Types of Sentences in Syntax

7
Functional Grammar: Type of

Sentences
This chapter concentrates on the lexicogrammatical

component and in particular on syntax, which in linguistics
is traditionally defined as the grammar above the word or
the grammar of sentence structure. Formal syntax deals
with how words can combine to create larger units of form
and eventually sentences. One can perhaps visualize this as
an orientation towards unit building, with a progression
upwards from the word to the sentence.
7.1 Formal types of sentence

The formal classification of sentences is traditionally in
grammatical studies undertaken according to the number
and class (main or subordinate) of clauses they contain.
Where a sentence consists of a main clause only, it is
known as a simple sentence.
Simple sentence:
 I'm off to town now.

 Did you get a newspaper?
 Do tell me the story of the red monk.
 What a price these glasses are!
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Where the sentence contains two or more main clauses, it is
known as a compound sentence.
Compound sentence:
 She's playing hockey \\ and then she's going to the

theatre.
 I've tried all day \ \ but I still can't get through.
 Would you like chicken \\ or do you prefer beef?
A sentence which comprises a main clause and at least one
subordinate clause is called a complex sentence.
Complex sentence:
 When we've washed up \\ we'll have a game of

dominoes.
 If you don't like the heat \\ get out of the kitchen.
 She bought three bars \ \ because she adores the taste.
 We went via Birmingham \ \ in order to save time.
 What he thinks \\ is not important.
 That is \ \ what was announced.
 Has Jill said \ \ whether she 'II be available?
 This is the draft \ \ which I wrote yesterday.
 The line is to be closed \ \ which doesn’t surprise me.
Lastly, where a sentence consists of at least two main
clauses and at least one subordinate clause, it may be
termed a compound-complex sentence.
Compound-complex sentence:
 If you need a hand \ \ give me a call \ \ and I'll pop

round.
 Our plans are now complete \ \ and an order will be
placed \ \ as soon as we have received the quotations.
It has to be said, however, that this formal classification of
sentences is rather arbitrary and as such not particularly
helpful. Thus, for example, the compound class includes
sentences with any number of main clauses, provided it is
more than one. The complex label does not place any
constraint on the number of subordinate clauses which may
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be present, nor does it provide a way of recording
dependency relationships which may exist between two or
more subordinate clauses in a sentence. Analysis of a text
based solely on a classification of this sort would therefore
give only a partial indication of the degree of the
complexity of its sentence structure.
7.2The sentence as clause complex

Grammatically, as indicated above, a sentence consists of
one or more clauses which are interrelated on a coordinate
or subordinate basis. Given that, in terms of meaning, each
clause expresses an idea or proposition, then what the
sentence does is to express one or more ideas or
propositions, interwoven to present a coherent whole.
(Arguments used to abound regarding the notion of
completeness of the ideas. But irrespective of how this
concept might best be defined, we take the view that it is
not a productive line to pursue and that it is not necessary to
think either of each idea or of the totality of ideas as being
'complete'. There is surely always another relevant detail
which could have been added.)
In these terms the sentence can be seen as a unit of textual

structure which combines and interacts with other sentences
to form larger coherent units of text, such as paragraph and
chapter. By 'coherent' is meant the logical sequencing and
interrelatedness of ideas. Of course, in order to help ensure
that the coherence of the message content reads smoothly, a
writer would normally employ the various grammatical
devices of cohesion.
Some linguists indeed choose to reserve the label
'sentence' for the unit of textual study. In such
circumstances, the preferred term when discussing units of
grammatical form would be clause complex.This relates to
the logical grouping of clause units around at least one main
clause and in any configuration. The scope of the textual
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sentence (bounded by an initial capital letter and a final full
stop) and the grammatical clause complex might normally
be expected to be the same. They could easily be
coordinated into the single sentence and a single (now
compound) clause
Thus, whilst the sequence Ruth has passed her violin

exam, which should please her parents is one sentence
containing one clause complex, it could for effect be written
as two sentences Ruth has passed her violin exam. Which
should please her parents. But the two sentences would still
involve only the one clause complex, because the second
sentence – a sentential relative - remains a subordinate
clause. I adopt a middle way. Although I accept that the
sentence is primarily a textual unit, I also see it as one
which by tradition in linguistic description serves as a unit
of grammatical form for the purpose of analysing
grammatical structure. In this capacity and within the
standard orthographical boundaries, the sentence is a
cohesive grouping of one or more clauses, i.e. a clause
complex.
Note: Labelling the sentence

#S# = Sentence
Line marking
III = sentence boundary.
7.3 Formal syntactic analysis

Systemic grammar was not originally developed for
formal syntactic analysis. The grammar is orientated rather
towards functional syntax, where reference to formal units
and classes is made in order to mark how a functional
element is realized. In a functional syntactic analysis the
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roles of the elements of structure are shown, and each
structural element is set out on an equal basis.
The framework thus does not need to use a

hierarchical tree patterning for marking dependency; instead
it employs a rank-based mode of analysis which leads to an
essentially flat tree patterning. If, as now, this patterning is
applied to the analysis of formal units alone, it will not
register, for example, the different relationship which can
obtain between NPs and a VP. Thus, if one takes a sentence
such as John gave his friend the map, a formal analysis of
the clause will record merely 'NP + VP + NP + NP',
showing that its structure (and the meaning) involves
elements realized by these four classes of phrase. It does
not, at this formal stage, mark any particular relationship
between them. Nevertheless, in order to illustrate the impact
of an analysis in terms of units and classes, we will, subject
to the two (temporary) modifications within word class,
apply the framework which has been built up to a range of
example sentences.
The description will mark off sentence units and

analyze sentences in terms of their clause constituents,
specifying the dependency class of each clause. It will then
analyze clauses in terms of their phrase constituents, stating
the class of phrase. Finally, it will analyze phrases in terms
of their word constituents, indicating the class of word. Not
infrequently, of course, a clause has to be analyzed as
operating within the structure of a clause, or a clause or
phrase within the structure of a phrase.
Line marking
||| = sentence boundary
|| = clause boundary which is not also a sentence

boundary
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I = phrase boundary which is not also a clause
boundary
Labelling
Sentence #S#
Clause main clause = main clause; sub.clause =
subordinate clause.
Phrase NP = nominal phrase; VP = verbal phrase;
AdjP = adjectival phrase; AdvP = adverbial phrase;

PrepP = prepositional phrase; SubP = subordinator
phrase;
GenP = genitive phrase.

Word noun = noun; pron = pronoun; art = article;
verb = verb; adj = adjective; adv = adverb;
prep = preposition;
sub = subordinating conjunction / subordinator;
conj = coordinating conjunction / coordinator;
interj = interjection; gen = genitive.
Pronominal subclasses
pers = personal; int = interrogative; rel = relative;
poss = possessive; dem = demonstrative;

refl = reflexive; rec = reciprocal;
indef = indefinite; emph = emphatic; subst =

substitute;
typ = typic; excl = exclamative;
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num - numeral; quant = quantifier; ord = ordinative.
For the purposes of formal analysis, two temporary sets of

changes are made with regard to the labelling of verbs and adverbs:
Verb aux = auxiliary verb; verb = main verb;

Adverb adv = adverb / adverbial particle, except that inf
= infinitive and neg = negative.
These modifications will not apply within the later

functional syntactic analysis, where 'aux', 'inf and 'neg' will be
handled not as word subclasses but as functional elements of phrase
structure.
The relative pronoun what here would be described as a 'fused' or

'free' relative pronoun, where the antecedent entity to which it
refers is fused within the relative word and where the single word
what can in consequence be paraphrased as that which.
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101
102
103
104
1. To show your understanding of functional grammar please
write down five (5) sentences grammatically!
105
2. Write down five (5) sentences in type of simple sentence!
3. Write down five (5) sentences in type of compound sentence!
4. Write down five (5) sentences in type of complex sentence!
106
5. Write down five (5) sentences in type of compound complex
sentence!
6. Analyze those sentences by using tree diagram based on

functional grammar!
107

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7

Functional Grammar: Type of

This chapter concentrates on the lexicogrammatical

7.1 Formal types of sentence

 I'm off to town now.

 She's playing hockey \\ and then she's going to the

 When we've washed up \\ we'll have a game of

 If you need a hand \ \ give me a call \ \ and I'll pop

7.2The sentence as clause complex

In these terms the sentence can be seen as a unit of textual

Thus, whilst the sequence Ruth has passed her violin

Note: Labelling the sentence

III = sentence boundary.

7.3 Formal syntactic analysis

The framework thus does not need to use a

The description will mark off sentence units and

|| = clause boundary which is not also a sentence

AdjP = adjectival phrase; AdvP = adverbial phrase;

GenP = genitive phrase.

verb = verb; adj = adjective; adv = adverb;

conj = coordinating conjunction / coordinator;

interj = interjection; gen = genitive.

poss = possessive; dem = demonstrative;

indef = indefinite; emph = emphatic; subst =

For the purposes of formal analysis, two temporary sets of

Verb aux = auxiliary verb; verb = main verb;

These modifications will not apply within the later

The relative pronoun what here would be described as a 'fused' or

3. Write down five (5) sentences in type of compound sentence!

4. Write down five (5) sentences in type of complex sentence!

6. Analyze those sentences by using tree diagram based on

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