VERBS / OPERATORS

 


The number of verbs is limited. The language is intended for quick learning and immediate practical use in commerce and as a step into full English.  The subject of verbs in Basic English is often asked. Here is a brief summary of what Ogden said on the subject and the list of verbs organized as the Universal Language Dictionary project saw them.


Ogden states his logic on verbs:
    "Too much attention is given to fixed forms of words, certainly the dead weight of unnecessary words, chiefly 'verbs' whose behavior is not regular."
    "But the chief reason why it is possible to do so much with the limited word-list is because Basic has been able so completely to do without 'verbs'."


"... some months ago I persuaded the Ministers to study and report upon Basic English. Here you have a plan. There are others but here you have a very carefully wrought plan for an international language capable of a very wide transaction for practical business and interchange of ideas. The whole of it is composed of about 650 nouns and 200 verbs or other parts of speech no more indeed than can be written on one side of a single sheet of paper."
-- 5 September 1943 Winston Churchill


7. Operators and pronouns conjugate in full.
be   become   cause   make   do   have

The ABC's, lists 15 operators:
be , have , come - go , put - take , give - get , make , keep , let , do , say , see , send , cause and because are occasionally used as operators;
seem was later added.

And 60 other verb forms are, strictly speaking, used only as nouns: instead of "I attempted to come", say, "I made an attempt to come."
act , attack , attempt , awake , base , be a sign of , bite , blow , burn , burst , control , cook , cry out , crush , cry , damage , desire , doubt , drink , fly , fold , give , go , go into , guide , hate , have sex , hear , hope , jump , kick , kiss , laugh , lead , let , love , look for , measure , pull , push , regret , reward , roll , run , see, shake , sleep , slip , smile , sneeze , start , station , stop , support , swim , talk about , taste , touch , walk , wash , whistle .

What Ogden did was this : he selected a minimal set of verbs,  come, get, give, go, keep, let, make, put, seem, take; be, do, have; say, see, send; may, will,  which could -- in conjunction with other words in Basic -- take the place of all the other verbs in the language.




English Through Pictures, Book II
Every statement or questions in this book has one or more of these sixteen words in it:


be
have
do
seem    

come    
go
put
take

give
get
keep    
let

make
send
see
say

The first of these words, "be", comes into more statements than any other. It goes like this:

 

Past  

Present  

Future

I

was

am

will be

He
She   }
It

was

is

will be

We
You   }
They

were  

are

will be

Here are the sixteen words. They go like this :

 

Past    

Present  

Future

I



We



You



They    

 

 

 

had

have

will have

did

do

will do

seemed    

seem

will seem

came

come

will come

went

go

will go

put

put

will put

took

take

will take

gave

give

will give

got

get

will get

kept

keep

will keep

let

let

will let

made

make

will make

sent

send

will send

saw

see

will see

said

say

will say


I

was

am

will be

We,You,They  

were

are

will be


 

Past    

Present  

Future

He



She    



It


 

 

 

had

has

will have

did

does

will do

seemed    

seems

will seem

came

comes

will come

went

goes

will go

put

puts

will put

took

takes

will take

gave

gives

will give

got

gets

will get

kept

keeps

will keep

let

lets

will let

made

makes

will make

sent

sends

will send

saw

sees

will see

said

says

will say

was

is

will be

 


The Universal Language Dictionary project had a useful arrangement of the rest of the verbs. These add color and complexity, if desired, that allow Basic English seem what we consider normal English with a limited number of words.

VERBS 
  be                           become
  cause                      make
  do                           have
  is/are able to ... [aux v pres]
ACTIVITY
  sleep *        awake  [aj]
  bite *                      have sex (with)
  cry out *     cry *
  drink *         jump *
  kick *                      kiss *
  laugh *                    run *
  smile *        sneeze *
  swim *                     taste *
  touch *                   walk *
 
HIERARCHY
control     *    let
 
BUSINESS
give                          reward     *
 
RELIGION, MIND
doubt       *   guide, lead  *
hate         *   hope       *
love          *  act        *
regret      *    look for   *
desire      *
 
COMMUNICATION
talk about  *  be a sign of

QUANTITY, DEGREE
measure     *
 
MOTION
come                         come across
go                             go into
slip         *     fly (move thru air)  *
 
TIME, SEQUENCE
start       *    stop       *
 
MATTER-Related ACTIONS
blow        *    burn        *
burst       *    crush       *
fold         *
pull               push
shake       *   wash        *
 
LIGHT
see
 
SOUND
hear   *         whistle    *
 
HEAT
attack      *
 
ASSORTED ABSTRACT
attack      *   make
damage      *  attempt    *
support     *

Starred (*) verb forms are, strictly speaking, used only as nouns:
instead of "I attempted to come", say, "I made an attempt to come."

The Jingulu language (Aborigine) is said to have only three verbs and all other actions are made from a verb and a noun. To sleep is "do a sleep." The Basic person will recognize this technique. What are the three verbs? Two sources have been found which differ a bit: Wiki says do, make, run. While "The Story of Human Language" says : do, go, come. Because do and make are similar, and go and come are opposites with the idea of move, which is similar to run, one may suspect the minimum number of verbs could be reduced to two -- with senses of create and move.

 


 

 

 

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