Beginning Syntax
Beginning Syntax
Linda Thomas
IB
BLACKWELL
Oxford UK & Cambridge USA
Copyright © Linda Thomas, 1993
The right of Linda Thomas to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes
of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
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of the publisher.
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or
otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding
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including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
List of Abbreviations ix
2 More on Categories 23
Adverbs and Adverb Phrases 23
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases 29
Adjectives and Adjective Phrases 31
Summary of Rules 36
Index 207
Preface and Acknowledgements
Studying language can take varied forms, but sooner or later students come
to a point when they need a systematic understanding of basic grammatical
concepts and terminology. As a student you may, for example, be studying
language variation or change, or child language acquisition, or analysing
literary language, or as a trainee teacher you might be interested in grammar
in terms of the National Curriculum. To be able to draw comparisons or
make meaningful generalizations, you will need a framework in which to
work. The purpose of this book is to provide you with such a framework.
I have used earlier versions of the book in undergraduate courses where
students required a background analytic knowledge. In many cases the
students I have taught have had no experience of formal grammar teaching
and needed to start from scratch. So in this book I have assumed no prior
knowledge of grammatical analysis of any kind. The text uses simple
material and offers, in the form of practical exercises, a chance to get to
grips with each new idea before moving on to the next one. In this way, I
hope that the myth that grammar is ‘hard’ will be dispelled. I have
summarized the material covered in each chapter at the end for easy
reference in the form of ‘rules to remember’. You should bear in mind
though, that no ‘rule’ is ever infallible, and as you progress through the text
you may find yourself beginning to challenge some (or all) of the assump¬
tions made and explanations given in the text. If this happens, do not worry:
it’s a healthy sign.
Some of you may never need to progress beyond what is offered here in
that your requirements are for a basic understanding of syntax which you
can apply to other data. Others may be intending to study linguistic theory
at an advanced level and need a suitable starting point. Once you have
viii Preface and Acknowledgements
become confident in handling the basic terms and concepts presented here,
you may find it easier to contend with a level of analysis that calls for an
understanding and evaluation of different syntactic theories.
The level and pace of this book are pitched to provide you with an
introductory text that enables you to walk before you run. I hope it will
satisfy your needs, whatever they may be.
My thanks are due to Karen Atkinson, Deborah Cameron and Jennifer
Coates who used earlier drafts of this book with their students and made
recommendations for amendments and additions based on the feedback
they received. I am grateful to them, their students and mine for their
comments and suggestions. I am also indebted to them, to Janet Goodwyn
and to Shan Wareing for the encouragement and support they have given
throughout the time I have been working towards the finaktext.
My grateful thanks also go to my family, Patrick, James and Elizabeth,
for their patience.
Abbreviations
A adjective
A adverbial
Adv adverb
AdvP adverb phrase
AP adjective phrase
AUX auxiliary
complex complex-transitive verb
coord coordinator
deg degree adverb
DET determiner
ditrans ditransitive verb
do direct object
intens intensive verb
intrans intransitive verb
iO indirect object
MOD modal
N noun
NP noun phrase
oC object complement
P preposition
P predicator
part particle
PASS passive
PERF perfect
pO prepositional object
POSS possessive
x Abbreviations
PP prepositional phrase
prep prepositional verb
pres present tense
PRO pronoun
PROG progressive
S sentence/clause
5 subject
sC subject complement
trans transitive verb
V verb
Vgp verb group
VP verb phrase
1 Tools for Analysis
Introduction
would not. This idea of a sentence being syntactically well formed will
become clearer as we progress. By analysing or describing sentences such as
2 Tools for Analysis
(1) in terms of their constituent parts, we can see the patterns that words
follow when they fit together.
Perhaps the best way to make this clear is to practise it by looking at some
examples of English sentences. The examples used will be based on written
rather than spoken language. This is because written language tends to be
more explicit and complete. There is no other speaker present to interrupt
you, or finish your utterance for you, or throw you off your point. Neither
can you leave a statement unfinished because you assume that the other
person ‘knows what you mean’. Also the example sentences we use will
consist of sentences in isolation rather than as part of connected discourse.
Again this is because sentences in isolation have to be totally explicit to
convey meaning. For instance, ‘I have’ may be perfectly acceptable as part of
connected discourse, say in response to the accusation ‘you haven’t done the
dishes’, but it wouldn’t be very meaningful on its own. Using written
language and sentences in isolation, then, we can hope to grasp the main
concepts before using the analysis on spoken language.
So how do we set about describing a sentence in English? Well, it seems
clear that sentences are made up of units and that at one level these units are
words. So: a sentence consists of words or alternatively words are CONSTI¬
TUENTS of a sentence.
We can write this in a different way with a convenient shorthand. Using S
to stand for sentence, and an arrow, —to mean consists of, we can say
that:
Using the formula at (3), you should end up with the following analyses:
This analysis is reasonable as far as it goes but it suggests that, apart from
the number of words, sentences (4) and (5) are the same. The situation ;sn’t
really that straightforward. First, the sentence at (5) appears to be much
more complicated than the one at (4) and not just because of the number of
words it contains. The analysis we have used doesn’t capture that complex¬
ity. Second, the formula we have used for analysis has two purposes. It not
only serves to describe an already existent sentence (like the ones at (4) and
(5)), but also to tell us that this is the way in which we can make countless
other sentences in English. In other words, it says that to make a
syntactically well-formed English sentence all you have to do is string
together a series of words. To see if this works, I suggest you make up two
or three sentences using words from the following list:
(8) girl, that, the, likes, apple, buys, this, eats, dog
This string of words, I think you’ll agree, does not make up a well-formed
English sentence; the words are all English words, but they do not appear in
an order you would normally expect. Certain sorts of words, it seems, can
only appear in certain positions or in certain combinations. Word order is
very important in English (although this doesn’t mean that it carries the
same importance in all languages). When a sentence is produced that is not
syntactically well formed it is said to be UNGRAMMATICAL and is
preceded like (10) above by an asterisk.
Word Categories
Clearly there are rules governing the way in which words can be put
together to form syntactically well-formed or GRAMMATICAL sentences:
4 Tools for Analysis
the study of syntax aims to discover them and to describe and analyse
language in terms of these rules. To begin to do so, let’s look at a
grammatical sentence, for example:
Here we have changed the word order but the sentence still works. This
suggests that the words dog and girl are interchangeable. In other words, in
a sentence like this, either word will do in either position. Of course
changing the words over changes the meaning but the sentence is still well
formed; it is still a grammatical sentence. There are, however, words on the
list which cannot be used in the same position as dog and girl. For example:
In other words it seems that because girl and dog are interchangeable they
are the same type of word. They belong to the same WORD CATEGORY.
There is one other word on the list which can be used in the same position as
girl and dog; that is apple, as in:
Here we run into a bit of difficulty and you may wonder why the sentences
at (15b) and (15d) do not have an asterisk since they don’t seem to make
much sense. The reason is that the problem with these sentences lies with the
meaning, or the ideas being conveyed, and not with the grammatical
structure. The study of meaning in a language falls into the sphere of
semantics, which put simply looks at the relationship of words and their
meanings to each other, and pragmatics, which looks at the relationship of
words to the real world. Now, it is not normal in the real world for apples to
be capable of liking anything, so the sentences appear odd. However, if you
were to imagine a fantasy world, such as in a child’s story book, where
apples can happily become animate and engage in all sorts of activities
otherwise reserved for humans or animals, then it becomes perfectly
Tools for Analysis 5
possible for apples to like girls, dogs or anything else they choose. In writing
such a story you would need the facility to produce sentences such as those
at (15b) and (15d), which are grammatical sentences. It is important to keep
in mind the distinction between an ungrammatical sentence and one with an
‘odd’ meaning.
Nouns
To return to the example sentences, we can see that the words girl, dog and
apple can all be used in the same positions to produce a grammatical
sentence (although the meaning changes each time). That means they all
belong to the same word category. This category is called NOUN.
Nouns are often described as being the ‘name of something’ including
people and places and we’ll stick with this definition for the time being,
although there are some difficulties with it. For instance, it may be fairly
simple to sort out words like table or chair which refer to concrete things,
things we can see or touch, but abstract concepts like love or sincerity, or
names of days of the week, such as Monday, are not quite so easy to
determine as ‘things’. Nevertheless the words which represent these ideas
are nouns^ The ‘name of something’ definition is to some extent a semantic
one. That is, it suggests that we have to rely on knowing the meaning of the
word in order to be able to categorize it. This isn’t necessarily true; we can
and do use other clues as we shall see later.
However, on the above definition, we can now extract the nouns from the
list of words given at (8):
Using the term noun and the shorthand outlined at (3) above we can
describe all the sentences at (11), (12), and (15) as follows:
In this way we can use one formula to describe several sentences. What the
formula at (16) does is to tell us that in a sentence with this order or
structure we can put any noun on the list in the appropriate place and the
sentence will be grammatical. There might be some strange meanings but
the sentences will still be grammatical.
6 Tools for Analysis
If we return to example (11) (the girl likes the dog) you can doubtless pick
out two other words which are not nouns but are of the same type as each
other; i.e., the. You can now pick out the other words on the original list
which could be put in place of the-, that is, this, that.
These sentences can of course be repeated with dog in the place of girl and
girl in the place of dog, and so on.
Again, this, that and the are interchangeable. They also therefore belong
to the same word category, DETERMINER. Determiners are a small group
of words and they act to limit or determine to some extent the possible
range of things which the noun can refer to. For example, the noun girl can
refer to any girl in the entire universe; if we add this as in this girl in sentence
(17a), we are limiting the meaning to one specific girl.
The basic determiners are the ARTICLES:
INDEFINITE ARTICLE: a, an
DEFINITE ARTICLE: the
not
A word is a determiner if it can be used in place of, but not with an article:
There are other determiners which we will come back to in due course
(pp. 83-5). We can now extract the determiners from the original list of
words.
Perhaps you can begin to see why it’s useful when describing sentences to be
able to put words into categories. Instead of having to write out every
example of how individual words can be put together to form a sentence as
in the examples at (17), then write them all out again substituting different
nouns, we can say these sentences consist of:
In other words we can describe the structure of this sentence without saying
what each word actually is but rather what type or category of word can be
used. Where a determiner is indicated any determiner can be used; where a
noun is indicated any noun which normally functions with a determiner can
be used.
Verbs
We are now left with likes from the example sentence. Given the sentence:
pick out the other words on the original list (8) we could replace likes with.
They are:
Likes, eats, buys are all VERBS. As the examples below show, we can only
replace a word with another of the same type or category. In this case, with
another verb:
or a state, as in:
and that in the determiner space we can put any one of a number of
determiners, in the noun space we can put any one of a number of nouns
and in the verb space we can put any one of a number of verbs. Look at your
original example sentences. Do they all fit the pattern at (27)?
This isn’t the only way of making a sentence in English but it is one way
and if you think of all the determiners, nouns and verbs there are in the
English language, there is a fair number of sentences you could make up just
using this format. Using general categories means we can describe all these
sentences in just five words.
Describing a sentence in this way (example (27)) is an abstraction. We are
dealing with the structure of the sentence at an abstract level. Normally no
one goes around saying (or writing) ‘Determiner noun verb determiner
noun.’ But individual speakers produce particular sentences which conform
Tools for Analysis 9
and so on.
These examples all contain different words and have different meanings
but they share the same STRUCTURE or FORM. That is, all the example
sentences can be described in the same way.
Tree Diagrams
As stated before, both types of formula serve two purposes. First, they
describe sentences that we already know are grammatical sentences of
English; and second, they serve as a pattern or template to make more
sentences with. In other words, if we follow the pattern these formulae
represent we should, by and large, come up with some reasonable English
sentences. This gives us a much more detailed and informative description
than the one we originally used at (3), which only states that a sentence
consists of words. This new description tells us something about both word
order and the kinds of words which can go together. It describes sentences
in terms of the categories the individual words belong to. So as well as
saying that individual and specific words (e.g. girl, boy, this, that, likes, sees
etc.) are constituents of a sentence^, we can also say that word categories are
constituents of a sentence.
10 Tools for Analysis
However, to stop at the level of word categories misses out some important
facts. One is that in sentence (29), for instance, we have the same pattern of
constituents before and after the verb (that is DETERMINER + NOUN).
These two words also appear to belong together more closely than say the
-noun dog and the verb chased and if in fact we turn the sentence around to
get:
you can see that it is not only the nouns which change places but that they
take their determiners with them as well. Another way of illustrating that
these words belong together is to give the ‘girl’ and the ‘dog’ a name. Names
of specific items such as individual people, animals, places (for example
streets, towns, countries), days of the week, months of the year and so on
are called PROPER NOUNS. All other nouns are COMMON NOUNS.
Both types of noun can appear in the noun space. If we imagine that the girl
in example (29) is called Carol and the dog is called Henry we get:
Whichever pronoun you have considered appropriate, you will see that only
by substituting a pronoun for the determiner and the noun can you produce
a grammatical sentence. For example:
This suggests that in these examples and the example at (29) the pair of
words DETERMINER + NOUN, functions as a single unit. The pronoun
replaces the entire unit. We can therefore re-write the formula at (27) as
follows:
What we’re now saying is that there is a unit or constituent which can
consist of two words, DETERMINER + NOUN (e.g. that girl), or one
word, NOUN (e.g. Carol), PRONOUN (e.g. she). Whether it consists of one
or more than one word this unit is called a PHRASE. A phrase, then, can be
a unit or constituent within a sentence (S) which itself contains other units
or constituents. So we can change the diagram at (29) to:
(37) S
This description will also cover examples like (31). That is, the sentence
Henry chased Carol consists of a PHRASE A Henry, a VERB chased and a
PHRASE B Carol. The tree diagram will look like this:
m ^
PHRASE A VERB PHRASE B
NOUN NOUN
(40) S
PRO PRO
This method of substituting one form for another (e.g. PROPER NOUN/
PRONOUN for DETERMINER + NOUN) is a good way of finding out
whether or not two or more words constitute a phrase, and we will be using
it again later on.
A pronoun then replaces not just a noun, but an entire phrase, in this case
a NOUN PHRASE. Just as words can belong to different categories, so too
can phrases. We have already said that PHRASE A and PHRASE B in
example (37) are the same in that they both consist of a determiner followed
'by a noun. Probably the most important part of this combination is the
noun. Certainly it is the noun which gives us most information. If you can
imagine a typical newspaper headline based on the example at (37) it might
read:
(41) Dog chased girl
Tools for Analysis 13
It is most unlikely to read:
NP VERB NP
and
Exercise 1
Draw tree diagrams for the following sentences. Check your answers on page
129.
'I, a//^
Example: The dog wants a bone
VE RB
Subject
We now have a framework for description that tells us that certain kinds of
words can be grouped together in certain patterns to form sentences.
Presumably there is a reason for this patterning. Why in all our examples is
there a noun phrase at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb? If
there is no purpose or if it serves no function then why not put it somewhere
else? Take the example sentences at (33) and try moving constituents
around so that the NP doesn’t come first.
Moving the noun phrase in the example at (33a) for instance results in:
The first two examples are not grammatical in English. The third is, but the
meaning has changed. (You might have noted that we have also returned to
the NP + VERB + NP structure that we started with.) One way in which
the meaning has changed is that the dog is no longer doing the chasing; that
activity has transferred to the girl. Neither is the girl on the receiving end of
the chasing any more; that dubious honour has transferred to the dog. But
changing the noun phrases around has also changed the focus of our
attention. That is, we’re no longer talking about the dog, but about the girl,
first introducing her and then saying something about her (i.e. that she
chased a dog). The girl has become the SUBJECT (S for short) of the
sentence. In (33a) the dog is the subject, being introduced first, then having
something said about it (i.e. that it chased the girl). Changing these noun
phrases around has changed our understanding of the way the constituents
relate to one another. Go back through all the examples used so far (ignore
those at 18), (19) and (20)) and you should be able to pick out the subjects.
All the subjects occupy that first NP slot. In example (33a) then, the
constituent a dog can be described as both a noun phrase and the subject of
the sentence. This difference in definition is the difference between FORM
and FUNCTION; a noun phrase is what the constituent is, subject is what it
acts as or does. So although both the dog and the girl are noun phrases, their
functions differ according to their position in the sentence. (We will look at
the function of the noun phrase following the verb shortly (pp. 17—18).)
Tools for Analysis 15
Predicate
The rest of the sentence is called the PREDICATE. We’ve already noted that
what follows the subject is what is said about it and that is precisely what
the term predicate means. We can now divide all our sentences into this
two-way division, subject and predicate. For example:
'SVc-v'4'X
(46a) This girl likes that dog
SUBJECT = this girl; PREDICATE = likes that dog
(46b) The dog wants a bone
SUBJECT = the dog; PREDICATE = wants a bone
In all cases, however, the predicate contains a verb and where it consists of
only one word, that word is a verb. The form of the predicate is that of
VERB PHRASE (VP). A verb phrase can contain one constituent (e.g.
VERB, as in Carol cried) or more than one constituent (e.g. VERB + NP, as
in The dog wants a bone). (There are other types of constituent shown in
the examples at (48) which we will be considering in more detail later on
(pp. 37—55).
To show that the verb phrase constitutes one complete unit of a sentence
we can use a similar test to the one we used to show that a noun phrase
16 Tools for Analysis
You can try this test with the other examples at (48). In the same way that
we said the pronoun replaces an entire noun phrase (e.g. DET + NP) so the
form does!did (too) replaces an entire section of the sentence, the predicate
or verb phrase.
On a tree diagram the two-way split into noun phrase (subject) and verb
phrase (predicate) looks like this:
Tools for Analysis 17
(51a) S
NP VP
NOUN VERB
Carol cried
(SUBJECT = Carol; PREDICATE = cried)
(51b) S
NP VP
DET NOUN
What we’re saying here is that in the first analysis a sentence (S) can consist
of (—») a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP), or:
(52) S -* NP + VP
The verb phrase at (51b) looks more complicated than the one at (51a)
because of the noun phrase contained within it. The verb phrase at (51b)
can be represented as:
More on Trees
So far we have been using two ways of representing the structure of the
example sentences. One way is by the tree diagram as in the examples at
(51). One advantage of this method is that the HIERARCHY of the
constituents can be seen at a glance. What is meant by hierarchy is that some
constituents (e.g. S, NP, VP) contain other, smaller constituents (imagine a
set of Russian dolls). The larger constituents are higher up the tree or further
up in the hierarchy. It is easy to see from a tree diagram just what is
embedded or contained in what. Each point on the tree is called a NODE
and the nodes that are higher up the tree are said to DOMINATE those that
are further down. In other words, the S node dominates every other node
because it is the highest in the tree. Obviously it is closer to some nodes than
to others, especially the two resulting from the first division or BRANCH of
the tree, namely the NP and VP nodes. It is therefore said to IMMEDI¬
ATELY DOMINATE these two nodes. In the same way in example (51b),
the VP node not only dominates the VERB, NP, DET, and NOUN nodes
because it is higher up the tree, but it immediately dominates the VERB and
NP nodes because they are the first ones resulting from the branch at that
point.
The tree diagram also gives visual information on the function of the
constituents. In English, the subject of a sentence is that NP which is
immediately dominated by S (in example (51b) this girl), and the object is
that NP which is immediately dominated by VP (in example (51b) that dog).
Another way we have been using to represent structure is by ‘re-write
rules’, for example:
Tools for Analysis 19
where the symbols are used to show what the sentence can consist of. In
other words, whatever is on the left of the arrow can be replaced by or
described (re-written) in terms of whatever is on the right. Using the
shorthand versions V for VERB and N for NOUN, if we are told that:
(57a) S -> NP + VP
that:
(57b) VP -> V + NP
and that:
(57c) NP DET + N
NP VP
(58c)
(63) S -> NP + VP
VP -* V + NP
NP—> {(DET) + Nl
[PRO J
From these rules, then, we can make not only a sentence like (58c) using
both determiner and noun in each instance, but sentences like those at (39)
or (40). We can also create variations. For example we can get:
by using the option to have a determiner in the first NP but not the second,
and so on.
So why do we need these abstractions? Well, one of the main advantages
as stated before is that it becomes possible to describe the structure of many
sentences of English all at once. Obviously so far we have only described
very simple sentences; many sentences are far more complex, so we are not
saying that all sentences have to follow the pattern outlined or abstracted
above, just that some can and do.
Symbolizing structure in this way also shows up the regularities in the
way the various categories behave. For example, all nouns behave in similar
ways in that they occupy certain sentence positions. They also often occur
with determiners (no other category does this). Observing regularities in
behaviour is one way of categorizing words or phrases. In other words we
can say that a word is a noun because it behaves in the same way as other
nouns. This is a better definition than the one we used earlier because it
covers for example ABSTRACT NOUNS like love, or sincerity which didn’t
obviously fit the previous definition. The same argument applies to catego¬
rizing words as verbs and we will be looking more closely at the behaviour
of verbs in due course.
Exercise 2
A useful exercise would be to try constructing three or four sentences using the
rules at (57) (see example at (58), page 19). Suggested examples are given on
pages 130 and 131.
Now draw tree diagrams for the following:
N V NP
An ADVERB (or Adv for short) is another word category. As far as meaning
is concerned, adverbs often add information in relation to circumstances of
manner, time, or place; in other words, they answer the questions ‘How?’,
‘When?’, ‘Where?’ For example:
very loudly is the adverb phrase. In this case, loudly is the circumstance
adverb (Adv) and very is a DEGREE ADVERB (deg). A degtee adverb, as its
name suggests, tells us to what degree something is done, as in very loudly.
Other degree adverbs include words like quite, too, highly, extremely, more,
less, rather and so on. Again, just as an adverb is said to modify a verb, so a
degree adverb is here said to modify or limit the sense of an adverb. For
instance, if Ken is snoring very loudly, then he can’t be snoring rather
loudly. A test to classify a degree adverb is that it cannot normally appear
on its own in the AdvP slot, unlike the adverbs in the examples at (1). We
would not judge the following to be grammatical:
What is the constitution of the following adverb phrases? (See page 134.)
r »
extremely fast
seriously
too loudly
The tree diagram for (2), where the adverb phrase modifies the verb, would
show the AdvP as:
More on Categories IS
(5) S
NP VP
N V AdvP
deg Adv
You will notice that the verb phrase (predicate) in this example consists of
V + AdvP (i.e. V + AdvP are both dominated by VP). You can tell that
these two constituents form the predicate by using the substitution test we
used earlier (see pages 15 and 16). That is:
(9a)
Compare (9a), (9b) and (9c) with the example at (5). Which node
immediately dominates the AdvP in (9a), (9b) and (9c), and which in (5)?
How do you explain this difference?
As you will have noticed, because sentence adverbs modify the whole
sentence and can appear in more than one position, the AdvP node is
immediately dominated by the S node, not by the VP node as at example (5)
where the adverb phrase modifies the verb. As a very general test, if the
adverb phrase fits easily into other sentence positions then it is modifying
the whole sentence rather than just the verb. You can check this by using a
sentence adverb in the example at (5):
More on Categories 27
(10a) Unfortunately Ken snores
(10b) Ken unfortunately snores
(10c) Ken snores unfortunately
function: A
Exercise 3
Draw tree diagrams for the following sentences and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 134-5.)
NP VP
PRO V AdvP
He advertises nationally
He advertises nationally
S P A
NP
Sally
Once again you can check that the PP forms part of the predicate and is
therefore dominated by the VP node by using the substitution test we used
before:
(20) PP-*P(+NP)
u
That is, in some cases a prepositional phrase will have one constituent (e.g.
up), in some cases it will have two (e.g. up + the chimney). Some preposi¬
tions can only occur with a following noun phrase (e.g. during) in which
case the option (+ NP) must be taken up.
There is a similarity in the examples at (16) and (17) between a
prepositional phrase and an adverb phrase. If you remember, we said that
one of the features of adverbs and adverb phrases is that they can answer the
questions ‘How?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ Here the prepositional phrase is doing
the same thing by telling us where Sally looked. In another example, the PP
might answer the question ‘When?’ as in:
PP-^ P (+ NP)
function: A
Exercise 4
Draw tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 135-7.)
NP VP
N V PP
DET N
monly occur with nouns. For instance, the dog and the girl in our earlier
examples could have the adjectives fat and thin added to them:
In this example the adjectives are said to modify the nouns. Just as an
adverb with a verb, an adjective works to more narrowly define the sense of
the noun by ascribing certain attributes or characteristics to it. For example,
if the dog is fat then it can’t be thin, and so on.
Again, an adjective is a constituent of a sentence both at word level and at
phrase level where it becomes an ADJECTIVE PHRASE (AP). An adjective
phrase, like all other phrases, can consist of one or more than one word. For
example: *
(26) The disgustingly fat dog chased the amazingly thin girl
In (26) the adjectives fat and thin are being modified by the adverb phrases
disgustingly and amazingly. These adverb phrases form part of the adjective
phrase:
(27a) AP
AdvP A
Adv
The adverb phrase itself can also have more than one constituent. For
example:
(28) The quite disgustingly fat dog chased the amazingly thin girl
(29) AP
(30) AP (AdvP) + A
When adjectives and adjective phrases work in this way to modify nouns,
they form part of the noun phrase. You can check that this is so by
substituting the pronoun it as we did before (see pages 10-12).
It is, of course, possible to modify a noun with more than one adjective as
in:
The analysis of noun phrases containing more than one adjective can be
quite complex, so we will look at these and at tree-diagram analysis when
we consider the noun phrase in more detail (see pages 85—9).
Adjectives and adjective phrases don’t have to appear with nouns
(although they often do). They can also appear in structures like:
The tree diagram for this adjective phrase is the same as that at (29), but as
you can see, the adjective phrase no longer appears as part of a noun phrase,
as it does at (31); there is no noun for it to modify.
Many but not all adjective phrases can appear in either structure. For
example we can have:
or:
but not:
We will discuss the function of adjective phrases later when we look in more
detail at the verb phrase (pp. 46-8 and pp. 52-3) and the noun phrase
(pp. 85-9).
AP -» (AdvP) + A
You will no doubt be delighted to learn that these are all the categories we
shall be concerned with for the time being. It is interesting that intuitively
native speakers of a language know (albeit subconsciously) how these
abstractions or categories work anyway. If you take a look at Lewis
Carroll’s famous poem ‘Jabberwocky’ (opposite) you’ll see what I mean.
Try to work out how you can follow this poem without knowing the
meaning of the nonsense words and what clues you use to categorize them.
More on Categories 35
Jabberwocky
Summary of Rules
AP -> (AdvP) + A
function: A
PP-* P (+ NP)
function: A
Transitive Verb
If we look again at an example used earlier, This girl likes that dog (see
pages 17 and 18), you will remember that we said that the NP that dog was
functioning as the direct object of the verb likes and that the verb likes was a
TRANSITIVE VERB. A verb phrase using a transitive verb normally has to
have a direct object to be complete, as can be seen from the ungrammatic¬
ally of:
The tree diagram for (2a), now including the verb class, is as shown in (4a)
below:
The functions of the various constituents are the same as outlined before
(pages 17—18), that is:
where, you will remember, S is short for subject, P for predicator, and dO
for direct object.
Exercise 5
Draw trees for the following examples, then analyse them in terms of function.
(Check your analyses on pages 137-8.)
Intransitive Verb
(6a) S
NP VP
N V
[intrans]
Ken snores
Exercise 6
Again, draw trees for the following examples, then analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 138-9.)
However, what has been said so far doesn’t mean that nothing else can
appear in a sentence with an intransitive verb. There are other constituents
which can occur with this class of verb. However, such constituents are
optional rather than obligatory. In other words, they can appear, but unlike
the NP in a verb phrase using a transitive verb, they don’t have to.
Constituents which act as adverbials (e.g. AdvP and PP) behave in this way.
So the examples at (5) can become for instance:
(7a) S (7b) S
NP VP NP VP
N V AdvP DET N V PP
[intrans] [intrans]
deg Adv P NP
Exercise 7
Using the following examples, draw trees which show the class of the verb, then
analyse the sentences in terms of function. (Check your analyses on pages
140-3.)
Ditransitive Verb
the verb is followed by two noun phrases, the children and a story. In a
sentence with this structure it is the second noun phrase, a story, which is
the direct object of the verb told; in other words a story is what is being told.
The other noun phrase, the children, is the indirect object (iO); in other
words the children are the recipients of the direct object, a story.
(9a) S
NP VP
N V NP NP
[ditrans]
DET N DET N
you can again see that gave is followed by two noun phrases, Oxfam and a
jumper. Again, the second noun phrase, a jumper is the direct object of the
verb since that is what is being given, and the first noun phrase Oxfam is the
indirect object, the recipient of the direct object.
As with a transitive verb, a verb phrase using a ditransitive verb is not
really complete without both objects; they are obligatory, not optional. This
is not quite as easy to exemplify because within the context of a conversa¬
tion, the question What did Sue give to Oxfam? might receive the reply:
Such a reply would not be regarded as incomplete within that context but
this is because the phrase to Oxfam is understood from the preceding
utterance. It is not therefore necessary to repeat it (as in She gave a jumper
to Oxfam). Without this information the reply at (11) could not stand
alone.
You may have noticed from the above that there is another way of
phrasing the indirect object. We have been saying that Sue gave a jumper to
Oxfam. Thus:
Similarly:
To, you will remember, is a preposition and in these examples it has joined
with the noun phrases Oxfam and the children to form prepositional
phrases. So far we have only looked at prepositional phrases which function
as adverbials. Here we are showing another function; that of indirect object.
A constituent which functions as an indirect object then can have either the
form of an NP (examples (12) and (14)) or the form of a PP (examples (13)
and (15)).
The tree for a ditransitive verb incorporating a PP is:
(16a) S
PP^ P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
You may also have noticed that the direct and indirect objects occupy
different positions in the sentence according to whether two noun phrases
44 The Verb Phrase
(NP + NP) or a noun phrase and a prepositional phrase (NP + PP) are
used. In the original example at (10) using NP + NP the sequence is:
(17) S P iO dO
Sue gave Oxfam a jumper
as opposed to:
(18) S P dO iO
Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
VP —» ditransitive verb + iO + dO
iO -> NP
dO NP
OR
Exercise 8
Draw trees for the following sentences, classifying the verbs. (Check your
analyses on pages 145-6.)
Now analyse the same sentences and the following set of sentences in terms of
function.
46 The Verb Phrase
Intensive Verb
In each of these examples what is given after the verb relates back to the
subjects, describing their states. The bit that comes after the verb functions
as the SUBJECT COMPLEMENT, shorthand version sC. Although the
functions of all these bits are the same, the forms, as you may have noticed
are different. In the first example, an NP functions as the sC (subject
complement), and in the second, a PP functions as the sC. (22c) corresponds
to a structure we looked at earlier when discussing the adjective phrase (AP)
(pages 31—4). This example illustrates one function of the adjective phrase;
that is, sC (subject complement). The intensive verbs are the only class of
verb that can appear in the kind of construction at (22c), where the VP is
completed by an AP alone.
We can now update the ‘rules to remember’ for adjective phrases and
prepositional phrases to incorporate this sC function.
AP (AdvP) + A
function: sC
PP-* P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
It is important to note that verbs in the intensive verb class, like transitive
and ditransitive verbs, are incomplete on their own. In other words, some
sort of sC is obligatory, as can be seen from:
Whereas all (and only) intensive verbs can appear with just the category AP,
the verb be is the only intensive verb which can appear with any of the
categories at (22) (i.e. NP, PP, AP). For example, we can have:
but not:
or:
The tree diagrams for the examples at (22) are quite straightforward.
(27b) S
NP VP
N N
[intens]
DET N
VP —» intensive verb + sC
sC —> NP or PP or AP
Exercise 9
Draw tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse them in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 145-8.)
Complex-transitive Verb
With this type of verb, two elements are obligatory to complete the verb
phrase, in these cases, two noun phrases.
The tree diagram for (29b) is:
(30)
NP VP
N V NP NP
[complex] j
N DET N
Some verbs can belong to more than one verb class. Elected, for instance,
can also be classified as a transitive verb, as in:
where it occurs simply with the direct object Mary. When it appears in a
complex-transitive verb slot, however, an object complement (oC) is
necessary (in example (29a), president, which relates back to Mary).
The structure of the sentence at (30) is also, you may have noticed, very
similar to that given at (9a) to illustrate a ditransitive verb. That is, in both
cases the verb phrase is completed by two consecutive NPs.
Exercise 10
Try the above test with the following examples. Draw trees to indicate the verb
classification and analyse in terms of function. (See analyses on page 149.)
An object complement can also take the form of a PP. For example:
Both these verb phrases are incomplete without the second constituent, the
PP:
PP^ P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
Exercise 11
Draw trees for the examples at (36) showing the different verb classification and
analysing in terms of function. Now try it with the following examples. (Check your
analyses on pages 150-1.)
Again the object complement (oC) refers to the direct object (dO) (in these
cases Kate and John) and again both constituents are compulsory with a
complex-transitive verb. The tree diagram for (38a) is as follows:
The Verb Phrase 53
(39)
NP VP
N V NP AP
[complex]
N A
AP (AdvP) + A
function: 1. sC
2. oC
e.g. 1. Sue seems unhappy
The dog is (quite disgustingly) fat
2. John made Kate angry
VP—»complex-transitive verb + dO + oC
dO^ NP
oCNP or PP or AP
Prepositional Verb
PP^ P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
(42) S
VP
DET N
VP -^prepositional verb + pO
pO^PP
e.g. The children — glanced - at the pictures
Exercise 12
Draw trees for the following examples and analyse them in terms of function.
(Check your analyses on pages 151-3.)
Imperative
These examples use a different structure from those we have looked at so far
and can be analysed:
(46a) S
VP
(46b)
(47a)
AdvP
DET N Adv
can be, and probably usually is, interpreted as an instruction rather than a
question.
The term imperative therefore refers to the structure of the sentence
rather than its function in conversation.
Exercise 13
Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 153-8.)
Summary of Rules
Verb Classes
VP —» complex-transitive verb + dO + oC
dO-^ NP
oC —» NP or PP or AP
OR
VP —» ditransitive verb + dO + iO
dO -* NP
iO -»PP
Phrases
AP -> (AdvP) + A
function: 1. sC
2. oC
PP^ P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
e.g. 1. Sally looked up
Sally looked up the chimney
2. Sue gave a jumper to Oxfam
3. George is in the garden
4. Carol put the car in the garage
5. The children glanced at the pictures
4 The Verb Group
These elements, one or more than one, form the VERB GROUP (Vgp).
The verb groups in the examples at (la—lc) have something in common in
that they all include the verb hug in one form or another (i.e. hugged,
hugging). This is the part of these verb groups which carries the meaning
and is called the LEXICAL VERB (V). All complete verb groups have to
include a lexical verb which appears last in the group and forms the HEAD
of the verb group. The lexical verb can appear alone as in (la) or with
additional elements as in (lb) {was) and (lc) (has been). These additional
elements are called AUXILIARIES (AUX) {auxiliary meaning additional or
giving help). Auxiliary verbs modify the lexical verb by indicating MOD¬
ALITY, or ASPECT or VOICE. In addition, the verb group may signify
TENSE and for reasons given below, TENSE will also be included under the
category auxiliary.
To describe the constituents of a sentence more accurately then, the tree
diagrams should detail the verb group. In other words, a diagram should
show that a verb phrase (VP) consists initially of a verb group (Vgp), and
62 The Verb Group
that the verb group consists of auxiliaries (AUX) and a lexical verb (V). For
example, for a verb phrase incorporating a transitive verb we would have:
Since the VP consists initially of a Vgp rather than just a lexical verb, it is the
Vgp node which will indicate verb class. To see how this works we’ll look in
more detail at tense, modality, aspect and voice.
s*
Tense
There are two tenses in English: PRESENT and PAST. (Future does not
exist as a tense in English but is indicated in other ways, for example by use
of auxiliaries.) These tenses affect the form of the lexical verb as in:
The verb hug is a regular verb in that it takes the ending -ed to form the past
tense, as do many other verbs in English. Irregular verbs appear in a variety
of forms. For example:
You can doubtless think of many others. In sentences such as those above,
tense is signified by the form of the lexical verb. In more complex
verb-group structures this is not the case. So that we can see how tense
works more clearly, it is helpful to analyse it as part of the auxiliary group.
By giving tense a node on the tree diagram, it is possible to separate it out
from other elements in the verb group. For example:
The Verb Group 63
(6a) S
(6b)
NP VP
N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUXV DET N
TENSE
You can see from these diagrams how tense affects the form of the following
verb; that is, it dictates the type of ending the next part of the verb group (in
these cases the lexical verb) will have. Each constituent of AUX has the
effect of dictating the ending of the following part of the verb group in a
kind of knock-on effect. Tense is one part of this.
Exercise 14
Practise drawing tree diagrams incorporating Vgp for the examples at (4) and (5).
(Check your analyses on pages 158-9.)
64 The Verb Group
Modal Auxiliaries
will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must, ought to
and marginally:
A modal auxiliary does not carry tense and is indicated on the tree diagram,
immediately dominated by the AUX node as follows:
NP VP
AUX V DET N
MOD
The form of the lexical verb hug is again different from those we looked
at when considering tense ((6a) and (6b)). A verb group incorporating a
modal auxiliary however has no tense so it is the modal auxiliary that has
served to dictate the verb form hug in example (10). The form of the verb
which appears after a modal is called the INFINITIVE. The infinitive carries
no endings either for person (as in (she) hug-s) or for tense (as in hugg-ed). It
can appear with the particle to, to + infinitive, as in to hug, or as a bare
infinitive (without to) as in hug. It is the second form, the bare infinitive,
that follows a modal. Most infinitive forms are fairly straightforward and
can be arrived at either from the present- or past-tense forms. For example,
walk-s or walk-ed become (to) walk. Others are a little less simple. For
example, find-s becomes found in the past tense; the infinitive form is (to)
find. Most notoriously irregular is the verb to be: its infinitive form doesn’t
appear again as part of the other forms.
A modal auxiliary then always appears with the infinitive form of the
following verb (in (10) the lexical verb) and so we can find constructions
like:
and so on.
The function of the entire Vgp is that of Predicator (?). That is:
Exercise 15
Draw the tree diagrams for the sentences at (11a) to (Ilf) incorporating
Vgp analysis. (Check your analyses on pages 160-1.)
Primary Auxiliaries
Auxiliary verbs which are not modals are called PRIMARY auxiliaries.
These are:
have, be, do
For now we’ll restrict our attention to have and be and the way these two
signify aspect and voice.
The meaning of the term aspect is not easy to define but has to do with
time and the relationship of actions or states to periods of time or duration.
It is much easier to define aspect in terms of its formal features (i.e. the form
the verb group takes to signify aspect). There are two kinds of aspect:
PERFECT and PROGRESSIVE.
Perfect Aspect
Perfect aspect (PERF) is indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb have.
For example:
(14)
NP VP
N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N DET N
TENSE PERF
You can see from this diagram that TENSE (past) has dictated the form of
the following verb, the auxiliary have, realizing had. The perfect auxiliary
have similarly dictates the form of the verb which follows it, in this case the
lexical verb give. The form of the verb which always follows the perfect
auxiliary is called the PAST PARTICIPLE. It is important to remember,
however, that the past in past participle does not refer to tense (which can
be present as in (13a)) but to the form of the verb. As far as the verb finish is
concerned ((13a)), the past-participle form is realized in the same way as the
past-tense form, by the addition of -ed, as it is for many other verbs. Give,
however, is an irregular verb with a past-tense form gave and a past-
participle form given. Because of these irregular verbs, the past-participle
form is also referred to as the -en form. This distinguishes it from the regular
-ed past-tense form.
Again, the function of the entire Vgp is Predicator (P).
Exercise 16
Draw the tree diagrams for the following examples and analyse in terms of
function. (Check your analyses on pages 162-4.)
The modal auxiliary can also combine with the perfect, in which case tense
cannot feature. Although different types of auxiliary may appear together,
each type can only appear once in any verb-group structure. For example a
modal auxiliary (MOD) plus perfect aspect (PERF) plus the lexical verb (V)
could produce:
(16)
NP VP
N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
itrans]
AUX V DET N DET N
MOD PERF
Notice that the modal auxiliary may is followed by the infinitive have. (If
you remember, modals are always followed by infinitives.) The perfect
auxiliary have is followed by the -en (or past-particle) form given. In this
way each element of the verb group dictates the shape or form of the
following one.
You may also notice that the auxiliaries appear in a fixed order. We have
already said that the lexical verb is always last (in this case given) but it is
also the case that when both modal and perfect auxiliaries are used, the
modal always precedes the perfect. You can test this by trying it out the
other way around as in:
Exercise 17
Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 164-6.)
Progressive Aspect
The other kind of aspect is called progressive aspect (PROG) and this is
indicated by the presence of the auxiliary verb be. For example:
The tree diagram incorporating the verb group and the progressive auxiliary
is:
70 The Verb Group
(19) S
NP VP
N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N D :t n
TENSE PROG
Again the tense is shown on the first element in the verb group; present tense
is in (18a) and past tense was in (18b).
The form of the verb which follows the progressive auxiliary is called the
PRESENT PARTICIPLE. It is easy to spot as it is the -ing form of the verb.
The progressive can also combine with modal and/or perfect auxiliaries.
Again, each type of auxiliary may appear only once in the verb group and if
modal appears, then tense cannot. For example:
No matter what combination of auxiliary verbs you may have, they will
always appear in the same set order. That is, tense or modal (if used)
precedes both perfect (if used) and progressive (if used); perfect (if used)
precedes progressive (if used). They all precede the lexical verb. That is:
Exercise 18
Draw the tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check
your analyses on pages 166-8.)
Then, using the modal must where modal is indicated, construct the verb groups
for the following.
Passive Voice
(23) S
NP VP
DET N
AUX V DET N
TENSE
it
A dog (past) chased that girl
You will remember that we said that the subject of a sentence is that NP
which is immediately dominated by S; the object is that NP which is
immediately dominated by VP. In the above sentence then a dog is the
subject; that girl is the object. These terms subject and object refer to the
grammatical relations holding between constituents and have to do with
sentence position. In order to explain the passive, we will look at the
semantic relations of these constituents. (Remember semantics is the study
of meaning.) In (23), a dog is not only the grammatical subject of the
sentence but is also the agent of the action. That is, the dog is not only the
focus of our attention, or what is being talked about, but it is also the
character doing the chasing. Similarly, that girl is not only the grammatical
object of the verb chased, she is also the character being chased or acted
upon; she has the role of affected. To change this sentence from active to
passive we first switch the positions of agent and affected:
Clearly though this has changed the meaning. In order to retain the original
meaning (i.e. that the dog was doing the chasing (agent), the girl was being
chased (affected)) the verb group has to be modified:
All this may seem fairly complicated and you should remember that passives
are in a minority. However, they do have their uses. For example, in passive
sentences, specifying agent is optional, which may be quite handy as in, for
instance:
(25 a) Active
I committed a heinous crime last night
(25b) Passive
A heinous crime was committed last night (by me)
As far as the verb group is concerned, you will be able to see that the passive
(PASS) is signified within the verb group by the presence of the verb be.
Since in the examples at (24c) and (25b) this is the first element of the verb
group, tense is shown on this element (i.e. past in both cases). When it is
acting as a passive auxiliary, the verb be is followed by the past participle or
-en form. This differentiates it from be acting as a progressive auxiliary
when it is followed by the present participle or -ing form. On the tree
diagram, the passive is shown as:
(26) S
NP VP
DET N Vgp PP
You can see from the tree that the affected, that girl, now appears in the
subject position (i.e. the NP node immediately dominated by S); the agent is
still a dog but this noun phrase now follows the verb as part of a
prepositional phrase, by a dog (functioning as adverbial (A)).
As far as grammatical relations are concerned, it is the noun phrase which
filled the direct-object slot which now appears in the subject position. It is
therefore only those verbs which are otherwise incomplete without a
grammatical object that allow for the passive structure, that is, transitive,
ditransitive, complex-transitive and prepositional.
74 The Verb Group
Passives can also appear with other auxiliaries. So, for example we could
have
(30) S
1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en
+ LEXICAL VERB
Exercise 19
Analyse the following in terms of form and function. (Check your analyses on
pages 169-70.)
Using the modal must where modal is indicated, construct the verb groups for the
following:
Do
there is no other auxiliary verb already present. For example you can make
a straightforward statement like:
but in order to make the same statement negative the verb requires do
support, as in:
(or I don’t like bananas). If one of the other auxiliaries is already present,
this process is not needed, as in:
You can also see that, for questions, the auxiliary verb (do in (34) and must
in (35)) and the subject you change places in the sentence.
Another function for do as an auxiliary is to provide emphasis. For
example:
(37) S
NP VP
PRO Vgp NP
[trans] |
AUX " V N
do + infinitive
Exercise 20
Analyse the following sentences in terms of both form and function. (Check your
analyses on pages 171-4.)
Summary of Rules
1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en
+ LEXICAL VERB
do + infinitive
5 The Noun Phrase
In the example sentences we have used so far the noun phrases have mainly
been simple, consisting of either DET + N,1 or just N. The quick introduc¬
tion to adjectives and adjective phrases in chapter 2 (pp. 31—4) though
indicates that a noun phrase can contain other elements within it. We can
now look at the possible constituents of the noun phrase in more detail.
We said earlier that the most meaningful part of a noun phrase is the
noun. It is the obligatory constituent and is the HEAD of the noun phrase.
There are different types of noun; we have already mentioned common,
proper and abstract nouns. We also said that a noun phrase could consist of
a PRONOUN and this is the category we will look at in most detail in the
next section.
Pronouns
Examples of pronouns we have used so far include you, he, her, as in:
is to refer to a specific she, and one who we presume the hearer or reader
can identify.
Unlike the nouns in noun phrases, some of the personal pronouns have
different forms according to their sentence position. For example the nouns
in the following two examples are the same in either position:
can become:
and:
can become:
(24a)
NP VP
DET N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N
TENSE
(24b)
NP VP
PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N
TENSE
She
Someone (past) rang the doorbell
Who
She
Someone (past) rang the doorbell
Who
S P dO
Noun phrases, then, can consist of one constituent, the head (e.g. PRO), or
more than one constituent (e.g. DET + N). Where other constituents do
exist, they form part of the noun phrase and are said to modify the head
noun. Constituents which modify the head noun can appear before it or
after it. Those which appear before the head noun are called PRE¬
MODIFIERS; those which appear after the head noun are called POST¬
MODIFIERS. We will look at pre-modifiers first.
Pre-modification
Determiners
We have already looked at the basic determiners (page 6), which are the
indefinite article, a/an and the definite article, the. Other determiners are:
84 The Noun Phrase
You should have noticed that pronouns appear on their own to form the
noun phrase; determiners appear with a head noun.
Genitives
Apart from the list above, the possessive determiner can also be realized as a
phrase, for example:
where there is an NP {this boy, Kate) + ’s. These possessive phrases (POSS)
or genitives take the sentence position normally occupied by the determiner
as in:
(27a)
NP VP
DET N Vgp AP
[intens]
POSS
AUX V AdvP A
(28a)
NP VP
DET N . Vgp
[intrans]
POSS
NP
N TENSE PROG
Adjective phrases (AP) are also used to pre-modify nouns. We looked briefly
at the constitution of adjective phrases earlier (pages 31-4). Using the
example we used then, we said that the dog in The dog chased a girl could
86 The Noun Phrase
also be the fat dog. The adjective fat slots in between the determiner (the)
and the noun (dog) so that the noun phrase is expanded. That is:
Remember that an adjective phrase, like any other phrase, can consist of one
or more than one element (e.g. fat, very fat). Within the NP, then, the AP
has the function of pre-modifying the head. However, when analysing
function we will continue to label only the higher level sentence function of
the entire NP, in this case either the dog or the fat dog. In the sentences at
(29) these noun phrases are the subjects and the entire noun phrase with or
without a pre-modifying adjective phrase is analysed as such.
To see how this works, substitute a pronoun for the noun phrase. Using
the pronoun it for the subject, see what it replaces in (29a) and (29b).
In (29a) it replaces the dog and in (29b) it replaces the fat dog. So the
function analysis for (29a) and (29b) is the same. That is:
Now the question arises of how this new-look noun phrase is analysed in
terms of its constituent parts and how it appears on a tree diagram. One
possibility is:
(31a) S
NP VP
DET AP N Vgp NP
[trans]
A AUX V D :t n
TENSE
You will remember though that one of the reasons we had for forming
individual constituents into phrases was that they seemed to belong closely
together (as with DET and N, for example). One way we have of testing this
is to substitute a pronoun, as we have just done, to see what is replaced. In
the above examples, ((29) and (30)) this showed us that the three consti¬
tuents determiner, adjective phrase and noun all belonged together to form
one phrase, the noun phrase.
However, it is also the case that fat and dog seem to belong together more
closely than the and fat or the and dog. Perhaps then the two constituents
AP and N form a separate phrasal constituent at a lower level within the
NP. We can test this suggestion by using a WH-determiner to question the
statement at (29b) as follows:
In the answer at (32b), the determiner that replaces the determiner which,
but the term one replaces not just dog, but fat dog. So the three elements
which + fat + dog have been replaced by two, that + one. The need for the
determiner remains constant but because the two elements fat and dog can
be replaced by one element (i.e. one), this means that they function together
at this level as a single unit or constituent. If two elements function as one
constituent, they should have their own exclusive node within the tree. In
the above diagram, the elements fat and dog do not have such a node. They
are both dominated by the NP node but this is not exclusive since it also
includes DET. We must therefore create a system which shows not only that
the three elements the + fat + dog form one constituent (that is, dominated
by the NP node), but that the elements fat + dog also form a complete
constituent within that larger one. What we can do then is to break the
subject noun phrase down as follows:
(33)
NP VP
DET ?? Vgp NP
[trans]
AP N AUX V DET N
A TENSE
(34) S
a
DET
AP N
I
A TENSE
Noun phrases can contain more than one adjective as the earlier example
the fat brown dog indicates. That is:
In the same way that the dog in example (29a), and the fat dog in example
(29b) form one noun phrase, so too does the fat brown dog, even though it
has more constituent parts. Try again the substitution test by replacing the
subject noun phrase in (35) with the pronoun it.
We now have to work out how to show this noun phrase on the tree
diagram and will start by looking at the question:
(36) Do you like this fat brown dog or that thin one?
Do you understand one in this question to mean dog or brown dog? If you
understand it to mean the latter then one is replacing brown + dog, in
which case these two elements form one unit. Again, this unit is smaller than
The Noun Phrase 89
an NP, but larger than an N, so is labelled N'. This is represented on the tree
diagram for (35) below:
(37) S
NP VP
DET N’
AUX V DET N
A AP N TENSE
For present purposes we will follow this interpretation and use the structure
at (37).
We can now update the rules for adjective phrases:
AP (AdvP) + A
function: 1. sC
2. oC
OR
Exercise 21
Draw trees for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 175-7.)
90 The Noun Phrase
Nouns
The analysis should reflect the fact that the noun pre-modifier and the head
noun are so closely linked. We can do this by including them both under the
name N node:
(41) S
NP VP
PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N1
TENSE AP N
A N N
Exercise 22
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on page 178.)
Post-modification
As stated before, constituents which modify the head noun can also appear
after the noun. Such constituents are post-modifiers. Here we will look at
two ways to post-modify a noun:
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: e.g. The dog chased the cat with three legs
RELATIVE CLAE1SE: e.g. The cat which is lying on the mat hates dogs
Just as an adjective before the noun, the prepositional phrase after the noun
is acting to modify the noun by more narrowly defining or describing it. The
prepositional phrase belongs closely to the cat and forms part of the noun
phrase. Its function within the noun phrase is to post-modify the head noun;
at a higher level, the function of the entire noun phrase (including the
prepositional phrase) is that of direct object of the sentence. We can check
that the prepositional phrase forms part of the noun phrase by again
substituting the pronoun it for the direct object of the sentence at (42):
92 The Noun Phrase
As you can see, it has replaced the entire expression the cat with three legs,
not just the cat.
Compare this to a sentence where a prepositional phrase is functioning as
an adverbial:
If we use the pronoun it to replace the direct object in this sentence we get:
Here it has only replaced the expression the cat. In this example, the cat and
up the tree are separate constituents.
Another way to check this is to move the direct-object NPs in each
example to the subject position (as in the passive):
(46) The cat with three legs was chased (by the dog)
(47) The cat was chased up the tree (by the dog)
In (46) it is the determiner and noun (the cat) plus the prepositional phrase
which moves to subject position thereby functioning as one unit. In (47) it is
only the noun phrase the cat which moves, leaving the separate PP
constituent behind.
Again we have to consider the tree analysis for this type of NP. If we look
solely at the noun phrase the cat with three legs we could suggest an analysis
of:
This though runs into the same type of problem that we had with adjective
phrases in that if we ask the question:
(49) Do you prefer this cat with three legs or that one
the need for a determiner remains constant but the term one is understood
as replacing cat with three legs, not just cat. The phrase cat with three legs
must then function at this level as a constituent separate from DET and the
tree diagram should show this, as below:
(50a) S
NP VP
DET N Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V DET N'
TENSE N PP
P NP
AP N
(50b) The dog (past) chased the cat with three legs
S P dO
The intermediate constituent cat with three legs is again labelled N' to
indicate that it is smaller than NP but larger than N.
Compare (50a) to the tree diagram for (44):
94 The Noun Phrase
(51a)
NP VP
D L7 N Vgp NP PP
[trans]
AUX V DET N NP
TENSE DET N
Again we can update the rules for a prepositional phrase to include this
function:
PP^ P (+ NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
OR
Exercise 23
Draw tree diagrams for the following showing the difference between a PP
post-modifying an NP and a PP functioning as adverbial. (Check your analyses on
pages 179-82.)
Relative clause
If we take the relative clause out of the above example, you can see that it
almost forms another S in its own right:
(53a)
NP VP
PRO Vgp PP
[prep]
AUX V p NP
(54) The girl who was chased by the dog was crying
Although we have extracted the example at (53) from the full sentence at
(52), it doesn’t quite form an S on its own because it doesn’t really make
sense on its own. You can’t, for instance, just say ‘Which was lying on the
mat’ in isolation. On the other hand, the part of the sentence which is left
when (53) has been extracted, does make sense on its own.
That is:
There seem to be then two Ss in the example at (52); one more complete
than the other. The one that is more complete (i.e. the cat loves dogs) is
called the MAIN CLAUSE (Si). The other chunk (i.e. which is lying on the
mat) is a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (S2). In this case the type of subordinate
clause is a relative clause. (There are other types of subordinate clause which
we will come to later (pp. 101—20).) The point about a relative clause is that
it functions to post-modify a head noun, in this case the cat. As with our
other examples of post-modifiers, this means that the NP the cat and the
relative clause which is lying on the mat both function together at a higher
level as one constituent; the subject NP of the sentence. Again you can test
that this is one constituent by substituting a pronoun:
The cat which (pres) is lying on the mat (pres) loves dogs
(58b) The cat which (pres) is lying on the mat (pres) loves dogs
5 P dO
Again, cat which is lying on the mat is also analysed as one constituent (N')
because it can be replaced by one, as in:
(59) Do you prefer this cat which is lying on the mat or that one?
Although the subordinate relative clause (S2) has been analysed here in
terms of its constituent parts, we will in future be considering these and
other types of subordinate clause in their entirety, that is, as whole units.
When a constituent is being considered as a whole unit and not in terms of
its individual components it is notated on the tree diagram by a triangle,
thus:
98 The Noun Phrase
(60) S,
N S2 AUX V N
TENSE
Exercise 24
Using triangle notation, draw tree diagrams for the following sentences and
analyse them in terms of function. (Check your analyses on pages 182-6.)
Summary of Rules
AP (AdvP) + A
function: 1. Sc
2. oC
OR
PP^ P (+ NP)
functions: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
OR
We saw in chapter 5 (pp. 95-8) that it is possible to have more than one S
node in a sentence. The example we looked at earlier, the cat which is lying
on the mat loves dogs, was seen to consist of a MAIN CLAUSE (Sj) (the cat
loves dogs) and a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (S2) (which is lying on the
mat). S, then, is more accurately described as shorthand for clause rather
than for sentence. A clause may exist alone or it may join up with other
clauses (as in example (60) page 98). One way of joining clauses together is
to SUBORDINATE one to another; another way is to COORDINATE
them. A style of speech or writing using lots of subordination is called
HYPOTACTIC; a style using little subordination is called PARATACTIC.
Following on from the last chapter, we will look at subordination first.
Subordination
Most of our example sentences so far have consisted of one clause. That is,
we have taken different subjects and said one thing about them in each
sentence. For example:
We can, of course, take the same subject and say different things about it in
different sentences:
102 Subordination and Coordination
In example (6), the cat loves dogs becomes the main clause; that is mad is
the subordinate clause introduced by a SUBORDINATOR, the relative
pronoun that. These two clauses do not carry equal weight or importance:
the subordinate clause is often less important than the main clause.
Alternatively we could subordinate (5) to (4):
In this example, the assertion the cat loves dogs has become less important
than the assertion the cat is mad. In other words, (4) has become the main
clause and (5) has become the subordinate clause. Material in a subordinate
clause can often be deleted if necessary, for example when summarizing
information.
The tree diagram for (7) is similar to the one used for the earlier example
of a subordinate clause (page 98). That is:
You can see clearly from its position on the tree that S2 is further down the
hierarchy than Sj. In other words, S2 is dominated by Sj and therefore
subordinate to it.
Subordination and Coordination 103
Relative Clause
We can also say that the subordinate clause that loves dogs is EMBEDDED
in the main clause the cat is mad. One advantage of the tree diagram is that
it shows this embedding quite clearly; in the example at (8), S2 is contained
or embedded in Sj.
This embedding is a feature of all subordinate clauses. For instance, in
example (6), the cat is mad is the subordinate clause, the cat loves dogs is the
main clause. This is analysed as:
(10) S,
NP VP
Vgp NP
Jtrans]^
AUX V N
TENSE
Again you can see from the diagram that S2 is dominated by Sj and
subordinate to it. It is also embedded within Sj. As before, the triangle
104 Subordination and Coordination
One feature of relative clauses is that it is not necessary in every case for
them to be introduced by a subordinator; this can be optional. For example:
(12a) [s,The film [s,that I saw last night] was really good]
(12b) [s,The film [S,I saw last night] was really good]
Exercise 25
Adverbial Clause
Like adverbs and adverb phrases, subordinate adverbial clauses add infor¬
mation in relation to manner, time, place and so on. They tend to answer
the questions ‘How?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’, ‘Why?’ For example:
Subordination and Coordination 105
(15) I’ll give you the next clue when you’re ready
(16) We must be careful because there’s a ghost
(17) If I open this, you can put the cake mix into the bowl
(18) S,
NP VP
PRO . ,ygp NP
[ditrans]
auxT^v pro det n
MOD
(wi)ll give you the next clue when you (a)re ready
(19) [s, [s2When you’re ready] I’ll give you the next clue]
For this reason, the subordinate clause (S2) is analysed as being immediately
dominated by Si and not VP.
The function of subordinate adverbial clauses is, not surprisingly, adver¬
bial.
(20) I (wi)ll give you the next clue when you (a)re ready
S P iO dO A
Exercise 26
Noun Clause
In (21) the subordinate clause is the subject, in (22) the subordinate clause is
the direct object of a transitive verb, and in (23) the subordinate clause is the
direct object of a ditransitive verb. These functions are indicated on the tree
diagram: a subordinate clause functioning as a subject is immediately
dominated by Sj and a subordinate clause functioning as direct object is
immediately dominated by VP. For example:
You can check that the entire S2 is functioning as the subject by substituting
the pronoun it:
Subordination and Coordination 107
(25a)
NP
PRO Vgp
[intens]
AUX V
It grossly important
(26a) S,
NP
PRO Vgp
[trans]
auxT^ V
TENSE
Compares with:
(27a) S
NP VP
PRO
AUX V PRO
TENSE
You can see from examples (22) and (23) that, as with some relative clauses,
the subordinator is not always essential.
Because a noun clause functions as an obligatory element in a sentence,
that is as a subject or an object, the main clause cannot stand independently
on its own. This is different from the main clauses in sentences containing a
subordinate relative or adverbial clause. For example, we said that in:
(30) [g, I’ll give you the next clue [s,when you’re ready]]
which is again complete with subject, predicator, and both objects. In (24)
though, the subordinate clause functions as subject so the main clause is
incomplete:
In (26) the subordinate clause functions as direct object, so again the main
clause is incomplete:
Exercise 27
Using triangle notation, analyse the following in terms of form and function. What
kind of subordinate clause is present in each example? (Check your analyses on
pages 189-92.)
Complement Clause
Subject complement
A subordinate clause can also appear with an intensive verb and function as
the subject complement. For example:
This presents a very similar situation to the one described above where a
subordinate noun clause acts as direct object. The subordinate clause is
functioning as an obligatory part of the sentence, so the main clause appears
incomplete:
Complement of A
Subordinate clauses can also complement adjectives. For example:
In both cases the subordinate clause forms part of the adjective phrase and
takes on the same function within the sentence. That is:
Subordination and Coordination 111
(39 a) S,
NP VP
PRO Vgp NP AP
[complex]
AUX V PRO
TENSE
He (past) made
Exercise 28
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. Indicate the
type of subordinate clause present in each. (Check your analyses on pages
192-3.)
Non-finite Verbs
So far we have only looked at FINITE clauses; that is clauses where the
verbs carry tense. There are occasions when NON-FINITE or untensed
verbs can appear in subordinate clauses. The form of non-finite verbs is
either to + infinitive, bare infinitive (that is infinitive without to), or the
-ing and -en particles. Examples are:
to + infinitive:
bare infinitive:
-ing participle:
As with finite verbs, some non-finite verb groups can also be more complex.
For example:
to + infinitive
-ing participle
PERF
(53) vgP
[trans]
AUX V
PERF PASS
Post-modifier
Like relative clauses, non-finite clauses can function as post-modifiers to
head nouns (see pages 95-8 and 103-4). For example:
S P sC
114 Subordination and Coordination
As with the other noun post-modifiers (PP and relative clause, see pages 93
and 97—8) we are arguing that letter for you to type is an N' constituent.
You can check this with the one test we used earlier.
In the example at (56) the subordinator for is used. In other types of
sentence construction using the non-finite to + infinitive a subordinator is
not necessary.
Head nouns can also be post-modified by the -ing and -en participles. For
example:
Again, you can test that these phrases are post-modifying the head nouns
{cat and books) and are therefore part of the subject noun phrase by
substituting a pronoun.
(60) It is asleep
(61) They are yours
VP
DET Vgp AP
[intens]
ae5Pv A
TENSE
Exercise 29
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 193-6.)
We can now add the non-finite clause to the rules to remember for a noun
phrase:
116 Subordination and Coordination
Adverbial
Non-finite clauses can also function as adverbials (see pages 104—6). For
example, -ing participle:
(63a)
S2 NP VP
PRO Vgp NP
|trans] ,
AUX V DET N
TENSE
Again, because the adverbial can appear in more than one position (we
could just as easily have he typed the letters whistling cheerfully), the
subordinate clause is in this instance shown as immediately dominated by
Si- Adverbial non-finite clauses also appear in other forms. For example:
Subordination and Coordination 117
(64) to + infinitive
[s,[s2 [To type the letters accurately] he worked hard]
(65) -en participle
[Sl[s, [Exhausted by his efforts] he left early]
Exercise 30
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 197-8.)
Subject
Like noun clauses (see pages 106-9), non-finite clauses can also appear as
subjects:
(66a)
You can check that S2 is in fact the subject by substituting the pronoun it.
That is:
118 Subordination and Coordination
Direct object
Non-finite clauses, like noun clauses, can also function as direct objects (see
pages 106-9).
(69a)
(69b)
Subordination and Coordination 119
Once more, you can check that this is the direct object by substituting a
pronoun:
(70)
Exercise 31
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 198-201.)
Complement of A
The last function we’ll look at is that of complementing adjectives. As with
finite clauses (see pages 110—11), the subordinate non-finite clause function¬
ing as complement of A forms part of the adjective phrase. For example:
120 Subordination and Coordination
(76b) S,
NP VP
PRO VgP NP
[complex]
AUX^V PRO U
TENSE
Since the subordinate clause is part of the AP, it has the same sentence
function, in this case, object complement:
Coordination
(77) My brother’s got a little honey bear and it’s china and he keeps honey
in it
You can link as many clauses together as you like in this way, without ever
making any one clause subordinate to another. They are all therefore main
clauses. Other coordinators are but and or. An example of a tree diagram
for coordinated clauses is as follows:
Subordination and Coordination 121
(78) S,
coord coord
NP VP NP VP NP VP
I (pres) like tea and Sue (pres) likes tea but James (pres) likes coffee
(79)
NP coord NP Vgp
jintens]
DET N DET N AUX V AP N
TENSE A
Both noun phrases the cat and the dog have equal importance; they are the
joint subject of the sentence.
(80) The cat and the dog (pres) are good friends
S P sC
You can test that this is so by substituting the plural pronoun they for the
subject NP.
122 Subordination and Coordination
do we mean that old women and all men love cakes, or that old women and
old men love cakes? In other words, does the expression old refer to just
women or to men as well? If it refers to just women then old women should
have its own exclusive node on the tree diagram. The structure will therefore
look like:
(82)
Vgp NP
Jtransj^
AUX V N
TENSE
On the other hand if old refers to men as well as women then the structure will
look like:
(83)
Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V N
TENSE
Exercise 32
Draw tree diagrams for the following and analyse in terms of function. (Check your
analyses on pages 201-5.)
1. The dog ran across the road and the man chased it
2. Sally is buying a new dress to wear for the party
3. I like Jane but I hate her brother
4. She might have been persuaded by the saleswoman
5. Smoking cigarettes is a dangerous pastime
6. Her ambition is to live a life of luxury
7. Put those books on the table
8. The books on the table are yours
9. The waiter must have been certain that the bill was right
10. When I was four I said I was going on the stage
Summary of Rules
Phrases
AP -> (AdvP) + A
function: 1. sC
2. oC
OR
function: A
PP-^ P ( + NP)
function: 1. A
2. iO
3. sC
4. oC
5. pO
OR
Verb Classes
OR
VP —» intensive verb + sC
sC —> NP or PP or AP
VP —» intransitive verb
VP —» transitive verb + dO
dO —» NP
Auxiliary Verbs
1. Tense or
modal + infinitive
2. Perfect: have + -en
3. Progressive: be + -ing
4. Passive: be + -en
+ LEXICAL VERB
do + infinitive
Answers to Exercises
1. s
NP VE RB NP NP VE RB NP
3. 4.
NP VERB NP
NOUN NOUN
5.
RB NP
DET NOUN
a. S—» NP + VP S
NP VP
VP^ V + NP
NP VP
V NP
scoffed
N V
I I
Karen scoffed
NP* VP
N V NP
DET N
N V NP
c. NP + VP S
NP VP
VP-» V + NP S
V NP
buried
1. S
NP
DET N
3. S
N V NP
1.
f\ ( AdvP
Adv
2. S
AdvP NP VP
Adv N V
deg Adv
4. S
AdvP NP VP
Adv PRO V NP
2.
3. S
VP
DET N
4.
5. S
1.
DET N
DET N
2. S
NP VP
N V NP
[trans]
PRO
3. S
PRO V NP
[trans] /' x
DET N
4. S
DET N V NP
[trans]
N
1.
NP VP
1
DET N V
[intrans]
1
The baby cried
NP VP
PRO V
[intrans]
She smiled
She smiled
3.
^NP^ VP
1
DET N V
1 [intrans]
4. S
NP VP
N V
[intrans]
Jack fell
Jack fell
S P
140 Answers to Exercises
DET N V
[intrans]
DET N V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv
DET N
DET N
V PP^
[intrans]
P ^NP
DET N
6. S
DET N V
[intrans]
8. S ft
NP^ ''vp
DET N V AdvP
[intrans]
deg Adv
GET N
10.
NP VP
N V PP
[intrans]
NP
DET N
Sa iy sings in a club
The examples at 4 and 5, and 9 and 10 illustrate how some verbs can
belong to more than one verb class.
1. S
NP VP
N V NP NP
[ditrans]
DET N DET N
2.
DET V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv
3. S
4.
NP VP
N
[ditrans]
DET N
5.
DET N V NP
[intens]
DET N
2.
DET N V PP
[intransj/X^
P NP
/X
DET N
3.
4.
[intens]
DET N
NP VP
N V PP
[ditrans]
DET N P
DET N
8. S
DET N V AP
[intens]
A
i
The answer seems clear
9. S
N V NP
[trans] /\
DET N
NP
PRO V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv
He laughed nervously
He laughed nervously
S P A
Answers to Exercises 149
1. s
NP VP
DET N V NP NP
[ditrans] | /\
N DET N
2. S
NP VP
DET N V NP NP
[complex]
N DET N
N
[complex]
DET N
DET N
PRO
NP VP
N V NP PP
[ditrans]
DET N NP
1. S
NP VP
DET N V PP
[intrans]
NP
DET N
3.
N V PP
[intrans]
6. S
NP VP
Note: the forms in these examples are largely the same; the functions vary:
1.
2. S
D N V
[intrans]
DET N
3. S
NP VP
DET N
[complex]
PRO A
NP VP
PRO V
[trans]
5. VP
VP
DET N V
[intrans]
6.
NP VP
PRO <r
[complex]
NP
DET
He put
7.
NP VP
DET N V AP
[intens]
A
Imperative mood
8. S
VP
V NP
[trans]
DET N
9. S
10.
Hilary is a hairdresser
Hilary is a hairdresser
S P sC
V AdvP
[intrans]
Adv
13.
gave
14.
NP VP
DET N V NP NP
[complex] |
/\
DET N N
15.
V PP
[intens]
NP
DET N
16.
AdvP NP VP
Adv PRO V PP
[prep]
NP
PRO
DET N Vgp NP
[trans] \
AUX V DET N
TENSE
DET N Vgp NP
[traps]^
AUX V DET N
TENSE
5a. S
O Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX ~V A
TENSE
5b. S
NP VP
PRO Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX V A
TENSE
11a. S
DET N Vgp NP
jtrans]^ /X
AUX V DET N
TENSE
DET N Vgp
[trans]
AUX^V
MOD
11c.
N Vgp NP
Jtrans]^
AUX "v PRO
TENSE
lid. S
N Vgp NP
[trans] |
AUX^^V PRO
MOD
NP
2.
NP VP
N Vgp
[intens]
V P
3. S
DET N Vgp
[intrans]
V P NP
TENSE PERF N
TENSE PERF
NP VP
DET N Vgp PP
[intrans]
AU)T -v P
MOD DET N
VP
TENSE
8.
NP VP
AUX V DET N
MOD
1.
MOD PERF
NP VP
PRO Vgp
[complex]
AUX V DET N P NP
NP
PRO
DET N
MOD PERF
DET N Vgp
[intrans]
AUX V
TENSE
PRO
6.
NP
PRO Vgp
[trans]
AUX^~ V
MOD
1.
2.
3.
NP VP
N Vgp NP NP
jditmns]^ A A
AUX V DET N DET N
NP VP
N Vgp NP NP
[ditrans]
A
AUX V DET N DET N
5a. S
VP
DET N Vgp
Jjntrans]^
AUX V
TENSE PROG
5b.
NP VP
DET N Vgp AP
[intens]
AUX V
TENSE
1. s
NP VP
DET Vgp NP
[ditrans]
AUX V DET N
2.
NP VP
DET N Vgp PP
[ditrans]
AUX V NP
/X
TENSE PERF PASS DET N
NP VP
D N Vgp PP
[trans]
AUX V P NP
XX
TEN SE PASS DET N
4. S
NP VP
PRO Vgp
[trans]
AUX V
NP VP
PRO Vgp PP
[trans]
AUX V P NP
1. s
NP VP
PRO Vgp N
[trans]
AUX V N
MOD PERF
2.
3.
Vgp
[intrans]
AUX ^ ~V
TEh GG
4.
5.
Vgp
[complex]
AUX V
MOD PE RF
9. S
11.
A TENSE
The quick brown fox (past) jumped over the lazy dog
S P A
176 Answers to Exercises
3.
DET
5.
TA
V det
6. S
2. S
TENSE N
P NP
2.
3.
4a.
NP
AUX V
TENSE
The old woman (past) hit the man with the wooden leg
The old woman (past) hit the man with the wooden leg
S P dO
Meaning: the man who had a wooden leg was hit by the woman by object
unknown.
Answers to Exercises 181
Meaning: the old woman used a wooden leg to hit the man with.
P Nf
DPT N
Thewoman on the bus (past) was tel ing me the story of her life
The woman on the bus (past) was telling me the story of her life
S P iO dO
DET
The face that launched a thousand ships (past) was amazingly beautifi
The face that launched a thousand ships (past) was amazingly beaui
S P sU
Answers to Exercises 183
3.
NP
PRO
She
She (past) collected the letters that were lying on the table
S p dO
184 Answers to Exercises
4.
6a.
NP
PRO
7. S
8. S,
TENSE
3.
Sue 's dog might have buried the bone she gave him
Sue’s dog might have buried the bone she gave him
S P dO
4.
NP
PRO
5.
TENSE
4
NP
PF O
AUX
MOD N
/\ N
If I open this you can put the cake mix into the bowl
If I open this you can put the cake mix into the bowl
A S P dO oC
Vgp
rtransl
DET
2. Noun Clause
S,
3. Relative Clause
4. Noun Clause
S,
What has been done already (pres) has been done extremely badly
What has been done already (pres) has been done extremely badly
S pa
Answers to Exercises 191
5. Noun Clause
6. Adverbial Clause
192 Answers to Exercises
7. Noun Clause
ip
NP
PRO Vgp
JtransL
AUX V
TENSE
VP
DET N
The chances
2.
3.
DET l\ Vgp NP
[tr^JisO
AUX V
MOD
4.
5.
That man standing at the checkout (pres) has forgotten his money
That man standing at the checkout (pres) has forgotten his money
S P dO
7. S,
9. S,
The little girl wearing the red dress (pres) is Sally ’s daughter
The little girl wearing the red dress (pres) is Sally’s daughter
S P sC
Answers to Exercises 197
4.
5.
2.
3. S,
The passage for you to read can be found on the last page
The passage for you to read can be found on the last page
S PA
5.
Impressed with the meal they (past) gave the waiter a large tip
Impressed with the meal they (past) gave the waiter a large tip
A S P iO dO
1. S
The dog (past) ran across the road and the man (past) chased it
The dog (past) ran across the road and the man (past) chased it
S P A coord S P dO
202 Answers to Exercises
2.
3. S
S coord S
NP
PRO Vgp NP
[trans]
AUX V N AUX V DET N
TENSE TENSE
6. S,
NP VP
7. Imperative mood
S
Vgp
[complex]
8. S
The waiter must have been certain that the bill was right
S P sC
Answers to Exercises 205
10.
PR 0 Vgp
[trans]
AUX V
TENSE
You may need to check the use of terminology in any follow up text. For
instance, the expression ‘Verb Phrase’ can be used to describe the predicate,
as in this book, or to describe what I have labelled the ‘Verb Group’. Make
sure you are aware of what each writer means by their use of terminology as
you proceed.
Index
imperative, 37, 56-7 object, 17, 18, 38, 39, 41, 72-3, 106,
indefinite pronoun, 81 108, 109, 119
indirect object (z'O), 41-5, 50, 51 see also direct object; indirect object
infinitive, 65, 66, 69, 70, 77 object complement (oC), 49-53, 120
see also bare infinitive; optional, 20, 24, 30, 40
to + infinitive
-ing participle, 70, 73, 111-12, 114 paratactic, 101
intensive verb (intens), 37, 46—8, 109, particle (part), 65, 112
126 passive (PASS), 71-5, 92, 112, 128
interrogative pronoun, 82 past tense, 62-3, 67, 70
intransitive verb (intrans), 37, 39—40, past participle, see -en participle
127 perfect aspect (PERF), 66—9, 70, 71,
74, 75, 112, 127
lexical verb (V), 61, 62, 65, 67, 68, personal pronoun, 80—1
69,71, 74, 75 phonology, 1
linking verb, see intensive verb phrase, 10—13, 29, 32, 87, 93
possessive determiner, 84
main clause, 96, 101-2, 103, 108-9, possessive phrase (POSS), see genitive
110, 119, 120 possessive pronoun, 82
modal auxiliary (MOD), 64—6, 68-9, post-modification, 83, 91-8, 103,
70, 71, 74, 75, 127 113-16
modality, 61, 62, 64 post-modifier, 83, 91-8, 113-16
modify, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 61, pragmatics, 1, 4
83,91 predicate, 15-18, 25, 29
see also pre-modification; predicator (P), 17-18, 27, 38, 65, 67
post-modification pre-modification, 83-91, 122
mood, 37, 56 pre-modifier, 83-91, 98
morphology, 1 preposition (P), 23, 29-31, 43, 54
prepositional object (pO), 54-5
N', 88-9, 93, 97, 114, 115 prepositional phrase (PP), 23, 29-31,
node, 18, 26, 29, 62, 64, 73, 87, 90 40, 43-5, 46-8, 50-2, 54-5, 91,
non-finite, 111-20 95, 125
noun (N), 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, prepositional verb (prep), 37, 54-5,
21, 32, 33, 80, 81, 83, 85, 86, 88, 73, 127
90, 91, 103, 113 present tense (pres), 62-3, 67, 70
Index 209
present participle, see -ing participle substitution, 10-12, 16, 25, 29, 33,
primary auxiliary, 66—77 86, 87, 88, 91, 96, 103, 106, 113,
progressive aspect (PROG), 66, 69-71, 114, 117, 118, 121
73, 74, 75, 112, 128 syntax, 1, 4
pronoun (PRO), 10-11, 12, 16, 20,
33, 80-3, 84 tense (TENSE), 61, 62-3, 64, 65,
66-7, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76,
quantifier, 84 111, 113
to + infinitive, 65, 111-13, 114, 117
reflexive pronoun, 82 transitive verb (trans), 18, 37-8, 40,
relational verb, see intensive verb 42, 45, 47, 50, 62, 73, 106, 127
relative clause, 91, 95-8, 103-4, 113 tree diagram, 9, 18, 86-9, 93—4, 96-8,
relative pronoun, 96, 102 102, 103-4, 106, 122-3
re-write rules, 18-20 triangle notation, 97-8, 103-4
semantics, 1, 4, 5, 72
ungrammatical, 3, 5, 14
sentence adverb, 25-7, 105
structure, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8-9, 14, 18, 20,
21, 57 verb (V), 7-9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 21, 23,
subject (S), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 27, 38, 25, 26, 27
56, 72, 73, 76, 81, 86, 87, 88, 92, verb class, 37, 38, 39, 41, 46, 49, 50,
96, 101, 103, 106, 108-9, 113, 54, 62
114, 117, 119, 121 verb group (Vgp), 61-79, 112-13
subject complement (sC), 46-8, 108, verb phrase (VP), 15-18, 20, 25,
109-10 37-60, 61, 62
subordination, 96, 101-20 voice, 61, 62, 66, 71
subordinate clause, 96-7, 101-20
subordinator, 102, 104, 105, 108, 114, well-formed, 1, 3, 4, 10
117 WH-determiner, 84
This is a well-organized and down-to-earth book. It will help anyone
in search of an introduction to grammatical analysis and to the main
patterns of English grammar. It is informative without being daunting.
Richard Hudson, University College, London
Linda Thomas
BLACKWELL
Oxford UK Sr Cambridge USA