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UNIT 3, Sentence Structure - Categories - Handout

This document discusses parts of speech and phrase structure. It covers lexical categories like nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and verbs. It also discusses phrasal categories including noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, preposition phrases and verb phrases. Additionally, it covers coordinate phrases which contain a coordinator and two co-ordinated constituents of the same syntactic category.

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336 views32 pages

UNIT 3, Sentence Structure - Categories - Handout

This document discusses parts of speech and phrase structure. It covers lexical categories like nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and verbs. It also discusses phrasal categories including noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, preposition phrases and verb phrases. Additionally, it covers coordinate phrases which contain a coordinator and two co-ordinated constituents of the same syntactic category.

Uploaded by

Nguyên Dũng
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Sentence structure: Categories

Unit 3
Unit 3 – Sentence structure:
Categories
I. Nouns & Noun phrases
II. Adverbs & AdvPs
III. Adjectives & APs
IV. Prepositions & PPs
V. Co-ordinate phrases
Summary
Lexical vs Phrasal categories
Lexical categories Phrasal categories

nouns
adverbs
adjectives
prepositions
verbs

HEAD of a phrase
Other Lexical categories
Articles (a, an, the)
Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
Conjunctions (and, but, although,…)
Degree words (very, rather, extremely,…)
Auxiliaries (be, have, do, may, could,…)
A. NOUNS
- Traditional definition: A noun names a person, place
or thing.
- Syntactic definition: Nouns have
(a) the same function / distribution
(b) a genitive / possessive form
(c) Four sub-categories:
N.B. Sub-categories of nouns

Proper nouns
can stand alone to form NP
(April, Hanoi)
Common nouns - follow articles (the)
(car, dog, love) -
Count nouns - follow indefinite articles/ numerals
(a car, two dogs) -

Mass nouns - uncountable > NO plural forms


(butter, modesty)
Some words may belong to different categories:
- I like to eat fruit.
- I love tropical fruits such as bananas and guavas.
B. NOUN PHRASES
- may function as subjects or complements

NP

PHRASE

PHRASE N

two extremely clever plans

An NP may contain more than one noun, but only ONE


noun can be its HEAD.
N.B.1 HEAD of an NP
- can be a N or pronoun
- determines the number (singular/plural) of the NP
- determines the gender of the NP

E.g
(a) Two extremely clever plans [have been accepted]
=> They [have been accepted] >
(b) His new mistress [is from Spain]
=> She [is from Spain] >
N.B.2 Phrase markers for proper names and
pronouns as HEAD (pp 50-51)

John They
N.B.3 Kinds of pronouns (p.48)
Practice 1
(1) Identify the subject of the following
sentence and underline its HEAD.

(p63)
Between the blank pages of the album, ancient
photographs dimly revealed ancestors nervelessly
paralysed in different attitudes of apparent
concentration.

(2) Pick out other Nouns as Heads of NPs.


A. ADVERBS
- two main kinds

Degree adverbs - can’t stand alone


(very, rather, extremely,…)
-
General adverbs (p.54) -
oddly, instantly, awkwardly,
enthusiastically, potentially,…

e.g.
(a) a rather nice hat (RATHER = DEG)

(b) (drive) very fast (VERY = DEG)


B. ADVERB PHRASES
=> with a general Adv as Head
=> functioning as modifier or complement

HEAD can be modified by a Degree adverb or another


general adverb.
e.g.
(a) quite incredibly (DEG -> Adv as H > AdvP)

(b) quite incredibly fast (AdvP -> )

(c) more obviously artificial (AdvP -> )


N.B. Phrase markers for AdvPs

AdvP

Adv

fast quite incredibly quite incredibly fast


A. ADJECTIVES
- two main kinds

Gradable - having comparison forms


VERY (good, old, tall,…) -
Non-gradable (p.52) - NO comparison forms
dead, alive, main, fatal,.. -

e.g.
(a) a rather tall man
(b) * a very dead man
B. ADJECTIVE PHRASES
=> with an A as HEAD
=> functioning as Modifier or Complement

=> HEAD can be modified by a DEG or an AdvP.


e.g.
(a) very intelligent [students] (DEG -> )

(b) quite obviously artificial [vases] (AdvP -> )


N.B. Phrase markers for APs

AP

good very intelligent more obviously artificial


PREPOSITIONS & PPs
- Preposition = HEAD of PP
- Two kinds

+ NPS as complements of, for, about, to, in, at,


above, from, …
 NPs as complements here, there, away, abroad, now,
(p.55) upwards, upstairs, then, …

-> can replace a PP


e.g. beside a stream =>
at the present time =>
to/in a foreign country =>
on the upper floor =>
N.B. Phrase markers for PPs

PP

now at the present time


N.B.2 Different viewpoints about single-word PPs
Traditional grammar:
- there, here, now, upwards,… =>
Co-ordinate phrases contain:
- a co-ordinator (and, but, or)
- two constituents / sisters of the same category

NP

NP NP
NP NP
name name

(a) Max and Carol (b) two cars and three bikes
AP

AP AP

A DEG A

(c) stuffy and too hot (d) too hot and stuffy
AdvP

DEG Adv

(e) very slowly and rather carefully


PP
PP
P NP
P NP
P P Name

(f) to and from Cairo (g) on the wall and under the bed
Practice 2 (Ex.2, P.64)
Underline co-ordinated constituents in each sentence.

Practice 3 (Ex.3, P.64)


Draw phrase markers for the co-ordinated constituents
in Practice 2. (Use triangles for these constituents.)
Practice 4 (Ex.1, P.63)
Pick out PPs, APs and AdvPs.

(p63)
Between the blank pages of the album, ancient
photographs dimly revealed ancestors nervelessly
paralysed in different attitudes of apparent
concentration.
SUMMARY
(a) Lexical categories such as N, A, Adv, P, V
=>
(b) Phrasal categories such as NP, AP, AdvP,
PP, VP
=>
(c) Co-ordinate phrases
=> co-ordinated constituents > same category

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