Constructions be + participle II and have + participle II in the process of developmentof category of retrospective coordination in English

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the syntactic constructions be + participle II and have + participle II in the process of the development of the category of retrospective coordination taking into account a state of the language system in Old English, Middle English and Early New English on the basis of the Gospel translations: Anglo-Saxon translation 995; Wycliffe 1389; Tyndale 1526, Authorized Version of 1611. The process of the extension of descriptive forms with a perfect meaningis analyzed. The role of the prefixes a- and ge- in the process of the development of perfect forms is defined, the meanings of the verbs with prefixes are considered in a certain situation of communication. The usage of perfect forms with transitive and intransitive verbs is considered in all the periods of the development of the grammatical system of English. The development of perfect forms is considered from the point of view of functionality of the existing variants, emerging as a result of the influence of internal and extralinguistic factors. The contacts with other languages and dialects and the result of their influence on English in the periods consideredare studied in detail. The conclusionis made that perfect forms are essentially Germanic, developed on the basis of the construction of the verb have with participle II. Celtic languages, Scandinavian dialects and the Norman dialect of French influenced the process of forming the verb have as an auxiliary verb of perfect forms. The reduction of Old English prefixes played a decisive role in the development of the category of retrospective coordination. Prospects for further consideration of the forms of the English verb with the use of a system-functional approach as a base of historical sociolinguistics are outlined.