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Analysis of Auxiliary Verbs

The purpose of this research is to examine Stromswold's description and analysis of what auxiliary verbs are and how they behave, chiefly in the context of language-skills acquisition by children. The auxiliary verbs are discussed in terms of three direct usage attributes: semantic (relating to meaning), syntactic (relation of auxiliaries to other words in a sentence), and lexical (the auxiliary as a word of vocabulary). As well, they are discussed and in terms of function, with auxiliaries (forms of be, have, do, and such "modal" verbs as could, should, and might) distinguished from main verbs, and the auxiliary verb be collapsed into be as copula (usage connecting subject with predicate).

The discussion is intended as an account of how children learn to recognize correct usage of auxiliaries, which behave in the language in complex ways. In this regard, Stromswold says that there are "220 possible groupings" (38) of forms of be, whether it is used as auxiliary, copula, or passive-voice combining form. But the principal focus is on the auxiliary and modal verbs as they combine with other, "main" verbs to form verb phrases or compound verbs. Stromswold cites various theories of how children categorize auxiliaries and the many kinds of errors of usage they make before acquiring certain knowledge of how auxiliaries work and what purpose they serve to make meanings in sentences.

Stromswold's research indicates that, despite the restricted nature of acceptable auxiliaries, children's error levels are fairly limited. Nevertheless, she sets forth a theory of learnability with regard to auxiliaries in which children acquire the complexity of the auxiliary system by starting out with limited, specific usages and increasingly generalizing those usages to additional cases. Children acquire "most aspects of the auxiliary system conservatively" (24-5), guided toward proper usage of the system not only by what they hear but also by Universal ...

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Analysis of Auxiliary Verbs. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:31, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712147.html