Jeff,

I am so amazed at the glimpses of molecular structure of the English
language I have been privileged to see in this forum.  A teacher once told
me, "You will have been taught everything there is to know about English
grammar by the time you are in the ninth grade.  Anything beyond that point
is simply repetition."  How wrong can a person be?!  I see a huge need to
teach some teachers.

I'm curious what you were referring to when you said "see chapter 19."  Is
there a title to go with this "chapter 19?"  :-)   I'm all ears...

~Ruth


----- Original Message -----
From: JEFF GLAUNER <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 2:11 PM
Subject: Re: Educable


> Ruth,
>
> I thought you might benefit from looking at the analysis of the English
verb
> and auxiliary from the generative transformational perspective.  This one
> comes from my text.  It mostly follows early GT theory.   Like any
> analytical system for grammar, it has a few flaws and frustrations. Notice
> that it isn't much like traditional conjugation.  For instance, the only
> tenses mentioned are past and not past (or present).  The formula is
> descriptive of the verb in the normal order, active voice, declarative
> sentences.  I find it useful for students who have not studied traditional
> conjugation.  It is a more direct route to the understanding of the
English
> verb than memorization of a whole list of tenses, modes, and voices that
> even we who teach grammar have a hard time remembering.
>
> Elaboration of the Auxiliary.
>
> Before we begin our discussion, you need the formula:
>
> T + (Modal) + (Have + EN) + (BE + ING) + MV
>
> Note #1:   The last item in the formula, MV, stands for main verb which
is,
> technically, a different constituent from the auxiliary. I include it in
the
> formula for the sake of convenience and clarity.
>
> Note #2:  Only two items in the formula are not in parentheses. Remember
> that parentheses in this kind of formula mean that the item is optional.
> Thus, since the MV is not part of AUX, the only component of AUX that is
> required in a finite clause is the T: tense.
>
> Note #3:  The above formula is for finite clauses. For nonfinite VPs, omit
> T.
>
> Note #4:  We are dealing here only with simple sentences that occur in the
> forms of the unelaborated basic sentence patterns. Used in other
sentences,
> slight differences occur in the formula which we will not go into at this
> time. Just as and example, the auxiliary verb "do" might be present.
>
> Now, can we talk?
>
> First, the outline of the basic components of the formula:
>
> T for Tense. There are only two tenses recognized by the formula: Past and
> Not Past. (I am the only grammarian I know of who refers to this as "not
> past." Expect to see it in other texts as "present." Maybe someday, I'll
> convince a disbelieving world!  Or they'll convince me.) The tense is
> attached to the first verb word in the VP.
>
> Modal.  We have quite a list. Memorize it. Can, could, will, would, shall,
> should, may, might, must. The modal, if it occurs, is the first word in
the
> AUX. Therefore, if it occurs, it carries tense (past or not past). Can,
> will, shall, and may are Not Past. Could, would, should, and might are
Past.
> Must is fuzzy in terms of tense and not a problem.
>
> HAVE. Three forms exist: have, has, had. If there is no modal and there is
a
> HAVE, it carries tense (past or not past).
>
> EN. This represents the morpheme that is always present on the next word
in
> the AUX/Verb after the HAVE word if the HAVE word is present. Note that it
> is not attached to HAVE. It is placed by HAVE in the formula because it
> always goes in partnership with HAVE. Also, EN will not always be
> spelled -en. Sometimes it will be spelled -t or -ed or some other
spelling.
> The language is not absolute in this regard.
>
> BE. Six variations occur: be, am, is, are, was, were.  Notice that been
and
> being are not on the list.  That's because the -en on been refers back to
> HAVE as noted above.  The -ing on being will only be there if be is the
main
> verb, if the sentence is in passive voice (see Chapter 19), or in some
other
> construction that does not reflect a basic sentence pattern.
>
> ING. Like the EN after HAVE, this ING is always attached to the next
> AUX/Verb after the BE.
>
> Note:  Remember that both have and be can serve as main verbs.   In that
> case, they are not part of AUX, and different rules apply.
>
> MV. I told you about this above.
>
> Now, some sample sentences. For now, we'll use only Pattern #1 sentences.
> The other patterns are no more complicated and entail no additional
> learning, but we'll avoid confusion for now by using only Pattern #1.  In
> brackets after the sentences, I have provided the parts of the verb
formula
> that apply.  Also, I have put all of the parts, including EN and ING in
the
> order of their occurrence in the sentences, not in the order of occurrence
in
> the basic formula.  Finally, notice that there are no parentheses.
>
> My cat eats. [Not Past + MV]
>
> My cat ate. [Past + MV]
>
> My cat can eat. [Not Past + Modal + MV]
>
> My cat could eat. [Past + Modal + MV]
>
> My cat could have eaten. [Past + Modal + HAVE + MV + EN]
>
> My cat had eaten. [Past + HAVE + MV + EN]
>
> My cat might have been eating. [Past + Modal + HAVE + BE + EN + MV + ING]
>
> My cat might be eating. [Past + Modal + BE + MV + ING]
>
> My cat was eating. [Past + BE + MV + ING]
>
> Jeff Glauner
> Park University
>