Understanding Word Classes and Their Functions in English Grammar, Appunti di Lingua Inglese

Scarica Understanding Word Classes and Their Functions in English Grammar e più Appunti in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity! LEZIONE 1 - INTRODUZIONE SINTASSI PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY: the study of sounds and the ways in which sounds interact with each other MORPHOLOGY: the study of the structure of words, that is how they change in form SYNTAX: the study of the principles governing how words can be assembled into sentences SYNTAX: Syntax operates at three levels: 1. How words work together in units that are smaller than sentences. We will call these smaller units ‘phrases’ (sintagma): Ex. Some of my friends Ex. Some friends of mine 2. How we put together and interpret a sentence, or clause (proposizione): Ex. The cat chased the mouse Ex. The mouse chased the cat Ex. The cat was chased by the mouse 3. How clauses are related in complex sentences INTRODUCING WORD CLASSES: Sentences are made up of words. We use specific terms to refer to words in sentences that behave in the same way. These words belong to the same class word class or category. The words in the same class can substitute for each other in a sentence. Each word belongs to a specific word class (noun, verb, etc.). When the same form appears in more than one class, we consider the various occurrences as separate lexemes: smoke (verb) smoke (noun) There are 11 WORD CLASSES Words in each class possess different characteristics and properties. A distinction is made between content words and function words. 4 CONTENT WORD classes: NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, VERBS, ADVERBS NOUN: boy, water, beauty ADJECTIVE: expensive, watery, calm VERB: break, sing, become ADVERB: now, here, safely Content words have fairly independent meanings and may be meaningful even in isolation or in a series, they are crucial for conveying information and this is why they are called ‘content’ words. Content words have derivational morphology, so we can form nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs by adding suffixes: Wonder + ful Teach + er Class + ify Content word classes have a very large number of members. That is why they are said to form OPEN classes. 7 FUNCTION WORD classes: DETERMINER, PRONOUN, PREPOSITION, CONJUNCTION, AUXILIARY (VERB), NUMERAL, DISCOURSE MARKER DETERMINER: the, a, my, which, some, this, that, etc. PRONOUN: I, me, they, anyone, all, some, many, who, which, what PREPOSITION: of, in, to, for, on, at, from, as CONJUNCTION: as, if, when, and, or, but AUXILIARY (VERB): can, will, may, do, be NUMERAL: cardinal numbers (one, two, etc.), ordinal numbers (first, second, etc.) DISCOURSE MARKER: right, wow, ok Function words are ‘non-content’ words, they do not automatically suggest any identifiable meaning. They signal grammatical function and grammatical structure. Such classes contain relatively few members, so they constitute CLOSED classes. Although small in number, function words tend to occur more frequently. It is not generally possible to tell which word class a word belongs to, simply by looking at it. We need to study a word in context. We can tell the class of a word partly from its: FORM: Electric-ity (noun), electr-ify (verb), electric-al (adjective): use of derivational suffixes FUNCTION: Where it occurs in a sentence: The cook (noun, subject) does not actually cook (verb, predicate) the meal. MEANING: Semantic types of word: actions verbs, abstract nouns, etc. FUNCTION is most important FORM is next important MEANING is least important LEZIONE 2 - CONTENT WORD CLASSES NOUNS make up the largest category, 37% of the words in almost any text are nouns. FUNCTION: Nouns can function as the head of a noun phrase. - Donkeys - Our town - The worst journey ever FORM: Verbs are variable lexemes: they have a number of different inflectional forms that are required or permitted in various grammatical contexts. The great majority of verbs in English have six inflectional forms. Primary forms show inflectional distinctions of tense (preterite vs present): preterite (past tense), 3rd singular present, plain present. Secondary forms have no tense inflection: plain form, gerund-participle, past participle. MEANING: 7 semantic categories: - activity verbs (eat) - communication verbs (say) - mental verbs (think) - causative verbs (cause) - verbs of occurrence (occur) - verbs of existence or relationship (seem, look) - verbs of aspect (keep, stop) ADVERBS Three major types of adverbs: 1. Most adverbs add some kind of circumstantial information (time, place, manner). 2. Some adverbs (adverbs of degree) modify adjectives and other adverbs. They answer the question: ‘to what degree?’ (Ex. Really good). 3. Sentence adverbs, which apply to the whole clause or sentence, often expressing the point of view of the speaker, or a connection between it and another clause or sentence (Ex. So=quindi). FUNCTION: 1. Head of an adverb phrase - It can stand alone as a minimal adverb phrase: She spoke softly. - It can be preceded and or followed by another word (normally adverbs): She spoke very softly indeed. 2. A modifier in an adjective phrase or in an adverb phrase: It's quite warm outside. FORM: - Many adverbs are derived from adjectives by adding the suffix -ly. - A few adverbs resemble adjectives in having comparative and superlative forms: sooner/soonest, better/best. - Many common adverbs are not derived from adjectives and do not end in -ly: quite, almost, now, ever, rather, seldom, yet, there, tomorrow, so, too. NB, a few words ending in -ly are not adverbs, but adjectives: early, costly, friendly, (un)likely, lovely, lonely. - Some words can be both adjectives and adverbs: early, deep, far, fast, hard, late, long, low, near, well. MEANING: Adverbs can express many different types of meanings. It is useful to use a question test: How? MANNER ADVERB: well, nicely Where? PLACE ADVERB: here, there Where to? Where from? DIRECTION ADVERB: up, down When? TIME-WHEN ADVERB: then, once, tonight How often? FREQUENCY ADVERB: always, usually To what degree? How much? DEGREE ADVERB: rather, quite, pretty Fortunately and however are sentence adverbs, they do not answer questions. Fortunately, actually, surely, perhaps are attitude adverbs. Moreover, therefore, however, therefore, though are connecting adverbs. LEZIONE 3 - FUNCTION WORD CLASSES DETERMINERS Determiners begin noun phrases and are generally obligatory with count singular nouns: Ex. The dog bit a man. They precede an adjective if one is present; otherwise, they are placed directly before the noun. Various types of words fit into this categories: ARTICLES: the, a (n) DEMONSTRATIVES: this, that, these, those POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS: my, your, his, her, its, our, their QUANTIFIER DETERMINERS: all, some, any, one, another, everybody, someone, many, much, little, less WH- DETERMINERS: what, which, whose, whatever, whichever The and a/an are the most common determiners, the main semantic contribution of the determiner is to mark the noun phrase as definite or indefinite: The is definite article A (n) is indefinite article The other determiners can also be defined as ‘definite’ and ‘indefinite’: DEFINITE: the, this, that, all, both, relative which, whichever, whatever INDEFINITE: a, each, every, some, any, few, little, many, etc. interrogative which, what NUMERALS They are sometimes classified as determiners. They include CARDINAL NUMBERS (one, two, etc.) and ORDINAL NUMBERS (first, second, thirds, etc.). PRONOUNS Pronouns refer to or replace nouns and noun phrases: - within a text: My aunt, she ... - or as a direct reference to an outside situation: for example in response to sudden loud noise, I can say: What was that? Pronouns occupy the same position as a noun or noun phrase does: My brother was ill all week. He didn’t go to the office. There are several kinds of pronouns: PERSONAL: I like them REFLEXIVE: Your sister underestimates herself RECIPROCAL: They dislike each other INTERROGATIVE: Who saw them leave? RELATIVE: The guy who helped us was from Rome POSSESSIVE: mine, yours, his, etc. DEMONSTRATIVE: this, that, these, those There is a large overlap between determiners, pronouns and adverbs: This wine is much too sweet. (determiner) This is an excellent wine. (pronoun) PREPOSITIONS Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases and express relations of possession (of the world), place (by the sea), time (on the coldest night of the year). Some common prepositions in order of frequency: of, in, to, for, with, on, by, at, from, as, into, about, like, after, between, through, over. Prepositions share the following properties: 1. They take a noun phrase as a complement: The sun sank [below the horizon] vs. I went [below]. 2. Most prepositions have meanings to do with relations in space or time. There is a large overlap between prepositions and adverbs, particularly adverbs of place and direction: I looked up the chimney. (preposition) I looked up. (adverb) CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions are linking words. Some common conjunctions in order of frequency: - Subordinating conjunctions: that, as, if, when, than, because, while, where, although. They join a subordinate clause to a main clause. - Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor. They join elements that are grammatically equal: Marianne and Diane wrote this book. AUXILIARIES They precede the main verb in the verb phrase. They fall into two categories: - Modal auxiliaries: can, will, may, shall, could, would, might, should, must. They are largely concerned with expressing 'modality', such as possibility, prediction, obligation, volition. - Primary auxiliaries: be, have, do. The same verbs be, have, do can also act as primary lexical verbs. The primary auxiliaries show how the main verb is to be understood: - The auxiliary have is used to form the perfect aspect: I’ ve done that once. - The auxiliary be is used for the progressive aspect or continuous aspect: They can be: - PrepPs: My aunt is (a woman (with strong principles)). - Relative clauses: (The book (that) I am reading) has been banned in several countries. - Adverbs: The girl upstairs. - Adjectives: (Something nasty (in the woodshed)). - Embedded NPs: (The bandicoot, (a largly nocturnal marsupial)). FREQUENCY: PrepPs are the most common type of modifier in academic writing. DETERMINERS Determiners enable us to take a noun and assign reference to it, which means creating a link between a NP and the object (or place, or person, or notion) it refers to in the real world. Ex. Where is the frying pan? The (un)countability is a basic property of the noun that limits the way it can combine with determiners. MODIFIERS A noun phrase may include additional: 1. pre-modifying information NP-internal adjectives in English are nearly always placed before the head (following any determiners): Red roses, the bright sun. 2. post-modifying information Modifying information that takes the form of a relative clause. [Children who read such books] will often have nightmares. The closer an adjective is to the noun head, the more objective the property is that it refers to. If more than an adjective is used attributively, the order in which the adjectives occur is not free. The order in which the different types of adjectives are mentioned is usually as follows: opinion > size > age > shape > colour > origin > material + HEAD NOUN. LEZIONE 6 - VERB PHRASES THE VERB PHRASE STRUCTURE AND VERB FORMS The main verb functions as the main element of a VERB PHRASE (VP). We will focus on the finite verb phrase, that is, the kind of verb phrase in finite clauses. Ex. [Lisa (bought) her clothes in Paris]. The finite verb phrase is marked for tense (present or past tense). Non-finite verb phrases have no marking for tense. Ex. They advised the minister [(to leave) the building immediately]. A VERB PHRASE (VP) consists of a main verb, which is the head of the phrase, and any preceding auxiliary verbs. The main verb expresses the general idea of what is happening in the clause (action, event, state of affairs). Auxiliaries are like modifiers, they add information: - about a viewpoint on the action (modality) Ex. She may come. - how we view the action in temporal terms: as being in progress or as completed (aspect) Ex. She is arriving. - the way information is presented or organized (active- passive voice) Ex. The singer performed the song. These types of construction can be combined, with up to a maximum of four auxiliaries. There is a fixed order in which auxiliary verbs occur: Modal+ primary auxiliaries Ex. Fred (might have arrived) by now. One of the features which VPs may possess is tense. In terms of inflectional endings, there are only two tenses in English: - the present (plain form, -s) - the past (-ed, equivalent form on the irregular verbs) LEXICAL VERBS VS AUXILIARY VERBS Lexical verbs form an open class. The set of auxiliary verbs is a closed class which includes: - primary auxiliaries: be, have, do - nine core modal auxiliaries: can, could, shall, should, may, might, must Auxiliaries have syntactic properties that lexical verbs do not share: 1. Direct not-negation: only auxiliaries can be directly negated by not Ex. They will not (won’t) eat sweets. 2. Subject-auxiliary inversion: only auxiliaries can invert with a subject Ex. Have you already had breakfast? 3. Ellipsis: after an auxiliary, the rest of the VP can very often be left unexpressed Ex. Is she coming to the party? – No, she isn’t. Are they? Other constructions with Subject-auxiliary inversion in English beside interrogatives: - Never have I been so insulted in my entire life. (preposed negative adverbs) - Should you need any assistance, please call our toll-free number. (conditionals) - Wow, can she sing! (exclamations) - Peter can drive, and so can his sister. (affirmative and negative expressions of similarity) Syntactic restrictions on lexical verbs: 1. do-insertion: when there is no auxiliary for not-negation, Subject- auxiliary inversion or ellipsis, English makes use of the do- insertion and uses it instead of the lexical verb with non- progressive present and past tenses. Ex. My sister always says exactly what she thinks, and so do I. 2. do-emphatic: do-insertion can be used with an emphatic function in affirmative declarative clauses. Ex. John does know how to throw a party. N.B. The verb do is also a lexical verb (do the washing up, do someone a favour, do a course). Have: auxiliary or lexical verb? Like lexical verb do, lexical have is extremely common in these collocations: - Have = eat (have breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, a bite to eat) - Have a drink, have a look around, have a party, have a wonderful (terrible) time As a lexical verb, have uses do-insertion: She had a baby last month, didn’t she? When have expresses meaning associated with possession or physical description, it is possible to use the verbal expression have got: I have got an older sister, I have got brown hair. When have got is used, have is an auxiliary, which means that do-insertion is not required: She has got long hair. N.B. Have got is only used in the present. TRANSITIVE, DITRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS Lexical verbs require in some cases certain elements (or complements) other than the Subject for their meaning to be complete: complementation. - intransitive verbs: verbs that require nothing more than a Subject. Ex. The young man fainted from the heat. - transitive verbs: verbs that require a Direct Object (DO). Ex. I like detective novels from the 1930s. - ditransitive verbs: verbs that require both a Direct Object (DO) and an Indirect Object (IO). Ex. Sarah handed Brian the parcel/She handed the parcel to Brian. NP/ PrepP alternation NPs can sometimes alternate with PrepPs: They’ll offer the best person the job They’ll offer the job to the best person. N.B. The alternation with a NP is not always possible. A PrepP is the only form an IO can take: The teacher didn’t explain the diagram to them. BUT NOT The teacher didn’t explain them the diagram. Other verbs which behave like explain: admit, complain, declare, deliver, describe, mention, point out, propose, reply, report, say, suggest. To or for in the PrepP? If the IO is realized as a PrepP, it may be headed by to or for. - Her assistant will send their partners the new plans. Her assistant will send the new plans to their partners. (role of recipients: change in possession) -The company built them a very sleek website. The company built a very sleek website for them. (role of beneficiary: for someone’s benefit) N.B. With some verbs, an IO can be either a recipient or a beneficiary, and the use of to or for in these cases is predictable. Adverbial clauses They typically begin with a conjunction (if, when, because, while). They function as ADJUNCTS with respect to the main clause. Relative clauses They function as POST-MODIFIERS to a NP telling us more about what the noun denotes. They have the same function as AdjPs and PrepPs. Relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun: WHO/WHICH or THAT. The pronoun is related to its antecedent (NP). Complement clauses They are typically required to complete the meaning of the rest of the main clause. Complement clauses report what someone said or thought. They are usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction. Two important types of complement clause: 1. Declarative complement clauses: the subordinating conjunction THAT is sometimes obligatory, sometimes optional, and sometimes inadmissible. When is ‘that’ obligatory? When the complement clause is the subject of the sentence. When it is optional, it is generally omitted in informal style and after and short and common verbs. It is not omitted after long and less frequent verbs. 2. Interrogative complement clauses: they express questions, but do not themselves ask them. Ex. I know where it is. (Where is it?) NON-FINITE CLAUSES Non-finite clauses are always subordinate. Non-finite clauses have no finite verb, and generally have no Subject. -They advised the minister [to leave the building immediately]. NON-FINITE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE -They advised the minister [that she should leave the building immediately]. FINITE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE Three major types of non-finite clauses: a. Liz wants to write a novel. TO INFINITIVE b. Liz dreams of writing a novel. GERUND PARTICIPLE (also called PRESENT PARTICIPLE -ing form) c. The report [sent to the press] was totally false. PAST PARTICIPLE Non-finite clauses tend to be shorter, more compact. They are useful for simplifying sentences, especially in writing. Non-finite clauses may have different functions. LEZIONE 9 - CLAUSES AND SENTENCES COORDINATION In coordination, two or more elements of equal status are joined to make a larger unit. The three most common coordinating words (coordinating conjunctions or coordinators) are AND, OR, BUT. Coordination has the following properties: 1. Unlimited number of coordinates (from two up) 2. Coordinates must be syntactically similar 3. Impossibility of preposing an expanded coordinate 4. The order of coordinates can be changed without any particular effect on the acceptability or interpretation of the coordination, with the exception of fixed expressions SIMPLE, COMPOUND AND COMPLEX SENTENCES There are two important devices for combining clauses: subordination and coordination. Traditionally, we can identify four patterns of sentence construction: 1. Simple sentences consisting of just one clause Ex. They gave me access to the site. 2. Compound sentences consisting of two or more coordinated clauses Ex. [Use it] or [lose it]. 3. Complex sentences consisting of one main clause with one or more embedded clauses Ex. [I’ m starting tomorrow, [although I don’t have an on-line name yet]]. 4. Compound-complex sentences combining coordination and subordination Ex. [I actually didn’t know [she was pregnant]], but[I just assumed [she was]].