Download The structure of English: The noun phrase and the verb phrase

instructor
Rákosi, György
office
UD Main Building 115
email
[email protected]
IEAS page
http://ieas.unideb.hu/rakosi
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http://nevmasblog.wordpress.com
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The structure of English:
The noun phrase and the verb phrase
BTAN18010BA/BTAN1104OMA
time
venue
Tuesday 14:00-15:50
Main Building II.
THE OUTLINE OF THE COURSE
This lecture introduces you to the descriptive grammar of the English verb phrase (or VP) and the English
noun phrase (or NP). We discuss what grammatical features are encoded on the English verb and on the
English noun, and how these features determine the construction of the VP and the NP. We also study some
of the variation that is observable within the internal structure of the English verb phrase and the noun
phrase.
The ppt presentations will be made available as .pdf files on my webpage one day before the lecture at the
latest (12pm Monday). Please print these files and bring them along for the lecture. You can use these
printouts to take notes for yourselves.
We use a VP reader and an NP reader that supplement the lecture material. The reader is available in the
library:
Verb Phrase – The Reader “Vizsgaanyag“. pp 99-148 & 175-237. Available in the library.
Noun Phrase – The Reader “Vizsgaanyag”. pp. 245-392. Available in the library.
Compiled from Quirk et al. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
Please note that this readings really only supplement the lecture material: we do not discuss everything that
is in the readers, and there will be many issues that we discuss during the lecture which are not in the readers.
It is not compulsory to do these readings, and you will only be tested on the lecture material at the exam.
The readers are there to help you prepare for the exam, and they are especially useful if you do not have a
strong background on the terminology and practice of English descriptive grammar.
SCHEDULE
WEEKS
DATES
TOPICS
week 1
20/09
INTRODUCTION: VERBS, NOUNS AND THEIR PHRASES
week 2
27/09
ON THE EXPRESSION OF TIME IN THE ENGLISH VERB PHRASE
week 3
04/10
OUR PERSPECTIVES ON EVENTS OF THE WORLD
week 4
11/10
THE MOOD THE VERBS ARE IN
week 5
18/10
HELPING VERBS OF THE CLAUSE
week 6
25/10
ALTERNATIONS AFFECTING THE VERB PHRASE
week 7
01/11
NO CLASS (CONSULTATION WEEK)
week 8
08/11
THE GRAMMAR OF CROSSOVERS: INFINITIVES, GERUNDS, PARTICIPLES
week 9
15/11
NUMBER, GENDER AND CASE IN GRAMMAR, AND AGREEMENT PHENOMENA
week 10
22/11
DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE NOUN PHRASES
week 11
29/11
MEASURING EXPRESSIONS IN THE NOUN PHRASE
week 12
06/12
MODIFICATION IN THE NOUN PHRASE
week 13
13/12
PRONOUNS
week 14
20/12
ROUNDUP AND PREPARATION FOR THE EXAM
WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE EXAM
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The exam is based on the lecture material. Please note that the ppt presentations that we use in class
are not meant to be textbook chapters. They mostly only contain the examples we discuss, and some
brief commentary on them. This helps you take notes and concentrate, but you do need to take your
own notes. Print the presentations before you come to the lecture, and put down on them whatever you
find useful. The presentations will be made available on my webpage (see above).
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A glossary of the basic terms is available on my webpage. This list is the list of the key terms that you
need to understand. We discuss these during the lecture and they constitute the basic vocabulary for
talking about the VP and the NP. You are only required to understand these terms, and you do not need
to learn definitions.
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It is also recommended that you borrow and read the readers (see above). The readers themselves are
not compulsory, but they help you to prepare for the exam.