Download Lecture 1 - Studentportalen

Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
Lecture 1. Word Classes; Clause Elements
General information:
•
This and other lecture handouts cannot exemplify or list all characteristics, forms,
etc. of grammatical features; time does not allow for such extensive treatment. Please
see UGE for more detailed accounts. It is necessary to study the relevant passages in
UGE as well as the handouts and the PowerPoint presentations in order to cover all
aspects of the grammar module.
•
In many cases, lecture handouts will cover more topics than are actually treated
explicitly during the corresponding lectures. This is intentional: the lecture handouts
are intended to make it easier both to follow the lectures and to study the material
on your own.
•
I strongly recommend that, before each lecture, you download the PDF version of
the PowerPoint slideshow that accompanies the lecture from the Studentportalen
website. Printing that PDF file and having the printout at hand during the lecture
will make the lecture easier to follow.
1 Word Classes
•
The word class of a word is:
o
A permanent characteristic of a word and part of its definition …

… but many words can belong to more than one word class.
o
Dependent on:

The meaning of the word.

The grammatical characteristics of the word (often more important).
•
Word classes may be open or closed:
o
Open word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and interjections) admit
new members readily.
o
Closed word classes (pronouns, numerals, prepositions, and conjunctions)
contain fewer members and rarely admit new members.
•
Nouns:
o
Meaning: nouns refer to things, people, animals, plants, substances, abstract
notions, etc.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Common countable nouns inflect for number (singular vs. plural).

Many nouns inflect for case (common case vs. genitive case).

Many nouns can be determined by the indefinite article or the definite
article.

Nouns can be heads of noun phrases.
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
•
Verbs:
o
Meaning: verbs express actions, states, mental processes, sensory perceptions,
relations, etc.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Verbs can inflect for tense (present vs. past).

Verbs help to form verb phrases.
•
Adjectives:
o
Meaning: adjectives describe or classify nouns and pronouns.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Gradable adjectives can be compared.

Adjectives may:
♦
Modify the head of a noun phrase.
♦
Function as the head of a predicative.
♦
(More rarely) be the head of a noun phrase.
•
Adverbs:
o
Meaning: very diverse. Adverbs may answer questions such as “When?”,
“Where?”, “How?”, and “To what extent?”, express attitudes, link stretches of
text, negate, intensify, downtone, etc.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Many adverbs are derived from adjectives and typically end in -ly.

Gradable adverbs can be compared.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses.
•
Pronouns:
o
Meaning: very diverse and often dependent on context.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Pronouns have two main functions:
♦
Heads of noun phrases (“självständiga pronomen”).
♦
Determiners in noun phrases (“förenade pronomen”).
•
Numerals:
o
Meaning:

Cardinal numerals express numerical quantity.

Ordinal numerals express numerical order.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Numerals often – but not always (see, for instance, UGE, p. 70) – function
as determiners in noun phrases.

With the exception of first, second, and third (and compounds that end in
-first, -second, or -third), ordinal numerals end in -th.
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
•
Prepositions:
o
Meaning: prepositions express meanings such as place, time, etc. by linking a
prepositional complement to another part of the clause.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Prepositions are often simple (e.g. at), but may be complex (e.g. in front
of).

Prepositions form prepositional phrases together with a prepositional
complement.
•
Conjunctions:
o
Meaning: conjunctions express connections between words, phrases, clauses,
etc.
o
Some grammatical characteristics:

Conjunctions are often simple (e.g. but, because), but may be complex
(e.g. both … and, as if).

Two main functional groups:
♦
Co-ordinating conjunctions or co-ordinators connect two
elements (e.g. words, phrases, and clauses) of the same type.
♦
Subordinating conjunctions or subordinators introduce
dependent clauses (but not all dependent clauses are introduced
by subordinators).
•
Interjections:
o
Meaning: interjections express various types of exclamations.
2 Clause Elements
•
Clause elements:
o
Are based on the function of the units that make up a particular clause.
o
Can be defined only for an individual clause.
o
May consist of several words – and the same word(s) may appear in different
clause elements in different clauses.
o
Except where dependent clauses are explicitly treated, this course focuses on
clause elements that are themselves phrases rather than dependent clauses
(see Lecture 2 for more information on phrases).
•
The subject (S):
o
Is typically the topic of the clause.
o
Typically comes before or after the first verb form in the clause.
o
May control agreement (e.g. The teacher is here; She hurt herself).
o
Usually consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 2).
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
•
The direct object (Od):
o
Usually refers to someone/something that is affected by the verbal action (e.g.
Barack Obama defeated John McCain in 2008) or to the result of the verbal action
(e.g. My uncle has knitted this sweater).
o
Usually consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 2).
o
Can become the subject of a passive clause (e.g. John McCain was defeated [by
Barack Obama] in 2008).
•
The indirect object (Oi):
o
Precedes the Od and usually refers to the recipient of the verbal action (e.g.
The manager gave Katie the job).
o
Consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 2) that typically refers to an animate
being.
o
Can become the subject of a passive clause (e.g. Katie was given the job [by the
manager]).

NOTE. It is not mentioned in UGE that an active Oi can become a passive
S, but this is an important feature.
o
Can often be replaced with a prepositional phrase (called a “prepositional
object” in UGE) with to/for after the Od (e.g. The manager gave the job to Katie).
•
The subject predicative (Ps):
o
Provides information on characteristics or the identity of the S via a linking
verb.
o
Usually consists of:

A noun phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. My aunt is a famous paleontologist).

An adjective phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. The oak leaves have turned
brown).
•
The object predicative (Po):
o
Provides information on characteristics or the identity of the Od via a linking
verb.
o
Usually consists of:

A noun phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. They made me their spokesperson).

An adjective phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. I consider your idea foolish).
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Erik Smitterberg ([email protected])
Dept. of English, Uppsala University
A1/HS1 Grammar
Autumn/Fall Term 2010
•
The adverbial (A):
o
Has diverse meanings; often provides information of the types “When?”,
“Where?”, “How?”, “How often?” “Why?”, speaker attitude, links between
stretches of text, probability, etc.
o
Can often – but not always – be omitted or moved.
o
Can occur several times in a clause.
o
Often – but not always – consists of:

An adverb phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. They completed the assignment very
quickly).

A prepositional phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. We will study English in
Uppsala next year).

A noun phrase (see Lecture 2) (e.g. We will study English next year).
•
The verb (V):
o
Consists of a verb phrase with a main verb as head + auxiliaries, if any (see
Lecture 2).
o
The type of main verb determines what objects and predicatives, if any, occur
in the clause:

Intransitive main verbs take no objects or predicatives (e.g. She was
drowning).

Transitive main verbs take at least one object (e.g. She has played chess
for three years).

Linking main verbs take one of two structures:
♦
A subject predicative (e.g. This course seems quite interesting).
♦
A direct object and an object predicative (e.g. They have made me
their spokesperson).
o
NOTE 1. The term “verb” is used both for the word class and the clause
element!
o
NOTE 2. The same main verb can belong to different categories, e.g. drown
(intransitive The killer drowned vs. transitive The killer drowned his victims).
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