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33
Lavrova N.A.
PhD, Associate Professor at the Department of English Lexicology, Moscow State Pedagogical University
TOWARDS SOME PECULIARITIES OF MODERN ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Abstract
The article is aimed at highlighting some of the less known and therefore often deemed as marginal aspects of modern English grammar. By furnishing example from well-known contemporary English and American writers, we set out to implicitly prove that having a grasp of conventional English grammar that is traditionally spelt out in most of the course books is not enough to be qualified as an advanced learner of English.
Keywords: English grammar, marginal, possessive case, precision names
Ключевые слова: английская грамматика, маргинальный, притяжательный падеж, прецизионные имена
It is common knowledge that all languages are continuously in the flux, and this entails changes and alterations in all its major aspects - grammar, lexis and phonetics. Despite the widespread belief that grammar is the most stable pillar of a language, there are numerous examples in modern languages of many grammar rules admitting of variations, some of them are regarded as outlaws pertaining to the sphere of semi-educated or distinctly colloquial communication, whereas others are deemed as less marginal and deserving of treatment in grammar books, which are, however, not aimed at schoolchildren, but at an audience with advanced level of English. These peculiarities that occur on a more or less regular basis not only in oral speech but are also found on the printed page and in everyday communication, not necessarily of colloquial nature, are the object of the present paper. A rider should be made right at the beginning that, interestingly and, perhaps, astonishingly, many of the examples of genuine English grammar furnished here are branded by most teachers of English as "wrong", "incorrect", or "erroneous". It is exactly this circumstance that underlies the writing of this short article: many of the renowned American and British writers do use grammar patterns labeled "erroneous", but does this mean that they have a poor grasp of English? Certainly not. Below are some grammar consolidation notes aimed at elucidating natural English grammar and at elevating the status of some grammatical "pariahs".
Can and May: Criticism and Recurrent Propensity versus Uncertainty and
Possibility
The modal verb "can" frequently expresses criticism, in this case it is followed by an adjective which provides a negative characteristic: e.g. You can be really annoying! Sue can get quite irritable at times. It is also used to express an objective quality of somebody or something, be it positive or negative, as well as a general propensity of people and things, which manifests itself on a regular basis: e.g. This medication can have harmful side-effects. Winter here can be really cold. Policemen can arrest you for a serious offence. The modal verb "may" in the meaning of uncertainty and possibility is predominantly used with reference to the future and expresses our prediction about the behavior of somebody or something under specific circumstances. For instance, if we substitute "may" for "can" in the examples given above, the meaning of the whole sentence will change. We may also have to change the structure of these sentences: This medication may have harmful side-effect. Here we don't need to change the structure of the sentence, although the meaning of the sentence changes: the speaker doesn't know the actual properties of the medication, but he presumes that it might have some hazardous property.
In winter it may be very cold. The speaker is thinking about the coming winter and predicts that it may be cold, although he is not sure of it.
Policemen may arrest you (A more natural variant: You may be arrested by the police). Here the speaker goes by his interlocutor's current actions, which are dangerous and probably illegal. The speaker warns his interlocutor about the possible outcome of his actions, but again he doesn't know for sure whether the police will arrest his interlocutor.
The example " Yeomen in Worcestershire in the first half of the fourteenth century can, at the age of twenty, look forward to an average of twenty-years more life; and their successors in the second half can expect another thirty-two years'' [8, 35] contains the verb "can" which is used in the meaning of "general tendency", "usual state of affairs". This meaning is in line with the meaning of "propensity which recurs".
Link-verbs followed by a complement
The link-verb "to feel" is not as a rule followed by reflexive pronouns like "oneself'. It would be, for instance, a gross mistake to say "*I feel myself good/bad/sleepy/tired/happy". This, however, applies to a rather small range of set expressions with simple and recurrent complements. In many cases, however, if the complement is expressed by participles, a reflexive pronoun is required. It also seems to depend on the general meaning of the sentence. If the subject is the receiver of the action and if he experiences the influence of some external force, the reflexive pronoun is also required.
Langdon felt himself losing touch fast [1, 69].
Sophie felt herself staggering backward in amazement [1,112].
'Quick up', Andrew had said, and he felt himselfpressed down firmly into the seat, as he lifted the nose through the horizon and they went up like a vulture in a thermal [10, 88].
She felt herself borne upwards and outwards as though she was departing her own body, and as though she were drawing Michael's soul out with her. At first she was terrified by the strength and strangeness of it, and then all other emotions swept away. She felt herself tumbling and swirling, upwards and upwards, with the wild wind roaring about her, and the rainbow-girded clouds undulating on every side - and then she heard herself screaming, and she thrust all her fingers into her mouth to still her own cries [10, 112].
He stared at the enormous vessel through the spray and darkness and for the first time in a hundred such dangerous nerve-racking situations he felt himself hesitant and uncertain [10, 267].
But: "The lights went on again, and she saw the companionway to the upper deck choked with struggling, cursing men. She felt bruised and crushed and helpless" [10, 274].
Articles with precision names
With precision names, such as the names of the week, no article is usually used if we refer to a particular day out of the current week. If, however, an indefinite passed day or a future day is implied, the indefinite article is more appropriate. In this case the indefinite article performs a classifying, descriptive function:
I am planning to start doing reparation works on a Sunday, because this is the only day when I don't work.
If a specific day from the past in meant, the definite article is used, it performs in this case an indicative, restrictive function:
On the Sunday [of that week] there was a terrible storm. It is now early in the evening, about five, and it is a Saturday. There is an air offestivity and freedom, for yesterday was payday, and people are looking how best to spend their money [7, 239].
He was arrested on the eleventh of August - the Jew poured more shot into the glass -and charged with being a secret Jew. It was said he would not make a sale on a Saturday, and also that he would not eat bacon for his breakfast [4, 88].
The trial of Charles Hunter took place on October 21, 1665, a Saturday, but nevertheless Hunter was tried on that day [4, 325].
The Possessive Case
The Possessive Case is predominantly used with expressions of time and with animate beings. But not exclusively so. In formal contexts its application broadens: it can also be used with city and country names, as well the words "city" and "country", with names of firms, corporations and organizations, as well as with the words "firm", "company", "corporation", "organization" and any big establishment deemed as a powerful and meaningful entity:
Homeowners in a medium-sized community found a letter enclosed with their quarterly water and sewer bills. It was written on city stationery and signed by the city's commissioner of public works [9, 123].
A salesperson is empowered to present her company's products to customers with the goal of obtaining orders [9, 124]
"Also" in negative sentences
It has been traditionally stated that in negative sentences the adverb "either" is used. This in the majority of contexts holds true. In formal discourse, however, it is not uncommon, to use "also" in the same function as "either":
Taken from a culturally relative position, creativity is also not always to be seen or defined in respect of individual performance or in terms of what is new or 'novel' [2, 43].
The Continuous Aspect with stative verbs The verb to "remember" can be used in the Present Continuous tense, which is not typical of it, though. This usage is explained by a different meaning the verb realizes. There are a number of such verbs that have a different stative and active meaning. These are such verbs as: understand, love, depend, measure, weight, remember, hear:
She was remembering that recent, distant time, when she had fooled the captain into believing that it was a special kind of Hellenic cat [5, 393]
Please, come on time. I am depending on you.
Now that they had a different maths teacher, he was understanding the subject much
better.
I'm seeing Jones tomorrow, so I could give him your message.
The feast is so entertaining, I'm loving every minute of it!
I'm hearing a lot of good reports about your work these days
know something (somebody); know about something (somebody); know of something (somebody)
The verb "to know" is followed by no preposition if we talk about personal experience of people and things: e.g. I know your father quite well, we were in college together. "Know" is followed by prepositions "about/of" in the meaning "to hear about smth. or smb. without being acquainted with them": e.g. I know of this method, but I have never applied it in my work, therefore I cannot say for sure if it efficient or not. "Michael knew of no other squadron commander who would stand aside from an easy victory when a big score was the high road to promotion and the coveted decorations" [10, 8].
"Know" is followed by "about" when we mean that we have been informed beforehand about a person's background and therefore he doesn't have to tell us it all: e.g. I know about you. Mr Jones explained to me that you have missed several classes because of your ailment and that you need an extra consultation.
The examples furnished above clearly demonstrate that, first, there is much more to English grammar than is disclosed in traditional grammar books, and, second, that such patterns and variations are regularly found with those who have traditionally been acknowledged as having a good command of English and the ability to exert a sustainable influence on it.
References
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2. Carter R. Language and Creativity. The Art of Common Talk. - London, New York, 2004. -256 p.
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4. Crichton M. Pirate Latitudes. - London: Harper, 2010. - 387 p.
5. De Bernieres L. Captain Corelli's Mandolin. - London: Vintage, 1998. - 533 p.
6. Hewings M. Advanced Grammar in Use. - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. -340 p.
7. Lessing D. No Witchcraft for Sale. - Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1956. -316 p.
8. Mortimer J. The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England. - London: Vintage Books, 2009. - 344 p.
9. Power, Influence, Persuasion. Harvard Business Essentials. - Boston, Mass., 2005. - 167 p.
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