Descriptive Syntax
Submitted To : Sir Shafqat Zaidi
Submitted By : Rabia Ashraf
( 2021-1337)
Lexical and Auxiliary Verbs
• Every full (non-elliptical) VP includes a lexical verb and it
may contain one or more auxiliary verbs
• Primary Auxiliary : Be, Have and Do
• Modal Auxiliaries : Can/could, will/ would, shall/should,
may/might, must, and need.
Regular and Irregular lexical
VPs
• I’ll use fill as my example of a regular lexical verb and
write as my example of an irregular lexical verb
• The auxiliary verbs are in bold.
• [1a] Daisy fills/filled the pool. [1b] Max writes/wrote
nothing.
• [2a] Daisy will/would fill the pool. [2b] Max can/could
write nothing.
• [3a] Daisy has/had filled the pool. [3b] Max has/had
written nothing
Conclusion
• These examples show that, in a sequence of verbs,
• A) it is always just the first verb – whether lexical or
auxiliary – that displays the tense distinction between
present and past
• B) auxiliary verbs (if present) always precede the lexical
verb
• C) the form of a verb is determined by the verb that
precedes it
Tense and Time
• Finite Verbs: Verb forms that are tensed (for present and
past) are traditionally called finite verb forms.
• All other verb forms are non-finite (not tensed).
• Every sentence must contain a finite verb.
• He writes a letter.
Explanation
• Only the first verb in a sequence of verbs can be finite
(present or past).
• All verbs following an auxiliary verb are non-finite
(neither present nor past).
• In the absence of any auxiliary, it is the lexical verb that is
tensed (finite).
• Example: Daisy fills/filled the pool.
• Max writes/wrote nothing.
Subject verb Agreement
• Usually lexical verbs do change their form in the past
tense, while it is regular for verbs not to change from
their stem form in the present tense.
• In fact, lexical verbs only change their form in the
present tense when as in [ Daisy fills/filled the pool. ] the
subject NP is he, she, it, or any Noun Phrase that could be
replaced by one of those pronouns (e.g. Daisy).
• The only exception is of Be.
• This change of form in the finite verb according to
the number and person of the subject NP is called
subject–verb agreement.
Only in the present tense and only with a third-
person singular subject.
• How are you supposed to know, when a verb appears
in the bare stem form, whether it’s finite or non-
finite?
• They fill the pool (in present tense)
• Change the subject (e.g. they) to a third-person
singular NP (e.g. she, Daisy): if it’s finite – tensed for
present – the verb will change to the
-s form, fills.
Tense Feature
• From now on we will decorate the V node with a tense feature, as
below
V V
[trans] [trans]
[present] [past]
{fill(s)} {filled}
{write(s)} {wrote}
Future Time
• English has just two tenses: Present and Past
• Future time is expressible in a variety of ways – for example; He
will go – but there is no future tense as such.
(Aux MOD verb)
• There is no simple correlation between the grammatical
category tense and the notion of time.
• The boat leaves at ten tonight. (Present tense – future time)
• If he gave me the bleach tomorrow, I’d use it. (Past tense –
future time)