The role of the verb in speech is extremely important, without it our speech is unthinkable. Nouns give objects, ideas and events names, adjectives describe their properties. And verbs, like living water, breathe life into the words surrounding them, bind them into a complete, full sentence, filling it with movement and activity. They give an emotional coloring to thoughts, show the ongoing processes not in a frozen form, but in their development, help to understand the nature of the relationship between objects of being.
The history of the word "verb"
The progenitors of the term "verb" were the Old Slavonic words "verb" - speech, word; “you speak” - you speak, verbose, say; "verbal" - unbridled, talkative. The ancient alphabet of the Slavs was called the glagolitic. Even at the time of Pushkin, the word "verb" literally translated as "speech", "word", as evidenced by the famous appeal of the poet "the verb to burn hearts." Gradually, the old meaning has gone out of use, and today the word "verb" means part of speech.
What role does the verb play in our speech?
Verbs are words that indicate the state of an object or action and answer the questions "what to do?", "What to do?" (eat, go). With the help of verbs, the speaker can express not only the process or condition, but also the signs (leaves turn yellow), attitude (I love my parents), quantity (tripled income), time of action (leaving tomorrow).
This is the richest in meanings and forms of speech in the Russian language. The verb with the help of prefixes and suffixes forms a whole family of words that can subtly reflect the semantic and emotional nuances of reality, this can be seen in the example of the word run: run away - run away - run away - run away - avoided - run away - run away - run away - run away.
The grammatical meaning of the word
The grammatical role of the verb in speech is to reflect the dynamic nature of phenomena, objects, living beings, it can characterize:
• state of the object (lying, being, experiencing);
• physical action (work, beat, thresh);
• processes occurring with the object (getting younger, growing, getting fat);
• movement (go, swim, fly);
• relationships (respect, hate, envy);
• emotions (to be enthusiastic, timid, sad);
• state of nature (cold, getting dark).
Grammatical forms of the verb:
1. Infinitive ( stop, breathe).
2. Personal forms (I dance - you dance - we dance - they dance).
3. Generic forms ( he fell - she fell - it fell - they fell).
4. Communion (invented, in love).
5. Holy Communion (taking, starting).
6. An impersonal form, denotes processes that occur without an active object (sparkled, cooked, light).
Morphological functions of verbs in speech
Verbs have several constant and inconsistent morphological characters.
Constants include the following.
1. The type of verb - determines the essence of the action in relation to its completeness or incompleteness:
- verbs that answer the question “what to do?” are called imperfect verbs, they describe still ongoing processes (he writes a letter, she is preparing dinner);
- verbs that answer the question “what to do?” are called perfect-verbs, they describe already completed processes (he wrote a letter, she prepared dinner).
2. The transitive nature of verbs determines whether an action moves on an object or not:
- transitional verbs describe actions that apply to an object (mother feeds her daughter, I read a book);
- intransitive verbs relate to processes that cannot be transferred to another subject (maple leaves turn red, the bird soars).
3. Reciprocity shows the focus of the process on itself or another object:
- reflexive verbs describe the action directed, returned to oneself, they are built using the suffixes "-s" and "-s" (Lena washes, I warm myself);
- irrevocable verbs set forth processes that are directed to another object (Lena washes her head, I warm my palms).
4. Conjugation regulates the spelling of verbs depending on the number and gender:
- Verbs of the first conjugation have any endings except “–it” ( scream, want, flash).
- Verbs of the second conjugation have the ending "-it" (cherish, twist, give).
Non-permanent signs include the following.
1. Genus:
- male (played, playing);
- female (standing, standing) ;
- medium (left, cooked).
2. Face:
- first (I say, you say);
- second (we know, you know);
- third (he helped, she helped, they helped).
3. Time:
- present (looking, take, requires);
- the past (searched, taken, demanded);
- future (I will find, they will take, they will demand).
4. Number:
- the only ( bitten, bitten);
- plural (bitten, bitten).
5. Inclination:
- indicative (I have time, she leaves);
- imperative (be sure to catch it, leave);
- conditional (I would have done it, I would have left).
Syntax value
The verb occupies the most important place in Russian syntax. First of all, it is a predicate, which in conjunction with the subject describes a variety of actions and states of objects. But the syntactic role of the verb in speech is much wider, it can be:
• a predicate (I (what did?) Make a birdhouse);
• addition (I really like (what?) To make birdhouses);
• circumstance (I went to friends (why?) To make birdhouses):
• an inconsistent definition (I love one hobby - (what?) To make birdhouses);
• subject: ((what?) To make birdhouses - my hobby).
Stylistics
The verb contains enormous stylistic possibilities. The use of verbs in speech is diverse and depends on the situation, they can make the idea extremely clear or expressive, cold or burning, unhurried or swift. They help intelligibly and picturesquely formulate the most complex processes, the state of people, their emotions and needs.
1. Business style. Official papers are characterized by a strict, capacious and dry style. In the first place go stereotyped, descriptive, nominal form of speech. Verbs are often superseded by bulky verbal nouns. In business papers there are very few verbs, about 60 pieces per 1000 words, in scientific papers this indicator is 90 words, and in journalistic and artistic styles - 150 verbs and more.
2. The scientific style is saturated with abstract concepts, precise definitions, characterized by restraint and logic. The purpose of scientific work is to describe and reveal patterns and various phenomena, therefore the choice of verbs is secretly regulated by the scientific community in favor of words with abstract, abstract semantics: to have, be, be.
3. The journalistic style is diverse: it includes tabloid newspapers, serious analytical publications, and articles in thematic magazines. Journalism is characterized by an eventual, narrative way of presentation. The stylistic coloring and the number of verbs depends on the type of publication. So, in a highly specialized text, dotted with complex nouns-concepts, the number of verbs can be minimal. And in an article dedicated to the life of a TV star, verbs come to the fore.
4. The conversational style has an unimaginable number of gradations and midtones; its emotional and semantic content depends on the situation and temperament of the speaker. Verbs in colloquial speech help to put feelings, desires and states into words, convey them to another.
5. The artistic style most fully reveals the role of the verb in speech and its potential. In the hands of the masters of the word, the verb turns into a magical instrument, capable of figuratively and specifically expressing the most complex things. In fiction, verbs are often found in figurative meanings, in addition, all great writers skillfully use the rich synonymy of verbs, carefully searching for the most correct word that ideally describes a situation or a hero.
Verb ambiguity
The meaning and use of some verbs in speech makes even native speakers of the Russian language think, what can we say about foreigners who are sometimes not able to understand the meaning of a seemingly obvious sentence. It's all about the polysemy of verbs. For example, the word “break” has five vocabulary meanings, the word “stand” has nine, and the word “take” has twelve. The language is constantly evolving, accumulating good words and meanings. From the primary meaning of the word appear secondary and firmly enter into speech, making it colorful and figurative.
For example, you can cut branches, or you can cut a husband; fall into a puddle or in prying eyes; clap your hands or door; gather evidence or harvest; hoof or bacilli; hold an apple, exam or word; get off the train or crazy; go to heaven or for money; give birth to a child or thoughts; sometimes a dog runs away, and sometimes milk or time.
Synonymy
Verbs-synonyms have one meaning, but differ in emotional and stylistic coloring. For example, the word “fall” is neutral in style, the word “slam” or “crash” refers to a colloquial style (colloquial), “topple” or “collapse” to a high, artistic style.
Synonyms show what role the verb plays in our speech. The choice of the appropriate option depends on the situation and is very important, because an incorrectly spoken word not only distorts the thought and complicates understanding, but also puts the person in a ridiculous position. Street slang is absurd in a scientific article, high-sounding verbs are absurd everyday conversation, scientific words are superfluous in a light work of art.