PREAH SIHAMONIRAJA

BUDDHIST UNIVERSITY
MA in TESOL Program

COURSE:
ADVANED ACADEMIC ENGLISH

JULY 8TH, 2023

CHOK SOPHAT (PhD in EAL) 096 999 19 60/078 719 716
 SESSION OBJECTIVES 2

 By the end of this session, the students will:

• Discuss and share opinion about grammar aspects
• Define the terminologies
• Identify grammatical and ungrammatical element
• Explain and analyze the grammar aspects
 3
OVERVIEW

1. Introduction • Basic meaning

• Overview • Linguistic distance
• Meanings in context
• Basic Forms
• Discussion topics and projects
• On terminology
• Teaching ideas
• On being ungrammatical
• Further reading
• On good English
 4
INTRODUCTION

1 Which is correct: Mary runs faster than 1 or Mary runs faster than me?
2. We can say a woman and her, but what about "a her? Why is it
ungrammatical?
3. How can we explain why it's odd when learners say: I am boring
today?
4. If I shot the sheriff is okay, what's wrong with "I smiled the sheriff?
5 How do we explain the problems in "Lady go supermarket meet
friend?
 OVERVIEW
• After briefly reviewing some basic grammatical terminology, such as NOUN,
NOUN PHRASE, and PRONOUN, we try to define the nature of
UNGRAMMATICAL English and contrast PRESCRIPTIVE with
DESCRIPTIVE views of the language.
• We then look at some basic meaning distinctions, explaining the connection
between terms such as SUBJECT, OBJECT, AGENT, THEME, SOURCE, and
EXPERIENCER.
 OVERVIEW

• The distinction between CORE and PERIPHERAL ELEMENTS of a message is

illustrated, as is the relationship between LINGUISTIC DISTANCE and
CONCEPTUAL DISTANCE in English.
• We then look at some distinctions associated with information structure,
illustrating the role of GIVEN and NEW INFORMATION in accounting for the
different expressions (e.g. a woman, the woman, she) used to talk about the same
person.
• This first chapter has also been designed to exemplify the general type and
sequence of topics that will be presented in the chapter
 BASIC FORMS

• At the beginning of each chapter, there is a description of the basic forms being
analyzed. In those descriptions, a general familiarity is assumed with many
traditional terms for grammatical concepts.
• That is, terms such as SENTENCE (S), VERB (V), and NOUN (N), will be
illustrated and used without technical discussion.
• There are, however, some terms that may need an introduction.
 ON TERMINOLOGY

• A distinction is drawn between a NOUN (N) and a NOUN PHRASE (NP),

Essentially, the term noun is reserved for single words.
• The forms shown in [1] are all nouns.
• [1] book, example, man, tradition, woman.
• In speaking or writing English, however, we rarely use nouns by themselves.
• We use them in phrases.
• When we add an ARTICLE (e.g. a or the) to the noun, we create a noun phrase.
• When ADJECTIVES (e.g. good, old) are included, we also have noun phrases.
 ON TERMINOLOGY

• The forms in [2] are all noun phrases.

[2] the book, some good examples, an old man, that tradition, a woman
• Given this distinction, we can then see that a PRONOUN (eg. it, he, her, them) is
not a form that normally substitutes for a noun.
• We don't typically use the expressions in [3b] to refer to the same things in [3c].
[3] a. In the book, there was an old man and a woman.
b. "At the start of the it, the old he was helping the her.
c. At the start of it, he was helping her.
 ON TERMINOLOGY

• As shown in [3c], we use the pronouns by themselves in place of the whole noun
phrase.
• A pronoun in English is used in the same way as a noun phrase.
• Relative pronouns such as who and which, as we will see in Chapter 9, are also
used as noun phrases.
• In discussing other important terms, such as subject and agent, we will be talking
about the use of noun phrases rather than just nouns.
 ON BEING UNGRAMMATICAL

• The star symbol, or asterisk ("), which is placed in front of the sentence in [3b].
is a conventional way of marking forms as UNGRAMMATICAL. (Such forms
are sometimes described as 'starred".)
• This symbol will be used in the following chapters to indicate that we are
treating a form or structure, as used in that context, as not grammatically
acceptable.
• In other contexts, these seemingly ungrammatical forms may be used in a
meaningful way.
 ON BEING UNGRAMMATICAL

• The star symbol will only be used here to mean ungrammatical in the context
indicated'.
• In this approach, a noun phrase such as "a her is basically treated as an
ungrammatical form in most contexts (such as [3b]) where the reference is
equivalent to a woman, even though it is possible to hear someone say When I
heard the name Charlie, I was expecting a him and not a her in one particular
context.
 ON BEING UNGRAMMATICAL
• To take another example, the basic form of the sentence presented in [4] would
normally be treated as ungrammatical.
• [4] *She is in stay.
• If asked to explain why is ungrammatical, we might say that, in terms of basic
forms, stay is a verb, and here it has been put in a slot that is mostly in, on.
reserved for nouns or noun phrases.
• That is, in the grammar of English, we normally have nouns, not verbs, in
phrases after PREPOSITIONS (e.g. at).
 ON BEING UNGRAMMATICAL
• Putting a verb in a slot that is reserved for a noun or noun phrase will usually
create an structure.
• The explanation, in terms of grammatical form, is relatively simple.
• However, I have heard someone use the sentence shown in [4] and it sounded
quite appropriate and meaningful in the context.
 ON GOOD ENGLISH

• The issue of what is. and is good English' is rarely addressed in this book.
• There will be observations on what sounds more typical (in a context), what is
more formal, more stuffy, more casual, or more frequent, but we will avoid the
issue of what is better: (or even more better.)
• In language use, the concept of 'better' really depends on values unrelated to an
understanding of grammatical structures.
• Consider the following common example where one version of a structure is
sometimes claimed to be better than another.
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• For one English speaker (let's call him Bert), it may be extremely important that an
example such as [5a] should be treated as the only acceptable form and that a
version such as [5b] should be unacceptable as good English.
• [5] a. Mary can run faster than I. b. Mary can run faster than me.
• The issue here is the correct form of the pronoun (for me).
• Bert may insist that what is expressed in [5] is a version of Mary can run faster
than I can run.
• This full version shows that the pronoun (I) is the subject of can run and that me
would not be grammatical in the structure (i.e. me can run).
•
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• Another speaker (let's call him Ernie) might respond that me sounds just fine in
[5b] and seems to be the form that most people use in this structure.
• Bert is presenting a PRESCRIPTIVE argument (i.e. how it should be used) and
Ernie is offering a DESCRIPTIVE argument (i.e. how it generally seems to be
used).
• This type of discussion may be what is often associated with the topic of English
grammar, but there will be very little of it in this book.
• In a case like this, we will be more concerned with explaining how borh
structures can be used in English.
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• In the particular case of example [5], it is possible to provide a reasonable
explanation for both structures.
• To do so, we should consider a related structure that English speakers use, as shown
in [6].
• [6] Mary can run faster than ten miles per hour.
• Looking at example [6], we can see that the basis of Bert's explanation (i.e. Mary
can run faster than ten miles per hour can run) is not appropriate here.
• The expression ten miles per hour is not the subject of can run, but an object
following than.
• The word than seems to be used in [6], and also in [5b], as a preposition.
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• After prepositions, English tends to have object pronouns (Me, him) rather than
subject pronouns (I, he). For Ernie, preferring [5b], the word than can be used as
a preposition.
• However, for Bert, preferring (5a), the word than is being used as a
CONJUNCTION, that is, a form that connects two clauses, and the pronoun I is
the subject of the second clause.
• From this perspective, both Ernie and Bert are right.
• Grammatically speaking, neither form is better English than the other,
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• In the preceding discussion, we introduced another two technical terms.
SUBJECT and OBJECT, that will be used in some of the following chapters.
English pronouns provide the clearest distinction between subject forms (he, she,
we, they) and object forms (him, her, us, them).
• In the most typical cases, the subject (e.g. the woman, she) comes before the
verb, and the object (e.g. the books, them) comes after the verb, as shown in [7]
• [7] a. The woman wanted the books. b. She took them.
 ON GOOD ENGLISH
• We will have more to say on the role of subjects and objects in the discussion of
indirect object in Chapter 7 and relative clauses in Chapter 9.
• This initial description only deals with the forms and positions of subjects and
objects in English sentences.
• That is, we have only considered what they look like and where they go in
sentences.
• To describe these categories further, we have to move on, as we will do in every
chapter, to talk about meaning as well as form
 BASIC MEANINGS

• When we try to explain the meaning of grammatical structures, we tend to use

different concepts from those found in the description of basic forms.
• We talk about the situations or events described by sentences.
• Instead of verbs, we consider the types of actions or states represented by the
verbs.
• We are also interested in the kinds of entities and concepts represented by nouns
and noun phrases. We try to describe the roles of the entities as participants in the
actions performed within those events.
 BASIC MEANINGS
• In this way, we move from a purely STRUCTURAL DESCRIPTION of basic
forms as sentences, nouns, and verbs, to a more FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
of what a speaker or writer is doing with those forms, as in referring to events.
participants, and actions.
• In a structural description, we are basically concerned with listing all the forms in
a language and being able to say whether a particular form is correct or incorrect.
• In a functional description, we are more concerned with what meaning distinction
is conveyed by the use of one form rather than another.
• For example, instead of just talking about the sentence, noun, and verb in [8], we
can interpret the utterance as representing a specific type of event.
 BASIC MEANINGS

 [8] Someone stole my bag.

• In this event, there is a central action (stole), plus one role involving the ‘doer’ of the action,
or the AGENT (someone), and another role involving the 'thing affected by the action', or the
THEME (my bag).
• We will talk about agents and actions more specifically in connection with aspect in Chapter
3, modals in Chapter 4. infinitives in Chapter 8, and relative pronouns in Chapter 9.
• We can also note that the most typical events we describe involve a human agent performing a
physical action that affects a non-human theme (as in [8]).
• That is, the distinction between HUMAN and NON-HUMAN also becomes relevant.
 BASIC MEANINGS

• We can go further and distinguish between ANIMATE non-human entities (e.g. animals)
and NON-ANIMATE non-human entities (e.g. objects, ideas).
• These meaning categories can be useful in explaining a number of grammatical features
of English, including indirect objects in Chapter 7 and relative clauses in Chapter 9.
• Returning to the roles of entities, we can describe actions by non-humans that affect
humans, as in [9b], but there is simply an observed general pattern in which events are
mostly described with human agents acting as the source or cause of actions, as in [9].
[9] a. The girl threw the ball.
b. It hit the runner.
 BASIC MEANINGS
• This connection between the agent as the source entity and the theme as the affected entity may
provide a useful basis for explaining one distinction that seems difficult for many learners of English.
• I am more interesting in English grammar
• "There is a distinction in English between pairs of adjectives such as boring/bored, exciting/excited,
and shocking/shocked.
• These forms are normally used as in examples [10a, b, and c], but many learners produce versions of
the type shown in [10d and e].
• [10] a. The lesson was interesting. b. The teacher was amusing.
• c. The students were interested and amused.
• d. I didn't like the lesson. I was boring. e. I am more interesting in English grammar.
 BASIC MEANINGS

• In examples such as [10 d and e], learners may use the -ing form of the adjective
(boring, interesting) when they actually mean the -ed form (bored, interested).
• But why, they may ask, can't they say, I am boring today? The answer is, of course, that
they certainly can say that (it's grammatically correct), but is it what they mean? The
meaning distinction is not too difficult to explain.
• These adjectives are derived from verbs that express emotions or feelings.

• When we talk about an emotion, we can focus on the SOURCE (i.e. who or
what causes it) or on the EXPERIENCER (i.e. who or what is affected by it).
 BASIC MEANINGS

• When you are talking about the source, you use the -ing form. If a book (or a lesson
or a person) causes the emotion, then it is boring, interesting, or exciting.
• When you are talking about the experiencer, you use the -ed form.
• If people experience the emotion, then they are bored, interested, or excited.
• The cause is Loring, the experiencer is bored.
• As we will do throughout this book, we can take these observations and summarize
them, as shown in Box 1.1.
• We can also use this opportunity to include a list (as a teaching resource) of several
 SUMMARY BOX 1.1 ADJECTIVES LIKE BORING
AND BORED

• embarrassing, exciting
 Source or cause is -ing
• exhausting, fascinating,
• Things or people are.
• frightening, horrifying.
• amazing, amusing, annoying.
• interesting, intriguing,
• astonishing bewildering
• irritating, puzzling, satisfying
• boring, confusing, depressing
shocking, surprising,
• disappointing, disgusting,
• terrifying, tiring, worrying
SUMMARY BOX 1.1 ADJECTIVES LIKE BORING AND
BORED

 Experiencer or affected is -ed

• People (mostly) are: • embarrassed, excited,

• amazed, amused, annoyed, • exhausted, fascinated.

• astonished, bewildered, • frightened, horrified.

• bored, confused, depressed. • shocked, surprised

• disappointed, disgusted, • terrified, tired, worried

• When learners make mistakes in trying to use the forms in Box 1.1, they tend to do so by
overusing the -ing form.
• That is, we mostly don't have to devote energy to helping them learn how to say that things are
boring.
• Given an opportunity to teach or focus learners' attention on these form, the teacher might be
able to give greater emphasis to the -ed forms, providing or inviting examples in contexts where
participants are affected (emotionally) by events.
• In this way, our learners might become more accurate when they decide to tell us how bored (or
interested) they are in our classes.
• As will often happen throughout the following chapters, an exercise will be offered, typically
following a Summary Box, as exemplified in Exercise 1.A.
• Suggested answers for all these exercises are provided at the end of the book.
• In many of these exercises, as well as in illustrative examples within the main
discussion, the sentences or texts have been created specifically to focus attention
on a particular grammatical feature.
• Most of the examples are actually recalled or slightly modified versions of
sentences and texts that were heard or read in the process of analyzing natural
discourse.
• In some cases. particularly in the discussion topics, the texts are presented in a way
they close to their original form in print or as transcribed from recorded speech.
• It is hoped that the added difficulty sometimes experienced in dealing with genuine
texts will be balanced by the benefits of becoming more familiar with actual
examples of grammatical constructions as they are used in contemporary English.
 WHY CAN I SAY ‘I SHOT THE SHERIFF’, BUT NOT ‘I
SMILED THE SHERIFF’?
• In the discussion so far, we have concentrated on the central elements of structure (subject,
verb, object), typically representing the main components of events (agent, action, theme).
• By focusing on these CORE elements, we can identify aspects of the grammar that indicate
what happened, who or what caused it, and who or what was affected by it.
• There are, however, other elements that have a more PERIPHERAL role in the description of
events. in English, these elements are typically found in preposition phrases.
• Within a structure hat is formed by a preposition plus a noun phrase, the entity represented b.
the noun phrase will have the form of an object (e.g. with him, near them), but that entity will
not be directly affected by the action of the verb.
• In many cases, the preposition phrase will provide information abour the circumstances of an
event, such as when (at five o'clock, on Saturday), where (in the room, beside the window), or
how (with a ruler, by bus).
• In other cases, the use of a preposition will clearly mark that a participant was not directly
affected by the action of the event.
• For example, there is a distinct contrast in meaning between the (i) and (ii) sentences presented
in [11].
• a. (1) She kicked the dog (ii) She kicked at the dog.
• b. (i) I shot the sheriff. (ii) I shot at the sheriff.
• c. (i) "We looked the report. (ii) We looked at the report.
• d. (i) "He smiled the boy. (ii) He smiled at the boy.

• If it is grammatical to both kick something and kick at something, why can't we

look something as well as look at sothing?
• The answer may be found by thinking about the differences in meaning between kick and kick
at.
• When you kick something, there is a direct impact of the verb action on the affected object
(ouch!).
• When you kick at something, there is the same physical action (kick), but there is no impact
on the object (missed!).
• We normally interpret kick at or shoot at as meaning that the object didn't get hit.
• The preposition at in these examples, indicates that the object is not directly affected by the
action of the verb.
• In English, the actions represented by look, or smile, are clearly not considered to have any
direct physical impact on the object.
• That is, you can look at something, because the something is not directly affected,
but you can't look something, because it would imply that there was a direct
impact of your look on the object.
• Generally speaking, objects of prepositions are interpreted as not being directly
affected by the verb action, as illustrated with other prepositions in [12].
• [12] a. (i) Mark flew the plane. (ii) Mark flew in the plane.
• b (i) Mika rode a horse. (ii) Mika rode on a horse.
• In [12], we interpret the subjects (Mark, Mika) as having much more control over
the objects (plane, horse) in the (i) examples.
• These observations on the meaning of objects with and without prepositions are
summarized in Box 1.2.
• It should be emphasized that the interpretations presented here, as throughout this
book, are not being offered as the only or the complete analysis of the possible
meanings of the forms under investigation.
• It is a common experience in the study of grammatical meaning that, as we find a
way to explain one aspect of the relationship between form and meaning, we
often discover other aspects that require further investigation.
• There are more detailed discussions of the role of prepositions in Chapters 6. 7.
and 9, with the 'not directly affected' concept being explored more fully in
connection with indirect objects in Chapter 7.
SUMMARY BOX 1.2 OBJECTS AFTER KICK AND KICK AT

• Structure: Subject + verb (= physical action) + object

• Meaning: Object is directly affected by action of verb
• Examples: The man kicked the box. *He looked the money.
• Structure: Subject + verb (= physical action) + preposition + object
• Meaning: Object of preposition is not directly affected by action of verb
• Examples: The man kicked at the box. He looked at the money
 LINGUISTIC DISTANCE

• As will be noted on several occasions in the following chapters, there is a frequent

relationship in English between LINGUISTIC DISTANCE and CONCEPTUAL
DISTANCE.
• Linguistic distance can simply be measured by the amount of language (number
of words or syllables) between one element and another.
• There is more linguistic distance between shot and sheriff in the sentence I shot
at the sheriff than in the sentence I shot the sheriff.
• The word at creates more linguistic distance.
• It also creates more conceptual distance in the sense that the action of the verb
shot is more separated from (i.e. has less impact on) the object sheriff.
 LINGUISTIC DISTANCE

• The additional linguistic distance between flew and plane created by the
presence of in (example [12a]) is interpreted as more conceptual distance (i.e.
less control) between the action of the subject and the object.
• As a general observation, the more linguistic distance there is between any
elements in English sentence structure, the more conceptual distance there will
be in our interpretation of their relationship.
• This phenomenon will be discussed again in Chapters 7, 8, and (more briefly)
9. It's time for another exercise.
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
• After looking at basic forms and basic meanings in each chapter, we will also include some
observations on how meaning is shaped by context.
• In particular, we will consider how grammatical forms are used in the INFORMATION
STRUCTURE of communicative messages.
• As language users, we do not simply spend our time trying to create grammatically correct
sentences.
• We are usually trying to organize what we want to say (i.e. information) in a way that is
suitable for our listeners or readers.
• We can assume that our listeners are already familiar with certain information, whereas other
information will be new That is, there is NEW INFORMATION and old, or GIVEN
INFORMATION, In what we communicate.
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
• Different grammatical forms are associated with these different types of information.
• When we noted earlier, in examples [2] and [3], that a noun phrase could consist of a
pronoun (him) or an article plus noun (a man), or an article plus an adjective plus a noun (the
old man), we said nothing about the preferred uses of one of these forms rather than another.
• Yet, there are preferences.
• In example [13], the speaker is telling a story based on a set of drawings (presented later as
Figure 1.1). All the noun phrases are in italics.
• [13] There's a woman in a supermarket.
• She meets a friend with a small child.
• They stop and chat
• Then the child takes a bottle from the shelf and puts it in the first woman's bag
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
• As each entity is introduced for the first time (i.e. new information), the speaker in [13] uses
noun phrases with a, the INDEFINITE ARTICLE (e.g. a woman, a supermarket, a friend, a
small child, a bottle).
• When an entity is mentioned again (ie. given information), the speaker uses pronouns (eg. she,
they, it) or noun phrases with the, the DEFINITE ARTICLE (e.g. the child, the first woman).
• We should also note that the speaker can indicate an action without explicitly mentioning the
agent, that is, by using a ZERO FORM (represented by Ø).
• In [13], the two verbs char and puts have no obvious subjects. Their subjects can be
represented by Ø as in [14]
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
[14] a. They stop and Ø chat. b. the child takes a bottle... and Ø puts it...
• This use of a zero form clearly represents given information, in the sense that the
listener is assumed to know the subjects of these verbs.
• We can note that the zero form seems to be preferred when there are two actions in
sequence and the subject is the same for both verbs.
• The subject of the second verb is assumed to be known.
• That is, the zero form is used when the referent (who or what we're talking about) is
highly predictable.
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
• When the referent is less predictable, but certainly given information, pronouns are used.
• Although they are brief forms, English pronouns remind us that the referent (among those we
already know) is female (she) or plural (they) or neuter (it).
• That is, pronouns carry more grammatical information than zero forms, and tend to be used
when an entity has become the main focus of attention.
• Noun phrases with the (eg. the child) carry even more information and are used to establish a
known entity as the focus of attention.
• That is, after having the woman and her friend (they) as the focus of attention, the speaker in
line 4 of extract [13] establishes a different focus of attention with the child.
 MEANINGS IN CONTEXT
• If there is a possibility of confusion among the known referents, then an adjective is often
included, as in the first woman.
• If a referent can be inferred on the basis of assumed knowledge, then a noun phrase with the,
exemplified by the shelf in [13], can be used.
• For this speaker, having mentioned a supermarket, there is no need to announce that
‘supermarkets’ have shelves, as if it is new information.
• This is treated as inferable given information, but clearly not so predictable that a pronoun
could be used.
• We shall consider more examples of this phenomenon in Chapter 2, in the discussion of
articles. Pronouns, as typically conveying given information are also relevant to the analysis
of certain phrasal verbs in Chapter 6 and relative clauses in Chapter 9,
• Although a consideration of information structure was not traditionally of grammar
teaching, it does provide a useful way of thinking about features of English that are
difficult for some learners.
• For example, in to describe the same drawings as the speaker of [13], one English
language learner began his version as shown in (15).
[15] Lady go supermarket meet friend and talk boy in cart taking bottle.
• This learner clearly knows appropriate vocabulary, but is producing ungrammatical
English.
• He might appreciate some help in recognizing, perhaps via naturally comparable
examples such as [13], that markers of information structure are expected in
English discourse.
• A first step might be some attention to the use of articles in English. That will be
• Lady go supermarket meet friend and talk boy in cart taking bottle.
• The/a lady went to the/a supermarket, met her friend and talked to a
boy taking a bottle in a cart.
• The/a lady goes to the/a supermarket, meets her friend and talks to
the/a boy taking a bottle in the/a cart.
Thanks for paying
attention!