GRAMMAR II

SET IV : * The compound sentence. * Characteristics. * Coordination. *

Syndetic and asyndetic coordination. * Types of coordinators:
Classification. * Semantic implication of coordination by “and”, “or” and
“but”. * Coordination devices: Ellipsis and apposition.

The compound sentence.

A compound sentence consists of two or more coordinated main clauses. The

clauses of a compound sentence have equivalent function and are linked by
coordinators.

The two main clauses are equal constituents of the sentence and are
independent.

SENTENCE

Main clause Main

clause

S V O S V
O

I admire her reasoning but I reject

her conclusions.

Independent clauses may be joined by:

 A comma and a coordinate conjunction.

 A semicolon (;).
 A semicolon plus a conjunctive adverb and a comma.
 A comma.
E.g.: Jack travelled to NY, and he saw the Statue of Liberty.

Jack enjoyed the city; the sights were spectacular.

Jack didn’t see Broadway plays; however, he’ll see one next
summer.

The shooting stopped, peace followed.

In compound sentences COORDINATION plays an important role.

COORDINATION is the linking of two words, phrases or sentences

having the same level of structure by means of COORDINATE
CONJUCTIONS.

The two elements that are coordinated are called CONJOINS and the
indicators of coordination are called COORDINATORS or
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS.

E.g.: Carol is a good student but Jane is not good at all.

Coordination may be:

Syndetic When coordinators are present (explicit coordination).

E.g.: Slowly and calmly, he approached the dead body.

Asyndetic When coordinators are absent (implicit coordination). It is

used for dramatic intensification.

E.g.: Slowly, calmly, he approached the dead body.

Coordinators.

There are three main coordinators: And, but and or. However, there are
others which also coordinate clauses.

Classification of coordinators.
 1) SIMPLE COORDINATORS: They appear between the two
coordinated elements. They are sometimes called the FANBOYS: For,
And, Nor, But, Or, Yet and So.

AND Introduces addition. E.g.: He washed the car and polished it.

OR Introduces alternative / choice. E.g.: You can park the car here
or there.

BUT Introduces contrast. E.g.: He sold the car but / yet (he)
regrets it.

(YET)

FOR Introduces reason. E.g.: We rarely stay in hotels for we can’t

afford it.

SO Introduces result. E.g.: He couldn’t find his pen so he wrote in

pencil.

2) COMPOUND COORDINATORS: They consist of more than one Word

and they can split

the construction.

 Rather than... * As well as… * Together with… *

Along with

E.g.: John as well as Paul will attend the party.

The workers are not performing as well as they are able.

3) CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS: They appear in split

constructions. The first appears at the beginning and the second between the
two conjoins.

* both……and * not only…..but also * neither ……nor *

either ….. or
 E.g.: He will neither spend his money nor invest it.

ANTICIPATORY ELEMENTS:

Either Anticipates the alternative introduced by or.

Both Anticipates the addition introduced by and.

Neither Negates the first clause and anticipates the additional

negation introduced by

nor.

either or

He can both swim and run fast.

neither nor

 Not only…. but also Its meaning is essentially additive like

both …and.

In initial position functions as a subject operator with an inversion effect.

E.g.: Not only did they steal her jewels but (they) also tore up all her
papers.
 Semantic Implication of coordination by ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’.

AND

‘And’ generally denotes ADDITION but it can also imply:

1) CONSEQUENCE OR RESULT: When the second clause is consequence or

result of the first. The first conjoin presents the circumstances enabling the
event described in the second conjoin to take place. Therefore, the order of the
clauses also reflects chronological order.

E.g.: He heard the explosion and phoned the police.

2) SEQUENCE: The second clause is chronologically sequent to the first but

without any implication of a cause-result relationship.

E.g.: I washed the dishes and my friend dried them.

3) CONTRAST OR SURPRISE: A contrast or surprise is introduced by the

second clause.

E.g.: Robert is so secretive and (in contrast) David is candid.

She tried really hard and (yet) she failed. In this example, the
second clause is felt to be surprising in view of the first.

 In both examples, AND can be replaced by BUT.

4) CONDITION:The first clause is a CONDITION of the second.

E.g.: Give me some money and I’ll help you escape.

Let’s give him some money and he won’t tell anyone what we did.

 This use of AND is very common in promises and threats.

5) SIMILARITY: The second clause makes a point SIMILAR to the first.

E.g.: A trade agreement should be no problem, and (similarly) a cultural
exchange could be arranged easily.

6) ‘PURE’ ADDITION: The second clause is a ‘PURE ADDITION’ to the first,

but the two statements must be congruent in meaning.

E.g.: He has red hair and he usually wears jeans.

7) COMMENT OR EXPLANATION: The second clause adds a COMMENT or

EXPLANATION of the first.

E.g.: They disliked John – and that’s not surprising in view of his behaviour.

There’s only one thing to do now –and that’s to apologize.

OR

‘Or’ introduces ALTERNATIVE. When denoting ALTERNATIVE ‘or’ can be

INCLUSIVE, EXCLUSIVE or CORRECTIVE.

1) EXCLUSIVE ALTERNATIVE: Typically, OR is EXCLUSIVE, that is, it

excludes the possibility that both conjoins are true, or are to be fulfilled.

E.g.: You can sleep on the couch or you can go to a hotel nearby.

2) INCLUSIVE ALTERNATIVE: There can also occur an INCLUSIVE

interpretation of ‘OR’, where it is implied that both conjoins may be true or can
be fulfilled.

E.g.: You can boil an egg or you can make a sandwich.

3) CORRECTIVE ALTERNATIVE: ‘Or’ may also be a RESTATEMENT or a

CORRECTIVE to what is said in the first conjoin.

E.g.: They are enjoying themselves, or (at least) they appear to be enjoying
themselves.
4) NEGATIVE CONDITION: ‘Or’ may imply a NEGATIVE CONDITION.

E.g.: Give me some money, or I’ll shoot.

BUT

‘But’ expresses CONTRAST. The CONTRAST may be:

1) AN ELEMENT OF SURPRISE: The contrast may be in the unexpectedness

of what is said in the second conjoin in view of the content of the first conjoin.

E.g.: Frank is poor, but he is happy.

2) RESTATEMENT IN POSITIVE TERMS: The contrast expressed by ‘but’ may

also be a repudiation in positive terms of what has been said or implied by
negation in the first clause.

E.g.: Jane did not waste her time before the race, but she trained hard every
morning.

He has not spent his money in imports but he has invested his savings in
profitable goods.

Ellipsis.

Ellipsis may be described as ‘grammatical omission’ in contrast to other kinds

of omission in language.

E.g.: Phonological loss ‘cos’ (because)

Clipping of words flu (from influenza)

Ellipsis is the deletion of items in order to avoid repetition. To distinguish ellipsis

it is important that the actual word(s) whose meaning is understood or implied
must be recoverable.
(Do you) Want some? (Is there) Anyone in? (Have
you) Got milk?

I believe (that) you’re mistaken. She can’t sing tonight, so

she won’t .

Ellipsis is very common in headlines, book titles, notices, diaries, telegrams, etc.

E.g.: US heading for new slump. The US is heading for new slump.

The elements within the sentence that can be omitted are:

 Verbs: She may sing but I don’t think she will .

 Adjectives: I’m happy if you are .
 Complements: He was , and remains the greatest footballer
ever.
 Objects: Mary always cleans the house because Alice doesn’t .

1) Ellipsis of SUBJECT AND AUXILIARIES when they are identical:

E.g.: Alex eats sandwiches and (Alex) drinks a lot of water.

I have washed the dishes and (I have) dried them.

2) Ellipsis of AUXILIARY only:

E.g.: You should clean the dining room and Daniel (should) wash the dishes.

3) Ellipsis of Predicate or Predication.

 Verb Phrase: Ron is writing a short story and Sally (is writing) a report.
 Verb Phrase + Subject Complement: Tom was the winner in 1996 and
Jim (was the winner) in 2000.
 Verb Phrase + Direct Object: Tom is playing tennis for his school and
Olivia (is playing tennis) for her club.

4) Ellipsis of whole PREDICATION:

E.g.: Ron will take the course and Susan (will take the course) too.

5) Ellipsis of DIRECT OBJECT or SUBJECT COMPLEMENT:

E.g.: You can’t tax one set of people without taxing the other (set of people) .

I was surprised and she was (surprised) too.

6) Ellipsis of ADVERBIAL:

E.g.: His father was at Oxford when Harold Wilson was (at Oxford) .

7) Ellipsis of NOUN PHRASE:

E.g.: The old men and the young .

8) Ellipsis of ARTICLES:

E.g.: The girls and (the) boys. A boy or (a) girl.

9) Ellipsis of MODIFIERS:

E.g.: Young men and (young) women.

Apposition.

Apposition is a relationship between two noun phrases which have identical

reference.

Apposition resembles coordination in linking units having grammatical affinity.

The appositive is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun
to identify or describe it. It is like coordination in the sense that adds information
of a previous word that is a noun.

E.g.: My father Paul Harrington, is on the phone.

When is Mrs Fisk, the principal, visiting our class?

Apposition may be Restrictive or Non- Restrictive.

Restrictive Apposition contains commas. The information provided is valuable

and necessary to the meaning of the sentence. It is also indicated by a different
speech tone of the speaker.

Non- Restrictive Apposition does not contain relevant information. It is placed

between commas and it is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

E.g.: Our neighbour Tom Davis is on the phone.

The novel Alice in Wonderland has magical elements.

Van Gogh, the artist, painted ‘Sunflowers’.

Mr Campbell, the lawyer, was here yesterday.

Indicators of apposition.

 That is to say, namely, that is, in other words, as follows, for example, for
instance, etc.

These indicators generally precede the appositive.

E.g.: The President of the USA, in other words Donald Trump, was on TV last
night.

The bird of peace, that is to say the dove, is a worldwide symbol.