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PE3011 English Language Studies and Teaching 1 Grammar Lecture 7 : Sentences and Clauses (Reading : Greenbaum, ch. 6) A review of the notion of the English sentence (declarative statements). What are two basic parts of the English sentence? What possibilities are there for the second part? (i.e., elements and hence patterns) e.g., S -- VO A clause A clause is a sentence-like construction, i.e., it bears: A subject (at least an assumed one) A predicate which means there is a verb phrase in it. The verb phrase can then be followed by another string of constituents, e.g., an object (a noun phrase), a complement (a noun phrase or an adjectival phrase, etc.) Variations of the English sentence (possible transformations of the basic patterns) Var 1: Compound Sentences consist of two or more coordinated clauses. the clauses are main clauses of the sentence, each with an independent status. An independent status here means that the clause can itself stand alone as a complete sentence. e.g. Mary is tall but Susan is short. (Mary is tall. Susan is short.) Send it to me by post or bring it around yourself. A clause embedded in a sentence which has an independent status is called the main clause. e.g. Mary is tall but Susan is short. (2 main clauses) (Mary is tall. Susan is short.) Ellipsis Some parts of a compound sentence can be elipted. is used when we want to avoid repeating identical expressions across coordinated clauses. e.g. The man went to the door and [‘the man’ elipted] opened it. The adults ate chicken, [‘the adults’] the teenagers hamburger, and the children [‘ate’] pizza. She is a better doctor than I am (‘a doctor’; also called a comparative clause) She can run as fast as I can (‘run’; also called a comparative clause.) Do Ex. 6.6 Greenbaum Var 2: Complex Sentences consist of one or more subordinate [also called dependent] clauses embedded in a main clause. 2 A subordinate clause is one that cannot stand alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause starts with a subordinator (e.g., since, although, because, etc.), a relative pronoun (e.g., who, where, etc.) or a nominal relative pronoun (e.g., that, etc.) The subordinate clause adds information to the main clause when it does not function as the subject of the main clause. e.g. When I arrived, they had already finished their meal. (* When I arrived.) I don't know how to do the work because I was absent last time. (*because I was absent last time) Var 3: Non-Finite Clausal structures Not functioning as the main clause (but could have been transformed from a subordinate clause, a coordinated main clause) Do not form the core part of the message delivered by the sentence => peripheral information added to the main clause The subject is not mentioned and is understood The verb form of the predicate is realized in a non-finite form (e.g., ‘to + v’, ‘~ing’ & ‘~ed’) The tense of the verb is thus not specified e.g. They wanted to pay for their meal. [They pay for their meal] Walking along the beach, John met Peter. [When John and Peter were walking along the beach, …] 3 Dressed in street clothes, the patients strolled in the garden. [???] (Note the difference between non-finite verb phrases and nonfinite clauses.) Var 4: Verbless Clauses Not functioning as main clauses Absence of verbs e.g. Though fearful of road conditions, they decided to go by car. [Though they were..] Weary and almost out of money, we drove into a petrol station off the motor way. [???] Dozens of people were stranded, many of them children. [???] Non-finite clauses and verbless clauses can be regarded as reduced clauses, reduced in comparison with finite clauses. They often lack a subject, and verbless clauses also lack a verb. Do Ex. 6.7 Greenbaum Var 5: There-Structures (Existential Sentences) are sentences which begin with the unstressed word "there". The word "there" is treated as the grammatical 4 subject and the subject of the original clause without "there" (notional subject) is moved to a later position. e.g. There is nobody outside. (Nobody is outside.) There is a man waiting for you. (A man is waiting for you.) What is the difference between an existential sentence and a non-existential sentence in terms of their implied meanings? The effect of the existential structure is to present the postponed subject and the rest of the sentence as new information and thereby to give the subject greater prominence. The postponed subject is normally an indefinite pronoun (e.g. no one, someone, etc.) or a noun phrase with an indefinite determiner (e.g. a man, a woman, etc.). implying that / hinting possibly to the audience that I’m starting a new topic. The number agreement on the finite verb is determined by the number of the following noun group although in informal spoken English there is a tendency to use "there's" and "there was" with both singular and plural noun phrases. e.g. There are some books. There are some students waiting outside. There's some students waiting outside. (informal) Occasionally, a verb other than the verb to be is used in existential clauses. 5 e.g. There came a sudden knock at the door. There remain the questions of compensation. Do Ex.6.13 Greenbaum The word "there" is NOT used with "have" (meaning possession) in existential sentences. e.g. *There have some books. *There has an overhead projector in the classroom. The above two erroneous sentences are quite common among elementary to immediate learners of English in Hong Kong. Are they errors or mistakes? Describe the possible sources of errors. Var 6: Cleft Sentences involve the division and repackaging of the information (the intended main subject and its intended predicate) in a clause into two parts. The clefting occurs at the predicate. The object of a verb is fronted. Cleft sentences have it in the Subject position and a linking verb followed by a that clause or a wh-clause. It + verb-to-be + fronted object + a ‘that’ / wh-clause with a transitive verb. e.g. 6 It is clefting that we are going to look at now. It is John that Mary loves. What could be implied meanings of the two examples? It is clefting that we are going to look at now. => S1: We are going to look at clefting now. S2: What did you say, did you say verbless clauses we’re going to look at now? S1: No, I didn’t say that. It’s clefting that we are going to look at now. It is John that Mary loves. => Don’t mistake it. It’s John that Mary loves but not George. the stress naturally falls on the word following the linking verb, and therefore this constituent becomes the focus. Start here Week 9 Exercise: Rewrite the following sentences into cleft sentences to emphasize the objects in them. 1. I have lost my money (implied meaning: not my identity card). 7 2. She created a game for her students (implied meaning: but not just an exercise). 3. Mary didn’t realize the impact of the problem (implied meaning: but not the problem in general). Var 7: Pseudo-cleft Sentences e.g. I (S) want to talk about //(clefting the predicate) the organization of clauses as messages. 1. What is that something that you want to talk about? 2. To answer this question, we need to supply information about the ‘what’, and information reemphasizing and re-structuring in the original sentence is needed. I (S) want to talk about //(clefting the predicate) the organization of clauses as messages. The organization of clauses as messages (a fronted clefted predicate becomes the subject) is what I want to talk about (a revised predicate). To emphasize that we are answering the question ‘what’, we can reverse positions of the subject and the predicate: (Pseudo-cleft) What I want to talk about (S) is the organization of clauses as messages(Predicate). 8 George V's last words have been incorrectly recorded. He said, "Book at Bognor". What did he say actually? (Pseudo-cleft) What he actually said was "Book at Bognor." Do Ex. 6.14 Greenbaum Var 8: Anticipatory it The subject is moved to the end and its position is taken by the anticipatory subject it. e.g. That the season has started so early is a pity. Anticipatory it It is a pity that the season has started so early. To say when they are arriving is impossible. Anticipatory it [???] 9 Do Ex. 6.15 Greenbaum What could be the implied meaning of the anticipatory it sentence? What do the 4 structures of: Cleft sentences Existential sentences Pseudo-cleft Anticipatory it tell us about the effects of positioning of information in an English sentence? Others: relative clauses (RC) reduced relative clauses (RRC) nominal clauses (NC) relative nominal clauses (RNC) RC: functioning as a post-modifier to a noun; begins with a relative pronoun which functions as either the subject or the object of the verb in the clause, the pronoun is followed by a verb phrase. e.g., She is my friend whom /who (0) I talked about. (RN) She is my friend who (S) comes here every Monday to help me with my housework. (RN) Martin is the one who (S) was fired. 10 RRC: a transformed version of a relative clause. => Relative pronoun omitted, verb turned into a non-finite verb) e.g., She is my friend coming here every Monday to help... Martin is the one fired (who was fired). RNC: Relative nominal clause; it functions as a postmodifying noun clause, which has a nominal relative pronoun which does not function as the subject of the verb of the clause, a subject, a verb (and an object if the verb is a TV). e.g., I think that (NRP) she (S) is one of the best executives. (RNC) Tell me how (NRP) I (S) can get there. (NC) The problem with where (NRP) we (S) could get (V) the money (O) is still unsolved. (NC) Do Ex. 6.10 Functions of Clauses in a Sentence Subject e.g. Achieving the perfect crew cut is no easy task. Whoever said that does not understand the question. Subject Complement e.g. The only problem in design is to relate design to people’s needs. 11 The point is that we are leaving. Direct Object e.g. I believe that a hot, humid summer has benefited the movie business. He gave the children what they want. Indirect Object e.g. I gave whoever it was a cup of tea. Prepositional Complement e.g. I listened to what the candidates had to say. I saw her after having an interview. Object Complement e.g. I imagined him overcome with grief. I considered him defeated by his enemy. Modifiers e.g. Drugs that are used in chemotherapy damage a patient’s healthy cells. She is a better doctor than I am (of an adjective phrase). She can run faster than I can (of an adverbial phrase) Adverbials e.g. When I last saw you, you lived in Washington. (time) If you treat her kindly, she’ll do anything for you. (condition) 12 Do Ex.6.8 (Greenbaum) Do Ex.6.9 (odd number items) Do Ex. 6.10 (even number items) 13