la struttura della frase in inglese, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Linguistica Inglese

Scarica la struttura della frase in inglese e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Linguistica Inglese solo su Docsity! UNIT 1 ENGLISH Introduc3on Words correspond to units of meaning, is it true? Let’s take the words: love, loving and lover. They’re different words created thanks to the addi@on of affixes. Is there a one-to-one correspondence between words and meaning? Not really: a word can have different meanings or there can be different words which share the same meaning. “Knows” and “nose”! homophones= pronounced in the same way but with a different meaning. “We have run out of handouts”! if we take each word singularly it has a meaning that changes if it appears in a sentence like this one: the verb “to run” means “correre” but in this case it is associated with other elements of the sentence which change the meaning (“finire”). This is what happens with phrasal verbs, but also with says (we all would like to have our cake and eat it too! avere la boLe piena e la moglie ubriaca). Word classes Some words such as love and democracy can have different meanings because they may mean different things for different people and cultures. These words belong to the class lexical words. In other cases, such as with “you” or “there”, the meaning of these words is not fixed because it depends on who pronounces these words and also on the context (if a prof says you to his students or vice versa). Of, which, the don’t have a lot of meanings because they’re logical connectors which means that they help clarify the rela@onship between words and meanings. These words belong to a class which is gramma3cal words. What is the difference between these two categories? Gramma@cal words are frequent in all languages (mostly “the”), they represent a closed class which means that people don’t come up with new preposi@ons as they do with lexical words. Syntax Syntax is concerned with the rules by which words are combined into larger units. When words combine together, they form phrases (syntagma), phrases form clauses and clauses form sentences. Phrase structure Our ins@nc@ve ability to iden@fy phrases is linked with an awareness of how clauses are structured. “The black Labrador was chewing a juicy bone very noisily”. There are some words which are the key elements around which a phrase is built: headwords. These words are lexical items which are central in the sense that some crucial informa@on would be missing without the headwords and the phrase would be incomplete. English is a language with 5 classes of phrases, classified on the basis of their headwords: 1) Noun phrases, 2) Verb phrases, 3) Adjec3ve phrases, 4) Adverb phrases, 5) Preposi3onal phrases!these are different because the headword is gramma@cal and not lexical. Features • Phrases have heads. • Heads determine the gramma%cal proper%es of the phrase. • Heads are normally obligatory. • Heads are seman%cally central. • Heads determine the inflec%onal proper%es (number and gender) of the phrase The witches’ discovery of the secrets of life Swimming in a pool • Non-heads are modifiers. • In one-word phrases, only the head is present A headword can cons@tute a phrase, except for preposi@onal phrases. This happens in spoken language where we provide a single word answer (tomorrow). All phrases can be extended: students like partying! university students are known to like heavy partying. Phrases in clauses or sentences can be marked by using square brackets: [Bri@sh grass snakesNP] [may appearVP] [rather dangerousAdjP]. Tree diagrams can also be used to represent phrases. Determiners show aLributes which are extraneous to the objects the nouns signify. They form a category by themselves; and they are called determiners because they determine the way a noun is used in the context. We can have a succession of determiners, but NEVER MORE THAN ONE element for pre- and central determiners! Ex: I now earn twice my first salary! cannot be “I remember the my first salary”. Determiners can be subdivided into: • Predeterminers! They come before «regular» determiners in a Noun Phrase. - All the ministers resigned from the cabinet. - Both the boys are clever. - Half the apples are roLen. These pre-determiners are followed by the + noun or demonstra3ve + noun (these+ noun). The of-construc3on is op@onal: all (of) the ministers resigned from the cabinet. However, if pronouns are used, of-construc@on is required: all of them resigned from the cabinet. There are some intensifiers which are used as pre-determiners, especially in conversa@onal English: such, quite, rather and what. They indicate the aptude of the speaker and they are followed by a/an and a noun or an adjec3ve. He is such a darling! / it was quite a calm place/ it is rather a small house. Mul3pliers like twice, three 3mes etc. are pre-determiners. They are followed by the noun. She gets twice the salary of her husband Words indica@ng frac3ons like one-third, two- fourths etc are also pre-determiners. He spends one third salary on travel. • Central determiners • Post determiners! they come a8er regular determiners in a Noun Phrase. They precede nouns but follow regular determiners in a Noun Phrase. Cardinal numbers like one, two, three, four etc. and ordinal numbers like first, second, third etc are post-determiners (ordinals always precede cardinals). The first three apples/ The first six boys. General ordinals like last, next, other, another etc are also post-determiners. If there is an adjec@ve (premodifier!!!) in the Noun Phrase it immediately precedes the noun but follows post-determiners!The first three famous novels. Quan3fiers like many, few, several, much, li\le etc are post-determiners and they precede nouns in a Noun Phrase. The few remaining apples/ the many successes he achieved/ the liLle @me leb. Modifying the noun The func@on of determiners is to tell us something which defines the noun they relate to in terms of number, quan@ty, deixis (proximity or distance from the speaker) etc. Nouns, however, can also be specified qualita@vely, i.e. they can be modified (qualified, described) in many ways. Modifica@on can be placed BEFORE the head noun (pre-modifica@on) or AFTER it (post- modifica@on). Premodifiers Premodifiers are words which MODIFY the head nouns they refer to and come BEFORE the nouns themselves. These doughnuts: These sweet doughnuts/ Chocolate doughnuts/ jam-filled doughnuts. Premodifiers can take the form of adjec3ves, nouns, and Saxon geni3ve. A foolish, expensive idea/ several party guests/ the London experience/ children’s playground. Excep@onally they may appear as adverbs, short sentences forming an objec@val role. The then teacher/ their do-as-you-please aptude. Pronouns, cardinal numerals, and some adjec3ves which can appear pronominally may func@on as head in a noun phrase: anyone may come/ the magnificent seven/ the innocent were allowed to leave. Postmodifiers They modify the head but come a]er it. [The proposal (for a new building) (which the commiLee put forward last week)]. Head nouns can be postmodified by both single phrases and en3re clauses. Phrases: noun phrases are postmodified through: - Preposi3onal phrases (a game of cards)! very common. - Adverb phrases (the trip abroad)! only occur post nominally when referring to @me or place. - Adjec3ve phrases (the president elect)! very rare post nominally. Clauses: - Rela3ve clauses: The man I met yesterday - That-clauses: The belief that God exists - Compara3ve clauses: Rachel gave a louder cry than Miriam did A range of non-finite clauses: the storm brewing at sea; a place to stay (both are non-finite rela@ve clauses!!!!!!). [The woman sipng in the front seat of the car] was talking on the phone. Embedding and recursion Each func@onal component within the NP can be complex. Ex: the terrifying near-death (premodifica@on) experience (head) lived by the 1980 earthquake survivors (post modifica@on). By the 1980s earthquake survivors ! PP The 1980s earthquake survivors ! embedded NP (head: survivors) 1980s earthquake! NP (it premodifies survivors) 1980s !N, it premodifies earthquake. Diagrams My motorcycle: NP Det headword My motorcycle The old book of Sylvia that I discovered in the closet: NP Det post-mod rela@ve clause Pre-mod Post-mod PP N P NP The N that I discovered... Old Book of Sylvia The box in the corner: - Directly in a predicate, to predicate something about a subject or object (interface with clause structure). Posi3on of adjec3ves • Noun-modifying (a\ribu3ve and postmodifying) AdjPs that appear within the NP can either precede or follow the head. If the head is an indefinite pronoun, then an AdjP that modifies it must follow the pronoun. Example: anybody clever should be able to turn that thing into something quite useful. (postmodifier). but A clever person should be able to turn that thing into a quite useful object (premodifier). • Predica3ve: AdjP can also func@on directly in the predicate Predicate adjec@ve phrases describe or qualify a NP in the clause. If a predicate adjec@ve phrase is about the subject, then the AdjP is a subject complement. If it is about the object, then it is an object complement. - Sharon is clever - The medicine tastes nasty - They called me stupid - I found the medicine disgus3ng - I found the disgus3ng [premodifier, aLribu@ve func@on] medicine effec3ve. Predica@ve func@on. The new <A> intern is very knowledgeable. <P> The canteen is always crowded. <P> The new <A> intern is a very knowledgeable person. <A> The canteen is always the most crowded place. <A> Constraints Some adjec@ves can only appear as heads of aLribu@ve adjec@ve phrase - The late king of France liked toads *Someone late liked toads *I consider the king of France late *The king of France is late Adjec@ve phrases with certain heads are typically postsposi3ve: - The concert proper lasts 2 hours, but the event is much longer. Some adjec@ves can be the heads of postposi@ve or predicate adjec@ve phrases, but not of aLribu@ve adjec@ve phrases - The children present watched the accident in horror * The present children watched the accident in horror - The small children were afraid * The afraid children were small Order of adjec3ves DETERMINER/Possessive + Observa3on/Value + Physical descrip3on (size age shape colour) + origin + material + qualifier + NOUN - A Det - Beau3ful OBSERVATION/VALUE - Old AGE - Italian ORIGIN - Touring QUALIFIER (Func@on) - Car NOUN • An expensive an3que (age) silver mirror • Four gorgeous long-stemmed (physical des) red (colour) silk roses • Lucy’s rare huge (size) old (age) American (origin) book collec@on Func3onal cons3tuents in the AdjP The adjec@ve phrase in English has three func@onal cons@tuents: 1) premodifica3on, those modifying, describing, or qualifying cons@tuents which precede the head. 2) the head, which is an adjec@ve or par@ciple serving as the focus of the phrase. 3) postmodifica3on, that modifying cons@tuent which follows the head. • Complementa3on, (the major subcategory of postmodifica@on here) that cons@tuent which follows any postmodifica@on and completes the specifica@on of a meaning implied by the head. The order of cons@tuents in the adjec@ve phrase, like all other phrase structures in English, is rela@vely fixed, helping us determine the cons@tuent elements. THE ADVERB PHRASE An adverb phrase consists of an adverb head and all its modifiers. Only adverb phrases can modify adverbs, but adverbs can have various types of complementa3on. The verb phrase includes the verb plus all the compulsory elements which go with the verb. Examples Susan is sleeping/ Meggy is cleaning her room/ Bob put the shopping bag on the table, then leb. Susan accompanied/Mary became. These clauses are incomplete (and thus ungramma@cal) because the verb requires something else to go with it. VP carries informa@on about mood, tense, modality, aspect, and voice and it’s structurally very different from NP, AdjP and AdvP. Structure Two func@onal parts: 1) the auxiliary, a gramma@cal morpheme carrying informa@on about mood, tense, modality, and voice. 2) the main verb, a lexical morpheme carrying its lexical informa@on and, oben, an inflec@on. Use of auxiliaries If a VP is composed of a single lexical verb, it will be marked for tense. If auxiliaries are present, the first will be marked for tense. NB: there are restric@ons on the order of auxiliaries. • Fred might have arrived by now ! yes • Fred have might arrived by now ! no The mood The mood system in English is divided into four subcategories. The indica3ve mood The indica@ve mood 'indicates' It conveys to the listener/reader that the speaker/writer is making a statement, referring to the real world in an honest, direct, relevant way. The majority of our expressions are indica@ve in mood. Speakers signal the indica@ve mood by using word order: when the auxiliaries take their "usual" posi@on following the 'subject,' we interpret the clause as being in the indica@ve mood. The interroga3ve mood The interroga@ve mood signals the speakers' desire for informa@on, that they are asking a ques@on, that they are 'interroga@ng' the listeners. The interroga@ve is marked by star@ng a clause with an auxiliary verb or an interroga@ve pronoun. (1) Can Liz do that? (2) What will Liz do? The impera3ve mood The impera@ve mood expresses the speakers' sense of a command, request, or exhorta@on - an impera@ve. Speakers signal the impera@ve mood by using a base form of the verb in clause-ini@al posi@on. (3) Do that! (4) Be here by 8:00 pm. The subjunc3ve mood The subjunc@ve mood expresses the speakers' sense of the unlikely, a wish, a prayer, a hope. The subjunc@ve describes the state of affairs as speakers wish or hope them to be. It describes hypothe3cal situa3ons, "some other world." Speakers signal the subjunc@ve by beginning subordinate clauses with an auxiliary or by using subordinators that overtly mark hypothe@cal condi@ons. (5) Had I known you were coming; I'd have baked a cake. (6) If I were a millionaire, I'd endow an award in your honour. The subjunc@ve may be marked in the verb phrase by the use of an “unusual” subject-verb concord (I/he/she/were; I suggest she do) (7) I suggest that Ms. Jones reconsider her decision. (8) The administra@on insists that no one be exempted from the placement exams. It is also used in several older, formulaic subjunc@ve expressions that have survived in the modern language. (9) God save the King. (10) Heaven forbid it should snow again. Tense Tense systems mark @me. Tense is an inflec@on on the verb that indicates the @me reference of the expression. In English, tense is marked on the first verb of the verb phrase. - 'finite' verbs ! marked for tense (I went; she does) - ‘nonfinite’ verbs ! verb forms that do not carry a tense inflec@on (going; said). English has two tenses: • PRESENT, marked with the –s for the third person singular, • PAST marked with –ed or by one of several inflec@ons / root changes. Time frames and tense The present tense can be used to refer to many different 3me frames. Emily is @red today! present @me frame Emily is leaving soon ! near future Emily is clever ! past, present and future simultaneously. Verbs and tense Verbs can be marked for present or past. - I walk to university - I walked to university When a verb is marked for tense, it is finite; when it is not, it is called non-finite. Aspect Aspect signals either the comple3on or the con3nua3on of the process indicated by the verb in English. The perfect aspect expresses the speakers' sense of comple@on (10) Liz encourages Emily. (ac@ve) (11) Emily is encouraged by Liz. (passive) The passive voice is signalled by the use of a form of be and the -ed par@ciple, be + V-ed. Modality and voice - She is helping her sister - She might be helping her sister - The singer was performing (the song) - The song was being performed (by the singer). To sum up A verb phrase may include only a lexical verb (which may be a mul@-word verb) or it may include one or more auxiliaries up to a maximum of four. Primary auxiliaries (aspect and voice): be, have, do Modal auxiliaries (“future”, permission, voli@on, ability, obliga@on etc.): can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, must, might. The structure of the verb phrase SUBJECT AND PREDICATOR Phrases are formed from words; clauses are formed from phrases. What is a clause? It’s a group of words which includes a subject and a predicate, i.e. at least two separate func@onal units which depend on each other to make sense. A clause can be: - finite (if it contains a finite verb); or - non-finite (if the verb is a non-finite form). Ex. of non-finite clauses: - I had something to eat before leaving. - A]er having spent six hours at the hospital, they eventually came home. Clauses and sentences When two or more clauses are joined together by means of connectors, we have sentences. A sentence is a complex clause. - The company is extremely successful ! clause - The company is successful thanks to the outstanding quality of its products !clause - The company is successful because its products are of outstanding quality !sentence Form and func3on Phrases take their names from the WORD CLASS their heads belong to: this is a formal category! We have also no@ced that phrases are made up of mul@ple cons@tuents, each playing a specific role. For instance, in the NP we have determiners, premodifiers, the head, and postmodifiers (only the head is compulsory); In the VP, we must have a lexical verb (which comes last in the list of elements in the verb phrase), but we can also have auxiliaries and modals. Each of these elements has a specific func@on. The form/func3on interface How do they interface? Between them there is an interrela@onship, but not a one to one rela@onship. Ex: wri@ng is a func@on, in order to write we may use many tools (pen), the pen here corresponds to the form. There’s no one to one rela@onship because for one func@on we could use different forms and vice versa. Example The company / manufactures / electronic devices NP VP NP Here we have two NPs, but they do not play the same role in the clause. This suggests that we need to look at func@ons, and at which forms can fulfil certain func@ons. Please note: This is not different from what we did at phrase level. For instance, within a NP, we have the func@on of premodifier; which forms can occur in premodifying func@on? Typically, AdjPs and NPs, as well as NPs in their possessive form. By converse, what forms (words/phrases/clauses) can func@on as subject/object/complement? - [Apple] is a successful company. NP, single noun - [The company Tim works for] is a successful enterprise. NP, postmodified - [Being a successful company] entails a lot of responsibili@es. Non-finite clause - [Which one of these companies] is the most successful? NP (interroga@ve pronoun!) Levels of language descrip3on Language can be described at different levels. You should bear in mind that these different levels are not necessarily discrete units but are interconnected. We will now start looking at the func@on of cons@tuents in a sentence. A cons@tuent can be defined as “a string of words which syntac@cally behaves as a unit”. Ex: The company manufactures electronic devices. The subject What/who is the clause about? What is said about this en@ty? [The company] [manufactures electronic devices] subject predicate What is the func@on of the subject? It tells you who/what the sentence is about. What is the func@on of the predicate? It tells you what the subject does. Criteria for iden3fying subjects • Subjects are usually noun phrases. • Generally, they are the first NP we come across. • They are obligatory. • They determine the form the verb takes. There are two more criteria that can help iden@fy subjects: • In yes/no ques@ons, the subject and the verb/operator swap posi@on. • Tag ques@ons help iden@fy the subject. The predicate • My friend lent me. • My friend lent his book. Both wrong A verb may require a direct Object only. - I borrowed a book. You do not need to add any other cons@tuent in order for the clause to be complete. Indirect object S P O(i) O(d) My friend / lent / me / his book. S !Agent O(d) !Pa@ent/Undergoer O(i) ! Goal/Receiver or Beneficiary S P O(i) O(d) The child / gave / the can / a kick. S P O(i) O(d) The child / gave / his mother / a kiss. We talk about Beneficiary (the mother) or Goal (the can) and Undergoer (an inanimate object) or Pa@ent (an animate en@ty). - We gave the books to the boys - The publisher sent a review copy of the book to her. - She lent a pen to the student. - My father always told stories to us. In all these cases, the indirect object has been postponed. This movement entails the introduc@on of a preposi@on. This is called an oblique construc@on. What are the syntac@c characteris@cs of O(i)? - They are usually NPs - They cannot occur without a following direct object. - They always precede the direct object. When they are postponed, they take an oblique form - Like direct objects, they can become the subjects of passive sentences Complement Most frequently, the element of a clause which follows a copular verb such as be or seem. The word complement literally means ‘comple@ng’, so this func@on is used not to introduce something en@rely new into the sentence but to complete what we know about something or somebody already men@oned. Complements occur aber par@cular (copular) verbs, including be, seem, appear - Sofia is a teacher. - Carrie is tall. - Jennifer seems clever. Complements can also occur with the following verbs: • verbs of change: become, but also make, paint, colour, rub - Sam became a doctor. - Carlos became very angry. - Mary made me successful. - Carrie painted the door red. - Sam’s training made him a doctor. • verbs of percep3on, such as think and consider. - Jim thought Sarah immature - Tom considers Lucy aLrac@ve In some of these construc@ons the complement refers to the OBJECT and not to the SUBJECT. - Mary painted the door red - Nasser thought Sheila immature Recall AdjPs used in PREDICATIVE POSITION. Object vs complement My mother made me (Od) a tennis player (C) If the two NPs refer to the same person, the first is an indirect object, and the second a complement of the object. This is a clause of the type SPOC My mother made me (Oi) a cup of coffee (Od) The two NPs are not referred to the same item, then the first one is an indirect object, and the second is a direct object. This is a clause of the type SPOO. Objects can be made the subject of passive clauses; complements cannot. - A cup of coffee was made [for me] by my mother - A tennis player was made me by my mother. Incorrect Subject Complements (A) and Object Complements (B): A B • Sofia is a teacher. Mary made me successful • Carrie is tall. Carrie painted the door red • Sam became a doctor. Sam’s training made him a doctor • Carlos became very angry. Jim thought Sarah immature. • Jennifer seems clever. Complements are typically NP or AdjP; When they complete the subject, they come aber the verb. - Sofia is a teacher S P C When they complete the direct object, they come aber it. - Mary made me successful S P O C What happens when the O is a clause? - I find / this course / tough. - I find /studying for this exam / tough. - I find / it / tough / to study for this exam. (SPOC) This is an example of object extraposi@on. THE ADVERBIAL The adverbial element Adverbials “tell you about the how, why, where and when of the situa@ons expressed by the respec@ve sentences”. Compulsory adverbial elements occur because there are lexical verbs “whose meaning relates the subject of the predicator not to other individuals (such as objects) or to some quality or iden@fica@on (such as complements), but to some kind of circumstance, such as 3me or space”. The teacher put the books away/in the cupboard. *The teacher put the books. The fes@val lasts for a week/all week. *The fes@val lasts. No@ce that in these cases the posi@on of the adverbial is preLy much fixed. Verbs which acquire an adverbial Be, get, lie, remain and stay can all be used with Adverb Phrases as compulsory Adverbials. - Mary has been away for a few weeks - Can you stay here a second please? Be, get, lie, live, remain, stand and stay can all be used with Preposi@onal Phrases as compulsory adverbials. Firms remain under intense pressure to control their internal costs in the face of global compe@@on. AdvP PP Sue is here. Sue is at home. I got there. I got to my des@na@on. Mary is lying down. Mary is lying on the sofa. Tom stayed away. Tom stayed at home. We live here. We live in London. He remained in the country. She stood on a chair. How do compulsory adverbials work in clauses? S P A Mary / is / at home. S P A Sue / lives / in London. S P O A Tim / put / the book / in the bookshelf. S P A The concert / lasted / three hours. S P O A The teacher / sent / Tim / home To sum up There are five clause elements in English. They are: • Subject (S): usually a noun phrase and near the beginning of the clause. The verb must agree (in person and number) with this element. • Predicator (P): always a verb phrase and agreeing with the subject in person and number. Normally follows the subject fairly closely. • Object (O): usually a noun phrase and following the predicator. Only follows transi@ve verbs. Ditransi@ve verbs have two objects. An indirect object can only occur with a direct object. • Complement (C): either a noun phrase or an adjec@ve phrase; less frequently, an adverb phrase or a preposi@onal phrase. Only follows a limited number of verbs, most notably be. Has the same referent as the subject (or the object with verbs such as consider). • Adverbial (A): usually a preposi@onal phrase or an adverb phrase. Op@onal element that may occur in any posi@on of the clause, and that, if omiLed, would not destroy the gramma@cality of the clause. Obligatory adverbials are restricted in posi@on (aber the predicator, or – more rarely - aber the Od). Form-func3on rela3on Although noun phrases oben func@on as subjects, and though subjects are very oben fulfilled by noun phrases, there is no intrinsic connec@on, and it’s important to know that a noun phrase may have a number of func@ons that are not as subject clause element. Basic clause structures What you have just iden@fied are the seven basic clause structures (excluding op@onal adverbials): - SP (if the verb is intransi@ve) - SPO (if the verb is transi@ve): “Sue opens the door” - SPC (if the predicator is a copular verb or a verb of change/percep@on): “I am @red” - SPOO (if the verb is ditransi@ve): “my brother gave me a box of chocolate” - SPOC - SPA (if the verb belongs to the list of verbs which require to be completed by some informa@on about circumstances or the condi@ons in which the ac@on takes place): “I am here” - SPOA (if the verb is transi@ve and requires some informa@on on the circumstances in which the ac@on takes place): “the sheriff put the gun down” RELATIVE CLAUSES - The guy who shouted must have been on about the seventh floor. - That woman that was here lost all her keys. - Have you ever heard of Guy Preston, who had a hit song with Loving Ways? - I haven’t had a holiday in years, which is really sad, I think. They all contain rela@ve clauses; the rela@ve clauses have different func@ons. Types of rela3ve clauses Rela@ve clauses are of two main kinds: • Embedded clauses which postmodify noun heads - Defining/restric@ve! if the extra informa@on provided by the rela@ve clause is necessary for the understanding of the clause. - Non-defining/non-restric@ve! not strictly necessary. • Which-clauses referring to a whole sentence or stretch of discourse - Senten@al! “which is really sad” Func3on of rela3ve clauses Rela@ve clauses may define or describe a noun: - This is the problem which we are having at the moment. - There’s Las Palmas, which is one of the Canary Islands. Difference in meaning - The teacher spoke to the students, who had completed the test. All the students had completed the test. The teacher spoke to them. - The teacher spoke to the students who had completed the test. Some students had completed the test, but not all. The teacher spoke to those who had. • It was like a dream from which I feared I would wake any moment. - *It was like a dream from that I feared I would wake up any moment. Whose When the rela@ve pronoun stands for a possessive determiner, whose is used in defining and non- defining rela@ve clauses. Whose is normally used for possession by humans and animals, but in more formal styles it can also be used for things: - She had survived a catastrophe whose details her husband was unable to imagine. - She had survived a catastrophe the details of which her husband was unable to imagine. Zero rela3ve pronoun-examples - That’s a job Ø I could never do. - I met some people Ø I had not seen for ages. - Is this the car Ø Fiona was talking about? - This is the house Ø we used to live in. In informal styles and especially in spoken language, a defining rela@ve clause referring to the object of the clause may occur without any rela@ve pronoun. - This is the friend. I met her yesterday, - This is the friend [whom] I met yesterday. - This is the friend Ø I met yesterday. Zero rela@ve pronouns can also occur as the complement of a preposi3on, but only when the preposi3on is placed at the end of the rela3ve clause: - This is the house Ø we used to live in. - *This is the house in Ø we used to live. Non-finite rela3ve clauses - The woman [who is] sijng next to Marian is her sister. - Each cell will con@nue to divide to form a human [which is] composed of millions of cells. - Preliminary inves@ga@ons indicate that some, if not all, of the clients’ money, [which is] believed to total £6 million, found its way into unquoted companies and property purchases. Many of the same principles which apply to finite defining and non-defining rela@ve clauses apply to their non-finite equivalents. However, with non-finite rela3ve clauses, the zero rela3ve pronoun is used. -ing and -ed rela3ve clauses: occurrence In the case of –ing and –ed clauses, non-finite rela@ve clauses only occur when the subject of the non-tensed verb is the same referent as the head noun. - The woman who is buying a coat is my aun@e. S The woman buying a coat is my aun@e - The woman who I was telling you about is over there. S *The woman telling you about is over there. -ed rela3ve clauses Rela@ve –ed clauses correspond to passive voice finite equivalents: - The company sold made millions. - The company which was sold made millions. -ing rela3ve clauses -ing clauses are not just reduced equivalents of their equivalent progressive finite forms. Verbs which are not normally used in in progressive aspect may be used in non-finite rela@ve –ing clauses: - Half a mile later, they reached a derelict complex consis3ng of half a dozen buildings. Senten3al rela3ve clauses - Mergers have become very common, which is worrying as they reduce compe@@on in the market. - Demand has increased, which is a very posi@ve development for the company. - The company had to release a number of workers, which is never easy to do.