Andrew Radford - Linguistics An Introduction [Second Edition]

Yet, there are important differences between the two complement clauses

they contain. In (234a), the auxiliary will is a tensed form (more specifically, a non-past form), as we see from the fact that if we transpose the whole sentence into the past tense, we use the corresponding past tense form would instead of will: (235)

We expected [John would win the race]

By contrast, if we transpose (234b) into the past tense, the infinitive particle to remains invariable:

(236)

We expected [John to win the race]

So, we can say that the bracketed complement clause in (234a) and (235) is tensed, whereas its counterpart in (234b) and (236) is untensed (i.e. unspecified for tense).

A further difference between the two types of complement clause can be

illustrated in relation to (237):

(237) a.

I didn’t know [John wears glasses]

b.

I’ve never known [John wear glasses]

In (237a), the verb wears agrees with its third person singular subject John; but the corresponding verb wear in (237b) doesn’t agree with John. More generally, complement clauses like that bracketed in (237a) contain a verb inflected for agreement with its subject, whereas complement clauses like that in (237b)

contain a verb form which lacks agreement.

There is a third important difference between the two types of complement

clause in (234a, 237a) and (234b, 237b), as we can see from the fact that if we replace the subject John by a pronoun overtly marked for case, we require the nominative form he in (234a, 237a), but the accusative form him in (234b, 237b):

(238) a.

We expect [he/*him will win the race]

b.

We expect [him/*he to win the race]

(239) a.

I didn’t know [he/*him wears glasses]

b.

I’ve never known [him/*he wear glasses]

To use the relevant grammatical terminology, we can say that an auxiliary or a verb is finite if it inflects for tense/agreement and has a nominative subject, and non-finite if it doesn’t inflect for tense or agreement and doesn’t have a nominative subject. By extension, we can distinguish between a finite clause (i.e. a clause with a nominative subject which contains a verb/auxiliary inflected for tense/

agreement) and a non-finite clause (i.e. a clause which doesn’t have a nominative

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subject, and which doesn’t contain a verb/auxiliary inflected for tense/agreement).

Thus, the complement clauses in (234a) and (237a) are finite clauses, but those in

(234b) and (237b) are non-finite, and, in non-finite complement clauses, we see exceptional examples of subjects that are not nominative (see p. 248 above).

We observed in section 9 that verbs in English can have up to five distinct forms, as illustrated in (240):

(240)

-s

-d

base

-n

-ing

shows

showed

show

shown

showing

The -s and -d forms are finite forms, the -s form being the third person singular present tense form, and the -d form being the past tense form. By contrast, the -n and -ing forms are non-finite forms, since they are not inflected for either tense or agreement (recall that the -n form often ends in -ed!). At first sight, it might seem odd to claim that the -n and -ing forms are untensed, since (as we noted in

section 9) -ing forms are sometimes referred to in traditional grammars as present participles and -n forms as past participles. However, it is clear from sentences like

(241) that the tense of the clause is marked by the auxiliaries is/was, not by the verb form going:

(241) a.

He is going home

b.

He was going home

But if the -ing inflection on going doesn’t mark tense, what does it mark?

The answer, as noted in section 10, is that -ing in this kind of use serves to mark aspect (a term used to describe the duration of the activity described by a verb, e.g.

whether the activity is on-going or completed). In sentences such as (241), the -ing form indicates that the action of going home is still in progress at the time indicated by the auxiliary: hence (241a) can be loosely paraphrased as ‘He is now still in the process of going home’, and (241b) as ‘He was then still in the process of going home.’ Thus, the -ing forms like going in (241) mark progressive aspect. By contrast, -n forms such as gone in (242a, b) mark the completion of the act of going home:

(242) a.

He has gone home

b.

He had gone home

Hence (242a) can be loosely paraphrased as ‘He has now completed the action of going home’ and (242b) as ‘He had by then completed the action of going home.’

Tense is marked by the choice of has or had, and we say that -n forms like gone in

(242) mark perfect aspect (i.e. they indicate perfection in the sense of completion of the relevant act). We have, of course, already met -ing forms and -n forms in

section 10, where they were respectively referred to as progressive participles and perfect participles. Since participles mark aspect (not tense or agreement), they are non-finite forms.

So far, we have argued that the -s and -d forms of verbs are finite, but the -ing and -n forms are non-finite. But what about the uninflected base forms of verbs

Basic terminology

253

(the forms which appear in dictionaries of English)? The answer is that the base form of the verb has a dual status and can function either as a finite form or a non-finite form (i.e. it corresponds to more than one grammatical word in the sense of section 10). In uses like that italicised in (243) below, the base form serves as a finite present tense form:

(243)

I/We/You/They/People show little interest in syntax these days

But in uses like those italicised in (244), the base form is non-finite and is traditionally termed an infinitive form:

(244) a.

She didn’t want him to show any emotion

b.

He didn’t show any emotion

c.

You mustn’t let him show any emotion

Base forms also have other uses which we will come across subsequently (e.g. the imperative use of keep/tell in 246c and 247c below).

Up to now, all the complex sentences we have looked at have comprised a main clause and a complement clause. But now consider the rather different kind of complex sentence illustrated in (245):

(245)

I couldn’t find anyone who could help me

There are two clauses here – the find clause and the help clause. The find clause comprises the subject I, the negative auxiliary couldn’t, the verbal predicate find and the complement anyone who could help me. The complement in turn comprises the pronoun anyone followed by the clause who could help me. Since

the pronoun who in this clause ‘relates to’ (i.e. refers back to) anyone, it is called a relative pronoun, and the clause containing it (who could help me) is called a relative clause. The relative clause in turn comprises the subject who, the auxiliary could, the verbal predicate help and the complement me. The relative clause is a finite clause. Although it doesn’t inflect for agreement, the auxiliary could is a past tense form (since it carries the past tense suffix -d, see I couldn’t find anyone who helps/helped in the kitchen), and its subject who carries nominative case (in formal English, the corresponding accusative form would be whom, and this would be inappropriate here – cf. *anyone whom could help me) (exercise 1).

The functions of clauses

One aspect of the syntax of clauses which we have so far overlooked is

that different clauses have quite different functions. In this connection, consider the functions of the following simple (single-clause) sentences:

(246)

a. He failed the exam b. Did he help you?

c. You keep quiet!

d. What a fool I was!