discussed in chapter five above. Modals are characterised with varying features. These features include:

(i) Auxiliaries Immediately Precede Other Verbs. Auxiliaries generally precede other verbs they assist in sentences. Example:

Obinnacan do the job.

I can hear you.

Ike would go to school.

(ii) Modals Are Restrictive to Progressive Verbs in the Present Form: As helping verbs, modals are restricted to verbs in the present form. Modals do not precede any progressive verb or past forms immediately. Instead, the progressive or past verb forms (as the main verb in the sentence) would have another auxiliary (not modal) preceding it immediately. In this case, the auxiliary₂ (second auxiliary in the sentence which certainly will be primary auxiliaries) takes the middle position between the modal and the main verb in the sentence. Example:

- I can see you. (simple present form)

- I shall be going now. (be, introducing the progressive verb).

- I shall be coming with you.

The second and third examples have their main verbs in progressive forms. This condition was created by the mediating roles of the verb be, in the different sentences.

(iii) Modals Undergo Inversions.Modals are invertible. They can be changed from their original position to the initial position (taking the subjective position) in order to achieve a yes or no question. Other structures of the sentence may not be affected except the verb and its subject which would vary interchangeably to create the impression which might either be a question or a normal sentence. Examples:

-You can’t do this to me →  can you do this to me?

-You would go there →  would you go there?

-He won’t be there         →  will he be there?

(iv) Dummy or Do as an Inverter.

Do is one of the three primary auxiliary verbs. It is also referred to as dummy. Dummy is used sometimes in sentences to indicate ability. It is also used for inversions. Some auxiliary verbs are by their structures very hard to be inverted. When this condition prevails, we introduce a dummy to condition the verbs for inversion. In this regard, we see dummy as the word used to negate a sentence; by adding not to do, does or did, such a sentence accepts inversion. Example:

-look at him.         → donot look at him.

-be too anxious. → don’t be too anxious.

You want the money. → youdo not want the money.

(v) Auxiliaries Accept Tags.

Auxiliaries are the only set of verbs that accept tag. When a modal accepts a tag the sentence changes from assertion to interrogative sentence, while in some other instances, the reverse becomes the case. Example:

        -I hope you will be in the market tomorrow? No, I won’t.

Assertive expression of such a short form is called a tag sentence. Tags or question tags are used for polite reply. When a tag makes a sentence to take the form of an interrogative expression, it becomes useful for emphasis or ironical statement. Not all auxiliaries show tags, but all the primary auxiliaries take tags. Eight modals take tags while five do not. The auxiliaries that accept tags include:

Is       -        isn’t            will    -        won’t

Are    -        aren’t                   would         -        wouldn’t

Was   -        wasn’t        can    -        can’t

Were -        weren’t       shall  -        shan’t

Do     -        don’t           should-       shouldn’t

Does  -        doesn’t’      need  -        needn’t

Has   -        hasn’t                   must  -        mustn’t

Have -        haven’t       could -        couldn’t

May  -        mayn’t.         might        -        mightn’t.

Ought         -        oughtn’t.       dare -        daren’t

Used to is the modal that do not accept tags. It, however, can be inverted by accepting not. Example:

Used  to-     not used to.

The primary role of auxiliaries, especially modals, is to assist primary or lexical verbs in sentences. Modals do not have any lexical quality and cannot function as such in any condition.