Grammar Summary (Part 2)

Chapter 6: The Simple Sentence

1. Clause pattern
a. Simple vs complex sentences
b. Clause types: SV, SVC, SVO, SVOA, SVOO, SV.
c. Transformational relations
One way of distinguishing various types is by meas of transformational relations or
relations of grammatical paraphrase.
- SVOd ↔ SVA
- SVOdCo ↔ SVCsA
- SVOdA ↔ SVAA
- SVOO ↔ SVOA
- SV ↔ SVC
- SV ↔ SCA
- SVC ↔ SVA
English prefers to avoid the plain SV pattern where alternatives are available
d. Intensive relationship
e. Multiple class membership of verbs
One V can belong to a number of different classes → can enter into a number of different
clause types
f. Clause elements syntatictically defined
- A subject
+ is normally a NP or a clause with nominal function
+ occurs before the VP in declarative clause; immediately after the operator in
questions
+ has number and person concord, where applicable, with the VP
- An object (direct and indirect)
+ like an S, is a NP or clause with nominal function
+ normally follows the S and the VP
+ by the passive transformation, assumes the status of S
+ An Oi precedes the Od, and is semantically equivalent to a prep phrase
- A complement (S or O)
+ is a NP, an Adj phrase, or a clause with nominally function, having a co-
referential relation with the S (or O)
+ follows the S, VP, and O
- An adverbial
+ is an adverb phrase, advertial clause, NP, or prep. Phrase
+ is generally mobile
+ is generally optional.
g. Clause elements semantically considered
+ Agentive, affected, receipient, attribute

+ Agentive and instrumental S

+ Receipient S
+ Locative, temporal and eventive S
+ Empty ‘it’ S
 + Locative and effected O
+ Affected indirect O
2. Concord
a) S – V concord
- most important type
- a clause/ a prepositional phrase … as S → singular
- notional concord, and proximity:
+ ‘Notional concord’ is agreement of V with S according to the idea of number
+ the principle of ‘proximity’ denotes agreement of V with whatever N or pronoun
closely precedes it.
- collective Ns: notionally plural but grammatically singular
+ in BrE: plural
+ in AE: singular
+ if the group is being considered as a single undivided body → singular; if as a
collection of individuals → plural
- coordinated S (S consists of 2 or more NP): distinction has to be made between
appositional and non-appositional coordination
+ non-appositional: (implied reduction of 2 clauses) → plural
+ appositional coordination → singular
- indefinite expressions of amount
b) Concord of person
c) Other types of concord
- S – C concord
- S – O concord
- Pronoun concord
3. The vocative:
- nominal element added to a sentence or clause optionally, denoting the one or
more people to whom it is addressed, and signalling the fact that it is addressed to
them.
- In form, a vocative may be:
(1) a single name with or without a title
(2) the personal pronoun or an indefinite pronoun
(3) standard appellatives, usually N without pre or postmodification: family
relationships, endearment, titles or respect, markers of profession or status
(4) a nominal clause
(5) items under (1), (2), (3) above with the addition of modifiers or appositive
elements of various kinds
4. Negation
- the negation of a simple sentence is accomplished by inserting ‘not’, ‘n’t’ between the
operator and the predication
- Abbreviated negation
- non-assertive forms
- negative intensification
- alternative negative elements
- more than one non-assertive form
- scope of negation
- focus of negation
- negation of auxiliaries
5. Statements, questions, commands, exclamations
Simple sentences may be divided into 4 major syntatic classes, whose use correlates with
different communicative functions:
a) Statements: S is always present and precedes the V
b) Questions: marked by one or more of these 3 criteria:
- the placing of the operator immediately in front of S
- the initial positioning of an interrogative or wh-element
- rising intonation
c) Commands: have no overt grammatical S, and whose V is in imperative
d) Exclamations: have an initial phrase introduced by ‘what’ or ‘how’, without inversion of
S and operator
Notes: 4 adjs can be used for these types: Declaratives, interrogatives, imperatives,
exclamatory.
6. Questions
3 classes of questions: Yes-no questions, Wh-questions, Alternative questions
a) Yes-no questions
- positive orientation
- negative orientation
- tag questions
- declarative questions
- yes-no questions with modal auxiliaries
b) Wh-questions
c) Alternative questions
d) Minor types of questions
7. Commands
a) commands without an S
b) commands with an S
c) commands with ‘let’
d) negative commands
e) persuasive immperatives
8. Exclamations
9. Formulae
10. Aphoristic sentences
11. Block language

Chapter 7: Adjunts, Disjuncts, Conjuncts

1. Units realizing adverbial functions
a) Adverb phrasea
b) Noun phrases (less common)
c) Prepositional phrases
d) Finite verb clauses
e) Non-finite verb clauses (-ing participle, -ed participle, infinitive)
f) Verbless clauses
2. Classes of adverbials: Adjuncts, disjuncts, conjuncts
- If intergrated into the structure of the clause → they are termed adjuncts
- If peripheral to it → they are termed disjuncts and conjuncts
- Conjuncts have a connective functions
 - Some items can belong to more than one class
3. Definition of positional terms
a) Initial position (before S)
b) Medial position: M1 (before 1st auxiliary or lexical ‘be’, or between 2 auxiliaries
or an auxiliary and lexical ‘be’); M2 (before the lexical V, or in the case of lexical
“be”)
c) Final position (after an intransitive V or after any O or C)
4. Adjuncts
a) Syntatic features of adjuncts
- can come with the scope of predication pro-forms or predication ellipsis.
- Can be the focus of limiter adverbials such as ‘only’
- Can be focus of additive adverbials such as ‘also’
- Can be the focus of a cleft sentence
b) Adverb phrases as adjuncts
- can often constitute a comparative construction
- can have premodifying ‘however’ to form the opening of a dependent adverbial
clause
- can have premodifying ‘how’, a proform for intensifiers in questions or
exclamations
- can have premodifying ‘so’ followed by S-operator inversion and a correlative
clause
c) Subclassification of Adjuncts (see figure 8 in 8.6)
d) Relative positions of adjuncts
- where adjuncts cluster in final position, the normal order is:
process – place – time

- 3 other general principles apply to relative order whether within a class or between
classes:
+ the order can be changed to suit the desire for end-focus
+ A clause normally comes after other structure
+ longer adjuncts tend to follow shorter adjuncts
5. Disjuncts
- most disjuncts are prepositional phrases or clauses
- can be divided into 2 main classes: style and attitudinal disjuncts
- style disjuncts: the adverb phrase as style disjunct implies a verb of speaking of
which the S is the ‘I’ of the speaker; normally appears initially
- attitudinal disjuncts: convey the speaker’s comment on the content of what he is
saying: can generally appear only in declarative clauses
6. Conjuncts
- most conjuncts are adverb phrases or prepositional phrases
- classes of conjuncts:
a) enumerative (see 10.10)
b) reinforcing (10.11)
c) equative (10.11)
d) transitional (10.13)
e) summative (10.14)
f) apposition (10.15)
g) result (10.16)
 h) inferential (10.17)
i) reformulatory (10.18)
j) replacive (10.19)
k) antithetic (10.20)
l) concessive (10.21)
m) temporal transition (10.5)
- positions of conjuncts
+ the normal position of conjuncts is initial
+ medial positions are rare, and final positions rarer
- conjuncts as correlatives
- conjunctions for clauses with conjuncts
Chapter 8: The Complex Sentence
1. Coordination and subordination
- independent vs dependent clause
- dependent clause may be classified either by structure or function
2. Structural classification of dependent clauses
a) finite, non-finite and verbless clauses
- finite clause: a clause whose V element is a finite verb phrase
- non-finite clause: a clause whose V element is a non-finite verb phrase
- verbless clause: a clause containing no V element (but otherwise generally analysable in
terms of one or more clause elements)
- All clauses (finite, non-finite, or verbless) may themselves have subordinate clauses
which are finite, non-finite, or verbless
b) Finite and non-finite clauses
- the finite clause clauses always contains a S as well as a predicate (except in case of
commands and ellipsis)
- non-finite can be constructed without a S, and usually are.
- 4 classes of non-finite verb phrase serve to distinguish 4 classes of non-finite clause:
+ infinitive with ‘to’: with S vs without S
+ infinitive without ‘to’: with S vs without S
+ ing participle: with S vs without S
+ ed participle: with S vs without S
- Structural deficiencies of non-finite clauses
c) Verbless clauses
- we can usually infer ellipsis of the verb ‘be’
- verbless clauses can also be treated as reductions of non-finite clauses
d) Formal indicators of subordination
- Subordinators (subordinating conjunctions): most important formal indicators of
subordination.
- Simple vs compound subordinators
- Borderline subordinators
- Other indivators of subordination
+ ‘wh’ elements
+ S-operator inversion
+ 2 types of subordinating clause that contain on marker within themselves of
subordinate status: Nominal clauses which may or may not have ‘that’ and comment clauses.
3. Functional classification of dependent clauses
 - may function as S, O, C, A → every Nominal clause may occur in some or all of these
roles
4. Nominal clauses
a) That-clause
- can occur as S, Od, Cs, appositive, adjectival complement
- cannot occur as prepositional complement or as Co
- ‘that’ is omitted in informal use, leaving a ‘zero’ that-clause when it is O or C.
b) Wh-interrogative clauses
- can occur in the whole range of functions to the that-clause and can act as prepositional
complement
- an infinitive wh-clause can be formed with all wh-words except ‘why’
c) Yes-no interrogative clauses
- formed with ‘if’ or ‘whether’
- the dependent alternative question has if/whether … or
- only ‘whether’ can be directly followed by ‘or not’
- a clause beginning with whether cannot be made negative, except as the second part of an
alternative question
- ‘if’ cannot introduce a subject clause
d) Nominal relative clauses
- can be S, Od, Oi, Cs, Co, appositive, C prep,
- closer to NP status than other nomina clauses → can be paraphrased by a NP containing a
postmodifying relative clause
e) To-infinitive nominal clauses
- can occur as S, Od, Cs, appositive, Cprep
- the S of a to-infinitive clause is normally preceded by ‘for’
- when the clause is an Od, ‘for’ is omitted
f) Nominal ing-clauses (participle clause)
- can be S, Od, Cs, appositive, Cprep, Cadj
g) Bare infinitive and verbless clauses
- The ‘to’ of the infinitive is optionally omitted in a clause which supplies a predication
corresponding to a use of the pro-verb ‘do’
- When the infinitive is initial → ‘to’ has to be omitted
5. Adverbial clauses
a) Clauses of time
b) Clauses of place
c) Clauses of condition and concession
- Clauses of condition
Real vs unreal condition
- Clauses of concession
- Alternative conditional-concessive clauses
- Universal conditional-concessive clauses
d) Clauses of reason or cause
e) Clauses of circumstance
f) Clauses of purpose
g) Clauses of result
h) Clauses of maner and comparison
i) Clauses of proportion and preference
j) Non-finite and verbless clauses
 6. Comparative sentences
7. Comment clauses
8. The verb phrase in dependent clauses
a) the present tense with subordinators
b) the modal past
c) perfect aspect with ‘since’, e
d) present subjunctive in conditional clauses
e) putative ‘should’
9. Direct and indirect speech
a) Back-shift and other changes
b) Exception to the distancing rules
c) Indirect statements, questions, exclamations and commands
d) The modal auxiliaries and indirect speech
e) Free indirect speech
f) Transferred negation
Chapter 9: The Verb and its complementation
1. Intransitive phrasal Vs (without Od)
- consisting of a V and a particle
2. Transitive phrasal Vs (with Od)
- Particles can either precede or follow the Od (but personla pronoun cannot precede)
3. Prepositional Vs (V + prep)
- Prep. must precede its complement but allows an inserted adv after the V and a relative
pronoun after the prep.
4. Phrasal-prepositional V (V + 2 particles)
5. Intransitive V
Some Vs are always intransitive (never take an Od)
6. Intensive complementation
a) Copulas
- When a Cs is present → there is intensive complement of the V → the V is a copula or
linking V
- Most popular copula: ‘be’
- Current copulas vs Resulting copulas
b) N and adj phrases as Cs
- ‘be’ – current attribute
- ‘become’ – resulting attribute
c) Predicative adjuncts
- only ‘be’ allows an adverbial as compl. (termed predicative adjuncts); mainly place
adjuncts
- with eventive S, time adjuncts are also common
- other types of predicatve adjuncts: recipient, purpose, cause, means.
d) Complementation of adj phrase as Cs
- Adj compl. by prep. Phrase
- Adj compl. by finite clause
- Adj compl. by ‘to’ infinitive clause
7. Transitive complementation
a) Noun Phrases (NP) as Od
- Od are typically NP
 - Od of an active sentence = S of a passive sent. with S of the active sent. as the
prepositional complementation in ‘by’ phrase (optional)
- ‘by’ phrase is usually obmitted because it is irrelevant or unknown or redundant in the
context.
- when there are reflexive, reciprocal or possessive pronouns in the NP as O → no
passive transformation.
b) Finite clauses as Od
c) Non-finite clauses as Od (see 12.18)
8. Complex transitive complementation
a) Non-finite and verbless clauses with S
b) ‘to’ infinite clauses with S
(factual vs non-factual Vs)
c) Bare infinite clauses with S
d) ‘ing’ participle clauses with S
e) ‘ed’ participle clauses with S
f) Verbless clause with S
9. Ditransitive complementation
a) NP as both Oi and Od
b) Ditransitive prepositional Vs
c) Idiomatic expressions consisting of V + NP + Prep.
d) NP as Oi + finite clause as Od
e) NP as Oi + non-finite as Od

Chapter 10: The Complex Noun Phrase

1. Three components of NP:
- Premodification
- Head
- Postmodification
2. Restrictive vs non-restrictive modification
3. Permanent vs temporary modification
4. Postmodification
a) Explicitness
b) Case in the relative pronoun
- used to indicate the status of the relative pronoun in its clause
- If the pronoun is in a genitive relation → whose is used
- Relative pronoun can show the distinction between ‘who’ and ‘whom’ depending on its
role (S, O or Prep. complement)
c) Relative pronoun and adverbial
- Can be replaced by special adjunct forms for place (where), time (when), cause (why)
- If ‘how’ is used, an antecedent N can’t be used
d) Restrictive relative clauses
- Choice of relative pronoun: general pronoun ‘that’ → independent of the personal or non-
personal character of the antecedent and of the function of the pronoun in the relative
clause.
- Quantified heads: the head is made quantitatively indefinite with the predeterminer ‘such’
→ ‘as’ is used instead of the relative pronoun ‘that’
e) Non-restrictive relative clauses
 Only ‘wh’ items are used
f) Sentential relative clauses
The antecedent is not a noun phrase but a whole clause or sentence or sequence of
sentences.
g) Appositive clauses
5. Postmodification by non-finite clauses
a) ‘ing’ participle clauses
b) ‘ed’ participle clauses
c) infinitive clauses
d) non-restrictive postmodification (can be achieved with non-finite clauses)
e) appositive postmodification (common by means of infinitive clauses)
6. Postmodification by prepositional phrases
a) Relation to more explicit modifiers
b) The of-genitive
c) Restrictive vs non-restrictive
d) Position and varied relationship
e) Deverbal noun heads
7. Minor types of postmodificaiton
a) adverbial modification
b) the postposed adjective
c) the postposed ‘mode’ qualifier
8. Multiple modification
- A head may have more than one postmodification
- A modification may be applicable to more than on head
- The head of a modifying phrase may itself be modified
9. Ambiguity and constraints on multiple modification
10. Premodification
Types of premodifying item: adj, participle, -s genitive, N, adverbial, sentence.
a) Premodification by adjectives
b) Premodification by participles:
- ing participles
- ed participles
c) Premodification by genitives
d) Premodification by nouns
e) Multiple premodification
- with single head
- with multiple head
- with modified modifier
- other complexities in premodification
f) Relative sequence of premodifiers
- Denominal and nominal
- Classes of adj (see Figure 13 in 13.41)
g) Discontinuous modification