I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem.

I, 2021

5.2.1. Nominal grammatical categories

5.2.1.1. Number
There are two terms of the category of number in both English and Romanian: singular (the
concept of ‘one’) and plural (the concept of ‘more than one’). In English, number is expressed by
inflection in:
✓ count nouns, generally by -s (dog/dogs)
✓ demonstratives (this/these, that/those)
✓ the 1st and 3rd p (but not in the 2nd p) of pronouns
• personal pronouns (I/we)
• possessive determiners (my/our)
• possessive pronouns (mine/ours)
• reflexive pronouns (myself/ourselves)
✓ certain pronouns and adjectives:
• singular: every, each, someone, anybody, a/an
• plural: all, many, few, several, most
✓ in verbs, indicated by the singular -s of the 3rd pers., which occurs in the present but
not in the past tense (he writes versus they write, he wrote). Number is expressed more
fully in the inflected forms of the verb be (singular am, is, was, plural are, were).
In Romanian, number is marked in all the situations above, plus several others (such as in the large
majority of adjectives, more extensively in verbs etc.).
The concept of generic number incorporates singular and plural and is used when the speaker
does not want to specify number. It is expressed in English in three ways1:
1. the definite article + singular noun (The tiger may be dangerous)
2. the indefinite article + singular noun (A tiger may be dangerous)
3. Ø article + plural of count nouns or singular of mass nouns (Tigers may be dangerous or Gold
is valuable).
In both English and Romanian, 1st person personal pronouns present a usage peculiarity which has
become out-dated: the so-called “royal we” or “editorial we”2 which is a situation of the utilization
of the plural when singular is denoted. Another situation when the plural replaces the singular
occurs in Romanian with the politeness plural, used with the personal pronouns for social purposes,
to signal the relations between people (acquaintance vs. stranger, superior vs. inferior, etc.).
5.2.1.2. Gender
English has a rather straightforward system of gender called natural gender3, in which gender
distinctions made in language depend upon the sex of the object in the real world. English

1
The same ways are possible in Romanian, as well.
2
pluralul de majestate in Romanian
3
natural gender = grammatical gender that reflects, as in English, the sex or animacy of the referent of a noun rather
than the form or any other feature of the word. (Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Natural gender)
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

distinguishes masculine, feminine, common gender (masc. or fem.), and neuter (sexless)
genders.
At first sight, this is an odd perspective for a Romanian, in whose native language gender appears
to be a central grammatical category, important for noun declension4 and for the noun’s agreement
with pronouns, adjectives and articles. The relation between natural gender and grammatical
gender5 is obvious in many of the animate nouns in Romanian, as there is a certain correlation
between their grammatical gender and the gender of the being they denote (o vacă albă (fem.) vs.
un bou alb (masc.), o fată harnică (fem.) vs. un băiat harnic (masc.), etc.)6. Gender appears to be
arbitrary - not related to the sex of the object denoted - for the inanimate nouns (o zi (fem.), un pat
(masc.), etc.). Actually, Romanian grammars distinguish between two classes of nouns:
✓ nouns with motivated gender – animate nouns for which there is a correspondence
between the grammatical gender and the natural gender of the being denoted by the noun
✓ nouns with unmotivated gender, that include all inanimate nouns, but also animate nouns
that denote both genders with only one form, either masculine (elefant, șoarece, tânțar,
etc.) or feminine (balenă, furnică, rândunică, rudă, etc.)
Unlike Romanian, modern English no longer distinguishes nouns and determinatives on the basis
of grammatical gender. The effect of this development is the lessened place of gender in English
nouns. According to Close, ”cow is not ‘feminine gender’ as opposed to the ‘masculine’ bull. Cow
and bull are two separate words, one referring to a female of a species of animal, the other to the
male. Both words can be preceded by a set of determiners, such as a, any, each, either, every, my,
the, this, that, each of which has one form only (Close, 1992, p. 1).
Old English had grammatical gender, but by the 11th century, during the Middle English period its
use started to decline and in Modern English words are not normally assigned a gender according
to their inflectional class. The features that have survived into Modern English are related to natural
gender, like the use of certain nouns and pronouns (such as queen, knight, he, she, etc.) to refer
specifically to persons or animals of one sex.
In present-day English, gender is expressed by inflection only in the 3rd person personal pronouns,
singular he, she, it. According to Brinton and Brinton (2010, pp. 116-7), nothing about the
morphological form of nouns such as boy and girl indicate that they are masculine or feminine
gender, and gender is shown only by the co-occurrence of relevant pronouns, he and she, which
refer back to the noun: the boy … he, the girl … she. The authors note that this makes gender a
covert7 category of the noun; they also observe that there are limited ways in which gender may
be expressed overtly on the English noun:

4
declension = the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles that indicates number, gender and case.
5
In the system of grammatical gender, every noun (either animate or inanimate) is treated as masculine, feminine
or neuter.
6
Gender distinctions are normally expressed in such pairs that contrast feminine and masculine nouns.
7
”Whorf (1956) draws the important distinction between overt and covert grammatical categories: an overt category
is one having a formal mark that is present in every sentence containing a member of the category (e.g., English
plural); a covert category includes members that are marked only in certain types of sentences. (Whorf labels the
distinctive treatment required in such environments “reactance.”) In English, gender is a covert category marked only
by the reactance of singular third-person pronouns and the relative pronouns who/what/which (which indicate
animacy). Despite this limited presence in the surface structure of English syntax, gender is nonetheless a grammatical
category and requires a systematic analysis of the patterns of anaphoric pronoun use for clues about the structure of
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

✓ by derivational suffixes, such as the feminine suffixes -ine (hero/heroine), -ess (god/goddess), -
rix (aviator/aviatrix), and -ette (suffragist/suffragette) or the common gender suffixes -er (baker),
-ist (artist), -ian (librarian), -ster (prankster), and -ard (drunkard);
✓ by compounds, such as lady-, woman-, girl-, female-, -woman (lady friend, woman doctor,
girl friend, female fire fighter, chairwoman) or boy-, male-, gentleman-, -man (boy friend,
male nurse, gentleman caller, chairman);
✓ by separate forms for masculine, feminine, and common genders, such as boy/girl/child or
rooster/hen/chicken;
✓ by separate forms for masculine and feminine genders, such as uncle/aunt, stallion/mare,
bachelor/spinster and proper names such as Joseph/Josephine, Henry/Henrietta.
None of these means is systematic and the feminine is always derived from the masculine 8. Also,
the masculine form typically doubles as the common gender form9, as with dog (feminine, bitch).
A source of difficulty is the fact that a common gender for the 3rd person singular to be used after
a singular indefinite pronoun such as each or every does not exist in English. The traditional use
of the masculine form for the generic (e.g. From each according to his ability, to each according
to his needs10), tends to be currently replaced by the use of the plural their, which is gender-neutral
but which violates number agreement (e.g. From each according to their ability, to each according
to their needs). Brinton & Brinton note that forms like his or her, his/her, s/he (e.g. From each
according to his or her ability, to each according to his or her needs) are newer attempts to correct
this deficiency.
5.2.1.3. Person
Person can be defined as the relationship between a subject and its verbal, showing whether the
subject is speaking about itself (1st person - I and we); is being spoken to (2nd person – you singular
and plural); or is being spoken of (3rd person - he, she, it, and they).
In both Romanian and English there are three persons: 1st person (the speaker), 2nd person (the
person spoken to) and 3rd person (the person or thing spoken about). The pronouns to which the
grammatical system of person applies are called personal pronouns, and as Brinton & Brinton
(2010, p. 118) observe, person distinctions are expressed by the inflected forms of the pronouns:
1st pers. 2nd pers. 3rd pers.
personal pronouns: I you he, they
personal possessive determiners: my your his, their
personal possessive pronouns: mine yours his, theirs
personal reflexive pronouns: myself yourself himself,
themselves

the categories within the system. Intuitive assumptions about the relationship between sex and gender are not
sufficient, for while biological sex is a good indicator of gender class, it is not absolutely predictive.” (Curzan)
8
The case of widow (fem.)/widower (masc.) is an exception, explained by Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 117) as the
result of the fact that women generally outlive men. Another exception is the pair ballerina/ballet dancer, but here the
masculine is a compound, not a simple form.
9
In the case of cow/bull, goose/gander or drake/duck, the feminine form is the common gender form, presumably
because the female is more important in the barnyard economy (Brinton and Brinton, 2010, 117).
10
A slogan popularised by Karl Marx in Critique of the Gotha Program (1875).
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

The same authors (2010, p. 118) note that nouns are all 3rd person, and this is shown only covertly
by the co-occurrence of pronouns: the house … it (I, you), the houses … they (we, you).
They also enumerate other forms that express generic besides the use of the rather formal one that
expresses generic person (all persons) and note that the generic you is the most common in informal
usage.
1st pers. Pl we We're often misinformed by the media.
2nd pers. sg and pl you You never can tell.
3rd pers. sg one One doesn’t do that in polite company.
3rd pers. pl they They’ll find a cure for cancer soon.
In both English and Romanian another person than the expected one may be used in certain situations:
✓ 3rd pers. for 1st pers. – in very young children (Mary wants cake – where Mary is the speaker), in
official statements (Your boss clearly forbids such behaviour – where the boss is the speaker), in
academic style (This author aims at …. – written by the author himself/herself), etc.
✓ 1st pers. for 2nd pers. - spoken by a parent to a young child (We’ll stop that now, will we?).
The grammatical category of person is also marked inflectionally, by the -s affix added on the verb.
Note that this happens exclusively with the verbs in the present indicative, singular, 3rd person. Be is
an exception as it preserves inflections in other persons (1st pers. am, 2nd and 3rd pers. are, 3rd pers.
is), and with the past tense as well (was, were).
5.2.1.4. Case
In many languages, Romanian included, case is another type of inflectional contrast associated
with nouns. O’Grady et al describe it as “a category that encodes information about an element’s
grammatical role (subject, direct object, and so on). In Modern English, this information is
expressed largely through word order and the use of prepositions” (2001, p. 166).
Case is most fully expressed in the personal and interrogative/relative pronouns, which distinguish
nominative case (the function of subject), genitive case (the function of possessor), and objective
case (the function of object) by different inflected forms (Brinton & Brinton, 2010, p. 119):
nominative: I we you he, she, it they who
genitive: my/mine our/ours his, her/hers, its their/theirs whose
objective: Me us You him, her, it them whom
The genitive includes forms which function as predeterminers, such as my and our, as well as forms which
function as pronouns, such as mine or ours.
Crystal (1996, p. 74) maintains that there are only two cases in contemporary English: the common
case, where the noun has no ending, and the genitive case formed by adding an ‘s to the singular
form of the noun and only an apostrophe for the plural form. One reason for this terminological
simplification is that there is no inflectional mark that distinguishes, for example, a noun in the
nominative case from one in the accusative case.
sg. pl.
common case Cat cats
genitive case cat’s cats’
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 119) note that, though orthographically there are four distinct forms
of nouns when singular and plural, common and genitive case are considered, the apostrophe is
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

merely orthographic so that the forms cats, cat’s, and cats’ are phonologically indistinguishable.
Only irregular plurals such as the noun man actually distinguish four forms both orthographically
and phonologically.
sg. pl.
common case Man men
genitive case man’s men’s
The distinction between the nominative and objective forms has disappeared even from the form
of certain pronouns:
nominative: It You
genitive: Its Your
objective: It You
The two authors (2010, p. 120) point to other case distinctions which can be made, such as the
dative case (the function of indirect object), but consider it a subcategory of the objective case,
shown by periphrasis with to or for or by word order (V iO dO):
He gave Jane the book.
He gave the book to Jane.
In order to account for the case contrasts found in English nouns and pronouns, O’Grady et al
(2001, p. 261) propose a set of rules that associate case with specific syntactic positions. The case
rules for English NPs are:
a. The object of V receives accusative case.
b. The complement of preposition receives accusative case.
c. The specifier of noun receives genitive case.
d. The subject receives nominative case.
According to the rules, a sentence such as Mary saw him is well-formed, since the pronoun in the
object NP is accusative, as required by rule a. In contrast, Mary saw he is ungrammatical, since
the pronoun in the object NP has the nominative form, in violation of the same rule.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 120) illustrate the conventional uses of cases with the use of the
nominative case after the verb be (e.g. It is I) and maintain that the same function can be expressed
by different cases, as in instances where the concept of possession is expressed by either the
genitive or dative case (e.g. The book is mine, The book belongs to me).
The same case can express different functions or meanings, and this is obvious in the behaviour of
the genitive case, which does not simply express possession. The following types of genitives have
been identified (Brinton & Brinton, 2010, pp. 120-1), based on the meaning relationship between
the noun in the genitive and the head noun:
✓ possessive genitive: Felix’s car (Felix owns his car)
✓ subjective genitive: the movie star’s entrance (the movie star enters - the same relation as
between a subject and a verb)
✓ objective genitive: the city’s reconstruction (X reconstructs the city - the same relation as
a direct object does to a verb)
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

✓ genitive of origin: Shakespeare’s plays, the baker’s cakes (expresses the source, person, or
place from which something originates)
✓ descriptive genitive: man of wisdom, a woman of courage (usually expressed
periphrastically, it is often equivalent to a descriptive adjective, as in man of wisdom =
‘wise man’)
✓ genitive of measure: an hour’s time, a stone’s throw (expresses an extent of time or space)
✓ partitive genitive: a member of the crowd, a spoke of the wheel (expresses the whole in
relation to a part)
✓ appositive genitive: the city of Vancouver, the state of California (renames the head noun)
Quite often the of-genitive/ prepositional genitive can replace the ‘s genitive in many usages, or at
least double it. Leech (2006, p. 47) notes the speakers’ tendency to use the of-construction where
the genitive would cause too much complexity in front of the head noun. Thus, an instance such
as the night train to Edinburgh’s departure is less likely to occur than the departure of the night
train to Edinburgh.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 121) suggest that, though the inflectional genitive (with ‘s) and the
periphrastic form (with of + NP) are normally interchangeable, it is not always possible to
substitute one means of expression for the other. “For example, while the Queen’s arrival is
interchangeable with the arrival of the Queen, a person of integrity is not interchangeable with an
integrity’s person nor is a stone’s throw interchangeable with a throw of a stone. Certain types of
genitives, such as the partitive, descriptive, or appositive, are typically expressed only
periphrastically”.
The authors (2010, p. 121) also point to various types of ambiguities that appear in the genitive
structures, such as the phrase the shooting of the hunters, which is ambiguous between subjective
and objective genitive readings because it can mean either ‘the hunters shoot X’ or ‘X shoots the
hunters’. The child’s picture is also ambiguous, since we do not understand whether the child has
drawn the picture or someone else has taken the picture of the child. The same applies for the
woman’s book - ambiguous between the possessive genitive and the genitive of origin – as the
woman may either own the book or she may have written it.
The double genitive is another complex aspect of the genitive mentioned by Brinton and Brinton
(2010, p. 121), in which periphrastic and inflectional forms co-occur: a friend of Rosa’s, no fault of his.
The double genitive is always indefinite (the friend of Rosa’s) and ‘human’ (a leg of the table’s). It
normally has a partitive sense (’one friend among all of Rosa’s friends), though it is also possible to
use it when Rosa has only one friend. A portrait of the king’s (‘one among all the portraits (of others)
that the king owns’) can be contrasted with a portrait of the king (‘a portrait which depicts the king’).
Leech sees the genitive as “the only remnant in modern English of the case system of nouns, prevalent
in Old English, and also in classical Greek, Latin and many modern European languages. […] The
genitive form of a noun typically comes before another noun, the head of the noun phrase of which the
genitive is part, for example Robert’s desk ” (2006, p. 46).
The ‘s genitive is normally used when the possessor is a proper noun, preferably the name of a person:
Mary’s house, John’s job, etc. However, it is possible with other animate noun classes:
✓ nouns denoting humans: the boy’s aunt
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

✓ collective nouns: the government’s announcement

✓ higher animals: the horse’s neck
The of-genitive is normally used with inanimate nouns and with lower animals, but many of the
inanimate nouns also take the ’s genitive as well: the car’s maker/the maker of the car, the novel’s
title/the title of the novel, etc.
The following inanimate noun classes commonly take the ’s genitive:
✓ geographical names (proper names):
• continents: Europe’s population
• countries: Romania’s politicians
• cities/towns: Bucharest’s transportation system
• universities: Cuza’s Language center
✓ nouns denoting space or locations (regions, institutions, etc.: the world’s most famous writer, the
Church’s finances, the country’s policy, etc.
✓ nouns denoting time: yesterday’s newspaper, this year’s events, etc.
✓ nouns denoting weight or value: a pound’s weight, two euros’ worth of coffee, etc.
5.2.1.5. Degree
Degree is a nominal category that relates to adjectives and adverbs and has three terms:
• positive degree (expressing a quality)
• comparative degree (expressing a greater degree or intensity of the quality in one of two
items)
• superlative degree (expressing the greatest degree or intensity of the quality in one of
three or more items)
Brinton and Brinton (2010, pp. 121-2) note that the positive degree is expressed by the root of the
adjective (e.g. big, beautiful) or adverb (e.g. fast, quickly) – that is, it is null-realized – while the
comparative and superlative degrees are expressed either by inflection (by means of -er, -est) or
by periphrasis (using more, most):
positive Ø big Fast Beautiful quickly
comparative -er, more bigger Faster more beautiful more quickly
superlative -est, most biggest fastest most beautiful most quickly
The inflection is used with:
• monosyllabic forms neater, thinner, wider
• certain disyllabic forms – adjectives ending in –y: holy →holier; -le: little → littler; -er:
bitter → bitterer; -ow: narrow → narrower; -some: handsome → handsomer.
The periphrasis occurs in all other forms, including adverbs ending in -ly (e.g. more quickly, not
quicklier).
Lesser degree can be expressed periphrastically with less and least, as in less big, least beautiful.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 122) explain that, for semantic reasons, some adjectives cannot be
inflected for degree. Thus, adjectives such as perfect, unique, round, full, empty, married, and dead
are incomparable because they express absolute qualities. The authors illustrate such qualities with
two examples – dead and unique. About the former, they comment that something is either ‘dead’
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

or not; it cannot be more or less dead. As for superlatives such as most unique, they are logically
impossible, though one frequently hears such forms. The explanation is that either most can be
understood as an emphatic element or unique can be understood as meaning ‘unusual’.
The concept of superlative is rather easy to comprehend for the Romanian speaker since the rules
are identical, even stricter, in Romanian grammar. That is, an example like the most perfect day,
as well as the second proposed above, would be totally unacceptable in Romanian (cea mai
perfectă zi, cel mai unic).
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 122) point to another peculiarity of English adjectives: forms such
as best time, rudest remark, or closest of friends often express a high degree rather than a true
comparison, with the superlative equivalent to ‘very’. Finally, it is also common to hear the
superlative used in the comparison of two items, as in put your best foot forward, the most
advantageous of two alternatives, even though the rule imposes the structure the + comparative
(put your better foot forward, the more advantageous of two alternatives). The discussion of the
comparative is continued in 5.5.
5.2.1.6. Definiteness
The concepts of definiteness and indefiniteness are seen by Brinton and Brinton (pp. 122-3) as
intuitively quite simple: definite denotes a referent (a thing in the real world denoted by a noun)
which is known, familiar, or identified to the speaker and hearer, while indefinite denotes a
referent which is unfamiliar or not known.
These concepts have been adopted by some Romanian grammars as well, especially due to the
linguistic school of Bucharest (Diaconescu, Manoliu Manea, Guţu Romalo, Coteanu, Coja, etc.). They
view definiteness (determinarea) as the fourth grammatical category of the noun.
If nouns are considered on their own, definiteness is a covert category, because it is obvious only
in the co-occurrence of either the definite article the or the indefinite article a/an with a noun,
though all proper nouns and most pronouns are intrinsically definite.
However, definiteness can be quite confusing in actual practice, because, on the one hand, it
intersects with the category of specificity 11 and, on the other hand, article usage in English is
complex and, in many instances, arbitrary. Thus, each article has several different uses (some of
which are dialectal) and articles are often omitted, which makes article usage a difficult area of
grammar for non-native speakers.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 123) identify the following major uses of the:
1. for something previously mentioned: yesterday I read a book … the book was about space travel
(This is the anaphoric, or ‘pointing back’, function of the definite article);
2. for a unique or fixed referent: the Prime Minister, the Lord, the Times, the Suez Canal;
3. for a generic referent: (I love) the piano, (We are concerned about) the unemployed;

11
Specific, nonspecific, and generic. Information is specific if it denotes a particular entity in the real world, while it
is nonspecific if it denotes no particular entity in the real world. HINT: Pronouns and proper nouns are usually specific,
though some pronouns, such as general you, one, or they, are nonspecific, as in You never can tell, One must consider
all options, They never tell you anything, where no person is being referred to (Brinton and Brinton, 328).
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

4. for something which is part of the immediate socio-physical context or generally known: the
doorbell, the kettle, the sun, the weather;
5. for something identified by a modifying expression either preceding or following the noun: the gray
horse, the house at the end of the block;
6. for converting a proper noun to a common noun: the England he knew, the Shakespeare of our
times, the Hell I suffered.
The two authors point to the fact that article usage with proper nouns often depends on the category
of proper nouns (e.g. Lake Superior vs. The Red Sea; The Mississippi River vs. Cache Creek) or
even on the specific example within a category (e.g. The Sudan vs. Ethiopia; Sears Tower vs. The
Eiffel Tower; Washington Monument vs. The Lincoln Memorial). They propose a very useful rule
of thumb: proper nouns with -s (in the plural form) generally take the definite article: The
Everglades, The Great Plains, The Rocky Mountains, The Seychelles.
Brinton and Brinton also list a number of instances in actual usage where the definite article is
omitted when it would be expected:
✓ with institutions (e.g. at school)
✓ with means of transportation (e.g. by car)
✓ with times of day (e.g. at noon)
✓ with meals (e.g. at breakfast)
✓ with illnesses (e.g. have malaria).
The major uses of a/an identified by the same authors (2010, pp. 123-4) are the following:
1. for something mentioned for the first time;
2. for something which cannot or need not be identified: (I want) a friend;
3. for a generic referent: (He is) a teacher;
4. equivalent to ‘any’ : a (any) good book;
5. equivalent to ‘one’ : a week or two; and
6. for converting a proper noun to a common noun: a virtual Mozart, a real Einstein.

5.2.2. Verbal grammatical categories

5.2.2.1. Tense
Tense is defined by Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 124) as the linguistic indication of the time of
an action/event in respect to the moment of speaking (or some other reference point).
Time is a non-linguistic concept that exists independently of human language, while tense is the
linguistic expression of time relations realized by verb forms.
According to Downing and Locke (2006, p. 352), tense is the grammatical expression of the
location of events in time, which anchors an event to the speaker’s experience of the world by
relating the event time to a point of reference. They call the universal, unmarked reference point
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

the moment of speaking - speech time. In narratives, a point in past time is usually taken as the
reference point.
This point of reference is the point versus which some events are anterior (i.e. they take place
before it), posterior (i.e. they will take place after the moment of speaking), or simultaneous with
the moment of speech (i.e. they happen at the same time)
In English there are only two inflectional tense distinctions, that is only two tenses - present and
past - have marked rather than combined (with auxiliaries) forms. Compare call (present tense),
called (past tense) and will call (future tense). The only tense distinction expressed inflectionally
is that between call and called, while will call is a periphrastic structure.
On a timeline like the one below, for example, a past time statement, such as It rained, or a future-
time statement, such as It will rain, denotes a situation held before the present moment or that will
hold after the present moment, respectively:
------------------------------------x------------------------------------->
past time now future
speech time
present moment
Thus, verbs in the present tense normally refer to 'now' (indicated above by the x), while verbs in
the past tense normally refer to 'before now'.
According to Hasselgård, Lysvåg and Johansson (n.d.), the present tense can alternatively express
directness or closeness in time and/or reality (Since you are rich, you can buy that house), while the past
tense expresses distance (If you were rich, you could buy that house).
Brinton and Brinton (2010, pp. 124-6) argue that, in fact, the present progressive is used to denote
actions going on at the present time (as in I am reading at this moment, not I read at this moment).
They list a number of uses of the PRESENT TENSE form in English which are actually employed
for the expression of other types of temporal as well as non-temporal situations12.
1. habits: I walk to work every day. She smokes. We eat dinner at 6:00.
A habit such as the one expressed in She smokes can be figured as a series of separate events that
are characteristic of a period and that together constitute a whole.
---★---★---★---★---★---★---★---★---★---->
Habits exist even if the event is not actually going on at the present moment; that is to say, the fact
that she smokes ( = she is a smoker) is true even if she is not actually smoking a cigarette at the
present moment.
2. states: She lives at home. I like chocolate. I believe you. I have lots of work to do. The dog sees
well. I feel sick. States include non-dynamic situations such as:
✓ emotional states (love)
✓ cognitive states (understand)
✓ perceptual states (feel)

12
For such uses, the term nonpast is preferred to present.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

✓ bodily sensations (ache)

✓ expressions of having and being (own, resemble).
3. generic statements: Beavers build dams. Tigers are ferocious.
A generic statement says something about a class of things (‘tigers are ferocious’). Brinton and Brinton
point to the difference between a state such as I am happy and a generic statement such as Tigers are
ferocious, in addition to the non-generic (I) vs. generic (tigers) subject. This means that the state refers
to a specific situation and can occur with adverbs such as still, already, not yet (e.g. I am still
happy/Tigers are still ferocious).
4. timeless statements: The sun sets in the west. Summer begins on June 21st. Two plus two is
four.
Timeless statements express eternal truths and laws of nature.
5. gnomic (proverbial) statements: A stitch in time saves nine. Haste makes waste.
Gnomic statements express proverbs, which are not necessarily timeless.
6. future statements: We leave tomorrow. I see the doctor this afternoon.
Future expressed with the simple present generally refers to situations predetermined and fixed,
such as flight timetables, schedule appointments, etc.
7. instantaneous commentary: He shoots; he scores. Now I beat in two eggs. He pulls a rabbit out
of the hat.
Instantaneous commentary occurs in sports reporting, cooking demonstrations, magic shows, etc.
This is the only use of the nonpast form for actions actually going on at the current moment.)
8. plot summary: Hamlet dies at the end of the play. Emma marries Mr. Knightley.
The present is used in summarizing works of literature and in talking about artists as artistic figures.
9. narration in the present (the “historical present”): Then he says …
The historical present is the use of present tense for narrating informal stories and jokes, though it
is used increasingly frequently in serious literature.
10. information present: I hear/see that Manfred has been promoted.
The information present is the use of present tense with verbs of hearing or seeing where one might
expect the past tense.
Conveniently enough, all the ten uses of the English present tense above have corresponding
counterparts in the use of the Romanian timpul prezent.
The uses of the PAST TENSE:
1. an event or a state in past time: Haydn composed the symphony in 1758 or Handel lived in
England for a number of years;
2. narration: Two days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge (Atwood, 2000,
p. 1)
3. past habit: I drove to work last year.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

The past tense is the tense of narration, but if the simple past denotes a past habit, an appropriate
time adverbial is required. However, there is a special past habitual form - used to, as in I used to
drive to work, which does not normally require a time adverbial.
4. politeness: I was hoping you would help. Did you want to talk to me?
The past tense may also be used nontemporally, as a means to express politeness or to denote the
unreal: present hope; future help.
5. hypothetical: If you studied more, you would do better.
These are “modal” uses of the past, where the subjunctive mood replaces the indicative.
There are several Romanian corresponding past forms for each of the uses above are:
1. perfect compus for an event or a state in past time: Haydn a compus ...
2. perfect simplu or perfect compus for narration: Două zile după ce se sfârși războiul, sora sa....
3. imperfect for past habit: Anul trecut mergeam cu mașina la serviciu.
4. imperfect for politeness: Speram că mă vei ajuta.
FUTURE TIME is usually marked in English with modals or semi-modals in a variety of periphrases (see
5.4.), as well as by the inflected simple tense.
1. will/shall + infinitive: I will help you tomorrow.
2. the simple present: The party begins at 4:00.
3. the present progressive: We’re having guests for dinner.
4. be going to, be about to + infinitive: The child is going to be sick. The boat is about to leave.
5. shall/will + the progressive: I will be moving next week.
Brinton and Brinton remark (2010, p. 126) that the forms of the future are subtly different in
meaning, and illustrate this with the following examples:
- It’s going to rain today or It’s about to rain might be uttered while looking up at a
threatening rain cloud, while It will rain today could only be the prediction of the
meteorologist or a report of this person’s prediction.
- It rains today is distinctly odd because it denotes the future as fact, or predetermined, and
as punctual.
- the progressive It’s raining today could not function as a future in this instance either.
- It will be raining today (when you want to mow the lawn) is possible if it denotes a situation
surrounding another event.
They argue that commands (e.g. Wash the dishes!) always carry a future meaning, as one cannot
command someone else to perform an action in the past nor to be performing it at the present
moment. Thus, the imperative places the action at a future moment/time and it has a closer relation
to modality than to tense, since it expresses something that is not (yet) fact.
Tense in reported speech
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002, pp. 152-3) highlight the special use simple past tense has in
reported speech or thought. In reports, even if the original speech or thoughts were in present tense,
past tense is usually used.
1. Then the next day he said he no longer loved me. (direct speech: 'I no longer love you.')
2. And I thought I was going to go home early. (direct thought: 'I am going to go home early.')
3. Abbey said there was a meeting planned to discuss the contract this week. (direct speech: 'There
is a meeting.')
The tense of the verb in the subordinate that-clause agrees with the past tense of the reporting verb
(e.g. said - loved in 1). If a speaker is reporting the speech of someone else, there is also a
corresponding shift in pronouns, for example from I to he in 1.
The authors also point to the fact that the circumstances may still be continuing even though past
tense is used (as in 3, for example, where the meeting may still be planned).
5.2.2.2. Aspect
Brinton and Brinton define aspect as the view taken of an event, or the “aspect” under which it is
considered, basically whether it is seen as complete and whole (perfective aspect) or as
incomplete and ongoing (imperfective aspect).
Downing and Locke (2006, p. 370) contrast the categories of tense and aspect and maintain that,
while tense is used to locate events in time, aspect is concerned with the way in which the event is
viewed with regard to duration and completion. They compare the two examples below and
observe that both are in the past tense and both locate the situation in past time. The difference is
in aspect, expressed by the verbal form was locking as opposed to the ordinary past locked.
1. He locked the safe. 2. He was locking the safe.
They point to the basic aspectual distinction of perfectivity vs imperfectivity:
• Perfective: the situation is presented as a complete whole, as if viewed externally, with
sharp boundaries, as in 1. (Note that perfectivity is not the Perfect aspect!)
• Imperfective: the situation is viewed as an internal stage, without boundaries and is
conceptualised as ongoing and incomplete; the beginning and end are not included in this
viewpoint – we see only the internal part, as in 2. The Progressive is thus a kind of
imperfectivity.
Especially for the Romanian speakers of English, aspect can be a difficult concept, which poses
comprehension and usage difficulties, since traditional Romanian grammars do not recognize this
verbal grammatical category13. However, Irimia (1997, pp. 118-20) notes that in Romanian as well,
the grammatical category of aspect develops in the opposition perfective- imperfective 14 , an
opposition best represented in the Romanian past tenses:
perfective imperfective
perfectul compus imperfectul
perfectul simplu

13
Aspect is not marked through auxiliary verbs in Romanian.
14
Irimia corelează opoziția perfectiv- imperfectiv cu opoziția împlinit – neîmplinit.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

mai mult ca perfectul

Irimia maintains that aspect is marked inflectionally in the Romanian verbs, and proposes the verb
a coborî as an illustration.
perfective imperfective
coborî + t perfectul compus cobora + m imperfectul
coborî + Ø + i perfectul simplu
coborî + se + m mai mult ca
perfectul
Confusion between the categories of tense and aspect arises because they both are related to time.
However, “while tense relates the time of a situation to some other time, commonly the time of
speaking, aspect conveys other temporal information, such as duration, completion, or frequency,
as it relates to the time of action. Thus, tense refers to temporally when while aspect refers to
temporally how. Aspect can be said to describe the texture of the time in which a situation occurs,
such as a single point of time, a continuous range of time, a sequence of discrete points in time,
etc., whereas tense indicates its location in time (Grammatical aspect).
In a series of examples such as I read, I am reading, I have read, and I have been reading, all the
verbals are somehow related to the present time. The difference is that, even if they all describe
the present situation, each conveys its own information about or points of view on the way the
action relates to present time. This is to say, they differ in aspect.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 127) find it useful to treat the so-called “compound tenses” – the
perfect and the progressive – as expressions of the category of aspect. They explain that simple
past tense in English is perfective in aspect since it views events as complete and whole, e.g.
Yesterday, I drove to town, ran some errands, and visited with my friends. The progressive
periphrasis (be + the present participle) expresses imperfective aspect, because it renders actions
in progress, ongoing, and incomplete (not yet ended). This is the usual way to denote a situation
happening at the very moment of speaking, which by definition is incomplete.
Depending on the temporal nature of the situation expressed by the verb – punctual or durative –
the authors above (2010, p. 127) identify the following situations in which the progressive is used:
✓ a continuous activity: She is reading. He was having a bath when I called.
✓ a repeated activity (“iterative aspect”): He was kicking the ball against the wall.
✓ a process leading up to an endpoint: He is walking her home.
An important observation is that the progressive is generally incompatible with static situations. This
is due to the fact that non-dynamic situations cannot be seen as ongoing or in progress (I am liking
music, I am having a car.).
There are however some special uses of the progressive with state verbs:
✓ to change a state verb into a dynamic one (You are being naughty = behaving badly).
✓ to indicate a temporary state (He is teaching French this year = he normally teaches
another subject).
✓ to refer to an increasing or decreasing trend (Gas is costing a lot these days = it costs more
than it used to cost).
✓ to say something politely (I’m not recalling your name, can you give me a clue?).
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

According to Brinton and Brinton (2010, pp. 127-8), both the meaning and categorization of the
perfect (the other periphrasis in English, consisting of have + the past participle) pose difficulties
for linguists, but it is widely agreed that the perfect is an aspect category rather than a tense
category. It presents the “current relevance” of a past event which is relevant either by its
continuation into the present or by its results in the present.
When a state or event that has duration (i.e. that extends over a period of time) is expressed in the
perfect, it denotes a situation that began in the past but continues to the present and possibly beyond
(e.g. she has stayed for a week). This is called a continuative perfect.
Continuative perfect
state I have lived here since childhood.
habit She has sung in the choir for ten years.
activity (continuous) The preacher has talked for the last hour.
activity (iterative) The child has coughed all night.
When an event that is punctual or has a necessary endpoint is expressed in the perfect, it denotes
a situation that is completed but has results in the present (e.g. she has opened the door). This is
called the resultative perfect.
Resultative perfect
activity with a necessary endpoint I have read the novel.
punctual event I have lost my keys.
The table below shows the major ways in which the Present Perfect differs from the Past Tense
(Downing & Locke, 2006, p. 362).
Present Perfect Past Tense
a. The activity/state is placed in the extended now Its time-frame is the past, which is viewed as a
(a period of time which extends up to speech time.) separate time-frame from that of the present.
b. The event occurs at some indefinite and The event is located at a specific and definite time
unspecified time within the extended now. The in the past. The Past tense points to a specific time in
Present Perfect does not point to a specific time, but the past.
relates to a relevant time.
As we have seen in 4.4., tense is expressed on the auxiliary verb be or have, thus resulting the following
forms:
form description Example
present action in progress at the moment of speaking I am reading a novel.
progressive
present perfect past action with results in the present I have read this novel.
present perfect action which has been in progress from some I have been reading a novel
progressive moment in the past up to speech time (and possibly for the last hour.
beyond).
past action in progress at some moment in the past I was reading a novel at that
progressive time.
past perfect past action with results at some past moment or I had read that novel before I
completed before some past moment bought it .
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

past perfect action which had been in progress from some I had been reading the novel
progressive moment in the past up to some other past moment for an hour before calling
closer to speech time her.
future action in progress at some future moment I will be reading a novel by
progressive then.
future perfect future action with results at some future moment or I will have read a novel for
completed before some future moment an hour by then.
future perfect future action in progress up to a particular event or I will have been reading a
progressive time in the future; the duration stops at or before a novel for an hour by the time
reference point in the future she arrives.
Finite verbs, and therefore also finite clauses, are marked for tense. Tensed forms distinguish the
present tense (walk, walks) from the past tense (walked); the same applies to the distinction regular
verbs - irregular verbs, as in begin - began, go – went, etc. There are, nevertheless, irregular verbs
which have the same form for the present and past tenses, such as cost, cut, etc. Person and number
are marked only on the 3rd person singular of the present tense indicative (walks, begins) – except
for the verb be, which has more forms. Tense is also carried by the finite operators. (see 2.4.2.)
5.2.2.3. Mood
Mood is the verbal grammatical category that indicates the way in which the speaker regards his/her
message, i.e. whether he/she considers the event fact or nonfact (for example, whether it is intended
as a statement of fact, of desire, of command, etc.). This indication is normally realised by verbal
inflections.
In both English and Romanian mood is closely related to tense and aspect (where applicable) and the
same word patterns are used to express the three grammatical categories at the same time. If we accept
the definition above, then we also have to accept the view that, because mood involves the verbal
expression of the speaker’s attitude, only finite verbs can be assigned to a certain mood. This
description is actually very similar to the definition for mood in Romanian grammar provided by
Irimia15, who argues that the traditional distinction between finite moods – non-finite moods16 is
unfounded, as the non-finite forms 17 (the infinitive, gerund, participle, supine) are actually either
nonverbal or not exclusively verbal (1997, p. 123).
Akmajian et al. note that “traditional grammars say that a verb is in, for example, the subjunctive
mood if it has a certain inflection (verbal morphology) and a sentence is in that mood if its main
verb is in that mood.” However, they suggest that moods are best analysed sententially18, as forms
with certain conventional communicative functions (2001, p. 249). The same authors distinguish
between major moods (1. the indicative mood, 2. the imperative mood, 3. the subjunctive mood)

15
„Modul este o categorie gramaticală prin care se exprimă implicarea subiectului vorbitor în desfășurarea raportului
semantic dintre verb (realitate lingvistică) și o acțiune (stare etc.) (realitate extralingvistică), interpretată prin enunțul
sintactic – obiect al procesului de comunicare” (Irimia, 1997, p. 122).
16
În gramatica română se modurile predicative se mai numesc și personale, iar cele nepredicative se numesc și
nepersonale.
17
nonfinite verb = a verb form that is not restricted for person, number, and tense, including infinitives, gerunds, and
participles (Brinton & Brinton, 2010, p. 406)
18
sentential = pertaining to or of the nature of a sentence.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

and minor moods (1. tag declarative, 2. tag imperative, 3. pseudo-imperative, 4. alternative
questions, 5. exclamative, 6. optative, 7. "one more" sentence)19.
According to them, there are three major moods in English:
realis/fact mood the indicative mood is used to make factual statements or pose questions
irrealis/nonfact the imperative to express a request or command
moods mood
the subjunctive to show a wish, doubt, or anything else contrary to
mood fact
Minor moods are illustrated by the following examples:
Tag declarative You've been drinking again, haven't you.
Tag imperative Leave the room, will you!
Pseudo-imperative Move and/or I'll shoot!
Alternative Does John resemble his father or his mother? (with rising intonation
questions on father and falling intonation on mother)
Exclamative What a nice day!
Optative May he rest in peace.
"One more" One more beer and I'll leave.
sentence
Curse You pig, bag of wind, . . .!
Akmajian et al point to the fact that the distinction between major and minor mood is not clear-
cut; they identify the following features that intuitively characterize minor moods:
✓ are highly restricted in their productivity
✓ are peripheral to communication
✓ are probably low in their relative frequency of occurrence
✓ vary widely across languages." (2001, pp. 249-50)
1. The indicative is the mood of fact, of real situations, that indicates that something is actually
the case or actually not the case. It is expressed by the simple and compound tenses of the verb.
The indicative is the most common mood and is used in factual, objective statements. A verb in
the indicative is marked for tense and aspect and in the present tense shows grammatical concord
with the subject:
The major nonfact moods - the imperative and the subjunctive - indicate that something is not
actually the case or a certain situation or action is not known to have happened.
2. In both English and Romanian, the imperative mood is used to express direct commands. It has
a special syntactic form - it is a subjectless sentence - because a direct command can only occur
between the speaker (the 1st person) and the hearer (the 2nd person) - see 2.4. and 3.2.
The imperative consists of the bare form of the verb, as in Shut up!, Keep quiet!, Don’t look at me like
that!.

19
The conditional is not normally distinguished as a mood because it does not appear as a morphologically distinct form.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

In English, there is another imperative with let’s addressed either to the 1st person plural, to the 1st
person singular and to the 3rd person, as a kind of suggestion and an imperative with let addressed to
the 3rd person.
Imperative
1st person 3rd person
sg pl sg pl
Let me see. Let’s keep calm. Let him wait. Let them see to
that.
The Romanian correspondent for this form of the imperative is normally the conjunctive mood.
imperativ
persoana I persoana a III-a
sg pl sg pl
(Stai) să văd. (Hai) să ne păstrăm Să (Lasă) să se ocupe el de
calmul. aștepte. asta.
Two more forms of the English imperative can be mentioned (2005, pp. 268-9):
✓ Emphatic imperative (Do sit down!)
✓ Passive imperative (Get vaccinated!)
3. The subjunctive expresses wishes, desires, requests, warnings, prohibitions, predictions,
possibilities, and contrary-to-fact occurrences. It occurs only rarely in main clauses in English today,
especially in the form of set formulas such as far be it from me, so be it, suffice it to say, come what
may , be that as it may, Long live the Queen! God forgive you! Curse this day! etc.
The subjunctive includes verb forms that are mainly used in dependent clauses (conditional
clauses, that-clauses, etc.). The subjunctive form of a verb often coincides with a corresponding
indicative form, such as bare infinitive, present tense, past tense and past perfect indicative.
Subjunctive forms
English has synthetic and analytical subjunctive forms. The synthetic subjunctive is identical in form
with the past simple and the past perfect of the indicative, and the difference between these two forms
lies in their time reference:
Example time reference
present I wish you told me the truth. present or future
subjunctive
past subjunctive I wish you had told me the truth. past
Be is the only verb which has a special present subjunctive form – were, which is used for all
persons:
If I were you, I wouldn’t go in there.
The present subjunctive expresses wishes, possibility, uncertainty present unreality, i.e. actions
contrary to present fact:
after it’s time It’s time we went back.
after the verb wish I wish you were here.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

in conditional clauses If he had been asked, he would have come.

in concessive clauses Even though she apologized, I would not forgive her.
in comparative clauses He treats her as if she were a child.
The analytical/periphrastic subjunctive expresses unreality by means of a variety of modal
auxiliaries + infinitive:
shall/should + They decided that we should be there before 9.
infinitive
may/might + We stepped carefully for fear we might slip and fall.
infinitive
would + infinitive I wish it would get warmer.
could + infinitive What interviewers wish they could tell every job candidate
(http://www.linkedin.com)
The analytical subjunctive should + infinitive is used after adjectives, verbs and nouns that express
a wish, a suggestion, a desire, etc.:
after it is/was + adjective (crucial, necessary, It is crucial that they should finish the project.
essential, natural, surprising, odd, absurd,
strange, urgent)
after the verbs ask, command, insist, order, He suggested that we should call her without
propose, recommend, require, suggest: delay.
after the nouns suggestion, proposal, idea, My proposal is was that she should vote today.
wish, recommendation, desire:
in purpose clauses I finished the presentation earlier so that
everybody should get to the meeting in time.
in negative purpose clauses after lest in She was moving carefully lest they should wake
expressions of fear up.
conditional clauses (the action is unlikely to If Jack should call, tell him I’ll get back to him.
occur)
The analytical subjunctive may/might + infinitive is used in the following contexts:
after the verbs order, request, He ordered that they might be ready at once.
desire:
after expressions of fear I’m afraid he may sack me.
in clauses of purpose She gave me his number so that I might call him.
in clauses of concession No matter how hard he may try, he’ll never win their trust
back.
More traditional grammars recognize a fourth major mood, the conditional which occurs in
independent clauses by means of the modal auxiliary would + the bare infinitive of the main verb,
as in I would come, but I'm very busy.
The conditional mood is more frequently used in the main clause of conditional sentences to
render open and closed conditions.
main clause if-clause (introduced by if, unless, in
case)
open present conditional present synthetic subjunctive
condition (would + verb)
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

I would join you on the trip if I had time.

closed past conditional past synthetic subjunctive
contion ( would+have+past participle20)
I would have joined you on the trip if I had had time.

5.2.2.4. Voice
Voice is traditionally considered a grammatical category of the verb, but it is actually relevant to
the entire sentence, because it indicates the semantic role of the subject. Thus, the subject is an
agent (the doer of the action) in active voice and a patient (the person or thing acted upon) in the
passive voice.
In both English and Romanian, the passive voice is expressed periphrastically.
English: A wonderful message was sent to her (by John).
Romanian: Un mesaj minunat i-a fost trimis (de către John)21.
The English canonical passive voice – the be-passive - has the following structure:
auxiliary be + past participle of verb + (by-PpP containing the agent)
A wonderful message was sent to her (by John).
Another passive form in English is the get-passive (get + past participle of verb), as in He gets
paid every two weeks (by his employers).
The difference between the be-passive and the get-passive is that the former focuses on the result,
while the latter focuses on the action bringing about the result. A construction which is passive in
meaning is get/have something done. It describes two types of situations:
1. when we want someone else to do something for us, as in I must get/have my hair cut. (= my
hair must be cut by somebody)
2. when the verb refers to something negative/unwanted, as in She had his flat broken into last
night. (= her flat was broken into)
With this construction, the focus is on the result of the activity, not on the person or object that
performs the activity. In the same way, the construction something/somebody needs doing has a
passive meaning, as in The walls need painting (= the walls need to be painted). The focus here is
on the person or thing that will experience the action.
In the passive, the logical subject/ the agent moves out of the position of grammatical subject and
goes to the by-PpP. Nonetheless, the by-PpP is commonly omitted in the passive, especially when
it brings no relevant information or when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant.
Brinton and Brinton (2010, p. 321) notice a form which is called notional passive (a sentence
which is active in form but passive in meaning) and exemplify it with sentences such as:
The shirt washes easily. = ‘the shirt is easily washed’
These oranges peel easily. = ‘these oranges are easily peeled’
The cake should cook slowly. = ‘the cake should be slowly cooked’

20
would + have + past participle is the structure of the bare perfect infinitive.
21
The Romanian word order is much freer, so that the version I-a fost trimis un mesaj minunat (de către John) is not
only possible, but, even more, it is probable.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

Notional passives usually contain a manner adverb and differ from regular passives in that they
occur without explicit agents and, moreover, there is never even an implicit agent (these oranges
peel easily by you).

Exercises

Exercise 5.4 Dependent and independent genitives

Specify whether the underlined genitives are dependent or independent by putting ‘D’ or ‘I’ in
the brackets that follow each genitive.
1. In a recent poll 48 per cent of Americans thought that Japan’s ( ) economy is bigger than
America’s ( ).
2. The British government’s ( ) £50 billion sale of state-owned housing is going at a snail’s ( )
pace.

*Exercise 5.5 Dependent and independent genitives

Construct two sentences for each of the following genitives. Use the genitive in the (a) sentence
as a dependent genitive and in the (b) sentence as an independent genitive.
1. the neighbours’
2. Russia’s
Exercise 5.7 Classes of irregular verbs
Give the three principal parts for each of these irregular verbs.
1. grow
2. put
3. drive
4. send
5. break
Exercise 5.9 Adjective classes
Construct three sentences for each of the following central adjectives. Use the adjective in the
(a) sentence as a pre-modifier of a noun, in the (b) sentence as a subject complement, and in
the (c) sentence as an object complement.
1. useful
2. foolish
3. difficult

Exercise 5.10 Gradability and comparison

Give the inflected comparative and superlative of each of these adjectives.
1. pure
2. cruel
3. easy
4. narrow
5. happy
Exercise 5.14 Pronoun classes
Circle the antecedents of the underlined pronouns and possessive determiners.
1. Scientists have discovered that pets have a therapeutic effect on their owners.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

2. A dog, for instance, can improve the health of the people it comes in contact with.
3. In a recent study, the blood pressure of subjects was measured while they were petting their pets.
4. In general, an individual’s blood pressure decreased while he was in the act of petting his pet.

Exercise 5.15 Personal pronouns

Specify the person (first, second, or third), number (singular or plural), and case (subjective or
objective) of the underlined personal pronouns. If the pronoun has a form that neutralizes the
distinction in number or case, state the alternatives, and if only one of the alternatives fits the
context underline that alternative.
1. Most of us don’t have the time to exercise for an hour each day.
2. We have our hearts in the right place, though.
3. I think ‘diet’ is a sinister word.
4. It sounds like deprivation.
5. But people who need to lose weight find that they need to lose only half the weight if they
exercise regularly.

Exercise 5.16 Possessives

Indicate whether the underlined words are possessive determiners or possessive pronouns.
1. Can you tell me your address?
2. You’ve made a mistake. The phone number is not his.
3. This is Doris and this is her husband David.
4. Justin borrowed one of my videos, but I can’t remember its title.

Exercise 5.17 Reflexive pronouns

Fill in each blank with the appropriate reflexive pronoun.
1. We congratulated ____________ on completing the job in good time.
2. I ____________ have arranged the meeting.
3. I wonder, Tom, whether you wouldn’t mind helping ____________.
4. I hope that you all enjoy ____________.

Exercise 5.18 Demonstrative pronouns

Specify whether the underlined word is a demonstrative pronoun or a demonstrative determiner.
1. This happens to be the best meal I’ve eaten in quite a long time.
2. Put away those papers.
3. That is not the way to do it.
4. You’ll have to manage with these for the time being.

Exercise 5.19 Relative pronouns

Indicate whether the underlined clause is a relative clause or a nominal relative clause.
1. We could see whoever we wanted.
2. They spoke to the official who was working on their case.
3. This is the bank I’m hoping to borrow some money from.
4. You can pay what you think is appropriate.

Exercise 5.20 Pronouns

 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

Indicate whether the underlined pronouns are personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative,
reciprocal, interrogative, relative, or indefinite.
1. Nobody has ever seen a unicorn.
2. I intend to collect beetles.
3. What do you want me to do?
4. He can resist everything except temptation.
5. She did it all by herself.

Exercise 5.21 Indefinite pronouns

Indicate whether the underlined determiners are definite articles, indefinite articles,
demonstratives, possessives, interrogatives, relatives, or indefinites.
1. His parents would not let him see the video.
2. Many applicants were given an interview.
3. Whose shoes are those?
4. What plans have you made for the weekend?

Exercise 5.22 The articles and reference

Indicate whether the underlined phrases are generic or non-generic.
1. There is no such beast as a unicorn.
2. The train is late again.
3. The dinosaur has long been extinct.
4. Teachers are poorly paid in this country.
5. He came on a small market where women were selling dried beans.

Exercise 5.23 The articles and reference

Indicate whether the underlined phrases are specific or non-specific.
1. Can you find me a book on English grammar?
2. Here is a book on English grammar.
3. I’d like a strawberry ice cream.
4. He says he hasn’t any stamps.
5. Who is the woman you were talking to at lunch?

Exercise 5.24 Meanings of the modals

Paraphrase the meanings of the underlined modals in the sentences below.
1. If you hit volleys like this you will have lots of success.
2. In addition to the basic volley, you may have to play half-volleys.
3. If played badly, a half-volley can have drastic consequences.
4. The grip must be firm on impact.
5. Although you can use a two-handed volley, the major disadvantage is one of reach.

*Exercise 5.25 Meanings of the modals

Explain the ambiguity of the underlined modals in the following sentences by paraphrasing the
different meanings.
1. They may not smoke during the meal.
2. Could you explain these figures to the tax inspector?
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

1. Identify each of the nouns in the excerpt below and classify each as common/proper, count/non-
count:

I went back into the bedroom to fetch my own slippers and the fuzzy dressing-gown. Barbara
reappeared in her pink dressing-gown, the hood pulled up over her head. I knelt down and she sat
astride my shoulders. She shouldn’t go upstairs or downstairs any other way; I went downstairs
very slowly, keeping to the wall. She talked all the time, running her words together, as she always
did when excited.
(From Life at the Top, by J. Braine)

2. The following nouns have identical singular and plural forms. Classify each according to both
formal and semantic criteria:

series, Chinese, tuna, deer

3. Are the italicized words listed below count or mass nouns?

I always prefer coffee instead of tea.

Her weight is 109 pounds.
I will have two coffees, please.
Oil is expensive.
Gold is a precious metal.
The actor has won another gold.

4. Are the underlined NPs definite or indefinite?

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Would you be so kind as to give me some help with this equation?
Many children were scared when the bomb exploded.
Every human being has flaws.

5. Form:
a. a NP with a predeterminer and a central determiner
b. a NP with a determiner, a premodifier and a postmodifier
c. a NP with a predeterminer, a central determiner and a postdeterminer
d. a VP with three auxiliaries
e. a VP with a progressive and a passive auxiliary
f. a VP with a perfect auxiliary

6. Identify the non-finite verb forms in the following sentences:

 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

a. Raise the stakes, probing into more controversial issues.

b. Each question is tailored to highlight some specific environmental problem.
c. Make sure they walk away with the ability to apply that information.
d. This can be hard to do while listening intently to their discussion.
e. You’ll be amazed to discover other wardrobe malfunctions.
f. Standing at a lectern might not allow you to get eye contact and intervene with the students.
g. Dressing professionally and appropriately helps establish your credibility and
trustworthiness.
h. When sharing a microphone, a wireless handheld is always a great idea.
i. Be firm in enforcing rules.
j. She set a max number of slides and amount of time to make them use PPTs judiciously.
k. Resist the urge to discuss this with other team members.

7. Identify the grammatical auxiliaries in the following examples and state their role:

a. I do want to show up on time.

b. Do not leave them in the dark.
c. These areas and topics have already been discussed.
d. I hope you can hear me clearly.
e. Have you considered giving the story a fresh spin?
f. You will do great.
g. When you ask a question, two answers are plenty, unless a third contestant is dying to jump
in.
h. You shouldn’t have gone so far with canned jokes and sarcasm.
i. Build on what has been said to extend the thinking.
j. Brian, you mentioned Google ads. I was wondering if Susan’s idea might be a solution.
k. You may need to interject here and there to keep the discussion moving at a brisk pace.

*8. Correct any wrong/unlikely tense forms in the sentences below:

a. I do folk dance for years before I changed to ballet.

b. When I was a kid, I learned about Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and how people
are living in those areas.
c. I do my laundry at the moment.
d. The team is consisting of seven players.
e. I will do my homework by the time we go on holiday.
f. The article indicated that people have been nurturing their curiosity since they were born.
g. She said that she still loved to read.
h. Today Gloria lies on the couch. Yesterday she lay on the couch too.
i. Try and do it.
j. Given the amount of time that has elapsed, I wondered why I didn’t hear from you sooner.
k. She looks at me as though I was insane.
l. If he really cares about me, he would let me borrow his laptop.
 I. O. Macari, Lecture 9 sem. I, 2021

9.
Spot the errors that occur when sentences open with non-finite verb phrases. Can you come up
with a rule to avoid ambiguity?

Anticipating a new life-changing experience, all three pieces of luggage were fully packed.
To accommodate his personal needs, some adjustments were required.

voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe0Y3eFRM6M
tense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVAivfJRj7k
aspect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av0x7AkPflI