Unit 3.

Sentences: General
outlooks
Objectives
■ In this unit, we will treat the definition of sentence,
sentence elements, classification and some other
characteristics of sentence:
- Syntactic features (of S, O, C and A)
- Semantic roles (of S, O, C and A)
- Concord between sentence elements
- Negation
- Inversion
 Contents
I. Definition
II. Sentence elements
1. Traditional classification
2. Modern classification
III. Classification
1. According to communicative functions
2. According to the sentence elements and verb complementation
3. According to their structures
IV. Syntactic features (of S, O, C and A)
1. Syntactic features of S
2. Syntactic features of O
3. Syntactic features of C
4. Syntactic features of A
V. Semantic roles (of S, O, C and A)
1. Semantic roles of S
2. Semantic roles of O
3. Semantic roles of C
4. Semantic roles of A
 Contents
VI. Concord between sentence elements
1. S - V concord
2. Pronominal concord
3. Concord by proximity
VII. Negation
1. Affirmative & negative
2. Assertives and non-assertives
3. Scope and focus of negation
4. Negation of modal verbs
VIII. Inversion
1. In questions
2. In statements
I. Definition
An English sentence must have the subject that
governs the verb and a finite verb phrase.
II. Sentence elements
1. Traditional classification: Subject + Predicate
He told her the way to cook.
2. Modern classification: S-V-O-C-A
He told her the way to cook.

Obligatory: 7 pattern clauses

Optional: Adverb of place/time
She went to London last Sunday.

Exercise 1.
III. Classification
1. According to communicative functions (purposes of
utterances):
1.1 Statements (Declarative): usually with the word order: S-V
- Affirmative: I’ll speak to him tonight. (+)
- Negative: I won’t speak to him. (-)
1.2 Questions (Interrogative): Normally with the inversion of
the first auxiliary verb or modal verb - called the operator -
and the subject.
Do you like cat?

Questions are sentences marked by one or more of these

three criteria:
-The placing of the operator in front of the subject (S-operator
inversion): Do you like coffee?
- The initial positioning of an interrogative or “Wh-” element:
What do you like?
-Rising intonation: You know him? Exercise 2
1.3 Commands (imperative): sentences which have no overt
grammatical subject and whose verb element is in
imperative:
V
Don’t + V
- Without subject: Be careful.
Don’t be silly.
- With subject: Someone open the door.
Don’t someone open the door.
You here keep silent. (anger)
- With ‘let’ Let’s go.
Let him know.
Don’t let him go.
Let him not go.
1.4 Exclamations: sentences which have an initial phrase
introduced by “what” or “how” without the inversion of
subject and operator.
How + adj/adv + S + V! How beautiful she is!
What +NP + S +V! What a beautiful girl she is!

Sometimes, we have verbless utterances in exclamation (in

spoken language)
2. According to the sentence elements and verb
complementation:
- S + V: He got up.
- S + V + A: He got into his car.
- S + V + Cs: He got tired.
- S + V + Od: He got his key.
- S + V + Od + A: He got himself into the trouble.
- S + V + Od + Co: He got the house nice.
- S + V + Oi + Od: I got him a book.

- Exercise 3
3. According to their structures
- Traditional classification: Simple, compound, complex
and mixed.
- Modern classification: Simple and complex
3.1 A simple sentence is a sentence that has only one
finite verb:
I love you.

(A simple sentence is a sentence whose elements are

realised by phrases)

3.2 Compound sentence:

I told him this but he didn’t believe me.
 3.3 The complex sentence is the sentence, one of whose
element is a clause.
I enjoy listening to music.

What you say might be true.

Complex sentences by using coordination and

subordination are so-called mixed sentences in terms
of traditional classification and are so-called complex
sentences in terms of modern classification.

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IV. Syntactic Features of S, O, C, A
1. Syntactic features of S

Elemen Expression Position Identity

ts
NP basic +initial: Completely + S determines
complex before V S - V concord:
(simple sentence) + medial - (after -S singular+V
S Operator) sing.
non-finite - in questions -(V-s/ was)
NCl. (to V.Ving) - in case of subject - S plur. + V plur.
finite operator inversion (V/were)
that clause - in emphatic sentence
wh-clause (with stressed O, C, or A)
if/whether + Final : with
cl. introductory 'it'
(complex sentence)
My brother is a teacher of English.

They are teachers

Where does your poor old mother live ?

It is my task to help him.

It is said that he’s still single.

Only by so doing can we help him successfully.

Here comes the winner.

2. Syntactic features of O
Eleme Expression Position Identity
nts
NP: basic + after V transitive O easily
O complex (monotransitive, assumes
(both (simple sentence) ditransive & complex the status of
Od and NCL: transitive) S in the
Oi) + after another O (in passive
- non-finite: to V, cases of Oi + Od) sentence
V-ing + initial with wh-
-finite: that, wh-, question on O
if/ whether - in emphatic
(complex sentences
sentence)
We know this man.

This man we know.

She asked her brother some interesting questions.

We want to ask him a lot of questions.

We all know that he’s telling the truth.

We can’t make out what he’s dealing with.

3. Syntactic features of C

Element Expression Position Identity

s
NP: Basic, + after intensive verb - C is in co-
C Complex (sentence type S V Cs) referential
Adj.P, Prep.P + after Od (sentence relation with S
(both (simple sents) type S V O Co) or O (denoting
Cs NCl: + initial position the same entity)
and - non – finite + in wh - question on C  not involved
Co ) - finite (that,wh- ) - in emphatic sentence in passive
-Adj. cl. (Adj. + transformation
non-finite, finite cl.
(complex sent.)
He is my brother.

Our task was to help him.

They were expert at grammar.

Our plan was becoming a teacher.

We found him innocent of all charges.

I’m sure that they will succeed.

4. Syntactic features of A

Elemen Expression Position Identity

ts
Adv. - mobile in - A is commonly
Prep. P. sentence optional in
A (simple sentences) structure sentence
Clause: - initial structure.
- finite - medial - A is obligatory in
- non-finite - final sentence type S
- verbless V A and S V O
(complex sent. ) A
He went there yesterday.

She’s now upstairs.

They were in the car then.

Where did they go?

He’s nowhere to be seen.

You can hang it where you like.

When in Rome do as Rome does.

 V. Semantic roles of S, O, C, A
1. Semantic roles of S
- agentive: She opened the door.
- instrumental: This key can open the door.
- affected: The door opened. (with Vintrans)
- recipient: She has a new skirt.
- locative: This room accommodates 20 people.
- temporal: Tomorrow will be fine.
- eventive: The meeting ended successfully.
- empty IT: It’s (very) wonderful to meet you.
2. Semantic roles of O
Od: - affected : We opened the door.
- effected : He did the exercises.
- locative : They entered the room.
Oi: - recipient : We bought him a new house.
- affected : We paid him a visit.

3. Semantic roles of C
■Complement : attribute
Cs: - current attr.: She looks cheerful today.
- resulting attr.: They became teachers.
Co: - current attr.: We found the room empty.
- resulting attr.: She left the house empty.

4. Semantic roles of A
locative/ temporal/ conditional/ concessive, etc.
See section 4.4, part 4, unit 2.
Exercise 4.
VI. Concord between sentence elements
Concord between sentence elements are the agreement between sentence elements.
a. Grammatical concord (formal): most obviously distinctive with the third person
S singular + V singular (V-s/was)
The boy / He likes football.
S plural + V plural (V/were)
The boys/ They like football.
b. Notional concord (- meaning)
(i) S = nominal relative clause + Vsingular or V plural
What he says isn’t true. (= The thing he says...)
What they like best are tea and coffee. (= The things they like best....)
(ii) S = collective
+ V plural ( members collectively)
The government are having a rest.
+ V singular ( whole collectively)
The government has approved of his plan.
(iii) S = co-ordinated NP + V plur. (non-appositional) or +V
sing. (appositional)
His brother and his secretary were there with him.
(two different entities)
His brother and (at the same time) his secretary was there
with him.
(same entity)
(iv) S = none + V sing. (non-count N) or + V plur. (plural
count N)
c. Concord by proximity: (S-word that stands
immediately next to V determines S - V concord)
(i) In set phrases:
one in ten take drugs
none of them agree to go
(ii) In existential sentence with there :
There are two chairs and a desk there.
There is a desk and two chairs there.
(iii) With either..... or....
Either your brakes or your eyesight was at fault.
Either your eyesight or your brakes were at fault.
d. Pronominal concord
a. S - O (with reflexive & emphasing pronoun)
She saw herself in the mirror.
We can do it ourselves.
b. S - C : He is a teacher of English.
They’re teachers of English.
c. O - C:
We elected him our chairman. (sing).
them our representatives. (plur).
■Exercise 5, 6
VII. Negation
1. Affirmative & negative: two forms of sentence
We all like football.
We all don’t like football.

2. Assertives and non-assertives

Assertives non-assertives
Some Any
Someone, something Anybody/ anything
Somewhere Anywhere
Too, both Either
Already, still Yet
In some way In any way
To some extent At all
 ■ Uses
Assertives
In affirmative sentence:
I met someone on the way here.
in negative sentence
I didn’t give the book to some the same sentence:
students.
in questions
Did someone call last night?
(positive orientation)
non-assertives
In negative, interrogative
sentence:
We didn’t see anything.
two (more) non-assertives used in
I haven’t seen anyone yet.
for negative intensification.
I didn’t go out at all.
I met no one at all.
3. Scope and focus of negation
a. Scope of negation = stretch of language within which the
negative meaning operates normally extending from
negative word to the clause end.
I don’t know him.
b. Focus of negation:
- Emphatic stress on certain word of the sentence,
conveying different shades of meaning.
My sister didn’t ‘like the ‘show.
Scope includes the focus.
We didn’t give the book to some of the students.
 
 4. Negation of modal verbs (scope & focus of negation)
AUXILIARY NEGATION
ability
1.can’t + V permission
possibility
The road can’t be blocked now.
(= It’s not possible that...)
2. may not + V : permission
You maynot/can’t use my car.
3. needn’t + V : necessity
She needn’t attend the lecture.
4. (don’t/doesn’t have to +V)
You don’t have to go there now.
Exercise 7
MAIN VERB NEGATION
5. mustn’t + V = prohibition
You mustn’t smoke in here.
(=you’re obliged not to smoke in here)
6. Won’t + V = futurity, prediction, etc.
Oil won't floats on petrol.
7. May not + V = possibility
The road may not be blocked now.
( = It’s possible that the road isn’t
blocked)
8. Shouldn’t + V = advisability
You shouldn’t do that again.
(= you’re advised not to do that
again.)
9. oughtn’t to + V
She oughtn’t to go there again .
VIII. Inversion
1. In questions: Aux + S + V
He liked it. - Does he like it?
We must go. - Must we go?
2. In statements (emphasis)
2.1 A-V-S (Aplace, direction, frequency)
Here is the milkman.
Never have I seen him.
2.2 C-V-S/ C-S-V
Joe his name is.
Relaxation you call it.
2.3 O-S-V
Excellent food they serve them.
Most these problems a computer could solve easily.
2.4 V-S (agreement, addition)
I’m hungry. So am I.
I’m not hungry. Neither am I/ Nor am I.
Exercise 8, 9.