PARTS OF SPEECH
followed in turn by adjectives, adverbs, or other nouns, as
The parts of speech are usually grouped into two
categories: the major and minor word classes. The major
word classes—nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs—are
termed “major” because they carry most of the content or
meaning of a sentence. The “minor” word classes, plays a
more structural role in a sentence and each of its classes
is more “closed”, in that normally no new words are
added.
Noun
The notional, or semantic definition of a noun is as you have
seen—a noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. Some
linguists add “idea” to account for abstract nouns such as
democracy, environment, and life.
Nouns have endings or derivational morphemes that formally
indicate that a word is a noun; they also have grammatical
morphemes or inflections for plural possessive.
In terms of their position, they are frequently preceded by
determiners, such as articles. Nouns serve functionally as
subjects of verbs.
Uses
Direct objects of verbs: He wanted his lawn
Subject noun predicates: We are all learners.
Object noun predicates: They elected Ann president.
Indirect objects of verbs: Ann gave the people confidence.
Appositives: Albany, capital of New York, is located on the
Hudson River.
Objects of prepositions: Troy is also located on the Hudson
River.
Vocatives: Let me tell you, my friend, grammar is just plain
fun!
Common Nouns are nouns referring to a kind of person,
thing, or idea. It is divided into two subcategories; count
nouns and mass or noncount nouns.
Proper Nouns are names for unique individuals or places.
Proper nouns can be singular or plural.
Collective Nouns are nouns that refer to groups. It is readily
being able to take either singular or plural verb forms
depending on the interpretation given.
Verb
The notional, or semantic definition of a verb is that it is a
word that denotes an action or state of being. Verb
morphology in English is richer than noun morphology. Four
inflections can be used. These are:
1. –s of third person singular present tense verbs: Sue jogs
every day.
2. -ed of past tense verbs : She jogged yesterday.
3. -en of the past participle: He has seen the movie three times
already.
4. -ing of the present participle: I am teaching three courses in
this term.
In terms of their position, verbs follow nouns and may be
depicted in the following sentences:
Functionally, adding a verb to a noun is enough to complete a
sentence. Ex. Pauline snores.
Intransitive verbs, which take no following object: Mavis
smokes.
Transitive verbs, which require an object: Dough raises
Ilamas.
Ditransitive verbs, which take two objects (indirect and
directly): I handed Flo the fax.
Linking verbs, where what follows the verb relates back to the
subject: We are teachers.
Complex Transitive Verbs, where what follows the object
relates to the object: They considered the project a waste of
time.
Prepositional verbs, which require a prepositional phrase to be
complete: Steve glanced at the headlines.
Two qualities of verbs have are tense and aspect. Tense
traditionally refers to the time of an event’s occurrence while
aspect distinction denotes whether or not the event has
occurred earlier (perfect aspect) or is still in progress
(progressive aspect).
To illustrate aspect, compare the following two sentences
where the have verb + the past participle of the first sentence
signals that the action is complete and the be verb + the
present participle of the second sentence shows the action is in
progress, i.e., uncompleted:
John has written his term paper.
Now he is studying for his final exams.
Verbs, too, are marked for number, but only with subjects in
the third person singular in the present tense or with the verb
be. In such instances, subject-verb agreement occurs, and the
verb is marked to agree with the singular or plural subject
noun. For example:
Present tense, subject in third be verb agreement with
subject person singular
John loves chocolate. I am surprised
that you said that.
She mows the lawn on Saturdays. Jack is making the punch.
We are baking brownies.
Lloyd was absent.
They were frightened by the storm.
Adjective
The notional, or semantic definition of an adjective is that it
describes or denotes that qualities of something. It occurs
commonly between a determiner and a noun, or after be or other
linking verbs, although they can also follow a noun.
Many adjectives have no typical form, but certain derivational
morphemes are associated with adjectives, such as –able
(likeable), -ish (childish), -ful (thoughtful), and –y (lazy).
English adjectives do not agree in number or gender with nouns
as they do in some other languages; however, certain of them
have inflectional morphemes for comparative and superlative
forms such as happy, happier, happiest.
The function of adjectives is to modify or complement
nouns. There are two adjective types: attributives, which
precede nouns, and predicative, which follows linking verbs.
Attributive: The old bucket sprang a leak.
Predicative: He became angry at the very thought.
Adverb
Adverbs modify verbs and contribute meaning of various sorts
to sentences. Particularly common are adverbs of direction,
location, manner, time, and frequency.
Direction: Jim pointed there.
Location: Isabel shops locally.
Manner: The choir sang joyfully at the ordination.
Time: Soon Rachell will retire.
Frequency: We visit our friends in Detroit occasionally.
Adverbs are quite flexible in terms of their location. They can
occur in a sentence finally, medially, and initially. Manner
adverbs are the only ones with distinctive inflections; they
usually take the –ly ending.
Ex. Fortunately, they arrived home before too much damage
had been done.
Traditional grammars also distinguish adverbs of degree, which
modify adjectives and other adverbs. In our grammar, such
modifiers are called intensifiers.
It is too early to plant a garden.
Ben was very late to school.
Pronouns
-refer to or replace nouns and noun phrases within a text or as a
direct reference to an outside situation. They occupy the same
position as a noun or noun phrase does.
e.g ''my aunt, she . . . '' ''What was that?''
KINDS OF PRONOUNS
Subject- I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Object- Me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Reflexive- myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves,
ourselves
Possessive- mine, yours, hers, his, its, ours, theirs
Demonstrative- this, that, these, those
Determiners
-Special class of words that limit the nouns that follow them.
Articles- the, a, an
Demonstratives- this, that, these, those
Possessive determiners- my, your, his, her, its, our, their
they precede an adjective if one is present; otherwise, they are
positioned directly in front of a noun.
e.g. I put my backpack on the front porch, and now I cant find
it
Prepositions
-connect words to other parts of a sentence and have a close
relationship with the word that follows, which is usually a noun.
Prepositions are usually one word (in, to, at) but sometimes can
be two or three (out of, on top of)
-Prototypically signal spatial relationships, but certain
prepositions can also signal the grammatical category of case,
which is often displayed in other languages through
morphological means.
Case depicts the role relationship between words.
Dative case: Marge gave a donation to charity.
Ablative case: The charity received a donation from Marge.
Conjunctions
-are words that join.
 Coordinating conjunctions- such as and, but, or
which joins elements that are grammatically equal.
E.g.
Marianne and Diane wrote this book.
Diane lives in Vermont, but Marianne lives in California.
Adverbial subordinators- such as because and although,
which join a subordinate clause to a main one:
It was hard to write a book together because they live so far
apart.
Although Marianne and Dianne live far apart, they are still
friends.
Phrase- group of words that function together.
Ex. The impatient customer was acting very cranky by the time
he was served.
The impatient/ customer was acting very/ cranky by the/ time
he was served.
More satisfying:
The impatient customer/ was acting very cranky/ by the time/
he was served.
The impatient customer/ was acting/ very cranky/ by the time/
he was served.
Independent or main clause- clauses that stand independently
as sentences.
Dependent or subordinate clause- clauses that cannot stand
independently as sentences.
''Although they live far apart, they are still friends.''
Sentential Terminology
A simple sentence contains at least one subject and one verb
and can stand alone as an independent clause.
“Although they live far apart, they are still friends.”
There are 5 basic simple sentence patterns in English: Four of the five moods have sentence type counterparts.

1. subject + verb Declarative (statement sentence type): Today is Tuesday.

The building collapsed. Interrogative (question sentence type): What are you going to
wear to the party?
2. subject + verb + object
Imperative (command sentence type): Pass the milk, please.
Cheska bought a submarine.
Exclamatory (exclamation sentence type): What a beautiful
3. subject + verb + indirect object + direct object autumn it is!
Cheska wrote Claire a letter. Subjunctive (here realized with the were form): I wish I were
4. subject + verb + subject predicate going with you.

Hazel’s my friend. Declarative Mood

5. subject + verb + object + object predicate The verb will express some sort of action as a statement of fact.

She makes me happy. Marie laughs whenever she sees him.

A compound sentence consists of two or more clauses of equal
grammatical importance.
“He went to the party, but I stayed home.”
One type of complex sentence contains a main clause and one
or more subordinate clauses.
“Peggy frequently calls because she wants to stay in touch.”
In the second type of complex sentence, a dependent clause is
embedded, or included, in an independent clause.
Embedded clauses an take place of a subject.
That he didn’t want to go to the ballet was obvious.
(It was obvious)
Embedded clauses an take place of an object.
I argued that it would be a mistake.
(I argued my position.)
Embedded clauses an take place of an adjective.
The person who was responsible for the accident fled.
(The person responsible fled.)
When we move beyond the simple or monoclausal sentence,
three processes are at work:
Coordination- The joining of two clauses of equal grammatical
stature.
Their new puppy walks quickly.
Charlie read that book in less than a day.
He enjoyed his dinner.
She travels to Ireland frequently.
Interrogative Mood
There will be two verbs. One will be an auxiliary verb helping
the main verb. It provides further clarification for the main verb
of the sentence.
Are you coming to the mall?
When is your mother-in-law leaving?
Where does he work?
Did you bake a pie for Thanksgiving?
Where have the students gone?
Imperative Mood
The verb expresses a direct call to action.
Move that book.
Make sure Irene calls the store tomorrow.
When you get home from school, walk the dog.
At five o’ clock, peel the potatoes for dinner.
When you arrive at the airport, walk to Gate 52.

Subordination- Subordination of one clause to another Subjunctive Mood

Embedding- A dependent clause is included within a main or The subjunctive mood can indicate a speaker’s uncertainty or
independent clause. the hypotheticality of the propositional content, or meaning of
the clause.
Sentence Moods
If that be so, I’ll leave now.
Three main moods:
If I were a bird, I wouldn’t eat worms.
Declarative (Indicative)
If I were in your position, I’d never leave.
Interrogative
The three main options in the english mood system correspond
Imperative to the three main communicative functions of language…
Two minor moods: A sentence type does not necessarily match it’s function.
Exclamatory Statement: I am thirsty. I wonder what is in the refrigerator to
Subjunctive drink.

Mood conveys the speaker’s attitude toward the factual Question: Could you bring something from the refrigerator for
content of the sentence. me to drink.
Command: Please bring me something to drink from the In the active voice, the subject functions as the theme and is
refrigerator. most often the actor or agent of some action.

Statement: I am thirsty. I wonder what is in the refrigerator to b. The carwash was held by the Club Scouts despite the
drink. rain.

Question: Could you bring something from the refrigerator for In the passive voice, the thing acted upon by the agent – the
me to drink. carwash – has been made the theme.

Command: Please bring me something to drink from the SUPRASENTENTIAL TERMINOLOGY

refrigerator.
DISCOURSE LEVEL OF LANGUAGE
Negative Statement: I am not thirsty.
BACKGROUNDING AND FOREGROUNDING
Negative Question: Couldn’t you bring me something to
drink? In a discourse narrative, certain sentences provide background
information while others function in the foreground to carry the
Negative Command: Don’t bring me anything to drink. main storyline.
Theme / Rheme What often distinguishes one from another are their verb
tenses.
English has a fairly fixed word order compared to other
languages; still, some variation is possible. EXAMPLE
a. The Cub Scouts held the carwash despite the rain. Yesterday, I went to the market. It has lots of fruits that I like. I
bought several different kinds of apples. I also found that plums
b. The carwash was held by the Cub Scouts despite
were in season, so I bought two pounds of them.
the rain.
EXAMPLE
c. Despite the rain, the Cub Scouts held the carwash.
The smaller fish is now in an air bubble spinning and turning
and making its way upward.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE THEME AND RHEME
COHESION
According to Halliday (1985:38), the theme provides the “point
Texts, units of spoken or written language at the suprasentential
of departure of the message.”
level have an organizational structure of their own.
In (a), it is the Cub Scouts; in (b), the carwash; and in (c),
It is not possible to put the second sentence first in the above
the rain.
narrative.
The them provides the framework for interpreting what follows
LINGUISTIC MECHANISMS Halliday and Hasan (1976)
which is the rheme. The rheme is the “remainder of the
message in the clause.” REFERENCE
In English, typically the word order will determine the role of The boy wanted a new bike.
the theme and the rheme. Evwery ebglish sentence is composed
of two major components, THE SUBJECT AND THE One day he… (he refers back to the boy)
PREDICATE. So the theme is the subject and the predicate will
ELLIPSIS
be the rheme.
A: Who wrote the letter?
Markedness
B: Marty.
English too, can thematize something other than the subject.
(The response Marty elliptically signals that Marty wrote
c. Despite the rain, the Cub Scouts held the carwash.
the letter)
The adverbial prepositional phrase despite the rain is the theme.
SUBSTITUTION
The term “marked” refer not only to such instances of I plan to enter college next year.
thematization of nonsubjects but also refer to any
exceptions from what is very typical, very predictable. If I do, … (do substitutes for enter college)

Voice CONJUNCTION
a. The Cub Scouts held the carwash despite the rain. Peter needed some money. He, therefore, decided to get a
job. (therefore makes explicit the causal relationship
b. The carwash was held by the Club Scouts despite the
between the first and second sentence)
rain.
LEXICAL COHESION
Voice is another linguistic device that languages employ to
allow for different constituents to function as themes. He was grateful for the money he had been given. He slipped
the coins into his pocket and hurried down the street. (coins
In grammar, the voice of the verb describes the relationship refer back to money)
of the event or action that the verb expresses and the
participants in the argument. Always remember… RESCL
a. The Cub Scouts held the carwash despite the rain. REGISTER
 the level of formality
 has three variables
o Field
o Tenor
o Mode
Field refers to the social activity in which the language is
being used and what is being talked about. It is reflected in
choices of content words.
Tenor is concerned with the roles and relationships of
interlocutors.
Mode refers to the channel of communication, whether the
language is written or spoken
GENRE
 Linguistic variation
 The variation is due to the communicative purposes
to which the language is put.
Be reminded that specific words are best used on the field
where they really belong.
GIVEN/NEW
Given Information is that which is assumed by the writer to be
known by the reader. This assumption is made either because
the given information has been previously mentioned or
because it is in some way shared between the writer and reader
Often placed early in a sentence and spoken with a low amount
of stress
New Information is newsworthy in a way that is it something
that the writer can’t take for granted that the reader knows.
The tendency to place new information toward the end of a
clause is called end focus
EXAMPLE
We conclude this discussion of suprasentential features by
revisiting the theme-rheme distinction, which was
introduced earlier. While theme-rheme has to do with the
structure of clauses, there is a close relationship between
this pair and the way information is distributed among
sentences in a text.
A common pattern of development in written texts is to
introduce new information first in the rheme of one clause
and then to treat it as given information in the theme or
themes of a subsequent clause (s). Given information is that
which is assumed by the writer to be known by the reader.
This assumption is made either because the given
information has been previously mentioned or because it is
in some way shared between the writer and reader. New
information, on the other hand, is “newsworthy”— not
something the writer can take for granted that the reader
knows.
END FOCUS occurs in spoken discourse as well, although
speakers have other means at their disposal in speech for
flagging new information.
Information units in the spoken language are defined by the tone
group. Each tone group has a syllable made prominent by pitch
movement.
I went to the movies with LUcy.
One syllable in each tone group, the tonic syllable, functions to
focus the attention of the listener. While the focus is typically
at the end, it need not be…
I went to the mOvies with Lucy.
When the prominent syllable is in nonfinal position, one
typically interprets the stress as contrastive, that is…
I went to the mOvies with Lucy.
“The Theme is what I, the speaker, choose to take as my
point of departure. The Given is what you, the listener,
already know about or have accessible to you. Theme +
Rheme is speaker-oriented while Given+New is listener-
oriented but both are of speaker-selected. It is the speaker
who assigns both structures, mapping one on to the other to
give a complete texture to the discourse and thereby related
to its environment.”
-Halliday, 1985
Discourse and grammar have this symbiotic relationship in
that grammar with lexis is a resource for creating discourse,
while the discourse context shapes grammar to accomplish
very specific communication goals.
The Concept of Tense VS Aspect
REMEMBER
Aspect refers to the duration of an event within a
particular tense. In other words, the aspect of a tense
allows us to describe or understand how an event unfolds
over time.
What is Tense?
Refers to the time period in which the verb of a sentence
places an action.
Three tenses in English
Past, Present; and Future
Past Tense
The past tense is used to describe things that have already
happened.
Ex: Mr. Dunn ate the candy.
Present Tense
The present tense is used to describe things that are
happening right now, or things that are continuous.
Ex: Mr. Dunn eats the candy.
Future Tense
The future tense describes things that have yet to happen.
Ex: Mr. Dunn will eat the candy tomorrow.
What is Aspect?
Aspect refers to the duration of an event within a particular
tense. In other words, the aspect of a tense allows us to
describe or understand how an event unfolds over time.
Four Aspects
• Simple Aspect
• Perfect Aspect
 • Progressive Aspect

• Perfect Progressive Aspect

Simple Aspect
Refers to events that are conceptualized as complete
wholes. The events are not presented as allowing further
development.

Susan and Carl live in Newark. vs. Susan and Carl are living
in Newark.

The simple tenses can express either specific or general

Perfect Progressive Aspect
facts, events, habits, and states with all four verb types. It express duration, or how long? Perfect progressive tenses
usually include the adverbs for or since.
Perfect Aspect
They express the idea that one event happens before another
event.

The adverbs never, yet and already are common in perfect

tenses.

Tenses and Aspect: Different Tense and

Aspect Combinations
Remember:

Aspect refers to the duration of an event within a particular

tense. In other words, the aspect of a tense allows us to describe
or understand how an event unfolds over time.

Remember:

There are three main verb tenses in English: present, past and
future.

The present, past and future tenses are divided into four aspects:
the simple, progressive, perfect and perfect progressive.
Progressive Aspect The Twelve Combination of Tense and Aspect
It talks about unfinished events. Progressive tenses are also
called continuous tenses.

The Simple Present remain in its base form with one exception
– the person third singular form, which is made by adding an –
s to the verb. (Write/Writes)

The Present Perfect is formed with the verb have and the past
participle is symbolized by –en, though not all past participle
has an –en end. (has/have written)

The Present Progressive combines a form of the be verb,

depending on the person and the number of subject, with the
present participle –ing form. (am/is/are writing)

The Present Perfect Progressive is a combination of the

perfect form with have + -en perfect ending, in short, it is in its
past participle form been. (has/have been writing)
The SIMPLE PAST is formed by using its past irregular form,
wrote, or regular verb walk by adding –ed making it walked.
(wrote)
The Past Perfect is made with the past form of the have verb
(i.e., had) followed by the past participle of the main verb. (had
written)
VERB TENSES
Hirtle (1967) explains that simple aspect refers to events that
are conceptualized as complete wholes. The events are not
presented as allowing for any development. This aspect stands
in contrast to progressive aspect, which is incomplete or
imperfective – where the event or stage is viewed as some
portion of a whole and where there is a room for further
development.
SIMPLE ASPECT
1. Claire and Evanz live in Newark.
2. Claire and Evanz are living in Newark
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
The present tense conveys immediate factuality. (Lewis 1986)
Example:
My mother loves daisies.
It is a beautiful day.
CORE MEANINGS OF SIMPLE PRESENT
Habitual actions in the present:
He walks to school everyday.
General timeless truth, such as Physics or law:
Water freezes at O degrees centigrade.
With be and other stative verbs to indicate states:
There is a large house on the corner.
In the subordinate clauses of time or condition, when
the main clauses contain future-time verb:
After he finishes work, he’ll do the errands.
Expresses future (when a scheduled event is involved,
usually with a future-time adverbials):
I have a meeting next Wednesday at that time.
Present event or action (usually in sporting events or
demonstration/ procedures of some sort)
Now, I add three eggs to the mixture.
Present speech acts (where the actions is accomplished
in the speaking of it:
I resign from the commission.
Conversational Historical Present (used to refer
certain past events in narration.
“So he stands up in the boat and waves his arm to catch
our attention.”
PERFECT ASPECT
The core meaning of the perfect aspect is “prior” and
it is used in relation to some other point in time. For
instance, present perfect is used to retrospectively to
refer to a time prior to now:
Example: Have you done your homework?
CORE MEANINGS OF PRESENT PERFECT
A situation that began at a prior point in time and
continues into the present.
I have been a teacher since 1967.
An action occurring or not occurring at an unspecified
prior time that has current relevance.
I have already seen that movie.
A very recently completed action. (often with just)
Mort has just finished his homework.
An action that occurred over a prior time period and
that is completed at the moment of speaking.
The value of the Johnson’s house has doubled in the last
four years.
With verbs in subordinate clauses of time or condition.
If you have done your homework, you can watch TV.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT
Progressive aspect is imperfective, meaning that it
portrays in a way that allows for it to be incomplete, or
somehow limited. You saw how this core meaning was
manifest in a contrast between an event of a temporary
nature.
Example: Claire and Evanz are living in Newark
CORE MEANINGS OF PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
-Progressive aspect is always specific.
Roses are growing like wildfire.
-Extended present action (action will end and therefore
lacks the permanence of the simple present tense)
I’m studying geology at the University of Colorado.
-A temporary situation.
Evanz is living with his parents right now.
-Repetition or iteration in a series of similar ongoing
actions.
Henry is kicking the soccer ball around the backyard.
-Expresses future (when event is planned; usually with a
future-time adverbial
She’s coming tomorrow.
-Emotional comment on present habit (usually co-occurring
with frequency adverbs always and forever.
He’s always delivering in a clutch situation.
He’s forever acting up at these affairs.
-A change in progress.
She’s becoming more and more like her mother.
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
CORE MEANINGS OF PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
-A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or
distant) and that continues up to the present (and possibly
into the future.
Cheska has been going out with Cj.
-An action in progress that is not yet completed.
I have been reading that book.
-An evaluative comment on something observed over time
triggered by current evidence.
You’ve been drinking again!
SIMPLE PAST
The simple past also state facts. What the core meaning of
the past tense adds is a sense of remoteness. (Knowless 1979)
The event can be remote in time.
Example: The Philippines won the Miss Universe 2018
CORE MEANINGS OF SIMPLE PAST
-And even if the event is a recent one.
I finished my term paper!
-A definite single completed event/action in the past.
I attended a meeting of that committee last week.
-Habitual or repeated action/even in the past.
It snowed almost every weekend last summer.
-An event with duration that applied in the past with the
implication that it no longer applies in the present.
Professor Nelson taught as Yale for 30 years.
-With states in the past.
He owed me a lot of money.
He appeared to be a creative genius.
-Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause
(referring to present time)
If he took better care of himself, he wouldn’t be absent so often.
-Social distancing:
Did you want to sit down and stay a while?
CORE MEANINGS OF PAST PERFECT
-An action completed in the past prior to some other past
event over time
He had already left before I could offer him a ride.
-Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause
(referring to past time)
If Ally had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.
Remember:
Past Progressive is a combination of past form of the be verb
(first and third person singular form), followed by the present
participle. was/were writing
Past Progressive
• An action in progress at a specific point of time in
the past.
He was walking to school at 8:30 this morning.
• Past action simultaneous with some other event
that is usually stated in simple past.
Karen was washing her hair when the phone rang.
• Repetition of some ongoing past action.
Jake was coughing all night long.
• Social distancing (which comes from past tense and
the tentativeness of the progressive aspect).
I was hoping you could lend me 10 pesos.
Remember:
Past Perfect Progressive is a combination of past form of the
have verb (had), followed by the past participle of the be verb
and present participle of the main verb. had been writing
Past Perfect Progressive
• An action taking place over a period of time in the
past prior to other past event.
She had been trying to finish her degree that year.
• A past action in progress that was interrupted by a
more recent past action.
We had been planning to have a vacation in Manila, but
changed our minds after receiving the brochure on Nova
Scotia.
• An ongoing past action that becomes satisfies by
some other event.
I had been wanting to see that play, so I was pleased when I
won the tickets.
Remember:
Simple Future the will + base form of the verb. will write
Simple Future On Christmas Eve we will have been living in the same house
for 20 years.
• An action to take place at some definite future time.
He will have been keeping a journal for 10 years next month.
Joe will take the bar exam next month.

• A future habitual action or state.

Modals
After October, Judy will take the 7:30 train to The Forms of Modals
Chicago every day. Fact!
Simple Future Modal Auxiliaries are among the most difficult structures
ESL/EFL teachers have to deal with.
• Situation that may obtain in the present and will
obtain in the future but with some future Present-tense verbs with third person singular subjects
termination in sight. require an –s ending, overgeneralizing this rule to modal.

Nora will live in California until she improves her Example:

Spanish. He cans play tennis

• In the main result clause of future conditionals. In English, modals are derived from verbs that did carry
tense and take agreement markers during a much earlier
If you go, you’ll be sorry. stage of language.

Simple Future with will Another formal property of modals that may cause
confusion to some students is that modals directly precede a
Because the future cannot be reported factually, will is used verb without the intervening infinitive to
as a strong predictions.

We will cover the first half of the book this term.

Remember:

Future Perfect the will + have + the past participle of

the verb (-en). will have written
Future Perfect
• A future action that will be completed prior to
specific future time.
I will have finished all this word processing by 5pm.
• A state or accomplishment that will be completed
in the future prior to some other future time or
event.
Many of the students will treat modals like ordinary verbs and
produce errors by using a superfluous infinitive to like Jack
must to study harder and We should to return the book.
Modals are tenseless auxiliaries that take no subject-verb
agreement and no infinitive to before following the verb.
However, modals are derived historically from ordinary verb
forms inflicted for either present or past tense.

At the end of the summer the Blakes will have been married
for 10 years.

Remember:

Future Progressive the will + be + the present participle

of the verb (-ing). will be writing

Future Progressive Many linguist argue, using data such as the following, that the
preceding forms are still marked for present or past tense:
• An action that will be in progress at a specific time
in the future.

He will be taking a test at 8 A.M. tomorrow.

• Duration of some specific future action:

Mavis will be working on her thesis for the next three years.
Remember:
Future Perfect Progressive is the will + have + -en
+ be + -ing. will have been writing
Future Perfect Progressive
• Durative or habitual action that is taking place in
the present and that will continue into the future up
until or through a specific future time.
The direct-indirect speech tense shift is the main piece of
evidence cited to support the assignment of tense to modals.
However the so- called rules of tensing are not always followed
by native speakers.
While it is true that the historically present-tense modals can
and will still resist being used in past time frames, their so called
past-tense counterparts could and would, don’t always work in
past-time frames.
*He could leave yesterday

They often occur with reference to present time:
Would/Could you pass me the salt?
There are cases that so-called present tense modals refer to past
time:
Jim may have been late last night (past meaning)
Also in many other cases, so-called past-tense modals refer to
present or future time
That could be Sara (present meaning)
You should see the doctor (future meaning)
Modals and their Phrasal Forms
Phrasal Modals
- Multiword forms ending in infinitive to which function
semantically like true modals (in certain of their meaning).
Note! Every modal seems to have at least one phrasal
counterparts and some modals have several.
Notice that the phrasal modals do not exhibit the same formal
properties as the true modals in that the subject-verb agreement
rule must be applied (except for used to, which is an inflected
past tense).
All phrasal modals require that a to infinitive precede the main
verb: that is phrasal forms behave syntactically much more like
ordinary verbs than they do like true modals.
Phrasal forms were developed in part because the original
class of modals lost their connection to time, and phrasal forms
gave English users a way to mark tense and express modality
on one and the same verb.
Phrasal modals differ from lexical verbs in speech in that they
have assimilated with to and often pronounce to as if it were
part of a single word with the verb: gotta,gonna,hasta,hafta and
so on.
In addition to the true modals and phrasal modals, there are
some other modal-like forms in English such as the following:
• Had (better) or had (best)- advisability
• Would rather and would prefer- preference
• Would like- desire in statements and offers in question
Modals and their phrasal equivalents orders are fixed.
Example:
1. *We can should study hard.
2. He will improve his work.
3. *I am able to must do the job.
4. I might able to go there
5. He is going to improve his pronunciation.
Rule:
• Modal + Modal cannot occur in a same sentence.
• Phrasal Modal + Modal cannot also occur in a same
sentence.
Phrasal Modals have a variety of internal structures. Some of
them look like another construction that consists of
be+adjective+preposition+verb[gerund]
Example:
I am able to go there. (pm+verb [infinitive])
I am used to going there (be+adj+prep+verb[gerund])
The Meaning of Modals
The first thing to notice about the meaning of modal is that they
form a semantic opposition with ordinary tensed verb. When
English speakers use a modal, they interject their own
perspective and view a proposition more subjectively than when
they simply use present or past tense:
Modal Verbs are used for several reasons:
 to give a proposition a degree of probability
 to express one’s attitude
 to perform various social functions
Hoffman (1996) and Palmer (1990) have discussed modals as
having as having at least two distinctly different functions:
• An epistemic meaning expressing logical probability
• A deontic function expressing a use related to social
interaction
Note:
When modals are used for interaction, the person using them
must take into account the relevant features of the social
interaction
Knowing all the relevant features of the social situation allows
the speaker to select the appropriate modal auxiliary in any
given interaction.
Like may, virtually all modals can express both logical
probability and social interaction. ESL/EFL students should
be more aware of this and be given some guidance in working
with systems operating within both dimension.
Logical Probability Meaning of Modals
The logical meanings of the modals typically deal with the
speaker making an inference or prediction:

Wilbur: Someone’s knocking at the door.

Gertrude: It may be Sydney.
Wilbur: Someone’s knocking at the door.
Gertrude: It must be Sydney.
(That will be Sydney.)
Necessity
Another reason why must is not used for prediction may be
that, along with the phrasal have to, it is often used to
express necessity, which−according to Palmer (1990)−can
High certainty
be internal or external in origin:

That should be Sydney.

That may be Sydney.

That could/might be Sydney. Low Certainty Modals and Negation

Of the modals in the logical probability hierarchy, will and Modals and phrasal forms interact with not in interesting
should are the most limited. ways.
A: I have flushed cheeks and a slight fever.

B: You (could/might/may/must/?will/*should) be coming down

with something.

Present inference can also be stated in negative terms, but

this is much less frequent, and the selection and order of
forms is somewhat different:
The Use of Modals and Phrasal Forms
Wilbur: Someone’s knocking at the door. I believe it’s Sydney.
Social Functions of Modals
Gertrude: It might not be Sydney. Low Possibility

That may not be Sydney. Making Requests

That won’t/wouldn’t be Sydney.

That can’t/couldn’t be Sydney. Impossibility

Should and must are absent from the negative inference

scale since they are typically used for social function in the
negative−to advice and order others on what not to do:

They shouldn’t do that.

You mustn’t arrive late.
Notice that the adjectives and adverbs can often be used to
paraphrase the logical uses, but only rarely the social uses,
of modals:
Although both historical present and past forms of these
modals can be used in making request, only the historical
present tense forms are likely to be used in responses to
requests:

The same set of modals can be used for past as well as

current inference with the addition of perfect aspect have
(have + -en)

Giving Advice

Prediction
All of the forms above can be used to express degrees of
prediction, with the exception of must, perhaps because
must historically was a past tense verb form and is not well
suited for prediction:

Other Meanings and Uses of Modals and
Modal-like Forms
1.“ability” for animate subjects:
 I can speak Indonesian.
 Superman is able to leap tall buildings with a single
bound.
2. “potentiality” for inanimate subjects:
 This business can be reorganized.
 The car is able to go faster with this fuel.
DESIRE- would like (to)
 Sarah would like to travel around the world.
 Ralph would like an apple.
OFFER/INVITATION- would you like (to)
 Would you like something to drink?
 Would you like to dance?
PREFERENCE- would rather (x than y), would prefer to
 Brad would rather study languages than mathematics.
 Joe would prefer to go to school instead of working.
One could argue that would like (to) and would prefer (to)
are simply sequences describable as: modal + verb +
infinitive.
Frozen modal-like lexical chunks to emphasize the
unchanging nature of would in this expressions to avoid
ESL/EFL errors.
 I will prefer to stay here.
 Will you like some cake?
CONTEXTS OF MEANINGAND USE FOR SOME
MODALS AND PHRASAL FORMS
Can Vs. Be able to
 Can you do it?
 Are you able to do it?
-One reason for the informality of the modal may be the fact
that can is often the modal first acquired by both native and
nonnative speakers of English.
- A data-based study (Polio 1988) indicates that in most
instances where be able to is used, structural constraints
prohibit the use of can:
-After other modals:
 Will you be able to join us?
-After perfect forms (i.e., be able to is more like a regular verb
in such cases):
 I’ve been able to knit for a long time.
-In gerunds, participles and infinitives:
 Being able to swim is a requirement for this job.
 I’d like to be able to swim.
-Zemach (1994) in another data-based study points out that can
and be able to seem equivalent only in those cases where the
meaning of “ability”- or “lack of ability” in the negative- is
being expressed. This also holds for could and be able to:
 I left my books at school, so I (couldn’t/wasn’t able
to) do my homework.
-Other uses of can or could that signal potentiality, permission,
choice, and so on, cannot be paraphrased with be able to, which
occurs quiet rarely in comparison with can. Zemach’s data
show that the best environments for use of be able to are those
that convey special effort or frustration on the part of the
grammatical subject(=agent):
- Going back to Zemach’s earlier example about “books” and
“homework”, we can now see that the reading with couldn’t
sounds more neutral or matter-of-fact, whereas the reading with
wasn’t able to expresses more concern and frustration about the
speaker’s in ability to complete the work. There is also an
asymmetry in the present and immediate past time uses of
can/could versus is able to/was able to, which may result in
learner errors:
 Today I {can, am able to} go to Disney World.(= The
possibility exists. I may or may not actually go.)
 Yesterday I was able to go to Disney World. (=
Strongly implies I did go.)
 Yesterday I could go to Disney World. (= Unclear- did
I go or not?)
- Learners often say or write the last sentence with “could”
when what they want to say requires “was able to”. If they truly
want to say only that the possibility existed, then a very careful
paraphrase- or the addition of perfect aspect- is needed instead
of the version with could:
 Yesterday, the possibility existed for me to go to
Disney world.
 Yesterday, I could have gone to Disney World. (=
implies I did not go.)
Note!!!
- For expressing past ability- in contrast to immediate
past- both forms are acceptable:
 I {was able to, could} speak German fluently when I
was a child.
-Interestingly, when negated, both forms seem acceptable for
expressing immediate past-time uses:
 Yesterday I wasn’t able to go to Disney World.
 Yesterday I couldn’t go to Disney World.
= I did not go. The possibility did not exist.
SHALL
-When shall does occur, it is usually found in requests for a
decision or for advice from the addressee, in tags with let’s, or
in statements establishing new topics:
 Shall I call her? (should can also be used here)
 Let’s go shall we?
 Next we shall discuss the difference between X and Y.
-Shall does not occur in some frozen formulas where it signifies
an invitation or a suggestion. In such cases, should cannot be
substituted for shall without a change of meaning:
 Shall we dance? (= would you like to dance? i.e. an
invitation)
 Should we dance? (= is it advisable? i.e. a question)
-In formal commands- both affirmative and negative- one
occasionally encounters shall:
 You shall report promptly at 0500H.
 You shall not wear sandals in the mess hall.
- Certainly the old prescriptive rule- i.e., use shall to express
future time with I and we, use will elsewhere.
WILL vs. BE GOING TO
-Be going to is more informal and interpersonal than will, which
is more formal and neutral as an expression of future time.
 One of two friends at a restaurant says to the other
friend, “I’m gonna have the mushrooms.” However,
several minutes later the same speaker says to the
waiter, “I’ll have the mushrooms.”
-be going to is closely tied to action already begun in the present
or immediately imminent, given evidence available but over
which the speaker has no control (or has lost control).
 “Help! I’m going to fall!”
 “Look, it’s gonna rain soon.”
-The form will occurs in conditions and other statements where
future outcome is contingent on some other result, is more
distant, or involves speaker control:
 “If you put your pawn there, he’ll win the game.”
 “Go to the café at 9 p.m., and I’ll meet you there.”
-In the immediately preceding example, will (‘ll) conveys a
sense of promise or commitment in the statement, but use of be
going to would convey a plan or intention instead.
SHOULD, OUGHT TO, AND BE SUPPOSED TO
-Bouscaren et al. (1992) argue that with should the moral
judgment stems from the speaker’s/writer’s own personal
criteria, whereas with ought to the judgment is based on external
rules (social conventions, institutions):
 “I felt that I ought to be showing these people where
to find food. But should I? If I were to lead them…”
-Gaskill (1978), citing transcribed oral data, argues that the
difference between should and be supposed to is that
should invokes internal authority or a higher authority,
whereas be supposed to invokes a very special type of
impersonal external authority, an appeal to some
predetermined schedule, plan or perspective:
A. Physics is, they say, formula plugging- whenever you
say that it’s formula plugging the teachers always get
mad at you and say you’re not supposed to look at it
like that.
B. Well, if you’ll notice, most teachers say you should, uh,
take an interest in your subject- you should apply it to
life. And you try to, but somehow it doesn’t work in
most cases. (Carterette and Jones 1974, p. 406,
punctuation added)
-Both Bouscaren et al. and Gaskill argue that should expresses
someone’s internal moral judgment or higher moral authority.
-The difference between the external force of ought to and be
supposed to is that ought to is a marker of some general external
moral or moral standard.
-Whereas use of be supposed to refers to explicit, externally
agreed- upon standards, schedules, or expectations that may be
restricted to a certain group.
MUST, HAVE TO, AND HAVE GOT TO
-The use of must for expressing inference (present and past):
 You must have the wrong number!
 John must have been joking when he said that.
-The form have to is used in speech to express both external and
internal social necessity:
 You have to wait here till the doctor gets back.
 Excuse me. I have to go to the powder room.
-The form have got to, rather than having it’s own discrete
meaning (s) in opposition to must and have to, was used to
express affect on the part of the speaker.
-The speaker would use (have) got to, often reduced to gotta, to
express either inference or social necessity with a special degree
of urgency (real or feigned):
 You gotta be kidding me!
 You’ve gotta lend me $10. I’m broke!
-The difference between should and (had) better/best ; the latter
conveys special affect by sometimes suggesting the possibility
of unpleasant consequences, whereas should is much more
neutral:
 You should return that book to the library.
 You had {better, best} return that book to the library.
-The use had better/best, does not always imply negative
consequences; this is especially true if the utterance is self-
directed:
 I’d better do the dusting before the vacuuming.
USE OF CAN vs. NO MODAL
-Park (1993) argues for such an analysis in a study of can with
verbs of perception and cognition:
 I can see your point.
  I see your point.
-The use of can (or can’t) was preferred in contexts that were
more interactional, affective, and empathy building:
 “Yeah, I can understand where she’s coming from.”
-The use of present tense, is preferred in contexts that are
factual, direct and sometimes abrupt or even argumentative:
First of all, be, which is the most frequent verb in English, has
more distinct forms with respect to person, number, and tense
than any other verb in English.
The traditional paradigm for be compared with that for a lexical
verb such as walk makes this clear:

 “I understand your point. Anything else?”

-The negative form of can with these types of verbs expresses

surprise at a fact rather than conveying any literal negation of
ability or possibility:

 “It’s your birthday! I can’t believe it!”

-The use of I don’t believe it, which can also express surprise,
is preferred in contexts that are more factually-oriented, where
the speaker is being direct; it would be used rather than can’t in
those cases where the speaker does not accept the statement as
true.

USED TO vs. BE USED TO AND GET USED TO

-Students may confuse used to (the phrasal equivalent of would

in its past habitual meaning) with be used to and get used to
-Used to suggests a factual report of past habit, be/get used to
expresses a more affective stance, expressing familiarity and
possibly some positive attitude.
-be/get used to the word used = “accustomed.”
 I used to eat hot food when I was in Thailand. (factual
report of past habit)
a verb like walk has two present-tense forms and one past-tense
form:
Present: walks – third person singular
walk – all other persons and numbers
Past: walked – all persons and numbers

 I got used to eating hot food when I was in Thailand.

(change of habit or circumstance in the past)

 I am used to eating hot food. (current circumstance or

habit)

-Note that while used to expresses only past habit, be used to

and get used to can refer to any time frame by changing the
tense of be or get.

-Note also that used to is followed by bare infinitives, while be

used to and get used to are followed by gerunds.

THE COPULA AND SUBJECT-VERB

AGREEMENT
The copula be poses the greatest problems at the initial stage.

Research on L2 morpheme acquisition has shown that the third

person singular present tense –s inflection causes persistent
problem for learners even at more advanced stages of
proficiency.

Be functions as an auxiliary verb as well as a copula, so we

should first take stock of these two distinct functions: *You is late.
Copula: John is a teacher *We was on time.
tall
in Boston Second, the copula be may be followed by adjective phrases, a
Auxiliary: John is talking to Susan. (Progressive aspect) defining characteristic that it shares with many other copular
verbs.
WHY THE COPULA BE IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER
VERBS?

The rule for expanding the verb phrase makes a clear distinction
between copular verbs like be and all other verbs in English.
1. perception copulas (mental or sensory). The perceiver is
sometimes expressed.
2. state copulas (tend to take participial adjectives)
3. change-of-state copulas (often only one or two adjectives go
with a given copula).
Third, the syntactic behavior of the copula be, which behaves
like an auxiliary verb and has operator function with regard to
question formation, negation, and other constructions, is very
different from that of other verbs like walk, which require the
addition of a do auxiliary as the operator if no other auxiliary
verb is present.
Finally, the copula be does not occur in all languages, but all
languages have verbs. Especially in the present tense, many
languages have nothing equivalent to the copula be
In sum, a verb is copular if it is followed by a noun phrase, an
adjective phrase, or an adverbial that specifically predicates
something about the subject of the verb
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
The General Rule
The subject and verb number choice will agree.
In the present tense we use the third person singular
inflection (-s or the be form is) if the subject refers to
one entity. Elsewhere – for nouns or pronouns referring
to more than one entity no inflection is used in the
present tense.
Different Rules in Subject-Verb Agreement
Rule 1
Collective noun takes a singular verb if the idea expressed by
the subject is thought of as a unit. It takes a plural verb when
the idea refers to separate individuals.
Example:
The class has prepared a program. (the class as a whole)
The class have given different ideas. (individual class
members)
Example:
This organization puts on a barbeque every summer.
Our school team have won all their games
Rule 2
Some common and proper nouns ending in –s, including -ics
nouns and certain diseases, are always conceived of as a single
entity and take a singular verb inflection.
Example:
No news is good news.
This series is very interesting.
Measles is a contagious disease.
Example:
Physics is a difficult subject.
Wales is lovely to visit.
Rule 3
Titles of books, plays, operas, films, and such works – even
when plural in forms – take the singular verb inflection
because they are perceived as a single entity.
Example:
The Pirates of Penzonce is my favorite operetta.
Great Expectations was written by Dickens.
Rule 4
Nouns occurring in sets of two take the singular when the
noun pair is present but take the plural when pair is absent –
regardless of whether one pair or more is being referred to.
A pair of trousers is on the sofa.
Todd’s trousers are on the sofa.
This pair of shoes needs new heels.
These shoes need new heels.
Rule 5
The number of normally takes the singular, while a number
of normally takes the plural.
The number of students in this is school 2,000.
A number of students have dropped that course.
Rule 6
Fractions and percentages take a singular verb inflection when
modifying a noncount noun.
Example:
One half of the toxic waste has escaped.
Fifty percent of the toxic waste has escaped.
Rule 6
Fractions and percentages take a plural verb inflection when
modifying a plural noun.
Two thirds of the students are satisfied with the class.
Sixty-six percent of the computers have CD-ROM.
Rule 6
Fractions and percentages take either singular or plural verb
inflection when modifying a collective noun depending on the
speaker’s meaning.
One tenth of the population of Egypt (is Christian/are
Christian)
Rule 7
The words majority and minority are used in a variety of
ways:
When majority/minority mean an unspecified number more
or less than 50%, use a singular verb.
The majority holds no strong views.
A small minority indicates it supports the proposal
Rule 7
When majority/minority mean a specific percentage, use
either a singular or a plural verb.
A 75% majority have/has voted against the measure.
A 10% minority are/is opposed to the measure.
Rule 7
When majority/minority refers to a specified set of persons,
use a plural verb.
A majority of Canadians have voted for the change.
A minority of the students are willing to pay more.
Rule 8
Plural unit words of distance, money and time take the
singular verb inflection when one entity is implied but a plural
verb in the subject.
Rule 9
Arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, and divide)
take the singular because they are perceived as reflecting a
single numerical entity on both sides of the equation or equal
sign.
Addition: -One plus one is/ equals two.
Subtraction:-Four minus two is/equals two.
Multiplication:-Two times two is/equals four.
Division:-Ten divided two is/ equals five
Rule 10
The qualifiers all (of), a lot of, lots of, and plenty of take
singular verb agreement if the subject head noun is nouncount
but plural verb agreement if the subject head noun is plural.
- A lot of nonsense was published about that incident.
- A lot of people were present when it happened.
Crews (1980)
He provides the reader with the preferred form as well as
acceptable alternatives and covers more cases than most other
sources. However, Crews tends to be more prescriptive than
descriptive in his account.
Van Shaik (1976)
Farhady (1977)
Peterson (1990)
They all surveyed the performance and preferences of a
number of native speakers and pointed out discrepancies
between traditional rules and the elicited performance of the
native speakers.
Rule 11
Rules for none, and sometimes for all, each and every.
Traditional grammars:
-When used as subject, none is always singular regardless of
what follows in a prepositional phrase.
‘None’ ~ (nouncount noun) ~ singular
Example:
None of the toxic waste has escaped.
‘None’ ~ (plural noun/ human or nonhuman)~
singular/plural
Example:
None of those firemen( ) hearing the alarm go off.
 Enjoy- 47%
 Enjoys – 53% (Van Shaik)
Example:
None of the costumes he has tried ( ) him.
 fit- 50%
 fits – 50% (Fahardy)
If the noun that all modifies is a nouncount noun subject,
then subject-verb agreement is singular.
Example:
All (of) (the) water is polluted.
If all modifies a countable plural subject noun, subject-
verb agreement is plural.
Example:

All (of) (the) students have arrived.

A problem arises, when all is used to qualify a collective

noun subject.

When the subject quantifier is each or every(one) the rules
are more straightforward. When the quantified subject
noun is singular, the subject-verb agreement is always
singular.
Example:
Proximity Principle
For the correlatives either, or, and neither, nor, traditional
grammarians argue for a proximity rule; that is, subject verb
agreement should occur with the subject noun nearest to the
verb.

(Each/ Every/ Each and Every) student has a textbook.

When the quantified noun refers to a definite plural set, there

can be problems since the quantifiers are grammatically
singular, yet the set they are modifying is notionally plural.

Example:

Each of his examples (was/were) out of the context.

Rule 12

Relative-clauses antecedents
Principle of Nonintervention

Marsha is one of those rare individuals who (have/has)
finished the M.A. early.
- Antecedent who is individuals and thus have is the correct
verb form.
This rule conflicts with the nonintervention principle ; it
does not agree with the preferences of native speakers
Many reference grammars make a point of
emphasizing that a singular subject noun or pronoun should
take a singular verb inflection regardless of what else occurs
between the subject and the verb.
The speaker or writer should ignore all plural forms
in intervening prepositional phrases and expressions such us
together with, along with, as well as, and not others.

When the subject followed by the prepositional phrase is

Rule 13 either or neither , the nonintervention principle weakens
because these forms can be perceived as signaling more than
Clausal and Phrasal subjects: When a clause functions as
one entity – neither apparently more strongly so than either.
subject, the subject-verb agreement is singular- regardless of
any plural noun phrases that occur as part of the subject clause
or the verb phrase.

Examples:

- That the children want friends doesn’t surprise me.

- What they want is revolution everywhere. Be aware of the major traditional rules and also aware of those
instances where current usage seems to clearly deviate from
This rule also extends to phrasal subjects that are gerunds the traditional prescription.
or infinitives.
Teachers should keep in mind that informal contexts permit a
-Reading books is my hobby. greater range of acceptable forms than formal contexts-
therefore, they must be flexible about their correction
- To err is human.
standards, which should be different for formal writing than
for informal writing or colloquial speech.
PREPOSITIONS
a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun
and expressing a relation to another word or element in the
clause, as in “the man on the platform,” “she arrived after
dinner,” “what did you do it for ?”.
PrepP ----------------- Prep NP
First of all, English prepositions are free morphemes, not
bound inflectional affixes as they are in many other languages.
The reason that the prepositions have the name they do is that
they precede nouns---- they are pre-positions.
It is possible for a preposition to be “stranded” when wh-
question word is fronted:
Who(m) are you speaking to?
Second, the rule tells us that prepositions are followed by NPs.
Since the NP is the “object” of the preposition, if it is a
pronoun, it is an object pronoun.
Finally, it is possible for some verbs to be optionally followed
by a preposition.
I believe that.
I believe in that.
It wasn't at all what she had planned.
It wasn't at all what she had planned on.
If certain noun phrase are preceded or followed by a
preposition, there may be only one possible option; examples
are in my opinion, to my mind, from my point of view,
objection to, awareness of, belief in.
Sometimes, noun phrases are both preceded and followed by
prepositions to form multiword clusters, such as with respect
to, at odds with, in return for.

for us / to me

Third, the symbol Prep in our rule does not necessarily

represent a single word.

 as because of

 out of

 on top of

 in front of

Prepositional phrases follow copular verbs and certain

intransitive verbs and transitive adjectives, where they are
needed to complete the VP and AP, respectively:

Cop+Prep: The car is in the garage.

Verb+Prep: He lay on his side.

Adj+Prep: I am averse to the idea. DELETION OF PREPOSITIONS

CO-OCCURENCE WITH ADVERBS, ADJECTIVES, • When the preposition on is used before days of the
AND NOUNS week (when the day is used alone or when the day of
the week modifies another temporal noun such as
A number of verbs and adjectives co-occur with particular morning, afternoon, night):
prepositions. Here are some examples:
Brent went cross-country skiing (on) Saturday.

He bought a new pair of skis (on) Friday night.

In responses to questions that would cue temporal use of in, at,

on, or for.

How long have you lived here? (For) two years.

When do you wake up? (At) 6 A.M.

Sometimes the same verb with two different prepositions will
have significantly different meanings; for example:
provide for: You should provide for your old age now.
(make provision for)
provide NP with: The Red Cross provided us with blankets.
( gave blankets to us)
However, sometimes two different prepositions can be used
with the same verb with little or no change of meaning:
Joe competes { with/against} his older brother too much.
Obligatory deletion:
When the temporal noun phrase contains a determiner used
deictically (i.e., as seen from the perspective of the speaker
such as last, next, this) or when the head noun of the noun
phrase contains before, after, next, last, or this as part of its
meaning (e.g., yesterday, tomorrow, today, tonight).
I was busy (*on) last Friday.
We will be in Eugene (*on) tonight.
When the temporal noun phrase contains a universal quantifier
like every or all:
We stayed in Provo (*for) all week.
When a locative noun, such as home or downtown, or the pro-
adverbs here and there are used with a verb of motion or
directions:
We went (*to) home.
Phyllis walks (*to) here every day.
The Meaning of Preposition
- are polysemous. (Taylor 1993)
The room is in a mess.
Stephanie is in the room.
In (in the given examples) conveys a general notion of
boundedness within an enclosure.
Locating objects in Space
• Locating an object in space involves two or more
entities.
• (Taylor 1993) notes that the relationship between the
two entities is inherently asymmetrical, in that one
entity is selected for foregrounding, while the other
entity serves as a background.
• The former has been variously referred to as the
figure, or trajector, and the latter is called the ground,
or the landmark.
At, On and In
At denote place as a point of orientation
*Meet me at the corner.
On denotes physical contact between trajector and
landmark, necessitating viewing the landmark as a one-
dimensional space (a line) or two dimensional space (a
surface)
*Don’t sit on the desk.
In denotes the enclosure of the trajector in the landmark
and, therefore, views the landmark as two- or – three-
dimensional space (a surface or a volume)
*Stephanie is in the room.
From, Off and Out of
-Three Source Preposition : Involves the notion of
separation from place and hence are connected by two
pointed arrows with the basic place preposition in the
diagram.
-From denotes separation from one point of orientation
*She took it from me.
Off denotes separation from contact with a line of surface
*the vase fell off the table.
Out of denotes separation from inside of a landmark.
*the water spilled out of the vase.
By and With
Proximity Prepositions : which are adjacent to at on the
diagram because they locate the trajector in relation to a
point of orientation, just as at does.
By denotes the idea of “connection”
*Doug lives by me.
With denotes both a point of orientation and the idea of
connection but may do so in a more abstract way to mean
association and/or accompaniment.
*he walks with me to school.
Through and About
Through structures space as a tunnel or channel
*take the first path through the woods.
About denotes spatial movement in any direction.
*he walked about the room searching for where he had left
his keys.
Under and Over
-Are vertical space prepositions.
Under denotes a trajector that is at a lower point then a
landmark
*don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.
Over denotes a trajector that is at a higher point than a
landmark.
*we peered over the fence.
NOTE:
Many prepositions can be used to describe not only stative
relationships but also dynamic ones.
Taylor (1993) suggest that Three Categories of Relations
are expressed by prepositions:
Place ( the picture is over the sofa.)
Path ( the crop duster flew over the cornfield)
Goal ( hang the picture over the sofa)
Source *Taylor allowed as the fourth category based on
Dirven’s analysis
(the catsup flowed out of the bottle)
Meaning of Extension and Spatial Preposition
“ extensions of meanings of a preposition from physical space
via time into more abstract domains do not occur in any
haphazard way but follow a path of gradually increasing
abstractions, whereby the link with each prior meaning
remains obvious and may account for most, if not all, co-
occurrence restrictions between trajector and landmark.”
(Dirven 1993)
Dirven’s analysis showing how at extends from an
orientation point in space to one in time, and then beyond
into state, area manner, circumstance, and cause.

a. Point as place: *at the station

b. Time point: *at six o’clock

c. State: *at work

d. Area: *good at guessing

e. Manner: *at full speed

f. Circumstance: *at these words (he left)

g. Cause: *laugh at, irritation at

Hudson (1979) cam up with seven meanings for at by

collapsing categories and synthesizing definitions.

1. Used to locate an object in space

The paper was lying at my feet.

2. Used to locate an object in time

He was here at one o’clock.

3. Used to indicate a state, condition, or engagement in a

particular activity

I’m never at ease when taking a test.

4. Used to indicate a cause or a source of an action or state

She wept at the bad news.

5. Used to indicate direction toward a goal or objective

The man over there was pointing at us.

6. Used to express skill (or lack of it) in relation to a

particular activity or occupation

She’s a whiz at poker.

7. Used to indicate relative amount, degree, rate, value,

ordinal relationship, or position on a scale

He retired at 65.

8. Used to indicate a cause or a source of an action or state

“Used to express a reaction to someone or something”

Lakoff (1987), in a reanalysis of Brugman’s (1981) study of

over, shows how the central sense of over combining elements

of both above and across can be depicted in an image schema

such as the following.

Dirven’s Observation about at using the given notion of

Central Schema

Central schema or a more prototypical meaning for

prepositions, with the spatial sense being most central.
 He broke the window with a rock.

For and of 12.With (comitative)

Two of the most common prepositions that don’t have as
obvious a spatial sense as do the other frequently used ones. I went to town with jack.

Of has been investigated by Thompson (1992s) 13.with (joining)

The meaning of preposition The storm covered the mountain with snow.
• Semantics case
Unmarked order:
• Reviewing semantically related case functions Craig planted beans in his yard.
together
MARKED ORDER:
The use of prepositions Craig planted his yard with beans.
• Variation in use
Note: In some types of sentences, the order of cases is
• Preposition in discourse
significant with respect to the preposition that occurs.
• Prepositions: a multilevel strategy
Unmarked order:
Semantics case Meg emptied the groceries out of the bag.
.
Fillmore (1968) describes many uses of prepositions as being (=one by one, no rush implied)
case-like in nature.
MARKED ORDER:
Note:
Meg emptied the bag of grocery.
A preposition may assign more than one case and that only .
highly frequent prepositions signal cases. (=quickly, all at once)

1.By (agentive) Reviewing semantically related case functions

together
It was composed by Tsaikovsky.
1.DATIVE, BENEFACTIVE, AND ELICITING
2.By (means)
E.g.
We went there by bus. I mailed the package to my pen pal.
I bought the tickets for Mary.
3.For (benefactive) I asked a question on the speaker.

I bought the gift for Marty. these are all semantic cases associated with indirect objects.

2. DATIVE AND ABLATIVE

4.For (proxy)
E.g.
He manages the store for the Bakers.

5.From (ablative, source)

Sherry bought the car from Dave.

6.Of (eliciting)

He asked a favour of us.

7.Of (separation)

They cleared the field of trash.

3 JOINING WITH AND SEPARATING OF:
8.Of (genitive)
E.g.
The hood of the car was dented. The cashier filled my bag with groceries.
When I got home, I emptied the bag of groceries.
9.To (dative)
Verbs of joining (with): fill, cover, shower, anoint, etc.
I gave the hat I was knitting for my best friend.
Verbs of separating (of): empty, rob, strip, clear, etc.
10.To (direction, goal) 4.AGENTIVE (BY) AND INSTRUMENTAL (WITH)
WITH PASSIVES:
We drove to charlotte, north carolina.

11.With (instrument) E.g.

The window was broken by Bruce.
It was broken with a rock.
The Use of Prepositions Register
Variation In Use Underneath may occur in a more formal context than
under
1.Spatial proximity:
Note: Members of other sets may be distinguished by
issues
A house near/by the lake
For while languages do not permit the uneconomic
2.Time/degree approximation: situation of having more than one form with the same
meaning and use, languages do change, and at one point
Happened around/about 10o’clock; cost in time, it is possible that one or more of the redundant
around/about $100 forms is in the process of dying out with the other(s)
remaining.
3.Telling time:
The use of prepositions
A quarter to/of ten (of for telling time is not use in Preposition in Discourse
British English)
Kennedy (1991), it is important to study the “linguistic
4.Telling time: ecology” of prepositions.
Kennedy examined the Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen (LOB)
A quarter after/past ten
corpus for incidence of the prepositions between and
5.Location along something linear: through.
Although their meanings sometimes overlap, analysis
The towns on/along the Rhine
revealed that there was a striking difference between the
words that these two prepositions co-occur with.
6.In a time period:
Kennedy found that nouns typically precede between
(difference between), whereas verbs are the most
It happened in/during 1998.
common word class preceding through (flash through)
7.Temporal termination: Both between and through are most commonly used
in their locative senses; however, other non-physical
Work from 9 until/till/to 5. relations are also very frequent-involving,
8.Location lower than something: Interaction
(communication between management and employees)
Below/beneath/under/underneath/ the stairs Comparison
(there is little to choose between the two)
9.Location higher than something: Similarity
(the important parallel between Handel and Beethoven)
Above/over the table
Difference
10.Location in/at the rear of something: (the discrepancy between expected and observed scores)

Behind/in the back of the door Means

11.Location adjacent:
Next to/beside the stream
Note: While above and over can be interchange-able
in three dimensional spaces:
The plane flew above the storm clouds.
The plane flew over the storm clouds.
Note: a semantic distinction can exist in two
dimensional space:
Hang the picture above the mirror.
(location on flat, vertical surface)
Hang the picture over the mirror.
(could mean “cover the picture with the mirror”)
(through the medium of English language)
or Causation
(dilapidation through lack of maintenance)
The use of prepositions
Preposition:
A Multilevel Strategy
Kennedy observes that the traditional rule that tells
English speakers to use between is frequently used
where among might be expected;
e.g.
[He] would help to establish an enduring peace between
nations.
Todaka (1996) agrees that the traditional prescriptive
rule has some influence that says it does not fully reflect
the distribution of these two prepositions in the data.
Therefore, Todaka recommends a multilevel strategy.
At the word level, the central sense that differentiates the
two prepositions is that objects with the semantic
features of [+explicit, +separable] always take between;
when the objects are conceived as [+collective], among
is used.
e.g.
A quarrel between the six attorneys…
(the attorneys are explicit and are seen as individuals)
Among the recipients of the Noble prize for
literature, more than half are practically unknown to
readers of English.
(the recipients of the Nobel prize are seen collectively)
A relation between
A distinction between
A distance between
among others
among + plural form + on the whole
(e.g., among English-speaking people on the whole)
among+ ranking adjective
(e.g., among the best)
How would you describe the role of up in each?
a. She walked up the street to get a bite to eat.
b. I live up in Springfield.
c. When are you going to clean up your room?
d. I am sorry that I messed you up.
The most generally agreed upon interpretation would be
that “up” is a preposition in the first two sentences.
a. She walked up the street to get a bite to eat.
In (a), it is the preposition in the adverbial PrepP of
direction up the street.
b. I live up in Springfield.
In (b), it’s object, presumably “north”, has been
deleted.
The PrepP up north is an adverbial of position.
c. When are you going to clean up your room?
d. I am sorry that I messed you up.
Phrasal Verb = “two-word verbs”
These up’s we will call particles, which when
combined with the verbs clean and mess , form a
phrasal verbs.
c. When are you going to clean up your room?
In (c), the up is syntactically optional.
The verb could stand on its own with almost the same
meaning.
The verb could stand on its own with almost the same
meaning.
Meaning of Phrasal Verbs
NONCOMPOSITIONAL
Someone can know the meaning of the verb and the
apparent meaning of the particle, but when they are
put together, a unique meaning is derived.
Example:
Jennifer gave up.
a. I arose early in the morning.
b. I got up early in the morning.
Sentence (a) is accurate and meaningful. However, it
is not appropriate usage in the conversation.
Few of non-Germanic languages have phrasal verbs.
That is why some non-native English speakers have a
tendency to overuse lexical items where PV is more
appropriate.
a. I arose early in the morning.
b. I got up early in the morning.
Sentence (a) is accurate and meaningful. However, it
is not appropriate usage in the conversation.
a. Turn out the lights.
b. Turn the lights out.
Separation optional (direct object is not a pronoun)
A final learning challenge involves the conditions
governing optional and obligatory separation of the verb
and the particle for phrasal verbs used transitively.
c. Turn them out.
d. *Turn out them.
Separation necessary (direct object is a pronoun)
FORM of ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal Verb (PV) is made up of two (or more) parts
that function as a single verb. “two-word verbs”
Syntactic Analysis of Phrasal Verbs
because they consist of a verb plus a second word
referred to as particle
Syntactic Features of Phrasal Verb
Transitive and Intransitive
Phrasal Verbs
Harold turned on the radio.

Barbara passed out the assignment.

I called off the meeting.

Transitive and Intransitive

Phrasal Verbs
My car broke down.
He really took off.
The boys were playing around in the yard.
Separable Phrasal Verbs Distinguishing Phrasal Verbs From
Mark threw away the ball. Verb + Preposition Sequences
Mark threw the ball away. SYNTACTIC TESTS
* Mark threw away it. Only prepositions (not particles) allow:
Mark threw it away. Adverb insertion - We turned quickly
Separable Phrasal Verbs off the road.
Rachel looked up the information. *We turned quickly off the light.
Rachel looked the information up. Phrase fronting - Up the hill John ran.
* Rachel looked up it. *Up the bill John ran.
Rachel looked it up.
Wh-fronting - About what does he
Inseparable Phrasal Verbs write?
I came across an interesting article last night. *Up what does he write?
* I came an interesting article across last night.
Only particles in seperable phrasal verbs (not
I came across it last night. prepositions) allow:
* I came it across last night. Passivation - The light was turned off.
Inseparable Phrasal Verbs
*The road was turned off.
John ran into an old friend.
Verb substitution - The light was
* John ran an old friend into. extinguished.
John ran into him.
*(= the light was turned off.)
* John ran him into.
NP insertion - We turned the light off.
*We turned the road off.

Distinguishing Phrasal Verbs From

Verb + Preposition Sequences
The rationale for many of these tests is the fact
that a preposition makes a natural unit with
the NP object that follows it, whereas a
particle makes a natural unit with the verb
that precedes it. For instance, when we apply
wh-fronting:
About what does he write?
We produce a somewhat stilted but
nevertheless grammatical question because
Phrasal Verbs that are always separated
we have fronted a natural unit consisting of a
preposition and its object. When we apply this
same test to a sentence containing a phrasal
verb, the question is ungrammatical:
*Up what does he write?
Because it is not possible to separate the
particle up from the verb write, which it forms
a natural unit.
Since we are positing a distinction among
separable PVs, inseparable PVs, and verb-
plus-preposition sequences, we recommend - Wish, of, for, from, to, in, on, about,
adopting the following hierarchy of tests. by, through, around, over, up, out,
down, away back, off, across, along

Consider the following examples:

Peter Looked up the new word.
Peter looked at the newspaper.
Peter looked into the matter.
1. Can you put the object nouns between the
verb and the “P”?
Peter looked the new word up – Yes=Separable ● Just as Hopper and Thompson (1984)
(look up) have made the case that the discourse
context plays a decisive role in
{*Peter looked the newspaper at}
determining whether to construe a
{*Peter looked the matter into.} particular from as a noun or verb,
O’Dowd (1994) suggests that it may be
-No, Inseparable PV or V + Prep
impossible to distinguish a particle
2. Can you front the “P” in a sub-question? from a preposition apart from the way
it behaves in a particular context.
At what did Peter look? -Yes=V+Prep (Look at)
● O’Dowd hypothesizes that the
*Into what did Peter look. (look
preposition-particle distinction is
into=investigate)
evolving as a two-way extinction from
- NO= Inseperable PV (Look into) a single element corresponding to what
Bolinger (1971) called as “adprep”.
- Another reason for the difficulty in
The socialization of certain “Ps” as
distinguishing particles from
either prepositions or adverbial
prepositions is that their syntactic
particles reflects their greater degree
roles are evolving (O’Dowd 1994); that
of grammatizication in one direction
is, some of the items O’Dowd calls
or another.
“Ps” are becoming more particle like
and some more preposition-like. PHONONOLOGICAL TEST
- It is considered, for now, more helpful
● Another formal difference between a
to view phrasal verbs and verbs taking
verb + preposition and a phrasal verb
prepositions as opposite ends of a
is that a particle may receive stress,
continuum rather than as a categorical
whereas a preposition doesn’t.
dichotomy. O’Dowd (1994) rejects the
hard-and-fast distinction between ● He loòked up the word. (phrasal
prepositions and particles; she also verb)
acknowledges the tendency for
● He loóked up the road. (verb +
particular “P’s” to specialize in one
Preposition)
syntactic role or another.
- Used more as prepositions--Used more ● Although this test often works to
as particles disambiguate preposition from
particles, again there are enough
exceptions or marked cases where the
preposition is stressed:
● He looked up the road, not
down.
That the test is not always reliable.
 ● Another problem for ESL/EFL categories of phrasal verbs can be
students is that they have been taught discerned: literal, aspectual, and
to put stress on the content word. idiomatic
Therefore, they tend to stress the head
LITERAL PHRASAL VERBS
verb rather than the particle
(Dickerson 1994): ● The first category is comprised of
verbs that appear to be a combination
○ *I planned to turn it down.
of a verb and a directional PrepP.
MEANING OF ENGLISH PHRASAL Nevertheless, for pedagogical
VERBS purposes, we will classify them as
phrasal verbs because they function
● The Productivity and Idiomaticity of
syntactically like verb-particle
Phrasal Verbs
constructions.
○ Certain particles such as off, up,
● Example of Literal Phrasal Verbs:
out, down, away, and give.
Phrasal verbs are a highly ● Sit down, Stand up, Hand out,
productive lexical category in Take down, carry out, throw
English. Indeed, Bolinger refers away, climb up, fall down, pass
to the constant new coinage of through.
phrasal verbs as “an outpouring
ASPECTUAL PHRASAL VERBS
of lexical creativeness that
surpasses anything else in our ● The second category is one where the
language.” meaning is not as transparent, but it is
not idiomatic either. This category
● However, we have no way of knowing
consists of verbs to which certain
in advance exactly which verb will join
particles contribute consistent
with which particle to form a new
aspectual meaning.
phrasal verb. Furthermore, there is
also a certain unpredictability as to ● Inceptive (to signal a beginning state)
what the meaning of the verb with the
○ John took off. (Others: set out,
meaning of a new phrasal verb will be
start up)
since many of them are noncom
positional or idiomatic- their meanings Continuative (to show that the action
are different from what combining the continues)
meaning of the verb meaning would
○ Use of on and along with
lead you to expect.
activity verbs
● Example
○ Her speech ran on and on.
○ Meaning of run and out doesn’t
○ Hurry along now (Others: carry
provide much of a clue to the
on, keep on, hang on, come
meaning of their combination in
along, play along)
a phrasal verb where to run out
means “to exhaust” ○ Use of away with activity the nuance
that the activity is “heedless”
○ Antonym, run in “to send to jail”
when it’s separated ○ They danced the night away.
(Others: work away, sleep away,
● I am going to run him in
flitter away)
for violating his parole.
Use of around with activity verbs to express
Semantic Categories of Phrasal Verbs
absence of purpose
● First of all, the systematicity that does
○ They goofed around all
exist becomes easier to perceive when
afternoon. (Others: mess
phrasal verbs are not treated
monolithically. At least three
 around, play around, travel ● Earlier we contrasted a phrase
around) with a verb + preposition
sequence run up the hill with
○ Use through with activity verbs to
one with a phrasal verb, run up
mean from beginning to end
the bill.
○ She read through her lines in
Stauffer demonstrates how in each sentence
the play for the audition.
run contributes a sense of motion entailing
(Others: think through, skim
change and up contributes the meaning of
through, sing through)
higher vertical direction on some path.
● Iterative (use of over with activity
● Example
verbs to show repetition)
○ When run and up occur
○ He did it over and over again
together with what appears to
until he got it right. (Others:
be an incompatible object since
write over, think over, type over)
it is [-place] (i.e., the bill), the
Completive (uses particles up, out, off and listener can use logic to infer
down to show that the action is complete) that if one is running up a bill
and something is going to
○ Turns and activity verb into an
change is the amount of money.
accomplishment
● Pelli’s (1976) statistical analysis of
○ He drank the milk up (Others:
14,021 verb-particle constructions has
burn down, mix up, wear out,
shown that the vast majority rely at
turn off, blow out)
least in part on the literal spatial or
○ Example aspectual meaning of the particle.
Thus, it would behoove teachers to
○ Burn up and burn down are not
guide their ESL/EFL students through
antonyms.
some “idiomatic” phrasal verbs by
○ Up has a positive “goal analyzing their component parts and
completion” meaning versus then looking for a logical relationship
down or out, which have a more within a specific context.
negative “complete extinction”
● A final point concerning the meaning
meaning (O’Dowd, personal
of phrasal verbs is that as with other
communication). And even if
verbs, phrasal verbs can be
the aspectual particles signal
polysemous. A verb such as check out
certain meanings consistently,
can have many meanings.
they cannot be assigned freely to
any verb. POLYSEMOUS PHRASAL VERBS
IDIOMATIC PHRASAL VERBS ● A partial inventory might include:
● Many phrasal verbs are idiomatic, 1. I need to check out by 1 P.M.
such as chew out, tune out, catch up,
2. I went to the library to get a book, but
put off. This is not to say that the
someone had already checked it out.
situation is hopeless, however. Stauffer
(1996) makes the point that native 3. Be sure to check it out before you buy it.
speakers coin novel phrasal verbs and
4. Check it out!
can understand phrasal verbs that
they have never before encountered 5. If you have fewer than 10 items, you can
because they understand the check out in the express lane.
underlying logic of the language.
● Example
THE USE of PHRASAL VERBS
Level of Formality
Phrasal verbs have single-verbs counterparts.
One factor that makes English speakers prefer
phrasal verbs such as put off , call off and
show up to their Latinate counterparts postpone
, cancel , and arrive is presumably a question
of register.
FIELD
Register can also refer to social activity in
which the language is being used and what is
being talked about. Certain phrasal verbs are
associated with a particular field in which there
are no concise alternatives
Example :
 The word check out means "to check
out of a hotel room" .
It would be different to describe the same action
using any other verb. A paraphrase of check
out in this context might be that "upon leaving
a hotel , I have to go to a front desk , give the
clerk my key and pay my bill".
 Airline personnel often favor Latinate
verbs over phrasal verbs , to assist
nonnative speakers of English
comprehend announcements.
In the days when cigarette smoking was
permitted on all airlines , passengers were
requested to "extinguish all smoking material"
, prior to landing , rather than the more common
"put out your cigarette"
THE USE OF PHRASAL VERB
SEPARABILITY
Principle of Dominance Revisited
Erteschik - Shir's (1979) principle of dominance
applies to account for when separable phrasal
verbs require that an NP direct object intervene
between the verb and particle . If the direct
object is a pronoun , it would therefore be
nondominant.
By virtue of its nondominance , it does not
occupy the final position in the sentence if this
can be avoided , and thus a pronoun direct
object is put between the verb and its particle.
Example :
 He poured out his heart. ( direct object is
a noun)
 He poured his heart out .
 He poured it out (direct object is a
pronoun , it must be placed between the
verb and particle)
*He poured out it. (incorrect)
On the other hand , if the direct object contains
a significant amount of new, complex , or
unpredictable information, its insertion between
the verb and particle and make processing very
difficult.
Example : He poured a brand new can of
green paint that was on sale out.
Thus , if the direct object is not a pronoun, and
especially if it is a long and and elaborate NP ,
it would occupy the more dominant position
after the particle.
Example : He poured out a brand new can of
green paint that was on sale.
If the direct object is not dominant , then the
particle can occupy the dominant position.
Example : He cried his eyes out.
Phrasal verbs thus afford English speakers the
opportunity to put part of the verb into end-
focus position.
 This syntactic flexibility does not exist
for Latinate verbs where all semantic
features are conflated into single-word.
SENTENCES WITH SEPARABLE
PHRASAL VERBS , DIRECT AND
INDIRECT OBJECTS
 Example : The Mayor of Nashville gave
the country singer a tour of the city.
 In the example , the direct object -- the
country singer --is dominant .
 What happens when the direct object
and indirect object occur in a sentence
with a separable phrasal verbs ?
If the direct object is dominant , then the
sentence could occur with the particle , directly
following the verb and the indirect object in
sentence final position :
John paid back his loan to the bank. verb such as said or an expression such
as according to).
To reinforce the dominance of the indirect
object , the direct object could be followed by a Example
particle, separating the direct and indirect
Original source (J. Smith):
object:
School budgets will not be cut during the
John paid his loan back to the bank.
recession.
If, on the other hand , the direct object is the
Quotation:
dominant NO , then the order would be:
According to Smith, “School budgets will not
be cut during the recession.”
John paid the bank back his loan.
2. Indirect Reported Speech
It is not likely that the verb and its particle
Indirect speech focuses more on the content
would occur contiguously in such a sentence
of what someone said rather than their exact
because it would be in conflict with the fact that
words.
the indirect object is nondominant.
Original source (Smith):
?John paid back the bank his loan.
“School budgets will not be cut during the
Finally , it is possible to have a sentence order
recession.”
in which the particle follows both the direct and
indirect object. Indirect Reported speech:
John paid the bank his loan back. a. Smith reports that no school budget will
occur during this recession.
In short , there is nothing wrong with the rule
that says b. Smith said that the school budgets would
not be cut during the recession.
"if the direct object is a pronoun, it goes
between verb and the particle". It is simple c. Smith claimed this/that during the
incomplete and offers no explanation for why recession, there would be no reduction in school
the object should be placed in that position. budgets.

Reported Speech and Writing d. Smith predicted that no school budget

cuts would occur during this/that recession.
Reported Speech
3. Paraphrase
(also called Indirect Speech)
Used to deliver information in a more concise
 is used to communicate what someone way. When paraphrasing, it is important to
else said, but without using the exact keep the original meaning so that the facts
words. remain intact.
Three ways for a speaker to attribute Example:
statements or thoughts to other people.
Original:
● Direct quotation
● Indirect Reported Speech Her life spanned years of incredible change for
● Paraphrase women as they gained more rights than ever
before.
-Direct quotation
Paraphrase:
 one simply copies original material
(whether full sentences or constituent She lived through the exciting era of women's
parts of sentences) verbatim, adds liberation.
quotation marks, and attributes the
quotation to its source through use of a
suitable reporting device (most often
The Form of Indirect Speech Structures Report:
That-clauses – the most common way in which Simple Present – no backshifting:
reporting is done
She says that she has left already.
Simple past + backshifting to past perfect:
She said that she had left already.
4. Original sentence:
“I had left earlier.” (=past perfect)
Report:
Simple Present – no backshifting:
She says that she had left earlier.
Simple past + no backshifting possible:
The Sequence of Tenses She said that she had left earlier.
Backshifting 5. Original sentence:
1. Original sentence: “I will leave soon.” (modal, future)
“I am leaving tomorrow.” (present Report:
progressive)
Simple Present – no backshifting:
Report:
She says that she will leave soon.
Simple present – no backshifting:
Simple past + backshifting:
She says that she is leaving tomorrow.
She said that she would leave soon.
Present Perfect – no backshifting:
Deictic shifts
She has said that she is leaving
tomorrow. Note!

Simple past + backshifting to past  Tense shifting occurs only when the main
progressive: verb is in a past tense; otherwise the tense
remains as in the original quotation.
She said that she was leaving
tomorrow/the next day. The traditional tense switch is accompanied by:

2. Original sentence: a. The changing of pronouns from first-

person to third-person forms, and
“I left yesterday.” (=simple past)
b. The changing of tomorrow to the next day
Simple Present – no backshifting: and the changing of yesterday to the day
She says that she left yesterday. before

Present Perfect – no backshifting: 3 Exemptions to backshifting

She has said that she left yesterday.
Simple past + backshifting to past perfect:
She said that she had left yesterday/the day
before.
3.Original sentence:
“I have left already.” (=present perfect)
1. State-event remains true.
EXAMPLE:
A foreign Ministry spokesman said
government policy is not to sell arms to
sensitive areas. But he said his country
needed the income to convent arms
factories to non-military production.
2. Perceived general truths -used for invitation

EXAMPLE: “Stop by for some dessert and coffee tonight!”

Their teacher old them that the
earth moves around the sun.
Socrates said that nothing can
harm a good man.
3. Immediate reports
- She asked (invite) us to stop by for some
dessert and coffee tonight.
-Also called embedded questions, because the
utterer is typically not asking a question but
reporting a real or hypothetical question.
EXAMPLE:

EXAMPLE: Is anyone interested in the movie?

Speaker A: We will be having polenta She wants to know whether/if anyone is

interested in the movie.
for lunch.
Word Order
Speaker B: What did he say?
- Direct questions involve subject-
Speaker C: He said we’ll be having operator inversion
polenta for luch.
EXAMPLES:
-Susan can come with us. = Can Susan come
Subjunctives with us?
-It is raining in Fresno. = Is it raining in
Backshifting does not apply Fresno?
Speaker A: I recommend that you leave Main-Verb Choices and Complementizer
tomorrow. Types
She recommends that we leave - There is a much smaller range of main-
tomorrow. verb choices in indirect question
structures than in indirect declarative
She recommended that we leave statements.
tomorrow/the next day.
EXAMPLES:
She had recommended that we leave
-John asked (whether/if) he should bring
tomorrow/the next day. dessert.
- John asked (whether/*if) to bring dessert.
Indirect Imperatives - The difference between an embedded
indirect question and a free relative or
-demand or insist take subjunctive that-clause relative adverbial if often quite
complements suitable. Tests of paraphrasing can be
“Please go away!” - He asked/insisted that I helpful; if the wh-word can be
(please) go away. paraphrased in the following manner

-can be reported with ordinary that- EXAMPLES:

clause(the presence of the indirect object with - What- the thing that
verbs like tell
- Who- the person who
“Please go away!” - He said that I should go
away. - He told me that I should go away. - How- the way that

-to be paraphrased with infinitival - Where- the place where

complements using the main clause verbs tell, - EXAMPLE:
order, ask
 - He asked what we were doing.
- He asked, “What are you doing?”
Notice that if we reverse these paraphrase the
results will be awkward.
EXAMPLE:
?He asked what the thing that we were doing.
Quotation Versus Indirect Reporting in
Writing
ESL/EFL students should be aware of the
convention of the beginning of a quotation by
uttering “quote” or “and I quote” prior to the first
word of the quotation and uttering “unquote”
after the last word.
This convention is the oral equivalent of proper
written citation.
As general rule, quote only in these situations:
1 The of the source is particularly memorable or
vivid and expresses a point so well that you
cannot improve it without destroying the
meaning.
2 The words are reliable or respected authorities
would lend support to your position.
3 You wish to highlight the author’s opinions.
4 You wish to cite an author whose opinions
challenge or vary greatly from other experts.
Paraphrase those passages whose details you
wish to note completely but whose language is
not particularly striking.
Presence and Absence of that with said
Using 150 tokens of “said + that clause,”
Huang (1993) found that 76 percent of the
tokens occurred without that.
A.
● 91% of tokens without that had
personal pronoun subjects, which
favored deletion of that.
● Doctors at the hospital said he was
partially paralyzed.
B.
● When the main verb subject and that
clause subject were co-referential,
deletion of that occurred in 94% of such
tokens.
● The president said he was representing
her.
Huang found that when an adverb Intervened
between the verb said and the complement
clause, that was retained 65% of the time.
Example
A. Mr. W. said yesterday that work
continued through the week.
Present versus Past Tense with
Reporting Verbs
Vividness
One criterion mentioned by Thompson that bears on
the tense choice is the desire to achieve a “vividness
effect”
 Example We’d better wait and see.

The newspaper said the shop windows downtown Could you stay an hour or two longer?
are/were all decorated for the holidays.
The newspaper says the shop windows downtown
are all decorated for holidays.

Present Relevance
The case in which the reporter wishes to emphasize
that a statement is still true or somehow of present
relevance.

Example
The shopkeeper says he won’t be able to carry on if
the population drops any further.

Speaker/Writer Stance
Indirectly related to the notion of “present relevance”
is the idea that speakers/writers may convey personal
stance with regard to a reported proposition through
the choice of verb tense.
Example:
Smith (1980) argued that Britain was no longer a
country in which freedom of speech was seriously
maintained. Johnson (1983), though, argues that
Britain remains a citadel in individual liberty.

Published Sources
This may be partially accounted for by the fact that
once something is published, it is permanently
“present” to the public.
Example:
The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth.
Pope says that no man is an island.
Plato tells us that all learning is recollection.
This article further explores an insider’s perspective on
teaching by examining teachers’ understanding of teaching… It
seeks to explain the basis for teachers’ interventions… (Jack
Richards (1996), Teachers’ Maxims in Language Teaching,”)

Connors (1978) studied elementary school teachers and found

that all nine teachers in her study used three overarching
principles of practice to guide and explain their interactive
teaching behavior.

Politeness
We may note that verbs reporting the speaker’s thoughts
are often used to express politeness.
I wonder if I could ask you a question.
Don’t you think we’d better wait and see?
I don’t suppose you could stay an hour or two longer?
Could I ask you a question?