English Grammar and Phrase Structure: From Words to Phrases and Clauses, Appunti di Lingua Inglese

Scarica English Grammar and Phrase Structure: From Words to Phrases and Clauses e più Appunti in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity! Lingua Inglese Il x Grammar Intercultural From words to phrases. The principle of embedding. Analysis and description of clause constituents. Clause types. Verbs and verb complementation. Word order. Aspects of contrastive syntax. Practical applications. The soon-to-be-dismissed manager made one last-ditch attempt to persuade the board that his decisions, however unfortunate, had been made in good faith -. Il manager appena licenziato fece un ultimo tentativo per convincere il consiglio che le sue decisioni, per quanto sfortunate, erano state prese in buona fede (?) The soon-to-be-dismissed manager - soggetto made — predicato one last-ditch attempt - complemento oggetto In qualsiasi azienda, a prescindere dalle dimensioni, è, come è noto, di particolare importanza la funzione delle risorse umane -— As is well known, the human resource function (S) plays (P) a key role (O) in every company (optional adverbial) regardless of its size. PRINCIPLE OF NON-SEPARATION As is well known, the human resource function (S) plays (P) a key role (O) in every company (optional adverbial) regardless of its size. What does this prove? «that “understanding it all” does not mean you can translate it all «that syntax helps with practical tasks ethat some syntactic structures are pose challenges which can be overcome by analysing them contrastively Syntax is concerned with the rules by which words are combined into larger units ePhrases eClauses «Sentences -The next rank after words are PHRASES -Words are the constituent elements of phrases. -At the phrase rank, we discover that it is possible to analyze each structure in more than one NEVA -To study this pnenomenon more closely, we will look at phrase structure in English. PHRASES Noun phrases Adjective phrases Adverb phrases Verb phrases . Prepositional phrases The black labrador was chewing a juicy bone very noisily - this not only a sequence of individual words. Words are organised in phrases, then in clauses (like this one) and then in sentences. Headwords or heads -. Lexical items which are central to the phrase in the sense that some crucial information would be missing without the headword, and the phrase would seem structurally incomplete. FEATURES OF PHRASES 1) all phrases (except PP) may be composed of one word only Students like partying 2) all phrases can be expanded FCAONE University students are known to like heavy partying Phrases in clauses or sentences can be marked by using square brackets [British grass snakesNP] [may appearVP] [rather dangerousAdjP] Tree diagrams can also be used to represent phrase Ss 2 NP VP ZX Tm D N Vv PP e woman went P NP | x to DN | | the store * There is a hierarchical ranking of units in terms of their potential size ZHighest units — Sentences which consist of one or more -Clauses which consist of one or more -Phrases which consist of one or more -Words which consist of one or more DLowest units — Morpheme SENTENCE Before going to bed, my sister Ann always reads a few pages from one of her favourite books. Before going to bed - CLAUSE (non finite, secondary) my sister Ann always reads a few pages from one of her favourite books -. CLAUSE (finite, main) my sister Ann — subject always - adverbial (optional) reads — predicator a few pages from one of her favourite books — object * The classification of clause constituents can be carried out in different ways: 1) From the point of view of the role played by the various elements in a sentence (FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION), i.e. subject, predicate, direct object etc. 2) Looking at kind of phrases they are (FORMAL CLASSIFICATION), i.e. NP, VP, AdjP, etc. PHRASES * Phrases have heads. * Heads determine the grammatical properties of the phrase. * Heads are normally obligatory. * Heads are semantically central. * Heads determine the inflectional properties (number and gender) of the phrase — The witches’ discovery of the secrets of life — Swimming in a pool e Non-heads are modifiers. * In one-word phrases, only the head is present. NOUN PHRASES These large sugary doughnuts filled with jam and cream we know that doughnuts is the headword. need to proceed both in terms of formal and functional features FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENTS * Arangeofnon-finite clauses: the storm brewing at sea; a place to stay (both are non-finite relative clauses!) EMBEDDING AND RECURSION Notice that each functional component within the NP can be complex Example: - The terrifying near death experience lived by the 1980 earthquake survivors HEAD: experience Premodification: terrifying / near death Postmodification: lived by the 1980s earthquake survivors (non finite clause) By the 1980s earthquake survivors — PP The 1980s earthquake survivors - embedded NP (head: survivors) 1980s earthquake — NP (it pre-modifies survivors) 1980s — N, it pre-modifies earthquake! Noun phrases can be particularly long and complex, and contain several nouns. Adjective phrase: structure * An adjective phrase consists of an adjective and all of its modifiers and complements. The smallest possible adjective phrase therefore consists of just an adjective. Example: * Sally wants a really big car — «really» is part ofthe adjective phrase of which «big» is the head! FUNCTION OF AdjP * Adjectives are always the heads of adjective phrases. * AdjPs function in two ways: — Within a NP to modify a head noun or pronoun; — Directly in a predicate, to predicate something about a subject or object (interface with clause structure!) POSITION OF ADJECTIVES * Noun modifying (attributive 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. * Predicate: AdjP can also function directly in the predicate. — Predicate adjective phrases describe or qualify a NP in the clause * Ifa predicate adjective phrase is about the subject, then the AdjP is a subject complement * Ifitis aboutthe object, then it is an object complement CONSTRAINTS * Some adjectives can only appear as heads of attributive adjective phrase — The late (=the one who recently died) king of France liked toads * Adjective phrases with certain heads are typically postpositive: — The concert proper lasts 2 hours, but the event is much longer. * Some adjectives can be the heads of postpositive or predicate adjective phrases, but not of attributive adjective phrases. — The children present watched the accident in horror. FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENTS IN THE AdjP * The adjective phrase in English has three functional constituents: * premodification, those modifying, describing, or qualifying constituents which precede the head; * the head, which is an adjective or participle serving as the focus of the phrase; * postmodification, that modifying constituent which follows the head; e complementation, (the major subcategory of post-modification here) that constituent which follows any post-modification and completes the specification of a meaning implied by the head. ADVERB PHRASE An adverb phrase consists of an adverb head and all its modifiers; e only adverb phrases can modify adverbs; * but adverbs can have various types of complementation. AdjP and AdvP are fairly similar in their range of possibilities for pre- and post-modification. * Adjectives and adverbs are usually pre-modified by intensifiers: e The hungry cat was feeling very aggressive e Mynew shoes pinched me rather uncomfortably * Occasionally they can be post-modified by adverbs such as enough or indeed; * She works hard enough * Heis happy indeed * They can also be post-modified by prepositional phrases and infinitive clauses: e Maryisupset about her failure * Susan was talking too softly to hear her Prepositional phrases -— Prepositional phrases differ from the other types of phrases in that a preposition cannot stand alone as the head word of a phrase. * A preposition has to be accompanied by a prepositional complement. Typically, this is a noun phrase NP VP PP Jackie was searching in the cupboard * PP can consist of * Preposition + noun phrase (in the car) * Preposition + adverb (above here) * Preposition + clause (thank you for coming) Example: Facebook announced the purchase of the mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Wednesday, in a $19bn deal that represents the social media company's biggest acquisition yet. NP PP VP VERB PHRASE The verb phrase includes the verb plus all the compulsory elements which go with the verb. Examples: * Susan is sleeping * Meggyiscleaning her room * Bob putthe shopping bag on the table, then left. * carries information about mood, tense, modality, aspect, and voice. * structurally very different from NP, AdjP and AdvP. STRUCTURE OF VP Two functional parts: 1. the auxiliary, a grammatical morpheme carrying information about mood, tense, modality, and voice; and 2. the main verb, a lexical morpheme carrying its lexical information and, often, an infiection. THE MOOD The mood system in English is divided into four subcategories: THE INDICATIVE MOOD * The indicative mood ‘indicates’ * itconveystothe listener/reader that the speaker/writer is making a statement, referring to the real world in an honest, direct, relevant way (cf. Grice's maxims). * The maiority of our expressions are indicative in mood. * Speakers signal the indicative mood by using word order: when the auxiliaries take their “usual" position following the 'subject,' we interpret the clause as being in the indicative mood. THE INTERROGATIVE MOOD * The interrogative mood signals the speakers' desire for information, that they are asking a question, that they are 'interrogating' the listeners. * The interrogative is marked by starting a clause with an auxiliary verb or an interrogative pronoun. 1. CanLizdothat? 2. Whatwill Liz do? THE IMPERATIVE MOOD * The imperative mood expresses the speakers' sense of a command, request, or exhortation - an imperative. * Speakers signal the imperative mood by using a base form of the verb in clause initial position. 3. Dothat! 4. Be here by 8:00 pm. THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD * The subjunctive mood expresses the speakers' sense of the unlikely, a wish, a prayer, a hope. The subjunctive describes the state of affairs as speakers wish or hope them to be. * It describes hypothetical situations, "some other world." Speakers signal the subjunctive by beginning subordinate clauses with an auxiliary or by using subordinators that overtly mark hypothetical conditions. 5. HadIknown you were coming, l'd have baked a cake. 6. Ifl were a millionaire, l'd endow an award in your honor. * The subjunctive may be marked in the verb phrase by the use of an “unusual” subject verb concord (I/hne/she/were; | suggest she do) 7. |suggest that Ms. Jones reconsider her decision. 8. The administration insists that no one be exempted from the placement exams. * also used in several older, formulaic subjunctive expressions that have survived in the modern language. 9. God save the King. 10. Heaven forbid it should snow again. TENSE * Tense systems mark time. Tense is an inflection on the verb that indicates the time 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 infiection (going; said) English has two tenses: * PRESENT, marked with the s for the third person singular, and * PAST, marked with -ed or by one of several inflections / root changes * The present tense can be used to refer to many different time frames: (1) > present time frame; (2) > near future; (3) > past, present, and future simultaneously. ASPECT * Aspect signals either the completion or the continuation of the process indicated by the verb in English. * The perfect aspect expresses the speakers' sense of completion. * It is signalled by the use of a form of the auxiliary have and the past participle * Liz has gone already. * The continuous aspect expresses the speakers' sense that the process expressed by the verb continues. * It is signaled by the use of a form of the auxiliary be and the -ing participle, be + V ing. * Liz is doing the best work ever. MODALITY * A constituent can be defined as “a string ofwords which syntactically behaves as a unit”. THE SUBJECT Wnhat/who is the sentence about? What is said about this entity? The company manufactures electronic devices. [subject] [predicate] What is the function of the subject? - It tells you who/what the sentence is about. What is the function of the predicate? - It tells you what the subject does. ...What the subject DOES? Look at the following examples: * The company is successful. * The grounds on which the new plant has been built belong to the city. * Production fumes stink. — Dynamic vs stative predicates Criteria for identifying subjects: 1. Subjects are usually noun phrases; 2. Generally they are the first NP we come across; 3. They are obligatory; 4. They determine the form the verb takes. There are two more criteria that can help identify subjects: * In yes/no questions, the subject and the verb/operator swap position * Maryishome - Is Mary home? * Tag questions help identify the subject * You like coffee, don't you? THE PREDICATOR * Predicators are pivotal elements which specify the “bare bone” content of the sentences in which they occur. * They “say something of something else”. NB: predicators determine the number of obligatory elements in the clause. Direct Object: * In semantic terms, we can define them as constituents that refer to entities that undergo the activity or process denoted by the verb. * Typically, therefore, subjects have an agentive role, whereas direct objects have a patient role. But... * Tomreceiveda letter from the bank * Semantic definitions such as this one do not always apply (we saw this in the previous lesson with regard to the subject!) 1. Direct Objects are often noun phrases; 2. Their usual position is after the main verb; 3. They have a strong relationship with the verb that precedes them. Additionally, 4. They become the subjects of passive clauses. NB: a verb that requires a direct object to complement its meaning is a transitive verb. TRANSITIVE vs INTRANSITIVE VERBS * By contrast, verbs that do not need a direct object are called intransitive verbs. * William blushed. * Seancried. * Thomasslept. Besides DIRECT OBJECTS, verbs can also require INDIRECT OBJECTS. s P_O() O(d) My friend / lent / me / his book Please note: you cannot have an indirect object without also having a direct object. * My friend lent me. * My friend lent his book. A verb may require a direct Object only! * I borrowed a book. You do not need to add any other constituent in order for the clause to be complete! INDIRECT OBJECT How can you define Indirect Objects semantically? s PO) O(d) My friend / lent / me / his book S + Agent O(d) - Patient/Undergoes O(i) - Goal/Receiver or Beneficiary * Wegavethe books to the boys * The publisher sent a review copy of the book to her * Shelentapen to the student * My father always told stories to us In all these cases, the indirect object has been posposed. This movement entails the introduction of a preposition. This is called an oblique construction. What are the syntactic characteristics of O(i)? 1. They are usually NPs. 2. They cannot occur without a following direct object. 3. They always precede the direct object. When they are posposed, they take an oblique form. 4. 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. Complements occur after particular (copular) verbs, including be, seem, appear - in this case they are SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS. * Sofiais a teacher * Carrieistall Subject complements can also occur with verbs of change: become, but also make, paint, colour, rub. * Sambecamea doctor. Verbs of change can also refer to the object; in this case we have an OBJECT COMPLEMENT. * Mary made me successful. * Carrie painted the door red. * Sam’straining made him a doctor. Object complements can also occur with verbs of perception, such as think and consider. * Jim thought Sarah immature. * Tom considers Lucy attractive. Subject Complements (A) and Object Complements (B) A * Sofiais a teacher * Carrieistall * Sam becamea doctor e Carlosbecame very angry * Jennifer seems clever Mary made me successful Carrie painted the door red Sam's training made him a doctor Jim thought Sarah immature Can we identify complement elements syntactically? * They typically are NP or AdjP; * When they complete the Subject, they come after the verb Ex. Sofia is a teacher. SP Cc * Wnen they complete the Direct Object, they come after it Ex. Mary made me successful. Ss P o Cc Object vs Complement in structures NP + VP + NP + NP: My mother made me (Od) a tennis player (C) * Ifthetwo NPs refer to the same person, the first is an indirect object, and the second a complement of the object; * Thisisaclause of the type SPO C My mother made me (Oi) a cup of coffee (Od) * Thetwo NPs are not referred to the same item, then the first one is an indirect object, and the second is a direct object; * Thisisaclause of the type SPOO * Objects can be made the subject of passive clauses; complements can not. ADVERBIAL * Adverbials “tell you about the how, why, where and when of the situations expressed by the respective sentences”. * Adverbials can be optional (but they are not always!). When they are optional, they can move around in the clause. Examples: * The train pulled away from the station very slowly. * Very slowly the train pulled away from the station. * The train very slowly pulled away from the station. 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 identification (such as complements), but to some kind of circumstance, such as time or space”. * Theteacher put the books away/in the cupboard. * *The teacher put the books. * The festival lasts for a week/ all week. * *The festival lasts Notice that in these cases the position of the adverbial is pretty much fixed. Verbs which require 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. e Canyoustay here a second please. Be, get, lie, live, remain, stand and stay can all be used with Prepositional Phrases as compulsory adverbials: * Firmsremain under intense pressure to control their intemal costs in the face of global competition.