Лекции по теоретической грамматике английского языка. Тивьяева И.В. - 7 стр.

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stem. Examples in point are, the verb go, with its past tense went; the

personal pronoun I, with its objective case form me, the adjective good with its

comparative degree form better, and a few more. In the morphological system

of Modern English suppletive formations are a very insignificant element,

but they concern a few very widely used words among adjectives,

pronouns, and verbs.

2. Theory of oppositions. Types of oppositions. Oppositions in morphology

In discussing grammatical categories, we shall often have to mention

oppositions, that is, pairs of grammatical forms opposed to each other in some

way. The opposition may be defined as a generalized correlation of lingual forms

by means of which a certain function is expressed. The correlated elements

(members) of the opposition must possess two types of features: common features

and differential features. Common features serve as the basis of contrast, while

differential features immediately express the function in question.

The oppositional theory was originally formulated as a phonological theory.

Three main qualitative types of oppositions were established in phonology:

privative, gradual, and equipollent. By the number of members contrasted,

oppositions were divided into binary and more than binary (ternary, quaternary,

etc.).

The most important type of oppositions is the binary privative opposition;

the other types of oppositions are reducible to the binary privative opposition.

The binary privative opposition is formed by a contrastive pair of

members in which one member is characterized by the presence of a certain

differential feature (strong, marked, positive), while the other member is

characterized by the absence of the feature (weak, unmarked, negative). Eg.

voiced vs. devoiced consonants

The gradual opposition is formed by a contrastive group of members

which are distinguished not by the presence or absence of a feature, but by the

degree of it.