The Major Parts of Speechseries of English verbs (e.g., The building may have collapsed). In addition,
auxiliaries can be inverted in questions (e.g., Will the building collapse?),
while main verbs cannot (e.g., *Collapsed the building?).
Just as we did with nouns, we use formal analytic tests to determine
which words are verbs. English verbs potentially allow four inflections:
a. 3rd person singular present tense (spelled -s or -es and pronounced /s/,
/z/, and /Iz/ or /@z/).
We symbolize verbs with this inflection as Vs.
For example, Harris bakes strudel regularly.
b. Past tense (in regular verbs, spelled -d or -ed and pronounced /t/, /d/,
and /Id/ or /@d/).
We symbolize verbs with this inflection as Ved.
For example, Harris baked strudel last night.
c. Ing-form (spelled -ing and pronounced /IN/).
We symbolize verbs with this inflection as Ving; it normally occurs
with a form of the auxiliary verb be, or with a similar verb.
For example, Harris is baking strudel.
d. En-form (in regular verbs, spelled and pronounced identically to the
past tense).
We symbolize verbs with this inflection as Ven; it normally occurs
with the auxiliary verb have to create the perfect aspect, or with forms
of be to create passive sentences.
For example, Harris has baked/eaten strudel. (Perfect aspect sentence.)
For example, Harris was pursued/eaten by a lion. (Passive sentence.)
table 3: verb inflections
Using these inflectional possibilities, we can create a test for verbhood:
analytic test 4. A word may be a verb if it can take some or all of the four
types of verb inflections: Vs, Ved, Ving, Ven.
Traditionally, Ving is called the present participle. When this form oc-
curs with a form of the auxiliary be, it is part of the progressive aspect,
which typically denotes an activity in progress, as in Harris is baking. As a
marker of the progressive, {-ing} is usually regarded as an inflection. How-
ever, Ving also occurs in structures traditionally known as gerunds, e.g.,
Parting is such sweet sorrow. When {-ing} is part of a gerund, it is regarded
as a derivational morpheme because its addition causes a change in part