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Unit II 1 Syntax Syntactic Elements

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21 views13 pages

Unit II 1 Syntax Syntactic Elements

Uploaded by

Lolo Gutierrez Jr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ENGLISH SYNTAX I

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS –


UNT - Año 2020
Part I
Syntax

• Field of grammar that studies the way in which words


are combined in order to build larger units. i.e. phrases,
Syntax clauses and sentences.
• It establishes the relationship of items in a sentence (text).
• It identifies and describes the function of words within the
sentence structure.

Units with the same form but with a different syntactic function.

The Noun and its role:

• SUBJECT My grandma gave my sister a watch for her birthday.


• OBJECT My grandma gave my sister a watch for her birthday.
Elements of the clause structure
• Clauses consist of phrases (formal units of the language)
fulfilling the functions of Subject (S)
Verb (V)
Direct object (Od)
Indirect object (Oi)
Subject complement (Cs)
Object complement (Co)
Adverbial (A)

• Same formal units different syntactic functions.


E.g. A heavy snowfall has blocked the mountain passes.

This sentence contains three units:


1. A heavy snowfall
2. has blocked
3. the mountain passes.
Internal structure of phrases
Structural analysis

A heavy snowfall has blocked the mountain passes.


1 2 3

N°1 is a Noun phrase the head is a noun: “snowfall”


N°2 is a Verb phrase the head is a lexical verb: “blocked”
N°3 is a Noun Phrase the head is a noun: “passes”.
Syntactic analysis

The role phrases have within the clause structure

A heavy snowfall has blocked the mountain passes.


1 2 3

N°1 A heavy snowfall is the subject of the sentence


N°2 has blocked is the verb
N°3 the mountain passes is the object
Compare:
The mountain passes are now open.

The noun phrase “the mountain passes” was the object in


the previous example and now it is the subject of the sentence.
The order of words the position of a word may indicate
its syntactic function.
The scientist gives long talks.
Od
The scientist talks to the students.
V

The verb determines the type of complementation


obligatorily required in the clause

The other elements


• Direct and Indirect Objects
• Object or Subject Complements
• Adverbials

may not be necessarily present within the clause structure.


Syntactic Elements of the Clause
Structure

S+V the minimal structure for declarative clauses


E.g. The baby is sleeping.

The Subject

The entity that carries out the action denoted by the verb.
E.g. Prosecutors stopped the video.

However, the referents may not engage in any kind of


action at all.
E.g. Tony likes action films.
Characteristics of the Subject
• Obligatory in English
Exceptions in imperative clauses the S is omitted.
in informal situations where the S may be
unnecessary and omitted if it is obvious to
the participants:
A: Need a hammer. Is there one in the garage?
B: Yeah, think so.
(Subjects are obvious to the speakers in the
context; more explicit forms: I need a hammer/I
think so).
• Position precedes the verb (clause-initial position) in
declarative clauses.
after the operator in interrogative clauses.
Characteristics of the Subject

• Realized by a noun phrase, pronoun (in subjective case) or


clause.
Subjects are typically realized by NPs, though :
Yesterday was a holiday. Subject is realized by an adverb.
Under the bed is where dust and childhood monsters lurk.
Subject is realized by a PP.

The subject may sometimes be a wh-nominal clause (1) or a


gerund (2).
1. What I need is a cup of coffee.
2. Smoking is bad for your health.

• .
Characteristics of the Subject

• Subjects may be simple or compound.


If there are two coordinated noun phrases functioning as
the subject of a clause then the subject is compound and
the sentence is simple.
E.g. The cat and the dog ran after the mouse.

If there are two or more coordinated verb phrases referring


to the same subject then the sentence is compound with
coordinated verb phrases.
Characteristics of the Subject

• The Subject agrees with the verb in person and number.


Concord refers to the way words match each other in
terms of number, tense, etc.
A present tense verb shows concord of number with a third
person singular subject by having a final -s on the verb:
It takes up a lot of energy. (*It take up a lot of energy.)
The head noun of a subject noun phrase determines
number, not other nouns in the noun phrase:
E.g.
1. The general quality of supermarket vegetables is very poor.
2. The personal qualities of the applicant are very poor.
Subject and Predicate

Subject Predicate

• the ‘doer’ or agent of • the rest of the clause


an action, or the after the subject that
participant that an predicates about the
event or state refers subject.
to.
• It consists of the verb
phrase followed by
objects, complements
and adverbials.
1- subject verb object complement adjunct
Everyone laughed.
She stole some money.
He ‘s my brother-in-law.
I travelled for a year.

2- Subject Predicate
My sister attends singing lessons.
Subject realized by a noun phrase:
determiner + noun
They have a matter-of-fact approach to
Subject realized by a pronoun everything.
Skiing doesn’t appeal to me.
Subject realized by a gerund (-ing form of
a verb functioning as a noun)
What we’re doing is offering a scholarship.
Subject realized by a wh-nominal clause

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