- a collocations as indivisible in grammatical sense, though its components are separate words; it is idiomatic in grammar sense;
- auxiliary verbs realized the «present-past» dichotomy:
have done – had done;
is speaking – was speaking;
shall do – should do;
- verb as the whole macrosystem and in the central – microsystem of tense-aspect;
- the abbreviation of the auxiliary component in colloquial speech:
I’ve done it, and etc.
The author presents the Microsystem and defines that the distinctive features of tense comes first since it is tense, and not aspect, that presents the frame of the system, though opinions may differ on this score (cf.: traditional Russian term «aspect-tense system of Russian verb»).
In her debates with O. Jespersen who denied the existence of future tense as a grammatical tense in English and it was repeated in more modern publications (By Barkhudarov, 1975) the author writes «the most exact approximation of the real, notional time will be the division into past, present and future, if the linguistic material admits such a differentiation».
The paradigm of tense-aspect in English, from the point of the author's view, is based upon temporal divisions (both proper and relative), forming a frame into which aspect differentiation is included within the range of different temporal points. Special attention was given to perfectnees.
Perfectness is the most enduring and essential category, acting in all microsystems (Table 17).
Describing stylistical features of the present, past and future tenses she marks that the present tense is widely used in narrations taking place within the sphere of the moment of speech, especially in plays and dialogues; «historical present»; permanent qualities, etc. The main sphere of the use of the past tense is the narration in the past, the representation of a chain of events which happened before the present' time. The complete parallelism of the future I and the future 11 and their purely grammatical meaning is exhibited an any contexts. The following sentences can be represented by both future tenses.
e.g.: Then I will drive this pilum through you.
(He said he would drive that pikum through him).
I shall not bother about them.
(He said he would not bother about them).
We would give the descriptions of some terms according to I.B. Khlebnikova:
transposition – the transference of some past actions into the range of the another axis of orientation – the present tense which is the initual point of temporal opposition.
neutralization – the future action is expressed by the present Indefinite or Continuous.
oppositions – represent an event on the plane of content of morphological forms which is reflected on the plane of expression.
e.g.: Mr. X arrives at London airport tomorrow.
I am taking the girl to London next week.
(neutralization)
The author gives definitions of abstract grammatical categories which find expression in the tense-aspect microsystem (active). There are three in number: tense, temporal relativity (perfect-ness) and aspect (durative).
We agree with the author that «the items selected for study here represent the most debatable parts of morphology. It concerns, first of all, the grammatical categories of the verb». Before presenting some facts at lecture a teacher have to transfer them according to the student's understanding.
Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms can be presented only in conditions of an utterance. An utterance is expressed by means of words and sentences. I.P. Verkhowskaya in her monograph «Tense-Aspect forms in English Complexs Sentence» conveys some results of her research work in the frames of the complex sentences (18290 examples). The author presents three tenses: Present, Past, Future Indefinite and shows how to use them according to the Sequences of Tenses. She pays her special attention to how to use the Present and Past Perfect and completes specific qualification in the frames of the complex sentence.
At the same time of discussion on a question about stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in Modern English we, the teachers, have to expand the students’ skill in the sphere of grammatical usage of these forms in utterances. In this case we can elicit a lot of examples given by I.P. Verkhovskaya in her monograph.
«Practical Stylistics of English» written by L.P. Efimov is an attempt to supply the student of English Stylistics with a practical appendix to the lecture and seminar course of stylystic study. The f purpose of this book is to aid the teaching process by which a student becomes aware of the richness and variety of English stylistic means of communication. The author writes that the central notion of Morphologicai Stylistics is the notion of transposition: a divergence between the traditional usage of a neutral word and its situational (stylistic) usage. Transposition of verb is even more varied than that of nouns. It is explained by a greater number of grammatical categories the meanings of which may be transposed. Mast expressive are tense forms, mood and voice forms. One of peculiar features of English tense forms is their polysemantism: the same form may realize various meanings in speech. Deviation from the general meaning makes verbs stylistically coloured.
e.g.: (Present continuous as future time.)
Pete is staring a new life tomorrow.
(The present continuous introduces the negative connotations of irritation, regret, sadness and others)
John is constantly grumbling.
There is a rule that verbs of sense perception and mental activity are not used in the continuous tense forms. This rule is often broken intentionally or subconsciously. In both cases verbal forms convey additional stylistic meanings of subjective modality:
e.g.: I an seeing you = I am not blind.
e.g.: I am understanding you = You need not go into further details.
I am feeling your touch = So tender you are, etc.
The author marks that «historical present» brightens the narration, raises its emotional tension, expresses intrigue, makes the continuity of events visual and graphic.
e.g.: It was yesterday and looked this way. The perpetrator comes to his victim, takes a long dagger out of his inner pocket and stabs the poor man right into. – his belly without saying a word…
Transposition is not the only way to make expressive. A good many verbal forms are expressive in themselves, for example, the imperative mood.
e.g.: Just come to me now – «may contextually imply love or hate, threat of warning, promise or desire.
The wide range of subjunctive mood forms offers a good stylistic choice of synonymous ways to verbalize one and the same idea.
e.g.: It is time for me to go (stylistically neutral)
It is time that I went (bookish and obsolescent)
In many contexts passive verbal forma are more expressive.
e.g.: A round table occupied the centre of the room,
cf: The centre of the room was occupied by a round table.
e.g.: They answered him nothing=He was answered nothing.
All these notes are very important for our paper: they give some additional features to our subject but it is not enough for leaning in the frames of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms.
Thus, the pedagogical quest has long been to find ways of developing a student’s knowledge about grammar which are both enlivening and rewarding, and it continues to be an important goal of contemporary educational linguistics. The field of grammar is often divided into two domains: morphology and syntax. In our case we have examined some points from transformational relations that were involved in tense-aspect formations of the morphological level. Different kind of transformations depend on the purpose of communication and can be treated only in the contexts.
In this case we can say about stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms of modern English. Interactions between grammar and stylistics are of the essence of language and probably the most significant point to notice in studing of a language in general. A special interest attaches to the correlation between meanings expressed by grammatical forms and their stylistic meanings to which in our paper we repeatedly draw our attention.
2. The analysis of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English
The main aim of the second part is to research and pick out some interesting examples from original English literature according to two tables (4, 12) that is two types of grammatical transpositions and aspectuality in the frames of the peripheral field. Our purpose is to confirm the central principles included in these tables and to present a lot of samples to enrich the Theoretical Grammar with new visual and practical material that gives real jerk to teachers to complete students’ seminars on this subject more interesting and productive.
The main methords which have been used in our research paper are:
– philological observations;
– revealind some samples, examples, facts from original literature of English authors and generalization;
– contextolpgical analysis of some contexts; description some important fact in considerable details.
Our results were obtained on the edge of some liguistic sciences:
Sty1istics, Functional Grammar, Syntax, Functional and Communicative Linguistics, The Theory of Interpretation of Texts, The Theory of Contextual Situation and others.
The application of these methods makes it possible to establish the concrete system in the frames of this students can observe stylistic potential of verbal forms in real environment and circumstances. The given gu tations from different sources serve to show how the two types of transpositions and aspectuality in the frames of peripheral field have been variously used by different English writers.
Stylistic Potential of Tense-Aspectual forms of English Verbs
2.1The types of transpositions of verbal forms as stylistic came in the category of tense
Transposition with functional-stylistic characters expressed by verbal forms.
Archaisms are words which were once common but now are (Table 1.4) replaced by synonyms. When the author consider the grammatical system of English verbs as an adaotive system has to mark some, thing historical important in narrative, description or poetry they use archaic verbal forms. N.M. Rayevska characterizes: «The archaic variant forms are used for stylistic purposes to create the atmosphere of elevated speech in pictorical language, in poetry or in proverbial saying». (29, p. 55) There are only some forms: Table «Archaic Forms of the Auxiliaries». The forms given in the tables above are those of modern standard English. One may also come across archaic forms, mainly in. poetry or texts where an archaic effect is intended.
| Forms | Grammatical characteristics | Verbs |
| dost [dΛst], [dəst] | Present indefinite, 2nd person singular | to do |
| doth, doeth (dΛØ), [dəØ] | Present indefinite, 3rd person singular | |
| didst [didst] | Past indefinite, 2nd person singular | |
| art| [a:t], [ət] | Present indefinite, 2nd person singular | to be |
| wast [wost], [wəst],wert [wə:t], [wət] | Past indefinite, 2nd person singular | |
| hast [hæst], [həst], [əst], [st] | Present indefinite, 2nd person singular | to have |
| hath [hæØ], [həØ], [əØ] | Present indefinite, 3rd person singular | |
| hadst [hædst], [hədst], [ədst] | Past indefinite, 2nd personsingular | |
| shall [ƒælt], [ƒəlt], [ƒlt] | Present indefinite, 2nd person singular | shall |
| shouldst, shouldest (ƒudst) | Past indefinite, 2nd personsingular | |
| wilt [wilt], [əlt], [|it] | Present indefinite, 2nd person singular | will |
| wouldst, wouldest [wudst] | Past indefinite, 2nd personsingular |
We can add some more examples:
Saith = says; Modal verbs:
endeth = ends; canst, needest, mayest.
knoweth = knows;
spake = spoke;
throve = thrived;
bare = bore
art = is;
stretchest, coverest fwalketh, maketh, layeth, gettest, didst, stiteth, beginneth, heareth and others.
e.g.:Byron, George Noel GORDON, Lord -1788–1824.
«…For it hath been by sorrow nursed,
And ach’d in sleepless silence long;
And now 'tis doom'd to know the worst,
And break at once-or yield to song.»
(G.G. Byron.My soul is dark. 17, p. 16.)
«…Thy tree hath lost its blossoms, and the rind,
Chopp’d by the axe, looks rough and little worth,
But the sap lasts, – and still the seed we find
Sown deep, even in the bosom of the North;
So shall a better spring lees bitter fruit bring forth.»
(G.G. Byron, From Childe Harold’s Piligrimage, 17, p. 211)
«…Thou stand’st along unrevall’d, till the fire
To come, in which all empires shall expire!»
(G.G. Byron, Moscow!, 17, p. 214)
«…The river glideth at his own free will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!»
(W. Wordsworth‑1770–1850, Westminster Bridge, 17, p. 32)
e.g.: TO-MORROW
«Where art thou, beloved To-morrow?
When young and old, and strong and weak,
rich and poor, trough joy and sorrow,
Thy sweet smiles we ever seek,-
In thy place-ah! well-A0DAY1
We find the thing we fled-To-day.»
(P.B. Shelly, 1792–1816,17, p. 57)
«O heart of man! canst thou not be Blithe as the air is, and as free?»
(H.W. Longfellow, 1807–1892,17, p. 142)
«Old Yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the under-lying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.»
(A. Tennyson, 1809–1892, 1/, p. 182)
«The Spanish people will rise again as they have always risen before against tyranny.
The dead do not need to rise. They are a part of the earth now and the earth can never be conquered. For the earth endures forever. It will outlive all systems of tyranny».
(B. Hemingway, 1899–1961,19,67)
«…Doubting Charley! Who trust nobody and believes nothing.
But even Charley can’t deny that Sam’s dead. He’s dead.
When thou know’st how dry a cinder this world is:»
(R. Hill, published in 2002, l, p. 62)
A lot of Shakespearisms are used in Modern English which are described by A.V. Kunin in his book The Course of Phraseology of Modern English». A.N. Morokhovsky lines out some phraseological units as arkhaisms; be at accord with somebody = agree to smb.;
play upon advantage = to deceive;
at adventure = at random;
at fortune’s alms = as charity of a fate;
all and some = separately and together.
Numerous archaisms can be found in Shakespeare, but it should be taken into consideration that what appear to us today as archaisms in the works of Shakespeare, are in fact examples of everyday language of Shakespeare’s time.
The use of archaic variant forms in fiction, for instance, in historical novels, serves to characterize the speech of those times, reproduce its atmosphere, its «couleur historique» (historic colour). As we have researched numerous archaic forms can be found in poetry XVII–XIX, XX centuries: G.G. Byron, W. Wordsworth, P. Shelly, H.W. Longfellow, A. Tennyson; in prose written by E. Hemingway, R. Hill and others. For those students who want to continue to research this aspect of Linguistics there are a lot of unresolved points.
2. Popular language as a free and easy every-day speech
Acceding to Table 12 «Transposition with functional-stylistic characters» the next aspect of our analysis is «Popular language as a free-and-easy every-day speech».
I.V. Arnold writes in her monograph that authors use this phenomenon for stylistic purposes: to portray the story-teller or hero (personage) when their stories are about past events [4; 156].
Ain’t is a nonstandard contraction commonly (esp in AmE) in place of am not, is not, are not, have not. Aren’t I is widely used, especially in BrE, whereas ain’t I, usually considered nonstandard, is somewhat more current in AmE. Amn’t I is mainly Scottish and Irish.