Syntactic functions

1. Subject
2. Predicate
3. Object
4. Complement
5. Attribute
6. Adjunct
 Syntactic functions

SUBJECTS PREDICATE

ATTRIBUTES OBJECTS

COMPLEMENTS

ADJUNCTS
Subject

“The subject is the topic, or what

is being spoken about”.
(Le, H. T., et al, 2015)

Definition
 The subject is a main part of a
sentence.
 The subject controls the
predicate.

He took me home last night.

Subject
1. The subject normally comes before the verb in
declaratives, but after the auxiliary in questions.
The boy runs fast.
Have you met that girl?
2. The subject is normally absent in imperatives.
Help me!
Some
3. The subject will be changed when turning an active
features sentence into a passive one.
My brother bought a new car.
 A new car was bought by my brother.
In the passive sentence, we can also omit the
subject.
He was arrested last night (by the police).
 Subject ‘It’ (Impersonal pronoun)
1. Empty subject

2. Preparatory / Introductory subject

 Introductory/ Dummy subject ‘there’

1. There is a meeting this week. “It” and “there” are the

2. There followed a frozen silence! dummy subjects which
are meaningless by
themselves. They are
 There + be/ linking verbs + N/NP. used to keep on the
 There has no content. semantic structure of the
 There is an introductory/ (a) dummy sentence”.
subject because it introduces new
information.
 Subject - Means of expression
The subject can be expressed by:
1. A word
2. A phrase
3. A clause
Predicate
“The predicate is what is “predicated” (or said
to be true) about the subject”.
 The predicate is a main part of a sentence.
 The predicate is controlled by the subject.
(Le, H. T., et al, 2015)
Definition
 The predicate consists of the verb and any
other elements of the sentence apart from
the subject.

He took me home last night.

 Predicate - Means of expression

The predicate can be expressed by:

1. A word
2. A phrase
Object

“The object is a person or thing toward

which the subject directs the process
spoken of in the verb”.
Definition (Le, H. T., et al, 2015)

He gives me roses every day.

Object
1. The object is the receiver of an action.

2. The object goes after a transitive verb

in the active sentence.
Features
The term „transitive‟ comes from the
notion that a person (represented by the
subject of the sentence) performs an
action that affects a person or thing:
there is a „transition‟ of the action from
the one to the other.
 Object - Classification
1. Direct object

2. Indirect object

3. Prepositional object
 Object - Means of expression

The object can be expressed by:

1. A word
2. A phrase
3. A clause
Complement

“The complement can be defined as a

sentence element that gives further
information about the subject or the
object”.
Definition
(Le, H. T., et al, 2015)
E.g.:
1. He is nice.

2. He makes me happy.
 Complement - Classification

Subject complement Object complement

(Predicative)

E.g.: E.g.:
He is nice. He makes me happy.
Positions of a complement
 Complement - Means of expression

The complement can be expressed by:

1. A word
2. A phrase
3. A clause
Attribute

The attribute refers “to a word, a

phrase or even a clause that
functions like an attributive
adjective, i.e.” and modifies “the
Definition
meaning of a noun in the
sentence”.
(Le, H. T., et al, 2015)

 He is a good man.
 I have something special for you.
 The girl talking to me is nice.
Adjective used as an attribute
 Attribute - Means of expression

The attribute can be expressed by:

1. A word
2. A phrase
3. A clause
Adjunct (Adverbial modifier)

The adjunct adds “to the meaning of a

verb” in the sentence “by telling
how, when, where, etc., something
happens or is done”.
Definition
(Le, H. T., et al, 2015)

 He loves me madly.
 She spoke in a soft voice.
 Adjunct - Means of expression
The adjunct can be expressed by:
1. A word
2. A phrase
3. A clause
 9 types adverbial clauses
 9 types adverbial clauses

1. Adverbial clause of time

2. Adverbial clause of place
3. Adverbial clause of manner
4. Adverbial clause of comparison
5. Adverbial clause of reason/ cause
6. Adverbial clause of result
7. Adverbial clause of purpose
8. Adverbial clause of concession
9. Adverbial clause of condition