ENGL540

Analytical Perspectives in
English Grammar
Introduction

Dr Rickey Lu
Dept of English & Communication, PolyU
• Lecturer (2021-Present)
• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

• Lecturer (2019-2021)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Assistant Lecturer (2014-2019)

• The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Visiting Professor (2013-2014)

• Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
 Levels of Grammatical Analysis
• Subsentential
• Word, phrase, clause

• Sentential
• Sentence

• Suprasentential
• Discourse (multiple sentences, longer texts)
 Subsentential Terminology
Joe is very happy because he found a cheaper flat

How many levels of grammar can we analyze in this sentence?

Joe / is / very / happy / because / he / found / a / cheap /er/ flat - morphemes

Joe / is / very / happy / because / he / found / a / cheaper / flat - words

Joe / is very happy / because / he / found a cheaper flat - phrases

Joe is very happy / because he found a cheaper flat – clause

Today we will review some ‘traditional’ grammar terms

A review of these terms allows us to go deeper into grammar in

subsequent lectures
 Parts of Speech
• Noun
• Verb
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Pronoun
• Preposition
• Conjunction
• Determiner

• Parts of speech are also known as ‘lexical items/categories’

 Lexical Item
Word classes/ lexical categories

Two classes
Major
Content/Lexical words
Open class
Part of Speech (Lexical Item): Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Minor
Function words
Closed class
Part of speech (Lexical Item): Auxiliary verbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Determiners,
Conjunctions

The _ _ in the _
_ broom belongs _ _ closet.
Please work on…
• Worksheet 1

• Question 1
The broom belongs in the closet

minor major major minor minor major

The window to the deserted room fell

minor major minor minor major major major

Steven visited George in the hospital

major major major minor minor major

The laughing monkeys stole the biscuits quickly in the country park

minor major major major minor major major minor minor major major

If we had listened to her we would cry

minor minor minor major minor minor minor minor major

 Distinguishing Lexical Items
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Preposition
Conjunction
Determiner

How do we distinguish lexical items?

e.g. how can we tell if something is a ‘noun’?
 Distinguishing Lexical Items

•Semantic: Meaning

•Structural (Morphosyntax): Form

• Position in a sentence

• Morphological make-up
 Distinguishing a Lexical
Item
Nouns
• Semantic: Meaning
name of person, place, thing, event, idea

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
often preceded by determiners such as “the” or “their”

• Morphological make-up
• Derivational: -ness, -ion, -ity, -ism, …
• Inflectional: plural (-s, …), possessive (‘s, ‘)
 Criteria for Lexical Item
Verbs
• Semantic: Meaning
action or state of being

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
Often follow nouns that act as subjects and may be followed by other function words

• Morphological make-up
• Tense (time of occurrence)
• Aspect (occurred earlier, or in progress)
• John has written his term paper. – Perfect Aspect
• Now he is studying for his final exams. – Progressive Aspect
 Criteria for Lexical Item
Adjectives
• Semantic: Meaning
describes or denotes the qualities of something

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
between determiner and noun

• Morphological make-up
• Derivation: -able, -ful, -y
• Inflection: -er, -est
 Criteria for Lexical Item
Adverbs
• Semantic: Meaning
modify verbs (direction, location, manner, time, frequency)

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
Very flexible: appears in beginning, middle, end of sentence.

• Morphological make-up
• Derivation: -ly
 Criteria for Lexical Item
Determiners
• Semantic: Meaning
limits following nouns - that, these, the, a, my, your

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
Often positioned directly in front of noun

• Morphological make-up
• Closed
 Criteria for Lexical Item
Prepositions
• Semantic: Meaning
connects words to other parts of a sentence - in, to, at, out of, on top of

• Structural: Form
• Position in a sentence
Often related to the following word

Morphological make-up
• Closed
 Phrase
• Phrase: a group of words that function together

The very serious man read the New York Times really meticulously on the train.

The very serious man (NP) read the New York Times (VP) really meticulously
(AdvP) on the train (PP)

*This is a very simple surface level phrasal analysis. We will go into more in
detail about phrases later on
 Sentential Terminology – Clause
• Clause: subject + verb relationship

• Although they live far apart, / they are still friends

• Independent clauses: can stand alone

• They are still friends

• Dependent (subordinate) clauses: cannot stand alone

• Usually preceded by subordinate conjunction or some other marker
• Although they live far apart
 Mood

• Three main moods in English

• Declarative (Telling): She plays tennis.

• Interrogative (Asking): Does she play tennis?

• Imperative (Commanding): Play tennis!

 Voice
• Active
• Subject is often the actor or agent of some action.
The students sold the gifts in record time.

• Passive
• The subject is often the thing/person acted upon by the agent.
The gifts were sold by the students in record time.
 Please work on..
• Worksheet 1

• Question 2

• Noun (N), Verb (V), Adjective (A), Adverb (Adv), Auxiliary (Aux),
• Preposition (P), Pronoun(Pro), Determiner(Det), Conjunction (C)
John works efficiently for a fancy bank in Central.

N V Adv P Det A N P N
The broom belongs in the closet

minor major major minor minor major

Det N V P Det N

The window to the deserted room fell

minor major minor minor major major major

Det N P Det A N V

Steven visited George in the hospital

major major major minor minor major

N V N P Det N
The laughing monkeys stole the biscuits quickly in the country park

minor major major major minor major major minor minor major major

Det A N V Det N Adv P Det N/A? N

If we had listened to her we would cry

minor minor minor major minor minor minor minor major

C Pro AUX V P Pro Pro AUX V

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Grammar_frameworks
A note about ‘grammar’
• Linguistics is in the same situation as all other natural sciences. Language,
which is a system of very complex rules, encoded in a speaker’s brain in
some unknown way, is inaccessible to the direct observation of ‘pure’
linguists: we cannot open up heads, neither can we penetrate them with
electrodes in order to observe language as it is stored in the brain. The only
solution we have is to develop models of language. - Mel’čuk (1997)

• There are always indeterminacies, alternative interpretations, places where

one has to balance one factor against another. - Halliday (1994)