al action).
If only he lived! (Subjunctive II, simultaneousness, unreal action)
The meaning of each necessary grammatical abstraction makes itself clear only in the course of its usage.
Compare also the following patterns with the verb should
Had I known about it, I should have come yesterday. (Should + Infinitive II used with reference to a non-fact).
That science in the USSR should have attained so high a level of development is but natural (should + Infinitive II expressing a real action in the past with special emphasis laid upon its realisation).
The variety of meaning as potentially implicit in a grammatical form, we naturally associate with the development of synonymy in grammar.
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8. Synonymy in Grammar
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Synonymic forms in grammar are not exactly alike, they commonly have fine shares of difference in style and purpose, and students need to be alive to these differences. There is always selection in the distribution of grammatical forms in actual speech. They must harmonise with the context as appropriate to a given situation.
The change in synonymous grammatical forms is often a change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different. Even a slight alteration in the grammatical device can subtly shift the meaning of the utterance. Examine the following sentence:
"... Have you been wounding him? "
"It is my misfortune to be obliged to wound him" , said Clara.
"Quite needlessly, my child, for marry him you must". (Dreiser)
Ellen had wrung her hands and counseled delay, in order that Scarlett might think the matter over at greater length. But to her pleadings, Scarlett turned a sullen face and a deaf ear. Marry she would! And quickly, too. Within two weeks. (Mitchell)
Cf.: Marry she would! and She would marry.
We cannot fail to see that there is a marked difference in style between the two verb forms: the former is neutral, the latter is highly expressive.
Similarly:
"But, no matter - when her foot healed she would walk to Jonesboro. It would be the longest walk she had ever taken in her life, but walk it she would ". (Mitchell)
Cf.: walk it she would в†’ she would walk it
As synonyms in grammar express different shades of the grammatical meaning, one should be careful in the choice of the right forms, the best to convey the subtler nuances of that meaning.
Knowledge of synonymic differentiation between the grammatical forms permits a systematic, objective investigation and description of style.
With regard to the methodology employed in our description of synonymy in grammar there are certain observations which are pertinent tо a summary statement. It will be helpful to distinguish between a) paradigmatic synonyms and b) contextual synonyms or synonyms by function in speech.
In English morphology synonyms of the first group are very few in number. Such are, for instance, synthetical and analytical forms in the Subjunctive and Suppositional Mood, e. g.:
... ' I now move, that the report and accounts for the year 1886 be received and adopted ". (Galsworthy)
(be received and adopted = should be received and adopted)
Paradigmatic synonyms with similarity in function and structural features may also be exemplified by the following:
Non-emphatic Emphatic
Present Indefinite
I know
I do know
He knows
He does know
Past indefinite
I knew
I did know
Imperative Mood
Come
Do come
Analytical verbal forms with the intensive do can express a whole variety of subjective modal meanings: pleasure, admiration, affection, surprise, anger, mild reproach, encouragement, admonition, etc., e. g.
Oh! darling, don't ache! I do so hate it for you. (Galsworthy) There was so much coming and going round the doors that they did not like to enter. Wh...
