Traditional Use of Forms Expressing Unreality

§ 161. The Subjunctive Mood and the form were may be found
in simple sentences. Their use in this case is based on tradition.

The Subjunctive Mood is now only found in a few set phrases
which are a survival of the old use of this mood. New sentences
cannot be formed on this pattern.

a) The Subjunctive Mood serves to express wish in the follow-
ing kinds of sentences.

e.g. Long live the Queen!
Success attend you!
Be ours a happy meeting!
God bless you.
Heaven forbid.

Note. We also find may + infinitive in sentences of this kind.

e.g.. May success attend you!

May ours be a happy meeting.

b) The Subjunctive Mood serves to express concession in the
following sentences which can be treated as set phrases in modern
English.

e.g. So be it. (Да будет так.)

Come what will. (Будь, что будет.)
Note. Concession may also be expressed by parenthetic phrases with may and let.

e.g. Happen what may... (Что случится, то случится..., что будет, то будет...)
Be this (that) as it may... (Как бы то ни было...)
Let it be so. {Пусть будет так.)

c) The Subjunctive Mood is found in the expressions Suffice to
say that... (Достаточно сказать, что...) and Far be it from me...
(Я далек от того, чтобы...).

e.g. Far be it from me to contradict you.

d) The Subjunctive Mood is also used in certain imprecations,
e.g. Manners be hanged. (К черту хорошие манеры.)

e) The form were is found in the set phrase as it were (так
сказать, как бы) which is used parenthetically.

e.g. Her portrait had been, as it were, stamped on his heart.
They were silent and, as it were, oppressed.

f) Would + infinitive is found in as luck would have it (пo
счастливому стечению обстоятельств) or as ill luck would have if
(на беду, как на зло).

e.g. As luck would have it, I was invited for that night.

The Tense Forms Expressing Unreality
(Summary)

§ 162. As can be seen from the above description, not all the
forms of unreality can express tense distinctions. Thus the Sub-
junctive Mood and the modal phrases should (for all persons) 4- in-
finitive and would (for all persons) + infinitive have no tense dis-
tinctions. They are used only in certain types of subordinate
clauses and generally show that the action of that clause follows
the action of the principal clause, i.e. they express time relatively-

e.g. I suggest(ed) that he take up the matter.

It is (was) important that he should accept the offer.
I wish(ed) he would agree to see me.

Since these forms have no tense distinctions the rules of the
sequence of tenses are not observed here.

Tense distinctions are expressed only by the forms of the Con-
ditional Mood (which has two tenses — Present and Past) and also
by the use of the forms of the Past Indefinite and the Past Perfect.

The Present Conditional Mood and the form of the Past Indefi-
nite (also the form were for all persons singular) serve to refer an
action to the present or future when they are used in complex sen-
tences with a clause of condition (or a clause of concession intro-
duced by even if or even though).

e.g. If I had time I should go on a short holiday.

If he were younger he would go on an expedition again.
Even if he knew about it he wouldn't tell us.

The Past Conditional Mood and the form of the Past Perfect
serve to refer an action to the past in the same kinds of clauses.

e.g. If I had had time I should have gone on a short holiday.

If he had been younger he would have gone on an expedition

again.
Even if he had known it he wouldn't have told us.

The Present Conditional Mood is used with reference to the
present or future also in simple sentences with implied condition,
while the Past Conditional refers an action to the past.

e.g. It would not be possible to decide anything without him.

It would not have been possible to decide anything without him.

In all those cases the tenses are used absolutely, i.e. they refer
an action directly to the present, past or future

The same is true of the modal verb were to + infinitive which
is used only in (/"-clauses and refers an action of that clause to the
future.

e.g. If everybody were to be brought up differently, would the
world not change?

But when all the forms, which in the above described cases ex-
Press time relations absolutely, are used in other subordinate

clauses, they become relative tenses, i.e. they express the time
with regard to the action of the principal clause. The Present
Conditional Mood and the form of the Past Indefinite indicate
that the action of the subordinate clause is simultaneous with
that of the principal clause or follows it.
e.g. They say (said) it would be impossible to decide anything

without him.
I wish(ed) I knew it.

The Past Conditional Mood and the form of the Past Perfect
show that the action of the subordinate clause precedes that of the
principal clause.

e.g. They say (said) it would have been impossible to decide any-
thing without him.
I wish(ed) I had known it.

It should be remembered that the tenses in sentences of unreal
condition are also used relatively in reported speech,
e.g. He says (said) that if he had time he would go on a short hol-
iday.
He says (said) that if he had had time he would have gone on

a short holiday.

As is seen from the examples, the rules of the sequence of
tenses are not observed with any of the above mentioned forms

expressing unreality.

Things are different, however, with the forms can (may) + in-
finitive used to express problematic actions. Can is found in
clauses of purpose, may — in clauses of purpose and in object
clauses after expressions of fear in the principal clause.
e.g. On Sundays we always go outing so that the children can

(may) spend the day in the open air.
I am afraid that he may get angry with me.
The forms can {may) + infinitive are in the Indicative Mood
here, so the rules of the sequence of tenses should be observed,
e.g. On Sundays we always went outing so that the children could

(might) spend the day in the open air.
I was afraid that he might get angry with me.

VERBALS (NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB)

§ 163. There are three verbals in English: the infinitive, the
ing-form and the participle.

The infinitive is a plain verb stem which is usually preceded
by the unstressed particle to, e.g. to take. In addition to the sim-
ple form, the infinitive has the following analytical forms: con-
tinuous — to be taking, perfect — to have taken, perfect continu-
ous — to have been taking, simple passive — to be taken, perfect
passive — to have been taken.

The ing-form is built up by adding the suffix -ing to the stem of
the verb, e.g. to take — taking (for spelling rules see "Verbs", § ll).

The ing-form also has analytical forms: perfect — having tak-
en, passive — being taken, perfect passive — having been taken.

The participle of regular verbs is formed by adding the suffix
- ed to the stem (for spelling rules and the pronunciation of the
suffix see "Verbs", § 5). The participle of irregular verbs may be
formed in different ways (see "Verbs", § 5 and Appendix).

The participle has only one form — it is invariable.

§ 164. In order to understand the nature of the verbals, it is
necessary to compare them with the finite forms of the verb and
bring out points of similarity points of difference between them.

As the infinitive and the ing-form have many features in com-
mon they will be compared with the finite forms together.

The participle, which differs from both these forms conside-
rably, will be compared with the finite forms separately.

The Infinitive and the ing-form

§ 165. The infinitive and the ing-form have the same lexical
meaning as the finite forms of the corresponding verb.

But with regard to their grammatical categories the two ver-
bals correspond to the finite forms only partly.

1) The infinitive and the ing-form lack the forms of person
and number characteristic of the finite forms.

2) Mood can be expressed only by the finite forms.

It should be pointed out, however, that although the infinitive
has no special mood forms and cannot represent an action either

as a real fact or as something unreal, it may in some functions
express certain modal meanings — necessity, possibility, purpose:

e.g. a) necessity — I've got something dreadful to tell you.

b) possibility — I had nobody to talk to.

c) purpose — I'm going upstairs to pack my things.

The Perfect infinitive, in combination with some modal verbs,
may sometimes show that its action was not realized in the past.

e.g. They should have told him about it.

3) Like the finite forms, the infinitive and the ing-form have
active and passive forms, e.g. to take — to be taken, taking — be
ing taken.

Like the finite forms, the infinitive and the ing-form can ex-
press time, e.g. to take — to have taken, taking — having taken.

Yet, the two verbals differ considerably from finite verbs in
this respect. The finite forms generally express time absolutely.
i.e. they refer an action to the present, past or future (e.g. He
knows English. He knew English. He will know English). The ver-
bals express time relatively, i.e. in relation to the action of the
predicate verb in the sentence. The action expressed by the verbals
may be simultaneous with the action expressed by the predicate
verb (a), may precede (b) or follow it (c).¹

e.g. a) He seemed to know all about it.

Roger was at home working on his speech.

b) He seemed to have guessed the truth.

Having looked at his watch he closed the book and put it
on the shelf.

c) He was ready to assist them.

One afternoon, about half past five, when Thomas was
counting on working for an hour or two more, the tele-
phone rang.

Besides, the simple forms of the verbals themselves are capa-
ble of expressing all kinds of time relations. The various time re-
lations they express depend on the lexical character of the verb
and on the context.

¹ It is true that the finite forms may also express time relatively, but that occurs
only in certain sentence patterns.

The infinitive tends to express an action following that of the
predicate verb (a), but it may also denote an action simultaneous
with it (b). However, the simple form of the infinitive does not often
express an action that precedes the action of the predicate verb (c).

e.g. a) He felt a quick impulse to call the boy back.

b) She was admiring his ability to concentrate on any task.

c) Sylvia was glad to run across her old schoolmate.

The ing-form tends to express actions simultaneous with that
of the predicate verb (a). But it is also extensively used to express
priority (b) and, sometimes, an action following that of the predi-
cate verb (c).

e.g. a) This Saturday afternoon Henry, home from his office, sat
at his study table, drawing cats on the blotter, waiting
for his wife to come back from a lunch.

b) I remembered hearing my aunt telling me in my childhood

that great men never cared for flattery. ¹

c) She insisted on coming with me but I finally managed to

talk her out of it.

The time relations expressed by the passive forms are the same
as those of the corresponding active forms.

On the whole it should be noted that it is the simple form of
the verbals that is in extensive use in English. The analytical ing-
forms are infrequent, but they are commonly used with modal
verbs (in some of their meanings),
e.g. He must be happy now.
He must be sleeping.
He must have misunderstood you.
He must have been waiting for you.
The experiment must be finished already.
The experiment must have been carried out by now.

In other cases the continuous infinitive is generally used only
to emphasize the idea of duration, of process and to make the
statement more vivid and expressive. A simple infinitive is often
possible in the same sentence.

1 Here the action of hearing precedes the action of the predicate verb remembered,
the use of the perfect Ing-form is an exception.

e.g. It was pleasant to be driving the car again.

I'm not a man to be talking of what does not concern me.

It would be possible to use the simple forms to drive and to
talk in the above examples.

The perfect infinitive is more or less frequent after verbs of
mental perception, the verbs to seem, to happen, to appear and a
few others. It shows that the action took place before the action of
the predicate verb.

e.g. Their marriage was supposed to have been a very happy one.
A sense of timing is one of the things I seem to have learned
from Jimmy.

The Perfect Continuous infinitive is mainly found after the
same verbs as the Perfect infinitive. It shows that the action of
the infinitive began before the time indicated by the finite verb
and is still going on.

e.g. She was believed to have been feeling unwell for some time.
They seemed to have been getting on a bit better.

The forms of the two verbals are summed up in the following
tables:

The Infinitive

 

	Active	Passive
Simple	to take	to be taken
Perfect	to have taken	to have been taken
Continuous	to be taking	—
Perfect Continuous	to have been taking	—

The ing-form

 

	Active	Passive
Simple	taking	being taken
Perfect	having taken	having been taken

§ 166. The infinitive and the ing-iorm, like the finite forms,
are always associated with a subject but the way their subject is
expressed differs greatly from that of the finite forms.

Since the finite forms have the function of the predicate in the
sentence, their subject is always the grammatical subject of the
sentence. But the subject of the verbals may be expressed differ-
ently.

In a number of functions the subject of the verbals is the
same as the subject of the sentence and, consequently, of the fi-
nite verb.

e.g. He struggled to find the first words of his story.

She wasn't used to being miserable without doing something
about it.

But in certain other functions the subject of the verbal is fre-
quently expressed by some secondary parts of the sentence.

e.g. He gave her permission to leave.

Seeing you there, by the door, made me remember what I

had to do.
For the most part she was silent, the effort of speaking was

too much for her.

Moreover, the subject of the infinitive and the ing-form may be
found in a neighbouring clause or even in a different sentence.

e.g. She told him what a wonderful place it was to take her to.

There was a vast useless stretch of time to fill. I occupied
my mind with the memories of my childhood.

Starting this relationship seems to me one of the better
things you've ever done, however it ends.

"You won't do the same thing again, will you?" "I can't ex-
plain, but having done it just once is enough."

In all the above cases the relation between the action of the
verbal and its subject becomes clear from the context as the sub-
ject is not expressed by any grammatical means.

Occasionally the subject of the verbal is not indicated at all —
it is not found either in the sentence itself or in a wider context.
In this case it is understood as any or every person or as an indefi-
nite number of unidentified persons.

e.g. Knowledge is not something to boast about.
Writing good prose is not easy.

Finally, a verbal may have a subject of its own, specially ex-
pressed in the sentence. The way the subject is expressed is differ-
ent in this case for the infinitive and for the ing-form.

The subject of the infinitive is expressed by a noun or an in-
definite pronoun in the common case or by a personal pronoun in
the objective case. It precedes the infinitive and the whole con-
struction is introduced by the preposition for.
e.g. I'm not going to make a spectacle of myself for people to talk

About.

For a bachelor to have such well-trained servants was a prov-
ocation to the women of the district.

It was rare for him to go out to dinner.

He was too embarrassed for us to ask him about anything.

This kind of construction is called the f or-phrase.

The subject of the ing-form may be expressed in four different
ways: by means of a possessive pronoun (a), a personal pronoun in
the objective case (b), a noun in the genitive case (c) and a noun or
an indefinite pronoun in the common case (d).

e.g. a) I appreciate your coming to my defense.

b) I just couldn't complain about him and be the cause of him

losing the job.

c) Do you recall Richard's doing that?

d) She was worried by a stranger staring at her from a dark

corner.

The ing-form with its subject is called the ing-complex.

But the four complexes differ with regard to the frequency of
their occurrence and their stylistic colouring.

Possessive pronouns are in current use, whereas the use of per-
sonal pronouns in the objective case is less frequent and distinctly
colloquial. Conversely, we generally find nouns in the common case
while nouns in the genitive case are by far less common and main-
ly typical of literary style.

Note. Note the pattern in which the subject of the ing-form is introduced by
there.
e.g. We spoke about there being no one at the moment for him to turn to for help'

Verbals, like the finite forms, can be used in the active and in
the passive. Accordingly, their subject may be either the doer
(agent) of the action expressed by the verbal or may undergo this
action, be acted upon.

e.g. I have not come here to be insulted but to talk to you as a

friend.

I watched her for a little while without being seen.
He left us without saying good-bye.

The two different kinds of subject may be called the active
subject and the passive subject of the infinitive or of the ing-
iorm.

§ 167. With regard to their meaning and function, the infini-
tive and the ing-form, like the finite forms, can be classed into
two groups:

1) They can serve as notional verbs.

e.g. It amused him to tease the girl.

He went downstairs, holding on the banister.

2) They may also serve as structural words. Some of them,
mainly the verb to be, may be used as link-verbs.

e.g. He is said to be a good chap.

Tom said something about it being pretty late.

The verb to have may be used as a modal verb.

e.g. Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you that.

He looked at his wrist-watch and talked about having to
make a few calls before the visitor arrived.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also be used as auxiliary
verbs to build up analytical forms, e.g. to be taking, to have tak-
en, to have been taking, etc., having taken, being taken, etc.

Both verbals are widely used as second (or third) components
of analytical finite forms.

e-g. She will be there.
She is working.
She has been reading.

§ 168. The syntactic functions of the verbals and those of the
finite forms do not coincide and therein lies the main difference
between them.

The finite forms, as has been said, have one function in the
sentence — that of the predicate. The verbals may perform a vari-
ety of functions. The most striking feature of the infinitive and
the ing-form is that they have functions typical of different parts
of speech. Sometimes they have noun functions (e.g. the function
of the subject or the object).

e.g. To know all about English is one thing; to know English is

quite another.

Everything you've planned to do is sensible.
Reading with us is the thing that we cannot do without.
If this is what you intend asking me, stop wasting your time.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also have adjective func-
tions (e.g. the function of an attribute).

e.g. He was not a man to do rash things.

Singing people, arm in arm, filled the street.

The two verbals can also perform adverbial functions (e.g. the
function of an adverbial modifier of purpose, consequence, time,
manner).

e.g. I came here to discuss matters with you.

I had only to hear her voice to know what she felt.

After hesitating a moment or two, Jim knocked on the door.

You begin learning a language by listening to the new sounds.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also have purely verbal
functions. This occurs in two different cases:

a) In certain sentence patterns they may serve as the predicate
of the sentence.

e.g. Why not go with me?

What about having a look at my new house?

b) As is well known, in the absolute majority of English sen-
tences the predicate is expressed by a finite verb. But the infini-
tive and the ing-form may serve to express a second action, accom-
panying the action expressed by the predicate verb.

e.g. I woke to find Maud cooking a meal (=and found).

He took a seat next to mine, watching my face with close at-
tention (=and watched).

The infinitive and the ing-form may also serve as parenthesis,
i.e. have the function performed by attitudinal adverbs.

e.g. To tell the truth, I'm beginning to find her a bore.
Frankly speaking, I'm at a loss.

§ 169. In some of their functions the infinitive and the ing-
form are lexically dependent. That means that their use is required
by definite verbs, nouns and adjectives. For example, the verb to
want requires an infinitive as object (e.g. He wanted to see them
at once.) while to avoid requires an ing-form in this function (e.g.
For some time she avoided even mentioning their names.). The
same is true of the adjectives ready and busy that require an infin-
itive and an ing-form respectively. (Cf. He was ready to do any-
thing for her. She was busy packing her things.)

Besides, the infinitive and the ing-form are in some functions
also structurally dependent, i.e. they occur in quite definite sen-
tence patterns. For example, the infinitive or the ing-form are
found after a number of definite verbs, nouns and adjectives only
in sentences with it as a formal subject.

e.g. It was a relief to be in the car again.

"It's no use going on like that," he said in an angry tone.

§ 170. Although the syntactic functions of the infinitive and
the ing-form differ from those of the finite forms, the two verbals
can be modified by the same secondary parts of the sentence as
the predicate verb.

e-g. He told me about it himself.

He wanted to tell me about it himself.

He insisted on telling me about it himself.