DYNAMICS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANALYTICAL FORMS OF THE FUTURE TENSE AT THE END OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISH – AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW ENGLAND PERIODS (A CASE STUDY OF THE WORKS BY J. CHAUCER AND W. SHAKESPEARE)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the evolutionary process of the development of analytical forms of the Future tense as one of the verbal grammatical categories using the examples of the works by G. Chaucer and W. Shakespeare, beginning from the late Middle English period and up to the early New English time. The interest in this process at the crossroads of two eras, the opportunity of studying it on the material of historically important works of fiction determined the choice of the topic of our article. Among the research methods that were used to carry out this scientific research within the framework of the stated topic, we will single out general scientific methods of investigating reality – analysis and synthesis; comparative-historical method, which allows comparing and contrasting linguistic grammatical phenomena; structural method, which makes it possible to consider the development of the evolutionary process, highlighting its main system-forming elements; reliable sampling of facts; quantitative and qualitative analysis, generalization. Conclusion. The analysis of the transformation of synthetic forms, which expressed the future action, into analytical ones proves that the emergence of new analytical forms is a long process of grammatical abstraction from individual lexical units. The stages of development of verb categories of two eras (late 14th-early 17th centuries) are characterized by the fact that the category of the Future tense arose in the Middle English period; at the same time, it was not used consistently enough, did not have a fixed order in analytical constructions, and was only relatively widespread. For almost two centuries (from the end of the 14th to the beginning of the 17th century), the category of the Future tense in the paradigm of the English verb has undergone a certain evolution: its use almost completely corresponds to modern norms. It has been established that till the Middle English period, constructions with any modal verb in combination with the infinitive could convey the future action to one degree or another, at the same time preserving their own modal meaning, while in the era of G. Chaucer, only the constructions “shall + infinitive” and “will + infinitive” were used to express the Future tense. At the same time, it has been established that if in the “Canterbury Tales” the verb “shall” most often served as an indicator of future action, in the works by W. Shakespeare, in particular in “Troilus and Cressida”, both verbs, “shall” and “will”, were used to express the future, but without a certain pattern regarding the person.