A Typology of Word Categories3.5 Functional Categories
It is now time we turned our attention to the second main subdivision of word
categories, the functional categories.
3.5.1 Inflections
The feature bundle [+F, –N, +V] defines a ‘functional verb’. Such an element would
have verbal properties, but no thematic content: it would not be specified for taking
arguments in its lexical entry and hence would have no theta-grid. The most obvious
thing that fits this bill is the class of auxiliary verbs:
(133) a they have gone
b he is shaving
c she can swim
We need to distinguish between two groups of auxiliary verb, however. (133a) and
(133b) involve aspectual auxiliaries (perfective and progressive respectively). (133c)
concerns a modal auxiliary. These two types of auxiliaries differ not only in their
semantic content, but also in their syntactic behaviour. For example, while modal
auxiliaries are in complementary distribution with one another (there can only ever be
one per clause), they are not in complementary distribution with the aspectuals. The
aspectual auxiliaries are also not in complementary distribution with each other:
(134) a *he can will fly
b he may have fallen
c he must be hiding
d he has been drinking
This distribution pattern would argue that modals occupy a different position to
aspectuals. This position, note, is always in front of all other verbal elements.
Modal auxiliaries are also in complementary distribution with other elements of the
clause. But before we can discuss this, we need to distinguish between two types of
clause. Consider the clauses in brackets in the following:
(135) a I think [that Sam saw me]
b I was anxious [for Sam to see me]
These two clauses express the same thematic content: a seeing relationship holding
between Sam and me. However, they differ in a number of ways. In (135a) the verb is
inflected for tense (past in this case) whereas in (135b) the verb is uninflected and
cannot display tense distinctions:
(136) *I was anxious [for no one to saw/sees me]
We call sentences with verbs inflected for tense finite clauses and those without, non-
finite clauses. In finite clauses, the nominal element that is in front of the verb, if it is
expressed as a pronoun, has a certain form, but it has another form in non-finite
clauses:
(137) a I think [that he saw me]
b I was anxious [for him to see me]