The Verb in Contemporary English
The Verb in Contemporary English

Author: Bas Aarts

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-06-01

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780521026543

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This collection of essays sheds new light on the verb in English. The authors illustrate that verbs can only be properly understood if studied from both a theoretical and descriptive perspective. In Part One, the authors explore topics such as the terminological problems of classification, verb complementation, the semantics and pragmatics of verbs and verbal combinations, and the notions of tense, aspect, voice and modality. In Part Two, computer corpora are used to study various types of verb complements and collocations, to trace the development in English of certain verb forms, and to detail the usage of verbs in different varieties and genres of English.

Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English
Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English

Author: Claudia Claridge

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9789042004498

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The topic of this book fits in with the recently growing interest in phraseology and fixedness in English. It offers a description of multi-word verbs in the language of the 17th and 18th centuries, an important formative period for Modern English. For the first time, multi-word verbs are treated together as a group, as it is argued that phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs, verb-adjective combinations and verbo-nominal combinations share defining characteristics. These characteristics are also reflected in similar possibilities of usage, in particular the subtle modification of verbal meaning and these verbs' potential for topicalization structures, both leading to a greater expressiveness. Using a new text collection, the Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English Tracts (1640-1740), the study provides a description of the multi-word verb types found, their syntactic behaviour, and their semantic structure. The composition of the corpus also allowed the examination of the development of these verbs over time and in different registers. The corpus study is supplemented by an investigation of attitudes towards multi-word verbs with the help of contemporary works on language, leading to a more speculative discussion of the factors influencing the choice between multi-word and simplex verbs.

Change in Contemporary English
Change in Contemporary English

Author: Geoffrey N. Leech

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-10-22

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 0521867223

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Based on the systematic analysis of large amounts of computer-readable text, this book shows how the English language has been changing in the recent past, and discusses the linguistic and social factors that are contributing to this process.

Modality in Contemporary English
Modality in Contemporary English

Author: Roberta Facchinetti

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2012-02-13

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 3110895331

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This book offers original theoretical accounts and a wealth of descriptive information concerning modality in present-day English. At the same time, it provides fresh impetus to more general linguistic issues such as grammaticalization, colloquialization, or the interplay between sociolinguistic and syntactic constraints. The articles fall into four sections: (a) the semantics and pragmatics of core modal verbs; (b) the status of emerging modal items; (c) stylistic variation and change; (d) sociolinguistic variation and syntactic models. The book is of considerable value to students and teachers of English and Linguistics at undergraduate and graduate level worldwide.

The Verb Phrase in English
The Verb Phrase in English

Author: Bas Aarts

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-02-14

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 1107016355

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This volume features new and groundbreaking research on recent changes in the English verb phrase.

Full-verb Inversion in Written and Spoken English
Full-verb Inversion in Written and Spoken English

Author: Carlos Prado-Alonso

Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783034305358

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This book presents a comprehensive corpus-based analysis of full-verb inversion in present-day English. The author examines the distribution and pragmatic functions of full-verb inversion in different fictional and non-fictional text styles as well as in the spoken language. Surprisingly enough, inversion in oral communication has not yet received the attention it deserves, since most work on the topic has been restricted to the written language. It has often been claimed that full-verb inversion occurs mainly in written discourse, but these claims have not yet been backed up by a detailed corpus-based analysis. This book provides a more conclusive picture of the distribution of full inversion in speech and writing and analyses the distinct pragmatic functions that the construction serves in these two modes of communication.

Verbs of Implicit Negation and Their Complements in the History of English
Verbs of Implicit Negation and Their Complements in the History of English

Author: Yoko Iyeiri

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 9027211701

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For sale in all countries except Japan. For customers in Japan: please contact Yushodo Co. The principal focus of this book concerns various shifts of complements which verbs of implicit negation (e.g. "forbid," "forbear," "avoid," "prohibit," and "prevent") have experienced in the history of English. "Forbid," for example, was once followed by "that"-clauses, while in contemporary English it is in usual cases followed by "to"-infinitives except in the fixed form "God forbid" "that" Although a number of English verbs have undergone similar syntactic changes, the paths they have selected in their historical development are not always the same. Unlike "forbid," the verb "prevent" is now followed by gerunds often with the preposition "from." This book describes some of the most representative paths followed by different verbs of implicit negation and reveals the major complement shifts that have occurred throughout the history of English. It will be of particular interest to researchers and students specializing in English linguistics, historical linguistics, and corpus linguistics."

The Structure of Modern English
The Structure of Modern English

Author: Laurel J. Brinton

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 9027225672

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This text is designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in contemporary English, especially those whose primary area of interest is English as a second language. Focus is placed exclusively on English data, providing an empirical explication of the structure of the language.

Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English
Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English

Author: Claudia Claridge

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9789042004597

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In a revision of her doctoral thesis (no date or institution cited), which itself grew out of the project to compile the database Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English Tracts (1640-1740), Claridge looks at the use of such multi-word verbs as get clear, wish for, and make merry as they appear in the database. She considers both syntax and semantics, which she shows merge to some extent, but takes semantics to be the primary and thus the more important level because people know how they are going to say something before they know what they are going to say. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR