The implementation of the action

7. The implementation of the action

Such verbs as to try, to attempt, to endeavour, and so on ('Не tried to formulate.' (W. Golding) 'I have sought, primarily, indeed to emphasise how much is involved in 'knowing' a language, [...]' (R. Quirk), have that general component of meaning, which can be marked as “the possibility of implementation of the action”. The reality of actions that they introduce can be positive and negative: I tried to formulate can be equally applied to both the situation I formulated and to the situation I did not formulate. Here is the difference from the complicating elements, considered in (6) where each element allows only monosemantic interpretation and accordingly the transformation of the sentence: ‘I pretended to fall over.' (W. Golding) → I did not fall over, 'She managed to conceal her distress from Felicity.' (I. Murdoch) → She concealed her distress from Felicity.

8. Positional characteristics of the action.

Original type of complication is adding the verbs, denoting state or movement of the subject in the space to the predicate group (to sit, to stand, to lie, to go). The main element has the form of participle. For example:

 'Tim stood fumbling for his keys.' (I. Murdoch) 'Adèle came running up again.' (C. Brontë) The first complicating element is weakened in its lexical meaning. Its well-known desemantization is especially vivid in the cases of displacement of the verbs in the group of predicate, which are normally incompatible. 'Oh-h! Just imagine being able to go walking and swiттing again.' (D. Cusack)

Complicated predicate of the considered type has a homonym in the structure of the language as the combination of the verb- predicate with the participle of present tense in the function of modifier of manner. The difference of the constructions is signaled by super-segment means, and especially by the type of joint between infinite form of the verb and participle, comp.: 'She stood touching her face anxiously.' (D. Lessing) and 'Ma stood, looking up and down.' (K. Mansfield)

Another distinctive moment is incapability of the complicating element (due to weakening its lexical semantics) to be modified by adverbials. At the same time the presence of modifying words is normal for meaningful independent verb. Comp.: ‘I sat looking at the carpet.’ (I. Murdoch) и She sat for some time in her bedroom, thinking hard. (I. Murdoch)

One can suppose that for the bearer of the language the second component in complex predicate is semantically central, i.e. in the sentence Не stood fumbling for his keys the main information is — He fumbled for his keys, not Не stood.

Within the limits of single predicate the combination of several complicating elements is possible. Such kind of complication can be called as consistent one:

I shall have to begin to practice’ (K. Mansfield)

In away I had been hatched there, feathered there, and wanted dearly tо

gо on growing there.' (A. E. Coppard)

I can't begin to accept that as a basis for a decision.' (C. P. Snow)

Detail study of combinatory of consistent active-verbal complication will allow to set undoubtedly existing structural regularity in this field. They are revealed particularly in a number of limitations of the combinability of complicating elements. Thus, due to the absence of infinite forms of modal verbs, they cannot be placed after any of the complicating element, they can only begin the line. In non-initial position the appropriate meanings can be transformed with the equivalents of the modal verbs: 'We тight havе to wait/ I said. (C. P. Snow) In other cases combinability is less real according to semantic motives for example: affect to chance or *begin to happen (happen как as a complicating element with the meaning of expectancy of the action). In forecasting semantically impossible constructions it is important to have maximal caution, taking into account the intuition of the bearer of the language, because regularity of the combinability of meanings in most cases ideo-ethnical; compare such constructions, as 'At that moment I соиldn't seem to remember the story, [...]' (T. Capote) 'Poor Tom used to have to prescribe for my father.' (C. P. Snow) and so on. The number of complicating elements in consistent complication is usually limited to two. On the whole consistent complication has not been thoroughly studied yet.

Passive- verbal complication gives as a result the predicate of the structure V_passen {toV | ingV}, where V_pass — the verb of passive –verbal complication, for example: She was supposed to write a paper on the subject. The bell was heard to r i n g/r i n g i n g. The most important foundation for the interpretation of distinguished constructions as a single member of the sentence and mainly of the complex predicate is their structural and semantic correlation with the predicate of the active-verbal complication (comp.: No component of the theory is allowed to remain — No component of the theory may remain; Mr. Quiason is expected to arrive today — Mr. Qutason must/ may arrive today and so on), whose predicative status has never been disputed by anybody. As in the case of the predicate of active-verbal complication, infinite form of the predicates of passive-verbal complication denotes the action, done by the subject. Finite form grammatically carries out the function of expression of predicativity, and semantically it introduces modifying moment in the character of the connection between the action and its bearer. Most of passive- complicating elements of the predicate (is said/ supposed/expected and so on) can be characterized as the bearers of the meaning of weak modality, if to classify modality of modal verbs (comp. may, must and so on) as strong one.

One can establish four main structural- semantic groups of passive –verbal complicators:

а) verbs denoting the processes of mental activity (to be supposed /believed/known and so on)

They are intended to be the day schools equivalent of the residential houses at boarding schools. (R. Pedley);

б) verbs, denoting communicative process (to be reported/said and so on) 'Repentence is said to be its cure, sir.' (C. Bronte);

в) verbs, denoting the processes of physical perception (to be heard/seen and so on): Distantly from the school the two fifteen bell was heard ringing. (I. Murdoch);

г) «provocative» verbs, i.e. verbs, denoting such actions, which have the action of the subject of the sentence as a consequence (to be forced / made / pressed and so on):

In order to explain these data, we have been forced to develop a number of theoretical concepts and new field procedures. (K. L. Pike)

Adjectives can also be complicating element with the combination of the verb to be or its equivalents. Such kind of complications is called adjective one.

There can be distinguished a number of varieties among the constructions of adjective- complication, which are different from each other by structural peculiarities and semantically:

1) predicate with complicating element, transforming modal evaluation of possibility or authenticity of the connection of the subject and the action. As an adjective element here is used such adjectives as sure, certain, likely and so on: 'Everything is sure to be there.' (E. M. Forster) Later they thought he was certain to die. (P. Abrahams) Т. Н.Huxley's invention, 'agnostic', is likely to be more e n d и r i n g. (J. Moore)

he sentences with the predicate with the complicating element of the given type is characterized by the possibility of application of transformation of nominalization to them N be A to V → N_v be A (He was certain to come → His coming was certain), and also transformation N be A to V → It be A that N V (He was certain to come → It was certain that he would come).

2) The predicates with the complicating elements, denoting physical, psychological or other characteristics of the subject, which is put in the relation with the action, designated by the infinitive.

The circle of lexical units, used as a complicating element here is wider than that in the previous group. The difference in their semantics, correlating with the definite structural differences, can serve as a base for further articulation of the material:

а) Content part of the complicating element denotes capability, necessity, possibility (for the subject) to commit the action. These are the adjectives like able/unable, capable, free, welcome, bound:

Then she would be able to enjoy holiday in peace. (I. Murdoch)

'This flirtation is bound to end pretty soon.' (I. Murdoch)

It is clearly seen the correlation with the group of modal characteristics of active-verbal complication.

b) Content element of complication names the psychic characteristics, expressing attitude of the subject to the action: glad, sorry, ashamed and many others:

Dr. Kroll will be happy to show you the hospital itself later.' (D, Lessing)

She was eager to tell me. (C. P. Snow)

Моr was relieved to be with him for a moment. (I. Murdoch)

The differences of morphological nature of content element of complicator (adjective and participle) determine the participation of the sentences with appropriate predicates in the series of equivalent transformations (1) and (2):

(1) N be A to V → to V make N A → It make N A to V He was happy to come. → To come made him happy. → It made him happy to come.

(2) N be V_l en to V₂ → to V₂ V_l N → It V₁ N to V₂ He was amazed to see that. → To see that amazed him. → It amazed him to see that.

c) Adjectives as a part of complication in the given group denotes an objective feature, typical to the subject in the relation with the action named by the infinitive. As a complicating element come forward such adjectives as quick, slow, fit, apt, ready:

He was quick to seize on this unexpected gesture of friendliness [...] (H. E. Bates) [...]

I was slow to pick up the reference. (C. P. Snow)

You weren't fit to take it,' she said. (C. P. Snow)

The boundary between the groups b) and c) is not absolute and appropriate difference is not always manifested. For example, in the sentence But only now I was prepared to listen. (D. Lessing) prepared can be considered both as a denoting position, taken by the subject in the relation to the action expressed by the infinitive and as objective feature of relation, existing between the subject and the action.

d) Content element of complication — adjective expressing (in subjective interpretation of the author of utterance) feature typical to the subject in the relation with the action that it does: stupid, wise, mad, cruel, right, wrong, good and so on:

You are quite right never to read such nonsense.

He had been wrong to let the boy get away.

You have been cruel to me to go away.

Distinctive feature of the constructions that belong to this group is the possibility of the following transformational formations: N be A to V → to V be A p N → It be A p N to V. He was mad to come. → To come was mad of him. → It was mad of him to come.

e) The structures, combined in this subgroup, outwardly coincide with those, which were considered above. But there is difference of semantic structure, which are clearly seen in transformational level of analyses, for example:

Lost dogs are dreadful to think about. (J. Galsworthy)

She was good to look at in a broad way. (P. Abrahams)

Implicit meaning is peculiar to the components of the construction(the subject and the infinitive) : for the first one — object, for the second one ^:— passiveness, that determine the peculiarities of transformational constructions which differ from depicted above:

Verbal and adjective complications can be combined:

Moira seemed not to be able to move. (D. Lessing)

The first words may be more difficult to memorise than later ones.

(K. L. Pike)

C H A P T E R II

The ways and problems of translating predicate from English into Uzbek.