Irregular verbs
-
Pam Peters
Abstract
Both language history and mathematical modeling suggest that the English irregular verbs will generally evolve to become more regular. Yet closer investigation of individual verbs and verb groups shows that evolutionary expectations can be overstated. Data from the ICE-corpora for Australian, New Zealand and British English show differing endorsements of nonstandard past tense forms, whether these are long-established ones as for ring/shrink/spring, or latter-day variants such as -t for burn, learn, spell. The data put Australian and New Zealand English closer to each other than either is to British. Australian population surveys show that younger citizens are more inclined to nonstandard/nonstandardized forms. Sociolinguistic and regional preferences may thus run counter to the broad evolutionary trend for English verbs, at least in the short term.
Abstract
Both language history and mathematical modeling suggest that the English irregular verbs will generally evolve to become more regular. Yet closer investigation of individual verbs and verb groups shows that evolutionary expectations can be overstated. Data from the ICE-corpora for Australian, New Zealand and British English show differing endorsements of nonstandard past tense forms, whether these are long-established ones as for ring/shrink/spring, or latter-day variants such as -t for burn, learn, spell. The data put Australian and New Zealand English closer to each other than either is to British. Australian population surveys show that younger citizens are more inclined to nonstandard/nonstandardized forms. Sociolinguistic and regional preferences may thus run counter to the broad evolutionary trend for English verbs, at least in the short term.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- List of contributors ix
- Prologue 1
-
Section I. Morphology
- Irregular verbs 13
- Pronoun forms 31
- Hypocoristics in New Zealand and Australian English 49
-
Section II. Verbs and verb phrases
- Modals and quasi-modals 73
- The perfect and the preterite in Australian and New Zealand English 89
- The progressive 115
- The mandative subjunctive in spoken English 125
- Light verbs in Australian, New Zealand and British English 139
-
Section III. Nouns and noun phrases
- Non-numerical quantifiers 159
- From chairman to chairwoman to chairperson 183
-
Section IV. Clauses and sentences
- Concord with collective nouns in Australian and New Zealand English 207
- No in the lexicogrammar of English 225
- Zero complementizer, syntactic context, and regional variety 243
- Infinitival and gerundial complements 263
- Commas and connective adverbs 277
-
Section V. Discourse
- Information-packaging constructions 295
- Like and other discourse markers 317
- Final but in Australian English conversation 339
- Swearing 361
- Epilogue 387
- Index 401
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- List of contributors ix
- Prologue 1
-
Section I. Morphology
- Irregular verbs 13
- Pronoun forms 31
- Hypocoristics in New Zealand and Australian English 49
-
Section II. Verbs and verb phrases
- Modals and quasi-modals 73
- The perfect and the preterite in Australian and New Zealand English 89
- The progressive 115
- The mandative subjunctive in spoken English 125
- Light verbs in Australian, New Zealand and British English 139
-
Section III. Nouns and noun phrases
- Non-numerical quantifiers 159
- From chairman to chairwoman to chairperson 183
-
Section IV. Clauses and sentences
- Concord with collective nouns in Australian and New Zealand English 207
- No in the lexicogrammar of English 225
- Zero complementizer, syntactic context, and regional variety 243
- Infinitival and gerundial complements 263
- Commas and connective adverbs 277
-
Section V. Discourse
- Information-packaging constructions 295
- Like and other discourse markers 317
- Final but in Australian English conversation 339
- Swearing 361
- Epilogue 387
- Index 401
