INTRODUCTION
The verb is a very important word class in any language. It is the word which says what is happening in the sentence. It can express the action performed by the subject (e.g. eat, say), the state that the subject is in (is, are be,) and possession (e.g. has, have). It can stand alone and still form a sentence that makes sense as in ‘Sing’. It can also combine with the subject alone as in They Sing and Birds fly. Verbs are best understood in terms of formations and forms, tense and aspect, voice and mood.
Whereas verbs are predicators or words which express action, adverbs and adjectives are modifiers. Adverbs modify verbs and other adverbs while adjectives modify nouns and other adjectives.
3.1 Features and Functions of Verbs
i) Formation of Verbs
By the morphological rule of derivation through affixation, verbs as members of the open class system can be created from other words with the following morphemes –ize, -ate, -ish, -fy, en-, em-, dis- .
E.g. -ize : moral - moralize, real - realize
-ate : vaccine- vaccinate, terminal- terminate
- ish : brand- brandish, embellishment- embellish
- fy : electricity- electrify, magnitude- magnify
- en : danger- endanger, courage- encourage
em - : power- empower, body- embody
dis- : grace-disgrace, guise- disguise
ii) Main Verbs and the Auxiliaries
Whenever a verb functions alone, it can be said to be the main Verb. On the other hand, the auxiliary verb is a helping verb which indicates tense or mood of the main verb. The main verb is always a finite verb and it belongs to the open class.
Examples of the main verb are:
- Okon sings well.
- Ekaette dances gracefully.
The auxiliary verbs comprise the primary auxiliary verbs (do, have, and be) and the modal auxiliary verbs (can/could, shall/should, may/might, must, ought to, used to, need, dare).
The auxiliary verbs belong to the closed class since they are fixed in number and also are not subject to any form of derivation or inflection. They are however used informally in contracted forms:
It is - it’s could not - couldn’t
I am - I’m ought not - oughtn’t
I will - I’ll need not - needn’t
will not
-
won’t
is not
-
isn’t
shall not
-
shan’t
are not
-
aren’t
would not
-
wouldn’t
am not
-
ain’t
The auxiliary verb also has the following functions:
1. It is used in Yes-No questions e.g.
- Will you come tomorrow?
- Can you see him?
2. It is used in negative constructions.
- She does not misbehave.
- They were not speaking at the meeting.
3. It is used to avoid unnecessary repetition
- You spoke to him, did you?
- You haven’t seen him, have you?
4. It is used for emphasis or determination
- She does behave well.
- You must read today.
iii) Tense
One of the most important functions of the verb is the expression of tense or time reference. Tense is the correspondence between the form of the verb and our concept of time. Tense indicates the time of occurrence or completion of an action. Since time is expressed in terms of ‘before the moment of speaking’ (past), the moment of speaking (present) and after the moment of speaking (future); and considering that there are two forms of words to express this time as, for instance, eat and ate, talk and talked, some linguists identify only two tenses in English: past and non-past. According to Eka (1994: 97) two types of tenses are often identified from the viewpoint of English morphology (i.e. changes that occur in the shapes of English words). From the viewpoint of time reference three types are usually recognized -present, past and future. Examine the following:
PRESENT
I write
PAST
I wrote He
FUTURE
I shall write He
Simple
He writes
They write
wrote They
wrote
shall write They
shall write
Continuous
I am writing He
is writing They
are writing I am
writing
He has been writing
They have been writing
I was writing He
was writing They
were writing I
have written
He had been writing They had been writing
I shall be writing He
will be writing They
will be writing I
shall be writing
He will have been writing
They will have been writing
Perfective
I have written He
has written They
have written
I had written He
had written They
had written
I shall have written
He will have written
They will have written
(iv) Finite and Non-finite Forms
The finite forms of the verb exist in the simple present tense form and the past form. These are the verb forms that can occur as verb forms in clauses and sentences; can show tense distinction; can take subjects and indicate the subject - verb agreement e.g.
- They enjoy themselves daily.
- They enjoyed themselves yesterday.
- He enjoys himself daily.
The non-finite verb does not have the subject concord notion because it neither indicates number nor person. Three types of the non-finite verb can be isolated. These are: the infinitive which primarily begins with
‘to’ e.g. to sing, to laugh, to work; the participle and the gerund.
Examples of non finite forms in sentences are:
A - He likes to sing. B
- They like singing
C - This is a deserted house
Recall that finite forms of verbs are the forms that show tense distinction. This means that they occur in one tense or the other. They are also the forms that occur as verb elements in sentences, take subjects and agree with the subjects in person and number. The non finite forms on the other hand do not show tense distinction neither do they take subjects nor show agreement.
Examine the verb forms in the following pair of sentences
- She hopes to travel next week
(finite verb, has a subject which is she and occurs in the present
tense)
- Hoping to travel next week
(Verb in the present participle, non finite form which cannot take a subject.
Note that any attempt to introduce a subject in the second sentence will produce a sentence like:
She hoping to travel next week*
This is an unacceptable sentence.
Non finite forms have other uses. In the examples A-C above they function as other parts of speech. In Example A, to sing is a noun phrase acting as the direct object of the verb “likes”. In Example B, singing is a gerund also functioning as a direct object of the verb “likes” while the past participle form deserted functions as an adjective modifying the noun “ house” in Example C.
v) Active and Passive Voice
When a verb is in the active voice, the subject is the actor of the verb. The subject performs the action of the verb directly. E.g.
- Okon kicked the ball.
- The congregation praised God.
- The girl killed the rat.
For some reasons, the position of the subject and the object or complement in the sentence may be reversed with the emphasis removed from the one who performs the action to the action itself with the object taking the place of the subject and appearing to be the doer of the action (i.e. passive voice). E.g.
- The ball was kicked by Okon (Okon still the performer)
- God was praised by (someone/people who performed the action)
The passive voice is used when the speaker or writer wants to direct more attention to the action performed than on who performed the action as in
- In March, the land is cultivated
- In April, yams are planted
The passive is therefore a useful aspect of literary or expository style. When the active voice is used in everyday speech or writing, the description or narration is more lively and real.
vi) Transitive and Intransitive Verb
Transitive verbs require objects or complements to make full meaning in a sentence. Consider the following verbs, buy, kill, sing, give. They cannot convey full meaning unless there are completer elements added to them:
- They buy clothes monthly.
- Hunters kill animals for sale.
- Choristers sing songs of praise.
- We give alms to the poor.
Intransitive verbs denote actions that stop with the doer or subject. There is no need for a receiver of the action. E.g
- Men laugh.
- Children sleep often.
- The bell rang.
Some verbs maybe transitive and intransitive. E.g.
- Jesus saves.
- Jesus saves souls.
- The bell rang loudly
- The prefect rang the bell.
A fuller discussion of transitive and intransitive verbs is made in Unit 4, Section 5.
vii) Singular and Plural Forms
Verbs change forms according to the singular or plural forms of the subject (subject-verb concord or agreement). Only finite verbs respond to singular and plural subjects e.g.
The boy goes to school (singular subject).
The boys go to school (plural subject).
It should be noted that whereas the ‘noun’ boy takes ‘s’ to agree with the singular form the plural form, the verb ‘goes ’ sheds ‘es’ to agree with the plural subject.
viii) Participles and Gerunds
Participles are verb forms which combine with other verbs to indicate tense and adjectival functions. Participles are used with the auxiliaries have, has or had to form the perfect tense as in the following:
- I have given her the book.
- He has gone to Uyo.
Gerunds are verbal nouns. They are the present participle forms of
verbs. They always end in ‘-ing’ e.g.
- I like reading.
- Dancing is my hobby.
- This is a standing committee.
Gerunds perform the functions of other parts of speech. In the above
examples, ‘reading’ performs the function of a noun (object of the verb ‘like’) while ‘dancing’ in the second example functions as the subject of
the second sentence. In the third sentence, the gerund, ‘standing’ functions as an adjective modifying the noun ‘committee’ .
ix) Regular and Irregular Forms
The classification of verbs into regular and irregular forms is based on past tense and the constituent participle. The regular verbs are also called weak verbs while the irregular ones are called strong verbs.
The regular verb forms the past tense and past participle by the addition of the morphemes ‘ed’ or‘d’ to the present tense form.
E.g.
call
walk
bake
called walked baked.
The irregular verb does not take‘d’ or ‘ed’ in forming the past tense or past participle. One way this is done is the change in the vowel. E.g.
sing
sang
sung
drive
drove
driven
break
broke
broken
wind
wound
wound
forget
forgot
forgotten
lend
lent
lent
begin
began
begun
Some irregular verbs take completely new words in the formation of the past e.g.
go
do
bid
lie
be
went
did
bade
lay
was
gone
done
bidden
lain
been
Other irregular verbs do not change their forms when functioning in the past ;that is, the present and the past forms are the same e.g.
put
let
burst cut
put
let
burst
cut
put
let
burst
cut
x) Stative and Dynamic Forms
Dynamic verbs show action, event or process (Eka, 1996, p. 123). These verbs take the progressive aspect which indicates that an action is continuing through time e.g.
- He is eating, drinking and talking.
- They are watching the film.
Stative verbs do not pattern with the –ing progressive marker. They
only indicate the state of affairs of the entity without showing any
continuity. E.g.
- He is resembling his father. (wrong)
- He resembles his father (right)
- They are hating him (wrong)
- They hate him (right)
- I am feeling cold (wrong)
- I feel cold (right)
Other stative verbs are: possess, understand, belong, smell, seem, hear,
wish, taste, agree, flash, faint, collapse, die, contain, have.
3.2 Features and Functions of Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, just as adjectives modify nouns and nominals. Adverbs answer the questions: Where? When? How? and Why? They indicate place, time, manner and degree.
The fact that adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs sometimes sound difficult to learners of English, who are made to believe that adverbs only specify the mode of action of verbs. The difficulty is strengthened by the obvious reality that adverbs always cluster around verbs. In these examples, the issues are better appreciated:
- Bassey dances well.
- Inyang dances extremely well.
- Archibong is really tall.
In the first example, the adverb of manner “well” modifies the verb
‘dances’. In the second illustration, ‘extremely’, an adverb of degree
modifies “well” while in the third example, the adjective ‘tall” is
modified by the adverb “really”. There are many other potential
formations like these in English.
i) Formation of Adverbs
These affixes are used in forming adverbs
- ly : exactly, quietly, extremely
- wise : clockwise, moneywise
-ward : forward, backward
a - : away, aside, afloat, afield
Many adverbs do not have any affixes and should be distinguished from adjectives. Though they may look alike on the surface, syntactically, they perform different functions e.g. fast, near
- He runs fast
- His wedding day is drawing near.
ii) Degrees of Adverbs
Adverbs are compared in degrees: positive degree, comparative degree and superlative degree. Examine the following:
Positive Comparative Superlative
soon sooner soonest
fast faster fastest
far farther farthest
aloud more aloud most aloud
iii) The Position of Adverbs
Adverbs can occur in a sentence initially, medially and finally. According to Ndimele (1993: 117), one quality of adverbials of manner is that they can be shifted from one position to another without affecting the grammaticality of the sentence. This can be illustrated thus:
- Certainly, I know him.
- I certainly know him.
- I know him certainly.
Eka, (1996:149) also observes that even though all the above positions (of the adverb) are known to occur in English utterances it would appear that the one that seems particularly true to the nature of adverbs is the medial position.
iv) Classes of Adverbs
Adverbs are classified according to functions.
(a) Interrogative Adverbs are often used at the beginning of a sentence to ask a question e.g.
- When did you return?
- How do I put the items together?
- Where did you keep my book?
(b) Adverbs of Degree answer the question: ‘to what extent’? They mostly modify adjectives and other adverbs, rarely verbs.
- The man is too slow.
- He walks very fast.
- She reads till late.
(c) Adverbs of Place indicate the location of actions. Some of these adverbs resemble nouns by nature but their functions are essentially adverbial. They are sometimes called nouns used as adverbs. Examples:
- I am coming home.
- He is going there.
(d) Adverbs of Time denote the interval of occurrence of actions. E.g.
- We trekked all day.
- Let us meet tomorrow.
3.3 Features and Functions of Adjectives
Things, persons, entities need to be distinguished, differentiated, limited, specified or described so as to aid our understanding. We ask the questions: What kind? Which one? How many? For example, we can say a tall man, this orange or four goats. The words that precede the nouns and also modify or amplify their meaning are called adjectives.
Generally, adjectives state the attributes or characteristics of nominals (nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases). Adjectives as modifiers make language lively as they help us to give precise pictures of what we are referring to.
i) Formation of Adjectives
Adjectives take the following affixes
- ish : boyish, childish, mannish
- ous : virtuous, riotous, dangerous
- ary : salutary, rotatary, consolatary -an : Elizabethan, Spartan
- ful: hopeful, thankful, faithful
- y : healthy, filthy
-some : loathsome, troublesome,
- less : faithless, motionless, stainless
- ory : sensory, provisory
- able : punishable, workable, movable
- ive : interactive, elective, inventive
- esque: picturesque, grotesque
- ate : affectionate, temperate, desperate
- al : national, natural, international
- ic : ironic, economic, electronic
- like : childlike, manlike
- ly : likely, stately, scholarly
- ible : sensible, accessible
- able : movable, readable
ii) Attributive and Predicative Adjectives
Syntactically, adjectives can occur before the nominal they describe or modify. E.g.
- The beautiful girl is here.
- The clean clothes were ironed.
Some adjectives occur in the predicate part of the sentence following a linking verb to describe a nominal in the subject part of the sentence. These are predicative adjectives e.g.
- The woman is beautiful
- The boy is courageous.
According to Ndimele (1993: 102-103), some adjectives can function both attributively and predicatively e.g.
- The hungry man is here.
- This man is hungry.
- The genuine reason is offered.
- The reason is genuine.
iii) Regular and Irregular Adjectives (Comparisons)
Things and persons that may attract the same adjective or modifier are not necessarily always the same. They may differ in their degree of quality. Adjectives exhibit the positive level where no comparison is made as well as the comparative and superlative degrees of description. The comparative degree is used when two entities are involved while the superlative degree is applied when more than two entities are compared. E.g.
- Okon is tall.
- Etim is taller than Okon.
- Akpan is the tallest of them.
As a guide, many monosyllabic adjectives (adjectives with one sound units) take the ‘er’ and ‘est’ morphemes to form the comparative and superlative forms. These are called Regular or Variable Adjectives. Examples:
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
large
larger
largest
tall
taller
tallest
short
shorter
shortest
quick
quicker
quickest.
Some disyllabic and almost all adjectives of three or more syllables are compared by the use of ‘more’ or ‘most’. Degrees of inferiority may be indicated by the use of ‘less’ and ‘least’. These are called invariables Examine the following:
handsome
useful
dangerous
more handsome
more useful
more dangerous
most handsome
most useful
most dangerous
A group of adjectives described as irregular adjectives also occur. They include:
good
little
bad
better
less
worse
best
least
worst
Some adjectives cannot be logically compared since the qualities they denote operate in the highest possible level or in absoluteness; their meaning indicates totality e.g. perfect, empty, mortal, blind, wrong, childless, motherless, supreme, omnipotent, fatal, hopeless. One cannot say for instance that Sarah is more childless than Esther or that the pot is emptier than the basin.
iv) Domains of Adjectives
These include:
1. Colour
:
red, blue, yellowish, forest green, sky-blue
2. Shape
:
oval, triangular, spherical, awkward, round
3. Age
:
new, old, young, aged, archaic, weary
4. Height
:
tall, short, high, low, sky-high
5. Weight
:
light, heavy, in units (kilograms)
6. Interrogation
:
which book? whose hand?
7. Number
:
first, second, one, three
8. Demonstration
:
this, that, these, those
9. Composition
:
sandy, wooden, earthen, watery
v) Nouns Used as Adjectives
Some nouns in their original or possessive forms can express syntactic adjectival functions e.g. Christmas party, John’s book, College students, summer clothes, etc.
vi) Order of Adjectives
Adjectives can occur in a stretch indicating (a) quality, (b) temperature,
(c) size, (d) shape (e), colour (f) participials, (g) nationality, (h) nominal adjective and the headword. This order a-h is only necessary if all the items are present otherwise only those which occur are indicated in constructions as in:
- A very beautiful rich tall black Nigerian woman
- A rich intelligent bare-footed Asian traveler
Eka (1994: 137) suggests that the order of occurrence of adjectives can easily be determined through a consideration of aspects which strike the observer immediately, followed by those which are comparatively less easy to notice. This position is acceptable from the semantic perspective where meaning is uppermost in the mind of the user.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 1
Review the main features and functions of verbs
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 2
Review the main features and functions of adverbs. Which of the functions are not mentioned here? See Unit 6, Section 4.2.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE)3
Review the main features and functions of adjectives.
4.0 CONCLUSION
This unit has introduced you to the features and functions of Verbs, Adverbs and Adjectives in English. English verbs express a state of being. While adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, on their own, modify nouns and pronouns by telling you more about such nouns and pronouns in a sentence.
5.0 SUMMARY
The verb is the predicator element in the sentence; it expresses the action performed or the state of the subject.
Verbs can be derived through affixation; they can occur as main or auxiliary, finite or non-finite, transitive or intransitive forms.
Verbs also exhibit features like tense, aspect and voice.
Some verb forms (participles and gerunds) perform the functions of other parts of speech.
Verbs are classified as regular if they form the past tense with the addition of -d or –ed morpheme or irregular if they change a sound or the whole form of the word; as dynamic if they occur in the progressive form or stative if they do not.
Adverbs modify verbs, other adverbs or adjectives; they can be derived from other words by the addition of the morphemes –ly, -ward, -wise.
Adverbs occur initially, finally or medially in clauses/ sentences.
Adverbs are compared in degree: positive, comparative and superlative.
Adverbs are classified according to functions; thus we can have adverbs of time, adverb of place, degree e.t.c
Adjectives precede nouns and also modify or amplify their meaning.
Like adverbs, adjectives can be derived from other words, and they can also be compared.
Adjectives can occur in a stretch indicating (a) quality, (b) temperature, (c) size, (d) shape (e), colour (f) participials, (g) nationality, (h) nominal adjective before the headword.
6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA)
Give the word class and the functions of the underlined words in the following passage.
A few years past, an errant lunatic was knocked down by an unknown
motorist. He was spotted half- dead after a torrential rain that had lasted a whole day. The discovery was instantly reported to the police. When
the police came, it was not to help the injured man who was still
groaning from his pains, but to arrest suspects and put them in a waiting van.
7.0 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS
Eka, D. (1996) Elements of Grammar and Mechanics of English. Uyo:Samuf Educational.
Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S. (1980). A University Grammar of English, Longman, London.
Semmelmeyer, M. and Bolander, D. (1984) Instant English Handbook. Illinois.
Udofot, I. and Ekpenyong, B. (2004).A Comprehensive English
Course for. Schoools and Colleges. Lagos: Quantum Co.Ltd
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