VERBS

-Semantic classes
- Form
May be regarded as :
central element of a sentence
determining the character of the situation that is
being talked about
may also regarded as determining what other
elements may or must accompany it
not only representative of a situation type but
also creates a situation or scene which
containing persons who do things, persons or
things that have something done to them, etc
Tenses :
Simple present timeless situations, present states, commentary,
permanent habit, narrative, future.
Simple past definite past
Present progressive present action/events, temporary present habit,
future
Past progressive Definite past period, future-in past
Present perfect pre-present, state/habit up to present, indefinite past
(possible with current relevance)
Past perfect past-in-past, state/habit up to past point
Present Perfect progressive state/habit up to present ( + limited
duration)
Past Perfect progressive state/habit up to past point (+ duration)
Used to + main verb past habit or state
Will + main verb future
Will +present Perfect past in future
Be going to +main verb future, future in past
Be about to + main verb post- present, post past
Would + main verb future in past
 Semantic Classes
Refer to situation type :
State: quality, temporary, private, stance (be, seem, have, believe, like, hear, ache)
Event: goings-on, process, momentary, transitional (breathe, fall, become, arrive, float,
shine, die)
Action: activity, accomplishment, momentary, transitional (sing, laugh, decide, push,
clean, throw, encourage)
A verb word may belong to more than 1 subclasses:
Quality : This soup tastes of garlic
Perception : I can taste the garlic in the soup
Action, activity : Would you kindly taste the soup
Goings-on : Every new machine would not work
Activity : He worked for me for 2 years
Transitional event : The tractor stopped
Transitional act : He stopped working
Activity : I write very little and very quickly
Accomplishment : I wrote letters for some of the illiterates

Determines the participants that are required to occur with the verb
 Finite verb forms
Almost every verb
2 present tense (work, works) & 1 past tense (worked)

Present forms are distinguished by person and

number
person: person/thing doing an action or undergoing
an event or being in a state
number : one person/thing (singular), more (plural)

Past tense : regular & irregular

 Non- finite Form
3 non-finite forms :
Infinitive (to) take
Present participle taking
Past participle taken

Infinitive form usually occurs as to infinitive (to take)

but may as well as bare -infinitive (take) when
identical with present form (base form)
Modal ( can, may, will, shall, must) is an exception.
No to infinitive, no present participle, have irregular
past tense form
 Verb Patern
[L] linking verb (SVC)
[T] verb with one object (transitive verb) (SVO)
[V] verb with object +verb (+)(SVOV)
[D] verb with two objects (ditransitive verbs)
(SVOO)
[X] verb with object and object complement
(SVOC)
[I] verb without object or complement
(intransitive verbs) (SV)
 Combinations of Verbs
Basic rules :
(A) Modal : He can type quite well.
(B) Perfective : He had typed several letters.
(C) Progressive : He was typing when the telephone rang.
(D) Passive : Several letters were being typed by him.
Combinations:
(A) +(B) : He may have typed the letter himself.
(A) +(C) : He may be typing at the moment.
(A) +(D) : The letters may be typed by Mrs Anderson
(B)+(C) : He has been typing all morning.
(B)+(D): The letters have been typed by Ann.
(C)+(D): The letters are being typed, so please wait a moment.
(A)+(B)+(C): He must have been typing the letters himself.
(A)+(B)+(D): The letters must have been typed by the secretary.
etc
 Referensi
Jackson H, Grammar and Meaning: A
Semantic Approach to English Grammar,
Longman, NY 1990

G Leech & J Svartvik, A Communicative

Grammar of English, Longman, Singapore
1992