L á s z l ó , Kelemen Imre, Nagy Andor, Nagy J ó z s e f , T ö r ó c s i k M i k l ó s , Z b i s k ó Ernőné
S z e r k e s z t ő :
Vadon Lehel
F ő s z e r k e s z t ő : V. Raisz Rózsa
HU ISSN 0259-1422 ISBN 963 7752 06 4
F e l e l ő s k i a d ó : Szűcs L á s z l ó f ő i s k o l a i f ő i g a z g a t ó
4
CONíRAD1CTIONS IN DESCRIBING AND USING HIE -ING FORM AS OBJECT (COMPLEMENT)
The problem o i how t o l e a r n and teach the valency of a v e r b
As a l e a r n e r and teacher of E n g l i s h I have been f a c i n g the same problems and q u e s t i o n s f o r a l o n g t i m e : How does one achieve a c e r t a i n knowledge of which n o n - f i n i t e forms s h o u l d be employed a f t e r a f i n i t e verb? Should one r e l y on l e a r n i n g these t h i n g s g r a d u a l l y t h r o u g h p r a c t i c e or should one make more conscious e f f o r t s by l e a r n i n g l i s t s o f verbs r e - commended by grammar books or p a t t e r n s i n d i c a t e d by d i c t i o n a r i e s ? Are these r e f e r e n c e books r e l i a b l e , do they g i v e s a t i s f a c t o r y a s s i s t a n c e t o the l e a r n e r or confuse him r a t h e r ?
I have o f t e n observed t h a t s t u d e n t s o f E n g l i s h t r y t o use some form by analogy i n s t e a d of remembering p r e c i s e l y what p a t t e r n s a g i v e n v e r b can a c c e p t . E . g . a l t h o u g h t h e verb suggest can be used i n s e v e r a l a c c e p t a b l e c o n s t r u c t i o n s ( ' I suggested ( h i s ) g o i n g t h e r e . ' , ,1 suggested t h a t he should go t h e r e . ' , ' I suggested t h a t lie go t h e r e . ' , ' I suggested t h a t he went t h e r e . ' ) , n e v e r t h e l e s s the s t u d e n t i s l i k e l y t o use the o n l y wrong p a t t e r n p o s s i b l e : * ' I suggested him t o go t h e r e . ' Why i s lie d o i n g so? The reason may be t h a t fie has never been taught which p a t t e r n s t h e verb can accept and which ones n o t . At some stage of l e a r n i n g t h e language he encounters the verb f o r the f i r s t t i m e , i t s main meaning may be taught i n one of the a c c e p t a b l e c o n s t r u c t i o n s , l a t e r on i t may appear i n o t h e r s t r u c t u r e s , b u t perhaps no teacher w i l l ever make an attempt t o sum up a l l these d i f f e r e n t c o n s t r u c t i o n s , i n which the verb can be u s e d . On the o t h e r hand the l e a r n e r i s t e s t e d at a l l w r i t t e n e x a m i n a t i o n s whether he masters the knowledge of v a l e n c y o r n o t . I t i s almost i m p o s s i b l e t o teach verbs from the very o u t s e t w i t h a l l t h e i r p o s s i b l e
p a t t e r n s , we nan o n l y draw the a t t e n t i o n o f the l e a r n e r t o some more p r o b l e m a t i c a l ( j o i n t s . I n t h i s s i t u a t i o n the o n l y t h i n g we can eta i s t o r e l y on the i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t c e r t a i n r e f e r e n c e books can o f f e r . But can we r e a l l y depend on t h e p a t t e r n s and l i s t s o f the most w i d e l y used d i c t i o n a r i e s and grammar books? My i m p r e s s i o n , b e f o r e e x a m i n i n g and comparing these books t h o r o u g h l y , was t h a t t h e i r l i s t s d i f f e r t o a l a r g e e x t e n t , they s e l e c t t h e i r verbs h a p h a z a r d l y sometimes, and even the d i c t i o n a r i e s seem t o he m i s l e a d i n g , i n c o m p l e t e , o r i n a c c u r a t e i n some p l a c e s . Hornby seems t o agree when g i v i n g s i m i l a r examples: 'The o r d i n a r y grammar book and d i c t i o n a r y o f t e n f a i l t o supply adequate i n f o r m a t i o n on such p o i n t s . ' (Hornby: X V I I ) ( T h a t i s a n o t h e r m a t t e r t h a t even h i s d i c t i o n a r y i s not always exempt of these p r o b l e m s . )
When T s e t o u t t o w r i t e t h i s p a p e r , my aim was t o check whether my e a r l i e r impressions were c o r r e c t , whether t h e s e v e r b s , t h a t can be f a l l o w e d by t h e -ijncj f o r m , are r e a l l y d e s c r i b e d i n c o n t r a d i c t i n g , i n c o m p l e t e l i s t s and p a t t e r n s , o r n o t . A r e l a t i v e l y complete l i s t o f the most common v e r b s of t h i s type might r e s u l t from such an i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t i e l p i n q s t u d e n t s and t e a c h e r s t o use these verbs and t h e i r complementation i n some c o r r e c t way. B e f o r e g i v i n g the t a b l e , l e t me however mention a few g e n e r a l p o i n t s c o n c e r n i n g the terms and c a t e g o r i e s of t h e - i n g form.
What t e r m i n o l o g y shou 1.d be emp 1 oyed?
Many l e a r n e r s o f E n g l i s h f i n d I t senseless t o c a l l the - i n g form i n the v a r i o u s c o n s t r u c t i o n s by d i f f e r e n t names. They are however i n good company, as even grammarians do n o t always meks the d i s t i n c t i o n . ( Q u i r k e t a l i a s c a l l a l l 3 i n g forms p a r t i c i p l e s i n t h e i r books. The Longman d i c t i o n a r i e s c a l l b o t h t y p e s ' t h e - i n g f o r m ' . Hornby uses b o t h t e r m s , b u t the most c o n t r a v e r s i a ! p a t t e r n (19C) i s d e s c r i b e d as - i n g form (meaning b o t h gerund and p a r t i c i p l e dependina on the form o f i t s l o g i c a l s u b j e c t ) , Corder uses ' g e r u n d ' god ' p a r t i c i p l e ' a l t e r n a t i v e l y where p a r t i c i p l e i s used by most a u t h o r s , Scheuerweghs, 7 a n d v o o r t , A l l a n , Ganshina, G r a v e r , Swan d i s t i n g u i s h a t l e a s t between The two main t y p e s )
I f a grammarian makes the d i s t i n c t i o n , he u s u a l l y does i t on the b a s i s o f c e r t a i n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s I t i s q u i t e g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d t h a t b e s i d e s some verb c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t are t y p i c a l o f a l l ( o r most)
authors d i v i d e even the gerund i n t o two t y p e s : gerund p r o p e r and v e r b a l noun. The former has o n l y c e r t a i n noun c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ( i t can be t h e o b j e c t or s u b j e c t o f t h e sentence, i t can be preceded by a p o s s e s s i v e pronoun / noun i n the g e n i t i v e , e t c . ) , w h i l e the l a t t e r has a c g u i r e d a l l t h e t r a i t s o f the noun ( i t i s used i n the p l u r a l , i t can be preceded by an a r t i c l e or an a d j e c t i v e , e t c . ) . I n my paper i t i s o n l y gerund p r o p e r t h a t i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be gerund. This c l a s s i f i c a t i o n problem may e x p l a i n the phenomenon t h a t i n some d i c t i o n a r i e s , a l t h o u g h no gerund p a t t e r n i s i n d i c a t e d , the d i c t i o n a r y i t s e l f g i v e s examples w i t h the - i n g form. The reason - a p a r t from p o s s i b l e i n a t t e n t i o n - may be t h a t they are f e l t t o be ( v e r b a l ) nouns by some a u t h o r s . At the same time o t h e r a u t h o r s do n o t separate the v e r b a l noun from the gerund, which i s made c l e a r by t h e i r d e f i n i t i o n s or examples. (Swan: 332, AEP: 145, Sch: 177-185, Z a n d v o o r t : 24)
There are c e r t a i o f u n c t i o n s where the d i s t i n c t i o n between gerund and p a r t i c i p l e seems t o be i l l o g i c a l and u n p r a c t i c a l . I t i s always d i f f i c u l t t o make s t u d e n t s accept t h a t the - i n g form i n the sentence 'On e n t e r i n g the liouse, 1 found a b u r g l a r i n my room.' i s a gerund, w h i l e i n ' E n t e r i n g the house, I found a b u r g l a r i n my room.' i s a p a r t i c i p l e . I t h i n k however t h a t i t i s j u s t the f u n c t i o n of the o b j e c t (complement) where the d i s t i n c t i o n makes some sense, as t h i s may be u s u a l l y ( b u t not a l w a y s ) the c r i t e r i o n f o r u s i n g or not u s i n g t h e p o s s e s s i v e .
' I l i k e h i s / h i m p l a y i n g the v i o l i n . ' - gerund ' 1 heard him p l a y i n g the v i o l i n . ' - p a r t i c i p l e
Host authors agree which verbs belong to the second type and they a l s o agree t h a t the possessive cannot precede the p a r t i c i p l e . I t i s f a r more c o m p l i c a t e d what t h e c h o i c e depends on i n t h e f i r s t t y p e . D i c t i o n a r i e s and grammar books do n o t d e d i c a t e enough a t t e n t i o n t o t h i s problem. Most of them suggest t h a t i t i s mainly a m a t t e r of s t y l e : p o s s e s s i v e / g e n i t i v e i s m a i n l y r e s t r i c t e d t o f o r m a l , w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e , a c c u s a t i v e i s p r e f e r r e d i n spoken language and i n the case of i n a n i m a t e o b j e c t s , longer phrases, and o t h e r p a r t s of speech used as nouns. Some hooks make however c l e a r t h a t the i s s u e i s n o t as s i m p l e as t t i a t , they
produce some s h o r t e r l i s t s o f verbs t h a t accept o n l y p o s s e s s i v e / g e n i t i v e . ( C o r d e r : 65, Sch: 196) Graver j o i n s these a u t h o r s w i t h o u t m e n t i o n i n g c o n c r e t e examples. (AEP: 156)
O b j e c t or o b j e c t complement?
Another much debated i s s u e i s what t h e f u n c t i o n of the - i n g form i s . A f t e r t r a n s i t i v e verbs i n the a c t i v e v o i c e the - i n g form i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g the verb (perhaps along w i t h a possessive pronoun o r a noun i n Saxon g e n i t i v e ) i s c a l l e d an o b j e c t . I n the t y p e ob i e c t + p r e s e n t p a r t i c i p l e t h e l a t t e r can be d e s c r i b e d as o b j e c t complement. The most c o t r o v e r s i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i s the one when we have o b j e c t + gerund, as i t i s r a t h e r s t r a n g e to c l a i m t h a t the f u n c t i o n of t h e gerund i n VI l i k e h i s p l a y i n g the v i o l i n . ' i s t h a t o f an o b j e c t , but i n ' I l i k e him p l a y i n g t h e v i o l i n . ' i s t h a t of an o b j e c t complement, t h i s i s the reason why some authors t r y t o c r e a t e new terms t o d e s c r i b e t h i s phenomenon. Ganshina w r i t e s e . g . 'The i n g - f o r m when preceded by a noun i n t h e common case or a pronoun i n the o b j e c t i v e case has a f u n c t i o n i n t e r m e d i a t e between t h a t o f the present p a r t i c i p l e and the g e r u n d . . . Such an i n g form may be c a l l e d a h a l f - g e r u n d . ' (Ganshina; 230) Corder c a l l s t h i s 1f u s e d - p a r t i c i p l e c o n s t r u c t i o n ' . ( I I P : 64) Hornby says ' I t i s not always c l e a r whether the word f o l l o w i n g t h e ( p r o ) n o u n i s a p r e s e n t p a r t i c i p l e or a gerund and ttie d i s t i n c t i o n i s n o t i m p o r t a n t . ' (GPUF: 30)
Henry ihms w r i t e s t h a t t h a s o - c a l l e d ' h a l f - g e r u n d ' used by Sweet, Ganshina and o t h e r s does not e x i s t . A c c o r d i n g to him we have here an i n s t a n c e of s y n t a c t i c d i s p l a c e m e n t . (The same p r o c e s s took p l a c e i n t h e case of t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n ' a c c u s a t i v e w i t h t h e i n f i n i t i v e ' . ) I n t h e p a r t i c i p i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n a f t e r verbs o f p h y s i c a l p e r c e p t i o n the o b j e c t has a double f u n c t i o n : i t i s the o b j e c t o f t h e f i n i t e verb and t h e l o g i c a l s u b j e c t of t h e p a r t i c i p l e . ( E . g . I saw her c o m i n g . ) I n many g e r u n d i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t i s however o n l y the s u b j e c t of the - i n g f o r m , b u t not the o b j e c t of t h e main v e r b . ( I h a t e people b e i n g unhappy.) T h i s seems t o prove t h a t i t i s not the u s u a l p a r t i c i p i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n . Ihms t h i n k s however t h a t the f o l l o w i n g s h i f t has taken p l a c e h e r e . O r i g i n a l l y t h e r e was g r e a t e r emphasis on the o b j e c t than on t h e j ^ i n g f o r m , l a t e r on the - i n g form gained more emphasis, and the o b j e c t of the f i n i t e v e r b was g r a d u a l l y t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o t h e s u b j e c t o f the n o n - f i n i t e , t h e £
p a r t i c i p i a l phrase became an independent u n i t ( c o m p r i s i n g the o b j e c t ) j u s t l i k e the c o n s t r u c t i o n ' p o s s e s s i v e + g e r u n d ' . I n ' I remember my g r a n d f a t h e r / him g i v i n g me a s o v e r e i g n . ' t h e r e used t o be some longer pause between the o b j e c t and the - i n g f o r m , b u t a f t e r the s h i f t o f the s t r e s s the pause comes b e f o r e the o b j e c t , t o such an e x t e n t t h a t i n h i s o p i n i o n the whole phrase ( o b j e c t + - j n g form) can be r e g a r d e d as the o b j e c t of the centence. The l i n k between the a c c u s a t i v e and the - i n g form i s s t i l l l e s s c l o s e than t h a t between the p o s s e s s i v e and the gerund, as we can i n s e r t a whole c l a u s e between the former ones sometimes, w h i l e o n l y the i n s e r t i o n o f an adverb i s p o s s i b l e between the l a t t e r two.
I h m ' s f i n a l c o n c l u s i o n i s t h a t we have a gerund a f t e r the p o s s e s s i v e / g e n i t i v e and a p a r t i c i p l e a f t e r t h e a c c u s a t i v e , and c l a i m s t h a t the i d e n t i t y o f the meaning and the f a c t t h a t they are o f t e n i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e are not a good enough reason t o exclude t h e i r f o r m a l d i f f e r e n c e ( t h e d i f f e r e n c e of t h e i r o r i g i n ) .
We g e n e r a l l y expect an o b j e c t t o occur a f t e r a t r a n s i t i v e v e r b . Among the verbs t o be found i n the v a r i o u s l i s t s there are however s e v e r a l t h a t are not c o n s i d e r e d t o be t r a n s i t i v e by a i l a u t h o r s . Ganshina says t h a t the f u n c t i o n of the non- f i n i t e i s not t h a t of an o b j e c t , b u t ' . . . p a r t of a compound v e r b a l p r e d i c a t e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the f i n i t e form o f verbs d e n o t i n g the b e g i n n i n g , t h e d u r a t i o n , and the end o f an a c t i o n such as t o b e g i n , t o s t a r t , t o keep ( o n ) , t o c o n t i n u e , t o s t o p , t o l e a v e o f f , t o g i v e up , t o have done (= t o f i n i s h ) . ' (Ganshina: 227)
Keep i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be t r a n s i t i v e i n 10, b u t i n t r a n s i t i v e i n H o r n b y ' s d i c t i o n a r y . I n CGEL go ( on ) and keep ( o n ) are c l a s s i f i e d as ' c a t e n a t i v e ' v e r b s , which 'iiave meanings r e l a t e d t o aspect and m o d a l i t y but are nearer t o main verb c o n s t r u c t i o n s , t h a n are s e m i - a u x i l i a r i e s . ' (CGEL: 1192) I n GPUE the - i n g form a f t e r these v e r b s i s c a l l e d p a r t i c i p l e ( 4 2 ) .
The problems o f c a l l i n g an - i n g form a gerund or a p a r t i c i p l e , and whether i t s f u n c t i o n i s t h a t o f an o b j e c t or n o t , are sometimes c l o s e l y connected. Authors who suppose t h a t 'go on' i s i n t r a n s i t i v e , t h i n k t h a t the - i n g form a f t e r i t cannot be an o b j e c t and i t i s n o t a gerund c o n s e q u e n t l y . Others t h i n k t h a t the verb has developed i n t o a t r a n s i t i v e verb or behaves l i k e t h a t by a n a l o g y , so the - i n g form f o l l o w i n g i t i s a
- e -
gerund f u n c t i o n i n g as an o b j e c t . Zandvoort w r i t e s : ' y e t t h e a f f i n i t y o f He went on l a u g h i n g w i t h the o t h e r combinations (keep / o n / , c o n t i n u e ) i s o b v i o u s . I n such cases the d i f f i c u l t y o f d i s t i n c t i o n i s i n i n v e r s e p r o p o r t i o n to i t s r e l e v a n c e o r r e a l i t y . Some of the d i f f i c u l t i e s d e a l t w i t h above are caused by the f a c t t h a t , though i n the m a j o r i t y o f the cases v e r b a l forms i n - i n g n a t u r a l l y f a l l i n t o one of two c l e a r l y marked c a t e g o r i e s , t h e i r f o r m a l i d e n t i t y has favoured the development o f c e r t a i n uses t h a t do not e a s i l y f i t i n t o e i t h e r . ' ( Z a n d v o o r t : 4?)
O b j e c t 4- p r e s e n t p a r t i c i p l e
The agreement about the v e r b s a f t e r which we can use t h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n i s f a r g r e a t e r among the a u t h o r s than i n the case o f the gerund. One of the most complete l i s t s i s i n CGEL:
v e r b s o f p e r c e p t i o n : f e e l ( 1 ) , hear ( 1 ) , n o t i c e ( 1 ) , o b s e r v e ( 1 ) , overhear ( 1 ) , p e r c e i v e , see ( 1 ) , s m e l l , s p o t , s p y , watch ( 1 ) v e r b s o f e n c o u n t e r : c a t c h , d i s c o v e r , f i n d , l e a v e
v e r b s of c o e r c i v e meaning: have, g e t
( / I / means t h a t b a r e i n f i n i t i v e i s also p o s s i b l e . )
F u r t h e r examples from o t h e r books: s t a r t , s e t , keep ( L E S ) , sense (ÁEP), g l i m p s e , take, send ( S c h ) , b r i n g , d e p i c t , draw, p a i n t , snow (GPUE)
Quirk e t a l i a s c l a i m t h a t n o t i c e and observe can a l s o accept the g e n i t i v e (GCE: 8 4 2 ) , and f e e l , f i n d , l e a v e are used i n the o b j e c t + t o be c o n s t r u c t i o n , t o o . I s h a l l mention have l a t e r on i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the gerund t a b l e .
ihere i s some u n c e r t a i n t y about d e s c r i b i n g imagine.. Hornby l a b e l s i t w i t h the p a t t e r n s 19A ( o b j . + p r e s . p a r t i c i p l e ) and 19L ( p o s s . / a c c . + g e r u n d ) , A l i e n a l s o has i t i n t h e l i s t of the p a r t i c i p l e .
A t a b l e o f verbs t h a t .can be f o l l o w e d by the gerund.
The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e has been c o m p i l e d on the b a s i s of t e n d i f f e r e n t books. I t c o n t a i n s v e r b s t h a t are f o l l o w e d e i t h e r by o s u b j e c t l e s s gerund or a gerund w i t h i t s own ( l o g i c a l ) s u b j e c t . The p o s s i b l e use o f an i n f i n i t i v e i s a l s o i n d i c a t e d . The t a b l e does not c o n t a i n p h r a s a l or p r e p o s i t i o n a l v e r b s , When f o l l o w e d i r r m e d i a t e l y by a v e r b a l , we u s u a l l y have t o use a gerund a f t e r t h e s e . ( B u t not always: e . g . no o n , sjet o u t . s t a r t o u t , e t c . ) The t h r e e d i c t i o n a r i e s group the verbs around c e r t a i n p a t t e r n s and l a b e l them w i t h t h e grammatical codes o f a l l p o s s i b l e
( u s u a l l y i n c o m p l e t e ) l i s t s t o i l l u s t r a t e a c e r t a i n f u n c t i o n . To u n i f y the d i f e r e n t code systems, I am g o i n g t o use my own symbols : i n the t a b l e .
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
acknowledge 2d 1 1 l ( 2 d ) 1
admit 2d 2d 2d l ( 2 d ) 1 1 + 1
adore 1 1 I
a d v i s e 2b 2b 2b 2 2b 2 2
advocate 1 1 1 1 +
a l l o w 2b ,d 2b,d 2b,d 2 2b 2 2b
a n t i c i p a t e 1 1 1 1 1
a p p r e c i a t e 1A 1 1 1
a t t e m p t 2a 2a 2 2a 2 2 2
a v o i d 1 1 1 1(A?) 1 1 1 +0 IB 1
( c a n ' t ) b e a r 1 2a 2a, b 2a,b 2 2 + 2
( w i l l ) bear 2c 2c 2c +
begin 2a 2a 2a 2 2a 2 2 •f 2 2
begrudge 1 1
cease 2a 2a 2a 2 2a 2 2 ( 1 )
chance I 1 1
commence 2a 2a 1 1 +
confess 2d 1 1
c o n s i d e r 2d 2d 2d 1(A?) 1 1 1 + IB 1
contemplate 1 1 1A 1 1 + 1
c o n t i n u e 2a 2a 2a 2 2a 2 2 + 2 2
d e f e r 1 1 1 +B IB 1
delay 1 1 1 1(A?) 1 1 1 +B IB 1 ( 2 )
deny 2d 2d 2d 10 1 1 1 +B IB 1
deprecate 1 +
r
1 2
- 10
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
deserve 2c 2c
d e t e s t I 1 1 1A 1 1 1 1( 2 )
d i s c o n t i n u e 1 1 +
d i s d a i n 2a 2s 2a
d i s l i k e 1 1 1 1A 1 1 1A + 2 IA
dread 2a 2a 2a 2 2a 1A + 2
( c a n ' t ) endure 2a 2a 2a,b 1 1 -S.
enjoy 1 1 1 1(A?) 1 1 1 -1- IB
e n t a i l ( 1 ) 1 +
envisage 1 1 1 +
escape 1 1 1 1A 1 1 1 + 1
evade 1 1 1 1
excuse 1 1 1A 1A 1 1 1 +
face 1 1 +
fancy 2d 1 1A 1A l ( 2 d ) 1A 4 + 1
favour + 1
f e a r 2a 1(2) 2a + 2
f i n i s h 1 1 1 1A 1 1 1 + + 1
( c a n ' t ) f o r b e a r 2a 2a 2a
f o r b i d 2b 2b 2b 2 +
f o r g e t 2a ?a 2a 2A 2a 2 2A 2
f o r g i v e 1A 1 1 1A 1A
grudge 1 1 1 +
hate 2a sb 2a ,b 2a ,b 2A 2a fh 2 2 -5- 2A 2 A
( c a n ' t ) h e l p ( = a v o i d ) 1 1 i . ; 1A 1 I 1 + .. 1A 1
h i n d e r i + 1
imagine 1 1 1A 1A 1A 1 I + 1A
i n c l u d e 1 1 1 1
i n t e n d 2a ,b 2 2a ,b 2 2 + 2 2
i n v o l v e 1 1A 1 1 1A +
j u s t i f y 1 1 1A 1 +
keep ( o n ) J 1 1A 1 1 + 1
1 2 3 A 5 6 7 . 8 9 10
l i k e 2a, b 2a 2a,b 2A 2a, b o
L 2A + 2 2A
l o a t h e I 1 1 2a,b 1
love 2a, b 2a 2a,b 2 2a, b 2 2 + 2A 2
mean 2 a , b 2a,b 2a, b 2A 2a,b 2A +
mention 1 1A 1 1
mind 1 1 1A 1 1 1A + 1A 1A
miss 1 1 1 1A 1 1 1 + 1
n e c e s s i t a t e 1 1 1 1 +
need 2c 2c 2c 2c 2c 2c + 2c
n e g l e c t 2a 2a 2a 2
omit 2a 2a 2a 2 2
pardon ( 1 ) 1A 1 1 +
p e r m i t 2b (2b) 2bA 2 2b 2 2b 2A
p l a n 2a 2
postpone 1 1 18 1 1 1 +B IB 1
p r a c t i s e 1 1 1 1A 1 1 + 1
p r e c l u d e 1 1 +
p r e f e r 2 a , b 2a,b 2a,b 2 2a,b 2 2 + 2A 2
prevent 1 1 1A 1 1 1A + 1A
p r o h i b i t 1 1
propose 2a 2a 2a 2 1 2 2A * +
r e c a l l 1 1 1A 1A +
r e c o l l e c t 1 1 1 1 1 1A + A
recommend 2b 2b 2b 2bB 2 +
r e g r e t l ( 2 a ) 1 2a 2 2a 2 2 + 2 2
r e l i s h 1 2a(?) +
remember 2aA 2a, bA 2a,A 2A 2a,A 2 2A + 2 2A
repent 1 2a(?) 1 + A
r e p o r t 2b 2a .d 1 +
r e q u i r e 2c, b 2b 2a,b 2b 2c 2c +
r e s e n t 1 1 1A 1 1 1A + 1
r e s i s t 1 1 1A 1 1 1 + 1
resume 1 1 2a(?) 1
- 1 2 -
1 2 3 fi 5 6 7 8 9 10
r i s k 1 1 1 IB 1 1 \ 46 IB 1
save 1 1 2a(?) 1Ä
shun 1 1 2a(?) 1
( c a n ' t ) stand 2a 2a 1 1A 1 1 1 lA 1A
( w i l l ) stand 2a 2c
s t a r t 2a 2a 2a 2 2a 2 2 + 2 2
stop (=cease) 1 1 1 1A 1 1 1A + + 1
suggest 1 1 1 1 1 1A + 10 1
teach 2b 2b
t o l e r a t e 1 1 +
t r y 2a 2a 2a 2 2 2 2 + 2 2
understand 2b IA l ( 2 d ) 1 1A + 1A
urge 2a,bA 2
v i s u a l i z e 1 1
want 2c 2c 2c 2c 2c 2c ?c 2c 2c 2c
(The numbers r e f e r r i n g t o t h e books i n t h e l i s t :
1 = LD, 2 = L I , 3 = Hornby, 4 = LES, 5 = AFP, 6 = Swan, 7 = T 5 Ms 8 = Schs 9 = TEP, 10 = GCE)
(The p a t t e r n s used i n the l i s t :
1 = o n l y gerund can f o l l o w the f i n i t e verbv i n f i n i t i v e n o t
2 = both i n f i n i t i v e and gerund can f o l l o w the verb (no s p e c i f i c a t i o n ) 2a = b o t h i n f i n i t i v e end gerund can f o l l o w as d i r e c t o b j e c t
(Depending on the c h o i c e t h e r e may be s m a l l e r or b i g g e r changes i n the meaning*)
2b = e i t h e r gerund or o b j e c t + i n f i n i t i v e f o l l o w the verb ( E . g . We advised ( t h e i r ) s t a r t i n g e a r l y
We advised them t o s t a r t e a r l y . )
2c = i f a gerund i s used a f t e r the v e r b , i t corresponds t o a p a s s i v e i n f i n i t i v e (An a c t i v e i n f i n i t i v e i s p o s s i b l e i n o t h e r meanings )
2d = besides the gerund, o b j e c t + t o be / t o have are a l s o found sometimes a f t e r the verb
A = i f a gerund i s used, i t can be preceded e i t h e r by the possessive pronoun or the a c c u s a t i v e o f the p e r s o n a l pronoun ( t h e common or g e n i t i v e case of the noun)
B = o n l y the possessive / g e n i t i v e i s a c c a p t a b l e b e f o r e the gerund) (The t a b l e c o n t a i n s the p o s s i b l e i n f i n i t i v e c o n s t r u c t i o n s o n l y i f the use of the gerund i s i n d i c a t e d by the book c o n c e r n e d . )
Comments on the t a b l e
I n s p i t e o f the v a r y i n g l i s t s i t i s c l e a r t h a t i n the case o f most verbs t h e r e i s an agreement among the d i f f e r e n t books as f a r as the valency o f the verbs i s concerned. We can draw c e r t a i n c o n c l u s i o n s from
the number i n which these verbs t u r n up i n the v a r i o u s d i c t i o n a r i e s and the l i s t s o f grammar- and p r a c t i c e books. Those w i t h t h e h i g h e s t freguency c o u l d be recommended f o r t e a c h i n g a t schools e s p e c i a l l y . Books on usage, p a r c t i c e , and sometimes eveo grammar books do n o t go i n t o d e t a i l s , they do not t r y t o i n f o r m the s t u d e n t of a l l the p o s s i b l e p a t t e r n s i n which a g i v e n verb can be used. I t i s g u i t e n a t u r a l f o r books l i k e ' L i v i n g E n g l i s h S t r u c t u r e ' t o do so and i t i s o n l y l o g i c a l t h a t 'An Advanced E n g l i s h P r a c t i c e ' c o n t a i n s l o n g e r l i s t s . What i s s u r p r i s i n g i s t h a t even such a b u l k y grammar book as GCE does not a t t r i b u t e too much a t t e n t i o n t o the problem and i t s l i s t i s f a r s h o r t e r thao t h a t o f G r a v e r . I am not g u i t e s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e way t h e i s s u e i s t r e a t e d by such w i d e l y - r e a d grammarians as Zandvoort or Thomson and M a r t i n e t . Scheuerweghs o f f e r s us no l i s t s , b u t h i s r i c h c o l l e c t i o n o f examples i s r e a l l y v a l u a b l e . Among the d i c t i o n a r i e s i t i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e t h a t 'Longman's L e x i c o n of Contemporary E n g l i s h ' i s r e p r e s e n t e d by l e s s items i n the l i s t as i t i s based on groups of synonyms, and i t may n o t be easy t o f o r c e each verb i n t o some group. I n o t h e r r e s p e c t s t h e r e i s much agreement between t h e two Longman d i c t i o n a r i e s , though 'Longman's D i c t i o n a r y o f Cootemporary E n g l i s h " i s of course more d e t a i l e d as f a r as more r a r e l y used verbs are concerned. These d i c t i o n a r i e s have a system o f d e n o t i n g verb p a t t e r n s , b u t t h i s system or i t s a p p l i c a t i o n i s n o t always
- 1 4 -
s a t i s f a c t o r y . One o í my main i n t e r e s t s would have teen t o f i n d c u t wnen the gerund can be preceded by the possessive or ttie a c c u s a t i v e form or by b o t h . W i t h p a t t e r n s F4 and V4 t h e Longman d i c t i o n a r i e s do n o t make i t q u i t e c l e a r which case i t i s . Í4 stands f o r a gerund as d i r e c t o b j e c t t h a t may be preceded ( b u t not n e c e s s a r i l y ) by a possessive pronoun, V4 stands l o r o b j e c t + - i n g form. The presence of b o t h p a t t e r n s would be t h e most l i k e l y i n d i c a t i o n o f the occurence of b o t h possessive and a c c u s a t i v e but t h e r e are f a r fewer verbs l a b e l l e d i n t h i s way than t h e r e s h o u l d be.
Among t h e examples g i v e n by these d i c t i o n a r i e s t h e r e are v e r y few w i t h a possessive p r e c e d i n g the gerund, which makes the i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the problem even more d i f f i c u l t . Hornby has a s p e c i a l p a t t e r n (19 c ) f o r t h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n but i n my whole l i s t there are o n l y 12 v e r b s i n d i c a t e d by t h i s p a t t e r n w h i l e a l o n e i n two s h o r t e x e r c i s e s o f ' L i v i n g E n g l i s h S t r u c t u r e s ' we can f i n d 29 verbs a f t e r which t h e l o g i c a l s u b j e c t of t h e gerund i s used i n b o t h ways. S i m i l a r l y i t i s very d i f f i c u l t t o f i n d o u t which verbs govern o n l y a possessive form. Many books do n o t mention t h i s issue a t a l l , w h i l e 'An I n t e r m e d i a t e E n g l i s h P r a c t i c e * has a l i s t o f 6 verbs o f t h i s t y p e , Scheuerweghs mentions 7.
Besides the above problems one has t o f a c e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f a d i f f e r e n t n a t u r e , t o o . Although d i c t i o n a r i e s are updated and r e v i s e d from time to t i m e , c e r t a i n mistakes may not be n o t i c e d f o r s h o r t e r or l o n g e r p e r i o d s . When I was c o n s u l t i n g the 1974 e d i t i o n o f H o r n b y ' s d i c t i o n a r y , I n o t i c e d t h a t s e v e r a l verbs the i n i t i a l l e t t e r of which was n , r , or s were l a b e l l e d by the p a t t e r n 60 ( b o t h gerund and i n f i n i t i v e ) i n s t e a d of the p a t t e r n 6C, w h i c h 1 expected t o f i n d a f t e r them. When í checked them i n t h e 1983 e d i t i o n of the d i c t i o n a r y , Í found s e v e r a l ( e . g . n e c e s s i t a t e , r e c a l l , r e c o l l e c t , recommend, r e s e n t , r e s i s t ^ r i s k , ( c a n ' t ) s t a n d ) c o r r e c t e d , b u t o t h e r s ( e . g . r e l i s h ^ r e p e n t , resume, ssve^
shuri ) have s t i l l oeen l e f t u n c o r r e c t e d . Besides the c o r r e c t i o n o i what has a l r e a d y been p r i n t e d , new p a t t e r n s have been i n t r o d u c e d l o r s e v e r a l v e r b s . Trie lesson t o be drawn from t h i s i s t h a t i t i s rat enough t o have a good d i c t i o n a r y , b u t you s h o u l d have a r e l a t i v e l y r e c e n t e d i t i o n ( o r r a t h e r the r e c e n t e d i t i o n s of more than one good d i c t i o n a r i e s ) as w e l l . I t i s a l s o i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t some o f the verbs t h a t are t o be i o u n d i n t h e l i s t s o f s e v e r a l w i d e l y used grammar- and p r a c t i c e books are n o t shown i n
these f u n c t i o n s i n these p o p u l a r d i c t i o n a r i e s , ( e . g , a p p r e c i a t e , deserve, f o r g i v e , m e n t i o n , understand - the l a t t e r two are mentioned o n l y by Hornby)
When I began t o examine the v e r b s f o l l o w e d by the - i n g form I was prepared t o f i n d a l o t of c o n t r a d i c t i o n s i n the d i f f e r e n t books by reason of my e a r l i e r e x p e r i e n c e . A f t e r c o m p l e t i n g the t a b l e I have t o admit t h a t the s i t u a t i o n i s not as bad as a l l t h a t . E s p e c i a l l y i f you have a l o o k at the whole group of p a t t e r n s o f f e r e d f o r the same verb by d i f f e r e n t books, you can judge q u i t e d e f i n i t i v e l y which forms are p e r m i t t e d a f t e r a g i v e n v e r b . ( I t might be t r u e however t h a t j u s t one or two books would not s u f f i c e . ) I n s p i t e o f t h i s g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n i t i s necessary t o c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o some c o n t r a d i c t i o n s i n t h e t a b l e . (The d i f f e r i n g f i g u r e s do not always c o n t r a d i c t each o t h e r . E . g . the p a t t e r n 2ci can c o e x i s t w i t h p a t t e r n because n o t a l l books f i n d i t i m p o r t a n t t o i n d i c a t e t h a t besides the more common gerund we can sometimes have o b j e c t + t o be / to have a f t e r t h e g i v e n v e r b . I n some places another f i g u r e i s g i v e n i n b r a c k e t s showing t h a t the o t h e r form can also o c c u r , but l e s s f r e q u e n t l y . Another reason f o r d i f f e r i n g f i g u r e s may be t h a t one book enumerates the p o s s i b l e p a t t e r n s i n a l l the d i f f e r e n t meanings of the v e r b , another separates these a c c o r d i n g to the d i f f e r e n t meanings and f u n c t i o n .
And now l e t us see some c o n c r e t e examples where d i f f e r i n g p a t t e r n s are o f f e r e d by the a u t h o r s . ( C a n ' t ) bear and ( w i l l , w o n ' t ) bear a r e not separated i n some books a l t h o u g h t h e gerund a f t e r the l a t t e r has a p a s s i v e meaning, so i t i s not g u i t e j u s t i f i e d t o put them i n t o the same p a t t e r n . I n the case of a v o i d , c o n s i d e r , d e l a y , e n j o y Corder and Scheuerweghs c l a i m t h a t o n l y the p o s s e s s i v e pronoun or the g e n i t i v e case of the noun i s a c c e p t a b l e b e f o r e the gerund, w h i l e i n A l l a n ' s l i s t o n l y 3 (deny, postpone, r i s k ) are mentioned t o be the ones which do n o t accept the a c c u s a t i v e , the former f o u r n o t . I t h i n k t h i s i s r a t h e r the r e s u l t of some i n a t t e n t i o n because none of t h e examples c o n t a i n s an a c c u s a t i v e . Another s u r p r i s i n g example i s the verb have, t h i s i s however i l l u s t r a t e d by an example t o o : ' I w o n ' t have your w r i t i n g homework i n p e n c i l ' . (EES:
190) Corder also g i v e s a s i m i l a r example ( I E P : 6 4 ) , out i n b o t h sentences have i s used i n the meaning ' p e r m i t ' , I have n o t found any example w i t h the possessive i n the more common c a u s a t i v e sense of the word.
fhe m a j o r i t y oi Wie books s t u d i e o agree t h a t we should use a gerund a f t e r d i s l i k e b u t Colder ( l E P r 5 3 ; , and Zandvoort <,25) f i n d the i n f i n i t i v e a l s o a c c e p t a b l e . Zandvoort c l a i m s the same about r e c o l l e c t , which i s very u n l i k e l y i f we take t h e components o f the word i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , w h i c h c l e a r l y show backward r e f e r e n c e . I n the case o f remember most books agree t h a t backward r e f e r e n c e i n v o l v e s t h e use of the gerund w h i l e i f we have t o c a l l something i n t o our mind b e f o r e d o i n g i t , t h i s second a c t i o n i s expressed by an i n f i n i t i v e . The i n f i n i t i v e i s l e s s f r e q u e n t l y used i n Z a n d v o o r t " s o p i n i o n , and Longman's L e x i c o n f i n d s an o b j e c t + i n f i n i t i v e a l s o p o s s i b l e but t h a t may be another m i s p r i n t : V3 i n s t e a d of V4. ( Z a n d v o o r t : 25, L L : 305) Regret i s u s u a l l y found w i t h b o t h i n f i n i t i v e and gerund p a t t e r n s , b u t b o t h Longman d i c t i o n a r i e s suggest t h a t t h e normal usage i s the g e r u n d , the p a t t e r n w i t h the i n f i n i t i v e i s not i n d i c a t e d , b u t we f i n d a few examples w i t h i t , they seem t o be t r e a t e d as s e t p h r a s e s , F o r g e t , which i s a t h i r d verb of the same group, though very i m p o r t a n t , i s excluded from the l i s t s o f Thomson and M a r t i n e t (and s i m i l a r l y from t h a t o f Z a n d v o o r t ) . W i t h l i k e , l o v e t h e p a t t e r n o b j e c t + i n f i n i t i v e i s n e g l e c t e d i n LL. ( L L : 241)
Sometimes t h e f i g u r e of a verb p a t t e r n i s m i s s i n g a l t h o u g h we can f i n d examples of t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n i n the same p l a c e . ( E . g . t h e f i g u r e s i n b r a c k e t s i n my t a b l e i n the case of pardon, p e r m i t , e n t a i l ) Ihe p a t t e r n s of propose (ÄEP) and jdy^ad O&M) d i f f e r from those i n o t h e r books because - i n d i c a t e d or n o t - o n l y one meaning was chosen bet ore c o m p i l i n g the l i s t . I t i s a l s o i n t e r e s t i n g t o compare the p a t t e r n s o f f o u r s i m i l a r verbs i n Longman's D i c t i o n a r y : l i k e (T 3, 4 , V3, 4 ) , l o v e ( 1 3 , 4, V 3 ) , p r e f e r ( T 3 , 4, V3) , ha te Í T 3 , 4, V3, 4 ) . Why i s V4 m i s s i n g w i t h l o v e and p r e f e r ? I s the o b j e c t + i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n i m p o s s i b l e i n t h e a u t h o r s1
o p i n i o n or i s i t j u s t another m i s p r i n t ?
Suggest may o n l y be i o l l o w e d by p o s s e s s i v e and gerund i n C o r d e c ' s o p i n i o n , w h i l e Thomson and M a r t i n e t t o l e r a t e b o t h p o s s e s s i v e and a c c u s a t i v e b e f o r e i h e getund. 1 t h i n k the iocmer i s n o t e l i k e l y .
L o a t h e , ( c a n ' t ) endure,, commence liave d i f f e r i n g e v a l u a t i o n i n the books t h a t have oeen c o n s u l t e d , but t n i s cannot Oe a m i s t a k e o r a m i s p r i n t , as examples are shown t o i l l u s t r a t e b o t h p a t t e r n i and p a t t e r n
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o observe the changing l i s t s i n the two comprehensive books of Q u i r k e t a l i a s (GCE and CGEL). While i n t h e i r more r e c e n t book (CGEL.) a number of new verbs have been i n t r o d u c e d ( ( c a n ' t ) b e a r , begrudge, commence, c o n f e s s , d e s e r v e , e n j o y , e n v i s a g e , i m a g i n e , j u s t i f y , l o a t h e , e t c . ) , o t h e r s have disappeared from t h e i r e a r l i e r l i s t (acknowledge, c o n t e m p l a t e , d e f e r , d e l a y , evade, f i n i s h , i n c l u d e , postpone, p r a c t i s e , r e s i s t , shun, s u g g e s t ) . What may be t h e reason f o r r e p l a c i n g them f o r o t h e r s ? Has t h e i r e v a l u a t i o n changed or do they s i m p l y want to g i v e examples w i t h o u t a t t e m p t i n g a t o f f e r i n g complete l i s t s ( w h i c h c o u l d be expected o f books of t h a t s i z e ) ? I n the 1986 i m p r e s s i o n o f t h e GCE we s t i l l f i n d the same l i s t as i n the f i r s t e d i t i o n of 1972, w h i l e i n the CGEL p u b l i s h e d i n 1985 f o r the f i r s t t i m e t h e r e i s a c o m p l e t e l y new l i s t w i t h new g r o u p i n g s . (The e a r l i e r g r o u p i n g was h a r d t o f o l l o w . I do riot see any reasons f o r c a l l i n g p e r m i t , acknowledge, o r postpone verbs of e m o t i o n ) . Another advantage o f the new l i s t i s t h a t they a l s o denote which verbs are l i k e l y t o be f o l l o w e d by a p e r f e c t gerund.
The l i s t s make i t c l e a r t h a t verbs of the same sense group do n o t n e c e s s a r i l y behave i n the same way:
' H i s lawyer advised him t o drop the case / h i s d r o p p i n g the c a s e , s i n c e i t was d i f f i c u l t to succeed.' (AEP: 169)
' I recommend you t o c o n s u l t / your c o n s u l t i n g an e x p e r t . ' (AEP: 160)
* ' I suggested her t o go liome.' (Swan: 323)
S i m i l a r l y t h e group of verbs e x p r e s s i n g f e e l i n g s ( e n j o y , l i k e , l o v e , h a t e , p r e f e r , l o a t h e , d i s l i k e ) do not a l l accept the same p a t t e r n s . A l l the authors i n the survey seem t o agree t h a t enjoy can be f o l l o w e d o n l y by a gerund, most of them say the same about d i s l i k e ( w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of two, as we have seen above), the use o f l o a t h e i s j u d g e d i n c o n s i s t e n t l y . The o t h e r f o u r can accept both gerund and i n f i n i t i v e , the authors agree, b u t what the c h o i c e depends on i s the s u b j e c t o f t h e debate. Several authors c l a i m ( e . g . Swan: 339) t h a t i t depends on t h e
l i k i n g r e f e r r i n g t o a p a r t i c u l a r o c c a s i o n o r h a v i n g some g e n e r a l v a l i d i t y . The examples o f o t h e r a u t h o r s seem t o c o n t r a d i c t t o t h i s r u l e sometimes:
10 -
"Of course c h i l d r e n always fiete t o cause t r o u b l e . 'She i s the s o r t o f person who l i k e s t o cause t r o u b l e . 'Nobody r e a l l y l o v e s t o w o r k . ' ( I E P : 54)
The l e s s o n we can draw i s t h a t t h a t we s h o u l d riot o v e r s imp! i f y these r u l e s of usage.
F i n a l l y a remark about the occurence frequency o f the - i n g f o r m . I n o r d e r t o know which o f the above verbs are r e a l l y w o r t h t e a c h i n g , we should know how o f t e n t h e y occur i n spoken or w r i t t e n E n g l i s h f o l l o w e d by the - i n g form as t h e i r o b j e c t (complement). For l a c k o f space t h a t w i l l be the s u b j e c t of a n o t h e r paper. I t i s g e n e r a l l y supposed t h a t the - i n g form i s more t y p i c a l o f w r i t t e n than spoken E n g l i s h . Some s t u d i e s ( e . g . t h a t of Andersson) show fiowever t h a t even t h e r e the verbs w i t h the i n f i n i t i v e are f a r more common, w h i l e the most f r e q u e n t occurences o f t h e - i n g form are those o f the p r e s e n t p a r t i c i p l e a f t e r some v e r b s o f p h y s i c a l p e r c e p t i o n .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
( A b b r e v i a t i o n s used i n the t e x t are i n b r a c k e t s )
A l l e n , W. St at m a r d : L i v i n g E n g l i s h S t r u c t u r e . Longmans, 1959. (LES) Andersson, E v e r t ; On v e t o complementation i n w r i t t e n E n g l i s h . Lund S t u d i e s i n E n g l i s h 71. CUK Gleerup, Malmö, 1985.
C o r d e r , S. P i t ; An i n t e r m e d i a t e E n g l i s h P r a c t i c e Cook. Longman, I 9 6 0 . ( I E P )
Ganshina, M. - V a s i l e v s k a y a , 'N.s E n g l i s h Grammar» Moscow, 1933.
Graver, B. 0 . : Advanced E n g l i s h P r a c t i c e . Second E d i t i o n . O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , London, 1971. (AEP)
Hornby, A. S.s An Advanced L e a r n e r ' s D i c t i o n a r y o f C u r r e n t E n g l i s h . O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 19/4 and Seventeenth I m p r e s s i o n , 1983.
(Hornby)
Hornby, A. 5 . : Guide t o P a t t e r n s and Usage i n E n g l i s h . Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1976. (GPUE)
Ihms, Henry: Das ' H a l f - G e r u n d ' . E i n I r r w e g s p r a c h l i c h e r Deutung. I n Die Neueren Sprachen, 80:3 ( 1 9 8 1 ) : pp. 202-207.
Ihms, Henry: Das Verkannte P r ä s e n s p a r t i z i p im E n g l i s c h e n . Eine semantisch ( t e x t l i n g u i s t i s c h ) - o r i e n t i e r t e Untersuchung. I n Die Neueren Sprachen, 85:3 ( 1 9 8 6 ) , pp. 283-301.
Longman D i c t i o n a r y of Contemporary E n g l i s h , ed. by Paul P r o c t e r , Longman, 1978. R e p r i n t e d i n 1986. (LD)
Longman Lexicon of Contemporary E n g l i s h , ed. by Tom M c A r t h u r , Longman, 1982. ( L L )
Q u i r k , R. - Greenbaum, S. - S v a r t v i k , 3. - Leech, G.: A Comprehensive Grammar of t h e E n g l i s h Language. Longman, London and New York, 1985. (CGEL)
Q u i r k , R. - Greenbaum, S. - Leech, G. - S v a r t v i k , J . : A Grammar of Contemporary E n g l i s h . Longman, 1972. (GCE)
Scheuerweghs, G.: Present - Day E n g l i s h Syntax. Longmans, 1966. (Sch) Swan, M i c h a e l : P r a c t i c a l E n g l i s h Usage. O x f o r d , 1902.
Thomson, A. 3. - M a r t i n e t , A. V . : A P r a c t i c a l E n g l i s h Grammar. 2nd E d i t i o n , 1969. and 3rd E d i t i o n 1900, O x f o r d , (!&M)
Z a n d v o o r t , R. W.: A Handbook of E n g l i s h Grammar. S i x t h E d i t i o n , Longman, 1972.
M. DELÍ, ÁGNES
ON I I IE FUNCTIONS OF BACK-CHANNELLING*
Discourse s t u d i e s , t h e survey of the spoken language, have a t t r a c t e d the a t t e n t i o n of an i n c r e a s i n g number of l i n g u i s t s d u r i n g the p a s t few decades. V e r b a l communication has been i n v e s t i g a t e d from v a r i o u s a n g l e s by p s y c h o l i n g u i s t s , s o c i o i n g u i s t s and o t h e r s c h o l a r s d e a l i n g w i t h human b e h a v i o u r , as w e l l as language t e a c h e r s . I n t h i s paper some o f the l i s t e n e r ' s v e r b a l r e a c t i o n s t o s t a t e m e n t s w i l l be examined i n n a t u r a l c o n v e r s a t i o n .
For advice and s u g g e s t i o n s I owe thanks to my s u p e r v i s o r , D r . L á s z l ó Bódai; t o i D r . J u d i t Z e r k o w i t z and N i c h o l a s T a y l e r , who read my p a p e r .
"A Corpus o f E n g l i s h C o n v e r s a t i o n s " e d i t e d by Jan S v a r t v i k and Randolph . Q u i r k (1980) has been employed d u r i n g the r e s e a r c h . T h i s i s a l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n o f n o n - e d i t e d E n g l i s h c o n v e r s a t i o n s a v a i l a b l e i n t r a n s c r i p t i o n s as w e l l as on computer tape. Ttie m a t e r i a l p r o v i d e d i n t h i s paper f o l l o w s t h e o r i g i n a l except t h a t the markings o f c e r t a i n v o i c e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as " b o o s t e r " have been removed as the p h o n e t i c aspects o f b a c k - c h a n n e l l i n g are out of the scope o f t h i s s t u d y . L e f t i n , though, a r e
the f o l l o w i n g symbols:, , 5 . 1 . 2 .
A, B, a, c
> A
* and +
t e x t number speakers
speaker i d e n t i t y : speaker c o n t i n u e s where he l e f t o f f o v e r l a p p i n g t a l k
* This paper i s p a r t of a r e p o r t on my r e s e a r c h i n t o d i s c o u r s e f i n a n c e d by t h e Hungarian M i n i s t r y o f E d u c a t i o n .
- 2 2 -
( l a u g h s )
TONE UNIT C 7
L / /
NUCLEUS
f. 3
"a yes yes / yes
c o n t e x t u a l consent
i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e , u n c l e a r u t t e r a n c e s
end of tone u n i t (TU) onset
s u b o r d i n a t e TU
f a l l r i s e l e v e l
STRESS
yes
yes
normal
heavy
PAUSE
yes * yes b r i e f pause ( o f one l i g h t s y l l )
yes - yes u n i t pause ( o f one . s t r e s s u n i t or " f o o t " )
A CAPITALIZED WORD i s one t h a t c a r r i e s the s t r e s s e d t o n e .
A l l the u t t e r a n c e s are numbered f o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
The c o - o p e r a t i v e b e h a v i o u r of the l i s t e n e r i s demonstrated by h i s u s i n g feed-back s i g n a l s to assure the speaker of h i s sympathy, i n t e r e s t and u n d e r s t a n d i n g . W i t h o u t such d e v i c e s communication cannot be kept on f o r l o n g ; a p a s s i v e , s i l e n t , or " d i s o b e d i e n t " l i s t e n e r ( c f . Henne 1978:124) w i l l soon cause a break-down i n communication. I n h i s chapter d i s c u s s i n g t u r n - t a k i n g , Oreström (1983) d i s t i n g u i s h e s between two types of u t t e r a n c e s , s p e a k i n g - t u r n s and back-channel items / t h e l a t t e r term i s taken from Yngve (1970:574) / . He d e f i n e s a t u r n as " t h e c o n t i n u o u s p e r i o d of time d u r i n g which a person i s t a l k i n g " ( 1 9 8 3 : 2 3 ) . A c c o r d i n g t o Henne (197B:127) a speaking t u r n conveys new i n f o r m a t i o n and expands the t o p i c . Back-channel i t e m s , on the o t h e r hand, i n Watzlawick e t a l ' s (1967) terms, have a r e l a t i v e l y low value on the c o n t e n t l e v e l but a r e l a t i v e l y h i g h v a l u e on the r e l a t i o n s h i p l e v e l o f communication. They are d i r e c t s i g n a l s o f the l i s t e n e r r o l e , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t h e l i s t e n e r does not c l a i m t o have the f l o o r but t h a t tie i s i n t e r e s t e d and a c t i v e i n p a r t i c i p a t i n g and thus c o n t r i b u t e s t o the success o f communication.
The views on the exact f u n c t i o n of the l i s t e n e r ' s s h o r t , spontaneous r e a c t i o n s l i k e m, mhm, mm, yes, yeah, okay, r i g h t , I see, I t h i n k y o u ' r e r i g h t , e c t . s l i g h t l y d i f f e r w i t h d i f f e r e n t l i n g u i s t s , and terms a l s o v a r y w i t h d i f f e r e n t a u t h o r s .
B e l l a c k ( 1 9 6 6 : 1 8 - 1 9 ) speaks of " r e a c t i n g moves" w h i c h , i n t h e i r s t a t u s are very s p e c i a l . T h e i r occurrence does not mean t h a t the p r i o r s p e a k e r ' s statement has been r e p l i e d t o . Nor need anyone f o l l o w i t , or take i t t h a t a r e p l y - t o i t i s due. Goffman (1981:28) employs the terms " b a c k - channel c u e s " a n d " k e e p - g o i n g s i g n a l s " ( as gee, gosh, wow, hmn, t s k , no! ) , w h i l e Duncan d i s c u s s e s " a u d i t o r backchannel s i g n a l s " ( 1 9 7 3 : 3 8 - 3 9 ) . Good (1977) c a l l s ms and yeahs " i n f o r r n a t i o n a l l y m i n i m a l " items c o n s i d e r i n g them as r e a l i z a t i o n s o f t h e " p a r i t y p r i n c i p l e " , which i n h i s terms means t h a t by u s i n g such s i g n a l s the l i s t e n e r demonstrates I i i s r o l e as equal p a r t n e r r a t h e r than h i s a t t e n t i o n . C r y s t a l and Davy ( 1 9 7 5 ) , on the o t h e r hand, argue t h a t the p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n of backchannels i s t o r e f l e c t the l i s t e n e r ' s a t t e n t i o n .
C o u l t h a r d , Montgomery and B r a z i l ( 1 9 0 1 : 2 4 - 2 5 ) p r o v i d e a d e t a i l e d
10 -
d e s c r i p t i o n o f tehat they c a l l " s u p p o r t i n g a c t s " , w i t h t h e s u b c a t e g o r l e s s the "acknowledge" ( e g . yeah, uhuh} mm ) , i n d i c a t i n g t h e l i e a r e r ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g and h i s e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t the speaker should go on s p e a k i n g , the " a c c e p t " ( e g . o k e y , Oh I see ) , i m p l y i n g minimal u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f what i s accepted, and the " e n d o r s e " ( e g . y o u ' r e q u i t e r i g h t ) , s u p p o r t i n g the p o i n t made by t h e speaker.
Orestrom ( 1 9 8 3 : 1 0 7 ) d i s c u s s e s BCM i t e m s p a r t l y u s i n g Duncan and N i e d e r e h e ' s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ( c f . Duncan and Niederehe ( 1 9 7 4 : 2 3 6 ) ) „ He i n c l u d e s among the BCH-s the f o l l o w i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f t h e l i s t e n e r :
S u p p o r t s : m, mhrn, yes, yeah, r i g h t , OK, f i n e , I know, t h a t ' s r i g h t , I see, e t c .
E x c l a m a t i o n s : olt, gosh, God, good God, b l o o d y h e l l , e t c ,
ExcJ amatory
t ^ j e s t i o n s : w h a t , r e a l l y , d i d tie, was i t , e t c .
Sentence completions
c f . below i n 1 . 2 . 4 . and 1 . 2 . 5 Restatements
D i s c u s s i n g s o c i o l o g i c a l i n t e r e s t i n d i s c o u r s e Stuhbs ( 1 9 0 3 : 1 0 9 - 1 9 3 ) p r o v i d e s an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f a c l i n e w i t h t h r e e "ine In i n t e r a c t i o n a l moves" such as acknowledge, a c c e p t and endorse. I n h i s a n a l y s i s tie pays s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n t o endorsements which lie c o n s i d e r s as the move i m p l y i n g most enthusiasm on t h e p a r t o f t h e s p e a k e r . He o f f e r s some f o r m a l exponents c o n c e n t r a t i n g on some s p e c i f i c e x p r e s s i o n s of s u p p o r t s l i k e
( t h a t ' s ) a ( v e r y ) good/ e x c e l l e n t p o i n t , r ( i s n ' t i t ? ) (_ ( d o n ' t you t h i n k ? ) I q u i t e / e n t i r e l y / a b s o l u t e l y agree
y o u ' r e q u i t e / a b s o l u t e l y r i g h t / c o r r e c t
( y e s ) t h a t ' s r i g h t
„ y o u ' r e q u i t e r i g h t
( y e s ) C t h a t ' s a (good) p o i n t / t h o u g h t L I t h i n k s o , too
e t c .
I n view o f S t u b b s ' a n a l y s i s we assume t h a t some s u p p o r t s are not merely back-channel items (Stubbs d i d n o t use t h i s term h e r e ) b u t i m p l y a b o r d e r l i n e between those and agreement, i . e . they i n d i c a t e a t r a n s i t i o n between feedback s i g n a l s (BCH-s) and the l i s t e n e r ' s o p i n i o n i . e . agreement, which has p r o p o s i t i o n a l c o n t e n t and t h a t such a c o n t r i b u t i o n of the second speaker ( p r e v i o u s l y b e i n g i n the r o l e of the l i s t e n e r ) i s a speaking t u r n .
I n t h i s study we w i l l r e l y on O r e s t r ö m ' s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f backchannels as w e l l as use S t u b b s ' d i s c u s s i o n of s u p p o r t s and propose some m o d i f i c a t i o n s as w e l l as a s c a l e along which the second s p e a k e r ' s u t t e r a n c e s can be arranged a c c o r d i n g t o the e x t e n t of h i s i n t e l l e c t u a l involvement i n t h e f i r s t s p e a k e r ' s u t t e r a n c e . Thus we are supposed to a r r i v e a t a stage where the second speaker c l a i m s f o r a speaking t u r n and expresses h i s agreement w i t h tiie p r e v i o u s speaker on what he has s a i d .
As e x c l a m a t i o n s and exclamatory q u e s t i o o s , though b a c k - c h a n n e l i t e m s , are of p u r e l y e m o t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r , and as such, cannot be i n c l u d e d i n the c l i n e o f f e r e d i n Table 1. they w i l l not be d i s c u s s e d i i e r e .
For the l a b e l s suggested by Stubbs (1983) and ü r e s t r ö m (1983) seern to be ambiguous i n the name f u n c t i o n a l glosses w i l l be used liere i n s t e a d , p a r t l y i n accordance w i t h Stubbs, t o i n d i c a t e the d i f f e r e n c e i n the f u n c t i o n and semantic c o n t e n t o f the items i n guest i o n as w e l l as the d i f f e r e n t degrees t o which t h e secood speaker i s i n v o l v e d i n tiie c o n v e r s a t i o n r e g a r d i n g h i s i n t e l l e c t u a l and e m o t i o n a l a t t i t u d e . Table 1.
p r o v i d e s the summary o f the p o s s i b l e semantic c o n t e n t s o f back- c h a n n e l l i n g as w e l l as the o v e r l a p p i n g f u n c t i o n s of the l i n g u i s t i c devices used f o r feedback s i g n a l s and agreement. The h o r i z o n t a l s c a l e b e g i n n i n g w i t h a broken l i n e and e n d i n g i n a g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g number of s t r a i g h t l i n e s i s meant t o i m p l y the s t r e n g t h of s u p p o r t on t h e p a r t of t h e l i s t e n e r /=second s p e a k e r / .
The more lie gets i n v o l v e d i n t e l l e c t u a l l y the s t r o n g e r h i s s u p p o r t o f the p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e appears t o be.
Table 1
The v e r b a l r e a c t i o n s of the l i s t e n e r are a t the lowest l e v e l on the involvement s c a l e h e r e . These i t e m s , u n d o u b t e d l y , have no p r e p o s i t i o n a l c o n t e n t , they j u s t prove t h a t the l i s t e n e r has accepted h i s a u d i t o r y r o l e and t h a t he i s w i l l i n g t o assure the speaker o f h i s " p r e s e n c e " and i n t e r e s t .
Stubbs l a b e l s t h i s move "acknowledge", i n c l u d i n g t h r e e exponents o f the category yeah, uhuh, and mn.
U n l i k e Stubbs' o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t these items have f a l l i n g tone and mid or low p i t c h we have found t h a t sometimes, on the c o n t r a r y , the a t t e n t i v e n e s s of the l i s t e n e r i s narked by r i s i n g i n t o n a t i o n ( c f . ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) below ) .
( 1 ) A . . . 207 / / w h a t SE^MS to n c a 2 0 0 an //EQUALLY f i r m ' s t a t e m e n t o f C h i r k POL ICY Si »209 i n
v
/ / C a r v e r C o l l e g e NEWLYNB210 i n t h e //summer x
of n i n e t e e n s i x t y -one from Dan rRDSSÜ x - x 211 / / y o u SEP ü
0 212 x / / Z mhm j U *
> A 213 xx - xx 7 / / w h i c h was '^LSO ^ . s t a t i n g ^ ? a f i r m
0 214 xx / / YEAIiMfxx
' •' S . 1 . 2
( 2 ) A 3 5 5 / / w e l l t h e r e have been a couple of - J p
i n c h o a t i v e - f b : 317 but a b o r t i v e CALLSSS - ' 356 Cz :rn J ' / / f r o m PETERBOROUGH» • 357 / / t o
my HOME H • 350 x . x [ 3 : J B 359 x / / AHÁ • x
S . 1 . 2
10 -
( 3 ) 8 . . . 22 „ „ . / / M a l e t ha-; produced a a .- REVISED CONSTIlíSriONB 23 / / EHR 13 ?A Lb i .7 / / S c h o o l of Y Í n O I S H » . 25 i n / / w h i c h • i d : m j
ii
t h e no i n POINT Ü 26 o f //my • o f //my C m ] / / w h a t t r i g g e r e d the whole t h i n g Ü F F * 27 * was when *
A 28 * / / YES m *
Sol .2
I t must be n o t e d t h a t the same items seem t o appear i n d i f f e r e n t f u n c t i o n s i n c o n v e r s a t i o n s , so i t seems t o be s e n s i b l e to i n c l u d e them s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i n t o d i f f e r e n t s u b - c l a s s e s . T h i s h o l d s f o r aha and yes e . g . We take i t t h a t w i t h r i s i n g tone they b o t h imply a u d i t i o n / a s i n ( 2 ) , ( 3 ) above/, whereas w i t h f a l l i n g tone the same i t e m s imply u n d e r s t a n d i n g as w e l l as l i s t e n i n g and they w i l l he i n c l u d e d i n 1 . 2 , t o o .
Such items as uhuh8 mm, yeah., e t c , may o c c u r i n d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s w i t h i n the f i r s t s p e a k e r ' s u t t e r a n c e , e i t h e r a t the end o f a c l a u s e o r I n the m i d d l e of i t , b u t i n most cases a t the end o f tone u n i t s . Stubbs c l a i m s (1903:190) t h a t they o f t e n s i m p l y f i t i n t o the p h o n o l o g i c a l rhythm of t h e d i s c o u r s e .
1.2 " I understand what y o u ' v e j u s t s a i d "
There are some r e j o i n d e r s by which the l i s t e n e r not o n l y i m p l i e s h i s i n t e r e s t but a l s o c l a i m s h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the message o f the p r e c e d i n g u t t e r a n c e . The semantic f e a t u r e " s u p p o r t " i s s t r o n g e r fiere t h a n w i t h " a u d i t i o n m a r k e r s " . I n our example ( f t ) speaker 'a* i s n o t o n l y c a r e f u l l y l i s t e n i n g b u t a l s ó t h i n k i n g t o g e t h e r w i t h ' A ' (see h i s v o c a l i z a t i o n : i n 4 5 5 ) , and when ' A ' manages to f i n d owt the name of t h e r e s t a u r a n t he c o n f i r m s i t by h i s s u p p o r t i n g u t t e r a n c e [ p ^ 3 ]7- The l i s t e n e r ' s C a " ) u t t e r a n c e i n 457 seems to be a k i n i n i t s semantic f e a t u r e s t o " I know" f l 7.7/ or " I remember now"»
( 4 ) A . . . « 5 1 we / / WENT f o r a real / / S?F TERM ARO S C3 452 / / a t - O ) :m 7 - - - / / W &
4 5 3 , / / p l a c e i n « BAKER S t r e e t s «5ft t h a t ' s
V ^ / / RATHER ' s i m i l a r t o t h e - - Van GOGH® .
a 455 ZT3 : J
A 456 / / < $ F i n g a l ' s CAVE R a 457 ^ h 9 , 7
S.2.12 1 . 2 . 1 . One-word-uIterances
Understanding on the p a r t of the l i s t e n e r i s q u i t e o f t e n shown by a one-word u t t e r a n c e as yes, r i g h t , q u i t e , okay, f i n e , good, ^ h , a h ^ , n o , e t c . , b u t sometimes s e v e r a l items are combined, c f . ( 5 ) , ( 6 )
V) ( 5 ) B 1199 and they ^ ' d >>be / / m a r k i n g a l l SDR IS o f
s t u f f ft ; 1200 be / / cause they ' c a n ' t do t h e s t u f f
* THEMSELVES • 1201 • * I must / / w a t c h t h e T W Reynard H
A 1202 * <? / / QUITE B ^ 1 2 0 3 / / [ m ] ® * S . I . I
( 6 ) B 256 and * and C<* J * '* he / / c a n n o t commit A 257 * / / YcSSH* .
v1
B 256 h i m s e l f as FAR Ü 250 as / / D a n Ross * would have done had lie been i n £ m A I J Oan R o s s ' s D I V I S I O N S - *
A 2-59 * tm ' m ' mj II RIGHT ft 260 / / Y E S x S . 1 . 2
Fine and good besides b e i n g back-channel items i n v o l v e some e v a l u a t i v e f o r c e ( c f . ( 7 ) ) , which i s o b v i o u s l y due t o t h e i r l e x i c a l meaning.
(7)>B 51 * / / t h i s ' i s the main <<BEDDING 0 ^ p 52 and t h e r e ' s * p r o / / v i s i o n f o r
A 53 * / / YES 54 / / YES IÜ « 55 / / YES CF *
> B 52 separate BUDGETING a n d \ / / SO on
30
56 so / / t h a t ' s OK A 57 / / GÓÜD S3
5 , 1 . 2
Ah and aha i m p l y the same as 1 see ( c f . 1 . 2 . 2 )
A r * 1
(B) A 402 and I ' m / / q u i t e • SURE [ i t ' s UNSHAKEABLEHÜJ 404 « / / u n s f i a k e a h l e *
B 485 *
S . 1 . 2
( 9 ) A 1 it. vjent o f f / / v e r y v e r y SMUÜIHI.Y02 x at.^? k B 3 * / / AHXH *
5 . 1 . 2
P e c u l i a r l y enough no appears i n our corpus n o t o n l y as a d e v i c e f o r disagreement and agreement w i t h a s t a t e m e n t i n the n e g a t i v e b u t a \ ss a back-channel i t e m :
( 1 0 ) A 103 ( - l a u g h s ) / / I d o n ' t KNOW what happened 0 . 104 because w h i l e I'VE been ' j o b h u n t i n g ® 105 I / / h a v e n ' t teen i n t o u c h w i t h MlYBODY 0 106 e x / / e e p t those who have got i n t o u c h w i t h ME 0 a 107 yeah -
1
A 103 and / / s h e HASN'T Q * a 109 no
S . 2 . 1 2
Wiien u t t e r e d j f t e r a s t a t e m e n t c o n t a i n i n g a n e g a t i v e verb form no can f u n c t i o n as a v a r i a n t . oJC BCM yt.-'s. TS« BCH f u n c t i o n o f no can tie de t e c t e d i n (11) where i t i s r e i n f o r c e d by BCH q u i t e . .
(11) A 1058 Id J o b / / j e c t e d t o T H I S H • 1059 / / m e r e l y
on the grounds of • APPROPRIATENESS i ^ 1060 ' / / n o t because I I 1 • t h i n k ILL x <i- OF
him SÍ 1061 I ' v e ^ > * / / c e r t a i n l y no REASON 0 1062 * / / NO • [ // N O f ] ' [ / / QUITE*] *
S . l .2a
1 . 2 . 2 Complete Clauses
Two r e j o i n d e r s belong h e r e : I know and I see. The former suggests
" t h i s i s no news t o me", w h i l e the l a t t e r connotes " t h i s i s news t o me"
( c f . items and aha i n ( 8 ) , ( 9 ) ) .
(12) A 1179<§ w e l l to / / s t a r t o f f a t ^ h a l f COCK®
1180 / / y o u KNOW ® « 1181 * < § 7 / i t ' s C s J ^ * STUPIDBxx - xx
B 1182 x<$: I / / K N & W X 1183 xx I //KNOW j . ^ x x
S . l . 2 a
(13) a 553 and y o u ' r e from L i n c o l n H - - A 554 / / Y E S » 555 I ' m //NEAR L i n c o l n * - - a 556 near L i n c o l n
A 557 //YES 558 I //AM® • 559 I / / g o to ' s c h o o l a t M0RNCASTLE1- •
a 560 I see »
S . 3 . 5 b
1 . 2 . 3 R e p e t i t i o n
Though not t y p i c a l o f b a c k - c h a n n e l l i n g , i n our c o r p u s , r e p e t i t i o n w i t h f a l l i n g tone has been found a p o s s i b l e d e v i c e to i n d i c a t e l i s t e n i n g and u n d e r s t a n d i n g on the p a r t of the l i s t e n e r .
3 2 -
( 1 4 ) 8 459 i f / / I n a t c h the one TWENTY-EIGHT Í f r o m V I C / / T 0 R I A » ) 440 / / t h a t * g e t s me i n a t
a b o u t « h a l f p a s t TW0K« 441 a n d ^ I / / g e t t o A 442 * <$ and y o u ' l l / / t h e n y o u ' l l / / g e t your *
> B 441 the x BANK * [ you //SEE » J »
A 443 * / / Y£S» x « 444 / / g e t t o the>> DANK H 445 / / Y E S H
5 . 1 . 1
P a r t i a l r e p e t i t i o n i n t e n s i f i e d by of course i n ( 1 5 ) sltows B ' s i n t e n t i o n t o assure A n o t o n l y a b o u t h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g b u t a l s o h i s w i l l i n g n e s s t o s u p p o r t and c o o f i r m what A has s a i d . BCH i t e m e x a c t l y
f u n c t i o n s as a p r e f a c e to B ' s u t t e r a n c e .
( 1 5 ) A 840 because I mean * « * f i n a l i s t s ' a r e B 841 * / / / T i n 7 » *
A 040 C f a i n 7 and they a c t u a l l y * * * 00 ' f i n i s h <? t h e n IS ^
8 842 * * EX//ACTLY&xx - 843 o f //COURSE they ' d o B • 844 » 4 3 to 4 s y l l s »
5 . 1 . 4
We propose t h i s example as a b o r d e r l i n e case between b a c k - c h a n n e l l i n g and agreement.
1 . 2 . 4 Sentence c o n f j l e t l o n
The l i s t e n e r sometimes t h i n k s t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e c u r r e n t speaker and he i s ready t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t tie n o t o n l y f o l l o w s and u n d e r s t a n d s what he IK S j u s t h e a r d b u t nan a l s o f i n d o u t t h e oncoming p a r t of t h e p r e v i o u s u t t e r a n c e . Though n o t c l a i m i n g f o r a t u r n , I « i s H i l l i n g t o a c t i v e l y p a r t i c i p a t e . Sentence c o m p l e t i o n i s done t h r o u g h i n t e r r u p t i o n ( J 6 )4 o r a t the end of a t o n e u n i t ( 1 7 ) , i g n o r e d ( 1 7 ) , or accounted ( 1 6 ) b y t h e f i r s t s p e a k e r ,
(16) 0-83 and / / ' c u r i o u s l y enough on t f i a t OCCASION H 04 the * / / p e r s o n x
A 05 * / / Steven x Peel SUPPORTED yougf 0 06 //YES ® * 07 most //CURIOUS B
S.1.2
(17) B 1050 i f / / y o u take a s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s o f the people who Pfllss H1059 y o u ' l l / / f i n d t h a t i t i s ' t h i s QUESTIONS ' 1060 *<£ which?» * . A 1061 x on / / w h i c h x they are • //YES W
B 1062 t h e y ' r e //PASSING®1063 on x / / < € t h a t 7 > x qifesTION M
S . l . l
1 . 2 . 5 Restatements
The p r o p o s i t i o n a l c o n t e n t o f the p r e v i o u s statement i s sometimes repeated by way o f r e f o r m u l a t i o n . The l i s t e n e r i s i n t e r p r e t i n g what lie has heard i n h i s own words.
(10) B 553 Z > : m 7 t h a t £ ( $ ? : "J II they Cd m J
wanted t o DEAL® • 554 i n / / e a c h CASE B 555 w i t h ttie / / r e l e v a n t CONFESSOR tf - 556 / / r a t h e r than ' w i t h Ch i j • * . ^ i j VICE-PI^ESßYTER ® * A 557 x / / Y É S H • 558 the / / h e a d of the x INSTITUTION SI
559 x //YES BS x
; B 560 x / / Y E S » x
S . 1 . 2
Yes i n 557 above can be considered as a 0CH item and u t t e r a n c e 559 i s of the same f u n c t i o n . Not so i n the case of yes i n 560. I t i s very l i k e l y t o express agreement, c o n f i r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d by speaker ' B ' . This f u c t i o n
