LIMITED VERSUS UNLIMITED VERBS

LIMITED VERSUS UNLIMITED VERBS

Verbs, in English, can be classified into two major classes: limited and unlimited. You should be able to distinguish between limited and unlimited verbs because they can affect your tense choice in chronological paragraphs. Limited verbs are used to show movement from one state into another state; unlimited verbs show the state itself. In other words, limited verbs occur at a point in time whereas unlimited verbs last for quite some time. The following example can illustrate the difference between limited and unlimited verbs:

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Jack was naked. He put on his clothes. Then, he wore them all day long. The car was working properly until Jack had an accident with it. From then

on, the car did not work properly any more.

Notice that in these examples the unlimited verbs have been underlined while the limited verbs have been italicized.

Some verbs are inherently unlimited. These verbs cannot be used in progressive tenses. In fact, the progressive aspect of a tense is used to convert a limited verb into an unlimited one (i.e., to show that the action signified by the limited verb went on for quite some time). When the verb is unlimited by nature, it does not take on the progressive aspect. Also notice that all verbs in their negative use are unlimited.

When writing paragraphs of chronology, you may want to use temporal conjunctions to show the chronological order of events. In temporal conjunctions you usually use time subordinators (e.g., while, when, before, after, until, since, etc.) to arrange events into time sequences. Take the following example:

Jack used to smoke until his doctor told him it was bad for his heart.

In this example, the word until is a time subordinator. It puts an end to the event expressed in the first sentence (i.e., Jack's habit of smoking) and marks the beginning of the event expressed in the second sentence (i.e., Jack's quitting this habit).

It is important to notice that different time subordinators require different types of verbs (i.e., limited or unlimited) in the events that they express. In the above example, Jack's habit of smoking went on for quite some time; therefore, the writer has used the unlimited verb (i.e., used to) to express this event. However, the second event (that is, Jack's decision to quit) happened at a single point in time. The writer has, therefore, used a limited verb (i.e., told) to show the shortness of the time Jack took to make his decision.

The difference between limited and unlimited verbs creates lots of problems for Iranian students of English. Time subordinators are quite selective in their choice of verb types. Some time subordinators are not sensitive to the limited/unlimited nature of verbs; they go with any verb

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EXERCI SE

1. Below is a table describing some of the events of prehistory. Using the information provided in the table, write a paragraph in which you use chronology as your method of support. Use narrative simple present tense in your supporting sentences.

TI ME PHASE

EVENT

4500 BC

Plow agriculture develops

4000 BC

People domesticate horses

4000 BC

Chinese plan cities

3900 BC

Culture develops in Sumer

3500 BC

Sumerians invent the wheel

3450 BC

Sumerians invent the chariot

30 BC

Writing appears

3100 BC

First sailing ships are built

2. The sentences below make a paragraph about the history of dam building. Unscramble them by placing them in their correct order; use the table below as your work space. Then, copy the reconstructed paragraph in your notebook.

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b. The Ma‘rib Dam, located in what is now Yemen, has been rebuilt several times since it was first constructed more than 2,700 years ago.

c. The earliest known dams were relatively small and built to provide water for irrigation in Mesopotamia.

d. I n the 14th century, the Mongol Empire built several major dams in present-day I ran.

e. Beginning around the 1st century AD, the engineers of ancient Rome constructed a system of large dams to impound river water in regions around the Mediterranean Sea.

f. The Romans’ largest reservoir was created in AD 284 in what is now Syria.

g. Among the first of the modern concrete dams are those built in New York in 1872, and in San Francisco in 1890.

h. Significant portions of the Roman-built dams in Spain remain in service after more than 1,700 years.

i. Dams rank among the oldest types of man-made structures. j. The need for large dams did not become widespread until the 19th

century. k. The greatest dam of the world under construction in China will be

completed in 2009. l. I n the 17th century the Spanish also built the first true arch dam in

Europe since Roman times. m. I n the 1850s, French engineers used principles of mathematics to

minimize the amount of material necessary to build a dam. n. During the 20th century dam engineers expanded upon the designs

pioneered in the 19th century.

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EVENT TI ME PHASE

3. Optional writing assignments

1) Describe a typical day of your life.

2) Write a chronology of your first year at the university.

3) Write a chronology of the fun you had on your best day of life.

4) Write a chronology of the troubles and problems you had on the worst day of your life.

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