Verbs, Tense, Aspect

and Voice
Grammar in Use
LING90016
Week 4

1
 Today
I. Verbs and the Verb Phrase
II. Structure of the verbal element
III. The resolution of syncretism/shape-sharing
IV. The syntax of auxiliary verbs
V. Tense
VI. Aspect
VII.Modality, Modal Auxiliaries and Mood
2
 I. Verbs and the Verb Phrase

1. subclasses of verbs
• main/lexical verbs
• auxiliary verbs
– modal: will, would, can, could, should, may, might,
must, shall, ought, need, dare
– primary/non-modal: be, have, do
– semi-auxiliaries: is going to, is sure to, is bound to,
appears to, has to, is certain to, is about to, have got
to, manage to, etc.
3
2. morphological properties
• derivational: (If derived, then) verbs are most
commonly derived from other parts of speech by
affixation, compounding and conversion.
• inflectional: Verbs characteristically have six
inflectional forms—three tensed and three non-tensed.
3rd singular present dances
present
tensed/primary plain present dance
past/preterite danced
plain form (infinitive/base) dance
non-tensed/secondary present participle dancing
past participle danced

4
 Plain Form
plain form: is identical with the lexical base of the
verb. It occurs in three syntactically distinct
clause constructions:
imperative Play something for us.
subjunctive We insist [that she play for us].
infinitival subordinate clause
We want [her to play for us].

5
 Present / Gerund Participle
present participle / gerund-participle: applies to a form which
preserves some of the characteristics of the verb, but can
function as a verb, or a noun or as an adjective:
She hopes she is writing a brilliant thesis. (V properties)
A person [writing a thesis] may be difficult to be around (Adj-like
properties)
Writing in any form is a difficult task. (N-like properties)

gerund or ‘verbal noun’: is like a verb in its form (participle form)

and like a noun in its function (e.g. subject of a clause).

6
 Past Participle
past participle: a form which occurs in two major constructions:
(i) Alice has written a thesis. (the perfect)

(ii) The thesis was written by Alice. (the passive)

A thesis [written by Alice] (the passive)

7
 Participle Forms
‘past’ participle and ‘present’/gerund-participle are ‘non-tensed’:
‘past’ and ‘present’ terms here derive from the most characteristic
uses of the participles in clauses such as:

She has finished the exercises. → completed (at time in the past)
She is finishing the exercises. → ongoing (at time in the present)

The traditional terms are retained on the grounds that they relate
to the characteristic uses of the two participle forms, but at the
same time we recognize that the forms are tenseless in that tense is
actually marked on the auxiliaries have and be.
Compare:
She will have finished the exercises by the time we get back. (past
participle but not past time)
She was finishing the exercises. (present participle but not present
time) 8
 Verb Forms
& Finite vs non-finite clauses

9
10
3. syntactic properties
• function: The main (or lexical) verb functions as
the head of the verbal element, which in turn
functions as the predicator within the verb
phrase. The verb phrase functions as the
predicate within the clause.
Cl
S:NP Pred:VP
P:Ve O:NP
Joe plays the cello
Joe may have played the cello
Jane is singing

11
12
4. semantic properties
• A prototypical verb refers to an action, an
event, a state of being or relationship, a
sensory perception, or a cognitive or verbal
process.

13
 Activity
Verb Inflections: For each of the auxiliary and
lexical verbs in the following sentences, say
which one of the six major inflectional
categories it belongs to: past tense, 3rd sg
present tense, plain present tense, plain form,
present participle, past participle.

a. Is Kim still working or has she finished?

b. They have been endeavouring to contact him.

14
II. Structure of the Verbal Element
• Tense • Mood
– Present
– Past
– (Future)
• Voice
• Aspect – Active
– Perfect – Passive
– Progressive

15
 II. Structure of the Verbal Element
Tense Modal
Present Past
1. Tense or Modal a. Jane sings. d. Jane sang. g. Jane can sing.
only b. The children e. The children h. The children can
perform. performed. perform.
c. Joe plays the cello. f. Joe played the cello. i. Joe can play the
cello.
2. + Perfect a. Jane has sung. d. Jane had sung. g. Jane must have
(Compound Tense or sung.
Aspect) b. The children have e. The children had h. The children may
performed. performed. have performed.
c. Joe has played the f. Joe had played the i. Joe may have played
cello. cello. the cello.
3. + Prog Aspect a. Jane is singing. d. Jane was singing. g. Jane will be
singing.
b. The children are e. The children were h. The children may
performing. performing. be performing.
c. Joe is playing the f. Joe was playing the i. Joe could be playing
cello. cello. the cello. 16
4. + Perf & Prog a. Jane has been d. Jane had been g. Jane may have been
Aspect singing. singing. singing.
b. The children have e. The children had h. The children may
been performing. been performing. have been performing.
c. Joe has been f. Joe had been i. Joe could have been
playing the cello. playing the cello. playing the cello.
5. + Passive Voice a. The aria is sung by d. The aria was sung g. The aria may be
Jane. by Jane. sung by Jane.
b. The magic tricks are e. The magic tricks h. The magic tricks
performed by the were performed by the will be performed by
children. children. the children.
c. The cello is played f. The cello was i. The cello should be
by Joe. played by Joe. played by Joe.
6. + Perf & Passive a. The aria has been d. The aria had been g. The aria will have
sung by Jane. sung by Jane. been sung by Jane.
b. The magic tricks e. The magic tricks h. The magic tricks
have been performed had been performed may have been
by the children. by the children. performed by the
children.
c. The cello has been f. The cello had been i. The cello should
played by Joe. played by Joe. have been played by
Joe. 17
7. + Prog & Passive a. The aria is being d. The aria was being g. The aria might be
sung by Jane. sung by Jane. being sung by Jane.

b. The magic tricks are e. The magic tricks h. The magic tricks
being performed by were being performed will be being
the children. by the children. performed by the
children.
c. The cello is being f. The cello was being i. The cello might be
played by Joe. played by Joe. being played by Joe.

8. + Perf & Prog & a. The aria has been d. The aria had been g. The aria would have
Psv being sung by Jane. being sung by Jane. been being sung by
Jane.

b. The magic tricks e. The magic tricks h. The magic tricks

have been being had been being must have been being
performed by the performed by the per-formed by the
children. children. children.

c. The cello has been f. The cello had been i. The cello might
being played by Joe. being played by Joe. have been being
played by Joe.
18
1. From this, it may be seen that verbal elements
are made up of:
– lexical verbs
– auxiliary verbs:
• primary auxiliaries (be, have and do)
• modal auxiliaries (e.g. can, may, will, shall, must, could,
would, should, might)
• semi-auxiliaries (e.g. is going to, is sure to, is bound to,
appears to, has to)
– inflectional suffixes:
• {past/-ed}
• {plain present/-ø}
• {third person singular present/-s}
• {present/gerund-participle/-ing}
• {past participle/-en} 19
2. The minimal verbal element must contain a lexical verb and
either a tense inflection or a modal auxiliary.
– a lexical verb, such as sing, perform and play.
– tense is either past or present.
– tense does not necessarily indicate time of action or event.
– if tense occurs in the minimal verbal element, the inflection is
suffixed to the lexical verb in the case of a regular verb, as in:
ask + {PAST} → asked
or causes the appropriate change in the lexical verb in the case
of an irregular verb, as in:
sing + {PAST} → sang.
– In the present tense, the verb will show number agreement
with the subject, as in: The dog barks. versus The dogs bark. If
the lexical item is be, agreement will also be shown when the
tense is past, as in she was versus they were.
– if a modal auxiliary occurs in the minimal verbal element, it
stands before the lexical verb, as in: will sing. 20
3.In addition to the lexical verb and either tense
or a modal, the verbal element may also
contain one or more of the following:
perfect aspect (compound tense) (Perf) (as in (2) above)
progressive aspect (Prog) (as in (3))
passive voice (Psv) (as in (5))

– perfect aspect, progressive aspect and passive

voice are all marked by means of a combination of
an auxiliary verb and inflection:
perfect aspect = have + {past participle/-en}
progressive aspect = be + {gerund-participle/-ing}
passive voice = be + {past participle/-en} 21
 Formation of Perfect Aspect
For example, if a verbal element is marked for perfect aspect, two
things happen:

1. the auxiliary verb have occurs, and

2. the next lexical item in the verbal element is in the past
participle form.

Another way to think about it:

Start with: ”They see the void”
1. They have see the void (add have)
2. They have seen the void (add pst. ppl)

Thus, in a shorthand form, we can say the Perf = have + V-en,

where -en is the past participle suffix. (But form varies by verb.) 22
 Activity
Perfect Aspect: Give the present perfect
counterpart of each of the following.

b. He makes coffee first thing in the morning.

d. It was a lovely morning.

23
 Formation of Progressive Aspect
For example, if a verbal element is marked for progressive aspect, two
things happen:

1. the auxiliary verb be occurs, and

2. the next lexical item in the verbal element is in the present
participle form.

Another way of thinking about it:

Start with: ”They answer the void”
1. They are answer the void (add are)
2. They are answering the void (add pres. ppl)

Thus, in a shorthand form, we can say the Prog = be + V-ing, where –ing
is the pres participle suffix.

24
 Activity
Progressive Aspect: Give the progressive
counterpart of each of the following. Don't
change anything else (e.g. keep the tense the
same).

a. Kim writes comic books.

b. Kim wrote comic books.
c. Kim has written comic books.
25
 Formation of Passive Voice
For example, if a verbal element is marked for passive voice, two
things happen:
• the auxiliary verb be occurs, and
• the next lexical item in the verbal element is in the past
participle form.

“The void saw Susan” :

1. Susan see by the void (move participants, add by)
2. Susan was see by the void (add was)
3. Susan was seen by the void (add pst. ppl)

Thus, in a shorthand form, we can say the Pass= be + V-en, where

–en is the past participle suffix (again, this can vary). 26
• these optional elements may occur independently or in
any combination, although always with the required
lexical verb plus tense or modal; that is, the required
elements may be accompanied by:
just perfect aspect, as in (2) in the earlier table,
just progressive aspect, as in (3),
both perfect aspect and progressive aspect, as in (4),
just the passive voice, as in (5),
both the perfect aspect and the passive voice, as in (6),
both the progressive aspect and the passive voice, as in (7),
or the perfect aspect, progressive aspect and the passive voice, as in (8).
• everything in a verbal unit except the lexical verb is
considered to be part of the auxiliary system.
Remember: is, are, am, was, and were are all forms of
be. 27
4. It remains only to determine the order in which
these elements occur.
– the lexical verb is always last in the verbal element.
– if a modal occurs, it is always first in the verbal
element.
– if tense occurs instead, it is carried on the first item in
the verbal element.
– the optional aspect and voice distinctions occur in the
order:
Perfect, Progressive, Passive

– the pattern is thus:

Tense/Modal (Perfect) (Progressive) (Passive) Lexical verb 28
 An example
a verbal element marked for modal, perfect aspect and
progressive aspect:
may have been looking
Modal Perfect Progressive Lexical verb
may have + {-en} be + {-ing} look
been looking

• Modal may stands first (and precludes overt tense).

• Perfect introduces auxiliary have and makes the next lexical
item in line, be, into the past participle, been.
• Progressive introduces auxiliary be (in been) and makes the
next lexical item, look, into a present participle, looking.

29
 III. The Resolution of Syncretism/
Shape sharing
• Past Tense or Past Participle?
Substitution Test: substitute a verb that has
different past and past participle forms:
eat substituted for dance
They danced all night. → They ate all night. → past
They had danced all night. → They had eaten all night. → past
participle
30
• Plain Present Tense or Plain Form?
Substitution Test: substitute the verb be
Dance while you can. → Be all that you can. → plain
form
They dance like lovers. →
They are like lovers. → plain present tense
Substitution Test: substitute a 3rd pers sg subject
They dance like lovers. →
He dances like a lover. → plain present tense
31
• In applying these tests we must bear in mind that verbs
may differ in respect of what we shall be calling their
‘complementation’ — that is, they may take different
types and combinations of ‘complements’.

• The complements, however, have no effect on the

inflectional form. It follows that, when we substitute one
lexeme for another, we can— and may have to —
change the complementation.
32
 Activity: Verbs
The underlined verbs below are forms of
lexemes whose preterite and past participle
have the same shape (i.e. same phonological
form). Use the substitution test to determine
which form occurs in these instances, using
evidence.

i. I don't think they found anything suspicious.

ii. She wasn't one of those arrested.
33
 IV. Syntax of Auxiliary Verbs
Several constructions in English centrally involve
the behaviour or existence of auxiliaries:
interrogatives (of different kinds), and negation.

34
• Negatives and Negative Contraction
David cannot/can’t read yet.

She isn’t/is not the captain.

*She likes not/likesn’t the captain.

She does not/doesn’t like the captain.

(‘Dummy’ do or do-insertion or periphrastic do)

35
• Subject-Auxiliary Inversion
a. Yes-No Interrogatives:
Has Pat arrived? Pat has arrived.
Is she ill? She is ill.
Did Pat arrive? Pat arrived.
Could the VC be here? The VC could be here.

36
b. Wh-Interrogatives:
Which drawer did you put it in?
You put it in which drawer?
What time is it? It is what time?
Which drawer is it in? It is in which drawer?
What time did you leave the building?
You left the building at what time?

37
c. ‘Literary’ Inversion
Never had he seen such a sight.
He had never seen such a sight

38
• Tag Questions
a. Reverse-polarity tag
She has finished, hasn’t she?
She hasn’t finished, has she?
b. Positive tag
She has finished, has she?
Modal or non-modal:
Carmen can swim, can’t she?
Carmen is six, isn’t she?
Carmen lost her goggles again, didn’t she?
39
• Emphatic Polarity
Carmen CAN swim.
Carmen HAS finished.
Carmen DID lose her goggles.
• (Post-auxiliary) Ellipsis
Tom cannot swim but Carmen can.
Tom hasn’t finished but Carmen has.
Tom lost his goggles but Carmen didn’t.
Note: Ellipsis provides a strong cohesive force in a
text and is also commonly used in conversation for
speed of response and economy of effort.
40
 Negative forms
• Auxiliaries all have negative forms: isn’t,
haven’t, etc
• Some of these forms are irregular
(unpredictable): won’t, shan’t, ain’t
• In questions, these forms cannot always be
replaced by the corresponding free forms:
• Isn’t Julia in charge?
• ?Is not Julia in charge?
41
 Modal auxiliaries
• Unlike the non-modal ones, modal auxiliaries
only have primary (finite) forms
• They lack 3rd person present forms
• They take a bare infinitival complement:
We must [take the garbage out]
Cf. like:
We like [to take the garbage out]

42
 Dual-classified verbs
• Do, have and be can behave either as
auxiliaries or as lexical verbs:
• Josh is doing the dishes (lexical ‘doing’, not
aux)
• Did Josh do the dishes? (aux ‘did’ + lexical
‘do’)

43
 Dual-classified verbs
• Josh has a hamster
• Does Josh have a hamster? / Has Josh a
hamster?

• Josh is a hamster
• Is Josh a hamster?
• Josh is being naughty.

44
 V. Tense

• tense: the grammatical expression of the time

relations between two events or situations,
generally the time of situation (TS) and the
time of utterance (TU).
• tense ≠ time: tense is a grammatical category
whilst time is a semantic category.

45
 Present Tense
Location in time
a. present time references
I promise you that.
Kim lives in Melbourne.
Kim works hard.
b. the futurate: future situations (usually recurring or
scheduled events)
My plane leaves tomorrow at seven-thirty.
Kim gives her first lecture of the week next Monday.
c. future time in some present-tense subordinate clauses
[When Max leaves], I’ll be glad.
I want to finish [before John gets up]. 46
Non-location in time
d. “timeless truths”, generic statements
Two plus two equals four.
The sun rises in the east.
Crocodiles eat anything.

Time of situation before time of utterance

e. historic present
Yesterday this amazing thing happened to me. I was walking
down Market Street, on my way to the tram, when this guy comes
up to me and says: “Hey, wanna buy a watch?”

47
 Past Time
Location in time
a. past time references
Laurie decided on a motorcycle.
Kim lived in Berlin.
Non-location in time
b. the modal preterite: factual remoteness
If Ed came tomorrow, we could play bridge.
(vs. If Ed comes tomorrow, we can play bridge.)
If you were me, wouldn’t you do exactly the same?
I wish I had the latest edition.
It’s time you were in bed.

c. indirect reported speech/backshifting

My dad said, ‘The game is at the MCG’.
My dad said (that) the game is at the MCG.
My dad said (that) the game was at the MCG.→ backshifting
48
 VI. Aspect
• aspect: a system of coding temporal
properties of an action — that is, its main use
is to indicate how the speaker views the
situation described in the clause with respect
not to its location in time but to its temporal
structure or properties.
• in the time lines below, TR = time of relevance

49
 Perfect Aspect
• perfect aspect: is the name of a grammatical
category. ‘A situation is, characteristically,
presented as resulting from the completion of
an earlier event or state of affairs’ (Collins & Hollo,
p. 257).
• Present Perfect
Elvira has read that book by now.
The elephants have eaten all the cabbages.
James has sung in the church choir for many years.
50
Present Perfect

51
• Past Perfect
Elvira had read the book by the time John arrived.
The elephants had eaten all the cabbages.
James had sung in the choir as a child, but stopped when
his voice changed.

Compare:
The magician has made a white rabbit appear, and it is
hopping across the stage.
The magician had made a white rabbit appear, and it
was hopping across the stage. 52
 Progressive Aspect

• progressive aspect: indicates duration — that

is, that the action denoted by the verb is
actually occurring or ongoing at the time
specified by the tense plus such adjuncts of
time as may be required for specificity. The
progressive aspect focuses our attention on an
event in progress.

53
Present Progressive
Martha is cooking dinner.
The child is writing her name.
My neighbour is writing a novel.
The universe is unfolding as it should.
That man is smashing the window!

54
Past Progressive
Martha was cooking dinner when the power went out.
The forger was signing the cheque when the constable
saw him.
A man was smashing glassware in the bar last night.

55
Perfect + Progressive (‘Continuative Perfect’)

James has been singing in the church choir for many years.

James had already been singing in the church choir for many
years, when I started.

56
VII. Modality, Modal Auxiliaries and Mood
• modality (a semantic category): the capacity
of certain elements of language to express the
speaker’s orientation towards or confidence in
the statement he or she is making.

57
VII. Modality, Modal Auxiliaries and Mood
• elements expressing modality: Modality is
expressed by a number of linguistic devices,
lexical, grammatical and prosodic. These include:
– non-linguistic means such as quotes in the air;
– voice quality such as sarcasm;
– special verb forms—that is, mood markers
– certain lexical verbs such as think, believe, assume,
guess;
– certain predicate adjectives like It is likely /possible
/conceivable/doubtful that…;
– certain adverb sentence modifiers such as Maybe,…
and Supposedly,…;
– certain modal auxiliaries like…
58
VII. Modality, Modal Auxiliaries and Mood
James will plant the rosebushes tomorrow.
You should buy your fall clothes this month.
When I was young, I could walk on my hands.
Francis Bacon might have written Titus Andronicus,
rather than Shakespeare.

59
 Main Uses of Modals
• epistemic modality
He may be ill.
He must be a friend of hers.
She will be finished by now.
• deontic modality
You may / can have another apple.
He must be in bed before 8 o’clock.
You shall have your money back.

60
• dynamic interpretations
– ability
Liz can run faster than her brother.
Liz couldn’t lend me the money (so I borrowed it from Ed).
I could skate when I was young.

– habitual actions
Jake attends the University of Melbourne.
First, he’ll fill his pockets with bread crumbs; then he’ll go to
the park and feed the pigeons.
Each Sunday she would visit her family in the city.
He would always end his day with a glass of sherry.

61
 Main Uses of Semi-Auxiliaries
• epistemic semi-auxiliaries
(be) going to is about to
has (got) to is bound to
is sure to are certain to
is (unlikely) to seems to
appears to
Wilber is going to be late.
Yesim is sure to succeed.
That helicopter is about to crash.
Dad seems to be upset.
62
• deontic semi-auxiliaries
(be) going to have to
had better had best
be supposed to have got to
I am going to arrest you.
You have to talk louder.
You have got to talk louder.
You were supposed to be here by 10am.
• dynamic (ability and habitual) semi-auxiliaries
used to
be able to
I used to compete as a show jumper.
I am able to help you now.
I will be able to help you with the laundry later. 63
 Mood
• mood (a grammatical category)
– a particular way of expressing modality: mood
markers communicate modality by inflectional
endings or special verb forms.
– Mood involves the grammaticalisation of modality.
– Historically, English had an inflectional mood
system. Over the centuries this has been almost
entirely lost and mood is now conveyed by tensed
forms or plain forms of the verb and by modal
auxiliaries.
64
 Mood in traditional grammars
Traditional grammar term Example
Past indicative He took it
Present indicative He takes it
Past subjunctive If he took it now, …
Present subjunctive I insist [that he take it]
Present imperative Take it!

… however, such an analysis involves a high degree

of syncretism: can it be justified?
65