What are the two main classes of verbs in English, and what is a key difference in their ability to stand alone?
The two main classes are lexical verbs and auxiliary verbs. Lexical verbs can be the only verb in a sentence, but auxiliary verbs can never be the only verb in a sentence.
What is a key difference between lexical and auxiliary verbs regarding their complements?
Lexical verbs can license complements such as objects, predicative complements (PCs), and PP-complements. Auxiliaries always have VP-complements.
Are lexical verbs and auxiliary verbs open or closed sets?
Lexical verbs belong to an open set, while auxiliaries belong to a closed set.
What is the special case regarding the verb ‘be’ in verb classification?
The verb ‘be’ has a special form called the ‘copula’, which has unique characteristics that differ from both lexical verbs and other auxiliaries.
What type of complement do all auxiliary verbs (modal and non-modal) obligatorily take?
All auxiliary verbs have obligatory VP (Verb Phrase) complements.
How do auxiliary verbs behave in interrogative clauses compared to lexical verbs?
Auxiliary verbs undergo subject-auxiliary inversion. Lexical verbs require do-support for interrogatives.
How do auxiliary verbs behave regarding negation compared to lexical verbs?
Auxiliary verbs can be negated directly by adding ‘not’ or ‘n’t’. Lexical verbs require do-support for negation.
Why can’t auxiliary ‘do’ be used with other auxiliary verbs in the same clause?
Auxiliary ‘do’ is inserted only when the clause lacks an auxiliary for purposes like negation and interrogative formation.
What are the three non-modal auxiliary verbs mentioned in the sources?
The three non-modal auxiliary verbs are have, be, and do.
For what five distinct grammatical features are non-modal auxiliaries used to code?
Perfect tenses, progressive aspect, passive voice, negation, and interrogative main clauses.
What kind of VP-complement does ‘have’ license when forming perfect tenses?
‘Have’ licenses a VP-complement headed by a past participle.
What kind of VP-complement does ‘be’ license when forming progressive aspect?
‘Be’ licenses a VP-complement headed by a gerund participle.
What kind of VP-complement does ‘be’ license when forming passive voice?
‘Be’ licenses a VP-complement headed by a past participle.
When ‘be’ functions as an auxiliary verb, what properties does it share with other non-modal auxiliaries?
It licenses obligatory non-finite VP-complements, can be directly negated, and shows subject-auxiliary inversion in interrogatives.
What kind of complements does ‘copular be’ license, unlike auxiliary ‘be’?
‘Copular be’ licenses predicative complements (PCs) and PP-complements.
In what ways does ‘copular be’ behave similarly to auxiliaries, despite licensing PC/PP complements?
It can be directly negated, undergo inversion in interrogatives, and shares adverb placement behavior with auxiliaries.
What is the special term for the more lexical use of ‘be’ due to its unique grammatical behavior?
It is called copular be, or simply the copula.
What semantic dimension is ‘mood’ associated with, and what do modal auxiliaries primarily express?
Mood is associated with modality. Modal auxiliaries express non-factuality and/or non-assertion.
Are modal auxiliaries marked for tense? Do they have secondary forms?
Modal auxiliaries only have primary forms and do not have secondary forms.
What is unique about modal auxiliaries regarding 3rd person singular present inflection?
Modal auxiliaries do not have a distinct 3rd person singular present form.
What type of VP-complements do prototypical modal auxiliaries take?
Prototypical modal auxiliaries take bare infinitival VP-complements.
