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Main Functions in Syntactic Analysis

The document discusses the main functions in syntactic analysis, including the subject, predicate, and their components. It defines the subject and predicate, and describes two kinds of predicates - dynamic and stative. It also discusses the components that can be included in a predicate, such as direct objects, indirect objects, and adjuncts.

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eugenia escobedo
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15 views

Main Functions in Syntactic Analysis

The document discusses the main functions in syntactic analysis, including the subject, predicate, and their components. It defines the subject and predicate, and describes two kinds of predicates - dynamic and stative. It also discusses the components that can be included in a predicate, such as direct objects, indirect objects, and adjuncts.

Uploaded by

eugenia escobedo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Main Functions in Syntactic Analysis

Subject
The Subject is the constituent that tells us who performs the action denoted by the verb or, if the
verb is not an action, what the sentence is about. There are many tests we can use to identify the
Subject of a sentence but, mainly, it is easy to identify it because of its agreement with the verb.

 Subject-Verb Agreement
We can define Subject-Verb Agreement as the rule by which the form of the verb has to match
the Subject. We say that the verb agrees with the Subject and that the Subject governs the verb.
There is very little “visible” subject-verb agreement in English because the verb has very few
inflections; in fact, only one inflexion enters into concordial relations with the Subject: the third
person singular of the present tense.

The Predicate
The Predicate, just as the Subject, is not a category, but a syntactical function (i.e., the Predicate of
sentence X will never be the same as the Predicate in sentence Y). It is the unit in a sentence whose
function is to specify what the Subject is engaged in doing. In any sentence, the Predicate is
everything in the sentence except the Subject.
There are two kinds of predicate which correspond to two different kinds of predicators:
1) Dynamic Predicates: the verb of this kind of Predicate instigates action. Thus, the Subject to
that Predicate is the unit engaged in carrying out the action specified by the verb. Examples:
- The police arrested the thieves.
- The boys painted the school’s walls.

2) Stative Predicates: when the verb is not a verb of action, the predicate refers to quality,
location, etc. Thus, the Subject to that Predicate is not engaged in doing something.
Examples:
- Their parents are thinking about moving.
- She doesn’t like the pictures.

In order for Predicates to be so, they must have a Predicator. This is the only compulsory element of
for the Predicate to occur. Predicates are in the business of predicating something (i.e., saying
something of something else) and without the Predicator they would never be able to do so. Thus
the bare-bone content of “The police arrested the thieves” is “arrested”.
After the Predicator, the Predicates also differ in their internal structure. Depending on the
Predicator, Predicates may contain:
 Direct Object: a constituent that refers to the entity which undergoes the activity or
process denoted by the verb. They generally have a Patient role. Verbs that take a
Direct Object are called monotransitive verb Examples:
- The police arrested the thieves.
- The boys painted the school’s walls.
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 Indirect Object: a constituent that refers to the entity which is the Goal/Receiver or
Beneficiary of the action or process denoted by the verb. Verbs that take both a Direct
and Indirect Objects ae called ditransitive verbs. Examples:
- The publisher sent Susan(IO) the corrections of her article (DO)
- She has given sweets (DO) to her son.(IO)

 Adjunct: constituents which have the function of telling us about the how, when, where
or why of the situations or actions expressed by the respective Predicates. Adjuncts are
always optional and express peripheral information. They can be “stacked”. Examples:
- The publisher sent Susan(IO) the corrections of her article (DO) this morning (ADJ)
- The boys painted the school’s walls (DO) with aerosol (ADJ)

 Subject Complement: it typically identifies or characterizes the person or thing denoted


by the subject.

 Object Complement: it typically identifies or characterizes the person or thing denoted


by the direct object.

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Practice
A) Divide the following sentences into constituents and analyse them syntactically.

1) This winter all the students will be given a lot of homework.

2) My little brother doesn’t like vegetables.

3) The boy’s new kite was blue and yellow.

4) Berta worked in a private hospital when she was younger.

5) Our mother tells us amazing stories.

6) The manager finally declared the show postponed

7) The convention named Dogbreath Vice President.

8) This camera doesn’t work.

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