Verbandverbphrases课程.pptVIP

2.4.2 The subjunctive mood and the hypothetical meaning expression In modern English, hypothetical and non-factual meanings can be expressed by a number of grammatical constructions, i.e. by the past simple/the past progressive/ the past perfective, by the past tense of modal auxiliaries + infinitive/ perfective infinitive, or by a special verb form denoting hypothesis--the subjunctive mood, eg: It’s time we had a rest. How I wish I had gone there with you! I would be there by now if I had started earlier. It is a good thing that he recognize his faults. If I were you, I would not go there. 2.4.2 The subjunctive mood and the hypothetical meaning expression There are two forms of the subjunctive: be-subjunctive and were-subjunctive. The be-subjunctive takes the base form and the were-subjunctive has only the were form. Both are remnants of Old English. All this goes to show that modern English has not a developed mood system. True or false? The indicative mood is unmarked, and over 90% of English sentences are expressed in this mood. The imperative mood is marked only when it occurs in an imperative sentence. The subjunctive mood is marked only when it occurs in certain contexts. T T T Identify the mood for the following sentence Do you know his address? Nobody wants to go there, does he? If I were you, I would accept this offer. Don’t be nervous. Please sit down. How careless she is! It is necessary for us to accept this offer. It is necessary that we accept this offer. 2.5 Finite verb phrase and non-finite verb phrases Depending on whether they are marked for tense, a distinction is made between finite verb phrases and non-finite verb phrases. 2.5.1 Finite verb phrases The verb phrase is a phrase with a main verb as its head. A verb phrase may consist of a main verb only; it may also be composed of one or more than one auxiliary + main verb. Whatever the form of a verb phrase, so long as its first element is finite, it is a finite verb phrase. As English verbs ha