1. Introduction.

1. Descriptive linguistics.

2. Levels of analysis.

3. The rankscale. The rankshift.

4. Functions & categories.

1. Descriptive linguistics.

-General: Languages in general. Linguistics: -Descriptive: One language.

-General linguistic: It studies the languages in general.

-Descriptive linguistic: It studies a particular languages.

-Theoretical approach: No practical purpose. It aims to describe a native speaker'' knowledge of the language. It asks how & why we say what we say.

-Pedagogical approach: Practical purpose. It aims to help foreign speakers with the language. It asks what we say.

2. Levels of analysis.

-Sound level ! Phonetics/phonology. -Morphological level ! Morphology. -Syntactic level ! Syntax. -Semantic level ! Semantics.

The sound level is concerned with the study of human speech sounds in general. This is the business of phonetics.

The morphological level is concerned with morphemes. Morphology studies the internal structure of words, that is the way in which morphemes function as constituents of word structure.

The syntactic level is concerned with the way in which words combine to form larger units, called phrases & sentences. This is the business of syntax.

The semantic level is concerned with the study of meaning. Semantics investigates the meaning of individual words & of whole sentences.

3. The rankscale. The rankshift.

-Rankscale: It's a hierarchy of units of linguistic description.

-Rankshift: However units aren't always consistently composed of units of the next lowest rank. A unit can function as a constituent of a unit of the same rank or, even, of a unit which is one step lower down the rankscale. The rankshift is this phenomenon.

Max.: Sentences (Text) ! Phrases (Word group) ! Word ! Morpheme (Minimal constituent of a word) ! Min.: Phonemes

Example: -We have made some minor corrections.

!

some minor corrections.

!

corrections.

!

correct-ion-s.

!

/ z /

4. Function & categories.

The function of a unit is what it is doing according to the role it is playing in a structure.

The category/class of a unit is what it is according to some characteristics that it has in common with other members.

CATEGORIES	or CLASSES	FUNCTIONS
WORD	PHRASE	SENTENCE
Adjective	Adjective phrase	DO/IO/S/At
Adverb	Adverbial phrase	DO/IO
Noun	Noun phrase	S
Verb	Verb phrase	P
Preposition	Prepositional phrase	IO
Article		S/At

Example: John took a walk.

Sentence

Subject Predicator Direct object

! ! !

Noun phrase. Verb phrase. Noun phrase.

! ! !

Head = noun. Head = verb. Det = art/Head = noun.

! ! ! !

JOHN TOOK A WALK.

Note: One particular phrase can have some articular functions.

Example: -He comes next week.! Adverbial phrase.

-Next week is the time to do it. ! Subject.

-Let's call next week period A. ! Direct object.

2. Categories of units.

1. Morpheme.

1.1. Meaning.

1.2. Kinds.

1.3. Roots & affixes.

1.4. Morph.

1.5. Allomorph.

2. Word.

2.1. Word classes.

2.2. Major word classes or open classes.

2.2.1. Noun.

2.2.2. Adjective.

2.2.3. Adverb.

2.2.4. Verb.

2.3. Minor word classes or closed classes.

2.3.1. Preposition.

2.3.2. Conjunction.

2.3.3. Article.

2.3.4. Numeral.

2.3.5. Pronoun.

2.3.6. Quantifier.

2.3.7. Interjection.

3. Phrase.

3.1. Meaning.

3.2. Kinds.

3.3. Noun phrase.

3.3.1. Basic structure.

3.3.2. Functions.

3.4. Adjective phrase.

3.4.1. Basic structure.

3.4.2. Functions.

3.5. Adverb phrase.

3.5.1. Basic structure.

3.5.2. Functions.

3.6. Verb phrase.

3.6.1. Basic structure.

3.6.2. Functions.

3.6.3. Kinds of verbs.

3.7. Prepositional phrase.

3.7.1. Basic structure.

3.7.2. Dislocations.

3.7.3. Functions.

4. Sentence.

4.1. Meaning.

4.2. Functions in the structure of a sentence.

4.3. Types of clauses.

4.4. Some definitions.

1. Morpheme.

1.1. Meaning.

The morpheme is the smallest unit with meaning. It serves a grammatical function in a language.

Example: -Im-possible.

-Soon-er.

-Chil-ish.

1.2. Kinds.

-Free morpheme: The morpheme which can stand on its own.

-Bound morpheme: The morpheme that can only occur in a word in combination with, at least, another morpheme.

Example: Un-friend-ly ! ·Un-: Bound morpheme.

·-friend-: Free morpheme.

·-ly: Bound morpheme.

1.3. Roots & affixes.

-Root: It's a free or bound morpheme which has the main meaning of the word.

-Affix: It's a bound morpheme which has the periferic meaning of the word. There are four classes of affixes:

·Prefix: It's an affix added to the begining of the word.

·Suffix: It's an affix added at the end of the word.

	Prefix	Root	Suffix
		Word

Example: Un-friend-ly ! ·Un-: Prefix.

·-friend-: Root.

·-ly: Suffix.

·Inflectional affix: It's the affix which marks distinctions. It marks grammatical varients to get the genitive, the plural, etc.

·Derivational affix: It's an added affix to the root in order to produce a new word. It make new lexemes from a given base to change to an adjective, a noun, etc.

There are different kinds of derivational affixes:

-Class-changing: It changes the class of the word.

-Non class-changing: It doesn't change the class of the word.

Example: -Inflexional affix: Cat - Cats (Singular - plural)

-Derivational affix: Small - Smallest (Adjective - noun)

-Class-changing: Sleep - Asleep (Verb - Adjective)

-Non class-changing: Friend - Unfriendly (Adverbs)

Morpheme: -Free ! Root. -Bound ! ·Root. ·Affix ! -Prefix. -Suffix -Inflectional. -Derivational ! ·Class-changing. ·Non class-changing.

1.4. Morph.

The morph is a physical form that represents a morpheme.

Example: Bag-s (Two morphs or morphemes)

·Morph plural (Physical): When you write it.

·Morpheme plural (Abstract): When you think it.

1.5. Allomorph.

It's a phonological variant. It's a phonetically & lexically conditioned member of a set of morphs representing a particular morpheme.

Example: {S1}: -Phonetically conditioned: ·Book-s ! / s /

·Bag-s ! / z /

·Sandwich-es ! / i z /

-Lexically conditioned: ·Child-ren ! / r  n /

·Criteri-a ! /  /

·Cact-i ! / a i /

·Deer ! / Ø /

2. Word.

2.1. Word classes.

-Major word classes or open classes: They allow the addition of new members. Noun, adjective, adverb & verb.

-Minor word class or closed classes: They don't allow the creation of new members. Preposition, conjunction, article, numeral, pronoun, quantifier & interjection.

2.2. Major word classes or open classes.

2.2.1. Noun.

There are two kinds of nouns:

·Common nouns: They are subdivided into count & mass nouns.

·Proper nouns: These don't occur in the plural & cannot be preceded by numerals, quantifiers & definite & indefinite articles.

Nouns are morphologically characterized by their ability to take typical derivational & inflectional suffixes.

-Typical derivational affixes:

·-age: Cover-age.

·-ance: Appear-ance.

·-ation: Inform-ation.

·-dom: Free-dom.

·-eer: Engin-eer.

·-ence: Differ-ence.

·...

-Typical inflectional affixes:

·{S1}: Plural.

·{S2}: Genitive.

·...

2.2.2. Adjective.

There are two classes of adjective:

·Attributive adjective: It's a constituent of the noun phrase & precede the noun phrase head.

·Predicative adjective: It functions in the structure of the sentence as either subject attribute or object one. Apart from the majority of adjectives, which can be used both attributively & predicatively, they are adjectives which can only be used in one of these ways:

-Subject attribute: “The door is green”.

-Object attribute: “We painted the door green”.

-Attributive only: “The later solution”.

-Predicative only: “Asleep”.

A lot of adjectives take inflectional & derivational suffixes. The inflexional affixes are used to form the comparative & the superlative.

-Typical derivational affixes:

·-like: Man-like.

·-ful: Beauti-ful.

·-ic(al): Econom-ic(al).

·-ish: Mass-ive.

·...

-Typical inflectional affixes:

·-er: Bright-er.

·-est: Bright-est.

2.2.3. Adverb.

Sintactically speaking there are two major functions of adverbs. They can be constituents of the sentence, in which case, they function as adverbial or constituents of the phrase, in which case, they modify the head in adjective & adverb phrases.

-Constituents of sentences:

·Expression of: -time: Now.

-place: Here.

-manner: Well.

-degree: Less.

·Attitude of speaker: Frankly.

·Link between two sentences: Consequently.

-Constituents of phrases:

·Modifier of adjective phrase head: Very interesting.

Really good.

·Modifier of adverb phrase head: Almost always.

Most optimistically.

A lot of adverbs take inflectional & derivational affixes. The adverbs which inflect are only a small number of them.

-Typical derivational affixes:

·-ly: Intelligent-ly.

·-ward(s): After-ward(s).

·-wise: Clock-wise.

·...

2.2.4. Verb.

There are two classes of verbs:

-Auxiliary verbs: They constitute a closed class.

-Lexical verbs: They constitute an open class.

There are four major differences between lexical & auxiliary verbs:

1. Lexical verbs require periphrastic do in negative sentences with not. Auxiliary verbs can co-occur with not & can have special contracted negative forms.

Example: -“Frank likes hamburgers.”

-“Frank doesn't like hamburgers.”

-“He can come tomorrow.”

-“He can't come tomorrow.”

2. Lexical verbs require periphrastic do in yes/no questions & in WH-questions. Auxiliary verbs can come before the subject.

Example: -“Mary plays the piano.”

-“Does Mary play the piano?.”

-“What does Mary play?.”

-“Mary can play the piano.”

-“Can Mary play the piano?.”

3. Lexical verbs can't be used in code. They require periphrastic do. Auxiliary verbs can be used in code.

Example: -“John writes & Peter writes.”

-“John writes & so does Peter.”

-* “John writes & so writes Peter.”

-“John can do it & I can do it.”

-John can do it & so can I.”

4. Lexical verbs can't be used emphatically to express a contrast, they require emphatic do. Auxiliary verbs can be used emphatically.

Example: -“Your son did see her. -Yes, he did see her.”

* -Yes, he saw her.”

-“Your son hasn't seen her. -Yes, he has seen her.”

Auxiliary verbs.

An auxiliary verb can't stand on its own. It must be followed by a lexical verb, except in cases where the lexical verb is understood.

There are two classes:

-Modal auxiliaries: They are always finite & invariably & occur as the first element of the verb phrase. Can, may, must, shall & will.

Example: -I must study.

-You must study.

-He, she, it must study.

-...

-Primary auxiliaries: Have, be & do. With have & be they can be finite or non-finite forms & may occur in initial or in medial position in the verb phrase. With do they are always finite & invariably form, always occur initially & doesn't generally co-occur with other auxiliaries.

DO: It usually co-occurs with lexical verbs only. It has two kinds of uses: periphrastic use in negative & interrogative sentences & emphatic use in declarative & imperative sentences & in WH-questions opening with the subject.

Example: -“He doesn't understand it.”

-“Do you think it is wrong?.”

-“I did lock the door, you know.”

-“Do be sensible!.”

-“Who does believe him?.”

HAVE: It is the auxiliary of the perfective aspect.

Example: -I have read.

-You have read.

-He, she, it has read.

-...

BE: It is the auxiliary of the progressive aspect & of the passive voice.

Example: -“I am writing a letter.”

-“The theatre was built in 1970.”

Lexical verbs.

A lexical verb constitutes the principal part of the verb phrase. It can be accompanied by auxiliary verbs, but it can also occur in verb phrases that don't contain any other verbal forms.

There are two ways of classification:

-Classification based on complementation:

·Intransitive verbs: They don't require a complement.

·Complement verbs: They require a complement. There are two kinds, transitive complement verbs & non-transitive complement verbs.

·Transitive complement verbs: They can require:

-DO: Monotransitive verbs.

-IO + DO: Ditransitive verbs.

-BO + DO: Ditransitive verbs.

-DO + OA: Complex transitive verbs.

-DO + PC: Transitive PC verbs.

Example: -MV: “The farmer kicked the horse.”

-DV: “He gave her a book.”

-CTV: “They find him a bore.”

-TPCV: “That play reminds me of Shakespeare.”

-DO: Direct object. -IO: Indirect object. -BO: Benefactive object. -OA: Object attribute. -PC: Predicator complement.

·Non-transitive complement verbs: They can require:

-SA: Copulas.

-PC: Non-transitive PC verbs.

Example: -C: “John is a teacher.”

-Non-TPCV: “This book belongs to Jane.”

-SA: Subject attribute. -PC: Predicator complement.

Verbs take derivational & inflectional suffixes. There are thre kinds of derivational suffixes & most English verbs can add four inflexional suffixes to the base.

-Typical derivational affixes:

.-en: Dank-en.

·-ify: Simpl-ify.

·-ize/ise: Real-ize/ise.

-Typical inflectional affixes:

·{S3}: 3rd person singular of present tense: -/ s /: Walk-s

-/ z /: Climb-s.

-/ i z /: Watch-es.

·{ed1}: Past tense: -/ t /: Walk-ed.

-/ d /: climb-ed.

-/ i d /: watch-ed.

·{ed2}: Participle.

·{ing}: Gerund: / i
/ always & sometimes:

-Doubling of final consonant: Nod-nodding.

-Doubling of final -l: Travel-travelling.

-c ! ck; ie ! y: Picnic-picnicking.

Lie-lying.

-Final -e disappears: Change-changing.

2.3. Minor word classes or closed classes.

2.3.1. Preposition.

They constitute a closed word class & are formally invariable. There are two kinds:

-Simple prepositions: One-word prepositions. At, in, of, on, before, by, despite, with, ...

-Complex prepositions: Multi-word prepositions. According to, as to, because of, out of, in addition to, in terms of, in front of, ...

2.3.2. Conjunction.

They constitute a closed word class & are formally invariable. There are two kinds:

-Simple conjunctions: One-word conjunctions. &, if, bacause, but, since, that, while, before, ...

-Complex conjunctions: Multi-word conjunctions. As if, as long as. as soon as, as though, in case, in so far as, now that, so that, ...

On functional grounds there are other two kinds:

-Subordinators: They subordinate sentences. That, because, when, how, ...

-Coordinators: They coordinate sentences. But, &, or, ...

2.3.3. Article.

They constitute a closed word class & their function is exclusively as constituents of the noun phrase. There are two kinds:

-Definite article: The.

-Indefinite article: A, an.

The pronunciation depends on the initial sound of the following word or on whether the article is stressed or unstressed.

		Pronunciation
Article	Spelling	Stressed	Unstressed
Definite	the	/ ð / (bef. cons.) / ð i / (bef. cons.)	/ ð i /
Indefinite	a (bef. cons.) an (bef. voc.)	/ / / n /	/ e i / / æ n /

2.3.4. Numerals.

There are two kinds:

-Cardinal numbers: They can be modified by adverbs such as about, almost, nearly, ... One, two, three, etc.

-Ordinal numbers: First (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), etc.

Both of them function in the structure of the noun phrase or as constituents of the sentence.

Example: -“Forty is an interesting number.”

-“There were forty guests at Jim's party.”

2.3.5. Pronoum.

There are some kinds of pronouns:

-Personal pronouns: They are marked for person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), for case (subjective, objective) & for number (singular, plural). The third person singular personal pronouns are marked for gender too (masculine, femenine, neuter).

Subjetive case	Objective case
I	Me
You	You
He, she, it	him, her, it
We	Us
You	You
They	Them

They occur in the first case when they function as the subject of a sentence & in the second case in all other functions.

-Self-pronouns: They are marked for person & number. The third person singular self-pronouns are marked for gender too.

Self-pronouns
Myself
Yourself
Him/her/itself
Ourselves
Yourselves
Themselves

-Demonstrative pronouns:

Demonstrative pronouns
This	That
These	Those

-Possessive pronouns: They are marked for person & number. The third person singular possessive pronouns are marked for gender too.

There are two classes: those which function dependently & those which function independently.

Possessive pronouns
Dependent	Independent
My	Mine
Your	Yours
His, her, its	Him, her
Our	Ours
Your	Yours
Their	Theirs

-Relative pronouns: They are used to introduce relative clauses. These clauses normally function as postmodifiers in the structure of the noun phrase.

There are two kinds:

·Restrictive relative clauses: No extra-information.

·Non-restrictive relative clauses: Extra-information.

	Relative	clause
Reference of antecedent	Restrictive	Non-restrictive
Personal reference	Who, whose, whom, that	Who, whose, whom
Non-personal reference	which, whose, that	which, whose
Sentencial reference		which

Example: -Restrictive relative clause:

·PR: “The man who caused the accident scaped.”

·Non-PR: “Any book that he writes is bound to sell well.”

-Non-restrictive relative clauses:

·PR: “My sister, who lives in New York, is coming over for Christmas.”

·Non-PR: “These houses, which are owned by the Town Council, are going to be pulled down.”

·SR: “Christopher has pneumonia, which explains his absence.”

-Interrogative pronouns: Who, whose, what, whom & which. They are used to introduce direct WH-questions as “Who did that?” & indirect WH-questions after reporting verbs as “He asked who did that.”

The interrogative pronouns who & whom are used independently only. Whose, what & which can function dependently & independently.

-Reciprocal pronouns: Each other & one another.

Example: -“Margaret & Sandy accuse each other of disloyalty.”

-“The children were admiring one another's Christmas presents.”

2.3.6. Quantifier.

They constitute a closed word class. They are divided into three classes:

-Quantifiers which can only function as the head of a noun phrase. Someone, somebody, something, anyone, anybody, anything, everyone, everybody, everything, no one, nobody, nothing, none.

Example: “Someone must have left the door open.”

-Quantifiers which can function as the head of a noun phrase & as determiner. Some, any, each, all, both, either, neither, much, many, little, few, enough, several, more, most, ...

Example: “Some of the boys are orphans.”

-Quantifiers that function as determiner only. Every, No.

Example: “He has no money & no prospects.”

2.3.7. Interjections.

This word class consists of items that are used to express emotions. Ah, aha, eh, oho, ouch, damm, ...

Morfosintaxis inglesa

3. Phrase.

3.1. Meaning.

A phrase is a constituent which can be identified on the basis of the word class memberships of, at least, one of its constituent words.

A phrase can be identified on the basis of the word class membership of its most important constituent.

3.2. kinds.

-Noun phrase: Its most important element is a noun. It can be replaceable by a noun.

-Adjective phrase: Its most important element is an adjective. It can be replaceable by an adjective.

-Adverb phrase: Its most important element is an adverb. It can be r3eplaceable by an adverb.

-Verb phrase: Its most important element is a verb. It can be replaceable by a verb or verbs.

-Prepositional phrase: Its most important element is a preposition. It has a preposition plus an element governed.

Example: -Noun Ph.: “We like medieval music.”

“We like music.”

-Adj. Ph.: “John is very worried about his son.”

“John is worried.”

-Adv. Ph.: “She drives much more carefully than her son.”

“She drives carefully.”

-Verb Ph.: “John has been killed by Bill.”

“John killed by Bill.”

-Prep. Ph.: “John darted from the room.”

“John darted from.” (It can't change)

3.3. noun phrase.

3.3.1. Basic structure.

Determiner	Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(1, 1+)	(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+)

“Let me know about any major problem you may encounter.”

Det. Pre. H. Post.

3.3.2. Functions.

·In the structure of the sentence:

-S: “Her brother passed the text.”

-DO: “I saw his brother.”

-IO: “I gave him a letter.”

-BO: “Please, call me a taxi.”

-SA: “She is a vegetarian.”

-OA: “They consider her a good person.”

-PC: “It took two hours.”

-A: “We have an exam next week.”

·In the structure of another phrase:

-In the prepositional phrase + PC:

“I took a long time.”

-A constituent of noun, adjective or adverb phrase + Adverbial

·Noun Ph.: “A city the size of Amsterdam.”

·Adj. Ph.: “Two years old.”

·Adv. Ph.: “Two months later.”

-A constituent of an opposition:

“His wife, Linda, was a vegetarian.”

3.4. Adjective phrase.

3.4.1. Basic structure.

Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+ )

¡! Important: Adjectives that never have modifiers: Live, main, mere, latter, former, upper, ...

¡! Important: Adjectives that always requires post-modifiers: subject, fond, tantamount, averse, ...

“He was extremely & unexpected ill-tempered.”

Pre. Pre. H.

3.4.2. Functions.

·In the structure of the phrase:

-Modifiers in the noun phrase:

·Pre-modifiers: “A good friend.”

·Post-modifiers: “Rich enough.”

·In the structure of a sentence:

-SA: “This is ridiculous.”

-OA: “This makes me sad.”

3.5. Adverb phrase.

3.5.1. Basic structure.

Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+)

¡! Important: It's very difficult to find pre-modifier & post-modifier at the same time.

¡! Important: Adverbs that never have modifiers: Tomorrow, almost, abroad, here, already, how, now, ...

“You were driving faster than 100 m.p.h.”

H. Post.

3.5.2. Functions.

·In the structure of the phrase:

-Conjuncts: Link with the preceding sentence.

However, anyway.

-Disyuncts: Comment on the context of the phrase.

Frankly, honestly.

-Adjuncts: The rest. To give additional information.

Tomorrow, here, now, well, carefully.

·In the structure of another phrase:

-Pre-modifier of the adjective phrase.

Very good.

-Post-modifier of the adverb phrase.

Very well.

3.6. Verb phrase.

3.6.1. Basic structure.

Modifier auxiliar	Pre-modifier auxiliar	Lexical verb.
(Ø, 1, 1+)	(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)

It is surprising that he should have given up so easily.

Verb Ph. Verb Ph.

¡! Important: All the elements that form a verb phrase have to be a verb, but be careful with:

-Phrasal verb: Look up sth./sbd.

-Prepositional verb: Look for sth./sbd.

-Phrasal-prepositional verb: Put up with sth./sbd.

-Verb + noun + preposition idioms: Set fire to sth./sbd.

3.6.2. Functions.

The only function of verb phrase is predicator of a sentence.

SENTENCE

Subject

Predicate

Adverbial

Predicator

Complements

“We are flying to London tomorrow.”

S. Pred. Adv. Adv.

3.6.3. Kinds of verbs.

1. Finite verbs: They are marked by tense, mood, person, number, aspect & voice.

1. Non-finite verbs: They are marked by aspect & tense.

3.7. Prepositional phrase.

3.7.1. Basic structure.

	Prepositional phrase
Prepositional		Prep. complement

3.7.2. Dislocations.

Dislocations happen in:

·WH-questions: “Who did you talk to?.”

·Relative sentences: “The gire (that) you talked to.”

·Non-finite clauses: “The person [to talk to] is Mr. Smith.

Verb Ph. Pr.

“He is pleasent [to deal with].”

Verb Ph. Pr.

3.7.3. Functions.

·In the structure of the phrase:

-Post-modifier in the noun phrase.

“The top of the mountain.”

-Post-modifier in the adjective phrase.”

“Satisfied at everything.”

-Post-modifier in the adverb phrase.”

“Late in the evening.”

-Prepositional complement of a prepositional phrase.

“From within the room.”

Pr. Prep. comp.

·In the structure of a sentence:

-A: “He will be back by the end of the month.”

-S: “After the weekend would suit me better.”

-SA: “He was in a good mood.”

-OA: “They left me without a penny.”

-PC: “That reminds of my childhood.”

4. Sentence.

4.1. Meaning.

A sentence is an independent linguistic form not included by virtue of any grammatical construction in any larger linguistic form.

We describe sentences:

·by labelling the functions their constituents have.

“When in Rome...”

“...having breakfast in bed.”

·by labelling the categories to which their constituents belong.

“All students should have read this article by Monday.”

What it is doing: S. Pred. DO Adv.

What it is: NPh. VPh. NPh. Prep. Ph.

4.2. Functions in the structure of a sentence.

Subject (S)	Predicator (P)	Complements	Adverbial
		DO
		IO
		BO
		PC
		SA
		OA

4.3. The simple sentence.

It is a sentence in which none of the functions is realized by a clause. It is always independent, that is a sentence capable occurring on its own.

Example: “John is a bachelor.”

4.4. The complex sentence.

It's a sentence in which one or more sentence functions are realized by a clause. A sentence or clause that contains one or more clauses is called subordinate.

Subordination involves the use of a sentence as an element in the structure of another sentence.

Example: -“That the baby is ill is obvious.”

-“I believe that she is English.”

-“What you say implies that you don't approve.”

-“That Jim is not here probably means that he has overslept.”

Clauses can be classified in two ways:

·From a structural point of view:

-Finite clauses: They contain a finite verb phrase, that is a verb phrase capable of showing tense, mood, aspect & voice. They are introduced by wh-, that, if, ...

Example: “We discovered [who sent the letter].”

-Non-finite clauses: They contain a non-finite verb phrase which can't show tense or mood. They are introduced by gerund, participle, infinitive, ...

Example: “I don't remember [saying that].”

-Verbless clauses: They don't contain a verbal form. They often consist of a noun phrase or adjective phrase only. Frequently they lack a subject & they may be looked upon as clauses in which a form of the verb be has been omitted.

Example: “[A staunch liberal], George didn't believe in state ownership.”

·From a functional point of view:

-S. clauses:

Example: “[Having a breakfast] in bed is nice.”

-DO clauses:

Example: “I don't know [what to do].”

-IO clauses:

Example: “She gave [whoever came in] an angry look.”

-BO clauses:

Example: “The man bought [whoever came in] a beer.”

-SA clauses:

Example: “My feeling is [this cannot be right].”

-OA clauses:

Example: “My uncle made my firm [what it is today].”

-PC clauses:

Example: “Would you mind if [I come at six]?.”

-A clauses:

Example: “[If she believes that], she must be crazy.”

4.5. The compound sentence.

A compound sentence is one in which two or more sentences, called conjoins, have been coordinated. Each of the conjoins is independent. Coordination may be asyndetic, in which case it isn't marked overtly.

Example: “He was a moody man, his temper was never equable.”

Coordination is usually syndetic, being indicated by means of one of the coordinators and, or, for & but.

Example: -“Oil is now more expensive & that will affect our economy.”

-“You could go to France, we could go to Spain, or we could all go to Greece.”

-“Peter must be ill, for he didn't turn up.”

-“I have bought a new shirt, but it doesn't fit me.”

A compound sentence may consist of:

·Two (or more) simple sentences.

·One (or more) simple sentences + one or more complex Sentences:

·Two (or more) complex sentences.

4.6. Substitution & ellipsis.

·Substitution: It is the replacement of one or more items by a substitute or pro-form.

Example: * “Melissa said that Melissa wanted to study at Cambridge.”

“Melissa said that she wanted to study at Cambridge.”

-Pro-forms to replace a noun phrase:

·Personal pronouns.

·Possessive pronouns.

·Reflexive pronouns.

·One, ones.

·That, those.

Example: -“Melissa said that she wanted to study at Cambridge.”

-“This is Fred's car & here are his keys.”

-“Mary is not herself these days.”

-“I love red roses, but she prefers white ones.”

-“My tutor likes Yeats's poetry, but I prefer that of Keats.”

-Pro-forms to replace an adjective phrase:

·So.

·That.

Example: -“The boys promised to be good & so they were.”

-“Simon had been described as very intelligent & that he was.”

-Pro-forms to replace a verb phrase:

·Do, do so, do it, do that.

·So do.

·So...do.

Example: -“Mary snores & Gerry does, too.”

-“John's parents bought a boat last year & mine did so, too.”

-“I smoke 20 cigarettes a day & so does my wife.”

-“Your brother drinks too much. So he does.”

-Pro-forms to replace a clause:

·So.

·Not.

·It.

·This, that.

Example: -“Are the girls coming to the party? -I hope so.”

-“Is Douglas coming too? -I hope not.”

-“John told me that he had failed his exam but it didn't come as a surprise to me.”

-“He is now going to divorce his wife but that is another story.”

-Pro-forms to replace adverbial expressions of place & time:

·Here, there.

·Now, then.

·That.

Example: -“We were to meet at the corner of Dean Street & Shaftesbury Avenue, but she was not there.”

-“The baby was rushed to hospital on Sunday, but then it was too late.”

-“They are going next year, but that is not the best time.”

·Ellipsis: It abbreviates sentences by omitting elements that are retrievable from the context.

Example: -“We had invited Robin to come to the party, but he didn't want to (come to the party).”

-“Paul brought a dictionary & Harry (brought) an anthology.”

-Ellipsis involving the subject only:

Example: “Many students love languages, but (many students) are not interested in science.”

-Ellipsis involving the subject & (parts of) the predicator:

Example: “The children should have been told what to do & (the children should have been told) where to go.”

-Ellipsis involving (parts of) the predicator:

Example: “My parents will be going to Spain & Susan's parents (will be going) to Morocco.”

-Ellipsis involving (parts of) the predicator & a complement or adverbial:

Example: “We are not going to France, but the children are (going to France).”

-Ellipsis involving a complement or an adverbial only:

Example: “Fred imports (used cars) & his father sells used cars.”

4.7. Kinds of sentences.

4.7.1. Affirmative sentences.

They always have a subject, which precedes the verb.

Examples: -“Paris is the capital of France.”

-“This passage illustrates his sense of humour.”

4.7.2. Interrogative sentences.

They contain a subject & open with an auxiliary verb or a WH-word.

It can be distinguished three kinds of questions:

-Yes/no questions: They are formed by putting the first auxiliary in front of the subject:

Example: -“The children have been punished already.”

“Have the children been punished yet?.”

-Tag-questions: They consist of a statement followed by a question. The subject of the tag is always a pronoun which either repeats or replaces the subject of the statement. The first auxiliary of the statement is repeated in the tag, but if the statement contains a lexical verb in the present or past tense, a form of the auxiliary do must be used. Positive statements are normally followed by negative tags & vice versa.

Example: -“Simon should have known better, shouldn't he?.”

-“He doesn't like women, does he?.”

-WH-questions: The WH-item occurs in initial position in them. The subject follows the first auxiliary except when the WH-item functions as subject.

Example: -“Oscar will be held responsible.”

“Who will be held responsible?.”

-“We could borrow John's book.”

“Whose book could we borrow?.”

4.7.3. Negative sentences.

They contain the word not, which occurs after the first auxiliary.

Example: -“John may have written that letter.”

“John may not have written that letter.”

Some & already are replaced by any & yet in the corresponding negative sentences.

Example: -“You should have paid some attention to her.”

“You shouldn't have paid any attention to her.”

-“I have finished already.”

“I haven't finished yet.”

If the positive declarative sentence doesn't contain an auxiliary, periphrastic do must be used.

Example: -“They work hard.”

“They doesn't work hard.”

4.7.4. Imperative sentences.

They contain a verb in the imperative mood. If a subject is present it is usually you, but as a rule the subject is lacking.

Example: “Find me another pencil.”

Negative imperative sentences require periphrastic do.

Example: -“Open that window.”

“Don't open that window.”

4.7.5. Exclamatory sentences.

The subject precedes the verb. They are introduced by phrases opening with the words how or what.

Example: -“How beautiful she is!”

-“What a crashing bore he is!”

4.7.6. Cleft sentences & pseudo-cleft sentences.

-Cleft sentence: It is a construction which makes it possible to put special emphasis on a particular constituent. This is done by “cleaving” the sentence into two parts in such a way that the resulting sentence is of the pattern.

It + be + emphasized constituent + who/that...

Example: “Peter posted this letter in New York last week.”

There are the following cleft analogues:

a. It was Peter who posted this letter in New York last week.

b. It was this letter that Peter posted in New York last week.

c. It was in New York that Peter posted this letter last week.

d. It was last week that Peter posted this letter in New York.

The emphasized constituents in a., b., c., d. function as subject, direct object & adverbial in the corresponding non-cleft sentence. Other constituents, indirect object, object attribute & predicator, are less frequently emphasized in this way, but we do find sentences like “It was John I lent my camera to.”

The emphasized constituent may also be a clause, as in “It was because he was abroad that John could not be there.”

-Pseudo-cleft sentence: It is used to give special emphasis to a particular part of the sentence. Pseudo-cleft sentences can be described as subject-predicator-subject attribute sentences, in which the subject is realized by a what-clause, the predicator by a form of be & the subject attribute by a noun phrase, an infinitive or an -ing participle.

Example: -“What killed him was alcohol.”

-“What this University needs is a good Vice-Chancellor.”

Another possibility is they show that the WH-clause need not occur in sentence-initial position & that it may contain a WH-item other than what.

Example: -“A holiday in the sun is what I would like best.”

-“This is where the robbers were shot by the police.”

3. Structure of units.

1. Word.

1.1. Affixation.

1.2. Compounding.

2. Phrase.

2.1. Noun phrase.

2.2. Adjective phrase.

2.3. Adverb phrase.

2.4. Verb phrase.

2.5. Prepositional phrase.

3. Sentence.

1. Word.

English word minimally consist of one constituent, which is consequently a free morpheme.

Example: -News.

-Paper.

Words consisting of two or more constituents are formed by affixation or compounding.

1.1. Affixation.

Affixation is a process where by a prefix or a suffix is added to a free morpheme or to a word that has already undergone a word formation rule.

Example:

		press
	im	press
	im	press	con
	im	press	con	ist
	im	press	con	ist	ic
un	im	press	con	ist	ic

Segmentation of words isn't always as easy as examples like unimpressionistic.

Example: (irregular form of plural) Man-men.

1.2. Compounding.

Compounds are words such as newspaper. They are formed in a variety of ways. They can be written as one word or as separate words.

	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Noun	Daylight	Watertight	Gatecrash	Passer-by
Adjective	Greenhouse	Red-hot	Good-looking	-
Verb	Pickpocket	-	Hearsay	Take-over
Adverb	Overcoat	Oversensitive	Well-read	Henceforth

2. Phrase.

2.1. Noun phrase.

Determiner	Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(1, 1+)	(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+)
Almost always essential	Optional	Obligatory	Optional

2.2. Adjective phrase.

Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+)
Optional	Obligatory	Optional

2.3. Adverb phrase.

Pre-modifier	Head	Post-modifier
(Ø, 1, 1+)	(1)	(Ø, 1, 1+)
Optional	Obligatory	Optional

2.4. Verb phrase.

Modifier auxiliary	Pre-modifier auxiliary	Lexical verb
(Ø, 1)	(Ø, 1)	(1)
Optional	Optional	Obligatory

2.5. Prepositional phrase.

	Prepositional phrase
Preposition		Prep. complement

3. Sentence.

Subject	Predicator	Complements	Adverbial
		DO
		IO
		BO
		PC
		SA
		OA

	Sentence
Subject	Predicate		Adverbial
Predicator		Complements

Dare, need, ought (to) & used (to ) are marginal members of this class.

Idem {ed1}.

They complete the meaning of the phrase.

They complete the meaning of the predicator.