Grammar Eng A21 - Lecture 1

Question 1

Determiners:

The articles

Demonstrative determiners

Possessive determiners

Quantifiers

Wh-determiners

Answer 1

Determiners

• The articles the car, a car
• Demonstrative determiners this car, those cars
• Possessive determiners my car, her cars
  * Quantifiers some cars
  * Wh-determiners what car

LSGSWE, p. 32: ”wh-words do not form an independent word class. Instead, they are members of word classes already mentioned, especially determiners, pronouns, and adverbs.”

– Differences compared to other classifications:

 * Demonstrative determiners are ”related to” demonstrative pronouns
 * Possessive determiners are ”related to” possessive pronouns
 * Quantifiers are ”related to” indefinite pronouns

Question 2

Personal pronouns

Answer 2

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS
• Personal pronouns
he, she, it, etc

Question 3

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative determiners

Answer 3

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS

Demonstrative pronouns Demonstrative determiners

I like these. I like these cars.

I like that. I like that car.

Question 4

• Reflexive pronouns

Answer 4

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS

• Reflexive pronouns
himself, herself, etc

Question 5

• Reciprocal pronouns

Answer 5

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS

• Reciprocal pronouns ?Reciprocal determiners?
They like each other. They like each other’s cars.

Question 6

• Possessive pronouns

Possessive determiners

Answer 6

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS

• Possessive pronouns Possessive determiners
This car is mine. my car

Question 7

• Indefinite pronouns

Quantifiers

Answer 7

PRONOUNS RELATED DETERMINERS

Indefinite pronouns Quantifiers
I heard something. some people

Question 8

Auxiliary verbs

Answer 8

• ’Closed class’, which is why it counts as a function word class
• Auxiliary verbs precede the lexical verb in the ’small’ VP
• Two types (or maybe three):
– Primary auxiliaries
– Modal auxiliaries
– Semi-modals (marginal modals)

Question 9

Primary auxiliaries:

Answer 9

Primary auxiliaries: have, be, do

(Kristy’s reminder: “I primarily have a bee-_do_”)

• Help form important verb constructions
– be
• Progressive aspect: I’m walking in Memphis.
• Passive voice: The book was sent three weeks ago.

– have
• Perfect aspect: I have never seen anything like it.
– do
• do insertion (do-support, do-periphrasis):I didn’t know where to go.
• All three also have uses as lexical verbs:
– be
• He was half asleep.
– have
• We had lunch at 2 o’clock.
– do
• Elisa never does her homework.

Question 10

Test Review:

Past participle

Answer 10

Used by the perfective (has, had…)

laughed

come

set

said…

Question 11

Modal auxiliaries

• Definition
• two types plus examples

Answer 11

Express modality (permission, obligation, necessity, etc.)

Intrinsic/personal modality (done by an agent)

• May I smoke in here? (permission)
• Can Mary come out to play? (permission)
• You mustn’t hit your little brother. (obligation)
• You shouldn’t hit your little brother. (obligation)
• If you would only be quiet, I could finish this in no time. (volition)

Extrinsic/logical modality (logical status of states or events)

• This may be a true story. (Possibility)
• This could not possibly be true. (Possibility)
• The Johnsons must have a lot of money. (Logical necessity)
• The meeting should be over by now. (Likelihood)
• I will see my children tomorrow. (Prediction)

• ”In practice the modals can be regarded as invariable function words, with no inflections” … most modals have a contracted negative form ending in n’t…(p. 28)

• Apparent tense distinctions in modals have very
little to do with time.
• Instead, past tense forms often indicate greater
tentativeness/indirectness:
– weaker possibility/likelihood
• He may have been telling us a lie.
• He might have been telling us a lie.
• This can turn out to be a problem.
• This could turn out to be a problem.
– weaker permission
• Can I talk to you for a minute?
• Could I talk to you for a minute?

Question 12

Semi-modals

Answer 12

Semi-modals
• Semantically similar to modal auxiliaries (i.e. they express obligation, possibility, future, etc.) BUT:
• Many semi-modals have non-finite forms, e.g. infinitive forms
– The police will have to search the whole area.
– This might explain why Noah would have needed to gather only two of every major kind (ie, family or genus) of animal onto the Ark.
• Typically, semi-modals are followed by a to-infinitive (actually, to is semantically part of the verb)
– We are supposed to leave at six.
– We are going to leave at six.
We will return to semi-modals when discussing verb complementation.

Question 13

Prepositions

Answer 13

• Syntax: Function as heads of prepositional phrases.
• Structure of prepositional phrases P + Complement
• Complements of prepositions are typically NPs, but may
take other forms as well:
– Bill was in the room (NP)
– Before too long my friends were far ahead of me. (AdvP)
– We can rely on Bill(’s) going home early. (non-finite clause)
• Semantics: Indicate relations between entitities (both physically and metaphorically)
– Bill is in the room.
– Bill is in love.
– Bill is interested in sports

Question 14

Adverbial particles

Answer 14

• Used to build phrasal verbs.
• Different distribution from other ’short’ adverbs.
– Bring in the chair from the kitchen.
– *** **Bring here the chair from the kitchen.
• Often same form as prepositions, but
– Prepositions obligatorily take complements, adverbial
particles do not:
We walked up the steps. (prep)
We walked up. (adv. particle)

Question 15

Coordinators:

Answer 15

_ and, but, or_

• Coordination at different levels:
– word-level
He always wore white shoes and pants. (head of NP)
He can read and write. (head of VP)
I’ll do it with or without your help. (head of PP)
– phrase-level
My brother and his wife are coming to visit. (NP)
My brother made me feel extremely stupid and very small.
(AP)
James drives very slowly and very carefully. (AdvP)
– clause-level
Bill joined the club but he never went to any of the meetings.

Question 16

Subordinators

Answer 16

• Introduce dependent clauses.
• When the dependent clause functions as an adverbial the
subordinator indicates its semantic role. A few examples:
– Condition
If you should see Bill, tell him I want to talk to him.
– Time
When you see Bill, tell him I want to talk to him.
– Concession
Bill still hasn’t fixed my bike, although I asked him to.
• Subordinators also introduce complement clauses (nominal clauses)
I told Bill that I wanted him to fix my car.

Question 17

NP: premodifiers

Answer 17

• Occur before the head:
[short] hair
[blue] shoes
an [internal] memo
a [very tall] [handsome] stranger
• As the last example shows, an NP may contain more
than one premodifier.
• Typically, premodifiers have the form of Adj.P, but
other phrases may also have this function:
a [recently published] article (VP)
these [Indian cotton] shirts (NP)
the [downstairs] room (AdvP)

Question 18

NP: postmodifiers

Answer 18

(GAP)

• Occur after the head
a woman [of great wisdom]
my career [as a journalist]
people [living next to the power plant]
the book [about syntax] [that I lent you]
• As the last example shows, an NP may contain more
than one postmodifier.
• Postmodifiers in NP typically have the form of PP or
dependent clause, but other phrases may also have
this function:
a man my age
all people now alive

(i) the man [that we met ∆ yesterday] (object gap = the man)
(iii) the man [to talk to ∆] (gap is the complement of P (= the man))

Question 19

NP: Complements

Answer 19

(NO GAP) - Reminder- no gap teeth = complements

• Complement clauses differ from postmodifying clauses in _not having a gap _
corresponding to the head noun.

(ii) the rumor [that Ford would close down the factory] (no gap)
(iv) her refusal to show any sign of emotion

• Very often, a complement clause in an NP corresponds to the object of a verb:
Compare (iv) with the corresponding clause:
She refused [to show any sign of emotion].

Question 20

Few words that take a complement:

Answer 20

rumor, claim, etc.

Question 21

Subject: Gap or No Gap, that is the question

Question 22

The rumor that Bill spread went around town.

Answer 22

The rumor that Bill spread went around town.

Has a Gap

Postmodifier

Object (?)

Question 23

The rumor that Bill is crazy has gone around town.

Answer 23

The rumor _that Bill is crazy _has gone around town.

NO Gap

Complement

Question 24

Subject: Identify the dependent clauses and their functions…

Question 25

To be absolutely honest, I'm not very fond of the big lamp.

Answer 25

_To be absolutely honest_, I'm not very fond of the big lamp. Fxn: Adverbial

Question 26

Bill's first book about the love-life of grasshoppers did not impress any of the critics that reviewed it.

Answer 26

Bill's first book about the love-life of grasshoppers did not impress any of the critics _that reviewed it._ _GAP = Postmodifier_ _(Subject gap)_

Question 27

If you see Mary please don't tell her about the skeleton in her cupboard.

Answer 27

_If you see Mary_ please don't tell her about the skeleton in her cupboard. _Adverbial_

Question 28

Everyone in the grammar class had heard the rumour that the test was really difficult.

Answer 28

Everyone in the grammar class had heard the rumour _that the test was really difficult._ _No Gap_ _Complement_

Question 29

While we were waiting for the bus, Bill played a tune from West Africa on his guitar.

Answer 29

_While we were waiting for the bus_, Bill played a tune from West Africa on his guitar. _Adverbial_

Question 30

His favorite pastime is playing soccer with his childhood friends from Malmö.

Answer 30

His favorite pastime is _playing soccer with his childhood friends from Malmö._ _Subject Predicative_

Question 31

The man in the room next to mine insists that the hotel is haunted.

Answer 31

The man in the room next to mine insists _that the hotel is haunted_. _Direct Object_

Question 32

To be honest, Bill has not made much progress since his last attempt at the record.

Answer 32

_To be honest_, Bill has not made much progress since his last attempt at the record. _Adverbial_

Question 33

The first runner to qualify for the finals was the teenager from the Bahamas.

Answer 33

The first runner _to qualify for the finals_ was the teenager from the Bahamas. ? Infinitive clause- noun complement

Question 34

Standing alone on a sandy beach on a rainy day in July is not my idea of a good time.

Answer 34

_Standing alone on a sandy beach on a rainy day_ in July is not my idea of a good time. _Subject_

Question 35

Adjective Phrases - 2 types

Answer 35

• Internal structure – HEAD – Modifiers – Complement (We will deal with the difference between modifiers and complements later) • External distribution **– Premodifier in NP – attributive APs – Predicative – predicative APs**

Question 36

Adverb Phrases

Answer 36

• Internal structure – HEAD – Modifiers – Complements • External distribution – Modifier in AdjP – Modifier in AdvP – Adverbial in clause structure

Question 37

Prepositional Phrases

Answer 37

• Internal structure – HEAD – Prepositional complement – Modifiers **right** under his eyes • External distribution – Adverbial in clause structure – Postmodifier in NP, AP, AdvP – Complement in AP, AdvP (and, possibly, NP) – Predicative

Question 38

What is a prepositional object?

Answer 38

• LSGSWE Glossary of terms (p. 459) – prepositional object: a noun phrase (or nominal clause, etc.) which normally follows the preposition of a prepositional verb, and which resembles the object of a transitive verb: * asked for **permission***. (A prepositional object is a special type of prepositional complement.) – OK, so it is a function at the phrase level – a ”type of prepositional complement” • LSGSWE (Table 8.1, p. 226) – Prepositional object is listed as a clause element on a par with S, V, O, P, A, in effect a kind of object • See relevant discussion on p. 130

Question 39

What is a complement clause?

Answer 39

• LSGSWE Glossary of terms (p. 456) – complement clause: a dependent clause controlled by a preceding verb, adjective, noun or preposition • LSGSWE (p. 256f) – ”Complement clauses are also called nominal clauses, because their syntactic roles are comparable to those of a noun phrase. Thus they are used as subject, predicative, or object in the main clause.” – ”Complement clauses can also occur within phrases /…/, as complements of noun, adjective, or preposition” • So, in fact, ’complement clause’ is not a special clause element, but rather a short-hand term for clauses in the functions mentioned above.