Auxiliary Verb Phrases

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Auxiliary Verb Phrases

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By Andrea López & Andrea Martínez

Lexical & Auxiliary Verbs

01

Modal Auxiliaries

Primary Auxiliaries

Tense and Time

Verb forms that are tensed are traditionally called finite verb forms. All other verb forms are non-finite. In the absence of any auxiliary, it is the lexical verb that is tensed (finite). Daisy fills / filled the pool.

• Fill is a regular lexical verb.
• Its present tense form consists of the basic stem, plus the present tense inflection -s.
• Past tense form consists of the stem plus the past tense inflection -ed.

English has just two tenses: Present and Past.

Irregular lexical verbs

• It is regular for verbs not to change from their stem form in the present tense:

They fill the pool / I fill the pool.

• A lexical verb only changes its form in the present tense when the subject or any other NP it's a third person singular, like he, she and it.
• In all other cases, the present tense form of the verb is identical to the bare stem form.
• The only exception to this general rule is the verb be.

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How should we represent tense in phrase markers?

The first verb in a sentence, whether lexical or auxiliary, is finite:

Jack has a pet

Jack had have a pet.

Difference 3

Difference 1

Difference 2

The negative particle (not or n’t) can attach to an auxiliary verb but never to a lexical verb.

In questions, auxiliary verbs can move in front of the subject NP. A lexical verb cannot.

The lexical verb can take a direct object NP. Auxiliary verbs never take an NP complement

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Modals auxiliaries

Modals are always tensed (finite). They do not have untensed forms.

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How should we represent modal auxiliaries?

The perfect auxiliary - HAVE

Lexical

The lexical verb is transitive, taking an NP complement.

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Present / Past

Auxliary

Have appears in a finite form: present tense (has) or past tense (had).

Have is described as the ‘perfect’ auxiliary. Perfect have is always followed by another verb.

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We have shopped in this market.

We had shopped in this market.

How should we represent perfect auxiliary HAVE ?

Millie will have filled the pool.

Max could have written something.

The progressive auxiliary — BE

The passive auxiliary — BE

Lexical verb

Auxiliary

Following passive be, a verb adopts the passive participle form (e.g. stolen).

Sentences that include the passive auxiliary verb be are said to be in the passive voice.

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How to represent it?

No new verb tense

The passive option introduces no new form into the language. It just recombines forms.

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PASS can co-occur with any combination of other auxiliaries.

How do adverbials interact with VP's?:

"The interacción between the auxiliary VP's and adverbials is an intricate topic"

1. Adverbial can occur between verbs.
1. You are deliberately missing the point!
2. a
2. The favoured position for adverbials is the position following the first auxiliary .

Assumption 1

If an adverbial precedes a verb, assume it modifies the following VP.

Assumption 2

Assume that sentence-final adverbials modify the lexical VP

02

Constructions that Depend on Auxiliaries

"Passive Sentences"

Active Sentence:

• The boss fired Max

Passive Sentence:

• Max was fired (by the boss)

Negative Sentence & Auxiliaries

The negative participle "not" is placed immediatly after the TENSED AUXILIARY

The negative participle can contract onto the auxiliary

Sentence without auxiliary

Questions

Without Auxiliary

With Auxiliary

• Byron dance = Does Byron dance?.

• Byron was dancing = Was Byron dancing?

THANK YOU!!

That hippo could easily have killed me.

It is an unbreakable rule of English that perfect have precedes the lexical verb and modals precede perfect have: MOD before PERF before Lexical V

Would not

Wouldn't

Has not

Hasn't

• Will in the present tense provides one way of referring to what is (at the present) a future point in time.
• Would, it provides a way of referring what was (in the past) a future point in time.
• The modal verbs must and need don’t even have a past tense form but just the one (present tense) form already given.

Byron would not dance

They have been complaining for the fun of it

• "for the fun of it" could be modifying:
• The Perf VP "have been complaining"
• The Prog VP "been complaining"
• The Lexical VP "Complaining"

Lexical be is the intensive verb, the copula.

• Met Gala was very extravagant.

Examples:

• See - saw
• Run - ran
• Go - went

And there are lexical verbs don’t have a past tense form distinct from their bare stem form (V): put, read, hit, cost, cut, let...

Steps to cange from active voice to passive voice:

1. Introduce passive "be" and put the lexical verb in the passive participle form.
2. Kick the subject out into a sentence -final by-phrase
3. Shift the object into the subject position

Order

Again, the ordering of the verbs is absolutely fixed. MOD before PERF before PROG before Lexical V

This change of form in the finite verb according to the number and person of the subject NP is called subject–verb agreement.

Does he go?*Goes he?

• Can / could
• Will / would
• Shall / should
• May / might
• Must
• Need

She can swim.

He doesn't go*He goesn't.

How should we represent progressive auxiliary?

PROG will only have the tense feature if it is the first verb in the sequence.

Examples:

• He needs to go.
• He needs a drink.

When a verb follows a lexical verb, it can be introduced by the infinitive particle to but not when it follows an auxiliary verb.

• He hopes to pass but he forgot to study.

This turn of events is worrying

• worrying here is not the verb. It’s the adjective. This means that is in is not the progressive auxiliary.
• Here be is followed by an adjective (more strictly, an AP).

They are driving to school.

• The tensed verbs are forms of the progressive auxiliary be.
• Progressive be demands that the following verb has the (non finite) -ING form. Call this the progressive participle.

Byron dance

Byron did not danceor Byron didn't dance

• Be
• Have
• Do

These can also be lexical verbs, though with different meanings.