15. The category of mood

The category of mood, undoubtedly, is the most controversial category of the verb.

The category of mood expresses the character of connection between the process denoted by the verb and the actual reality, either presenting the process as a fact that really happened, happens or will happen, or treating it as an imaginary phenomenon, i.e. the subject of a hypothesis, speculation, desire.

It follows from this that the functional opposition underlying the category as a whole is constituted by the forms of oblique mood meaning, i.e. those of unreality, contrasted against the forms of direct mood meaning, i.e. those of reality, the former making up the strong member, the latter, the weak member of the opposition. It is revealed both in the opposition of morphological forms of the verb and syntactic structures.

Mood is a language specific category.

In Russian – 3 moods:

• the indicative

• the imperative

• the subjunctive (time reference is determined by the context)

The problem of the number of Moods

From 2 to 17

Reasons for such diversity of opinions

• The category as in the process of development. They came into existence only in the period of ME

• Homonymy of forms. One and the same plane expression can convey different mood meanings ( do – indic., imper mood, subj I) Homonymy maybe solved due to synt. Patterning. So it is not just gram. Form but the distribution that is involved in the expression of mood meaning.

( I do it every morning – Ind. Mood

Do it. – Imp. Mood

I insist he do it. – subj I)

• The assemetry of the place of expression and the plane of content. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate mood auxiliaries and modal verbs. (He should do it. I insist that he should do it – suppos. Mood)

Sometimes 1 and the same mood meaning can be expresses by different forms

I insist he do it.

I insist he should do it.

So the category of mood is revealed through the opposition of sets of forms and synt. Patterns

Facts: real actions

• The ind. Mood – a set of forms

-tense

-person and number

-aspect

-order

-prospect

-voice

Non-facts: direct imperative- problematic actions-unreal/hypothetic actions

• The imp. Mood

– one form ex. Do it! *let

Some linguists(Vorontsova is among them) think that the verb let with the following infinitive forms an analytical construction because let in such cases is devoid of its primary lexical meaning and performs the function of an auxiliary element.

- Let us let him do it! – is devoid of the lex. Meaning -> can be treated as part of the analytical form

BUT!!! Others think that the verb let can be used in accordance with its primary lexical meaning of allow.

Let me do it! = allow me to do it

• Oblique moods: problematic actions( Supp. Mood and Subj I) and unreal actions (Cond. And Subj II) SEE FUNCT. GRAMMAR!

Subjunctive (?!) – a set of moods which have forms of:

-aspect

-order

-voice

-person ( just 1 obl. Mood)