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Chapter II SENTENCE(S) |
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Lesson 9 Sentence & Agreement
9-1 [S:(A)-N-V-(AD)]
Probably the most common combination of grammatical categories is that of "a noun(N) + a verb(V)".
(1) Cheerleaders cheer. (N+V)
The combination "N+V" is called a sentence, S, in this book. A sentence always starts with a capital letter.The combination "N+V" is different from "A+N" and "V+AD" in that "N + V" is neither the same as "N" nor as "V" in its grammatical category. This is an example of conversion.
(2) (Cheerleaders cheer) [Conversion]
S
"Cheerleaders" in the above can be expanded into, say, "Cheerful cheerleaders" and "cheer" can be expanded into "cheer cheerfully" to make new sentences.
(3) Cheerful cheerleaders cheer. (A+N+V)
(4) Cheerleaders cheer cheerfully. (N+V+AD)
(5) Cheerful cheerleaders cheer cheerfully. (A+N+V+AD)
Diagrams of (3), (4), and (5) are (6), (7), and (8) respectively:
(6) (Cheerful cheerleaders cheer)
S
9-2 [Two Tenses:Present & Past] Once a noun(N) is combined with a verb(V) to make a sentence, the verb(V) always takes either a present form or a past form. In the following examples, the underlined parts in (9a) and (9b) are present forms, while those in (10a) and (10b) are their past forms.
(i) Present Forms
(9) a. John works hard.
b. John is sick.
(ii) Past Forms
(10) a. John worked hard.
b. John was sick.
Of course, we live in the time stream of past-present-future. But in English as a language there are only two tenses, present and past.9-3 [Agreement] If you examine present forms and past forms in English, you will notice that in addition to the present/past, they are also related to the nature (person & number) of the noun which precedes them. Important here is the difference between common verbs(Vcom's) and be-verbs(Vbe's).
(i) Common Verbs(Vcom's)
a) Present Forms
(11) a. He works hard.
b. They work hard.
b) Past Forms
(12) a. He worked hard.
b. They worked hard.
(ii) Be-Verbs(Vbe's)
a) Present Forms
(13) a. I am sick.
b. You are sick.
c. He is sick.
b) Past Forms
(14) a. I was sick.
b. You were sick.
c. He was sick.
Common verbs have two present forms("works" and "work" in the above) and one past form ("worked") according to the preceding noun, while be-verbs have three present forms ("am ","is" and "are") and two past forms ("was" and "were"). The matching of a noun(N) and a verb(V) in terms of tense, number, and person is called agreement.9-4 [Two Present Forms of Vcom's] Common verbs have two present forms. One is with "-(e)s"(ex. works) and the other is without "-(e)s"(ex. work). The former is called the "3rd-person singular present" form, because it is used when the preceding noun is 3rd-person singular and the verb is in the present tense.
(15) a. He works hard. (N:3rd-Person, Singular)
b. She works hard.
c. It works hard.
No "-(e)s" is used in the present tense when the preceding noun is other than "3rd-person singular".
(16) a. I work hard. (N:1st-Person, Singular)
b. We work hard. (N:1st-Person, Plural)
c. You work hard. (N:2nd-Person, Singular/Plural)
d. They work hard. (N:3rd-Person, Plural)
From a different point of view, it can be said that the V EPD{Agreement}, or AGR works here. And when a common verb(Vcom) is in the present tense, it needs an EPD to add "-(e)s" or "ø" according to the preceding noun(N). In this book we call this EPD an V EPD {Agreement(Present)}, or PRS. Thus:
<Present Forms of Common Verbs>
(17) PRS + Vcom@
The diagrams of "works" in (15) and "work" in (16):
(18) (works) (19) (work)
V V
Notice that the expander PRS shows not only the present tense of the verb(V) but also the nature of the related noun(N).9-5 [One Past Form of Vcom's] When a common verb(Vcom) in a sentence(S) is in the past tense, it has only one past form regardless of its related noun(N).
(20) He/They worked hard.
In the above, "-ed" can be considered a V EPD {Agreement(Past)} to which we give the abbreviation PST in this book.Thus the diagram of (20):
(21) (He/They worked hard)
S
Most past forms of common verbs have "-(e)d", but there are some exceptions.
(22) Two students cut/*cutted class yesterday.
(23) John went/*goed there.
Diagrams:
(24) (cut)
V
Thus the expander PST for common verbs functions as follows.
<Past Forms of Common Verbs>
(26) PST + Vcom
9-6 [Three Present Forms of Vbe's] In contrast with common verbs, be-verbs have three present forms; "am ", "is " and "are " according to the related noun.
(27)a. I am on a diet. (N:1st-Person, Singular)
b. You are on a diet. (N:2nd-Person, Singular)
c. He is on a diet. (N:3rd-Person, Singular)
d. We are on a diet. (N:1st-Person, Plural)
e. You both are on a diet. (N:2nd-Person, Plural)
f. They are on a diet. (N:3rd-Person, Plural)
The diagrams of the relevant parts in (27a) to (27f) include:
(28) (am on a diet)
V
In conclusion, the expander PRS for be-verbs functions as follows.
<Present Forms of Be-Verbs>
(31) PRS + Vbe
9-7 [Two Past Forms of Vbe's] When a be-verb(Vbe) means "past", its verbalizer(VZ), "be", becomes either "was" or "were" according to the nature of the related noun.
(32)a. I was on a diet. (N:1st-Person, Singular)
b. You were on a diet. (N:2nd-Person, Singular)
c. He was on a diet. (N:3rd-Person, Singular)
d. We were on a diet. (N:1st-Person, Plural)
e. You both were on a diet. (N:2nd-Person, Plural)
f. They were on a diet. (N:3rd-Person, Plural)
Diagrams:
(33) (was on a diet) (34) (were on a diet)
V V
In short:
<Past Forms of Be-Verbs>
(35) PST + Vbe
All past forms of be-verbs start with "w-". Interestingly, in terms of pronunciation, "was" is very close to "w- + is" and "were" is very close to "w- + are".
(36) a. w- + is
However, English has no past form "w- + am".
c. w- + am
9-8 [Summary of Present/Past Forms] Common verbs agree with the related nouns by having two present forms(ex.work/works) and one past form(ex.worked), while be-verbs have three present forms(am/is/are ) and two past forms(was/were ).We claim that these agreements are triggered by the V EPD {Agreement}(AGR), actually PRS or PST. To sum up:
(i) Agreement of Common Verbs
a) PRS Forms
1) When the preceding noun is 3rd-person singular,
(37) a. PRS + Vcom
Thus, when a noun(N) is combined with a verb(V) in English, the verb(V) always carries an EPD {Agreement}, PRS or PST. Diagram:
(41) S
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N V
(cheerleaders) (cheer)
-(e)s/ø + Vcom
went
d) others
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Copyright(C) 2004 Masaya Oba. All rights reserved. |
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