THE HANDBOOK OF GRAMMAR I

UNIT I

-2023-
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A. LINGUISTICS

General overview

Preface_The Handbook of linguistics: Mark Aronoff and Janie Reees-Miller 2

“Linguistics is the science of language. It is the subject whose practitioners devote their energy to understanding
why human language is the way it is. They study the history, acquisition, structure, and use of as many languages
as possible.”
Professor David Crystal
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/linguistics/home/all-about-linguistics/about-website/branches-linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of language, and its focus is the systematic investigation of the properties of
particular languages as well as the characteristics of language in general. It encompasses not only the study of
sound, grammar and meaning, but also the history of language families, how languages are acquired by children
and adults, and how language use is processed in the mind and how it is connected to race and gender. With
close connections to the humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences, linguistics complements a diverse
range of other disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, biology, computer science,
health sciences, education and literature. The subfield of Applied Linguistics emphasizes the use of linguistic
concepts in the classroom to help students improve their ability to communicate in their native language or a
second language.

https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/linguistics/about/what-is-linguistics.html

Branches of linguistics

Preface_The Handbook of linguistics: Mark Aronoff and Janie Reees-Miller

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The work of linguists falls into two main areas: language structure and language use.

Linguists interested in language structure consider the formal properties of language, including word structure
(morphology), sentence structure (syntax), speech sounds and the rules and patterns between them
(phonetics and phonology), and meaning in language (semantics and pragmatics).

Linguists also study the way that language is used, and this can cover a very broad range of subjects, since
language enters almost every area of human activity. Examples include: psycholinguistics (the psychology of
language acquisition and use); historical linguistics and the history of languages; applied linguistics (using
linguistic knowledge to help in real-world situations like language teaching); sociolinguistics, varieties of
English, discourse analysis and conversation analysis (language use in social contexts) and stylistics (the use of
different styles in language).

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/linguistics/home/all-about-linguistics/about-website/branches-linguistics

Language structure

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 Speech sounds and the rules and patters between them: Phonetics and phonology

Main Difference – Phonetics vs Phonology

Phonetics and phonology are two subfields of linguistics which studies the sounds in language. Since
both these fields are related to the production of sound, many people do not understand the difference
between phonetics and phonology. The main difference between phonetics and phonology is
that phonetics is the study of speech sounds whereas phonology is the study of sounds,
especially different patterns of sounds in different languages.

What is Phonetics
Phonetics is the study and classification of speech sounds. It is concerned with the physical properties
of speech sounds, including their physiological production, acoustic properties, and auditory perception.
Basically, phonetics studies how sounds are produced, transmitted and received. Based on these three
primary functions, phonetics can be classified into three subcategories: articulatory phonetics, acoustic
phonetics, and auditory phonetics. Articulatory phonetics studies the production of speech sounds by
the articulatory and vocal tract of the speaker. Acoustic phonetics studies the physical transmission
of speech sounds from the speaker to the listener whereas auditory phonetics studies the reception
and perception of speech sounds by the listener.

What is Phonology
Phonology is the system of contrastive relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the
fundamental components of a language. In simple words, phonology is the study of sounds, especially
different patterns of sounds in different languages. It studies how sounds are combined together to
form words and how sounds alternate in different languages. Phonology also studies the inventory of
sounds and their features in a language and the pragmatics rules which specify how sounds interact
with each other. Phonology is also involved in the history and theory of sound changes in a language
or in two or more related languages.

https://pediaa.com/difference-between-phonetics-and-phonology/

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 Word structure: Morphology

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The Handbook of linguistics: Mark Aronoff and Janie Reees-Miller

Morphology_Andrew Spencer

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 Sentence structure: Syntax

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 The Handbook of linguistics: Mark Aronoff and Janie Reees-Miller

Syntax_Mark C. Baker

Syntax in English is the arrangement of words and phrases in a specific order. If you change the position

of even one word, it’s possible to change the meaning of the entire sentence. All languages have
specific rules about which words go where, and skilled writers can manipulate these rules to make

sentences sound more poignant or poetic.

When it comes to language, syntax is an advanced topic, which can make it difficult to understand. In

this guide, we discuss the basic rules and types of syntax so you can communicate effectively, including

some syntax examples. First, let’s start with a more thorough syntax definition.

What is syntax in linguistics?

Not to be confused with syntax in programming, syntax in linguistics refers to the arrangement of words

and phrases. Syntax covers topics like word order and grammar rules, such as subject-verb

agreement or the correct placement of direct and indirect objects.

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Syntax is essential to understanding constituency, the term for multiple words acting as a single unit.

In long and complex sentences, constituency is necessary to determine the hierarchy within the

sentence, particularly with sentence diagramming.

Just how important is syntax in English? Changing the placement of a word often changes the meaning

of the sentence. Sometimes the change is minor, useful for writers who like nuance and subtext, but

sometimes the change is more significant, giving the entire sentence a whole new interpretation.

To see for yourself, look at the syntax examples below. Notice how moving the word only changes the

meaning of the entire sentence. Keep in mind that only can be an adjective or an adverb; adjectives

modify the nouns that come after them, and adverbs modify the verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs that

come after them.

Only Batman fights crime.

Meaning: Batman is the only person who fights crime. No one except Batman fights crime, not even

Superman.

Batman only fights crime.

Meaning: Fighting crime is the only thing Batman does. He doesn’t work, he doesn’t shower—fighting

crime is all he does.

Batman fights only crime.

Meaning: Batman doesn’t fight anything except crime. He doesn’t fight Alfred or Robin; he doesn’t fight

the dry cleaner if they accidentally stain his shirt. Crime is the only thing he fights.

The basic rules of syntax in English

If you want to get technical with the English language, there are dozens of rules about syntax you can
study. However, these can get confusing, and some require an expert understanding of English, so

below we list only the five basic rules of syntax in English, which are enough for constructing simple

sentences correctly.
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1 All sentences require a subject and a verb. However, imperative sentences (commands) do not need

to include their subject because it’s assumed to be the person the sentence is directed at.

2 A single sentence should include one main idea. If a sentence includes two or more ideas, it’s best

to break it up into multiple sentences.

3 The subject comes first, and the verb comes second. If the sentence has objects, they come third,

after the verb.

4 Subordinate clauses (dependent clauses) also require a subject and verb. Below we explain more

about how to use subordinate clauses in sentence structure.

5 Adjectives and adverbs go in front of the words they describe. If there are multiple adjectives

describing the same noun, use the proper adjective order, known as the “Royal Order.”

Learning these fundamentals is the first step in understanding syntax. After that, you’ll be able to tackle

more advanced topics, like the types of syntax.

Types of syntax: 7 syntactic patterns with syntax examples

Before we get into sentence structures, let’s discuss syntactic patterns. In English, syntactic patterns
are the acceptable word orders within sentences and clauses. Depending on what kinds of words you

want to use, such as indirect objects or prepositional phrases, there is a specific order in which to place

them all.

We’ve already talked about subjects and verbs, as well as direct objects and indirect objects, on our

blog, but before we get to the syntactic patterns, we first need to

explain complements and adverbials.

Complements are words or phrases that describe other words in a sentence or clause. The difference
between complements and other modifiers is that complements are necessary for the meaning of
a sentence and cannot be removed.

There are three types of complements: subject complements, object complements, and adverbial
complements. Subject complements describe the subject (That test was hard.), object complements
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describe the object (That test made me angry.), and adverbial complements describe the verb (That

test took longer than usual.)

Adverbials aren’t always complements, however. While adverbial complements are necessary for a

sentence’s meaning, another kind of adverbial, modifier adverbials, can be removed without changing
the meaning. Adverbials are usually composed of single adverbs (We ran quickly.), prepositional

phrases (We ran in the park.), or noun phrases that relate to time (We ran this morning.).

Be careful not to confuse adverbials with adverbial clauses, which are more involved and include their

own subjects and verbs.

Now let’s look at the seven types of syntactic patterns so you can make proper sentences and clauses

with whatever words you want.

1 Subject → verb

The dog barked.

This is the standard syntactic pattern, including the minimum requirements of just a subject and verb.

The subject always comes first.

2 Subject → verb → direct object

The dog carried the ball.

If the verb is transitive and uses a direct object, the direct object always goes after the verb.

3 Subject → verb → subject complement

The dog is playful.

The subject complement comes after the verb. Subject complements always use linking verbs,
like be or seem.
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4 Subject → verb → adverbial complement

The dog ate hungrily.

Like subject complements, adverbial complements come after the verb (if there are no objects). Be

careful, because single adverbs can sometimes come before the verb; however, these are
not complements. If you’re not sure whether an adverb is a complement or not, try removing it from

the sentence to see if the meaning changes. If you find that removing it does change the meaning, it’s

an adverbial complement.

5 Subject → verb → indirect object → direct object

The dog gave me the ball.

Some sentences have both a direct object and an indirect object. In this case, the indirect object

comes right after the verb, and the direct object comes after the indirect object. Keep in mind that
objects of prepositions do not follow this pattern; for example, you can say, The dog gave the ball to

me.

6 Subject → verb → direct object → object complement

The dog made the ball dirty.

Object complements come after the direct object, similar to other complements.

7 Subject → verb → direct object → adverbial complement

The dog perked its ears up.

When the sentence uses both a direct object and an adverbial complement, the direct object comes
first, followed by the adverbial complement. In this syntax example, up is the adverbial complement

because it describes how the dog perked its ears.

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Types of syntax: 4 sentence structures with syntax examples

The syntactic patterns above can be used to form stand-alone sentences and individual clauses

within a sentence. Both independent and subordinate clauses can be mixed and matched to form

advanced sentences, which is ideal if you want to learn how to write better sentences.

There are only four types of sentence structures, which represent different combinations of

independent and subordinate clauses.

1 Simple: Includes the minimum requirements for a sentence, with just a single independent clause.

We go to the beach in summer.

2 Complex: An independent clause combined with one or more subordinate clauses.

We go to the beach in summer when school is finished.

3 Compound: Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

We go to the beach in summer, but my cat stays home.

4 Compound-complex: Two independent clauses combined with one or more subordinate clauses.

We go to the beach in summer, but my cat stays home because he doesn’t own a swimsuit.

We recommend using a variety of sentence structures to improve your paragraph structure. Using the

same sentence structure over and over in a paragraph is technically acceptable, but it can be a little

boring for the reader. For this reason, it’s a good idea to consider syntax early on, even when writing
an outline.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/syntax/

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 Meaning in language: Semantics and Pragmatics

Key Difference – Semantics vs Pragmatics

Although both semantics and pragmatics are two branches of linguistics that are related to the meaning
of language, there is a major difference between the two. Knowing the difference between semantics
and pragmatics can help clear the misunderstandings and miscommunication in language. Semantics
is involved with the meaning of words without considering the context whereas pragmatics analyses
the meaning in relation to the relevant context. Thus, the key difference between semantics and
pragmatics is the fact that semantics is context independent whereas pragmatic is context
dependent.

What is Semantics?

Semantics is a discipline in linguistics that analyses the meaning of words in the language. It only deals
with text and analyses the meaning of words and how they are used to form meaningful contexts. The
study of semantics does not take context into consideration; it is only concerned with grammar and
vocabulary and conceptual meaning of a word. The meaning of a sentence remains constant whenever
a certain expression is uttered. Thus, it can be said that semantics only analyses what that particular
expression mean in a very general sense. Semantics has a narrow scope since it only deals with
meaning.

What is Pragmatics?

Pragmatics, in contrast, is a broad field which analyses the context in addition to grammar, vocabulary
and conceptual meaning. Instead of examining what the expression means, this field studies what the
speaker means in using a certain word or expression. They consider different factors surrounding the
utterance such as the speaker’s intended meaning, contextual factors, and listener’s inferences in order
to interpret the utterance. In simple words, pragmatics deal with what is implied in an utterance.

Example:

I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

If we examine this utterance semantically, we’d only be concerned with the conceptual meaning,
grammar, vocabulary, and the literal meaning.
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However, if we are to examine this utterance in pragmatics, we’d also examine the context and what
the speaker is trying to imply from this utterance. Is the speaker really going to eat a horse? Or is he
trying to imply that he is extremely hungry? Is the speaker making a general comment? Or is he
asking for food by this comment? Then we’d understand that the meaning of this sentence cannot be
taken in a literal sense.

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-semantics-and-vs-pragmatics/

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B. GRAMMAR

What is grammar?
Grammar is partly the study of what forms (or structures) are possible in a language. Traditionally,
grammar has been concerned almost exclusively with analysis at the level of sentence. Thus, a
grammar is s description of the rules that govern how language’s sentences are formed.

Grammar is conventionally seen as the study of the syntax and morphology of sentences. Put another
way, it is the study of linguistics chains and slots. That is, it is the study both of the way words are
chained together in a particular order, and also of what kinds of words can slot into any one link in the
chain.

How to Teach Grammar: Scott Thornbury

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Oxford Guide to English Grammar: John Eastwood

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Grammar for English Language Teachers: Martin Parrot

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