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Exploring The Grammar of The Clause: (Chapter 8-Biber and Leech, 2010)

This document discusses the different types of clauses in English grammar. It identifies the main types as simple clauses, coordinated clauses, and complex clauses. Dependent clauses include complement clauses, adverbial clauses, relative clauses, comparative clauses, and non-finite clauses like infinitive, -ing, and -ed participle clauses. Independent clauses can have declarative, interrogative, exclamative, or imperative structures. The document also examines subjunctive verbs in dependent clauses, which are rare in everyday English.

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Fabiana Balocco
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117 views8 pages

Exploring The Grammar of The Clause: (Chapter 8-Biber and Leech, 2010)

This document discusses the different types of clauses in English grammar. It identifies the main types as simple clauses, coordinated clauses, and complex clauses. Dependent clauses include complement clauses, adverbial clauses, relative clauses, comparative clauses, and non-finite clauses like infinitive, -ing, and -ed participle clauses. Independent clauses can have declarative, interrogative, exclamative, or imperative structures. The document also examines subjunctive verbs in dependent clauses, which are rare in everyday English.

Uploaded by

Fabiana Balocco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EXPLORING THE GRAMMAR OF THE

CLAUSE
(CHAPTER 8-BIBER AND LEECH, 2010)
TYPES OF CLAUSES:
DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
 MAJOR TYPE OF CLAUSES:
 SIMPLE CLAUSES
 COORDINATED CLAUSES
 COMPLEX CLAUSED

 REMEMBER!
 All independent clauses have finite (finite verb)
 They are used to perform “speech-acts” functions
 They can have four structures that correspond to the four main speech acts:
declarative(statements),interrogative (questions);exclamative(exclamations);
Imperative/subjunctive (directives/orders) (See table 8. 3 on page 249)
Finite dependent clauses
 Complement clauses or nominal clauses
that- clauses e.g I believe that the pandemic won’t last for ever.
wh- clauses e.g What I can´t undestand is your fear
 They can function as: subject, object or subject predicative of the main clause.

 Adverbial clauses
If you were better at speaking in public, the presentation would have been more successful.
 They are used as adverbials, and can be placed at the beginning, in the middle or at the
end of the main clause
 These clauses are generally “optional” introduced by subordinators
Relative Clauses (Adjetival clauses)

 These clauses are used to expand the meaning of a noun phrase and to specify the
reference of the head noun.
 They are postmodifiers in a noun phrase.

e.g My friend, who lives in Córdoba, is coming to visit me next month

The place which I’ve mentioned before is my favourite place in the world

Do the thing that you want.

 The relativizers that introduce these clauses have a syntactic role


(direct object or subject )
Comparative Clauses

These clauses are complements in an adjective phrase and in an


adverbial phrase and are introduced by a conjunction (than/as)
and the head element is a “gradable word”

e. g She arrived earlier than we have expected


He sister is quicker than he is.

Peripheral clauses

Tag clauses and reporting clauses have this peripheral


role(“attached to”) in the main clause.

“Give me a hand”, he asked

“I imagine you are nervous, aren’t you?


Non- finite dependent clauses
There are four major types :
 INFINITIVE CLAUSES: have a wide range of syntactic roles (subject,
adverbials, complement, object predicative, etc)
 E.g My wish is to be happy

 ING-CLAUSES : also have a wide range of syntactic roles


 E.g Living in peace has no price

 ED-PARTICIPLE CLAUSES: they can have the role of object, adverbial and
noun modifier in the main sentence.
 E.g The picture we bought at the is the one chosen by the majority of visitors

 SUPPLEMENT CLAUSES : are loosy attached to the main clause, occur mainly in
formal language; the writer adds supplementary information . The can be –ing
or ed clauses.
SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS IN DEPENDENT
CLAUSES
 VERBS IN SUBJUNCTIVE “MOOD” ARE RARE IN EVERY DAY ENGLISH AND
THEY DO NOT EXHIBIT SUBJECT-VERB CONCORD
 IT OCCURS IN SPECIAL KIND OF FINITE DEPENDENT CLAUSES (THAT-
CLAUSES OR IN SOME ADVERBIAL CLAUSES)
 WITH REGULAR VERBS THE SUBJUNCTIVE IS ONLY RECOGNIZED WITH A
SINGULAR SUBJECT.
 THE PAST SUBJUNCTIVE IS RESTRICTIVE TO THE FORM “WERE” .
 E.G - It was advised that Alex go to movies.
  It was necessary that she study hard.
 If he were my brother, I would tell him the truth.
Now, let’s practice!!

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