Cursul de Sintaxa Engleza

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Cursul de sintaxa urmareste întelegerea principiilor majore care stau la baza structurii propozitiei engleze. Abordarea analizei sintactice in prima parte a cursului predata studentilor, se axeaza pe sintaxa transformationala  , în care fenomenele sintactice sunt descrise pornind de la regulile de structurare a locutiunilor verbale, substantivale, adjectivale, prepozitionale, adverbiale (' Phrase Structu re Rules  '), respectiv a propozitiilor (' Sentence Rules  '). Aceste structuri de adâncime (' D-Structures)   sunt secondate de structuri de suprafata ("I nversio n, Wh-Movem ent  '). Aspectele teoretice abordate în cadrul cursului sunt urmate de exercitii aplicative, care constituie un suport real în constientizarea analizei sintactice la nivel de locutiune si propozitie realizata prin construirea de structuri arborescente (' branching trees  '). Cursul cuprinde si o terminologie de specialitate pentru a facilita accesul studentilor la întelegerea atât de complexei analize sintactice abordata în stil modern, din perspectiva sintaxei transformationale. PART ONE PART ONE: SYNTAX MOTTO: "Before we take to sea we walk on land  Before we create we must understand." 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m  LINGUISTICS is the discipline that studies the  nature and use of language, i.e. its system of rules and categories.   BRANCHES OF LINGUISTICS: 1. PHONETICS studies the sounds  of language 2. PHONOLOGY studies the function and patterning of sounds  3. MORPHOLOGY deals with the analysis of word structure.  

Transcript of Cursul de Sintaxa Engleza

Cursulde sintaxa urmareste ntelegerea principiilor majore care stau la baza structurii propozitiei engleze. Abordarea analizei sintactice in prima parte a cursului predata studentilor, se axeaza pesintaxa transformationala, n care fenomenele sintactice sunt descrise pornind de la regulile de structurare a locutiunilor verbale, substantivale, adjectivale, prepozitionale, adverbiale ('Phrase Structure Rules'), respectiv a propozitiilor ('Sentence Rules').Aceste structuri de adncime ('D-Structures)sunt secondate de structuri de suprafata("Inversion, Wh-Movement').Aspectele teoretice abordaten cadrul cursului sunt urmate de exercitii aplicative, care constituie un suport real n constientizarea analizei sintactice la nivel de locutiune si propozitie realizata prin construireade structuri arborescente('branching trees').Cursul cuprinde si o terminologie de specialitate pentru a facilita accesul studentilor la ntelegerea att de complexeianalizesintactice abordata n stil modern, din perspectiva sintaxei transformationale.PART ONEPART ONE:SYNTAXMOTTO:"Before we take to sea we walk on landBefore we create we mustunderstand." 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m LINGUISTICSis the discipline that studies thenatureand use of language, i.e. its system of rules and categories.BRANCHES OF LINGUISTICS:1.PHONETICSstudies thesoundsof language2.PHONOLOGYstudies the function and patterning of sounds3.MORPHOLOGYdealswith the analysis of word structure.4.SYNTAXdeals with the analysis ofsentence structure.5.SEMANTICSdeals with the analysis of meaning.SYNTAXis a component of grammar that deals with the system of rules and categories that underliessentenceformationin human language, i.e. with the manner in which words arecombinedto form various types of sentences.Thepreciserules forsentence formationdiffer from language to language. However, the samegeneral types of devicesare used in the analysis of sentence formation. They are:syntactic categoriesphrase structure rulestransformationsTransformational syntaxis an approach to syntactic analysis in which syntactic phenomena are described in terms ofphrase structure rulesandtransformations.SYNTACTIC CATEGORIESshow how words are grouped together into a relatively small number ofclasses(nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, numerals, pronouns, interjections, and conjunctions). A word's syntactic category can be determined according to:a)the type ofmeaningthe word expresses;b)the type ofaffixesthat it takes, i.e. inflection;c)the type ofstructuresin which it can occur, also calleddistribution.A potential source of confusion stems from the fact that some items can belong tomore than one syntactic category:e.g.The child stoodnearthe fence.(preposition)The runnersnearedthe finishing line. (verb)The end isnearerthan you might think.(adjective)a)according tomeaning, a word is a:-noun: when it denotes entities and objects, e.g.Mark, desk*abstract nouns, e.g.happiness, truth-verb: when it designates: - actions, e.g.run, jump 12412c221m 12412c221m -sensations, e.g.feel, hurt- states, e.g.have, remain-adjective: when it designates properties and attributes of the entities denoted by nouns, e.g.ahighmountain-adverb:when it denotes properties and attributes of the actions, sensations and states denoted by verbs, e.g.Tom walkedslowly.b)according toaffixes, i.e.inflection:-nouns: plural - s, e.g.teacher-teachers*knowledge, news, advice, money, luggage, etc.-verbs: -ed, e.g.start-started-ing, e.g.feel-feeling-adjectives: comparative/superlative forms, e.g. taller, tallest-adverbs: -ly, e.g.happily, slowly*hardlyc)according tostructures, i.e. distribution:-nounscan typically appear witha determiner:aclerk-verbscan typically appear withan auxiliary:hasleft-adjectivescan typically appear witha degree word:veryrichPHRASE STRUCTURE RULES:Sentences are not formed by simply stringing words together like beads on a necklace. Rather, sentences have a hierarchical design in which words are grouped together into successively larger structural units. Suchsyntactic unitscan be built aroundnouns,verbs,adjectives,adverbsandprepositions. They are calledphrases. Consequently, there are:Noun Phrases (NP)Verb Phrases (VP)Adjective Phrases (AP)Adverb Phrases (AdvP)Prepositional Phrases (PP)Phrases are built around aHead,which is at the word level:A nounfor a NPA verbfor a VPAn adjectivefor an APAn adverbfor an AdvPA prepositionfor a PPPhrases can consist of justone word, i.e.the head of the phrase:E.g.(he likes)catsNP 12412c221m (all cats)eatVP 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m V 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m (she is)sureAP(he went)inPP 12412c221m 12412c221m A 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m P(he left)earlyAdv 12412c221m 12412c221m Adv 12412c221m In addition to the head of the phrase, phrases can also include asecond word, which is calledspecifier. Specifiers are placedbeforethe head of the phrase. The syntactic category of specifiers (determiner, qualifier, degree word) differs depending on the category of the head of the phrase. Thus:a)determinersare specifiers ofnouns, e.g.a/an, the, this that, these, those, no, his, her, my, your, their, etc.b)qualifiersare specifiers ofverbs, e.g.never, ever, always, perhaps, also,etc.c) degree wordsare specifiers ofadjectivesandsome prepositions, e.g.very, quite, more, almost.In more complex phrases the head of the phrase can be preceded by specifiers and followed by athird word, which is calledcomplement. Complements are placedafterthe head of the phrase. They provide information about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head. They are alsophrases. A verb can haveone, two or more complements.E.g.NP - thebooksabout the warVP - neverleavea friendAP - quitecertainabout MaryPP - almostinthe houseAdvP -earlytowardshomeComplement options.The termsubcategorizationis used to refer to information about a word's complement options (See Appendix) Thanks to subcategorization information, heads occur only in tree structures where they have compatible complement phrases.a)Transitive verbs must be followed by an object. The object is usually the thing or person affected by the action. We can use intransitive verbs without an object:E.g.Dominickickedthe ball. When he fell flat on his back, Ilaughed.b)We can use some verbs both transitively and intransitively, sometimes with different meanings:E.g.After the match, he went home andwalkedthe dog.Hewalkedback from the penalty spot looking sheepish.c)After transitive verbs we can use noun phrases or clauses:E.g.I like the topic.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP)I like what he is talking about.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + CP)d)Some transitive verbs can have two objects (complements), the first of which is usually a personal object:E.g.Harry gaveme a call.S = NP + Infl + VP (NP + NP)e)With some verbs, we can use either two objects (i.e. complements) or an object + prepositional phrase:E.g.I sentyou the package.S = NP + Infl + NP (NP + NP)I sentthe package to you.S = NP + Infl + NP (NP + PP)f)We can follow some intransitive verbs with prepositional phrases or words referring to place or time:E.g.It occursto methat my licence is due for renewal soon.S = NP +Infl + VP (V + PP)They are comingtomorrow.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + QUAL)g)We can follow link verbs, e.g.seem, sound, be,with adjectives and noun phrases:E.g.I ama little nervousabout the concert.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + AP + PP)The whole thing seemsa waste oftimeto me.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP +PP)h)Prepositional phrases usually begin with a preposition which may not be connected with the preceding noun, verb or adjective:E.g.I arrived at the checkoutout of breath.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + PP + PP)I find his arrogancebeyond belief.S = NP + Infl + VP (V NP + PP)i)After some verbs we useas +NP:E.g.He is going tostand down asPresident at the next election.S = NP + Infl + VP (V + NP + PP)To sum up what has been said so far,the phrase structure templateshows as follows: 12412c221m 12412c221m XPX = N, V, A, Adv, P.Specifier 12412c221m 12412c221mComplement 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m X 12412c221m HeadWe can see from the template above that the five different phrase types share structural properties.THE SENTENCE(S)is the largest unit of syntactic analysis. Sentences are formed by combining aNP(often called thesubject) with aVP(often called thepredicate).So theS RULEis: 12412c221m S = NP+VPIf we compare the structure of a phrase with the structure of a sentence we can conclude the following:The two structures (phrase and sentence) are similar inform:NP = SpecifierVP = ComplementHead = Inflection (past or non-past)TheHeadposition being obligatory is taken at the level of the sentence by an abstract category,INFL (Inflection)which accounts for the fact that all sentences of English have tense (past /non-past).Auxiliaries(e.g.will, can, may), when present are used instead of the Infl category.So thesentencecan be shown like that:InflP = SS = NP + Infl + VPWhole sentence-like constructions can function ascomplements:E.g.The doctor knowsthat his patient will recover.S = NP + VP (V + S)Words such asthat, if, whetherare known ascomplementizers (Cs).They introduce an S complement forming theCP (complemetizer phrase).In aCP, the complementizer (C)functions as thehead, whilethe sentence (S)functionsasthecomplementof the CP.E.g.that his patient will recover: 12412c221m S =CP = C + SThe doctor knows that his patient will recover: 12412c221m S = NP + VP (V + CP)In conclusion, the phrase structure rule (XP rule) determines the architecture of a sentence's DEEP STRUCTURE. This structure can be visualised by assigning to sentences an appropriate tree structure.E.g.The man repaired the car. 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m NP 12412c221m InflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m PstDet 12412c221m NV 12412c221m NPThe 12412c221m manrepairedthe carAccording to the syntactic analysis presented here the words that make up a sentence form intermediate structural units called phrases. Words are grouped together into phrases, called syntactic units orconstituents(the man, repaired, the car). The existence of constituents within sentences can be verified with the help of3 (three) special tests:1.The substitution test:NPs are syntactic units or constituents because they can be replaced by an element such asthey, it, do so.It is the same for VPs, PPs, etc.E.g.The studentsleft when they finished the classes.NP = thestudents= theyE.g.The students willleave the hallif the teachers will do so.VP =leavethe hall = do soE.g.They leftfor the mountainsand we lefttheretoo.PP =forthe mountains = there2.The movement test:a constituent can be moved as a single unit to a different position within the sentence.E.g.For the mountainsthey left / They leftfor the mountains.3.The co-ordination test:Patterns built arounda conjunction (and, or, but)are called co-ordinate structures. Co-ordinate structures can link only structures of the same type: NP + NP; VP + VP; AP + AP; PP + PP. A group of words forms a constituent if it can be joined to another group of words by such a conjunction.E.g.Mary is keen on calculusbuttired of chemistry. 12412c221m AP + but + APCOMPLEMENT CLAUSES =sentence-like constructions that are embedded within larger structures.E.g.Tom told Marythat he loved her.In the above example 'Tom told Mary that he loved her' is calledthe matrix clause, while 'that he loved her' is calleda complement clause.There is no limit on the number of embedded clauses that can occur in a sentence:E.g.The teacher said that there was a student that another student reported that.S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInfl VPPstCP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NP InflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221mNP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mS 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mPst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m CPDetNVCN VDetNCDetNVCThe teacher said that there was a student that another student reported that.A CP may serve as a complement to a V, N, A, Adv, or a P:E.g.Hesaidthat he was rightThey lackproof(that) he was rightHe wascertainthat he was rightThey talkedaboutwhether he was right 12412c221m SNP 12412c221m InflVP 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m CS 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPVP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m APN 12412c221m 12412c221m VNVA 12412c221m 12412c221m He 12412c221m saidhewasright 12412c221m 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m NCP 12412c221m Proofthat he was right 12412c221m 12412c221m AP 12412c221m ACP 12412c221m certainthat he was right 12412c221m 12412c221m PP

12412c221m PCP 12412c221m (talk) aboutwhether he was rightTRANSFORMATIONS= a type of syntactic rule that can move an element from one position to another.While phrase structure rules generate deep structures (D-structures), transformations generate surface structures (S-structures).There aretwo typesof transformations:A.Inversion(the sentence contains an auxiliary verb to the left of the sentence)B.Wh-Movement(the sentence begins with awh-word).A.Inversion=a transformation that moves Aux from its position within the VP to a position to the left of the subject, formulated as:Move Aux to C.Inversion in yes-no questions.Their syntactic analysis involves transformations in addition to the usual phrase structure rules.E.g.Can the boy jump over the fence?Can= Infl (Aux)the boy= NP (Det +N)jump over the fence= VP (V + PP)Stages:1.In order to determine the deep structure, we must 'return' the auxiliary verb to its position under Infl. Thus, the usual XP rule is used to form a structure in which the auxiliarycanoccupies its normal position in Infl (head position), between the subject (its specifier) and the VP (its complement). 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mD-structure 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m VPDetNInflVPP

Theboycanjumpover the fence2.In order to determine the surface structure (i.e. the question structure) a transformation known asinversionmoves the auxiliary from the Infl position to a position to the left of the subject:e.g. Will the boy ____ leave? 12412c221m 12412c221m S-structureInversionInversion: Move Infl to the left of the subject NPSince no position is available to the left of the subject for the auxiliary verbcanwe assume that sentences occur within larger CPs (complementizer phrases), whether they are embedded or not: 12412c221m CP 12412c221m CS(head)(complement)When embedded within a larger sentence, the CP can contain anovert complementizersuch asthatorwhether. Elsewhere, the C position in the CP shell is present but is simply left empty (O):E.g.I don't know whether she comes.CP =whether she comesC =whether 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S =she comes 12412c221m SNP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m VCNPNPstVPIdon'tknow whethershecomesE.g.I know (that) she comes. 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m SNP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m VP

12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mCP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPstN 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m VCNPInfl VPI 12412c221m 12412c221m know(that)shecomesRULE: Move Infl to C (empty position) 12412c221m CPC 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S

Infl 12412c221m NPInflVP

12412c221m DetN 12412c221m VWill 12412c221m theboyejump

Trace =the empty element, marked by the symbole, that is left in syntactic structure after an element has been moved (from the head position within S)NOTE:a)a transformation can change only an element's position.b)it does not change the categories of any wordsc)it cannot eliminate any part of the structural configuration created by the phrase structure rules:E.g.canretains its Infl label even though it is moved into the C position, and the position that it formerly occupied remains in the tree structure.Do Insertion(to form questions corresponding to sentences that contain no auxiliary).E.g.The students attended the lecture.STAGES:1.The usual XP rule gives the deep structure which contains no auxiliary verb in the Infl position. 12412c221m 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m C 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m Det 12412c221m NVDetNThestudentsattendedthelecture 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m Through transformation, the special interrogative auxiliary 'did' is inserted into the empty Infl position. 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m SC 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NP 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mNP

DetNInflVDetNThestudentsdidattend(ed) 12412c221m thelecture2.Inversion applies, moving interrogative'did' to the C position and giving the desired surface structure. 12412c221m CPC 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m NP 12412c221m VPInfl 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m NP

DetN 12412c221m VDetNDidthestudentseattendthelecture

B.1.Wh-Movement= a transformation that moves a wh-phrase to the beginning of the sentence: Move a wh-phrase to the specifier position under CP.E.g.Which book should he buy?NOTE:who/which/what= simple nounsWhich= determinerWh-phrase= fulfil the complement function (of a verb or preposition) in the sentence.Stages:1.Deep structure for the wh-question:He should buy which book 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m D-structure 12412c221m NP 12412c221m VP

12412c221m 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m NP 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m VDet 12412c221m NHeshouldbuywhichbookThrough transformation (Wh-movement) the wh-phrase is moved from its position in deep structure to a position at the beginning of the sentence.Wh-Movement: Move the wh-phrase to the beginning of the sentence.2.The desired question structure (S-structure) is formed by applying W-Movement and inversion to the deep structure.Which book should he ----- buy -----? 12412c221m InversionWh-MovementNOTE:The wh-phrase is moved to the specifier position under C. 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mS-structureNPC 12412c221m S 12412c221m NP 12412c221m VP 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m VWhich bookshould heebuye

12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m

Wh-Movement in sentences where the wh-word is the subject.E.g.Who called Tom?Since there is nothing for the subject wh-word to move over in such cases, there is no visible change in word order.e.g.Who-------------called Tom?Wh-Movement 12412c221m AMBIGUOUS SENTENCES:E.g.A.Who called Tom?(subject)B.Who did Tom call?(direct object)Surface structure:A.Who--------------called Tom?Wh movement 12412c221m CPNP 12412c221m C 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m VNWho 12412c221m e 12412c221m calledTom

B.Who did Tom----------call-----? 12412c221m 12412c221m Inversion 12412c221m 12412c221m Wh-MovementCPNPC 12412c221m S

12412c221m 12412c221m InflVP 12412c221m InflNP 12412c221m VNPWhodidTomecalle

OTHER STRUCTURAL PATTERNS1.Co-ordinate structures2.Modifier constructions3.Relative constructions4.Passive structuresNOTE: 1, 2, and 3 are employed by practitioners of transformational syntax.1.Co-ordinate structures= a phrase that is formed by joining two (or more) categories of the same type with a conjunction such as'and', 'or', 'but'.E.g.a mananda womanCo-ordination= the operation that groups together two or more categories of the same type with the help of a conjunction:Ns: the bookandcopy-bookVs: repairandpaint the housePs: upanddown the stairsAs: beautifulandexpensive dressAdvs: a beautifullyandsmartly-dressed womanNPs: a mananda womanVPs: go homeandread a bookPPS: on the deskandunder itAPs: quite beautifulandvery expensiveAdvPs: very calmlyandquite rapidlySs: The teacher entered the roomandthe studentsstood up.E.g.quite beautiful and very expensive 12412c221m 12412c221m APAP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m APDegAConDeg 12412c221m AQuitebeautifulandvery 12412c221m expensiveE.g.The teacher entered the room and the students stood up. 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m S 12412c221m Con 12412c221m SNPInflVPNPInflVP 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m VNPVPP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m The teacher enteredthe roomand the studentsstoodupThe Co-ordinate Structure Constraintdoes not allow an element to be removed from a co-ordinate structure.Island =a constituent that does not permit extraction of a component part:E.g.Dave and Pam;a poem or a story.The Co-ordination ruleis the phrase structure rule that states the composition of a co-ordinate structure:XnXn*Con XnXn= either an X or an XP can be co-ordinated* =one or more categories can occur to the left of the conjunctionE.g. a book, a copy-book and a pencil2.Modifier ConstructionsAmodifier= an optional element that describes a property of a head.E.g.thatbluecarthe bookthat Sue readRULE: we will attach modifiers at the XP level of phrase structure:E.g.a famous writer 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m APDETANAfamouswriterE.g.never listen attentively 12412c221m 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m AdvPQual 12412c221m V 12412c221m AdvNeverlistenattentivelyTypes of modifiers that can modify Ns or Vs:A.APs as modifiers of Ns:E.g.avery highbuilding 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m AP 12412c221m DetDegAN 12412c221m Avery 12412c221m highbuildingAPs as complements of Vs (become/seem)E.g.She seemedquite happy. 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mAP

12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221mVDegA 12412c221m 12412c221m SheseemedquitehappyB.AdvPs as modifiers of Vs:E.g.Sheleftearly. 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m NP 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m AdvPN 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m V 12412c221m She 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mleftearlyC.PPs as modifiers of Vs:D.E.g.He stayedfor two days. 12412c221m S

NP 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m VP 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mPP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m PNP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m V

He 12412c221m 12412c221m stayedfortwo daysSo, theRULEis:XP(Spec) (Mod) X (Complement*) (Mod)E.g.a happy couple 12412c221m (Spec) Xalways talk carefully 12412c221m (Mod) X (Mod)tell the news very rapidlyX (Complement) (Mod)3.Relative Clauses= a CP-sized modifier that provides information about the noun head to its left.E.g.the manthat Sue met.Like other modifiers, relative clauses occur withinthe same phraseas the head that they modify. 12412c221m 12412c221m CPNP 12412c221m C 12412c221m 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221mPstDetN 12412c221m 12412c221m N 12412c221m 12412c221m VThemanthatSue 12412c221m metThey resemble embedded wh-questions:a)They begin with a wh-word such as 'who'/ 'which'.b)There is an empty position within the sentence from which the wh-phrase has apparently been moved.e.g.She may read the book which Tom bought.SNP 12412c221m VP 12412c221m Infl 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m CP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m C 12412c221m S 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPInflVP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m PstN 12412c221m VDetNN 12412c221m VShemayreadthebookwhichTombought3.Passive Sentences= asentence in which the NP bearing the theme roleis encoded as subject.E.g.The report was written by the students.The transformational analysis of passives makes use of both deep structure and surface structure. In order to account for thematic role assignment, the NP that receives the theme role occurs as complement of the verb in deep structure while the NP that receives theagentrole, if present occurs as complement of the special preposition 'by'. A transformation then moves the NP bearing the theme role from its deep structure position to the subject position in surface structure, giving the correct final form of the sentence.E.g.The report was written by the students. (the agent role is suppressed or appears as complement of the preposition 'by'; the preposition 'by' assigns its agent role to its complement 'the students'): 12412c221m SNPInflVP 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m V 12412c221m NP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m V

12412c221m 12412c221m Waswrittenthe students 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m *

12412c221m 12412c221m * passive verb cannot assign agent roleIn the surface structure, a NP movement takes place:Move NP (bearing the theme role) from the direct object position to the subject position when the latter is empty. 12412c221m S 12412c221m VPInfl 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPPPNP 12412c221m 12412c221m VV 12412c221m PNP

The thiefwasarrestedebythe police

Thematic roles= the parts played by a particular entity in an event (agent, theme, source, goal, location)a)Agent= the thematic role of the doer of the action designated by the verb.E.g.the students(The report was written by the students)b)Theme= the thematic role of the entity directly affected by the action designated by the verb.E.g.the report(The report was written by the students)c)Source= the starting point for a movemente.g.from(He comes fromIndia)d)Goal= the end point for a movementE.g.to(He goes toIndia)e)Location= the place where an action occursE.g.London(He learned atLondon)It results that:Thematic roles are associated with each NP in a sentenceThematic roles are implied by their meanings:E.g.hit, walktofrom (e.g.the prepositions 'to' and 'from' assign a thematic role to their complement NP, 'India').PP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m PPP 12412c221m 12412c221m NPP 12412c221m NPFromIndia 12412c221m toIndia 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m

NOTE:Theme roles are assigned to the V's complement:E.g.He boughtthe present.Agent roles are assigned to the V's subject:E.g.Hebought the present.

So we have:He bought the present.

Verbs assign agent roles to their subject and theme roles to their complement:e.g.Heboughtthe present.In a passive construction a passive V cannot assign agent role:E.g.The present was given by him. 12412c221m < th> 12412c221m SNPInflVP 12412c221m Pst 12412c221m VP 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m 12412c221m NPPP

DetNVV 12412c221m PNPThepresentwasgivenebyhim

Thematic role assignment in awhquestion:E.g.What should the man bring?The man should bring what 12412c221m (role received by virtue of its position in Deep Structure, not Surface Structure, where it occurs at the beginning of the sentence)It results that a NP'sdeep structureposition determines its thematic role. The relevance of deep structure to the assignment of thematic roles is important fortwo reasons:1.It shows that syntactic structure not only represents the way in which words are organised into phrases, but also is relevant to semantic interpretation.2.The fact that a NP's position in deep structure determines its thematic role provides additional support for the existence of this underlying level of syntactic structure; there are at least two types of syntactic rules.

The fact that a NP's position in deep structure determines its thematic role provides additional support for the existence of this underlying level of syntactic structure; there are at least two types of syntactic rules.

ANNEXCOMPLEMENT OPTIONS FOR VERBS:e.g.NPProvedThe professor proved (NP the theorem)

0VanishThe child vanish

APBecomeThe man became (AP very angry)

PPDashThe dog dashed (PP to the door)

NP NPHandWe handed (NP the man) (NP a map)

PP PPTalkI talked (PP to a doctor) (PP about Sue)

COMPLEMENT OPTIONS FOR OTHER CATEGORIES (Ns, As, Ps).e.g.Complement options (Ns)Sample headsExample

PP PPPresentationthe presentation (PP of a medal) (PP to the winner)

Adjective complementsSample headsExample

OTallvery tall-

Preposition complementsSample headsExample

NPInin (NP the house)

EXERCISES1.Each of the following phrases consists of a specifier and a head. Draw the appropriate branching tree for each example:a)the zoob)always tryc)so wittyd)perhaps passe)less bleakf)this houseg)very competenth)quite cheapi)never surrenderj)those books2.The following phrases include a head, a complement, and (in some cases) a specifier. Draw the appropriate tree structure for each example.a)into the houseb)repaired the telephonec)full of mistakesd)more towards the windowe)a film about pollutionf)always study this materialg)perhaps earn the moneyh)that argument with Oweni)the success of the programme3.Draw phrase structure trees for each of the following sentences:a)Those guests should leave.b)Maria never ate the brownie.c)That shelf will fall.d)The glass broke.e)The student lost the debate.f)The manager may offer an incrementg)The judge often sentences shoplifters.h)The teacher often organised a discussion.i)A psychic will speak to this group.j)Marianne could become quite fond of Larry.4.Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences; Then, draw the appropriate branching tree structure for each sentence:a)The tutor told the students to study.b)Thecustomer asked for a cold beer.c)He have the Red Cross some money.d)The jet landed.e)A journalist wrote the article.f)Julie is tired of her job.5.Indicate the category of each word in the following sentences; Then, draw the appropriate branching tree structure for each sentence:a)That glass suddenly broke.b)A jogger ran towards the end of the lane.c)These dead trees might block the road.d)The detective hurriedly looked through the records.e)The peaches never appear quite ripe.f)Gillian will play the trumpet and the drums in the orchestra.6.Apply the substitution test to determine which of the bracketed sequences in the following sentences form constituents; Then draw appropriate branching trees for each sentence:a)[The tragedy] upset the entire family.b)They hid [the cave].c)The [computer was very] expensive.d)[The town square and the civic building] will be rebuilt.e)Jane [left town].f)The goslings [swam across] the lake.7.Apply the movement test to determine which of the bracketed sequences in the following sentences form constituents; Then draw appropriate branching trees for each sentence:a)We ate our lunch [near the river bank].b)Steve looked [up the number] in the book.c)The [island has been] flooded.d)I love [peanut butter and bacon sandwiches].e)The environmental [movement is gaining momentum].8.Lexical categories are divided into subcategories on the basis of their complements. For each of the following words, two potential complement options are given. For each of the words:i) Determine which one of the two options better matches the subcategorisation requirements of the verb, noun or adjective.ii) Justify your choice by creating a sentence using that complement option.Verb 12412c221m Optionsa)Expire or NP NPb)DestroyNP or c)ObserveNP or PPtoPPaboutd)DiscussNP or e)CleanNP PPforor NP NPf)MumbleNPor NP NPg)Throw or NP PPloch)PaintNP PPtoor NP PPforNoun 12412c221m Optionsa)DebatePPofPPtoor PPwithPPaboutb)Hammer or PP PPwithPPaboutc)SuccessPPofPPtoor PPofd)TransferPPwithPPaboutor PPofPPtoe)Sickness or PPwithPPaboutAdjectiveOptionsa)Strong or PPaboutb)sick 12412c221mNP or PPofc)boredPPwithor PPofd)knowledgeablePPto orPPaboute)smallPPof or9.The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as complements of a verb. Draw a tree structure for each sentence:a)The reporter said that an accident injured the boy.b)The fishermen think that the company polluted the bay.c)Barbara reported that a student asked whether the eclipse would occur.10. The following sentences all contain embedded clauses that function as complements of an adjective, a preposition or a noun. Draw a tree structure for each sentence:a)The police appeared happy that the criminal would surrender.b)That officer was sure that Gerry often speeds down the motorway.c)Anna wondered about whether the exam would cover that section.d)The jury will never believe the claim that the driver wrecked the Porsche.11.The derivations of the following sentences involve the inversion transformation. Give the deep structure and the surface structure for each sentence; Then draw a tree structure for each sentence:a)Will the boss hire Hilary?b)Can the dog bring the Frisbee?c)Should the student report the incident?d)Must the musician play that music?e)Is that player leaving the team?12. The following sentences involve the rules of Wh- Movement and inversion. Give the deep structure and the surface structure for each of these sentences. Then draw a tree structure for each sentence:a)Who should the director call?b)Who should call the director?c)What is Joanne eating?d)Who will those immigrants live with?e)What might Chris bake for the party?f)What was Anne bringing to the gathering?13.The following sentences contain modifiers of various types. For each sentence, first identify the modifier(s), then draw the tree structures:a)A large iguana suddenly appeared.b)The headteacher made an important announcement after the class.c)An unusual event occurred before the game.d)The very hazardous waste seeped into the ground quickly.e)A huge moon hung in the black sky.f)Timothy drew an enormous map during the afternoon.14.Each of the following sentences contains a relative clause. Draw the deep structure and the surface structure trees for each of these sentences., then draw the tree structures:a)The animals which Sam saw came fromKenya.b)Kyle likes the girl whom June befriended.c)The woman whom Keith lives with recycles plastic.d)Helen recited a poem which Wordsworth wrote.e)The canoe which Crusoe built was too heavy.15.In each of the following sentences, indicate below each NP whether it is agent or theme. The, draw the tree structures:a)Maria purchased a present.b)The class was conducted by an expert.c)Those books were read by young children.d)An expert conducted the class.e)A present was purchased by Marie.16.Analyse the following sentences from a transformational point of view drawing appropriate branching trees for each sentence:a)All classes were cancelled because the weather was bad.b)I can't understand why you did such a thing.c)This is such a beautiful piano that I'm sorry I have to sell it.d)Mary tried hard and solved the exercises quickly.e)This swimming pool is used by over a thousand people eachweek.f)The new central heating is being put in today by the men.g)Helen's book has been just published by her publishers.h)The meal, which wasn't very tasty, was very expensive.i)What do you think I should do?j)The student read a tragedy by Shakespeare and a story byHemingway.k)Who carries the luggage?l)Who meets Mary at the station?m)Who does Mary meet at the station?n)Harry, who was tired, went to bed very early.o)Do you ever get annoyed by people/p)My radio, which isn't very old, has suddenly stoppedworking.q)Last week I ran into an old friend whom I hadn't seen forages.r)I think that my boss is the person whom I admire most.17.Show structural ambiguity by drawing different branching trees for the following sentences:a)John loves money more than Mary.b)The ambassador did not leaveLondonto take up anappointment inAfrica.c)She fed her dog biscuits.d)There are wealthy men and women.e)Nicole saw the people with binoculars.18.The following sentences all contain conjunctions. Draw a tree structure for each of the sentences. Show two possible tree structures (a conjunction can link two phrases or two sentences):a) The cyclist drank a gallon of water and a litre of Coke.b) The airplane willlandat the airport and taxi to the terminal.c) The dog went down the stairs and out the door.d) Crusoe landed on an island and ate a goat.e) Jill should recycle that book and magazine.f) Hillary knows that spring will come and that the snow willmelt.g) Mary is keen on calculus but tired of chemistry.LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGYY[1] ADJECTIVE = (A) A lexical category that designates a property that is applicable to the entities named by nouns, can often take comparative and superlative endings in English, and functions as the head of an adjective phrase (e.g.red, obese, hearty).[2] ADVERB = (Adv.) A lexical category that typically names properties that can be applied to the actions designated by verbs (e.g.quickly, fearfully).[3] AGENT = The thematic role of the doer of the action designated by the verb (e.g.MaryinMary fed the cat).[4] ARGUMENT = A NP which is syntactically a grammatical dependent of a verb and about which semantically the verb says something (e.g.Her friendsshowedthe inspectorher letters).[5] AUXILIARY VERB = A functional category that serves as the specifier of a verb (e.g.wasinwas talking).[6] COMPLEMENT = The element or elements for which a head is subcategorised and which provide information about entities and locations whose existence is implied by the meaning of the head (e.g.the bookinbought the book).[7] COMPLEMENT CLAUSE = A sentence-like construction that is embedded within a larger structure (e.g.thather father had been a teacherinMary told her friend that her father had been a teacher).[8] COMPLEMENTIZER(C) = A functional category that takes an S complement, forming a CP (complementizer phrase) (e.g.whether he knows the truthinI wonder whether he knows the truth).[9] CONJUNCTION = A functional category that joins together two or more categories of the same type, forming a co-ordinate structure (e.g.andina man and his dog).[10] CONSTITUENT = One or more words that occur together as a syntactic unit (e.g.the doctorinThe doctor consulted the patient).[11] CO-ORDINATE STRUCTURE CONSTRAINT, THE = A constraint on transformations that does not allow an element to be removed from a co-ordinate structure (e.g.a man and a woman).[12] CO-ORDINATE STRUCTURE = A phrase that is formed by joining two (or more) categories of the same type with a conjunction such asbut, and, or(e.g.those men and women).[13] CO-ORDINATION = The operation that groups together two or more categories of the same type with the help of a conjunction (e.g.Tom and his beautiful bride).[14] CO-ORDINATION RULE, THE = The phrase structure rule that states the composition of a co-ordinate structure: XnXn*ConXn.[15] CO-ORDINATION TEST = A test used to determine if a group of words is a constituent by joining it to another group of words with a conjunction such asand, or but(e.g.beautiful but expensive).[16] DEEP STRUCTURE = The structure generated by the phrase structure rules in accordance with the subcategorization properties of the heads.[17] DEGREE WORD = (Deg) A functional category that serves as the specifier of a preposition or an adjective (e.g.quiteinquite tired;veryinvery near the house).[18] DETERMINER = (Det) A functional category that serves as the specifier of a noun (e.g. a, the, these).[19] DIRECT OBJECT = The NP complement of a verb (e.g.a fishinJudy caught a fish).[20] FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS = An approach to syntactic analysis that attempts to understand syntactic phenomena in terms of their communicative function.[21] FUNCTIONAL CATEGORY = A word-level syntactic category whose members are harder to define and paraphrase than those of lexical categories (e.g. auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, determiners, and degree words; also called NON-LEXICAL CATEGORY).[22] HEAD (of a phrase) = The word around which a phrasal category is built (e.g. V, N, A, P).[23] INFL (INFLECTION) = The node that appears directly under S in a phrase structure tree and dominates tense as well as other verbal inflection (i.e. person and number); the constituents of INFL take part in subject-verb agreement. INFL is often abbreviated to I).[24] INVERSION = A transformation that moves Aux from its position within the VP to a position to the left of the subject, formulated as: Move Aux to C.[25] ISLAND = A constituent that does not permit extraction of a component part (a co-ordinated phrase likethe dog and the cat).[26] LEXICAL CATEGORY = The word-level syntactic categories noun (N), verb (V), adjective (A), and preposition (P).[27] LINGUISTIC UNIVERSALS = Structural characteristics that occur across the languages of the world.[28] LINGUISTICS = The discipline that studies the nature and use of language.[29] MATRIX CLAUSE = The larger phrase in which a complement clause occurs (e.g.I knew that he was right;CP =that he was right).[30] MODIFIER = An optional element that describes a property of a head (e.g.blueinthe blue sky;the book that I readinI liked the book that I read).[31] MOVEMENT TEST = A test used to determine if a group of words is a constituent by moving them as a single unit to a different position within the sentence (e.g.Yesterday I stayed home;I stayed home yesterday).[32] MORPHOLOGY = The system of categories and rules involved in word formation and interpretation.[33] NOUN = (N) A lexical category that typically names entities, can usually be inflected for number and possession (in English), and functions as the head of a noun phrase (e.g. key, Bob, perception).[34] NP MOVEMENT = A transformation that moves a noun phrase into the subject position.[35] PASSIVE SENTENCE = A sentence in which the noun phrase bearing the theme role is encoded as subject (e.g.The paper was written by a good student).[36] PHONETICS = The branch of linguistics that examines the inventory and structure of the sounds of language.[37] PHONOLOGY = The component of a grammar made up of the elements and principles that determine how sounds pattern in a language.[38] PHRASE LEVEL = The metrical level on which the stress patterning of phrases is represented.[39] PHRASE = One or more words that are built around a 'skeleton' consisting of two levels, a phrase level and a word level, and act as a syntactic unit (e.g.the apple, Bob, hurried to class).[40] PHRASE STRUCTURE RULE = A rule of grammar that states the composition of a phrase (e.g. XP(Specifier) X).[41] PREPOSITION = (P) A lexical category that functions as the head of a prepositional phrase and occurs before its complement (e.g.into, with, for).[42] RELATIVE CLAUSE = A CP-sized modifier that provides information about the noun (e.g.that she wantsinthe book that she wants)[43] S RULE, THE = The phrase structure rule that states the composition of a sentence: SNP InflVP[44] SEMANTICS = The study of meaning in human language.[45] SPECIFIER = A word that helps to make more precise the meaning of the head of the phrase and that occurs immediately beneath XP (e.g.willinwill leave).[46] SUBCATEGORIZATION = The classification of words in terms of their complement options (e.g.eatis subcategorised for a complement NP)[47] SUBJECT = The NP occurring immediately under S (MaryinMary is a student).[48] SUBJECT CONSTRAINT, THE = A constraint on transformations that prevents elements from being removed from a subject phrase).[49] SUBSTITUTION TEST = A test used to determine if a group of words is a constituent by replacing them with a single word (e.g.theminstead ofTom lefthis old friends).[50] SURFACE STRUCTURE = The structure that results from the application of whatever transformations are appropriate for the sentence in question.[51]SYNTACTIC CATEGORY = The category into which an element is placed depending on the type of meaning that it expresses, the type of affixes it takes, and the type of structure in which it occurs (includes both lexical and functional categories).[52] SYNTAX = The system of rules and categories that underlies sentence formation in human language.[53] TEMPLATE = The innate blueprint of birdsong that predisposes birds to perform a general song that is extremely simplified.[54] THEMATIC ROLE = The part played by a particular entity in an event (e.g. agent, theme, source, goal, location).[55] TRACE = The empty element. Marked by the symbole, that is left in syntactic structure after an element has been moved.[56] TRANSFORMATION = A type of syntactic rule that can move an element from one position to another (e.g.Willhe leave?)[57]TRANSFORMATIONAL SYNTAX = A widely accepted approach to syntactic analysis in which syntactic phenomena are described in terms of phrase structure rules (which generate deep structures) and transformations (which generate surface structures).[58] TREE STRUCTURE = A diagram that represents the details of a word's or phrase's internal structure.[59] VERB = (V) A lexical category that typically designates actions, sensations, and states, can usually be inflected for tense, and functions as the head of a verb phrase (e.g.see, feel, remain).[60]WHMOVEMENT = A transformation that moves awhphrase to the beginning of the sentence: Move awhphrase to the specifier position under CP.[61]WH QUESTION =A sentence that begins with awhword (e.g.Who did you call?)[62] WORD LEVEL = A level of metrical representation above the foot level.

PART TWOPART TWO: SYNTAXPHRASES. CLAUSES. SENTENCESPHRASESAphraseis a sequence of one, two or more words arranged in a grammatical unit and lacking a finite verb or such elements of clause structure as subject and verb, as a preposition and a noun or pronoun, an adjective and noun, or an adverb and verb, especially such a construction acting as a unit in a sentence. Phrases are usually classified according to their central word Head, e.g. Noun Phrase (NP), Verb Phrase (VP), Adjective Phrase (AP), Prepositional Phrase (PP), Adverbial Phrase (AdvP), Conjunction Phrase (ConP), Complementizer Phrase (CP), etc.Eg.NP =Tom, the book, the red catVP =writes, reads a book, watched a good film yesterdayAP =eager to help peoplePP =in the classroom, near the tableAdvP =today, last week.ConP=a man and a womanCP (+S) =that he comesCLAUSESA clause is a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate (a finite verb) and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.E.g.Mary saidthat she was tired.(two clauses)I waited.She married a young engineer.Because I was late,they went without me.(two clauses)Clauses can be:main (independent) and subordinate (subclause, dependent), finite or non-finite.Amain clause(also called simple clause) is a finite clause that has a subject and a finite verb.e.g.She failed.I hurried.Asubordinate clauseis a finite clause that gives more information about a main clause, and is introduced by a conjunction such asbecause, if, that,or awh-word.Subordinate clauses can come in front of, after, or inside the main clause.E.g.I hurried(independent clause)because I was late(dependent clause).When he stopped, no one said anything.They were going by carbecause it was morecomfortable.I saidthat I should like to come.The manwho came into the room was short.A non-finite clauseis a subordinate clause which is based on a participle or an infinitive (with no subject or conjunction).E.g.Not knowing what to do, I telephoned Robin.I persuaded herto try a new method.A clause is different from a phrase.A phrase is a group of words which form a grammatical unit. A phrase does not contain a finite verb (of a verb form: distinguishing person, number, and tense, as well as mood or aspect, as opens inShe opens the window; of a clause: containing a finite verb) and does not have a subject-predicate structure.For example:I likedher expensive new car.George hatedworking in the garden.SENTENCESAsentenceis the largest unit of grammatical organisation within which parts of speech (e.g. word, phrase, clause) are said to function. It is a structurally independent grammatical unit of one or more words, in speech often preceded and followed by pauses and in writing begun with a capital letter and ended with a period or other end punctuation, typically consisting of a subject and a predicate containing a finite verb and expressing a statement, question, request, command or exclamation.E.g.Summer is here.Who is it?Stop!Sentences are made up of one or more clauses, which are the basic units of grammar. In English, a sentence normally contains one independent clause with a finite verb. Units which are larger than the sentence (e.g. the paragraph) are regarded as examples of discourse.There are 4 (four) types of sentences:simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex (or composite).Asimple sentenceconsists of one main clause, which has a subject (NP) and one predicate (VP) with one finite verb (The carhas stopped) or elliptical (Where is John?In the garden);Ilike milk(predicate).E.g.The teacherleft.Her fatherdied ten years ago.Idid not open the letter at once.Littleis known about her way of living.A compound sentencehas two or more independent clauses that are equally important which means they are jointed by co-ordination:E.g.We must all eat proper food,orwe'll get sick.He went to the bar,ordered a drink,and thendrankit.'I came,I saw,I conquered' . (Julius Caesar)It is an interesting bookand yetdifficult to follow.Tom uttered something and thenremained silent.It is strange yetit is true.(two co-ordinated simple sentences)He is a small boy(indcl)buthe is very strong(indcl)I'll eitherphone youorI will send you a note.The clauses are joined into one by:a)punctuation alone(asyndetically, without anyconjunction)e.g.The weather was very bad; all classes werecancelled.b)punctuation and a conjunctive adverb:e.g.The weather was very bad;thereforeall classeswere cancelled.Conjunctive adverbsare:copulative (addition):moreover, in addition, besides, not only . but (also), neither . nor, now, then, furthermore, likewise, moreover, again.disjunctive (condition):otherwise, else.adversative (concession):however, still, 12412c221m 12412c221m nevertheless, but, yet, none the less, all the same, on the other hand, whereas, while.resultative (result):therefore, consequently, 12412c221m 12412c221m accordingly, so, then, thus, hence.c)a co-ordinate conjunction(syndetically):and, or, but, yet, so, for.Co-ordinate conjunctions:copulative (addition):anddisjunctive (choice):oradversative (concession, contradiction, contrast):butresultative (result, consequence, conclusion):soexplanatory (cause):forE.g.He is an intelligent student,andhe takes interest in students.We must eat proper food,orwe'll get sick.There are many mistakesbutI prefer not to speak about them.He is a good boysohe'll manage on his own.I cannot give you the book,forthere is greatdemand for it.Similarly, compound sentences may be of the sametypes:a)copulative (denoting addition):and, not only. but (also), neither . nor, now, then, furthermore, besides, likewise, moreover, again, in addition, etc.e.g.Firsthe did his homework,thenhe went to the cinema.b)disjunctive (indicating choice):or, either . or, else, otherwise, etc.e.g.Eithercome inorgo out.c)adversative (denoting contradiction or contrast):but, yet, still, however, nevertheless, none the less, all the same, on the other hand, whereas, while, etc.e.g.I like tea,whereas / whileJoe likes coffee.d)resultative (denoting inference, consequence, conclusion):so, therefore, then, thus, hence, accordingly, consequently, etc.e.g.They broke the rules;sothey had to leave.e)explanatory (giving explanations):fore.g.I went to bed,forit was late.The act or state of co-ordinating or of being co-ordinated is known as co-ordination.Co-ordinationis the linking by co-ordinators of clauses and other sentence parts of equal meaning and grammatical value, e.g.He was conscious of the elegance of his beard and beautiful hands; He seemed extremely troubled and looked up nervously.(When we co-ordinate 2 (two) clauses into a compound sentence we do not repeat the same subject and auxiliary in the second clause).Co-ordination canlink:Nouns:He made a few friendsandmany enemies.Adjectives:She was leanandhalf-starved.Adverbials:Autumn is lengthening into winter, slowlybutsurely.Conjunctions:I don't know if or when.Co-ordination canlink:Words:He worksquicklyandefficiently.Phrases:Bored by the conversation, butnot wanting to leave, he walked out into the garden.Clauses:He saidthat he was tiredandthat he was going to bed.Acomplex sentencehas one main clause (on which the subclause depends) and one or more subclauses (subordinate/dependent clauses) joined by subordinate conjunctions, e.g.as if, when, after, before,etc.A dependent (subclause, subordinate) clausecontains a full subject and a predicate with a finite verb and begins with a word that attaches the clause to an independent clause (called the main clause). According tofunctionin the sentence, sub-clauses may be:1.Noun ClausesE.g.I can't understandwhy you did such a thing.2.Adjective Clauses (Relative)E.g.Childrenwho are under twelvemust be accompanied by parents.3.Adverbial ClausesE.g.All classes were cancelledbecause the weather was bad.Besides conjunctions, relatives, e.g.as, that,somewh-words(relatives), related adverbs, e.g.so, once, or correlatives, e.g.but . also, either . or, rather . than,but . and, neither . nor, not only . but also, just as . than, not so much . as, never . nor, both . and, can be used as subordinators. It is a combination of independent and subordinate (dependent) clauses.The act or state of subordinating or being subordinated is known as subordination. Subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses. They do not have to link two clauses. They can introduce the first clause in a sentence.E.g.All classes were cancelledbecausethe weather was bad.He looksas ifhe needs sleep.Onceyou have decided, you have to stick to it.(related adverb)You caneithertake the book or leave it with me.(correlatives)From then on, John was more careful.Whenthe jar was full, he turned the water off.He speaks very little English,soI talked to him through an interpreter.(related adverb)Maryneitherlikes him,norwants to see him.(correlatives)Not onlyhas she been late three timesbutshe hasalsodone no work.(correlatives)The manI was talking tois a professor.(subordinate clause with no introductory subordinator).I wouldratherlike a cup of coffeethana glass of wine.(correlatives)I couldneverforgive him,norforget what he had done.(correlatives)Acompound-complex (composite) sentenceis a mixture of compound and complex sentences. It contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.E.g.All classes were cancelled because the weather was bad, and students were told to listen to the radio to find out when classes would begin again.Shakespeare wrote his plays(main clause)whilehe was working for the Lord Chamberlain's Men(subordinate clause)andthis explains(main clause)whyhe knew so much about stagecraft.(subordinate clause).THE SIMPLE SENTENCEThe smallest sentence unit consists of:NP + VPThe NP has the syntactic function of subject, and has the pattern: DETERMINER + MODIFIERS + NOUNThe VP has the syntactic function of predicate, and has the pattern:VERB(auxiliary / operator) +PREDICATION(OBJECT: DO, IO, PIO,PO) / COMPLEMENT (SC/ OC) / ADVERBIAL MODIFIERS (Adverbial Clauses)E.g.His good friend gave him a nice present on his birthday.NP =his good friendVP (predication) =gave him a nice present on his birthdayVerb =gaveObjects =him(IO);a nice present(DO)Adverbial Modifier =on his birthdayThey elected him chairman.NP =theyVP (predication) =elected him chairman.Verb =electedObject =him(DO)Complement =chairman(OC)Main Structures of Simple Sentence. Clause TypesLanguages are generally classified in typological groups according to the clause pattern that is the most frequent in that particular language. As such, there are 7 (seven) basic patterns in English: one is a two-element pattern, two are three-element patterns, and three are four-element patterns.1.SV -The child was laughing.2.SVOd-We need a teacher.3.SVCs- John is a teacher.4.SVAdvM -Mary is here.5.SVOdCo-We have proved him wrong.6.SVOdAdvM -I put the plate on the table.7.SVOiOd-She gives me expensive presents.Other possible clause patterns, mostly used in speech, are:1.SVOiOdCo-She gave us our coffee black.2.SVOiOd-She gave us our coffee.3.SVOdAdvM (Co) -They dragged him home(blind drunk).4.SV (Co) OdC -We have proved wrong the clerk.5.SV (AdvM) OdAdvM -He took from his pocket a handful of gleaming coins.6.(AdvM) SV (AdvM) -Sometimes she sings beautifully.7.S(AdvM) V OIOd-She has kindly sent us some photographs.THE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE GROUPSModern conceptions state and prove the fact that in a sentence most of the information is transmitted through thePREDICATE GROUP(the verb plus objects, plus complements, or plus adverbial modifiers), while theSUBJECT GROUP(the noun or noun equivalents plus attributes) is the element spoken about, described, analysed, positioned, etc., or merely a referential element, used as a support for the new quantity of information conveyed. In the same terms, the subject group is defined as the theme or topic, while the predicate group is described as the rheme (Cf. A. Bantas), or experiencer / comment (Cf. Quirk) i.e. the element of action, of movement, the carrier of the essential information about the theme.The subject of a sentence may consist of aclause(That she answered the question correctlypleased him enormously), but usually of aNP. It may consist of apronoun(Itrained steadily all day;Hehad given the girl an apple), or of asingle common or proper noun(Universitiesgradually became famous inEuropeduring the Middle Ages;Johnheard the explosion from his office when he was locking the door). But it may be anindeterminately long structure(uncommon) having a noun as head, preceded by other words such as an article, an adjective, or another noun, and followed by a PP or/and by a relative clause. (The new gas stove in the kitchen which I bought last monthhas a very efficient oven). Again, a subject may be anominal relative(Whoever breaks this lawdeserves a fine).Subject complements, direct objects, and object complements may be realised by the same range of structures as subjects, but subject and object complements have the additional possibility of being realised by AP (having an adjective as head) (She made himvery much happier;His brother grewhappiergradually).Indirectobjects, on the other hand, have fewer possibilities than subjects, and their realisations are chiefly NP (He had giventhe girlan apple;That she answered the question correctlypleased him enormously); unlike direct objects and subjects they cannot be realised bythat-clauses (She sawthat it rained all day; That she answered the question correctlypleased him enormously).Finally, adverbials can be realised by AdvP (having an adverb as head), e.g.Johncarefully searched the room; It rainedsteadily all day; by NP (It rained steadilyall day; They make him the chairmanevery year); by PP (structures consisting of a NP dominated by a preposition), e.g.The girl is now a studentat a large university; and by finite clauses (His brother grew happierwhen his friend arrived) or non-finite clauses (Having been challenged rudely in the street, John was angry).

A.THE SUBJECT GROUP (THE NOUN PHRASE).THE NOUN / NOMINAL CLAUSE)The Subject Groupconsists of the noun or noun equivalents (e.g. pronouns, numerals) plus attributes. The Subject Group is also called the Noun Phrase (NP) and has the syntactic function of Subject.The subject, or NP (in English grammar):a.typically precedes the main verb in a sentence and is most closely related to it.b.determinesConcordc.refers to something about which a statement or assertion is made in the rest of the sentence.That part of the sentence containing the verb or Verb Group (VP) and which may include Objects, Complements, or Adverbials) is known asthe Predicate(syntactic function). The predicate is that part of the sentence which predicates something of the subject. For example:Subject 12412c221m PredicateThe womansmiled.Fish 12412c221m is good for you.DEFINITIONThe termphraseis used to mean group(s) of words e.g.the studentor single words, e.g.Henry,they.The Noun Phrase (NP)is a word or group of words with a noun or a noun substitute (pronoun or numeral) as its head and functioning like a noun in a sentence.CHARACTERISTICSIts function is equivalent to that of a noun, e.g.Living alonein the sentenceLiving alonehas its advantages.The NP can consist of a single noun or pronoun, or of a noun or pronoun with modifiers, e.g.Henry, theassignment, happiness, he, it, somebody, the white irongateof the house, theassignmentwhich Henry had to write,hewho runs,etc.Besides nouns as heads (Mary, staff, friend, present, word), occasionally we use pronouns and adjectives as heads of NPs, e.g.Oneof the worst(pronoun as head);theblueof his eyes(adjective as head).In some Traditional Grammars, a Participial or Infinitive phrase which could be replaced by a noun or pronoun,for example, the participial phrasemowing the lawnin:George just hatesmowing the lawn.could be replaced byit: 12412c221m George just hatesit.CONSTITUENTS (of a NP)ADeteminer (Det)is a word which is used with a noun, and which limits the meaning of the noun in some way. For example, in English the following words can be used as determiners:a.ARTICLES, e.g.apencil,thegardenb.DEMONSTRATIVES, e.g.thisbox,thatcarc.POSSESSIVES, e.g.herhouse,mybicycled.QUANTIFIERS, e.g.somemilk,manypeoplee.NUMERALS, e.g.thefirstday,threechairs.TheHeadis the central part of a phrase. Other elements in the phrase are in some grammatical or semantic relationship to the head. For example, in the English NP:the fatladyin the floral dressthe nounladyis the head of the phrase.AModifieris a word or group of words which gives further information about ("modifies") another word or group of words (the Head).Modificationmay occur in a NP, a VP, an AP, an AdvP, etc.a.Modifiers before the head are called premodifiers, for exampleexpensiveinthisexpensivecamera.b.Modifiers after the head are called postmodifiers, for examplewith a stumpy tailinThe catwith a stumpy(short and thick)tail.A Constituentis a linguistic unit, (usually in sentence analysis) which is part of a larger construction.The Constituents of a NP are:Determiner + Premodifier +Noun Head+ PostmodifierE.g.The niceladyin greythe= determinernice= premodifierlady= noun headin grey= postmodifierE.g.the sheltered westernsiteaway from the oceanthe sheltered western= premodifiersite= headaway from the ocean= postmodifiera whitedoorwhich led to a beautiful walled gardena white= premodifierdoor= headwhich led to a beautiful walled garden= postmodifierDeterminers can be specified or non-specifiedE.g.Thestudents are good.Students are good.Premodifiers can be quantifiers or qualifiers.E.g.The two beautiful womentwo= quantifierbeautiful= qualifierAQualifieris, in Traditional Grammar, any linguistic unit (e.g. an adjective, a phrase, or a clause) that is part of a Noun Phrase and gives added information about the noun.For example,her, expensive,andfromParisare qualifiers in the NP:her expensiveblousefromParis.In Halliday's Functional Grammar, a qualifier is any linguistic unit that is part of a group, gives added information about the Head of the group, and follows the head.For example,fromParisis a qualifier in the noun groupher expensive blousefromParis.AQuantifieris a word or phrase which is used with a noun, and which shows quantity. Some quantifiers in English are:many, few, little, several, much, a lot of, plenty of, a piece of, a loaf of, three kilograms of, etc.SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONSNoun phrasesmay function:a)as subject of a sentence:E.g.Marylooked at the boy attentively.The red dress on the bedis hers.The blue oneis mine.The cinema staffwas very polite.b)As object:E.g.Have you seenthese Romanian paintings? I've seenall of them.(direct objects)He gavehis frienda nice present. (indirect object; direct object)c)As subject complement:E.g.He isone of the worst candidates. He isone of them.d)As object complement:E.g.They elected himPresident of the company.e)As object of a preposition:E.g.She leftwithout another word.He lives ina big house.I am waiting forone of them.f)As adverbial modifier:E.g.Walkthat way. I wrote to himlast month.g)As premodifier:E.g.This isthe Queen ofEngland'sPalace.h)As postmodifier:E.g.It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne,the great American romancer.i)As free modifier:E.g.A professionalman, he retired when his wife died. He felt helpless,a spectator who had enough troubles of his own.DETERMINERSA determiner / a determinativeis a word used in front of a noun and before any adjectives in the phrase to indicate whether you are referring to a specific thing or just to something of a particular type. It may function as an adjunct word (a. modifying word or phrase depending on some other word or phrase; b. an element of clause structure with adverbial function. in a noun phrase)E.g.allthe daythreewhole yearsenoughtroubleeitherarmThere aretwo types of determiners: specific and general.Specific determinersare used to help to identify persons or things, when the person you are talking to will know which person or thing you are referring to. They are:a)articles:a / an, theb)possessive determiners:my, your, his, her, our, your, their.c)demonstrative determiners:this, that, these, those.e.g.Theman began to run towardstheboy.e.g.I'd been waiting a long time to parkmycar.E.g.Young people don't liketheseoperas.We cannot put two determiners from any group a, b, c together, e.g.a / my / this/ book.General determiners(most of them quantifiers) say how much or how many we are talking about. They are used when you are mentioning people or things for the first time, or talking about them generally without saying exactly which ones you mean. They are:Some, any, noEach, every, either, neitherMuch, many, more, mostLittle, less, leastA few, fewer, fewestEnough, severalAll, both, halfWhat, whatever, which, whicheverOne, two, three, etc., otherE.g.There wereseveralreasons for this.You can stop atanytime you like.There wasaman in the lift.We can put together two general determiners if the combination makes sense,E.g.We meetevery fewdays.Have you gotany morecoffee?Determiners usuallyprecedethe noun they determine, but we do not use them in random order. According to that criterion, we identify3 (three) groups of determiners: predeterminers, central determiners, postdeterminers.a)PredeterminersE.g.some quantifiers:all, both, halfmultipliers:once, twice, double, etc.intensifiers:such, what.b)Central determiners (the most important group)E.g.articles:a, an, thedemonstratives:this, that, these, thosepossessives:my, your, his, her , our, theirsome quantifiers;some, any, no,etc.wh-determiners:what, which, whoseNot all predeterminers can be used with all central determiners - for semantic reasons. But where we use two or more determiners together, the order is as follows:Predeterminer + Central+NounE.g.all thatyearboth thesegirlshalf thedistancejust herappearanceonly theprizePredeterminer + of + Central Determiner +Noun(Countable Nouns)E.g.each of thesegirlsenough of hismoneya large number ofbookseither of thefilmsPredeterminer(s) + of + Central Determiner + Noun (Countable Nouns)E.g.a few more of thosecakesplenty more of ourbookstwo or three more of theteachersany more of mybrothersCentral + Postdeterminer +NounE.g.the othersidethe thirdtimeher twohandsthe samethingPredeterminer + Central Determiner + Postdeterminer(s) +Noun(less frequently)E.g.all these sixboysonly the first twodayshalf mybooksall the otherdaysMODIFIERSA modifieris a word or group of words which comes in front of a noun and adds information about the thing which the noun refers to. They usually stand between any determiners and theheadin a NP, making its meaning more precise:e.g.the two leading socialordersthe two= determinersleading social= premodifiersorders =headModificationis a structure and it may be described in terms of the arrangements of the units of which it is composed:PREMODIFIER +NOUN HEAD+ POSTMODIFIERA premodifier (quantifier or qualifier)is a unit (a word, phrase, or sometimes a clause) that is placed between the determiner(s) and the noun head (unless it is one of the degree modifiers of a modifier):e.g.a veryinterestingbookPremodifiers (determiners and pronouns) are also called quantifiers because they show quantity or amount, e.g.all, both, each, half, every, neither, nor, no one; they are also called qualifiers because they show quality, e.g.beautiful, gorgeous, ugly, interesting.A postmodifieris a unit (a word, a phrase, or a clause) immediately following the noun head, giving more precise meaning to the head. Postmodification is also callednoun complementation, i.e. these postmodifiers, mostly abstract nouns, are complements that complete the meaning of the head.E.g.a very interesting bookto read.a manof strong willPremodifiers can be:a)adjectives:E.g.This is themainpart of the course.Ahardermattress often helps with back injuries.After the crossroads look out forthe large whitebuilding.b)nouns:E.g.Thetennisteacher is in the gym.. themusicindustryc)adverbs:E.g.Theoverheadprojector is there..merelya matter of routine. thenowsecretarythedownstairstelevision roomd)compounds:E.g..easy-goingpeople.heavily-builtmachine. afour-month-longwinter. thefloor-washingmorningse)sentences:E.g.a live-and-let-liveindividualismdevil-may-carecharactersstick-in-the-mudopiniona wash-at-night-and-wear-in-the-morningdressPostmodifiers can be:a)adjectives:E.g.William theSilentIt is the only thingnotableIt is the only solutionpossible.(which is possible)A road fifty feetwideThe houseablaze(on fire)is next door to ours.Compare:the starsvisible(at a time specified) 12412c221m thevisiblestars(at appropriate times)Notes:1.The following adjectives:elect('soon to take office'),proper('as strictly defined'),absent, present, concerned, involvedE.g.the presidentelectsyntaxproperall the peoplepresentThe idea came from the partyconcerned.You will be informed about the event by the personavailable.2.In a few fixed phrases:courtmartial, attorneygeneral, bodypolitic, heirapparent, letterspatent, Knighterrant, the TheatreRoyal, the PostLaureate, from timesimmemorial, the PostmasterGeneral, proofpositive, chairmanelect, heirpresumptive, postmastergeneral, lordsspiritual, lordstemporal, astronomerroyal.b)adverbs:E.g.down in the cellarbeneaththe long marchbackhealonethe crowdoutsidea reflection of lifetodayinRomaniaThe housethereis ours.The discussionafterwardwas very interesting.c)prepositional phrase:E.g.a manwith long hairhis criticismof the projectauthorsof todayThe wallsof my roomare white.Look at the wingsof this butterfly.They helped the childrenof the poor.. pileof stones('Partitive Genitive'). a manof tact('Qualitative Genitive'). his angelof a wife('Appositive Genitive'). We'll be stayingwith friends of Joe's,('The Double Genitive')d)noun (apposition)Appositionis the use of a word or phrase immediately following another word or phrase and referring to the same person or thing.E.g.Paris,the capital of FranceThis novel was written by Dickens,the great English writer.A noun (phrase) in apposition is used to qualify or identify another noun. Noun phrases in apposition are of equal rank, stand next to each other and refer to the same person or thing.With the stress upon the apposition, we have:Uncle Tom, Professor Albu, Aunt Mary, My friend Joe, Captain Cook, The riverThames,etc.e)clauses (relative and appositive)E.g.That's the boywho found it. (relative clause)The belief isthat Michael has been sent to India. (appositive clause)I bought this dictionary,which has helped me a lot. (relative clause)The newsthat he has died is not true.(appositive clause)He was no older than his brother, who had been killed at his side.(relative clause)It's a question ofhow to attain it.(appositive clause) 12412c221m Notes:The head preceding an appositive clause is always an abstract noun, like:appeal, belief, decision, idea, news, thought, hope, sign, indication, rumour, doubt, certainty, certitude, likelihood, possibility, probability, evidence, fact, proof.Appositive clauses are nominal clauses marked off by commas, which have a similar relationship to the preceding noun head. They may be:- Thatclauses, e.g. She sent a messagethat Castor would beout.- Whclauses, e.g.Lewis knewwhat bitterness was in his mind.- To- Infinitive clauses, e.g.I do not meanto be rude.Both appositive and relative clauses may start withthat. But appositive clauses may not start withwhich, as relative can. So wherewhichcan alternate withthat, the clause is likely to be relative and not appositive.E.g.The premature newsthatthis battle was lost . caused consternation.(appositive clause)The premature newsthat / whichsaid the battle was lost . caused consternation.(relative clause)Appositive clauses may bedefiningandnon-defining:E.g.Mary had a strong belief that her husband intended to leave her.(defining)Mary's belief, that her husband intended to leave her, resulted in reality.(non-defining)THE NOUN (also NOMINAL) CLAUSEA noun clauseis a clause which acts as the subject or object of a sentence.E.g.Lucy told mewhy she was worried.Nominalis:1.a term used instead of a Noun.2.A term for a linguistic unit which has some but not all characteristics of a noun, e.g.woundedinThe woundedwere taken by helicopter to the hospital.Althoughwoundedis the Head of the noun phrasethe woundedand is preceded by an article, it would not be modified by an adjective but by an adverb, e.g.the seriouslywounded.A Nominal Clause (also a Noun Clause)is a clause which functions like a noun or noun phrase; that is, which may occur as subject, object complement, in apposition, or as prepositional complement.For example:Nominal clause as subject:What she saidis awful.Nominal clause as object:I don't knowwhat she saidNominalizationis the grammatical process of forming nouns from other parts of speech, usually verbs or adjectives. For example, in English: nominalized forms from the verbto write:writing, writeras in:Hiswritingis illegible. Her mother is awriter.Noun clauses are introduced by the following subordinators:Conjunctions:that, whether, if (as if);Pronouns:who(whoever, whomever),what(whatever, whatsoever),which(whichever, whichsoever);Adverbs:where, when, how, why.NOTES:- the most common subordinator isthat-whatsoeverandwhichsoeverare archaic.SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS:Noun clauses may function as:1.Subject (S)E.g.That all of them are happyis visible.What she saidis unclear.How he got into the houseis a mystery.It (preparatory) + V + SC + S (sentence)E.g.It is strangethat they did not come at all.It is necessarythat we should learn for the exam.It + V + S (sentence)E.g.It seemedthat the meeting would never end.Does it matterwhether I tell you the truth or not?NOTE: The subject clauses are never separated by a comma.2.Subject Complement (SC)E.g.You becamewhat you you had always wanted to be.That iswhy she came to see me.It looksas if it were going to rain.This iswhere we work.The trouble isthat I am short of money.3.Object (O)NOTE: This is the most usual function of the noun clause.An object clause (i.e. a noun clause which is the object of a verb) may be:A statement:a. S + V + DO (=that-clause;lest, etc.)E.g.She said that she had been ill.He suggested that we should read the whole novel.I think that they will accept the invitation.I feared lest he should fail.(formal style)I am afraid he might fail. (informal style)b. S + V + (to + IO) PIO + DOWe suggested to her that he might be the thief.S + V + it (DO) + OC + DO (clause)E.g.We considered it a compliment that the BC should visit our university.I thought it right that he should be invited.S + V + DO (=Subordinator + Clause)E.g.He asked whether I had bought a new car.I wonder what it is.I know how hard you worked.S + V + IO + DO (clause)E.g.He told me what the time was.S + V +PO(Preposition+ Subordinator + Clause)E.g.It depends on whether they arrive in time.THE SUBJECTDEFINITIONThe subjectis a syntactic unit that functions as one of the two main constituents of a sentence, the other being the predicate, and that consists of a noun, noun phrase, or noun substitute typically referring to the one performing the action or being in the state expressed by the predicate, asIinIgave notice.E.g.The studentslike to listen to good music.Menare used to working harder than women.The chief export of Cubais sugar.In an active clause, the subject is the part of the clause that refers to the person or thing that does the action indicated by the verb, or that is in the state indicated by the verb.E.g.Helenbroke another glass today.Oilfloats on water.In a passive clause, the subject refers to the person or thing that is affected by an action or involved in someone's thoughts.E.g.Shehad been taught logic by an uncle.The examinationis regarded as an arbitrary, unnecessary barrier.The subject is that principal part of the sentence which shows who / what performs the action expressed by the predicate or to whom / to what a feature or characteristic expressed by the predicate is ascribed.You do not add a pronoun after the subject in a clause, e.g. you do not say 'My sister she came to see me yesterday'. You say 'My sister came to see me yesterday'.AGREEMENTThe verb in a clause should agree with the subject. This means it should have an appropriate form depending on whether the subject is singular, uncountable, or plural.E.g.He wearsstriped shirts.People wearwollen clothing here even on hot days.POSITIONThe subject occupies fixed positions in the English sentence.In a statement, the subject usually comes in front of the verb.E.g.I wantto talk to the teacher.In questions, the subject comes after an auxiliary or after the verb 'be', unless the subject is awh-word or begins with awh-word.E.g.Has hebeen to the seaside?Whyare youhere?Who taughtyou to read?Which library hasthe book?In an imperative clause, there is usually no subject.E.g.Show the draft of the paper.In writing mainly, the main verb is put in front of the subject when an adverbial of place is put at the beginning of a clause.E.g.Behind the deskwas a middle-aged woman.Inversion also takes place in speech afterhereandtherewhen you are drawing attention to something.E.g.Herecomes the cloud of smoke.There'sanother one.*You do not use inversion when the subject is a personal pronoun.E.g.Herehe comes.Thereshe goes.Inversion occurs when broad negative adverbs or other negative adverbials,E.g.only when / thenare put at the beginning of a clause for emphasis. This structure is used in formal speech and writing.E.g.Never in my life have I met such a beautiful girl.Only when he saw her again, did he realise he was in love with her.Only then did he start meeting her again.You use inversion aftersowhen you are saying that the previous positive statement also applies to another person or group.E.g.'I read a lot. ' Sodo I'.*Whensois used to express surprise or to emphasise that someone should do something, inversion does not occur:E.g.'It is on the table behind you'. 'So it is'.'I feel very guilty about it'. 'So you should'.You use inversion afterneitherandnorwhen you are saying that the previous negative statement also applies to another person or group.E.g.You have readneither the booknorhave written the report.'I cannot remember'. 'Neithercan I'.Inversion of subject and predicate also occurs in conditional clauses that are not introduced by a conjunction. This structure is formal.E.g.Had hebeen to the party, he would have met Jane.Inversion can also occur in comparisons afteras:E.g.I read a lot for this exam asdid all my colleagues.KINDS OF SUBJECTSSubjects may besimple, compound, coordinated, complex, and double.Simple subjectsare expressed by one word, usually a noun or a noun equivalent, possibly accompanied by attributes.E.g.A trainwas coming in.Whistlingwould be heard.Compound subjects, although expressed by two or several elements (nouns), represent one person or one thing.E.g.Here comesmy lord and master.Drinking and smokingages man.Michelangelo,the painter and poetwas born inFlorence.The agreement is in the singular. Sometimes they may not refer to one thing but they are perceived as one entity.E.g.Strawberries and creamis delicious.To read and to writeuntilmidnightis tiring.Coordinated subjectsinclude two or more elements which refer to several notions joined by coordinating conjunctions. Agreement is usually in the plural.E.g.A boaster and a liarare cousin-germans.In the case of two alternative subjects connected byor, the predicate will agree with the noun closer to the verb.E.g.The teacher orthe pupilsareat fault.Either she orwearegoing home.In the case of two subjects linked byas well as, besides, like, unlike, in addition to, together with, and not, except, butagreement is with the first subject:E.g.Liesetogether with some other colleaguesisin the classroom.In the case of two subjects connected bynot only . but, the predicate agrees to the subject closer to the verb:E.g.Not only I but theteacherthinksit right.Complex subjectsare subjects (or rather subject phrases) made up of heterogeneous elements.a.Thefor-tophraseE.g.For him to dothatis rather difficult.b.The Nominative with the InfinitiveE.g.He is said to bea good student.c.The Nominative with the Indefinite ParticipleE.g.The students were seen taking partin the course.d.Subordinate Subject ClausesE.g.That he will manageis beyond any doubt.Double subjectsappear only in folk poetry, in nursery rhymes and in careless speech and consists in both a noun and a pronoun which is a substitute for the former (clearly a case of redundancy).E.g.O,my trade itis the rarest one.The subject may be expressed by:1.NP (including noun substitutes)E.g.Every assloves to hear himself bray. (English proverb)Beautyis but skin-deep. (abstract noun)Ridingis joy.(verbal noun)The HenryI knew was another man. (proper name)"Petru Maior"Universityis a state university.(fixed group of words)Heis absent.(pronoun).Five of themwere present. (numeral)Butis a conjunction. (substantivised part of speech)Yesterdaywill not be called again.(substantivised part of speech)2.Verbal Phrase (Infinitive Phrase, Gerundial Phrase)E.g.To promiseandto give nothingis comfort to a fool.(IP)He said thatbringing home his motherwould save his mother.(GP)3.A clauseE.g.Whoever broke itneeds a good lesson.That they comeis not certain.What is worth doingis worth doing well.ClassificationFrom the point of view of their semantic content / value, i.e. the amount of meaning which they convey:grammatical subject = is connected with the predicate and there is agreement between the two.Logical / real / notional subject = points to the agent, i.e. to the real author or doer of the action.Usually, the grammatical subject is identical with the logical subject. There are, however,two categories of exceptions:a.passive constructionsE.g.This bed(grammatical subject)has not been slept in byanyone(logical subject).b.introductory constructions (it, there, here)It(grammatical subject)is nice of youto have come(logical subject);Thereitcomes again.(anticipatoryitandthere)Hereweride(exclamatory)It ishewho broke the window.(real subject is emphasised)It washis sisterthat I met in the hall. (direct object is emphasised)It wasto himthat I spoke, not to her.(indirect object is emphasised)It wasabout youthat I was talking, not about him.(prepositional object isemphasised)It isbut reluctantlythat I gave my consent.(adverbial modifier of manner is emphasised)It wasin a frightful snowstormthat he arrived at the chalet. (adverbial modifier of attending circumstances is emphasised)It wasat the librarythat I lost my book. (adverbial modifier of place is emphasised)It waslong agothat I met him.(adverbial modifier of time is emphasised)Introductoryit(grammatical subject) also known as anticipatoryitor preparatoryitis used to start a sentence when theitreplaces a subject clause which is now placed at the end of the sentence:E.g..itwas plainthat her interest was inEngland.(the usual word order would beThat her interest was inEnglandwas plain.)When the subject is a clause, we often prefer to replacethe subject + predicatestructure bythe introductoryit+ predicate + subjectstructure.Any kind of noun clause can take introductoryit. There is a tendency in English to put longer parts of a sentence towards the end, giving them end-weight. We often use introductoryitwith athat-clause, to show our attitude:e.g.It was quite clearthat she could notmake head or tail of my announcement(logical subject).The normal word order would beThat she could not make head or tail of my announcement was quite clear, is less acceptable than the example with introductoryit.In fact, with one exception, the-ingclauses, the end-position subject clause after introductoryitis more common than the corresponding normal sequence of subject + predicate.E.g.It is obviousthatto lead such an existence and make so great a success of it, you must both have needed a strong will and adeterminedcharacter!Smokingis forbidden!For theitconstruction usingappear, follow, happen, seem, transpireand other verbs, there is no possible normal equivalent:E.g.It appeared that everything was settled.The following types of clauses can follow introductoryit:Ato-infinitive clauseE.g.It was impossiblenot to laugh.Awh-clauseE.g.It was knownwhere he was staying.Aas if / thoughclausesE.g.It lookedas if it was going to rain.A-ingclause:E.g.It was nicetaking care of him.Asinceclause:E.g.It is a long timesince I last saw him.Remember that introductoryitalways occurs first in a sentence, or immediately after an adverbial. Do not confuse introductoryitwith emptyitas inIt was about five years after the event that I decided to live inParisfor a time.Introductory (also existentialthere)Many English sentences start with an unstressedthereusually followed by some form ofbe.E.g.There is something strange about his way of behaving.In such sentences,thereis an empty, grammatical subject, with the notional subject place later (postponed) in the sentence, thereby giving it focus:e.g.There are six people present in my room already.(also called existentialthere)There= grammatical subjectare =verbsix people= notional / logical subjectpresent =complementin my small room / already =adverbial modifiersA less likely sentence would be:Six people are present in my small room already.There is / are, however, introduce not only the idea of existence, but of happening as well. In that case, we can substitutetherebyto existorto occur.E.g.There has been an accident on the road toOradea.Impersonal subjects (also Impersonal Constructions) do not refer to a definite /well-established person or thing. Such subjects may be used to denote time and weather, distance or the state of things in general.They refer to:time (chronological)E.g.It was nearly the time of full moon.lapse of timeE.g.It is a month since we last met.weatherE.g.It is cold.natural phenomenaE.g.It thunders / lightensdistanceE.g.It is 5 miles to the next town.PECULIARITIES OF ENGLISH USAGEThe subject is not repeated in an enumeration of predicates:E.g.He came, saw, and conquered.The subject is generally omitted in constructions beginning withas:E.g.as usual, as is normal, as is but natural, as was to be expected, as was shown elsewhere.Unlike Romanian grammar, English grammar requires an expressed subject in the great majority of cases. The omission of the subject, much less frequent than in other languages, is however possible (in certain styles) with co-ordinated predicates and in set phrases.Reflexive-passive constructions in Romanian, with an impersonal subject (se) are generally rendered in English by passive constructions whose subject is:a.it -se spune-It is said.b.Nominative + Infinitive- He is said.c.The object- Films were shown.Dative constructions (imi place, mi-e foame) -I liked / enjoyed the picture.B. THE PREDICATE GROUP (THE VERB PHRASE)DEFINITIONThe predicateis a syntactic unit that functions as one of the two main constituents of a sentence, the other being the subject, and that consists of averband any words governed by the verb or modifying it, asobjects,complements, oradverbs, the whole often expressing the action performed by or the state attributed to the subject, as ishereinThe package is here.E.g.I turned my head.I =Subject / Topicturned my head= Predicate / Comment / ExperiencerThe predicate in complete sentences always contains a verb, a complement, or a direct object and an indirect object, and sometimes an adverbial.The two parts of the predicate are th