Chapter 5 - Verb Phrases(161) a I consider [Tim tall] = I consider [that Tim is tall]
b I deem [Ferdinand a fake] = I deem [that Ferdinand is a fake]
c I wanted [Gertrude in the garden] = I wanted [Gertrude to be in the garden]
The bracketed part of the sentences on the left in (161) express the same predication
relationships as those on the right and the only difference between the two is the
expression of tense in the latter. Thus it looks as though the copula is used to support
the tense morpheme when predication relationships are established between a subject
and a non-verbal element. It is interesting that the verb be is used in this case, not the
verb do as it is in cases of do-support. Even though both elements seem to contribute
little to the interpretation of the sentence, it seems that their use is specialised to
certain contexts: do for cases where the main verb fails to be able to support tense and
be for cases where there is no verb present to support tense. I know of no explanation
for this fact.
One more possible use of a meaningless verbal element which follows from an
analysis developed above is the use of the auxiliary be in the passive. We analysed the
passive construction as involving the replacement of an agentive light verb with a non-
agentive one, realised as the passive morpheme. From this perspective then, the
passive morpheme is the defining element of the passive construction. Of course, most
passives also make use of the passive auxiliary be:
(162) a Sam was seen
b Harry was being hit
c Barry was believed to have been murdered
What is the function of the auxiliary in these sentences? Note that the auxiliary bears
some morpheme: in (162a) the tense, in (162b) the ing associated with the progressive
auxiliary and in (162c) the tense on the first passive auxiliary and the en associated
with the perfective have on the second. In these examples, the main verb cannot bear
these morphemes for the simple reason that it is already bearing the passive morpheme
and it seems a basic principle of English morphology that no word can bear more than
one overt inflectional morpheme:
(163) a it seened/sawen = it was seen
b she fallend/fellen = she had fallen
c *Ron runninged/ranning = Ron was running
Thus, again, we might say that the passive auxiliary is used to support a morpheme
that the verb is unable to due to restrictions on the morphological structure of English.
Again note that the form of the auxiliary used is restricted to context: the auxiliary
must be be in this case, not do. Support for this approach can be gained from observing
contexts in which there is no other morpheme to be supported, in such cases the
passive morpheme is not present:
(164) a I saw [the treaty signed]
b they heard [the charges read out]
c we felt [the earth moved]
In these cases, there is an ambiguity that must be checked for. For example, what was
seen in (164a) could either be taken to be an object (the treaty that was signed) or an