Tartalom

Clausal properties expressed in the whole Verb phrase ..................................................................2

The structure of a verb group .............................................................................................................2
Clausal properties determined by the lexical verb alone ...................................................................3
Subcategories of lexical verbs:..........................................................................................................3
Sentence Patterns ..............................................................................................................................4
Sentence types and discourse functions ............................................................................................4
Questions ...........................................................................................................................................4
Negation ............................................................................................................................................5
Directives ...........................................................................................................................................6
Definition and function of pro-forms and ellipsis ...............................................................................7
Recoverability ....................................................................................................................................7
Categorical subtypes of pro-forms .....................................................................................................7
Positional subtypes of ellipsis: ...........................................................................................................8
Ellipsis in comparative clauses ...........................................................................................................8
Definition and examples of subordination .......................................................................................9
Formal types of subclauses ...............................................................................................................9
Functions of subclauses.....................................................................................................................9
Nominal clauses............................................................................................................................... 10
Finite-and non-finite clauses ............................................................................................................ 10
Relative clauses ............................................................................................................................... 11
 1. The structure and semantics of the verb phrase and the complementation of
verbs

Clausal properties expressed in the whole Verb phrase

• Mood
- indicative: declarative (Jon has (not) fed the cat) / interrogative (Has Jon fed the cat?)
- imperative (Feed the cat!)
- subjunctive (It is of utmost importance that Jon feed the cat)
• Modality (primarily expressed by the modal auxiliaries)
• Tense: grammatical term that refers to the ways in which different forms of verbs are used
to express reference to time.
▪ Present tense for present, past, future.
▪ Past
▪ Future
• Aspect:
▪ progressive/non-progressive (only relevant to dynamic verbs, not to stative)
▪ perfect (resultative or continuative) / non-perfect
➔ perfect + progressive = simple
• Voice: the way the form of the verb varies to indicate the meaning role that the subject plays
in relation to the verbal action
- active (Jon fed the cat.)
- passive (The cat was fed.)
• Person (first, second, third)
• Number (singular, plural)
Finite verb forms:
• appear in an independent clause
• express tense contrast;
• participate in person and number concord
• express mood.
The non-finite verb forms are:
• the infinitive forms:
• the -ing participle
• the past participle

The structure of a verb group

Verb group: string of verbs containing at least one auxiliary and at most one lexical verb. E.g.:
could have done, shall swim, has arrived
• If there’s a modal, it’s the first verb in the verb group.
• Non-modals can be combined with each other; modals cannot.
• Within the verb group, the first verb shows tense (present or past) and may agree with
the subject of the clause in person and number; the form of the others is determined by
the immediately preceding verb.
 • Modals are followed by a base/plain form; non-modals are followed by either a past
participle or an -ing participle.
Maximal verb group: contains a modal, the perfect, the progressive, the passive, and a
lexical verb, in this order. E.g. will have been being built

Clausal properties determined by the lexical verb alone

Complementation of verbs: depends on the subcategory of the verb, whether it is intransitive
or transitive, etc. Intransitive verbs (sleep) do not license objects while transitive verbs (find)
do – that is how lexical verbs determine whether a complement may be present in their VPs.

Grammatical functions of verbal complements:

▪ direct object
▪ indirect object
▪ subject complement
▪ object complement
▪ adverbial
Subcategories of lexical verbs:
1. (Ordinary) intransitive verbs: followed by no obligatory element e.g. Garfield laughed.

2. Copular verbs: complemented by Subject Complement or Adverbial e.g. Garfield looks

hungry.

3. Transitive verbs:

• (Ordinary) monotransitive: complemented by Direct Object e.g. Everybody knows

Garfield.
• Ditransitive verbs: complemented by Indirect and Direct Object e.g. Jon gave Garfield
all the pizzas.
• Complex-transitive verbs: Complemented by Od, Co / Oi, Al e.g. Garfield called Odie
a stupid dog.
 2. The simple sentence. Sentence types (negatives, questions, directives)

Sentence Patterns
A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause, which may be one of seven types.
The types differ according to whether one or more clause elements are obligatorily present in
addition to the Subject and the Verb. The V element in a simple sentence is always a finite
verb phrase.
- Subject + Verb
- Subject + Verb + Object
- Subject + Verb + Complement
- Subject + Verb + Adverbial
- Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
- Subject + Verb + Object + Complement
- Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial

Sentence types and discourse functions

Simple sentences may be divided into four major syntactic types, whose use correlates with
different discourse functions:
1. DECLARATIVES: Pauline gave Tom a digital watch for his birthday.
2. INTERROGATIVES
3. IMPERATIVES: Give Tom a digital watch for his birthday.
4. EXCLAMATIVES: What a fine watch he received for his birthday!

Four classes of discourse functions:

1. STATEMENTS: primarily used to convey information.
2. QUESTIONS: primarily used to seek information on a specific point.
3. DIRECTIVES: primarily used to instruct somebody to do something.
4. EXCLAMATIONS: primarily used for expressing the extent to which the speaker is
impressed by something.

Questions
- yes/no questions: expect affirmation or negation
- wh-questions: open range of replies
- alternative questions: one of the two or more options
a. YES-NO QUESTIONS: Did Pauline give Tom a digital watch for his birthday?
• subject-operator inversion in their word order
• subtype is tag questions, e.g., You can swim, can’t you?
b. WH-QUESTIONS: What did Pauline give Tom for his birthday?
- generally subject-operator inversion except when the wh-element is subject (Who is
going?)
- have two options for prepositional wh-phrases, pied piping (With whom do you share
this flat?) and preposition stranding (Whom do you share this flat with?)
c. ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS: expect a reply from a range of two or more options
 - Would you like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry? – resembles yes/no question
- Which ice-cream would you like? Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry? – resembles wh-question
D. MINOR TYPES:
- exclamatory questions: invite agreement, e.g., Am I tired!
- rhetorical questions: expect no answer, e.g., How should I know?
- echo questions, e.g., You saw whom?

Negation
clause or local

Clause Negation (verbal)

- A positive clause can be negated by inserting not between the operator and the
predication:
I have finished. I have not finished.
- If no operator is present, the dummy operator do is introduced:
She works hard. She does not work hard.

Non-verbal negation
- words negative in form and meaning:
An honest man would not lie. No honest man would lie.
- words negative in meaning but not in form: seldom, rarely, scarcely, hardly,
barely, little, few
They scarcely seem to care, do they?
- non-assertive items: can be determiners, pronouns, or adverbs:
We’ve had some lunch. We haven’t had any lunch.
- tag questions: You would never tell a lie, would you?
- “echoing statements”: They’ve got no idea and nor have I

Scope of negation
Refers to the stretch of the language over which the negative item has a semantic influence.
Jon possibly couldn’t wake up Garfield.
auxiliary negation: Jon could not wake up Garfield
main verb negation: Jon could not wake up Garfield

Focus of negation
Refers to which element(s) of the sentence are focalised or stressed in speech .
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → I forgot to do so.
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → It was Mary.
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → Just to see it.
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → I took her to the seaside.
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → It was last week that I did so.
I didn’t take Joan to swim in the pool today. → It was my brother who took her.

Local negation
• Local negation negates a word or a phrase, without making the clause negative:
 She’s a not unintelligent woman. [She is fairly intelligent.]
• Other types of local negation:
I saw a not too sympathetic report about you. [rather unsympathetic]
• If moved to initial position, they do not cause subject-operator inversion:
Not long ago I saw Dave mowing his lawn.

Directives
Composed of a base-form VP and no pronounced subject, but still address the listener. E.g. Be
quiet!
Tag questions and reflexive pronouns are also chosen accordingly, E.g. Shut up, will you?
In certain cases the subject is present in directives: most of the time it is ‘you’ (e.g., You come
here!)
Sometimes it is a 3 rd person subject (Nobody move!).
A special construction is with the verb let, which takes care of 1st person imperatives (e.g., Let
us go), but it is also possible with 3rd person subjects (e.g., Let it be).
In form, directives are either positive or negative (with operator don’t), but even the positive
imperative is more emphatic if operator do is added (e.g., Do sit down).
 3. Pro-forms and ellipsis, ellipsis in comparative clauses

Definition and function of pro-forms and ellipsis

Pro-forms (substitution) and ellipsis (omission) are syntactic devices for abbreviating
constructions and to avoid redundancy.

Pro-form: a word that depends on another part of the sentence or text for its meaning. E.g. I
like ambiguity more than most people like ambiguity. -> I like ambiguity more than most people do.

Function of pro-forms: For a sentence not to sound odd, the second VP is replaced by an
element which is sufficient to fulfil the grammatical function, but “light” in both phonetic
form and in semantic content.

Ellipsis: the act of leaving out a word or words from a sentence deliberately, when the
meaning can be understood without them. E.g. I like ambiguity more than (I like) most people. / I like
ambiguity more than most people (do).

Function of ellipsis: not to repeat something that has been said. It is an important method to
“economise” in language and avoid “hoarding” unnecessary, redundant information that
would only divert attention from the main message in communication.

Recoverability
In order that constructions with pro-forms and ellipsis are interpreted correctly, the full form
must be recoverable. Three types of recoverability:
a. TEXTUAL: full form is recoverable from a neighbouring part of the text
- ANAPHORIC use of pronoun: antecedent (the poor girl) comes before the pronoun:
The poor girl did not complain, although she was badly hurt.
- CATAPHORIC use of pronoun: antecedent follows the pronoun:
Although she was badly hurt, the poor girl did not complain.
Pro-forms and antecedents are linked by COREFERENCE → It is clear that they refer to the
same thing.
b. SITUATIONAL: the information is outside the text, only recoverable from the situation
Is she badly hurt? → The identity of the person meant by “she” is obvious from the situation.
c. STRUCTURAL: the full form is recoverable from knowledge of grammatical structure
He admits (that) he prefers his mother’s cooking. → ellipsis of the conjunction that

Categorical subtypes of pro-forms

- for NOUN PHRASES: determiners, pronouns + indefinite pronouns: (any, all, both,
each, either, some, none), one
I need a nail / one. I need some nails / some.
- for VERB PHRASES: do, do so, do it/that, so + do so can also replace part of a VP
(Garfield bit the postman yesterday, and he will also do so this morning)
Garfield likes lasagne, and I do (so) too
- for ADVERBIALS: here, there, then, so, thus
 He went to university in London, and he also met his bride there.
- for SUBJECT OR OBJECT COMPLEMENT: so
If he’s a criminal, it’s his parents who have made him so.
- for OBJECT THAT-CLAUSE: so, that
(Will Garfield spare Odie a slice of pizza?) I hope so / not
Verbs that commonly allow both so and not include: believe, expect, guess, hope,
imagine, presume, reckon, suppose, suspect, think

Positional subtypes of ellipsis:

1. INITIAL: the initial element is ellipted
(I) hope he’s there. (I think) Odie is mistaken.
2. MEDIAL: medial elements are ellipted
Jill owns a Volvo and Fred (owns) a BMW.
3. FINAL: final elements are ellipted
If she works hard, I won’t have to (work hard).

Ellipsis in comparative clauses

Ellipsis is rather a rule than the exception in comparative constructions.

James and Susan often go to plays but

i. James enjoys the theatre more than Susan enjoys the theatre.
ii. James enjoys the theatre more than Susan enjoys it.
iii. James enjoys the theatre more than Susan does.
iv. James enjoys the theatre more than Susan.
v. James enjoys the theatre more.

I like ambiguity more than post people. / The antelope can jump higher than the average house.
It is an inherent property of comparative sentences to contain considerable overlap between
the clauses – as a result, it is regular for such sentences to reduce their comparative clauses in
accordance with the principle of economy and redundancy avoidance.

Two types of comparative sentences:

- Equality comparisons (two clauses are linked with as/so…as)
- Inequality comparisons (comparative adjective/adverb in the subclause + than
introducing the subclause)
o They ellipt in the same way!
o Number of options depends on the overlap btw. main clause and comparative
subclause
4. The subordinated clause. Syntactic functions of subordinated clauses, nominal clauses, finite
and non-finite clauses

Definition and examples of subordination

Definition of subordination: the subclause fulfils a grammatical function within the main
clause, such clauses are also referred to as embedded clauses. Two clauses are linked in a
sentence so that one clause is subordinate to another.

Examples:

▪ Garfield devoured the pizza. -> contains an object NP within the VP

▪ Garfield devoured whatever he found in the fridge. -> subclause is embedded in the VP, and it
is subordinated to it (its function is dependent on the verb)
▪ Garfield devoured a huge pizza. -> contains a complex object NP, a huge pizza, which in turn
contains the attributive AP huge. A huge pizza is a single NP and it constitutes the object as a
single constituent (a pronoun can replace it), it functions as a unit in the object question: What
did Garfield devour? – A huge pizza.

Formal types of subclauses

According to interrogativity:

• Interrogative
• Non-interrogative
According to finiteness:

• Finite
• Non-finite: full infinitive clauses, bare infinitive clauses, -ing clauses, -en clauses
• Verbless (or Agreement phrases)
E.g.

Finite + Interrogative: I wonder what Jon thinks about this.

Finite + Non-interrogative: Garfield devoured the pizza that he’d found in the fridge.

Non-finite + Interrogative: I’m not sure whether to feed Garfield.

Non-finite + Non-interrogative: Garfield promised Jon to behave. / Playing in the cupboard,

the mice noticed a box of cereals. / All the food stored in the fridge is in danger.

Verbless + Interrogative: NINCS

Verbless + Non-interrogative: Garfield considers Odie stupid.

Functions of subclauses
Three types according to their function: subject, complement, adjunct.

• Subject
 Finite: That they accepted the offer is very fortunate.
Non-finite: To err is human.
• Complement
▪ To verb: Object C., Subject C.
Finite: I wonder what Jon thinks about this.
Non-f.: Her parents didn’t want her to marry him.
▪ To predicator: Predicator C.
F.: It depends on whether they want to join us
N-f.: You’re afraid of not being loved back
▪ To adjective: Adj. C.
F.: I’m not sure if I should feed Garfield
N-f.: I’m not sure whether to feed Garfield
▪ To noun: Noun C. (appositive - Clauses which function as complements to nouns)
F.: The news that he was playing again came as a surprise
N-f.: The director has announced plans to cut the annual budget
• Adjunct
▪ Restrictive relative clauses
F.: Garfield devoured the pizza that he’d found in the fridge
N-f.: Most students enrolling in the training programme come from overseas countries
▪ Adverbial clauses
F.: I’ll call you when I’ve arrived
N-f.: Although a bit stupid, Odie is amusing to play with
▪ Comparative clauses
F.: He has more vices than he has virtues
N-f.: The damage wasn’t quite as bad as expected

Peripheral functions to clauses include that of supplementary relative clauses (e.g., my

mother, who prefers dogs…)

Nominal clauses
Subordinated clause that plays the role of a noun. Subject, object, complement and appositive
clauses are sometimes grouped together into the category of nominal clauses, called so since
these functions are typically taken by NPs.

Can be:

▪ Subject of a verb: That we need a larger computer has become obvious.

▪ Object of a verb (direct, indirect): He doesn’t know whether to send a gift.
▪ Subject complement: His mistake was that he refused to take lessons.
▪ Object complement: I know her to be reliable.
▪ Adjunct: When you see them, give them my best wishes.

Finite-and non-finite clauses

- FINITE CLAUSE: a clause whose verb element is finite (such as takes, took, can work,
has worked, is writing, was written):
I can’t go out with you because I am studying this evening.
 - NONFINITE CLAUSE: a clause whose verb element is non-finite (such as to work, having
worked, taken):
Knowing my temper, I didn’t reply.

Nonfinite clauses

The classes of non-finite verb phrase serve to distinguish four structural subclasses of non-
finite verb clauses:

i. TO-INFINITIVE
without subject: The best thing would be to tell everybody.
with subject: The best thing would be for you to tell everybody.
ii. BARE INFINITIVE
without subject: All I did was hit him on the head.
with subject: Rather than you do the job, I’d prefer to finish it myself.
iii. –ING PARTICIPLE
without subject: Leaving the room, he tripped over the mat.
with subject: Her aunt having left the room, I asked Ann for some personal help.
iv. –ED PARTICIPLE
without subject: Covered with confusion, they apologized abjectly.
with subject: The discussion completed, the chairman adjourned the meeting for
half an hour.

Relative clauses
Subordinated clauses which function as postmodifying adjuncts (attributes) in NPs.

E.g.: The first guy who fell in love with a woman. / A woman that he met at a restaurant.

There is a head noun, which the clause relates to. The clause is introduced by a relative
pronoun or conjunction: a relativiser (who or that in these examples).

All the wh-phrases of English (including how) can act as relativisers, and, they are the most
frequent ones (two other options: that and no relativiser). Most relative clauses start with a
wh-phrase. We analyse relative clauses as involving wh-fronting.

Information gap: distinguishes relative clauses from the other non-interrogative subclauses.

e.g.: …fell in love with a woman / …he met at a restaurant -> they don’t constitute a well-
formed sentence.