English Syntax and Argumentation | Apuntes de Morfología y Sintaxis

Part I: Function and Form

1. Introduction

Language is made up of linguistic rules. These rules are called the grammar of a language. Grammar is a vast

domain of investigation and subdomains. The part of grammar that concerns itself with the structure of

sentences is called syntax. One of the principal concerns of syntax is the order of words.

2. Function

Sentences are strings of words organised according to certain rules. It is the task of syntax to give those rules.

Sentences can be analysed into subparts which we referred to as constituents.

For example:

1. The President blushed. -> [The President] - [blushed]

The and President together form a unit, while blushed is a second unit that stands alone. The use of brackets

indicates groups of words that belong together. Another way to show that The President is a unit is by replacing

it with he.

[He] - [blushed]

2. Our vicar likes fast cars. -> [Our vicar] - [likes] - [fast cars]

The bracketed strings behave as units, and if we replace them:

[He] - [likes] - [them]

Another way:

[Our vicar] - [ [likes] - [fast cars] ]

Like and fast cars are taken together as a constituent to bring out the fact that there is a close bond between like

and the constituent that specifies what is being liked.

2.1 Subject and Predicate

1. The cat devoured the rat. -> [The cat] - [devoured [the rat]

The cat carries out the action denoted by the word devoured. These words that denote actions are called verbs.

The subject of a sentence is the constituent that tells us who performs the action denoted by the verb (i.e. who is

the agent) and who or what the sentence is about. To find out what the subject in a sentence we can ask ‘Who or

what carried out the action denoted by the verb?’ and ‘Who or what is this sentence about?’ The answer will

pinpoint the subject.

The function of the predicate in a sentence is to specify what the subject is engaged in doing. In any given

sentence the predicate is everything in the sentence except the subject.

Subdivision of sentences into Subjects and Predicates:

2. The police arrested the bank robber.

3. This factory produces a revolutionary new type of fax machine.

4. That stupid waiter gleefully spilt soup all over my trousers.

5. The stuntman smashed sixteen cars in five minutes.

6. She probably painted the President’s portrait at the palace.

The subject is often defined as the unit that indicates who or what is engaged in carrying out the action specified

by the verb, and also as the unit that tells you what the sentence is about. However, referents of Subjects need

not always be doing something.

The Predicates we have encountered so far were dynamic Predicates, but subjects can also precede stative

Predicates. For example:

1. My brother wears a green overcoat.

2. The committee disliked her proposal.

3. The girl with the red hat stood on the platform.

4. This car stinks.

The Subjects above have a relationship with their Predicates, but their referents cannot be said to be doing any

action. ‘Wearing a coat’, etc, are not activities. Thus, these are stative Predicates.

Subjects can be elements that are meaningless, and cannot therefore be said to tell us what the sentences of

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Part I: Function and Form

Introduction Language is made up of linguistic rules. These rules are called the grammar of a language. Grammar is a vast domain of investigation and subdomains. The part of grammar that concerns itself with the structure of sentences is called syntax. One of the principal concerns of syntax is the order of words.
Function Sentences are strings of words organised according to certain rules. It is the task of syntax to give those rules. Sentences can be analysed into subparts which we referred to as constituents. For example:
The President blushed. -> [The President] - [blushed] The and President together form a unit, while blushed is a second unit that stands alone. The use of brackets indicates groups of words that belong together. Another way to show that The President is a unit is by replacing it with he. [He] - [blushed]
Our vicar likes fast cars. -> [Our vicar] - [likes] - [fast cars] The bracketed strings behave as units, and if we replace them: [He] - [likes] - [them] Another way: [Our vicar] - [ [likes] - [fast cars] ] Like and fast cars are taken together as a constituent to bring out the fact that there is a close bond between like and the constituent that specifies what is being liked. 2.1 Subject and Predicate
The cat devoured the rat. -> [The cat] - [devoured [the rat] The cat carries out the action denoted by the word devoured. These words that denote actions are called verbs. The subject of a sentence is the constituent that tells us who performs the action denoted by the verb (i.e. who is the agent) and who or what the sentence is about. To find out what the subject in a sentence we can ask ‘Who or what carried out the action denoted by the verb?’ and ‘Who or what is this sentence about?’ The answer will pinpoint the subject. The function of the predicate in a sentence is to specify what the subject is engaged in doing. In any given sentence the predicate is everything in the sentence except the subject. Subdivision of sentences into Subjects and Predicates:
The police arrested the bank robber.
This factory produces a revolutionary new type of fax machine.
That stupid waiter gleefully spilt soup all over my trousers.
The stuntman smashed sixteen cars in five minutes.
She probably painted the President’s portrait at the palace. The subject is often defined as the unit that indicates who or what is engaged in carrying out the action specified by the verb, and also as the unit that tells you what the sentence is about. However, referents of Subjects need not always be doing something. The Predicates we have encountered so far were dynamic Predicates, but subjects can also precede stative Predicates. For example:
My brother wears a green overcoat.
The committee disliked her proposal.
The girl with the red hat stood on the platform.
This car stinks. The Subjects above have a relationship with their Predicates, but their referents cannot be said to be doing any action. ‘Wearing a coat’, etc, are not activities. Thus, these are stative Predicates. Subjects can be elements that are meaningless, and cannot therefore be said to tell us what the sentences of

Subjects can be elements that are meaningless, and cannot therefore be said to tell us what the sentences of which they are the Subject are about. For example:

It is raining in England.
It was hot. The element it is often called weather it or nonreferential it. And then we have referential it, which refers to a concrete object in the real world. For example:
Where did I put my hat? Ah, I put it in the car. We also have existential there, used in propositions that have to do with existence.
There were three lions in the cage.
There exist ways of making you talk. And locative there which specifies a location.
I saw the cat a minute ago. There it is! Nonreferential it and existential there are said to be meaningless because all they seem to be doing in the sentences in which they occur is fill the Subject slot. The Subjects so far have been a person, an animal, a group of people, an institution or a thing. They can also be called nouns. The group of words such as the cat, that stupid waiter, the girl with the red hair, etc. are called Noun Phrases (NPs). Therefore, Subjects are usually Noun Phrases. Subjects in a sentence are obligatory and they determine the form of the verb.
She never writes home.
James always sulks.
This book saddens me. We say that the Subjects in these sentences agree with the verbs. This agreement is visible through the-s ending on the verbs. Any Subject other than a third person singular subject takes what is called the base form of the verb, i.e. a form of the verb that has no endings.
I like tea.
You like tea.
We like tea.
They like tea. In sentences which are used to ask questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as an answer, the Subject changes position: the verb is then in the initial slot of the sentence and the Subject is in the second slot.
Is this teacher a genius?
Have the kids arrived safely?
Can your brother be serious?
Should or parents inform the police? The Subject of a sentence is identified by pronouns: she, he, they, etc. In the sentence:
My brother wears a green overcoat. My brother is the Subject for the following reasons:

This constituent is a Noun Phrase.
It is the first NP in the sentence.
It is obligatory: *wears a green overcoat is not a possible sentence.
My brother is a third person singular phrase and for that reason agrees with the verb wear, witness the -s ending.
In a question my brother swaps places with an inserted verb does: Does my brother wear a green overcoat?
If we add a tag question, we must include a pronoun (in this case he), and this pronoun refers back to my brother: My brother wears a green overcoat, doesn’t he? In the sentence:

Last night, the teachers were very drunk.

DOs have a strong relationship with the verb that precedes them. In the sentence:

Our vicar likes fast cars. The verb like requires the presence of a Noun Phrase. This means that like requires a Direct Object Noun Phrase. If the DO is left out, the results are bad:
His girlfriend bought.
This silly fool broke.
Our linguistic lecturer took.
My sister found. These sentences require a Direct Object to complement its meaning. A verb that requires a DO to complement its meaning is a transitive verb. Now, not all verbs are transitive. We also have intransitive verbs. These are verbs that do not need a following constituent to complete their meaning. For example:
William blushed.
Sean cried.
Thomas slept.
Lee dreamt.
Carry jumped. Some verbs appear to be able to function both transitively and intransitively:
Harold moved the table. <- transitive verb
Harold moved. <- intransitive verb
Jake walked the dog. <- transitive verb
Jake walked. <- intransitive verb Saying that in each case the verb can function both transitively and intransitively amounts to saying that we have two different verbs move and two different verbs walk. Witness the fact that we can substitute another verb, for example displace, for move in 1, but not in 2: Harold displaced the table / Harold displaced. A change of meaning can also be detected in contrasting 3 with 4. We can replace walk in 3 by the near-equivalent escort, but not in 4: Jake escorted the dog / Jake escorted.
His girlfriend bought this computer. <- active sentence
This computer was bought by his girlfriend. <- passive sentence

Active sentences present their Subject as being actively engaged in something.
Passive sentences present their Subjects as undergoing something. ! This is another reason for not defining Subjects exclusively as Agents. If we turn an active sentence into a passive sentence, the Direct Object of the active sentence becomes the Subject of the passive sentence. Notice how the Direct Object in sentence 1 is the Subject in sentence 2. Furthermore, the Subject of the active sentence ends up in a phrase introduced by the word by. Notice that in the passive sentence above a form of the verb be has appeared in the guise of was. Examples:

That silly fool broke the teapot.
The teapot was broken by that silly fool.
Our linguistics lecturer took this photograph.
This photograph was taken by our linguistics lecturer.
My sister found this book.
This book was found by my sister. Practice: produce passive versions of the following active sentences:
We drank this bottle of coke. -> This bottle of coke was drunk by us.
My son found a wallet. -> A wallet was found by my son.
The inspectors checked the tickets. -> The tickets were checked by the inspectors.
This store sells only silk shirts. -> Only silk shirts are sold by this store. As we’ve seen, Direct Objects complete the meaning of the verbs that precede them. Meaning, Direct Objects function as Complement to verbs. Direct Objects are required to the extent that they typically complete the

function as Complement to verbs. Direct Objects are required to the extent that they typically complete the meaning of an active verb. They are not the only units that can function as Complements of verbs, though. 2.4 Indirect Objects (IO)

English Syntax and Argumentation, Apuntes de Morfología y Sintaxis

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