Download Elements of the clause

English for Academic Skills
Independence (EASI)
Workshop 4
Workshop 4
Grammar
Quiz
Quick question from Session 3
Turn to your neighbour and name the most important unit of
grammar …
By the end of this session you will be able
to…
 identify simple, compound, complete and incomplete
sentences
 label activity, thing and circumstance in a clause
Simple sentence = 1 clause
Here is a clause with no punctuation and no context:
birds fly
If we punctuate it correctly, it can be interpreted as a
sentence:
Birds fly.
A sentence with just one clause is called a simple sentence.
Remember the form of the clause
In statements the subject typically goes before
the verb
Subject VERB
birds fly
Birds fly
.
 A clause will typically have these two parts:
subject + verb
 Most clauses in English typically have more
than two parts …
Grammar: Joining clauses
Clauses can be joined to make longer sentences:
Birds fly and dolphins swim.
This sentence contains two clauses
This type of sentence is called a compound sentence
Compound sentence
In this example: two clauses > one sentence
clause
Birds fly
clause
and
dolphins swim
.
Compound sentence
In order to make a compound sentence we need to join
two clauses. We do this with a coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating
conjunction
Birds fly
and
dolphins swim .
The conjunction ‘and’ is the most widely used conjunction
in English.
How many other coordinating conjunctions do you know?
Coordinating conjunctions
There are seven coordinating conjunctions (or
coordinators) in English:
for
and
nor
but
or
yet
so
Remember the mnemonic: FANBOYS
Coordinating conjunctions
Note: In addition to joining clauses,
the conjunction ‘and’ can also join two nouns …
Subject VERB
birds and bats fly
Compound sentence: 2 independent
clauses
An important function of a coordinating conjunction is to link
two (or more) independent clauses
Independent
clause
Birds fly
Independent
clause
and
dolphins swim
.
Grammar: 2 sentence types
So far we have learned that sentences can be classified as
follows:
Simple sentence = one independent clause
Compound sentence = two (or more) independent clauses
(joined by coordinating conjunctions)
A clause will typically have at least these two parts: subject
+ verb
Activity 1
Decide if these sentences are simple [S] or compound [C]:
Remember, find the subject and the verb …
S/C
Facebook has become enormously popular.
Facebook is fun and it can also be helpful for
study purposes.
Students and lecturers appreciate the
importance of Facebook.
Learners and teachers need to critically evaluate
their practices.
Activity 1
Decide if these sentences are simple [S] or compound [C]:
Here, the subject is highlighted for each clause …
S/C
Facebook has become enormously popular.
Facebook is fun and it can also be helpful for
study purposes.
Students and lecturers appreciate the
importance of Facebook.
Learners and teachers need to critically evaluate
their practices.
Activity 1
Decide if these sentences are simple [S] or compound [C]:
S/C
S
Facebook has become enormously popular.
C
Facebook is fun and it can also be helpful for
study purposes.
S
Students and lecturers appreciate the
importance of Facebook.
S
Learners and teachers need to critically evaluate
their practices.
Grammar: two sentence types
Summary: Sentences can be classified as follows:
• Simple sentence = one clause
• Compound sentence = at least two clauses which are joined by a
coordinating conjunction
Important rule: a sentence must have at least one clause
An incomplete sentence is called a fragment
Complete sentences
Each sentence must provide a complete thought.
Facebook has become enormously popular.
Incomplete sentence = a fragment
If you only provide part of the sentence this is known as a
fragment.
Facebook, enormously popular.
The reader is left with a number of questions: a popular
what? why?, so what?
Activity 2
Decide if it is a complete sentence [CS] or merely a fragment
[F]:
CS/F
Facebook has become enormously popular.
Facebook, a fun activity and very helpful for
study purposes.
A consideration of the importance of Facebook
and its role in supporting students.
Learners and teachers through regular
evaluation of their practices.
Activity 2
A complete sentence must have a verb …
CS/F
CS
Facebook has become enormously popular.
F
Facebook, a fun activity and very helpful for
study purposes.
F
A consideration of the importance of Facebook
and its role in supporting students.
F
Learners and teachers through regular
evaluation of their practices.
Activity 2
If we want to make each fragment into a complete sentence
then we must add a verb …
CS/F
CS
Facebook has become enormously popular.
CS
Facebook is a fun activity and very helpful for study
purposes.
CS
This essay will consider the importance of Facebook
and its role in supporting students.
CS
Learners and teachers should regularly evaluate their
practices.
Functional elements in the clause
thing
activity
• Who
• What
• Doing & happening
thinking & feeling
saying
being & having
The activity is always at the heart of the clause …
The process = verb
thing
•Subject
activity •Verb
Grammatical elements of the clause:
Subject + verb
A clause must have at least these two parts:
subject + verb
Subject VERB
birds fly
bats fly
 However, most clauses in English typically
have more than two parts …
Grammatical elements of the clause:
Subject + verb + object
thing
•Subject
•Object
activity •Verb
Grammatical elements of the clause:
Subject + verb + object
This clause has just a subject and a verb:
bats fly
But if we change the verb to ‘eat’ (a transitive verb),
then we need an object:
bats eat insects
Grammatical elements of the clause:
Subject + verb + object
Transitive verbs in English need an object
Subject
bats
VERB
Object
eat
insects
Sometimes we want to add information about the
circumstances - where or when or how …
Functional elements in the clause:
Circumstance
circumstance
thing
activity
• Where
• When
• How etc
Prepositional phrase
In addition to the object we can add details of
where and when, etc; we can do this with a
prepositional phrase:
bats eat insects at night
bats eat insects in caves
Using the clause to represent experience
circumstance
thing
bats
eat
activity
insects
at night
Functional elements in the clause:
Circumstance
circumstance
thing
activity
• Prepositional phrase
• Adverbial group
• Noun group
Three ways to add circumstance
 with a prepositional phrase: bats eat insects at
night
 with an adverbial group: dolphins swim playfully
with a noun group: the ice melted last night
Position of circumstance
The position of each element depends on your emphasis or
focus. Usually, the thing comes first and the circumstance last:
thing
Bats
Dolphins
Ice
activity
fly
swim
melts
circumstance
at night
playfully
slowly
.
.
.
Position of the ‘circumstance’ elements
However, there are different possibilities:
circumstance
At night
thing
bats
Most of the time dolphins
Sometimes
ice
activity circumstance
fly
from their caves.
swim playfully.
melts quite quickly.
Meanings of the ‘circumstances’ element
Consider also, the meanings conveyed by the ‘participant’
element and the ‘process’ element
Extent
Location
How long?
How far?
How
often?
Where?
When?
Cause
Other
Why?
What else?
What for? With whom?
Who with?
Says who?
Manner
How?
What
with?
What like?
Summary: Meanings of the functional
elements
Symbol
Element
Type of meaning
th
thing
who or what
act
activity
doing/happening/thinking/feeling/
saying/being/having
C
circumstance How long?/How far?/How
often?/Where?/When?/Why?/What
for?/What else?/With whom?/Who
with?/Says who?/How?/What
with?/What like?
Activity 3
Label this sentence with the element labels: circ./act./thing
At night the bats fly slowly from their caves.
At night the bats fly slowly from their caves.
Activity 3
Label this sentence with the element labels: circ./act./thing
At night the bats fly slowly from their caves.
circ.
thing
act.
circ.
circ.
At night the bats fly slowly from their caves.
Long noun groups (things)
One of the main reasons why academic texts are hard to read
is that they often have long noun groups.
• One of the most popular social networking websites is
Facebook.
• A problem [that is often overlooked] is the lack of
involvement of the elderly.
Let’s examine the structure of long noun groups…
Pre-N
Pointer Num
Noun group
Describer(s) Classifier(s)
Two of
the
brilliant
Half of
those
One
One of
These
the
Qualifier
Thing
first year
students [[that we teach]]
Business
students [[who entered the
competition]]
problem [[related to
technology]]
issues
causes
[of stress]
Noise
pollution
significant
common
Changes [in the exchange rate]
Task: Building noun groups
• Task: Add three more noun groups to this table. Complete the clause by adding an activity
(green) and other elements as needed .
P-N
Point Num Descr.
Two of the
brilliant
Noun group
Class.
Thing
first year students
Qualifier
[that we teach]
Half of those
Business students
[who entered the competition]
have been given a
scholarship.
didn’t turn up today.
[related to technology]
is gaming addiction.
of stress
are becoming serious.
is noise.
One
These
One of the
significant
problem
common
issues
causes
Noise
pollution
Changes
may be worse in cities.
in the exchange rate
need to be considered.
To summarise
You will communicate more effectively if you become
sensitised to the following:




Complete sentences
Sentence fragments
Subject, verb, object
Activities, things and circumstances
Homework task
Familiarise yourself with the elements of the clause
Elements of the clause
circumstance
• Prepositional phrase
• Adverbial group
• Noun group
thing
• Noun group
activity
• Verb group
Bonus homework activity
Getting started with Functional Grammar
Work your way through these five videos which were
prepared by Annabelle Lukin
http://www.annabellelukin.com/getting-started-with-functional-grammar.html
Activity 4
Label these sentences with the element labels: circ./thing/act.
One key benefit of using Facebook in teaching and learning is
its obvious capacity as a space for students to socialise.
Social integration also enhances the likelihood that students
will be engaged in their study programmes.
Activity 4
Label these sentences with the element labels: c/th/act
• One key benefit of using Facebook in teaching and learning
is its obvious capacity as a space for students to socialise.
• Social integration also enhances the likelihood [that
students will be engaged] in their study programmes.
Additional homework activities
Sentence problems
http://a4esl.org/q/h/9901/cw-sentprob.html