LIMBA ENGLEZA CONTEMPORANA.

SINTAXA PROPOZITIEI

THE SYNTAX OF THE ENGLISH SIMPLE SENTENCE

(ANUL II RE IDD GALATI

SEM II , 2009-2010)

CONF. DR. DIMA GABRIELA

CONTENTS
Introductory Chapter : General Syntactic Concepts
Sentence /vs/ Clause
Parts of Sentence/Clause
Methods of Syntactic Description

Chapter 1: The Syntax of the Simple Sentence in Traditional Grammar

1.1. Parts of Sentence
1. 1 .1. The Subject. Definitions
1.1.1.1. Classification of Subjects
1.1.1.2. Subject Predicate Agreement
1.1.1.3. Concluding Remarks
1.1.1.4. Practical Applications
1.1.2. The Predicate. Definitions.
1.1.2.1. Classification of Predicates.
1.1.2.2. Practical Applications
1.1.3. The Object. Definition and Classification.
1.1.3.1. The Direct Object
1.1.3.2. The Indirect Object
1.1.3.3. The Prepositional Object
1.1.3.4. Practical Applications
1.1.4. The Adverbial Modifier. Definition.
1.1.4.1. Classification of Adverbial Modifiers.
1.1.4.2. Practical Applications
1.1.5. The Attribute
1.1.5.1. Practical Applications
1.2. Sentential / Clausal Word Order and Syntactic Analysis.
1.2.1.Practical Applications

Chapter 2 : The Syntax of the Clause in Structural Grammar

2.1. Structural Analytical Techniques.
2.1.1.Test Frames
2.1.2. Immediate-Constituent Analysis
2.2. Refinements to Structural Syntactic Analysis.
2.2.1. Word Level. Word Groups.
2.2.2. Sentence/Clause Level. Parts of Sentence/Clause
2.2.3. Techniques of Syntactic Analysis
2.3 . Practical Applications

Chapter 3. The Syntax of the Simple Sentence in Transformational Grammar

3.1. Formal criteria for form classes
3.1.1. The internal structure criterion
3.1.2. The external structure criterion
3.2. Tests for Constituency.
3.2.1. Substitution
3.2.2. Permutation
3.2.3.Coordination
3.2.4. Concluding Remarks:
3.3. The Representation of the Canonical Constituent Structure of Sentences. The Basics.
3.3.1. Phrase-Structure Trees
3.3.2. Phrasal Constituents
3.3.2.1. Noun Phrases. Noun-Phrase Modification.
3.3.2.1.1. Determiners
3.3.2.1.2. Quantifiers and Quantifier Phrases
3.3.2.1.3.Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
3.3.2.1.4.. Nouns and Noun Phrases
3.3.2.1.5. Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases
3.3.2.1.6. Clause Modifiers
3.3.2.2. Verb Phrases. Verb Complements and Post-Verbal Elements
3.3.2.2.1.Verb Complements
3.3.2.2.2.Post-Verbal Elements
3.3.2.3. Prepositional Phrases. Structure and Distribution
3.3.2.3.1.. Structure
3.3.2.3.2. Distribution
3.4. Concluding Remarks.
3.5. Practical Applications

Chapter 4. Final Evaluation Corpora

REFERENCES
Introductory Chapter : General Syntactic Concepts

Sentence /vs/ Clause

The word-concept syntax comes from the ancient Greek syntaxis meaning literally arrangement.
Traditionally, it refers to the branch of grammar dealing with the formal patterns into which the
words of a language are arranged in order to show connections of meaning within the sentence.
In other words syntax deals with the way sentences are constructed so as to formulate
understandable messages necessary to ensure successful communication among people
( Chomsky1986a).
The sentence has been given innumerable definitions according to various approaches provided
by philosophers, linguists, grammarians ( Aarts 1997, Valin et al 1997, Huddleston 2002). In the
history of linguistics, at least four principal types of sentence definition are known : logical,
psychological, structural (or grammatical) and phonetic definitions ( Crystal 1995).
Psychological definitions are not typical of English grammar. Logical definitions predominated
in the preceding periods of its development. The definitions of the structural linguists are based
upon grammatical or phonetic criteria . Transformational grammar refrains from giving a
definition of the sentence on the principle that the whole grammar of a language constitutes a
definition of a sentence( Chomsky 1957, 1965,1995). The definition we provide for the present
course is that the sentence is the basic syntactic unit upon which a syntactic analysis can be
applied irrespective of the approach envisaged.
The clause is an important unit of analysis, placed between phrase and sentence. The role of both
clause and sentence in syntactic analysis is viewed in clear- cut terms by various authors. In what
follows we present a tabular form synthesis ( Table 1) we have designed using some of the
criteria that Miller 2002 proposes in order to differentiate between the two concepts.

The Sentence The Clause

-has a certain type of unity, being - can occur successfully in certain slots inside
grammatically complete sentences
- has a degree of semantic independence which - is recognizable in all types of spoken and
enables it to stand on its own irrespective of written language
context
- there is no occasional dependency relation - cannot stand on its own, it depends upon a
across sentence boundaries certain context
- there are links across sentence boundaries - there are occasional dependency relations
which are better treated as binders tying small across clause boundaries and there are dense
units together into a larger piece of coherent bundles of dependencies among the
text. constituents of clauses
- is better treated as a unit of discourse into - can display a wide range of syntactic and
which clauses are grouped semantic subcategorisations, as part of complex
sentences

These characteristic features will be revealed during the presentation of the syntactic phenomena
of coordination and subordination in revising traditional syntax in a future course.
With reference to language use, we can describe its canonical building chain: words occur in
phrases, phrases occur in clauses, clauses occur in sentences, emphasizing the canonical
definition of sentence as a grammatical unit built up from smaller units. In counterpart,
describing how sentences combine to make up a discourse or text differs from analyzing the
structure of phrases and clauses ( Radford 1988).
Parts of Sentence/Clause
Traditional grammar has two extremely significant points in its favour : the first is that it is still
a functional, elegant, time-honoured way of teaching people what they should know about
syntax; the second, and more important, it has given the other grammars the bulk of the terms
they use. Both Structural and Transformational grammars rely heavily on the nomenclature and
terminology from Traditional grammar: parts of speech like noun, verb, adjective, adverb and
parts of sentence like subject( S), predicate(P), direct object(DO), indirect(IO) and prepositional
object(PO), attribute(A), adverbial modifier(ADV MOD) and so on. Much of the work done
descriptively rather than prescriptively in contemporary grammatical analysis was couched in
Traditional-grammar language by scholars like Otto Jespersen, W. Nelson Francis, and Henrik
Poutsma. To understand any of the modern grammars, and to understand virtually all discussion
about writing or literature at the level of stylistic analysis, one must have an understanding of the
terminology drawn from Traditional grammar, if not of the whole system. The basic morpho-
syntactic vocabulary is so fundamental to a discussion of English syntax that a good review of the
parts of sentence ( Bantas 1996, Badescu 1984) is needed and that will be done in the first chapter
of the present course.
Structural Grammar focused primarily on the principles elaborated by L. Bloomfield and based
upon the concept of endocentric and exocentric phrases as sentence elements and the immediate
constituents analysis (IC). The authors of structural grammars developed a system of sentence
patterns employing sentence formulas designating word-classes such as noun/nominal group
(NG), verb(al) group (VG), adverbial group (AdvG), and prepositional group (PrepG), used in the
representation of clause structure elements such as : Subject, Predicator, Complement, Adjunct
(Cole and Sadock 1977, Scott 1970, Croitoru 2002)
Transformational Grammar introduces phrasal units such as noun phrase (NP), verb
phrase(VP), adjectival phrase (AP), adverbial phrase (AdvP), prepositional phrase (PP) which
are conventionalized symbols standing for single words labelled as heads, word groups and
clauses in the subject and predicate position. Both phrasal units in respect of their structure and
position correspond exactly to the subject and predicate of traditional grammar , only the new
notation is less explicit, because the function of the NP’s within a verb phrase is not always
indicated in functional or relational terms ( such as object, complement, etc.) ( Bresnan 1982,
Cornilescu 1986, 1995).

Methods of Syntactic Description

Methods of syntactic analysis submit generally to those applied in English grammars within
their development . The first type of grammars in the history of English grammars are the early
prenormative ones, beginning with William Bullokar’s Bref Grammar for English (1585).
By the middle of the 18th century, when many of the grammatical phenomena of English had
been described, the early English grammars gave way to a new kind of grammar , a prescriptive,
(normative) grammar, which stated strict rules of grammatical usage and set up a certain standard
of correctness to be implicitly followed by learners of English.
By the end of the19th century, when the prescriptive grammar had reached its highest level of
development, when the system of traditional grammar had been established, there became
possible the appearance of descriptive and explanatory grammar. The method of distributional
analysis was much favoured along with that of substitution. The coexistence of both types of
methods in the history of English syntax is still present in contemporary syntactic approaches.
Chapter 1: The Syntax of the Simple Sentence in Traditional Grammar

1.1. Parts of Sentence

1. 1 .1. The Subject. Definitions.
The subject is the most complex grammatical function occupying the first place in the
grammatical relationships hierarchy (Keenan 1976, Croft 1991, Palmer 1994, Dima 2003: 38, ). It
can be defined according to various approaches but the most common attributed definitions are
the following:
- That element in a nexus which names the performer of an action or the first element of an
assertion ( Bryant, 1945 : 155)
- The subject of a sentence has a close general relation to ‘what is being discussed’, the ‘theme’
of the sentence, with the normal implication that something new (the predicate) is being said
about a subject that has already been introduced in an earlier sentence (Quirk et al, 1972:34 )
-A term used in the analysis of GRAMMATICAL FUNCTIONS to refer to a major
CONSTITUENT OF SENTENCE or CLAUSE STRUCTURE, traditionally associated with the
doer of an action (Crystal, 1995: 333)
-The main part of the sentence which shows who or what performs the action of the predicate or
to whom or to what a feature expressed by the predicative is ascribed ( Bantas, 1996: 95)

1.1.1.1. Classification of Subjects

Traditional grammar classifies subjects according to:
A. Structure /form/composition
B. Semantic content
A. According to structure, composition or form, the subject can be grouped into the following
types:
-Simple subjects , expressed by one word, accompanied or not by attributes, as shown in (1):
(1) a. Mr. Ramsay glared at them.
b. She was troubled in spirit.
c. The children were watching the gorgeous scenery.
c. This pleased Brangwen very much.
d. Nothing mattered to him.
e. Seeing is believing.
f. Ten is the favorite mark for all kids.
g. To leave is to die a little.
We might notice that the range of parts of speech that the simple subject can be expressed
by is quite wide: nouns; personal, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns; gerunds; numerals;
infinitives,etc. We consider it helpful to have a quick review of the eight parts of speech, as
defined within Traditional grammar and possible candidates to fulfill the role of subject in a
sentence/clause.
1. Noun. A word or word group that names a person, a place, a thing, an attitude, an idea, a
quality, or a condition. Examples: brother, rotunda, chair, happiness, truth, clairvoyance,
solitude.
2. Pronoun. A word that functions as a substitute for a noun. Examples: it, he, she, we, they, us
ourselves, you, this, them.
3. Verb. A word or word group that expresses activity, condition, or state of being. (The verb’s
function is sometimes called predication, and the main verb in a sentence is therefore often called
the predicate.) Examples: run, sleep, is, feels, believes, promises, write. A verb phrase (a group of
words acting like a single part of speech) will usually consist of a main verb plus an auxiliary
(helping) verb like have or be: has been going, is walking. A special subclass of auxiliary verbs is
the modals: can, may, must, ought, shall, will.
4. Adjective. A word or word group that modifies – limits, defines, characterizes, or describes -
a noun. Examples: slovenly, impressive, brocaded, sublime, undeniable, stubborn, wracking.
5. Adverb. A word or word group that modifies a verb, or an adjective, or another adverb.
(Adjectives and adverbs together are sometimes called modifiers.) Examples: run fast, sleep
deeply, seldom is, very slovenly, extremely impressive, delicately brocaded; run extraordinarily
fast, sleep exceptionally deeply, very seldom is.
6. Preposition. A word or word group that signals relationships of space, time, direction, or
association between its object (the object of a preposition is always a noun) and some other word
or word group. Examples: in the doghouse, after 5:00 P.M., to the lighthouse, with a calendar.
7. Conjunction. A word or word group that connects two or more sentence components. There are
three major subtypes: coordinating conjunctions (examples: and, but, for, yet, so); subordinating
conjunctions (examples: although, because, if, whether); and correlative conjunctions (examples:
either… or, neither... nor, both … and, not only… but also).
8. Interjection. Any part of the sentence that is syntactically dependent of the rest of the sentence.
Examples: Well! Oh! Goodness sakes!

-Coordinated subjects, expressed by two or more words referring to several entities / notions
joined by coordinating conjunctions or asyndetically, as in (2):
(2) a. The Dearlys and the dogs thought how very nice their brightly-lit kitchen looked.
b. Pongo and Missis felt sorry for her white cat.
c. Lucky, Patch, Roly Poly and the other boys struggled along bravely.
The agreement is in number with the predicate.

- Compound subjects, expressed by two or several words but referring to one and the same entity.
In view of that, the ageement with the predicate is in the singular ( 3):
(3) a. Her dog and pet was too young to be able to bark so loudly.
b. Cruela de Vil and the enemy was preparing for the fight.

- Complex subjects, expressed by heterogeneous elements , belonging either to the class of nouns
or to that of verbs, and giving full meaning to the sentence as a whole as shown in (4):
(4) a. The excitement of the visit began to pass off.
b. People in the crowd cried ‘shame on him’.
c. Something in his self-possessed waiting moved her.
d.The ice on the ponds they passed was thicker and thicker.
e. The windows twinkling in the early morning sunshine looked cheerful and welcoming.

- Double subjects, used to focus on the same notion and usually expressed by a noun
accompanied by a pronoun (5):
(5) a. Viola: Conceal me what I am; and be my aid
For such disguise ( I. ii.)
b. Viola: I see you, what you are, you are too proud; ( I. v.)

B. According to content English subjects can be classified into:

- Grammatical or formal subjects which are directly connected to the predicate and allowing
concord with it. It is in fact the usual type of subject which agrees in number and person with the
predicate ( see A ).
 - Logical or real subject, which points to the real doer / performer of the action. This directional
involvement is indicated by the use of such English constructions as passive constructions and
introductory constructions, as synthesized in Bantas (1996:98-101) and illustrated in (6):
(6) a. The newspaper was brought early this morning by the postman.
b. The window has been broken. We have to replace it(unknown agent)
c. Here comes Doris.
d. It is nice seeing you again at the Opera House.
e. It is John who has made the tart.

- Impersonal subjects are used to denote time , weather, distance, natural phenomena, state of
things, etc.(7):
(7) a. It was a beautiful September evening, windless, very peaceful.
b.It was a bone, the Sheepdog saw with pleasure.
c. It was almost dark now.
d. It was their first really deep sleep since the loss of the puppies.

1.1.1.2. Subject Predicate Agreement

The agreement in number with the verb/predicate is one of the criterion of identifying the subject
(Dima, 2003). A synthesis of traditional subject-verb agreement rules is presented in Celce-
Murcia and Larsen-Freeman ( 1999: 72-74) and here we present part of them:
1. Noncountable noun subjects take a singular verb:
(8) a. (The marmelade / Cecily’s) advice is good.

2. Collective noun subjects take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed as individual members,
use a plural verb:
(9) a. The jury has decided upon the winner.
b. The jury have been arguing about the winner.

3. Subject nouns that are derived from adjectives and describe people take plural verbs:
(10) The poor are more altruistic than the rich.

4. Some proper noun subjects ending in –s such as names of diseases, courses, places, book and
film titles and the word news, take singular verbs:
(11) a. Physics is a very interesting topic.
b. Measles has side effects sometimes.
c. Wales is famous for its music festivals.
d. The news was spread quickly.
e. The Avengers was one of the best 80’s serials.

5. Plural subject nouns of distance, time, and money signaling one unit take a singular verb:
(12) a. Eight hundred miles is too far to drive even by the most powerful car.
b. Ten hours is too tiresome for everybody to navigate.
c. Fifty dollars is not that much.

6. Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural:
(13) a. What they need is more feelings.

7. With fractions, percentages, and the quantifiers all (of), a lot of, lots of, verb agreement
depends on the noun coming after these phrases:
(14) a. A lot of the paper is about doing research in the tundra fauna.
b. A lot of houses need redecoration.
c. All the staff ( takes /take) a rewarding break.

8. With a number of as subject use a plural verb:

(15) a. A number of birds are leaving in autumn.

9. With the number of as subject use a singular verb:

(16) a. The number of pupils taking good marks is 15 in this class.

10. With none, either or neither as subjects, use a singular verb:

(17) a. None of the old buildings has been renovated.
b. Either is reliable to me.
c. Neither is too good for her.

11. With correlative subjects either…or or neither …nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject:
(18) a. Either you or your kids are to be present.

1.1.1.3. Concluding Remarks

The criteria used to identify subjects at this level of analysis are: agreement in number with the
verb; never being preceded by a preposition; occurring in the by phrase in the passive; reference
to entities that exist independently of the action or state denoted by the main verb.
The theoretical considerations delineated in this chapter will prove helpful in the future analyses
of the structure of the simple sentence in English.

1.1.1.4. Practical Applications

1.Analyze the subjects from the point of view of structure/composition or form in the following
sentences. Give a detailed analysis of the parts of speech they are expressed by.
a. Waymarsh’s face had shown his friend an attention apparently so remote that the latter was
slightly surprised.
b. The mention to his companion of the sacrifice was moreover exactly what introduced his
recital.
c. The little waxed salle a manger was sallow and sociable.
d. The evidence as yet in truth was meager.
e. His silence was one of angry frustration.
f. They were such strangers.
g. The head cows, Blossom and Clover, were waiting to welcome them.
h. The bad little boy and nephew was only bad because he had never known dogs.
i. I wish I could come with you.
j. His heart it will get broken some day.

2. Analyze the subjects from the point of view of semantic content as revealed in the contexts
below.
a. It will need tremendous organization.
b. It’s now nearly ten o’clock.
c. It was Cruella de Vil.
d. Suddenly there was a thunder of thumps on the front door.
e. It was partly rage.
f. There was no mistaking that horseshoe of spots on his back.
g. The bread and butter were taken back to the haystack by the old woman.
h. The teapot was filled by Sir Charles.
i. There in came Doris!
j. Shut up! Here speaks Michael!

3. Give emphasize to the messages below by using the italicized words and expressions:
Model : I saw him in the street only last week.
It was only last week that I saw him in the street.
a. I want to talk to your sister.
b. She got lost later in the morning.
c. Susan is looking for her puppy.
d. We met them at the airport.
e. The young man made a fool of himself on her account.
f. I like to meet my family on Sundays.
g. The little girl was sad because she had lost her doll.
h. Love makes the world go round.
i. Not all that glitters is gold.
j. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

4. Fill in with the correct verb form:

a. Neither you nor your friends …(allow) to come to the party uninvited.
b. A number of magazines …( publish) the news.
c. A lot of seagulls …(fly) to the shore in search of food.
d. The number of skaters who had fallen on the ice …( increase).
e. Mathematics …(start) with numbers’ counting.
f. The committee …(vote) against the law promulgation.
g. None of the city’s parks … ( be ) attractive.
h. Either …( support) my requests.
i. Doris and her friends …( prepare ) a school festival.
j. Good news…(be ) awaiting for you.

1.1.2.The Predicate. Definitions.

Predicate definitions are given in direct relationship with the subject since they are the most
important parts of sentence :
-“ Most sentences of more than one word consist of two nuclei, one indicating the person or thing
about whom a statement is made (or a question asked), the other containing the statement or the
question asked. The word ( or words) indicating the person or thing referred to is (are) called the
subject of the sentence; that (those) containing the statement (or the question ) the
predicate”(Zandvoort, 1948: 211)
-“A term in the analysis of GRAMMATICAL FUNCTIONS, to refer to a major CONSTITUENT
of SENTENCE structure , traditionally associated with a two-part analysis in which all obligatory
constituents other than the SUBJECT are considered together “( Crystal, 1995: 273).
- The most simple traditional definition of the predicate is provided by Bantas : “ The predicate is
that principal part of the sentence which ascribes an action, a state or a quality to the subject.”
(1996: 121).
For a better understanding of the relationships existing between the subject and the other parts of
the sentence it is compulsory to discuss predicates taking into account the concept of predication
which requires both a syntactic and semantic treatment of the English verbs. Thus, we can
consider verbs of complete predication, having a meaning of their own, and verbs of incomplete
predication which require other words to fulfill their meaning. This grouping has led to the
following classification of predicates in traditional English syntax.

1.1.2.1. Classification of Predicates.

The classification of predicates in English combines the structural criterion with the content one
due to the semantic and syntactic overlapping mentioned above.
A. Verbal Predicates, which are quite diversified in nature due to the way they form predication.
They can be subdivided into various classes:

- Simple Verbal Predicates, expressed by verbs in a finite/ personal mood, used in a certain tense,
either simple or compound as shown in (1)
(1) a. Dolphins live in family groups called herds.
b. Wolf spiders hunt during the day.
c. She ran onto the road.
d. Perdita was picking up more and more human words.
e. Missis had collapsed.
f. I will tear Cruella de Vil in pieces.
g. They’re playing in the garden now.

- Phraseological predicates, consist of structurally indivisible phrases and can be replaced by a

verb:
(2) a. The Browns have dinner in the garden every evening.( eat, serve)
b. The child got a bath in the river.( bathe)
c. They have had a refreshing walk in the woods. (walk)
d. Susan had a terrible cry after hearing the thunder.(cry)
e. The little puppy had a long drink from a white pottery bowl.(drink)

- Compound verbal predicates show both the way the action is performed and its relation to time.
They are subclassified into compound modal verbal predicates , including a modal verb, and
compound aspect verbal predicates, including an aspectual verb, such as one of the following
classes: ingressive or inceptive, e.g. begin, start; egressive or terminative, e.g. stop, cease, finish;
continuative or durative, e.g. continue, go on, keep on; frequentative, iterative, or repetitive, e. g.
would, used to.
(3) a. We must travel across the country to find them.
b. You should manage to do it in due time.
c. But no human ear could have heard the cheers.
d. I’d rather walk than take a taxi.
e. The rain started to pour in showers.
f. The chairman of the committee finished reading the report.
g. There used to be a stately nut-tree in backyard.
h. “Go on reading!” said the little girl to her Grandma.

B. Nominal Predicates show the state or quality ascribed to the subject by the action performed
by the verb. The nominal predicate is made up of a copula or link verb and a predicative.
Copula verbs contribute formal information regarding the aspect, tense, person and number, voice
while the predicative provides the verb with meaning.
Since this piece of information will be necessary for the development of our next chapters, we
find it necessary to revise classes of copula verbs and the parts of speech the predicative is
denoted by.
The most common English copular verbs are:
1. Verbs of being: be, stand, feel
(4) a. And she was very, very frightened.
b. Juliet felt extremely sad.
c. The lake stood still.
2. Verbs of seeming and appearing: seem, appear, look
(5) a. They seemed surprised at the news.
b. The sky appeared dark and cloudy.
c. The lady looked awful in her petticoat.
3. Verbs of becoming: become, get, grow, turn, fall, run, prove
(6) a. She has become a famous lion tamer.
b. The weather is getting warmer.
c. The tree is growing bigger and bigger.
d. Grandpa’s hair has turned out grey.
e. After a good running the boy has fallen asleep.
f. The Danube runs icy in cold winters.
g. The hypothesis proved true.
The predicative can most commonly be expressed by: nouns, pronouns, gerunds, numerals,
infinitives, predicative clauses:
(7) a. She was a darling to everybody.
b. It’s me. Don’t bother!
c. His favourite pastime is reading adventure books.
d. They were seven in the group.
e. John’s quality is to understand others.
f. The truth is that you are too proud.

The aspects concerning the types of predicate in traditional grammar will be enlarged upon while
having practical applications.

1.1.2.2. Practical Applications

1. Analyze the types of predicates in the following sentences:

a. Pongo remembered everything.
b. Missis was looking down into the area.
c. These plants are meat-eaters.
d. A house fly makes a buzzing sound.
e. Silk is produced by most moth caterpillars.
f. He suddenly gave a squeal of laughter.
g. He appeared to be holding it out to them.
h. Then his heart gave a glad leap.
i. There was still a faint glow from the sunset .
j. Water was already boiling in a silver kettle over a spirit lamp.

2. Fill in with a word which should function as a predicative:

a. She is…to come back.
b. They ran…after the contest.
c. Her daughter has become …to traveling abroad.
d. His parents are growing…and…
e. The leaves of the trees turn…in autumn.
f. My uncle’s pigs are getting …
g. Miranda looks…Has she eaten something bad?
h. The sky seems …today.
i. Parents are always…their children.
j. Ducks grow…in winter.

3. Rephrase using a “get” –form:

Model: She burned the cake. The cake got burned.
a. A storm damaged the house. The house…
b. He broke his leg while jumping. His leg…
c. The fire cracked the entrance. The entrance…
d. Bad news upset everybody. Everybody…
e. Marlene tore her skirt on a chair. Marlene’s skirt …

4. Analyse the types of predicates in the fragment below paying attention to the agreement with
the subjects:
“ Can you see them?”said the old gentleman, putting his hand on the Spaniel’s head. “ If you can,
don’t be frightened. They won’t hurt you. You’d have liked them. Let’s see, they must have died
fifty years before you were born- more than that. They were the first dogs I ever knew. I used to
ask my mother to stop the carriage and let them get inside – I couldn’t bear to see them running
behind. So, in the end, they just became house dogs.”

1.1.3. The Object. Definition and Classification.

The object is the secondary part of the sentence which completes the meaning of a verb, an
adjective or a noun. We can speak about three types of objects : direct objects, indirect objects
and prepositional objects.

1.1.3.1. The Direct Object comes second within the hierarchy of grammatical relationships after
the subject. The notional definition used in traditional grammar refers to the entity( person, thing,
abstaction) that receives the action of a transitive verb. Transitivity is relative with some verbs
which can be either transitive or intransitive ( asking or not for an object) depending upon the
context (1):
(1) a. Jolyon reads every afternoon.(intransitive)
a’ Jolyon reads a book every month. (transitive)
b. Mary sings so often in the bath.(intransitive)
b’ Mary sings country songs at the festival.(transitive)
c. Do you want to take pictures? No, just, watch.(intransitive)
c’ I’m watching the movie right now.
The definitional feature of transitive verbs is that they take direct objects , being expressed by the
same parts of speech as the subjects: nouns, pronouns, substantivized adjectives or past
participles, numerals, infinitives, gerunds, clauses:
(2) a. He then outlined his plans.
b. They won’t hurt you.
c. Pongo instantly decided he would learn to manage bolts.
d. She saw ten, but there were many more.
 e. I like shopping during week-ends.
f. I hate to clean the house all the time.
g. We should help the poor.
The classification of direct objects also includes the criteria of composition/structure and content.
A. According to structure direct objects can be:
- Simple, expressed by a single word, possibly determined and modified by attributes , the same
as the subject.
(3) a. But the cat followed them all the way to their house.
b. I shall always remember this happy walk.
c. She was wearing a tight – fitting emerald satin dress.
d. I worship furs.
- Coordinated , expressed by two or several nouns or noun-equivalents, in the accusative case:
(4) a. Mrs Dearly took Pongo and Missis across the park.
b. They had splendid heads, fine shoulders, strong legs and straight tails.
- Compound, rendered by two or several nouns referring to only one entity.
(5) a. I have always liked my balcony and garden. (the balcony is like a garden to me)
b. I have met your mother and friend.( mother is like a friend).
- Double, expressed by the direct object proper and the indirect object in the reversed order:
(6) a. They asked me a lot of questions.
b. The public offered them flowers.
- Complex, rendered through constructions made up of two inseparable parts ( the object proper,
and another part which completes its meaning):
(7) a. Not until we’ve found some dogs to help us.
b. You shall not let that cruel, thoughtless child put such a sin on your conscience.
c. He saw the bowl empty.
d. They have made money a passion.
Sentences (7) a. and b. introduce the accusative plus infinitive constructions which are given a
detailed analysis in Bantas(1996:135-141).
B. According to Content, direct objects are grouped into:
- Significant, bearing meaning upon the usual type of direct object.
(8) a. Then Missis found her voice.
b. They heard the Great Dane again.
- Impersonal, which bears no meaning, being rather expressed by the formal it.
(9) a. Suffice it to say everything about the incident.
- Cognate, accompanying verbs which are normally intransitive , such as: sleep, live, smile,
laugh; they are labelled cognate because the nouns they are expressed by are related to the verb
in meaning and, generally in etymology.
(10) a. They lived a life of duty and honour.
b. The baby slept a sound sleep.
c. She dreamed an unforgettable dream.

1.1.3.2. The Indirect Object shows the entity whom the action of the verb affects indirectly.
It is almost always used together with the direct object. It is canonically built up using the
preposition to as a mark of the dative but it can be used without any preposition especially when
it precedes the direct object.
(11) a. They gave the flowers to Doris at the party.
b. The postman delivered the letters to the butler.
c. She sent me the parcel.
d. The officer reported the general the incident.
There are verbs which obligatorily ask for the preposition to : announce , attribute, contribute,
dedicate, describe, explain, indicate, introduce, listen, point, propose, report, talk, suggest,etc.
(12) a. The officer reported the incident to the general.
b. They described the journey to their kids.
c. He explained the problem to his son.
For a minute analysis of the indirect object use of prepostions you should consult Bantas,
1996:142-146.

1.1.3.3. The Prepositional Object is particularly discussed in English grammars in connection

with verbs with obligatory preposition or that contextually require the use of prepositions. Its
main purpose is to complete the meaning of a verb, a noun, an adjective, etc. It is again Bantas
1996 who has provided a classification of prepositional objects into those of agent, instrument,
means, association, relation. With reference to its position in the sentence, it generally occupies
final place, following the direct object and the indirect object :
(13) a. The houses were pulled down by the earthquake.
b. The actors were cheered by the audience.
c. He opened the door with an old key.
d. They travelled to Paris by train.
e. Joanna went to the movie with her friends.
f. I’m against coffee but in favour of some tea.

1.1.3.4. Practical Applications

1. Identify the direct objects and specify the parts of speech they are expressed by in the
following sentences:
a. We went to see the latest news film yesterday.
b. The clerk finished the report.
c. Everybody says he is a good writer.
d. I was going to get it from the library.
e. As a matter of fact he scored seven out of ten.

2. Rephrase by changing the order of direct and indirect object where allowed:
a. Mary told Doris everything.
b. He will give the book to anyone who asks for it.
c. His aunt left a large fortune to all her nieces and nephews.
d. The host oferred drinks to all the guests in the room.
e. The guide showed the cathedral to us all.

3. Supply the missing prepositions for, with, against as parts of prepositional objects.
a. I don’t agree … you when yoou say that.
b. You can even insure…loss of income.
c. I would like to exchange my old car …a new one.
d. Rubber solution is used… sticking patches on tyres.
e. I should be satisfied …half of the sum.

1.1.4. The Adverbial Modifier. Definition.

The adverbial modifier is that secondary part of the sentence which modifies or renders more
precise a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It is morphologically denoted by the adverb in all
its categories.
1.1.4.1. Classification of Adverbial Modifiers.
Accordingly, we may speak about adverbial modifiers of: time, place, manner, attending
circumstances, comparison, comparison and concession, concession proper, purpose, condition,
cause/reason, result / consequence. The majority of them may be subcategorized still from a
semantic point of view.
-Time:
(14) a. I’ve been serching for you for years.
b. The water in the pond froze last night.
c. I have always liked watching the birds fly high up in the sky.
d. They danced until the sun rose.
- Place:
e. She has moved in the countryside.
f. He will go to the cinema after his training courses.
g. Grandpa is working in the garden.
-Manner:
h. She sings beautifully.
i. He went to his office in a hurry.
j. Jeremy behaves rudely to everybody.
-Comparison:
k. The sky is as clear as crystal.
l. Midge is not so intelligent as Fanny.
- Concession:
m. Though he was tired, he kept on working.
- Purpose:
n. She works a lot in order to get her salary increased.
- Condition:
o. I would buy a villa if I had money.
- Cause:
p. The flight was postponed because of the thick fog.
- Result/Consequence:
r. It was too much for her to leave her native town.
q. He broke fallit as a result of his negligence.

1.1.4.2. Practical Applications

1. Read the sample texts a, b, c ; identify the adverbial modifiers and classify them according to
the types illustrated above.

a. “ But the chipmunk slept all day and did not get up and have breakfast until after dark. Then he
came out for a breath of air before beginning work on a new design.The shrike swooped down to
snatch up the chipmunk, but could not see very well on account of the dark, so he batted his head
against an alder branch and was killed”

b. “ I wrote only one story a day, usually consisting of fewer than a thousand words. Most of the
reporters , when they went out on assignments , first had to get on their foot in the door , but the
portals of the fantastic and the unique are always left open”.

c. “ ‘I sometimes think’, he said, ‘that you and I have become a bit pampered. Well, pampering
does good dogs no harm, provided they don’t come to depend on it. If they do, they become old
before their time.’”
1.1.5. The Attribute
The attribute has been defined as that secondary part of the sentence which determines or
modifies any nominal part of the sentence starting with the subject, the predicative, the direct,
indirect or prepositional object ( Bantas, 1996: 165). The typical attribute in English and other
languages is the adjective and its subcategories. The other parts of speech that can function
syntactically as attributes are: nouns, pronouns, infinitives, numerals, adverbs,etc.
(15) a. Her name is Mary.
b. The student camp is full of girls.
c. His desire to help us melt our hearts.
d. The sleeping pups awoke in alarm.
e. The largest kittens in the yard looked older.
f. The bedroom upstairs looked down into the garden.
g. She liked him from he very first moment.
h. Today’s newspapers speak about inflation.
Interesting observations have been made concerning the place of the attribute. So it can be front
or post positioned vis-a -vis the modified word. Therefore in the literature adjectives are divided
into being used either attributively or predicatively.
(16) a. The lonely shepherd murmurs a chant every evening.
a* The shepherd murmurs lonely a chant.
b. She is alone at home.
b * She alone is at home.

1.1.5.1. Practical Applications

1.Analyse the attributes in the following texts and specify the parts of speech they are expressed
by:
a. “ Finally the cops put their shoulders to our big heavy front door with its thick beveled glass
and broke it in: I could hear a rending of wood and a splash of glass on the floor of the hall. “
b. “ Once upon a sunny morning a man who sat in a breakfast nook looked up from his scrambled
eggs to see a white unicorn with a gold horn quietly cropping the roses in the garden. “.
c. “ Owing to the artificially complex life led by city dogs of present day, they tend to lose the
simpler systems of intuition which once guided all breeds, and frequently lapse into what comes
very close to mental perplexity. I myself have known some very profoundly thoughtful dogs.”

Notes and Suggested Readings

A very comprehensive analysis of the parts of sentence from a traditional point of view is to be
found in Badescu 1984, Bantas 1996, if we are to quote two of the most used books in teaching
English as a second language in Romania, following the prescriptive method. Another
recommended author is Swan 1989 who focuses on the learner’s acquisition of English starting
from the rules and pinpointing the exceptions.

1.2. Sentential / Clausal Word Order and Syntactic Analysis.

English is a fixed word order language meaning that sentences are built according to restrictive
relational rules among the parts of sentence so as to produce meaningful junks of language. With
this we introduce the concept of syntactic linkage which, according to Miller 2002 subsumes the
traditional concepts of agreement and government. In an active declarative sentence, the subject
is immediately followed by the predicate , followed by the object and so on : “ Since the vast
majority of the world’s languages display basic orders in which the subject precedes the object,
such ordering is seen to be typollogically unmarked…[…] The communicative strategy adopted
by the dominant subject-before-object languages is viewed as addresee-oriented because the
speaker , having some or newsworthy information to deliver , places the addressee’s need for
clarity and distinctiveness above his own need to divulge the message”( Siewierska 2005: 372-
373)
Therefore, the traditional word order, allowing a linear syntactic analysis, fits into the following
pattern:

( 17) S P DO/IO PO ADV.MOD.

Since language has a ‘living form’, there are naturally exceptions to the rules either with regard
to the presence of all the parts in a sentence or their positional occurrence. Consider examples
under:
(18) a. They/ were talking/ about the fishing industry.
S P IO/PO
b. Mr. Tansley/ raised/ a hammer.
S P DO
c. He/ wanted/ it/ urgently.
S P DO Advof manner
d. She/ had been reading/ in his room.
S P Adv of place
e. Lily Briscoe/ watched/ her drifting/ into that strange noman’s land.
S P DO Adv of place
f. She/ was/ now/ beginning/ to feel/ annoyed/ with them/ for being so late.
S P Adv P DO Adv of PO Adv of cause
of time manner

Rules of inversion to English word order have been largely discussed in the literature with
reference to pragmatic highlighting in communication theories. It is mostly for reasons of giving
certain emphasis to some parts of the sentence that the canonical word order is reversed. In what
follows we shall specify some of the most common cases:
- The indirect object comes before the direct object when we want to emphasize it for any
reason:
(19) a.Give the ball to your brother not to John.
- We can place the Adv of manner immediately after the subject when we want to emphasize
how an action is performed:
(20) a. Hardly had she finished the washing when the phone rang.
b. Little does he realize how selfish he is.
- If there is a verb of movement , the Adv of place occurs immediately after the verb to complete
its meaning:
(21) a. We walked to the theatre in a hurry last night.

1.2.1.Practical Applications:
1. Put the adverbials in their correct order after the verb:
a. She spoke ( with deliberation, clearly).
b. Take the second door ( downstairs, on the right, in the hall).
c. Put the jug( carefully, on the table).
d.They are going to leave( on Thursday, by plane)
e. I said good-bye to them ( yesterday, at the station, regretfully).
2. Rephrase, so that the adverb in italics comes at the beginning of the sentence:
a. I have never in my life seen such a sight as this.
b. You could nowhere find find such a better friend.
c. They didn’t speak a word.
d. The cat didn’t give a miaw.
e. She seldom goes out in the evening .

3. Analyse the word order in the text below:

“ Then indeed peace had come. Messages of peace breathed from the sea to the shore. Never to
break its sleep any more,[…] as Lily Briscoe laid her head on the pillow in the clean still room.
Through the open window the voice of the beauty of the world came murmuring[…]
The sigh of all the seas breaking in measure round the isles soothed them; the night wrapped
them; nothing broke their sleep.

Chapter 2 : The Syntax of the Clause in Structural Grammar

Structural grammar is quite different from Traditional grammar. Instead of focusing on the
individual word and its notional meaning or its part-of-speech function in the sentence, Structural
grammar focuses on clusters of structures – sounds, forms, word groups, phrases – working from
smaller to larger units. Structural grammar does not ignore semantic meaning but it tends to
emphasize syntactic over semantic meaning. That is, Structural grammar analyzes the meaning
carried by the syntactic patterns that words make with each other, patterns like those formed by
modifier-noun, modifier-verb or modifier-adjective connections, subject-predicate connections,
and so on.
Besides the general emphasis on morphology and syntax, Structural grammar developed
two particular useful analytical techniques: test frames and immediate-constituent analysis. Test
frames especially have been helpful in teaching grammar in the schools.
2.1. Structural Analytical Techniques.
2.1.1.Test Frames
These are blanks in simple sentences that may be filled in with any example of a
particular class of word, such as a noun or an adjective. For instance, noun test frames
customarily set up any or all of three types of sentence structures:

(1) a. The ______ cries. (“The” or “A[n]” ________ verb.)

b. He was driving his ______ rapidly. (Subject, predicate, “the” or “a[n],” ____ adverb.)
c. Put it on that ____. ([Subject], predicate, preposition, [modifier] _____.)

Each version illustrates a different position, and therefore a different function in the
sentence which a noun can fulfill. The first blank calls for a subject, the second for a direct
object, and the third for a prepositional object.
A test-frame exercise demonstrates two important points about English syntax. The first,
of course, is that speakers of English know what goes where; they are competent in the use of the
language. Even very small children can put the right kind of words into the blanks, words like
clown, horse, or table, or any other common noun. Speakers may not know that it is nouns they
are inserting – that is, they may not know the language of grammatical analysis or concepts – but
they know what belongs in the noun slots.
 The second point is that the English language is quite regular in its anticipating of nouns.
This phenomenon is accomplished in two ways: firstly, by position in the order of words in the
sentence (the subject-noun, for instance, nearly always comes at the beginning of the sentence),
and secondly, by use of function words called determiners, words like the, a, this, those, or my.
Determiners will only work with noun test frames, but other kinds of function words can help
identify verbs: these are the auxiliaries, or helping verb forms be and have, and the modal verb
forms like may, will, or can.

2.1.2. Immediate-Constituent Analysis

This technique, usually referred to as IC analysis, is the Structural grammar’s version of
Traditional syntactic diagrammatic representations. Sentences are constructed from groups of
words, often paired, rather than from single words added one onto the next. These groups of
words in turn cluster with other groups, layer upon layer of word pairs and pair groups, which
eventually build up a sentence. We can begin the IC analysis at the word level and work way up
to the sentence, or we can begin with the sentence and work back to the word level as shown
below:
(2). a. /Black streams of people flowed eastward to escape the flood/.
b. /Black streams of people// flowed eastward to escape the flood/.
c. /Black streams of people// flowed eastward// to escape the flood./
d. /Black/ streams of people// flowed/ eastward// to escape the flood./
e. /Black/ streams/ of people// flowed/ eastward// to escape/ the flood./
f. /Black /streams /of/ people/ flowed/ eastward/ to/ escape/ the/ flood/.
IC analysis demonstrates two important points about English syntax. The first reinforces what we
already knew from using test frames: English syntax is highly positional in structure – English is
a word-order language – and words placed next to each other are usually semantically connected.
The second point is that groups of words in English do indeed function as single units of syntax.
In our sentences, the word group /Black streams of people/ is the subject, /flowed eastward to
escape the flood/is the predicate, at large.
Remarks
Although these methods are considerably more objective and consistent than the traditional
grammar ones, they do not provide complete answers to some major theoretical questions or with
many exceptions and contradictions, inherent in the language, which trouble students and
teachers at a practical level of grammatical analysis. Test frames will reveal some parts of
speech/sentence but cannot comment in detail on structural methods in a sentence: coordination,
subordination, and so on. Although IC analysis can identify some structural behaviour without
recourse to a speaker’s innate knowledge of the language, nevertheless, intuition, guesswork, and
reliance on semantic meaning inevitably are called into play at some point.

2.2. Refinements to Structural Syntactic Analysis.

The key words introduced in this chapter are molded upon the methods presented in subchapter
2.1. and have as main purpose to make sentence analysis more precise to the students.
The concepts that will be used are: a. at word level: group-G, head-H, modifier-M, qualifier-Q,
b.at sentence level: subject-S, predicator-P, complement-C and adjunct-A.

2.2.1. Word Level. Word Groups.

The concept of group in syntax has been created around the occurrence of an obligatory word,
called head, expressed by one of the following parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adverbs,
prepositions. So, in other words, the group exists if there is a head: “[…] certain relationships
hold between words whereby one word, the head, controls the other words, the modifiers”.(Miller
2002:70) We can thus define Noun Group –NG, Verb Group-VG, Adverbial Group-AdvG and
Prepositional Group-pG. They can be simple, made up of the head only, and complex, containing
some other words besides the head, labeled: modifiers, which precede the head and qualifiers,
which come after the head. Their function is to determine or modify the head by conveying extra
information, sometimes narrowing down the head meaning. Another main idea is that
“Modification is crucial to discussions of word order in different languages”( Miller 2002: 80).

-The Noun Group is the richest in determination since nominality is one of the most pertaining
characteristic feature of the English written texts. The head noun is the controller permitting some
words or excluding others. Simple NG’s contain only nouns, e.g. bird . Complex NG’s can have
the following structural matrices: MH; MMH; MHQ; HQ; MMHQ, etc.
(3) a. that bird
M H
b. land in view
H Q
c. that beautiful singing bird
M M M H
d. that secretary bird with yellow wings
M M H Q

e. five birds sitting on the branch

M H Q
Analysing the examples in (3.), we can notice the variety of combinations that the structure of the
NG reveals as a result of the modifier typology.
~Modifiers expressed by articles, indefinite and possessive adjectives, genitives are labeled
modifier determiners-MD, e.g. the house
~Modifiers expressed by adjectives of all types are labeled modifier epithets-ME, e.g. nice dress
~Modifiers expressed by nouns are labeled modifier nominators-MN, e.g. toy factory
~Modifiers expressed by numerals are labeled modifier ordinators-MO, e.g. ten clowns
Qualifiers follow the head and may be denoted by words, groups or clauses: e.g. everybody here
(adverb); girls with flowers ( pG=p+NG); men who forget ( relative clause).

-The Verb Group has as controller /head a verb and follows the same patterning as the NG: MH;
MMH; MHQ; HQ; MMHQ, etc.
There are thus two kinds of VG’s: simple and complex. In the simple VG, the one verb is
obligatorily the head, and in the complex VG, the main verb is the head, and when there are
compound verb forms the auxiliaries are M’s. Lack of typology distinguishes among modifiers
within the VG , all being simply labeled M’s. Qualifiers in VG’s standing for particles closely
linked to the verb should not be confused with prepositions introducing pG’s.
(4) a. Read.
H
b. She is reading.
M H
c. They have been reading.
M M H
d. The engine broke down.
H Q
- The Adverbial Group is controlled by the adverb and can have the pattern : H; MH; HQ. It can
also be simple and complex (…)
(5) a. Run quickly.
H
b. They speak English quite fluently.
M H
c. They came often enough.
H Q
2.2.2. Sentence/Clause Level. Parts of Sentence/Clause.
The main parts of the sentence/clause that we use in the present version of structural grammar
are: Subject-S, Predicator-P, Complement-C and Adjunct-A.
~ Subjects are represented by NG items; they precede the predicator and agree in number with the
predicator items; they occupy clause initially:
(6) Mary sings beautifully.
S
~ Predicators are represented by VG’s; they follow S and are in number concord with the latter;
it might precede complement and adjunct if there is one:
(7) Dan won the competition.
S P
~ Complements are usually represented by NG’s ; they immediately follow the predicator and
have no concord with it; they might not always be present. There are two types of C’s: extensive-
CE and intensive-CI .
CE’s are represented by NG’s having the function of the traditional direct and indirect objects;
they immediately follow predicators represented by transitive verbs:
(8) a. Laurel bought the jewel .
S P CE
b. They gave her flowers.
S P CE1 CE2
CI’s are represented by NG’s having the function of the traditional predicative element in a
traditional nominal predicate; they are always in concord with the Subject. CI’s are also called
subject complements since they refer and modify the S.
(9) a. The little pony is cute.
S P CI
b. She has become a famous actress.
S P CI
There is another category of CI, corresponding to object complements which are linked to direct
and indirect objects, i.e. CE in our case.
(10) a. The committee elected him president.
S P CE CI

~Adjuncts can be represented by AdvG’s, pG’s or NG’s, depending upon the context of situation.
They are optional clause elements . They roughly correspond to the traditional adverbial
modifier.
(11) a. They married in secret.
S P A
b. Jack and Jill went up the hill.
S P A
c. I saw them yesterday.
S P CE A
 d. They act wonderfully.
S P A
The description of the structure of these two levels will contribute to the analysis of the clause in
the following subchapter.
2.2.3. Techniques of Syntactic Analysis
The technique used to analyse clauses at this level is that of tree diagramming. It will be apllied
to some samples that we shall provide to illustrate the seven basic clause patterns that Scott 1970
proposed:
1 Pattern I : S P
a. The owl sang.
S P
S

S P

NG VG

MD H H

The owl sang

2. Pattern II: S P A
a. The dancers seem in a good shape.
S P A
S

S P A

NG VG PG

MD H H P NG

MD ME H

The dancers seem in a good shape

b. The new chairs are outside.
S P A

S P A

NG VG AdvG

MD ME H H H

The new chairs are outside

3. Pattern III: S P CE
a. Leslie wore a pink pyjamas.
S P CE

S P CE

NG VG NG

H H MD ME H

Leslie wore a pink pyjamas

4. Pattern IV: S P CI:
a. He looked sad.
S P CI

S P CI

NG VG NG

H H H

He looked sad

5. Pattern V: S P CE CI
a. She made him her slave.
S P CE CI
S

S P CE CI

NG VG NG NG

H H H MD H

She made him her slave

6. Pattern VI: S P CE1 CE2
a. The professor handed them the papers.
S P CE1 CE2

S P CE1 CE2

NG VG NG NG

MD H H H MD H

The professor handed them the papers

7. Pattern VII : S P CE A
a. Kim put the bag on the table.
S P CE A

S P CE A

NG VG NG pG

H H MD H pG NG

MD H

Kim put the bag on the table

2.3 . Practical Applications

1. Analyse the NG’s in the following sentences:

a. Mr. Bankes expected her to answer.
b. “A bit of a hypocrite?’’, he suggested.
c. The world by all means should have shared it.
d. The vegetable salts are lost.

2. Analyse the NG’s in the following sentences:

a. She could have wept.
b. She shut doors.
c. He had come across his former friend in the street.
d. The sun is shining.

3.Analyse the AdvG’s in the following sentences:

a. They appeared on the terrace.
b. For she had triumphed again.
c. They drew ahead together.
d. She crouched low down.

4. Analyse the following sentences into S, P,C, A . Draw the tree diagrams. Not all elements
might be represented.
a. Nancy had gone with them.
b. Mr. Ramsay felt free now to laugh out loud at Hume.
c. She folded the green shawl about her shoulders.
d. There was a ladder against the greenhouse.
e. He was irritable and touchy.
f. He could do nothing to help her.
g.The insincerity slipping in among the truths annoyed her.
h. His eyes glazed with emotion met theirs.
i. She had laid her head on Mrs. Ramsay’s lap.
j. Mr. Bankes tapped the canvas with the bone handle.

CHAPTER 3. The Syntax of the Simple Sentence in Transformational Grammar

3.1. Formal criteria for form classes

The constituent structure of a sentence is concerned with the way the words are grouped,
words which we call constituents, and with their hierarchical organization. In order to analyze the
constituent structure of sentences, it is necessary to break them down into their various
constituents and establish the form classes found in them and also to develop rules which will
specify the constituent structure of sentences. The following provisional constituent structure can
be formulated for the sentence:
(1) a. Poirot transferred his gaze to the companion.
a’. [S[NP[NPoirot]][VPtransferred][NPhis[Ngaze]] [PP[Pto][NPthe[Ncompanion]]PP]VP]S]
 Breaking sentences down into their constituents is known as parsing, while the
specification of their structure involves the formulation of phrase-structure rules.
The determination of constituents ( Gazdar 1982, Cornilescu 1986, 1995, Serban 1986) is
based on formal criteria devised for form classes since the terms ‘constituent’ and ‘form class’
are closely related notions. In other words, lexical classes such as noun, verb, adjective, etc. and
the phrases they head can be considered form classes or constituents depending upon the analytic
task at hand.
Two formal criteria for form classes have been proposed:

3.1.1. The internal structure criterion is paradigmatic in nature, that is within particular types
of form classes, certain types of elements may replace each other but not other types. For
instance, a pronoun can replace the elements in an NP, but not in a PP, VP or AdjP.
(2) a. Shan Tung was on the lead.
a'. [NP Shan Tung] [VP was on the lead].
a'' [S[NP[NIt]] [VP[Vwas] [PP[Pon] [NPthe[Nlead]]PP]VP]S]
 ‘It’ replaces ‘Shan Tung’ within [NP Shan Tung]
 no pronoun can replace the elements in [PPon the lead]
b. Lady Hoggin said acidly.
b'. [NP Lady Hoggin] [VP said acidly].
b'' [S[NP[N She]] [VP[Vsaid][AdvP acidly]]VP]S].
 ‘She’ replaces ‘Lady Hoggin’ within [NP Lady Hoggin]
 no pronoun can replace the elements within [VP said acidly]
c. Pekinese are sensitive.
c'. [NP Pekinese] [VP are sensitive].
c''. [S[NP[N They]] [VP[Vare][AdjP sensitive]]VP]S].
 ‘They’ replaces ‘Pekinese’ within [NP Pekinese]
 no pronoun can replace the elements within VP, respectively [AdjP sensitive]

3.1.2. The external structure criterion is syntagmatic in nature, that is each type of form class
has a unique set of possibilities for co-occurring with other elements in morphosyntactic
environments. For instance, an AdjP can co-occur with a noun inside an NP or with a copula verb
within a VP but not with an adposition in a PP. An NP, on the other hand, can occur in all three
of these grammatical contexts.
(3) a. Your poor mother was soaked.
a'. [NP Your poor mother] [VP was soaked].
a''1. [NP[DetYour] [AdjP[Adjpoor]] [N mother]NP]
 the [AdjPpoor] co-occurs with the noun ‘mother’ within [NP Your poor mother]
a''2. [VP[Vwas]] [AdjP[Adj soaked]]VP]
 the [AdjP soaked] co-occurs with the copula verb of being ‘was’ within [VP was soaked]

Remark: The phrase-structure rules of a grammar based on constituent (phrase) structure must
specify the way in which the form classes in the respective language (L-language) may combine.
A useful distinction may be drawn between lexical form classes and phrasal form classes. Lexical
form classes are the lexical categories of noun, verb, adjective, adposition. Phrasal form classes
are constituents like noun phrase (NP), verb phrase (VP), prepositional phrase (PP), etc.
3.2. Tests for Constituency.

In order to perform syntactic analyses it is necessary to have a set of tests which will
allow the analyst to uncover the constituent structure of sentences of the language being studied.
There are three tests for constituency that can be used: substitution, permutation and
coordination.

3.2.1. Substitution entails that only a constituent can be replaced by another element, usually a
pro-form, i.e. a pronoun for nouns, a pro-V for VPs, or a pro-PP for a PP. In (4.b)-(4.e) possible
substitutions in a sentence like the one in (4.a) are given:
(4) a. The new maid put the tiny thing in her pocket.
b. She put the tiny thing in her pocket. → ‘she’ replacing ‘the new maid’ .
c. The new maid put it in her pocket. → ‘it’ replacing ‘the tiny thing’
d. The new maid put it there. → ‘there’ replacing ‘in her pocket’.
d’. The new maid put it in there. → ‘there’ replacing ‘her pocket’
e. The new maid did. → ‘did’ replacing ‘put the tiny thing in her pocket’

In (4.b) – (4.d) an NP has been replaced by the appropriate pronoun she in (b) and it in (c)
and (d). The pronoun replaces the whole NP, not just the N; this can be seen in the impossibility
of *the new she or *the tiny it.
There can be a pro-PP, replacing a PP, as in (d), or it can be a pronoun, substituting for an
NP when it is the object of a locative preposition, as in (d'). When there functions pronominally,
it must replace the whole NP and not just the N, as the ungrammaticality of *in her there clearly
shows.
In (4.e) did functions as a pro-VP and replaces the entire VP. It is a pro-VP and not a pro-
verb, because it cannot replace the verb alone, as the impossibility of *The new maid did the tiny
thing the her pocket shows.

3.2.2. Permutation entails that a constituent may occur in different positions in a sentence while
retaining its structural unity. This can be seen in the alternative forms of (4.a) exemplified in
(4.1), (4.2), (4.3).
(4.1) a. In her pocket, the new maid put the tiny thing.
b. ? Her pocket the new maid put the tiny thing in.
c. *In, the new maid put the tiny thing her pocket.
In (4.1.a) the PP in her pocket occurs at the beginning of the sentence; the preposition
alone cannot occur at the beginning of the sentence as in (4.1.c). This is evidence that PP is a
constituent.
(4.2) a. The tiny thing the new maid put in her pocket.
b. *The tiny the new maid put thing in her pocket.
c. *Tiny thing the new maid put the in her pocket.
d. *Thing the new maid put the tiny in her pocket.
In the examples (4.2) the NP following the verb, the tiny thing, appears in initial position,
and again this is only possible if the entire NP occurs initially; it is not possible to have just the
head noun or the head noun plus one but not all of its modifiers in initial position with its (other)
modifiers occurring later in the clause, as in (4.2.c) and (4.2.d), nor is it possible for the
modifiers to occur initially with the head noun later in the clause, as in (4.2.b).
(4.3) a. The new maid wanted to put the tiny thing in her pocket, and put the tiny thing in her
pocket she did.
 b. *The new maid wanted to put the tiny thing in her pocket, and put she did the tiny thing
in her pocket.
c.? The new maid wanted to put the tiny thing in her pocket, and put the tiny thing she did
in her pocket.
The sentences in (4.3) involve VP-preposing (also known as V-fronting), and the verb
alone cannot occur in initial position, as (4.3.b) shows. Interestingly, the verb plus the direct
object NP seem to form a possible constituent, as (4.3.c) shows.
Thus in all of the different permutations in (4.1)-(4.3), it is whole constituents that change
function or position in every instance, and they are for the most part the same constituents that
were identified by the substitution test in (4).

3.2.3.Coordination entails that only constituents may be linked, usually by a coordinate

conjunction, to form a coordinate structure:
(5). a. in the box and under the book → [PP PP and PP]
b. on the desk and the table →P [NP NP and NP]
c. on and under the bed → [[P P and P] NP]
d. *on the and under a table
d’. *on the big and under a large chair
(6) a. the merry girls and the sad boys [NP[NPART ADJ N] and [NP[NPART ADJ N]]
b. the merry girls and boys → ART ADJ [N N and N]
c. *the merry and the sad boys
(7) a. She read the papers at home and wrote the letter at the office.
[VP[VPV NP PP] and [VPV NP PP]]
b. She can read and write the letter → [VP[VV and V] NP
c. *She read the and wrote the letter.
In the examples (5) – (7) the whole phrase forms a coordinate PP, NP or VP in the (a)
sentences and the heads form coordinate Ps, Ns and Vs in the (c) sentences. In the (b) example in
(5) coordinate NPs form a coordinate object of the preposition.
All of the ungrammatical examples involve conjoining a sequence of words which is less
than a full constituent, i.e. a preposition and NP modifier in (5.d) and (5.d’), an article plus
adjective in (6.c) and a verb plus an NP modifier in (7.c).

3.2.4. Concluding Remarks: A group of words must pass at least one of the tests presented so
far in order to be considered a constituent. These tests can be used to diagnose instances of
‘structural ambiguity’. Consider the ambiguous sentence in (8.a):
(8) a. Crook decided on the plane.
b. On the plane, Crook decided.
c. The plane was decided on by Crook.
The problem here is to decide whether on the plane is a constituent or not. The sentence
in (8.a) can have either of two meanings, depending upon whether on is analyzed as part of the
prepositional verb decide on, which means ‘choose’, or is a preposition heading a prepositional
phrase, in this case on the plane. The two readings are: ‘Crook made the decision while on the
plane’ (on as head of PP) and ‘Crook chose the train’ (decide on as prepositional verb). The
ambiguity can be resolved by the permutation test. If the PP appears at the beginning of the
sentence, as in (8.b), then only the PP reading is possible. Since only constituents can be
preposed in this way, on must form a constituent with the plane, and therefore the prepositional-
verb reading is ruled out.
If the sentence is passivized as in (8.c), then on and the plane are not part of the same
constituent but decide and on are, and therefore only the prepositional-verb meaning is possible.
3.3. The Representation of the Canonical Constituent Structure of Sentences. The Basics.

The canonical constituent structure of a sentence can be represented by using either

labelled bracketings (see examples (1)-(8) ) or tree diagrams (also known as phrase-structure
tree, constituent-structure trees , immediate constituent diagrams).
The essential features of a phrase-structure tree are depicted in Figure 1 and described in
3.3.1.

PP VP

P NP

DET N V

into the tunnel sing

Figure 1. Aspects of a phrase-structure tree

3.3.1. Phrase-Structure Trees

Figure 1 shows the representation of the PP into the tunnel and the VP sing. The
description of any phrase-structure tree will have to take into consideration the following
necessary component elements:
(i) Nodes. A node represents a position in a phrase-structure tree from which one or more
branches emanate.
The nodes in Figure 1 are PP, P, NP, DET, N, VP, V.
(ii) Branches. A branch is simply the line connecting the nodes.
(iii) Relations among nodes. Dominance Relations. Immediate Dominance Relations
There are important dominance relations among nodes. Depending upon the ‘source’ and
‘direction’ of the dominance relation there can be distinguished the following types of nodes:
a. Mother Nodes. A node X is the mother of a node Y if X immediately dominates Y.
b. Daughter Nodes. A node Y is the daughter of a node X if Y is immediately dominated by X.
Mother Nodes always immediately dominate daughter nodes. That is a case of immediate
dominance relation. Within an immediate dominance relation mother nodes dominate their
daughter nodes and there are no intervening nodes between them. In Figure 1 PP into the tunnel
immediately dominates P into and NP the tunnel. This means that PP into the tunnel is the mother
node and P into and NP the tunnel are daughter nodes. In addition, the P into node is the head
daughter.
Similarly, NP the tunnel immediately dominates DET the and N tunnel, and this entails
that NP the tunnel is the mother and DET the and N tunnel are daughters of NP the tunnel. The N
tunnel node is the head daughter of the NP the tunnel.
If a node is immediately dominated by another node, for example NP and P by PP or DET
and N by NP, then the daughters are immediate constituents of the mothers. In Figure 1, DET the
and N tunnel are immediate constituents of NP the tunnel; NP the tunnel and P into are
immediate constituents of PP into the tunnel and V sing is an immediate constituent of VP sing.
 Branches may connect mothers and daughters only, and every daughter can have only one
mother.
A mother node plus its daughter node(s) constitutes a local subtree.
c. Sister Nodes. Two nodes X and Y are sisters if they share the same mother node in a phrase-
structure tree.
In Figure 1, P into and NP the tunnel are sister nodes since they share the same mother
node, PP into the tunnel; DET the and N tunnel are sister nodes since they share the same mother
node, NP the tunnel. P into and either DET the or N tunnel are not sisters, because they do not
have the same mother node.
d. Branching Nodes / vs / Non-Branching Nodes
Branching nodes ensure the linear connections in a phrase-structure tree. They have more
than one daughter.
In Figure 1, both PP into the tunnel and NP the tunnel are branching nodes since each has
two daughters.
Non-branching nodes have only one daughter. In Figure one VP sing is a non-branching
node.
e. Non-Terminal Nodes. Non-terminal nodes are nodes which dominate other nodes.
f. Pre-Terminal Nodes. Pre-terminal nodes cannot dominate any further syntactic elements and
normally dominate the ultimate constituents in the phrase-structure tree.
g. Terminal Nodes. Terminal nodes are the ultimate constituents in the phrase-structure tree. In
Figure 1 into, the, tunnel are the ultimate constituents of PP into the tunnel and sing is the
ultimate constituent of the VP sing.
h. More on Terminal and Non-Terminal Nodes
Terminal nodes are, as suggested above, filled by lexical categories. Non-terminal nodes,
on the other hand, are syntactic, not lexical, hence the categories that occur in them are syntactic
categories, not lexical categories.
There is, of course, a fundamental relationship between terminal nodes and non-terminal
nodes; the normal situation is for the lexical item in the terminal node to be of the lexical
category corresponding to the syntactic category of the preterminal node. For instance, if the
preterminal node is ‘V’, then a lexical item of the lexical category ’verb’ can occur as its terminal
node.
The four major syntactic categories correspond to the four major lexical categories: noun,
verb, adjective and adposition. Since noun and verb are the most important and only universal
categories, they are used as the basis for defining other categories.
Typically, two syntactic features [± N] and [± V] are posited, and the combinations of
these two features define the four major categories:

noun = [+ N, - V ]
verb = [ - N, + V]
adjective = [+ N, + V]
adposition = [ - N, - V]

The idea behind the feature definitions of categories is to capture cross-categorial

generalizations.

3.3.1.1. The constituent structure of (4.a) under section 2.1 can now be represented in the phrase-
structure tree in Figure 2:
(4) a. The new maid put the tiny thing in her pocket.
S

NP1 VP

DET Adj N V NP2 PP

DET Adj N P NP3

the new maid put the tiny thing in DET N

her pocket
Figure 2. Phrase-structure tree for (4.a)

It is now clear what ‘being a constituent’ means formally. In terms of a phrase-structure

tree like the one in Figure 2 a group of words is a constituent if there is a single node in the tree
which uniquely and completely dominates them.
The sequence the new maid is a constituent because the three words are uniquely and
completely dominated by node NP1.
Similarly, the tiny thing and her pocket are constituents, because each sequence is
uniquely and exhaustively dominated by a single node, NP 2 for the tiny thing and NP3 for her
pocket.
In plus her pocket form a constituent, because the PP node uniquely and completely
dominates them.
Put plus the tiny thing plus in her pocket make up a constituent for the same reason: there
is a single node, VP, which uniquely and exhaustively dominates them.
The sentence, as a whole, meets this condition, as there is a simple node (S) which
exhaustively and uniquely dominates the whole sentence.
There is no node uniquely and completely dominating the sequences maid put, put the,
thing in, or in her, and accordingly, these sequences are not constituents.
Each of the constituents represented in the tree in Figure 2 emerged from the results of the
three tests for constituency presented in (2.1 – 2.3).

3.3.1.2. The structurally ambiguous sentence in (8.a) would have the two immediate constituent
representations in Figure 3:
(8.a) Crook decided on the plane.

S S

NP VP NP VP

N V NP N V PP
P NP
DET N DET N

Crook decided on the plane Crook decided on the plane

 Figure 3. Phrase-structure trees for the two readings of (8.a)

The left-tree represents the prepositional-verb interpretation: decide on is a transitive verb

and the plane is its direct object. The right tree depicts the PP reading: decide is an intransitive
verb, and the PP on the plane is an adjunct locative modifier. The sequence on the plane is a
constituent only in the right tree, not in the left, while the sequence decide on is a constituent only
in the left tree not in the right.

3.3.2. Phrasal Constituents

3.3.2.1. Noun Phrases. Noun-Phrase Modification.
Noun Phrases (NPs) are traditionally thought of as consisting minimally of a head noun,
together with any number of NP modifiers ( Abney 1987).
Typical NP modifiers in English are: determiners (DET/Det/D); quantifier (Q) and quantifier
phrases (QP); adjectives (Adj) and adjective phrases (AdjP); nouns (N) and noun phrases (NP);
adpositions (prepositions – P) and adpositional/ prepositional phrases (PP) and clauses (CP).

3.3.2.1.1. Determiners
Determiners form a closed class of functional words which have the general property of
not themselves permitting modification. The class of determiners includes: articles (a, an, the);
personal determiners (my, his, her); demonstratives (this, that, etc.); interrogative determiners
(which/what); exclamatory determiners (What a fool!); quality determiners (Such a fool !).

NP NP

DET N DET N

a house my toy
a) b)
3.3.2.1.2. Quantifiers and Quantifier Phrases
Quantifiers (Q) have the general function of indicating the quantity of elements referred to
by the NP. Unlike determiners, they permit various kinds of modification and therefore have their
own phrasal structure. Typical quantifiers in English are: all, both, half, every, each, any, either,
some, much, enough, several, many, few, little, neither, together with the cardinal numerals one,
two, three, etc.
NP NP

Q N Q N

much noise five balls

a) b)
 With the modification of the quantifier, it is possible to form quantifier phrases: virtually
all the houses, not nearly enough houses, almost two houses.

NP

QP N

DET Q

almost two hours

3.3.2.1.3.Adjectives and Adjective Phrases

Adjectives and adjective phrases (AdjP) are NP modifiers par excellence. Here we include:
general adjectives; ordinal numerals such as first and second; related adjectives such as next and
last; adjectives such as same and other; the whole class of quantifiers.
(i) Adjectives in English are generally positioned between determiners and the head noun, for
example, that first brave try, a large red apple.

NP

DET Adj Adj N

a large red apple

Obs.: While there is a certain natural ordering relationships between the adjectives
themselves, orders which deviate from this ordering are typically possible: that brave first try, a
red large apple.

(ii) AdjPs in English may be formed by pre-modification of the adjective by adverbs, or post-
modification by PPs and clauses, e.g. very proud; proud of his success; proud that he has won so
easily.

NP NP

DET AdjP N Adj PP

DET Adj

a very proud man proud of his success

a) b)
The type of modification has an influence on the order of noun head and adjective-phrase
modifier within the noun phrase. Only pre-modified adjective phrases pattern with single
adjectives in occurring before the head noun: a very proud man.
 Post-modified adjective phrases must occur after the head: a man proud of his
achievements, a man proud that he has won so easily.
NP

Adj Conj S

that NP VP

N Aux MV AdvP
Perf DET Adv
s en

proud he win so easily

3.3.2.1.4.. Nouns and Noun Phrases

Nouns themselves may act as noun-phrase pre-modifiers, e.g. a rubber factory.
The item rubber is a noun rather than an adjective because it can itself be modified by an
adjective a corrugated rubber factory. Adjectives themselves do not permit modification by
adjectives, so there is no alternative but to consider rubber as a noun. Noun-phrase modifiers of
this type cannot contain determiners, although they may contain quantifiers: a party committee, a
two-party committee, etc.
NP NP

NP N NP N

DET N DET Q

a rubber factory a two-party committee

a) b)
3.3.2.1.5. Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases
Adpositions are prepositions or postpositions, typically taking NP complements.
(i) Postpositional phrases are a common form of NP postmodifiers in English: the cat on the roof,
a house without a roof. Some prepositions can occur alone as postmodifiers: the room
underneath.
NP NP

DET N PP DET N P
P NP
DET N

the cat on the roof the room underneath

a) b)
(ii) Prepositional phrases in English with the “genitive” postposition ” ’s” are premodifiers with a
variety of functions including: the possessor function, e.g. the king’s crown which induces the so-
called “definiteness” effect: the unique crown belonging to the king; the subject function, e.g. the
king’s decree that windows should be taxed; the object function, e.g. the king’s execution; the
descriptive function, e.g. a woman’s hall of residence.
NP NP
DET PP N DET PP NP
N PP

the king’s execution the woman’s hall of residence

Descriptive genitive phrases are compatible with all the determiners and typically occur
close to the head noun, after any adjective phrases: a very pleasant women’s hall of residence.

3.3.2.1.6. Clause Modifiers

Clause modifiers can be divided into two major types: relative clauses and complement
clauses.
(i) Relative Clauses. Examples of relative clauses:
a) the Eskimos, who live in igloos
b) the Eskimos who live in igloos
b') the Eskimos that live in igloos
c) the Eskimos who(m) you met
c') the Eskimos that you met
c'') the Eskimos Ø you met
The relative clause in (a) is “non-restrictive” in that it provides additional information
about the referents of a NP whose identity has already been established.
The relative clause in (b) and (c) are “restrictive”, in that the information contained serves
to restrict the intended referents to those who satisfy the condition expressed in the relative
clause.
Remark:
 Non-restrictive relative clauses in English always begin with a ’wh-phrase’containing a
’wh-word’ like who or which.
 Restrictive clauses may, however, begin with a wh-phrase, or the subordinating
conjunction that or zero (symbolized by Ø). Ø, however, is not permitted when ’the
position relativized’ [the position in the relative clause which requests the role played by
the intended referents] is the subject position as in (b) rather then the object position in
(c).
(ii) Complement Clauses
Complement clauses, unlike relative clauses, do not contain a position relativized. Rather
the clause requests the propositional content of a thought or utterance expressed by abstract
nouns like belief, statement, rumour, etc., e.g. the belief that linguistics is easy, the rumour that
the prime minister would resign.
Conclusion
There is considerable evidence that the structure of noun phrases in English is
configurational that it can be described by a hierarchical constituent structure:
 NP
Q
all D
those Q
five A
pleasant PP S

women’s which are described in the university prospectus

N PP
halls

of residence

3.3.2.2. Verb Phrases. Verb Complements and Post-Verbal Elements

Central to the syntax of a particular verb are its ‘complements’, units associated with that
particular verb rather than with verbs in general. Verbs may have complements from a variety of
word classes, which may be straightforward or idiomatic in their meaning. Where there is more
than one complement, they are usually restricted as to their order of appearance; and particular
consideration of combinations of a noun pharse complement with an infinitive clause
complement leads to extra distinctions being made. Syntactic units known as ‘verb phrase’ (VP)
and ‘V bar’ (V') may be identified which contain the verb and other elements.

3.3.2.2.1.Verb Complements
A verb complements are those dependents it has by virtue of being the particular verb it
is, while its other dependents may be associated with any verb subject to making sense.
Obligatory complements are a useful diagnostic for discovering what types of complement there
are, but not many complements are obligatory: compare the differing effects of omitting the NP
complement in:
e.g. (1) a. Tim used.
b. Tim watched.
c. Tim read.
The complement of use cannot be omitted, that of watch only when it is clear from the
context what is watched, that of read quite freely.
Verb complements may be of several categories:

(i) NPs:
e.g. Tim killed [NP the fly].
Verbs where this is the sole complement form the core of the traditional class of
‘transitive’ verbs, and where there is only one NP complement it is traditionally known as the
‘direct object’. Such use of the verb admits passivization:
e.g. The fly was killed by Tim.
(ii) AdjPs:
Tim remained [AdjP very calm].
Observation:
With a large subset of such verbs as remain, a NP is also possible:
e.g. Tim remained [NP a fool].
This type of NP complement is obviously very different in semantic force from the direct
object of verbs which do not take an AdjP and forms a separate class from it. In Tim hates the
fool there are two participants, Tim and the fool, whereas in Tim became a fool, there is only one,
Tim, about which the NP complement adds information.
(iii) PPs:
e.g. a. The program resides [PP in the main computer memory].
b. The Browns don’t belong [PP in the house]. → transitive preposition
c. The Browns don’t belong [PP inside]. → intransitive preposition
(iv) AdvPs:
e.g. The refugees fared [AdvP dismally].
(v) Clausal Complements:
e.g. a. Tim arranged [CC that a bus would be there].
b. Tim arranged [CC for a bus to be there].
c. Tim arranged [CC to be there].
d. Tim has inquired [CC how much the journey costs].

3.3.2.2.2.Post-Verbal Elements
The most important other class of postverbal element is the modifiers, such as deadjectival
adverbs, many PPs, infinitives of purpose, etc. Ordering among postverbal elements is rather
complex. It is perhaps best seen as an interaction between a partially ordered sequence of
complements and an ordered sequence of modifiers, where the two may interleave. The ordering
of complements is basically a matter of word class. Thus two PPs or an AdvP and a PP are
unordered:

(i) e.g. a. We compete [PP with several establishments] [PP for thist trade].
b. We compete [PP for this trade] [PP with several establishments].
c. They went [PP about this job] [AdvP very watchfully].
d. They went [AdvP very watchfully] [PP about this job].
(ii) A clause is always the last complement:
e.g. Tim signalled [to Dan] [CC to follow].
(iii) Some modifiers may fairly freely interrupt the complement sequence or precede it:
e.g. a.We compete [PP for this trade] vigorously [PP with several establishments].
b. We rely every day [PP on this computer].
c. I said to break the silence [CC that I have seen Tim recently].
(iv) Almost nothing may precede the NP complement or complements, whether complement or
modifier, unless that NP is ‘heavy’ (i.e. long or complex in TG constituent)
e.g. I deprived of food [NP every mouse in the control group].
(v) If there are any complements apart from NPs, the single-word PP must precede one of them:
e.g. a. They send the letters [PP out] [PP from the headquarters].
b.They send the letters [PP from headquarters] [PP out] [PP to the customers].

3.3.2.3. Prepositional Phrases. Structure and Distribution

3.3.2.3.1.. Structure
(i) Theoretical and empirical considerations have led various linguists to acknowledge that
prepositions can take as their complement not only an NP but also a PP and a clause or no
complement at all (Ø).
e.g. a. Dick was in [NP the house] that day.
b. Dick has been living here since [PP before the war].
c. Dick has been living here since [S the war ended].
d. Dick was in (Ø) that day.
 This approach is, in fact, characteristic of ‘traditional grammar’ much of which is
enshrined in the major contemporary reference works on English grammar, Quirk, et al. (1985)
and its derivatives.
According to this approach, items like since and before are only prepositions when take as
a complement an NP or a PP, but they are ‘subordinators’ (i.e. subordinating conjunctions or
‘complementizers’) when combined with a clause, and ‘prepositional adverbs’ when standing
alone. Clearly, Quirk, et al. are ready to admit that prepositions can combine not only with NPs
but also with PPs.
Some members of the traditional category of ‘subordinator’ or ‘subordinating
conjunction’ (roughly corresponding to complementizer in ‘generative grammar’) have also been
reanalysed as prepositions. First it has been noted that the intensifier right can be associated with
clausal constructions introduced by before, since, etc., for example:
e.g. He spoke right after the music stopped.
Since right is a prepositional specifier elsewhere, in this context it is regarded as
modifying a PP. Hence, before, after, etc. are prepositions when introducing a clause.
Accordingly P-P-NP strings like since before the war (example 2) are instances of a preposition
taking a PP as its complement. The next example shows that in the more plausible cases of the
P-PP structure, coordination of PP complements of a preposition is possible.
e.g. The troops advanced from [beside the river] and [within the forest].
(ii) Another observation to be made about prepositional complementation concerns the so-called
‘absolute’ PPs, phrases containing subject – predicate sequences as in with the window open and
without a hat on your head. These have been analysed either as involving two separate
complements of the preposition or just one – a ‘small’ clause.
Van Riemsdijk (1978: ch.3) is an advocate of the former analysis. For him, an absolute
PP like with the window open has the following structure:
PP

P NP AP

with the window open

For others (Hoekstra 1984) the subject and the predicate form a single clausal
complement of the preposition.

PP

P ? S/NP/AP/any P
NP AP

with the window open

The question mark in place of a category label for the constituent at issue marks the fact
that there is no agreement as to the category status of this constituent: it could be an S, a bar S', or
an AP (or any other phrasal category), depending on the category of the predicate of the small
clause:
e.g. a. with all our students [NP hostages]
b. without the baby [VP demanding attention]

The discussion here highlights the fact that prepositions are generally heads of phrases,
prepositional phrases, and that these show the characteristics of major phrasal categories.
(iii) There are a number of situations in which prepositions are not heads of phrases. One,
summarized in Radford (1988: 2) has to do with prepositions in the so-called verb-particle
alternations such as:

e.g. a. He put off the customers.

b. He put the customers off.

A variety of syntactic tests point to the conclusion that where the intransitive preposition
(traditionally referred to as ‘particle’) and the verb are not adjacent, the preposition is the head of
a PP.
However, when the intransitive preposition is adjacent to the verb, it constitutes part of a
complex verb. The following illustrates the two structures:
a. He [VP put off the customers.] b. He [VP put the customers off. ]

S S

NP VP NP VP

V NP N V NP PP

N V P Det N Det N P

He put off the customers. He put the customers off.

3.3.2.3.2. Distribution
There are a wide range of positions in a sentence in which PPs can appear. Most
commonly, they appear as complements, adjuncts and predicates.
(i) PPs as complements:
- of nouns
e.g. Adam remembers [NP their argument about the photographs].

- of verbs
e.g. Anna [VP decided on Bangor].
- of adjectives
e.g. They were [AP surprised at the suggestion].
- of prepositions
e.g. The baby crawled [PP from inside the box].
(ii) PPs as adjuncts:
- as NP adjuncts:
e.g. Adam remembers [NP their argument before supper.]
 - as VP adjuncts:
e.g. Anna [VP decided during a walk.]
- as AdjP adjuncts:
e.g. They were [AdjP pleased with themselves in many ways.]
- as PP adjuncts:
e.g. This book is [PP up to date in every way.]
(iii) PP functioning as predicates:
e.g. a. She is in trouble.
b. The lecture was on Monday.
c. I want this sailor off the ship.
While in examples (a) and (b) the relation between the subject and the predicate appears
to be mediated by a form of the verb be in example (c), there is no verb to relate the subject, this
sailor, and the predicate, off the ship.
This type of construction is often referred to as a “small clause” although (as was
indicated in connection with absolute with/out phrases) – there is an ongoing debate as to whether
or not such verbless subject-predicate sequences form a constituent.
(iv) PP as subjects and objects:
e.g. a. Between six and seven suits her fine. (Subject)
b. Across the road appeared to be swarming with bees. (Subject)
c. The compaigners planned until Christmas in detail. (Object)
d. The new tenants are reclaiming behind the garage. (Object)
Conclusion
In conclusion, one can say that prepositions are similar to verbs to some extent in their
complementation properties and hence, that structures of PPs and VPs are similar.
In their distribution, however, PPs are quite different from VPs and more like other
phrasal categories.

3.4. Concluding Remarks.

In this chapter, constituent structure perspective has been introduced. Tests for
constituency, substitution, permutation and coordination, have been put to work in order to
identify constituents. Labelled bracketing and phrase-structure trees have been used in order to
represent the constituent structure of sentences. The organization and the essential features of a
phrase-structure tree have been illustrated. Brief theoretical considerations concerning the
structure of the main phrasal constituents have been provided. Phrase-structure rules have also
been touched upon.

3.5. Practical Applications

1. Use the constituency tests from [section 1.2] to show that the italicized elements in (1) are
constituents and that the ones in (2) are not.
(1) a. Cynthia wrote a new poem yesterday.
b. Cluny placed the watch carefully on the table.
c. The old couple amused the children.
d. Betty tried to escape from the island.
e. That the stock market kept going up surprised everyone.

(2) a. Cynthia wrote a new poem yesterday.

 b. Cluny placed the watch carefully on the table.
c. The old couple amused the children.
d. Betty tried to escape from the island.
e. That the stock market kept going up suprised everyone.
2. Draw up phrase-structure trees for the following sentences [section 1.3]. Comment upon the
structure of the constituents.
a. He passed the paper to Lomas.
b. The bluntness of a friend in pain is never hurtful.
c. Her vigorous blood has healed the wounds at once.
d. The woman kept her hand on the door.
e. The deep mountain valleys of blue-green water rolled between.

Notes and Suggested Readings.

For discussion of phrase-structure see Chomsky (1957, 1965), Gazdar (1982), Radford
(1988), Cornilescu (1986, 1995), Şerban (1986), Croitoru (2002), Miller (2002).

Chapter 4. Final Evaluation Corpora

1.Analyse the clauses in the text below in terms of traditional syntax. Identify cases of exceptions
to word order.
“ Elliot Vereker was always coming into and going out of my life. He was the only man who ever
continuously stimulated me to the brink of a nervous breakdown. Vereker was a writer ;he was
gaunt and emaciated from sitting up all night talking; he wore an admiral ‘s hat which he had
stolen from an admiral. Usually he carried with him an old Gladstone bag filled with burned-out
electric-light bulbs which it was his pleasure to throw, unexpectedly, against the sides of houses
and the walls of the rooms”.

2. Analyse the sentences in the text below in terms of structural grammar. Draw the diagramming
trees.
“ The morning of the ninth of April ,1865, dawned beautifully. General Meade was up with the
first streaks of crimson in the eastern sky. The day continued beautiful. It drew on toward eleven
o’clock. General Grant was still not up. He was asleep in his famous old navy hammock, swung
high above the floor of his headquarters ‘bedroom. Headquarters was distressingly disarranged:
papers were strewn on the floor; confidential notes from spies scurried here and there in the
breeze from an open window; the dregs of an overturned bottle of wine flowed pinkly across an
important military map.”

3. Analyse in terms of transformational syntax and represent the constituency structure of the
sentences in the text below:
“ She turned the page; there were only a few lines, to finish the story. It was getting late. The
light in the garden told her that; and the whitening of the flowers and something grey in the
leaves conspired together to rouse in her a feeling of anxiety. Paul and Minta and Andrew had not
come back. She summoned before her again the little group on the terrace in front of the hall
door, standing looking up into the sky”.

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