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cantinuous, which latter, according to N. F. Irtenyeva, intensely expresses
simultaneity of the denoted action with some other action in  the  present,
past, or future.
   The idea of the perfect conveying a secondary time characteristic of  the
action is quite a sound one, because it shows that the  perfect,  in  fact,
coexists with the other, primary expression of time. What else,  if  not  a
secondary time meaning of priority, is rendered by the perfect forms in the
following example: Grandfather has taken his  morning  stroll  and  now  is
having a rest on the veranda.
   The  situation  is  easily  translated  into  the  past  with  the   time
correlation intact: > Grandfather had taken  his  morning  stroll  and  was
having a rest on the veranda.
  With the future, the correlation is not so clearly  pronounced.  However,
the reason for it lies not in the deficiency of the perfect as a  secondary
tense, but in the nature of the future time plane, which exists only  as  a
prospective  plane,  thereby  to  a  degree  levelling  the  expression  of
differing  timings  of  actions.  Making  allowance  for  the   unavoidable
prospective temporal neutralisations, the perfective priority expressed  in
the  given  situation  can  be  clearly  conveyed  even   in   its   future
translations, extended by the exposition of the corresponding connotations:
  > By the time he will be having a rest on the veranda,  Grandfather  will
surely have taken his morning stroll. > Grandfather will have a rest on  the
veranda only after he has taken his morning stroll.

  Laying emphasis on the temporal  function  of  the  perfect,  the  "tense
view",  though,  fails  to  expose  with  the  necessary  distinctness  its
aspective function, by  which  the  action  is  shown  as  successively  or
"transmissively" connected with a certain time limit. Besides,  the  purely
oppositional nature of the form is not disclosed by this  approach  either,
thus leaving the categorial status of the perfect undefined.
  The second grammatical interpretation of  the  perfect  was  the  "aspect
view": according to this interpretation the perfect  is  approached  as  an
aspective form of the verb. The aspect view is presented in the works of M.
Deutschbein, E.A. Sonnenschein, A. S. West, and other foreign scholars.  In
the Soviet  linguistic  literature  the  aspective  interpretation  of  the
perfect was comprehensively developed by  G.  N.  Vorontsova.  This  subtle
observer of intricate interdependencies of language  masterly  demonstrated
the idea of the
                                                                         167
successive connection of two events expressed by  the  perfect,  prominence
given by the form to the transference or "transmission" of the  accessories
of  a  pre-situation  to  a  post-situation.  The  great  merit  of  G.  N.
Vorontsova\'s explanation of the aspective nature of the perfect lies in the
fact that the resultative meaning ascribed by some scholars to the  perfect
as its determining grammatical function is  understood  in  her  conception
within a more general destination of this  form,  namely  as  a  particular
manifestation of its transmissive functional semantics.
   Indeed, if we compare the  two  following  verbal  situations,  we  shall
easily notice that the first of them expresses  result,  while  the  second
presents a connection of a past event with a later one in  a  broad  sense,
the general inclusion of the posterior situation in the sphere of influence
of the anterior situation:
   The wind has dropped, and the sun burns more fiercely than ever.
   "Have you really never been to a ball before, Leila? But, my  child,  how
too weird —" cried the Sheridan girls.

   The resultative implication of the perfect in  the  first  of  the  above
examples can be graphically shown by the diagnostic  transformation,  which
is not applicable to the second example: > The sun burns more fiercely than
ever as a result of the wind having dropped.
   At the same time, the plain resultative semantics quite evidently appears
as a particular variety of the general transmissive  meaning,  by  which  a
posterior event is treated as a successor of  an  anterior  event  on  very
broad lines of connection.
  Recognising all the merits of the aspect approach in  question,  however,
we clearly see its two serious drawbacks. The first of them is  that,  while
emphasising  the  aspective  side  of  the  function  of  the  perfect,   it
underestimates its temporal side, convincingly  demonstrated  by  the  tense
view of the perfect described above. The second drawback,  though,  is  just
the one characteristic of the  tense  view,  repeated  on  the  respectively
different material: the described aspective interpretation  of  the  perfect
fails to strictly formulate its oppositional nature, the  categorial  status
of the perfect being left undefined.
  The third grammatical interpretation of the perfect was the "tense-aspect
blend view"; in accord with this
interpretation the perfect is recognised as  a  form  of  double  temporal-
aspective  character,  similar  to   the   continuous.   The   tense-aspect
interpretation of the perfect was developed in the works of I. P.  Ivanova.
According to I. P. Ivanova, the two verbal forms  expressing  temporal  and
aspective functions in a blend are contrasted against the  indefinite  form
as their common counterpart of neutralised aspective properties.
  The achievement of the tense-aspect view of the perfect is the fact  that
it demonstrates the actual double nature of the analysed verbal  form,  its
inherent connection with both temporal  and  aspective  spheres  of  verbal
semantics. Thus, as far as the perfect is concerned, the tense-aspect  view
overcomes the one-sided approach to it peculiar both to the first  and  the
second of the noted conceptions.
   Indeed, the  temporal  meaning  of  the  perfect  is  quite  apparent  in
constructions like the following: I have lived in this city long enough.  I
haven\'t met Charlie for years.
  The actual time expressed  by  the  perfect  verbal  forms  used  in  the
examples can be made explicit by time-test questions:  How  long  have  you
lived in this city? For how long haven\'t you met Charlie?
  Now, the purely aspective semantic component of  the  perfect  form  will
immediately be made prominent if the sentences were continued like  that:  I
have lived in this city long enough to show you all  that  is  worth  seeing
here. I haven\'t met Charlie for years, and can hardly  recognise  him  in  a
crowd.
  The aspective function of the perfect verbal forms in both sentences,  in
its turn, can easily be revealed by aspect-test questions: What can  you  do
as a result of your having lived  in  this  city  for  years?  What  is  the
consequence of your not having met Charlie for years?
  However, comprehensively exposing the two different sides of the integral
semantics of the perfect, the tense-aspect conception  loses  sight  of  its
categorial  nature  altogether,  since  it  leaves   undisclosed   how   the
grammatical function of  the  perfect  is  effected  in  contrast  with  the
continuous or indefinite, as well as  how  the  "categorial  blend"  of  the
perfect-continuous is contrasted against its three  counterparts,  i.e.  the
perfect, the continuous, the indefinite.
  As we see, the three described interpretations of the  perfect,  actually
complementing one another, have given in combination a  broad  and  profound
picture of the semantical
                                                                         169
content of the perfect verbal forms, though all  of  them  have  failed  to
explicitly explain the grammatical category within the structure  of  which
the perfect is enabled to fulfil its distinctive function.
  The categorial individuality of the perfect was  shown  as  a  result  of
study conducted by  the  eminent  Soviet  linguist  A.  I.  Smirnitsky.  His
conception of the perfect, the fourth in our enumeration, may be called  the
"time correlation view",  to  use  the  explanatory  name  he  gave  to  the
identified category. What was achieved by  this  brilliant  thinker,  is  an
explicit demonstration of the fact that the perfect form, by  means  of  its
oppositional mark, builds up its  own  category,  different  from  both  the
"tense"  (present  —  past  —  future)  and  the  "aspect"   (continuous   —
indefinite), and not reducible to either of them. The functional content  of
the category of "time correlation" («временная  отнесенность»)  was  defined
as priority expressed by the perfect forms in the present,  past  or  future
contrasted against the non-expression of priority by the non-perfect  forms.
The immediate factor that gave cause to A. I. Smirnitsky to advance the  new
interpretation of the perfect was the  peculiar  structure  of  the  perfect
continuous form in which the perfect, the form of precedence, i.e. the  form
giving prominence to the idea of two times  brought  in  contrast,  coexists
syntagmatically with the continuous, the  form  of  simultaneity,  i.e.  the
form expressing one time for two  events,  according  to  the  "tense  view"
conception of it. The  gist  of  reasoning  here  is  that,  since  the  two
expressions of the same categorial semantics are impossible in one  and  the
same verbal form, the perfect cannot be either an  aspective  form,  granted
the continuous expresses  the  category  of  aspect,  or  a  temporal  form,
granted the continuous expresses the category of  tense.  The  inference  is
that the category in question, the determining part of which is embodied  in
the perfect,  is  different  from  both  the  tense  and  the  aspect,  this
difference being fixed by the special categorial term "time correlation".
   The  analysis  undertaken  by  A.  I.  Smirnitsky   is   of   outstanding
significance not only for identifying the categorial status of the perfect,
but also for  specifying  further  the  general  notion  of  a  grammatical
category. It develops the very technique of this kind of identification.
   Still, the "time correlation view" is not devoid of certain  limitations.
First, it somehow underestimates the  aspective  plane  of  the  categorial
semantics of the perfect, very
 170
convincingly demonstrated by G. N. Vorontsova in the context of the  "aspect
view" of the perfect, as well as by I. P. Ivanova  in  the  context  of  the
"tense-aspect blend view" of the perfect.  Second,  and  this  is  far  more
important, the reasoning  by  which  the  category  is  identified,  is  not
altogether complete in  so  far  as  it  confuses  the  general  grammatical
notions of time and aspect with the  categorial  status  of  concrete  word-
forms in each particular  language  conveying  the  corresponding  meanings.
Some  languages  may  convey  temporal  or  aspective  meanings  within  the
functioning of one  integral  category  for  each  (as,  for  instance,  the
Russian language), while other languages may  convey  the  same  or  similar
kind of meanings in two or even more categories for each (as, for  instance,
the English language). The only true criterion of this is the  character  of
the representation of the respective categorial forms in the  actual  speech
manifestation of a lexeme. If a lexeme  normally  displays  the  syntagmatic
coexistence of several forms distinctly identifiable by their  own  peculiar
marks, as, for example, the forms of person, number, time,  etc.,  it  means
that these forms in the system of language  make  up  different  grammatical
categories. The integral grammatical meaning of any word-form (the  concrete
speech entry of a lexeme) is determined by the whole  combination  ("bunch")
of the categories peculiar to the part of speech the lexeme belongs to.  For
instance, the verb-form "has been speaking" in the sentence "The  Red  Chief
has just been speaking" expresses,  in  terms  of  immediately  (positively)
presented grammatical forms, the third person of  the  category  of  person,
the singular of the category of number,  the  present  of  the  category  of
time, the continuous of the category of  development,  the  perfect  of  the
category under analysis. As for the character of the determining meaning  of
any category, it may either be related to  the  meaning  of  some  adjoining
category, or may not — it depends  on  the  actual  categorial  correlations
that have shaped in a language in the course of its historical  development.
In particular, in Modern English,  in  accord  with  our  knowledge  of  its
structure, two major purely temporal categories are to be  identified,  i.e.
primary  time  and  prospective  time,  as  well  as  two  major   aspective
categories. One of the latter is the category of development. The other,  as
has been decided  above,  is  the  category  of  retrospective  coordination
featuring the perfect as the marked component form and the imperfect as  its
unmarked counterpart. We have considered it advisable

                                                                         171

to re-name the indicated category in order, first,  to  stress  its  actual
retrospective property (in fact, what is strongly expressed in the temporal
plane of the category, is priority of action, not any other  relative  time
signification), and second, to reserve such a general term as "correlation"
for more unrestricted, free manipulations in non-specified  uses  connected
with grammatical analysis.

  § 8. Thus, we have  arrived  at  the  "strict  categorial  view"  of  the
perfect, disclosing it as the marking form of a  separate  verbal  category,
semantically intermediate between aspective and temporal,  but  quite  self-
dependent in the general categorial system of the English verb. It  is  this
interpretation of the perfect  that  gives  a  natural  explanation  to  the
"enigmatic" verbal  form  of  the  perfect  continuous,  showing  that  each
categorial  marker  —  both  perfect  and  continuous  —  being   separately
expressed in the speech entry of the verbal lexeme, conveys its own part  in
the  integral  grammatical  meaning  of  the  entry.  Namely,  the   perfect
interprets the action in the light of priority and  aspective  transmission,
while the continuous presents the same action as progressive. As  a  result,
far from displaying any kind of semantic contradiction or  discrepancy,  the
grammatical characterisation of the  action  gains  both  in  precision  and
vividness. The latter quality explains why this verbal form is gaining  more
and more ground in present-day colloquial English.
  As a matter of fact, the specific semantic features of  the  perfect  and
the continuous  in  each  integrating  use  can  be  distinctly  exposed  by
separate diagnostic tests. Cf.:  A  week  or  two  ago  someone  related  an
incident to me with the suggestion that I should write a story  on  it,  and
since then I have been thinking it over (S. Maugham).
  Testing for the perfect giving prominence to the expression  of  priority
in retrospective coordination will be represented as follows: > I have  been
thinking over the suggestion for a week or two now.
  Testing for the perfect giving prominence to the expression of succession
in retrospective coordination will be  made  thus:  >  Since  the  time  the
suggestion was made I have been thinking it over.
  Finally, testing for the continuous giving prominence to  the  expression
of action in progress will include expansion: >  Since  the  suggestion  was
made I have been thinking it over continually,

 172

  Naturally,  both  perfect  indefinite  and  perfect   continuous,   being
categorially characterised by their respective features, in normal use  are
not strictly dependent on  a  favourable  contextual  environment  and  can
express their semantics in isolation from adverbial time indicators. Cf.:
  Surprisingly, she did not protest, for she had given up the struggle  (M.
Dickens). "What have you been doing down there?" Miss Peel asked him. "I\'ve
been looking for you all over the play-ground" (M. Dickens).

  The exception is the future perfect that practically  always  requires  a
contextual  indicator  of  time  due  to  the  prospective   character   of
posteriority, of which we have already spoken.
   It should be noted that with the past perfect the priority  principle  is
more distinct than with  the  present  perfect,  which  again  is  explained
semantically.  In  many  cases  the  past  perfect  goes  with  the  lexical
indicators of time introducing the past plane as such in  the  microcontext.
On the other  hand,  the  transmissive  semantics  of  the  perfect  can  so
radically take an upper hand over its priority semantics even  in  the  past
plane that the form is placed in a peculiar expressive contradiction with  a
lexical introduction of priority. In particular, it  concerns  constructions
introduced by the subordinative conjunction before. Cf.:
   It was his habit to find a girl who suited him and live with her as  long
as he was ashore. But he had forgotten  her  before  the  anchor  had  come
dripping out of the water and been made fast. The  sea  was  his  home  (J.
Tey).

   § 9. In keeping with the general tendency, the category of  retrospective
coordination can be contextually neutralised, the  imperfect  as  the  weak
member of the opposition filling in the position of neutralisation. Cf.:

   "I feel exactly like you," she said, "only different, because after all I
didn\'t  produce  him;  but,  Mother,  darling,  it\'s  all   right..."   (J.
Galsworthy). Christine nibbled on Oyster Bienville. "I  always  thought  it
was because they spawned in summer" (A. Hailey).

   In this connection, the treatment of the lexemic  aspective  division  of
verbs by the perfect is, correspondingly, the reverse, if  less  distinctly
pronounced, of their treatment by the continuous. Namely, the expression of
retrospective

                                                                         173

coordination is neutralised most naturally and freely with limitive  verbs.
As for the unlimitive verbs, these, by  being  used  in  the  perfect,  are
rather turned into "limitive for the nonce". Cf.:
   "I\'m no beaten rug. I don\'t need to feel like one. I\'ve  been  a  teacher
all my life, with plenty to show for it" (A. Hailey).
  Very peculiar neutralisations take place between the forms of the present
perfect — imperfect. Essentially these neutralisations signal instantaneous
subclass migrations of the verb from a limitive to an unlimitive one. Cf.:
  Where do you come from? (I.e. What is the place of your  origin?)  I  put
all my investment in London. (I.e. I keep all my money there).
  Characteristic colloquial  neutralisations  affect  also  some  verbs  of
physical and mental perceptions. Cf.:
   I forget what you\'ve told me  about  Nick.  I  hear  the  management  has
softened their stand after all the hurly-burly!
  The perfect forms in  these  contexts  are  always  possible,  being  the
appropriate  ones  for  a  mode  of  expression   devoid   of   tinges   of
colloquialism.

   § 10 The categorial opposition  "perfect  versus  imperfect"  is  broadly
represented in  verbids.  The  verbid  representation  of  the  opposition,
though, is governed by a  distinct  restrictive  regularity  which  may  be
formulated  as  follows:  the  perfect  is  used  with  verbids   only   in
semantically strong positions, i.e. when its  categorial  meaning  is  made
prominent. Otherwise the opposition is  neutralised,  the  imperfect  being
used in the position of neutralisation. Quite evidently this regularity  is
brought about by the intermediary lexico-grammatical features  of  verbids,
since the category of retrospective coordination is utterly  alien  to  the
non-verbal parts of speech. The structural neutralisation of the opposition
is especially distinct with the present participle of the  limitive  verbs,
its indefinite form very naturally expressing priority  in  the  perfective
sense. Cf.: She came to Victoria to see Joy off, and Freddy Rigby came too,
bringing a crowd of the kind of young people Rodney did not  care  for  (M.
Dickens).
   But the rule of the strong position is valid here also. Cf.:  Her  Auntie
Phyll had too many children. Having

174

brought up six in a messy, undisciplined way,  she  had  started  all  over
again with another baby late in life (M. Dickens).
  With the gerund introduced by a preposition of time the perfect  is  more
often than not neutralised. E.g.: He was at Cambridge and after  taking  his
degree decided to be a planter (S. Maugham).
  Cf. the perfect gerund in a strong position: The memory of having met the
famous writer in his young days made him feel proud even now.
  Less  liable  to  neutralisation  is  the  infinitive.  The  category  of
retrospective coordination is for the most part consistently represented in
its independent constructions, used as concise semi-predicative equivalents
of syntactic units of full predication. Cf.:
   It was utterly unbelievable for the man to have no competence  whatsoever
(simultaneity expressed by the imperfect). — It  was  utterly  unbelievable
for the man to have had no competence whatsoever (priority expressed by the
perfect).

   The perfect infinitive of notional verbs  used  with  modal  predicators,
similar to the continuous, performs the two types of functions.  First,  it
expresses priority  and  transmission  in  retrospective  coordination,  in
keeping with its categorial destination. Second, dependent on the  concrete
function of each modal verb and its equivalent, it helps convey  gradations
of probabilities in suppositions. E.g.:
   He may have warned Christine, or again, he may not have warned  her.  Who
can tell? Things must have been easier fifty years ago. You needn\'t  worry,
Miss  Nickolson.  The  children  are  sure  to  have  been  following   our
instructions, it can\'t have been otherwise.

   In addition, as its  third  type  of  function,  also  dependent  on  the
individual character of different modal verbs, the perfect can  render  the
idea of non-compliance with certain rule, advice, recommendation, etc.  The
modal verbs in these cases serve as signals  of  remonstrance  (mostly  the
verbs ought to and should). Cf.: Mary ought to have thought of the possible
consequences. Now the situation can\'t be mended, I\'m afraid.
   The modal will used with a perfect in a specific  collocation  renders  a
polite,  but  officially  worded  statement  of  the  presupposed  hearer\'s
knowledge of an indicated fact. Cf.:

                                                                         175

  "You will no doubt have heard, Admiral Morgan, that Lord Vaughan is going
to replace Sir Thomas Lynch as Governor of Jamaica," Charles said, and  cast
a glance of secret amusement at the strong countenance of  his  most  famous
sailor (J. Tey). It will not have escaped your  attention,  Inspector,  that
the visit of the nuns was the same day that poisoned wedding cake found  its
way into that cottage (A. Christie).

   Evident relation between the perfect and the continuous in their specific
modal functions (i.e. in the use under modal government) can be pointed out
as a testimony to the category of retrospective coordination being  related
to the category of development on the broad semantic basis of aspectuality.

                           CHAPTER XVI VERB: VOICE

   § 1. The verbal category of voice shows the direction of the  process  as
regards the participants  of  the  situation  reflected  in  the  syntactic
construction.
   The voice of the English verb is  expressed  by  the  opposition  of  the
passive form of the verb to the active form of the verb. The  sign  marking
the passive form is the combination of  the  auxiliary  be  with  the  past
participle of the conjugated verb (in symbolic notation: be ...  en  —  see
Ch. II, § 5). The passive form as  the  strong  member  of  the  opposition
expresses  reception  of  the  action  by  the  subject  of  the  syntactic
construction (i.e. the  "passive"  subject,  denoting  the  object  of  the
action); the active form as the weak member of the opposition  leaves  this
meaning unspecified, i.e. it expresses "non-passivity".
   In colloquial speech the role of the passive auxiliary can  occasionally
 be performed by the verb get and, probably, become* Cf.:
   Sam got licked for a good reason, though not by me. The young  violinist
 became admired by all.
   The category of voice has a much broader representation in the system of
 the English verb than in the system of the
   * For discussion see: [Khaimovich, Rogovskaya, 128-129]. 176
Russian verb, since in English not only transitive, but  also  intransitive
objective verbs including prepositional ones can be  used  in  the  passive
(the preposition being retained in the absolutive location). Besides, verbs
taking not one, but two objects, as a rule, can feature both of them in the
position of the passive subject. E.g.:
   I\'ve just been rung up by the police. The diplomat  was  refused  transit
facilities through London. She was undisturbed by the frown  on  his  face.
Have you ever been told that you\'re very good looking? He was said to  have
been very wild in his youth. The dress has never been tried on.  The  child
will be looked after all right. I won\'t be talked to like this. Etc.

   Still, not all the verbs capable of taking an object are actually used in
the passive. In particular, the passive form is alien to many verbs of  the
statal subclass (displaying a weak dynamic force),  such  as  have  (direct
possessive meaning), belong, cost, resemble, fail, misgive, etc.  Thus,  in
accord with their relation to the passive  voice,  all  the  verbs  can  be
divided into two large sets: the set of passivised verbs and the set of non-
passivised verbs.
   A question then should be posed whether the category of voice is a  full-
representative verbal category, i.e. represented in the system of the  verb
as a whole, or a partial-representative  category,  confined  only  to  the
passivised verbal set. Considerations of both form  and  function  tend  to
interpret voice rather as  a  full-representative  category,  the  same  as
person, number, tense, and aspect. Three reasons can be given to back  this
appraisal.
  First, the integral categorial presentation of non-passivised verbs fully
coincides with that of passivised verbs used in the active voice (cf.  takes
— goes, is taking — is going, has taken  —  has  gone,  etc.).  Second,  the
active  voice  as  the  weak  member  of  the   categorial   opposition   is
characterised  in  general  not  by  the  "active"  meaning  as  such  (i.e.
necessarily featuring the subject as the doer of the  action),  but  by  the
extensive  non-passive  meaning   of   a   very   wide   range   of   actual
significations,  some  of  them  approaching  by   their   process-direction
characteristics those of non-passivised verbs (cf.  The  door  opens  inside
the room; The magazine doesn\'t  sell  well).  Third,  the  demarcation  line
between the passivised and non-passivised sets is by  no  means  rigid,  and
the verbs of the non-passivised order may migrate into the
12—1499    177
 passivised order in various contextual conditions (cf. The bed has not been
 slept in; The house seems not to have been lived in for a long time).
   Thus, the category of voice should be interpreted as being reflected  in
 the whole system of verbs, the non-passivised verbs presenting  the  active
 voice form if not directly, then indirectly.
   As a regular categorial form of the verb, the passive voice  is  combined
in the same lexeme with other oppositionally strong  forms  of  the  verbal
categories of the tense-aspect system,  i.e.  the  past,  the  future,  the
continuous, the perfect. But it has a neutralising effect on  the  category
of development in the forms where the auxiliary be must be doubly  employed
as a verbid (the infinitive, the present participle, the past  participle),
so that the future continuous passive, as well as  the  perfect  continuous
passive are practically not  used  in  speech.  As  a  result,  the  future
continuous active has as its regular counterpart by  the  voice  opposition
the future indefinite passive; the perfect continuous  active  in  all  the
tense-forms has as its regular counterpart the perfect indefinite  passive.
Cf.:
   The police will be keeping an army of reporters at  bay.  >  An  army  of
reporters will be kept at bay by the police. We  have  been  expecting  the
decision for a long time. —» The decision has  been  expected  for  a  long
time.

  § 2. The category of voice differs radically from all the other  hitherto
considered categories from the point of view of its  referential  qualities.
Indeed,  all   the   previously   described   categories   reflect   various
characteristics of processes, both direct and oblique, as certain  facts  of
reality existing irrespective of the  speaker\'s  perception.  For  instance,
the verbal category  of  person  expresses  the  personal  relation  of  the
process. The verbal number, together  with  person,  expresses  its  person-
numerical relation. The verbal primary time denotes  the  absolutive  timing
of the process, i.e. its timing in reference to the moment  of  speech.  The
category of prospect expresses the timing of the process from the  point  of
view of its relation to the plane of  posteriority.  Finally,  the  analysed
aspects characterise the respective inner  qualities  of  the  process.  So,
each of these categories does disclose some actual property of  the  process
denoted by the verb, adding  more  and  more  particulars  to  the  depicted
processual situation. But we cannot say  the  same  about  the  category  of
voice.

 178

   As a matter of fact, the situation reflected by the passive  construction
does not differ in the least from the situation  reflected  by  the  active
construction  —  the  nature  of  the  process  is  preserved  intact,  the
situational participants remain in their places in their unchanged quality.
What is changed, then, with the transition from the  active  voice  to  the
passive voice, is the subjective appraisal of the situation by the speaker,
the plane of his presentation of it. It is clearly seen when comparing  any
pair of constructions one of which is the passive counterpart of the other.
Cf.: The guards dispersed the crowd in front of the Presidential Palace.  >
The crowd in front of the Presidential Palace was dispersed by the guards.
   In the two constructions, the guards as the doer of the action, the crowd
as the recipient of the action are the same; the same also is the place  of
action, i.e. the space in front of the  Palace.  The  presentation  planes,
though, are quite different with the respective constructions, they are  in
fact mutually reverse.  Namely,  the  first  sentence,  by  its  functional
destination, features the act of the guards, whereas the  second  sentence,
in accord with its meaningful  purpose,  features  the  experience  of  the
crowd.
  This property of the category of voice  shows  its  immediate  connection
with syntax, which finds expression in  direct  transformational  relations
between the active and passive constructions.
  The said fundamental meaningful difference between the two forms  of  the
verb and the corresponding constructions that are built  around  them  goes
with all the concrete connotations specifically expressed by the active and
passive presentation of the same event in various situational contexts.  In
particular, we find the object-experience-featuring achieved by the passive
in its typical uses in cases when the subject is unknown or is  not  to  be
mentioned for certain reasons, or when the  attention  of  the  speaker  is
centred on the action as such. Cf., respectively:
  Another act of terrorism has been  committed  in  Argentina.  Dinner  was
announced, and our conversation stopped. The defeat  of  the  champion  was
very much regretted.
  All the functional distinctions  of  the  passive,  both  categorial  and
contextual-connotative, are sustained in its use with verbids.
  For instance, in the following passive infinitive phrase  the  categorial
object-experience-featuring is accompanied by

                                          179

the logical  accent  of  the  process  characterising  the  quality  of  its
situational object (expressed by the subject of the  passive  construction):
This is an event never to be forgotten.
  Cf. the  corresponding  sentence-transform:  This  event  will  never  be
forgotten.
  The gerundial  phrase  that  is  given  below,  conveying  the  principal
categorial meaning  of  the  passive,  suppresses  the  exposition  of  the
indefinite subject of the  process:  After  being  wrongly  delivered,  the
letter found its addressee at last.
   Cf. the time-clause transformational equivalent of the gerundial  phrase:
After the letter had been wrongly delivered,  it  found  its  addressee  at
last.
  The following passive participial construction in an absolutive  position
accentuates the resultative process: The enemy batteries  having  been  put
out of action, our troops continued to push on the offensive.
   Cf. the clausal equivalent of the construction: When the enemy  batteries
had been put out of action, our troops continued to push on the offensive.
   The past participle of the objective verb  is  passive  in  meaning,  and
phrases built up by it display all the cited characteristics. E.  g.:  Seen
from the valley, the castle on the cliff presented a fantastic sight.
   Cf. the clausal equivalent of the past participial phrase:  When  it  was
seen from the valley, the castle on the cliff presented a fantastic sight.

   § 3. The big problem in  connection  with  the  voice  identification  in
English is the problem of "medial" voices,  i.e.  the  functioning  of  the
voice forms in other than the passive or active meanings.  All  the  medial
voice uses are effected within the functional range of the unmarked  member
of the voice opposition. Let us consider the following examples:
   I will shave and wash, and be ready for breakfast in half  an  hour.  I\'m
afraid Mary hasn\'t dressed up  yet.  Now  I  see  your  son  is  thoroughly
preparing for the entrance examinations.

   The indicated verbs in the given sentences are objective, • transitive,
 used absolutely, in the form of the active voice. But the real voice
 meaning rendered by the verb-entries is not active, since the actions
 expressed are not passed from the subject to any outer object; on the
 contrary, these actions

 180

are confined to no other participant of the situation than the subject, the
latter constituting its own object of the action performance. This kind  of
verbal meaning of the action  performed  by  the  subject  upon  itself  is
classed as "reflexive". The  same  meaning  can  be  rendered  explicit  by
combining the verb with the reflexive "self-pronoun: I will  shave  myself,
wash myself; Mary hasn\'t dressed herself up yet;  your  son  is  thoroughly
preparing himself. Let us take examples of another kind:
  The  friends  will  be  meeting  tomorrow.  Unfortunately,   Nellie   and
Christopher divorced two years after their magnificent marriage.  Are  Phil
and Glen quarrelling again over their toy cruiser?

  The actions expressed by the  verbs  in  the  above  sentences  are  also
confined to the subject, the same as in the first series of examples,  but,
as different  from  them,  these  actions  are  performed  by  the  subject
constituents reciprocally: the friends will be meeting one another;  Nellie
divorced Christopher, but Christopher, in his turn, divorced  Nellie;  Phil
is quarrelling with Glen, but Glen, in his turn, is quarrelling with  Phil.
This verbal meaning of the action performed by the subjects in the  subject
group on one another is called  "reciprocal".  As  is  the  case  with  the
reflexive meaning, the reciprocal  meaning  can  be  rendered  explicit  by
combining the verbs with special pronouns, namely, the reciprocal pronouns:
the friends will be meeting one another; Nellie  and  Christopher  divorced
each other; the children are quarrelling with each other.
  The  cited  reflexive  and  reciprocal  uses  of  verbs   are   open   to
consideration  as  special  grammatical   voices,   called,   respectively,
"reflexive" and "reciprocal". The reflexive and reciprocal pronouns  within
the framework of the hypothetical  voice  identification  of  the  uses  in
question should be looked upon as the voice auxiliaries.
  That the verb-forms in the given collocations do render the idea  of  the
direction of situational action is  indisputable,  and  in  this  sense  the
considered verbal meanings are those of voice. On the other hand,  the  uses
in question evidently lack a generalising force necessary  for  any  lingual
unit type or combination type to be classed as  grammatical.  The  reflexive
and reciprocal pronouns, for their part, are  still  positional  members  of
the  sentence,  though  phrasemically  bound  with  their  notional   kernel
elements. The inference is that

                                                                         181

the forms are  not  grammatical-categorial;  they  are  phrasal-derivative,
though grammatically relevant.
   The verbs in reflexive  and  reciprocal  uses  in  combination  with  the
reflexive  and   reciprocal   pronouns   may   be   called,   respectively,
"reflexivised" and  "reciprocalised".  Used  absolutively,  they  are  just
reflexive and reciprocal variants of their lexemes.
   Subject to reflexivisation and reciprocalisation may be not only natively
reflexive and reciprocal lexemic variants, but other verbs as well. Cf.:

   The professor was arguing with himself, as usual. The parties  have  been
accusing one another vehemently.

   To distinguish between the two cases of the considered phrasal-derivative
process, the former can be classed as "organic", the latter as  "inorganic"
reflexivisation and reciprocalisation.
  The derivative, i.e. lexemic expression of voice meanings may be likened,
with due alteration of details, to  the  lexemic  expression  of  aspective
meanings. In the domain of aspectuality we also  find  derivative  aspects,
having a set of lexical markers (verbal post-positions) and generalised  as
limitive and non-limitive.
  Alongside of the considered two, there is still a third use of  the  verb
in English directly connected with the grammatical voice distinctions. This
use can be shown on the following examples:

  The new paper-backs are selling excellently. The suggested procedure will
hardly apply to all the instances. Large  native  cigarettes  smoked  easily
and coolly. Perhaps the loin chop will eat better than it looks.

  The actions expressed by the otherwise  transitive  verbs  in  the  cited
examples are confined to the subject, though not in a way of  active  self-
transitive subject performance, but as if going on of their own accord. The
presentation of the verbal action of this type comes under the  heading  of
the "middle" voice.
  However, lacking both regularity and an outer form of expression,  it  is
natural to  understand  the  "middle"  voice  uses  of  verbs  as  cases  of
neutralising reduction of the  voice  opposition.  The  peculiarity  of  the
voice neutralisation of this kind is, that the  weak  member  of  opposition
used in

 182

the position of neutralisation does not fully coincide in function with the
strong  member,  but  rather  is  located  somewhere  in  between  the  two
functional borders. Hence, its "middle" quality is truly reflected  in  its
name. Compare  the  shown  middle  type  neutralisation  of  voice  in  the
infinitive:
   She was delightful to look at, witty to talk to —  altogether  the  most
charming of companions. You have explained so fully everything there is  to
explain that there is no need for me to ask questions.

   § 4. Another problem posed by the category of voice  and  connected  with
neutralisations concerns the relation between the morphological form of the
passive voice and syntactical form of  the  corresponding  complex  nominal
predicate with the pure link be. As a matter of fact, the  outer  structure
of the two combinations is much the same. Cf.:

  You may consider me a coward, but there you are mistaken. They  were  all
seised in their homes.

  The first of the two examples presents a case of a nominal predicate, the
second, a case of a  passive  voice  form.  Though  the  constructions  are
outwardly alike, there is  no  doubt  as  to  their  different  grammatical
status. The question is, why?
  As is known, the demarcation between the construction types  in  question
is  commonly  sought  on  the  lines  of  the  semantic  character  of  the
constructions. Namely, if the construction expresses an action, it is taken
to refer to the passive  voice  form;  if  it  expresses  a  state,  it  is
interpreted as a nominal predicate. Cf. another pair of examples:
  The door was closed by the butler as softly as could be. The door on  the
left was closed.

   The predicate of the first sentence displays  the  "passive  of  action",
i.e. it is expressed by a verb used in the passive voice; the predicate  of
the second sentence, in accord with the cited semantic  interpretation,  is
understood as displaying the "passive of state", i.e. as  consisting  of  a
link-verb and a nominal part expressed by a past participle.
  Of course, the factor of semantics as the criterion of the dynamic  force
of the construction is quite in its place, since the dynamic  force  itself
is a meaningful factor of language.

                                                                         183

But the "technically" grammatical quality of the construction is determined
not by the meaning in isolation; it is determined  by  the  categorial  and
functional  properties  of  its  constituents,  first  and  foremost,   its
participial part. Thus, if this part, in  principle,  expresses  processual
verbality, however statal it may be in its semantic core,  then  the  whole
construction should be understood as a case of the finite  passive  in  the
categorial sense. E.g.: The young practitioner was highly esteemed  in  his
district.
   If, on the other hand, the participial part of the  construction  doesn\'t
convey the idea of processual verbality, in other words, if it  has  ceased
to be a participle  and  is  turned  into  an  adjective,  then  the  whole
construction is to be taken for a nominal predicate. But in the latter case
it is not categorially passive at all.
   Proceeding from  this  criterion,  we  see  that  the  predicate  in  the
construction  "You  are  mistaken"  (the  first  example  in  the   present
paragraph) is nominal simply by  virtue  of  its  notional  part  being  an
adjective, not a participle. The  corresponding  non-adjectival  participle
would be used in quite another type of  constructions.  Cf.:  I  was  often
mistaken for my friend Otto, though I never could tell why.
  On the other hand, this very  criterion  shows  us  that  the  categorial
status of the predicate in the sentence "The door  was  closed"  is  wholly
neutralised in so far as it is  categorially  latent,  and  only  a  living
context  may  de-neutralise  it  both  ways.  In  particular,  the  context
including the by-phrase of the doer (e.g. by the butler) de-neutralises  it
into the passive form of the verb; but the context in the following example
de-neutralises it into the adjectival nominal collocation: The door on  the
left was closed, and the door on the right was open.
  Thus, with the construction in question the context may have both  voice-
suppressing, "statalising" effect, and voice-stimulating,  "processualising"
effect. It is very interesting to note  that  the  role  of  processualising
stimulators of the passive can be performed, alongside  of  action-modifying
adverbials, also by some categorial forms of the  verb  itself,  namely,  by
the future, the continuous, and the perfect — i.e. by the forms of the time-
aspect order other than the indefinite imperfect past and present. The  said
contextual stimulators are especially important for  limitive  verbs,  since
their past participles combine the  semantics  of  processual  passive  with
that of resultative perfect. Cf.:

184

  The fence is painted. — The fence is painted light green. — The fence  is
to be painted. — The fence will be painted.  _  The  fence  has  just  been
painted. —The fence is just being painted.
  The fact  that  the  indefinite  imperfect  past  and  present  are  left
indifferent to this gradation of dynamism in  passive  constructions  bears
one more evidence that the past and present of the English verb  constitute
a separate grammatical category distinctly different from the expression of
the future (see Ch. XIV).

                           CHAPTER XVII VERB: MOOD

   § 1. The  category  of  mood,  undoubtedly,  is  the  most  controversial
category of the verb. On the face of it, the principles  of  its  analysis,
the nomenclature, the relation  to  other  categories,  in  particular,  to
tenses, all this has received and is receiving different presentations  and
appraisals with different authors. Very significant in connection with  the
theoretical standing of the category are  the  following  words  by  B.  A.
Ilyish: "The category of mood in the present English verb has given rise to
so many discussions, and has been treated in so many different  ways,  that
it seems hardly possible to arrive at  any  more  or  less  convincing  and
universally acceptable conclusion concerning it" [Ilyish, 99].
   Needless to say, the only and true cause of the multiplicity  of  opinion
in question lies in the complexity of the category as such, made especially
peculiar by the contrast of its meaningful intricacy against  the  scarcity
of the English word inflexion. But, stressing the disputability of so  many
theoretical points connected  with  the  English  mood,  the  scholars  are
sometimes apt to forget the  positive  results  already  achieved  in  this
domain  during  scores  of  years  of  both  textual  researches  and   the
controversies accompanying them.
  We must always remember that  the  knowledge  of  verbal  structure,  the
understanding of its working in the construction of speech  utterances  have
been tellingly deepened by  the  studies  of  the  mood  system  within  the
general  framework  of  modern  grammatical  theories,  especially  by   the
extensive
                                                                         185
investigations undertaken by Soviet scholars in the past three decades.  The
main contributions made in this field concern  the  more  and  more  precise
statement of the significance of the functional plane of any  category;  the
exposition of the subtle paradigmatic  correlations  that,  working  on  the
same unchangeable verbal basis, acquire the status of changeable forms;  the
demonstration of the sentence-constructional  value  of  the  verb  and  its
mood, the meaningful destination of it being realised on the  level  of  the
syntactic predicative unit as a whole. Among the scholars  we  are  indebted
to for this knowledge and understanding, to be named in the first  place  is
A. I. Smirnitsky, whose theories revolutionised the presentation of  English
verbal grammar; then B. A. Ilyish, a  linguist  who  skilfully  demonstrated
the strong and weak  points  of  the  possible  approaches  to  the  general
problem  of  mood;  then  G.  N.  Vorontsova,  L.  S.  Barkhudarov,  I.   B.
Khlebnikova,  and  a  number  of  others,  whose   keen   observations   and
theoretical generalisations, throwing a new light on the analysed  phenomena
and discussed problems, at the same time serve as an  incentive  to  further
investigations in this interesting sphere of language study. It  is  due  to
the materials gathered and  results  obtained  by  these  scholars  that  we
venture the present, of necessity schematic, outline of the  category  under
analysis.

  § 2. The category of mood expresses the character of  connection  between
the process denoted by the verb and the actual reality,  either  presenting
the process as a fact that really happened,  happens  or  will  happen,  or
treating it as an imaginary phenomenon, i.e. the subject of  a  hypothesis,
speculation, desire. It follows from this that  the  functional  opposition
underlying the category as a whole is constituted by the forms  of  oblique
mood meaning, i.e. those of unreality,  contrasted  against  the  forms  of
direct mood meaning, i.e. those of reality, the former making up the strong
member, the latter, the weak member of the opposition. What is, though, the
formal sign of this  categorial  opposition?  What  kind  of  morphological
change makes up the material basis  of  the  functional  semantics  of  the
oppositional contrast of forms? The answer to this question, evidently, can
be obtained as a result of an observation of the relevant language data  in
the light of the two correlated presentations of the  category,  namely,  a
formal presentation and a functional presentation.

 186

   But before going into details of fact, we must emphasise, that  the  most
general principle of the interpretation of the category of mood within  the
framework of the  two  approaches  is  essentially  the  same;  it  is  the
statement of the semantic content  of  the.  category  as  determining  the
reality factor of the verbal  action,  i.e.  showing  whether  the  denoted
action is real or unreal.
  In this respect, it should be clear that the category of mood,  like  the
category of voice, differs in principle from the immanent verbal categories
of time, prospect, development,  and  retrospective  coordination.  Indeed,
while the enumerated categories characterise the action from the  point  of
view of its various inherent properties, the category of mood expresses the
outer interpretation of the  action  as  a  whole,  namely,  the  speaker\'s
introduction of it as actual or imaginary. Together with  the  category  of
voice, this category, not reconstructing the process by way  of  reflecting
its constituent qualities, gives an integrating appraisal  of  she  process
and establishes its lingual representation in a syntactic context.

  § 3. The formal description  of  the  category  has  its  source  in  the
traditional school grammar. It is  through  the  observation  of  immediate
differences in changeable forms that the mood distinctions of the verb were
indicated by the forefathers of modern sophisticated  descriptions  of  the
English grammatical structure. These differences, similar to the categorial
forms of person, number, and time, are most  clearly  pronounced  with  the
unique verb be.
  Namely, it is  first  and  foremost  with  the  verb  be  that  the  pure
infinitive stem in the  construction  of  the  verbal  form  of  desired  or
hypothetical action is made prominent. "Be it as you wish", "So be it",  "Be
what may", "The powers  that  be",  "The  insistence  that  the  accused  be
present" — such and like constructions, though characterised  by  a  certain
bookish flavour, bear indisputable testimony to the fact that  the  verb  be
has  a  special  finite  oblique  mood  form,  different  from  the   direct
indicative. Together with the isolated, notional be, as well as the  linking
be,  in  the  capacity  of  the  same  mood  form  come  also  the   passive
manifestations of verbs with be in a morphologically  bound  position,  cf.:
The stipulation that the deal be made without delay,  the  demand  that  the
matter be examined carefully, etc.

                                                                         187

  By way of correlation with the oblique be, the  infinitive  stem  of  the
other verbs is clearly seen as constituting the same form of the considered
verbal mood. Not only constructions featuring  the  third  person  singular
without its categorial mark -(e)s, but also constructions of other personal
forms of the verb are ordered under this heading. Thus, we distinguish  the
indicated mood form of the verb in sentences like "Happen what  may",  "God
forgive us", "Long live our friendship", "It is important  that  he  arrive
here as soon as possible", and also  "The  agreement  stipulates  that  the
goods pass customs free", "It is recommended that the  elections  start  on
Monday", "My orders are that the guards draw up", etc.
  Semantical observation of the constructions with the analysed verbal form
shows that within the general meaning of desired or hypothetical action, it
signifies different attitudes towards the process denoted by the  verb  and
the situation denoted by the  construction  built  up  around  it,  namely,
besides desire, also supposition, speculation, suggestion,  recommendation,
inducement of various degrees of insistence including commands.
  Thus,  the  analysed  form-type   presents   the   mood   of   attitudes.
Traditionally it is called "subjunctive", or in more modern  terminological
nomination, "subjunctive one". Since the term "subjunctive" is also used to
cover the oblique mood system as  a  whole,  some  sort  of  terminological
specification is to be introduced that would give a semantic alternative to
the purely formal "subjunctive one" designation. Taking  into  account  the
semantics of the form-type in question, we suggest that it should be  named
the "spective" mood, employing just  the  Latin  base  for  the  notion  of
"attitudes". So, what we are describing now, is the spective  form  of  the
subjunctive  mood,  or,  in  keeping  with  the  usual  working  linguistic
parlance, simply the spective mood, in its pure, classical manifestation.
  Going on with our analysis, we must consider now the imperative  form  of
the verb, traditionally referred to as a separate, imperative mood.
  In accord with the formal principles of analysis, it is easy to see  that
the verbal imperative morphemically coincides with the spective mood,  since
it presents the same infinitive stem,  though  in  relation  to  the  second
person only. Turning to the semantics of the imperative,  we  note  here  as
constitutive the meaning of attitudes of the general

188

spective description. This concerns the forms  both  of  be  and  the  other
verbs, cf.: Be on your guard! Be off! Do be careful with the  papers!  Don\'t
be blue! Do as I ask you! Put down the address, will you? About turn!
  As is known, the imperative  mood  is  analysed  in  certain  grammatical
treatises as semantically direct mood, in this sense being likened  to  the
indicative [Ganshina, Vasilevskaya,  200].  This  kind  of  interpretation,
though, is hardly convincing. The imperative form displays  every  property
of a form of attitudes, which can easily be shown by  means  of  equivalent
transformations. Cf.:
  Be off! > I demand that you be off. Do be careful with the papers!  >  My
request is that you do be careful with the papers. Do as I  ask  you!  >  I
insist that you do as I ask you. About turn! >  I  command  that  you  turn
about.

   Let us take it for demonstrated, then, that the imperative  verbal  forms
may be looked upon as a variety of the spective, i.e.  its  particular,  if
very important, manifestation.*
  At this stage of study we must pay attention to  how  time  is  expressed
with the analysed form. In doing so we should have in mind that, since  the
expression of verbal time is categorial, a consideration  of  it  does  not
necessarily break off with the formal principle  of  observation.  In  this
connection, first, we note that the infinitive stem taken for the  building
up of  the  spective  is  just  the  present-tense  stem  of  the  integral
conjugation of the  verb.  The  spective  be,  the  irregular  (suppletive)
formation, is the only exception from this correlation (though, as we  have
seen, it does give the general pattern for the mood identification in cases
other  than  the  third  person  singular).   Second,   we   observe   that
constructions with the spective, though expressed by  the  present-stem  of
the verb, can be transferred into the past plane context. Cf.:
   It was recommended that the elections start on  Monday.  My  orders  were
that the guards draw up. The  agreement  stipulated  that  the  goods  pass
customs free.

   This phenomenon marks something entirely new from the point  of  view  of
the categorial status of the verbal time in the indicative. Indeed, in  the
indicative the category of time

   * Cf. L. S. Barkhudarov\'s consideration of both varieties of forms under
the same heading of "imperative".

                                                                         189

is essentially absolutive, while in the sphere of the subjunctive  (in  our
case, spective) the present stem, as we see, is used  relatively,  denoting
the past in the context of the past.
   Here our purely formal, i.e. morphemic consideration of the present  stem
of the subjunctive comes to an end. Moreover,  remaining  on  the  strictly
formal ground in the strictly morphemic sense, we would have to state  that
the demonstrated system of the spective mood exhausts, or nearly  exhausts,
the entire English oblique mood morphology. See:  [Бархударов,  (2),  129].
However, turning to functional considerations  of  the  expression  of  the
oblique mood semantics, we see that the system of the subjunctive, far from
being exhausted, rather begins at this point.

   §  4.  Observations  of  the  materials  undertaken  on  the  comparative
functional basis have led linguists to the identification of  a  number  of
construction types rendering the same semantics  as  is  expressed  by  the
spective mood forms demonstrated above. These  generalised  expressions  of
attitudes may be classed into the following three groups.
  The  first  construction  type  of  attitude  series  is  formed  by  the
combination may/might + Infinitive. It is used  to  express  wish,  desire,
hope in the  contextual  syntactic  conditions  similar  to  those  of  the
morphemic (native) spective forms. Cf.:

  May it be as you wish! May it all  happen  as  you  desire!  May  success
attend you. I hope that he may be safe. Let\'s pray  that  everything  might
still turn to the good, after all. May our friendship live long.

  The second  construction  type  of  attitude  series  is  formed  by  the
combination  should  +  Infinitive.  It  is  used  in  various  subordinate
predicative  units  to  express   supposition,   speculation,   suggestion,
recommendation, inducements of different kinds and  degrees  of  intensity.
Cf.:
  Whatever they should say of the project, it must be considered seriously.
It has  been  arranged  that  the  delegation  should  be  received  by  the
President of the Federation. Orders were  given  that  the  searching  group
should start out at once.

  The third  construction  type  of  the  same  series  is  formed  by  the
combination let + Objective Substantive+Infinitive. It is used  to  express
inducement (i.e. an appeal to commit
190
an action) in relation to all the persons,  but  preferably  to  the  first
person plural and third person both  numbers.  The  notional  homonym  let,
naturally, is not taken into account. Cf.:
   Let\'s agree to end this wait-and-see policy. Now don\'t let\'s  be  hearing
 any more of this. Let him repeat the accusation in Tim\'s presence. Let  our
 military forces be capable and ready. Let me try to convince them myself.

   All the  three  types  of  constructions  are  characterised  by  a  high
frequency  occurrence,  by  uniformity  of  structure,  by  regularity   of
correspondence to the "pure", native morphemic spective form of  the  verb.
For that matter, taken as a whole, they are  more  universal  stylistically
than the pure  spective  form,  in  so  far  as  they  are  less  bound  by
conventions of usage and have a wider range of expressive  connotations  of
various kinds. These qualities show that the  described  constructions  may
safely be identified as functional equivalents of the pure  spective  mood.
Since they  specialise,  within  the  general  spective  mood  meaning,  in
semantic destination, the specialisation being determined by  the  semantic
type of their modal markers, we propose to unite them under  the  tentative
heading of the "modal" spective mood forms, or, by way of the usual working
contraction, the modal spective mood,  as  contrasted  against  the  "pure"
spective expressed by native morphemic means (morphemic zeroing).
   The functional varieties of the  modal  spective,  i.e.  its  specialised
forms, as is evident from the given examples, should be classed as,  first,
the "desiderative" series (may-spective, the form of desire);  second,  the
"considerative"  series  (should-spective,  the  form  of  considerations);
third, the "imperative" series (let-spective, the form of commands).
  We must stress that by terming the spective constructional forms  "modal"
we don\'t mean to bring down their grammatical value. Modality  is  part  and
parcel  of  predication,  and  the  modern  paradigmatic  interpretation  of
syntactic constructions has demonstrated that all the combinations of  modal
verbs as such constitute  grammatical  means  of  sentence-forming.  On  the
other  hand,  the  relevance  of  medial  morpho-syntactic  factor  in   the
structure of the forms in question can\'t be  altogether  excluded  from  the
final  estimation  of  their  status.  The  whole  system  of  the   English
subjunctive mood is far from stabilised, it is just in the making,  and  all
that we can say about the analysed spective forms
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in this connection is that  they  tend  to  quickly  develop  into  rigidly
"formalised" features of morphology.
  Very important for confirming the categorial nature of the modal spective
forms is the way they express the timing of the  process.  The  verbal  time
proper is neutralised with these forms and, considering  their  relation  to
the present-order pure spective, they can also be classed  as  "present"  in
this sense. As to the actual expression of time, it is rendered  relatively,
by means of  the  aspective  category  of  retrospective  coordination:  the
imperfect denotes the  relative  present  (simultaneity  and  posteriority),
while the perfect denotes the relative past (priority  in  the  present  and
the past). This regularity, common for all the  system  of  the  subjunctive
mood, is not always clearly seen in the constructions of the spective  taken
by themselves (i.e. without a comparison with the subjunctive  of  the  past
order, which is to be considered further) due to the functional  destination
of this mood.
  The perfect is hardly ever used with the pure spective non-imperative. As
far as the imperative is concerned, the natural time-aspect  plane  is  here
the present-oriented imperfect strictly relative to the  moment  of  speech,
since, by definition, the imperative  is  addressed  to  the  listener.  The
occasional perfect with the imperative gives accent  to  the  idea  of  some
time-limit being transgressed, or stresses an urge to fulfil the  action  in
its entirety. Cf.:

   Try and have done, it\'s not so difficult as it seems. Let\'s have finished
with the whole affair!

  Still, when it is justified by the context, the regularity of  expressing
time through aspect is displayed by the specialised modal spective with the
proper distinctness. Cf.:

   I wish her plans might succeed (the present simultaneity
— posteriority).       I wished her plans might succeed (the
past simultaneity — posteriority). I wish her plans might
have succeeded (failure in the present priority).  I wished
her plans might have succeeded (failure in the past priority). Whatever the
outcome of the conference should be, stalemate  cannot  be  tolerated  (the
present simultaneity — posteriority).   The  commentator  emphasised  that,
whatever the
outcome of the conference should be, stalemate could not be tolerated  (the
past simultaneity — posteriority). Whatever the outcome of  the  conference
should have been, stalemate cannot be tolerated (the present priority,  the
outcome of

 192

the conference is unknown). The commentator emphasised
that, whatever the outcome of the conference should  have  been,  stalemate
could not be tolerated (the past priority, the outcome  of  the  conference
was unknown).

  The perfect of the modal spective makes up for the deficiency of the pure
spective which lacks the perfect forms. Cf.:
  Be it so or otherwise, I see no purpose in our argument (simultaneity  in
the present). -  Should it have been otherwise, there might have been  some
purpose in our argument (priority in the present).

  § 5. As the next step of the investigation, we are to consider the  forms
of the subjunctive referring to the past order of the  verb.  The  approach
based on the  purely  morphemic  principles  leads  us  here  also  to  the
identification of the specific form of the conjugated be as the only native
manifestation of the categorial expression of unreal process. E.g.:

  Oh, that he were together with us now! If I were in your place, I\'d  only
be happy. If it were in my power, I wouldn\'t hesitate to interfere.

  As is the case with be in the present subjunctive (spective), the  sphere
of its past subjunctive use is not confined to  its  notional  and  linking
functions, but is automatically extended to the broad imperfect  system  of
the passive  voice,  as  well  as  the  imperfect  system  of  the  present
continuous. Cf.:

   If he were given the same advice by an outsider, he would no doubt profit
by it; with the relatives it might be the other way about, I\'m afraid.  I\'d
repeat that you were right from the start, even  though  Jim  himself  were
putting down each word I say against him.

   Unfortunately, the cited case types practically exhaust the  native  past
subjunctive distinctions of be, since with the past subjunctive, unlike the
present, it is only the first and third  persons  singular  that  have  the
suppletive marking feature were. The rest of the forms  coincide  with  the
past indicative. Moreover, the discriminate personal finite  was  more  and
more penetrates into the subjunctive, thus liquidating the scarce  remnants
of differences between the
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 subjunctive and the indicative of the past order as a whole. Cf.: If he was
 as open-hearted as you are, it would make all the difference.
   Thus, from here on we have  to  go  beyond  the  morphemic  principle  of
 analysis and  look  for  other  discriminative  marks  of  the  subjunctive
 elsewhere. Luckily, we don\'t have to wander very far in search of them, but
 discover  them  in  the  explicitly  distinctive,  strikingly   significant
 correlation of the aspective forms of retrospective coordination. These are
 clearly taken to  signify  the  time  of  the  imaginary  process,  namely,
 imperfect for the absolute and relative present, perfect for  the  absolute
 and relative past. Thereby, in union with the past verbal  forms  as  such,
 the perfect-imperfect retrospective coordination system is made to mark the
 past subjunctive in universal contradistinction to  the  past  and  present
 indicative. This feature is all the more important, since  it  is  employed
 not only in the structures patterned by the subjunctive were and those used
 in similar environmental conditions, but also in the further would — should-
 structures, in which the feature of the past is complicated by the  feature
 of the posteriority, also reformed semantically. Cf.:
   I\'m sure if she tried, she would manage to master riding not  later  than
by the autumn, for all her unsporting habits
(simultaneity — posteriority in the present).      I was sure
if she tried, she would manage  it  by  the  next  autumn  (simultaneity  —
posteriority in the past). How much embarrassment should I have been spared
if only I had known the truth
before! (priority of the two events in the present).    I
couldn\'t keep from saying that I should have been spared much embarrassment
if only I had known the truth before (priority of the  two  events  in  the
past).

  The sought-for universal mark of the subjunctive, the "unknown  quantity"
which we have undertaken to find is, then, the tense-retrospect shift  noted
in a preliminary way above, while handling the forms of  the  present  (i.e.