Chapter 2: Elements of Grammar: - Subject + Predicate
Chapter 2: Elements of Grammar: - Subject + Predicate
Chapter 2: Elements of Grammar: - Subject + Predicate
1. Parts of a sentence
- Subject + Predicate
+ Subject: What is being discussed (the theme of a sentence)
+ Predicate: Something new about the subject
→ It is a general characteristic and not a defining feature
→ The S determines concord (the relationship between words which determines whether
they should be singular or plural… and what the form of the verbal group should be)
→ The S is the part of a sentence that changes its position as we go from statement to
question.
- Operator, auxiliary, and predication
Sentence = Subject + auxiliary as operator + predication
This division helps to understand:
+ How interrogative and negative sentences are formed.
+ How certain adjuncts are positioned
+ How certain types of emphasis are achieved.
- Range of operators
+ Verb expression with several auxiliaries: first auxiliary acts as operator.
+ Verb expression with no auxiliary in positive declarative sentence: “do” is used when
operator is required.
+ Verb be and have acting as operator whether it is an auxiliary or not.
- Sentence elements: S, V, C, O, A
+ S, O, A have internal constituents of sentence (= dependent clause)
+ O: - direct object (Od)
- indirect object (Oi)
+ C: - subject complement (Cs)
- object complement (Co)
2. Categories of Verb
- Types of verb corresponding closely to the different types of O and C:
+ Intensive V: V + Cs
+ extensive V: - intransitive (no O, C)
- transitive (with O): - monotransitive (Od)
- ditransitive (Od and Oi)
- complex transitive (O and Co)
- Types of verb corresponding to aspectual contrast of “progressive” and “non-
progressive”
+ Stative (non-progressive)
+ Dynamic (progressive)
3. Categories of Adverbial
+ Time
+ Place
+ Process (progressive aspect)
4. Types of sentence struture (see diagram and examples in 2.10 )
5. Element realization types
+ Verb element: (always a verb phrase):
Finite: showing tense, mood, aspect, voice
Non-finite: showing aspect, voice only
+ S: realised by:
noun phrase (simplest form: pronoun)
a clause
+ Cs, Od, Co: realised by same range of structures as S
+ Cs, Co: also realised by adjective phrases
+ Oi realised chiefly by noun phrases and not realised by “that” clauses
+ A: realised by adverb phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases, clauses (finite/ non-
finite)
6. Parts of speech
+ Open-class items
Noun
Adjective
Adverb
Verb
+ Closed-system items
Article
Demonstrative
Pronoun
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection
+ Stative and dynamic
STATIVE noun ↔ adjective
↕ ↕
DYNAMIC verb ↔ adverb
Notes: Exceptions within the class of verbs: stative Vs
Exceptions in the other directions within the class of nouns and adjectives.
7. Pro-forms
‘one’ replaces a noun in a noun phrase
Pronouns replace noun phrases
Proforms for place, time, and other adverbials: there, then, so
‘so’ replaces – along with the pro-verb ‘do’ – a predication
The pro-predication is achieved by the operator alone
8. Questions and negation
+ Wh-questions
Pro-form = we know what this item refers to, so I need not state it in full
‘wh’forms = It has not been known what this item refers to and so it needs to be stated
in full
+ Negation and non-assertion
Sentence: - assertion:– possitive and declarative
- non-assertion: - interrogative: - positive
- negative
- negative
Simple Complex
progressive
Present Write am writing present
was writing past
perfective
have writen present perfect
Past Wrote had writen past perfect
perfective progressive
have been writing present perfect
had been writing past perfect
+ The future
b. Mood
+ The subjunctive mood: 3 categories of subjunctive:
The mandative subjunctive in that-clause has only one form, the base (V).
→ can be used with any verb in subordinate that-clauses when the main verb contains
an expression of recommendation, resolution, demand, and so on
→ occurs chiefly in formal style (in less formal contexts should or to-infinitive is
used)
The formulaic subjunctive: consists of the base (V) but is only used in
clauses in certain expressions which have to be learnt as whole,
The subjunctive were: hypothetical in meaning; used in conditional and
concessive clauses and in subordinate clauses after optative verbs like wish
+ Modal past
+ The uses of the modal auxiliaries: (see 3.48-53)
+ The modal and aspect
When the modal expresses ‘ability’ or ‘permission’ and when shall or will express
‘volition’ → the perfective and progressive aspects are excluded but are used with other
modal meanings (possibility, necessity, prediction).
Chapter 4: Nouns, Pronouns, and the Basic Noun Phrase
1. The concept of the basic noun phrase:
Nouns with articles or other closed-system items that can occur before the noun
head, such as predeterminers like all
2. Proper nouns and common nouns
3. Types of N:
- non-count N
- singular (count) N
- plural (count) N
4. Determiners
A determiner is a word used before a noun to select which instance of the N you are
talking about or to identify it.
With respect to their co-occurrence with the noun classes, there are 6 classes of
determiners:
a. Co-occurring with 3 classes:
‘the’, ‘possessive: my, our…’, ‘whose’, ‘which’, ‘what’, ‘some’, ‘any’ (stressed), ‘no’
b. with plural and non-coun N:
zero article, ‘some’, ‘any’ (unstressed), enough
c. with singular and non-count N:
‘this’, ‘that’ (demonstrative)
d. with plural N: ‘these’, ‘those’
e. with singular N:
‘a(n)’, ‘every’, ‘each’, ‘either’, ‘neither’
f. with non-count N: ‘much’
5. Predeterminers:
a. all, both, half
- singular N: half, all
- plural N: half, all, both
- non-count N: half, all
Can occur only before articles or demonstratives but since they are
quantifiers, they do not occur with such quantitative determiners as
‘every’, ‘(n)either’, ‘each’, ‘some’, ‘any’, ‘no’, ‘enough’
Have ‘of’ constructions, which are optional with Ns and obligatory with
personal pronouns
Can be used pronominally.
‘all’ and ‘both’ can occur after the head, either immediately or within the
predication
‘both’, ‘either’, ‘neither’ refer to 2 (both is emphatic compared with 2)
‘all’ is rare with singular concrete Ns though less rare with contrastive stress
Before certain singular temporal Ns, esp in adjunct phrases, ‘all’ is used with
zero article
There is also an adverbial ‘half’ which occurs in familiar emphatic negation
and can precede ‘enough’
b. ‘double’, ‘twice’, ‘three/four… times’
Occur with non-count and plural Ns, and with singular Ns denoting number, amount,
etc…
Three, four, … times and once + a, every, each, per (less commonly) to form
‘distributive’ expressions with a temporal N as head
Fractions (1/3, 2/5 …) can occur with all types of N and have ‘of’ construction.
6. Postdeterminers
+ Numerals: - cardinal numbers
- ordinal numbers
+ Ordinals usually precede cardinal numbers
+ General ordinals (next, last …) may be used freely before or after cardinals according
to the meaning required.
7. Quantifiers
+ with plural count Ns: ‘many’, ‘(a) few’, ‘several’
+ with non-count Ns: ‘much’, ‘(a) little’
+ Phrasal quantifiers
- ‘plenty of’, ‘a lot of’, ‘lots of’ + plural and non-count Ns
- ‘a great deal/good deal of’, ‘a large/small quantity/amount of’ + non-count
Ns
- a great/large/good number of + plural Ns
+ Phrasal quantifiers provide a means of imposing countability on non-count Ns:
a. general partitives
b. typical partitives
a slice cake
a roast meat
a few loaves of bread
a boul soup
a bottle wine
c. measures
a pint beer
a spoonful of medicine
a pound butter
c. Transformational relations
One way of distinguishing various types is by meas of transformational relations
or relations of grammatical paraphrase.
- SVOd ↔ SVA
- SVOdCo ↔ SVCsA
- SVOdA ↔ SVAA
- SVOO ↔ SVOA
- SV ↔ SVC
- SV ↔ SCA
- SVC ↔ SVA
English prefers to avoid the plain SV pattern where alternatives are available
d. Intensive relationship
e. Multiple class membership of verbs
One V can belong to a number of different classes → can enter into a number of
different clause types
f. Clause elements syntatictically defined
- A subject
+ is normally a NP or a clause with nominal function
+ occurs before the VP in declarative clause; immediately after the operator
in questions
+ has number and person concord, where applicable, with the VP
- An object (direct and indirect)
+ like an S, is a NP or clause with nominal function
+ normally follows the S and the VP
+ by the passive transformation, assumes the status of S
+ An Oi precedes the Od, and is semantically equivalent to a prep phrase
- A complement (S or O)
+ is a NP, an Adj phrase, or a clause with nominally function, having a co-
referential relation with the S (or O)
+ follows the S, VP, and O
- An adverbial
+ is an adverb phrase, advertial clause, NP, or prep. Phrase
+ is generally mobile
+ is generally optional.
g. Clause elements semantically considered
+ Agentive, affected, receipient, attribute