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- Sentence structure and patterns in English and Spanish: Differences and similarities (II)
2.2. Structure of the simple sentence
2.2.1. Formal vs functional analysis of syntactic constituents
The starting point for the description of the sentence is the identification of the constituents. Once they have been identified, the next step is to classify them, to specify to what syntactic category they belong. Constituents have particular roles to play in the syntactic constructions they belong to. We call these roles grammatical relations.
We may say that in the syntactic analysis of a sentence we have to distinguish between a functional description of a sentence and a categorial description of it. (2.2.1.)
It is important to distinguish between these two types of description, because the relationship between category and function is far from being one to one.
(58) The phrases ‘a bird’ and ‘the car’ belong to the same category: both are NPs. They play different syntactic roles: ‘A bird’ is the subject, but the NP ‘the car’ plays the syntactic role of object. They belong to the same category because they are alike in their syntactic constituents: both of them have a noun as their head element, so they are regarded as NPs. They have different syntactic functions bc they stand in different relation to the verb.
(59) These two sentences illustrate the opposite situation. Both of them have the same function, they play the syntactic role of subject. They stand in the same relation to the predicator. However, they belong to different categories, as ‘His guilt’ is a NP, and ‘That he was guilty’ is a clause.
2.2.2. The structure of the simple sentence: tree diagram analysis
Aims of syntax: Syntax is concerned with the way in which words combine to form sentences. By means of the syntactic analysis of a sentence, we specify the degrees of closeness that exist among the lexical units that constitute a sentence. Given any sequence of lexical units that constitute a sentence, it is possible to determine which items are more closely related.
(60) The first two immediate constituents: those in (61). ‘Eldest’ is more closely related to ‘child’ than to ‘playing’.
2.3. Clause patterns
Clause patterns provide us with the basic skeleton for the clausal structures that we could use in a language. Most sentences that we produce in English and Spanish conform to one of these patterns: (67)
In Spanish, we can also find sentences with just one constituent, the predicate, e.g.: meteorological verbs, such as ‘Llueve’, ‘Nieva’. The predicate is the only constituent of the sentence.
All these clause types differ from each other in relation to the number and/or to the type of clause elements which must be present in addition to the subject and the predicator.
If we take into consideration the number, these patterns fall into three main types: (68). These elements that accompany the predicate in each of these patterns are usually called complements. The term complement is used here in opposition to adjunct.
2.3.1. Complements vs adjuncts
Complement: any element which is an obligatory constituent of the clause. The term adjunct, on the other hand, is used to identify any optional constituents of the clause.
Criteria that leads to the distinction between complement and adjunct:
One of these criteria is obligatoriness. Complements are compulsory in the structure of a clause, because the sentence is syntactically unacceptable without it.
(69) The O is compulsory. The O here is regarded as a complement. (70) The resulting sentence is unacceptable. The O is compulsory, as it is a complement. (71) The A is compulsory, the A must be regarded as a complement too. SPA clause type.
A second criterion would be the notional characteristic.
(72) The resulting sentence is syntactically acceptable, but the meaning of the verb is not the same the Co is a complement. (73b) Same verb form, but with no adverbial. Syntactically acceptable, but the meaning of the verb is not the same. (74) The meaning changes. The Cs is regarded as a complement.
Complements are syntactic elements that correspond to the elements which are inherent in the meaning of the verb. They are notional, semantic in nature.
Semantic valency characterizes an element in terms of the semantic arguments it takes. There is not a one to one relationship between syntactic and semantic valency.
(75) Syntactically, the verb requires a subject and an object. Semantically, it can be characterized as a verb that takes two arguments: agent and affected. The subject corresponds to the agent, the object is the affected.
It is important to realize that, in English, in each construction the various syntactic positions (S, O, C) can be occupied only once. Spanish learners of English commit the error of introducing a subject NP and then produce another one with a pronoun, as we see in (79).
SP clause type
(80) All these sentences conform to the SP clause type. In some of them, we find an adverbial. All of these adverbials have an adjunct status - that’s why we affirm that they belong to the SP clause type.
When we produce a sentence, the subject is normally specified in English, but it may not appear in Spanish. This contrast is more clearly seen on sentences consisting of subject pronouns.
The description of the distributional properties of subjects of personal pronouns is not as simple in Spanish as it is in English. In order to illustrate this, consider (81-83).
English clauses usually require the subject to be stated. In fact, the subject can be omitted in English just in three contexts:
- Imperative constructions (‘Come on, give me the details!’)
- Non-finite subordinate clauses, e.g. to infinitive subordinate clauses. The subject refers to the same person as the subject of the superordinate clause (‘I want to see you’)
- Coordinate constructions, e.g. ‘We stayed and had a drink’.
The subject NP is obligatory for the structure of any sentence, even when there is no logical or referentially real subject of the verb. Something must occupy the initial subject position in every sentence.
(81a) The subject position is occupied by a dummy it (81b) In Spanish, meteorological verbs and expressions do not take a subject. Spanish uses the 3rd person singular of the verb. This is the unmarked form, and the most neutral one.
(82a) The two clauses have a subject (‘my brother’, ‘she’). The subject NP is compulsory. (82b) In Spanish, however, the subject of the second clause has been omitted. The pronoun is regarded as an optional element. The inflectional ending of the verb gives us information about the subject. We can identify the person and number of the subject, even when it is not present. In English, however, only 3rd person singular subjects can be identified thanks to the verb inflection. Therefore, we cannot identify a subject according to the inflection, as we do in Spanish.
In addition to this, we must note that the information given by a pronoun is sometimes irrelevant. The distribution of these elements (personal pronouns) is usually discussed with reference to the notions of pro-form and deixis.
The term pro-form applies to the use of those expressions whose meaning is derived from another expression in the surrounding linguistic context, e.g. A: I don’t think she is very shy B: I think so ‘So’ refers to ‘she is very shy’. It refers backwards to the context of the subordinate clause. ‘So’ can be regarded as a pro-form, as a pro-clause.
‘One’ is also a pro-form, e.g.: ‘Which shirt do you like most? The green or the blue one?’
Personal pronouns are also instances of pro-forms. Personal pronouns are also deictic expressions, in that their meaning is determined in many cases in relation to certain features of the utterance act (e.g.: If I use the personal pronoun ‘I’, it always refers to the speaker; ‘you’ always refers to the addressee, and so on).
From these two observations, we may conclude that there are no doubts as to the optionality of personal pronouns in Spanish, like we see in (82). In this particular sentence, the subject pronoun does not provide any new information. The information that the verb is 3rd person singular can be inferred from the ending of the verb. The referential properties of the subject of this 3rd person singular are determined by the linguistic context.
(83a) The subject pronoun is compulsory in English again. (83b) In Spanish, it should be regarded as a compulsory element. It must appear in order to avoid ambiguity in the subject. If we had omitted the subject pronoun in the second clause, it would have been impossible to know whether if it is Carmen or Juan who is not coming. The subject here is compulsory.
(84a) Subject pronouns should be used in Spanish for reasons of emphasis (first example) or to establish a contrast (second example). In English, this is usually marked by placing a strong contrastive stress on the subject pronoun.
EXERCISE 11
Pesaban las manzanas 1 → Ellos pesaban las manzanas. Pesar is a transitive verb. The Od is las manzanas. The S pronoun is omitted, but the information can be recovered from the context. They weighed the apples. ✓
Pesaban las manzanas 2 → Las manzanas pesaban. Intransitive verb. The apples were heavy. ✓
Parameters:
- Omission of the subject
- Spanish allows considering variation with respect to word order. You can place the
EXERCISE 14
1. There are two occurrences of the pronoun it. ✓ Thanks to the flexibility of the word order in Spanish, we have placed the subject after the verb. In English, we need a subject. We have extraposition in the English sentence.
In English, we use the subject personal pronoun, because we always need a subject in the initial position - English is not a pro-drop language. In Spanish, there is no subject. With meteorological verbs, we do not use any subject.
2. We always need an element occupying the subject position. In Spanish it can be omitted, because of the inflection of the verb. ✓
SPA clause type
live 1 /∅/^ vivir 1 /∅/ live 2 /A/ vivir 2 /A/
go 1 /∅/, irse. I have to go. Me tengo que ir. go 2 /A/ This verb indicates a movement, ir. Two different verbs in Spanish. Yo voy a Madrid.
EXERCISE 15
a. SP ✓ b. SPA ✓ c. SPA ✓ d. SP ✓ e. SPA ✓ f. SP ✓ g. SPA ✓ h. SPA ✓ i. SPA ✓ ‘Appears’ requires an A. ‘Disappear’, however, does not require any A. j. SP ✗ It is the nature of the subject what needs the A to make sense, not the verb. k. SP ✓ l. SPA ✓ m. SP ✗ n. SPA ✓
SPO clause type
Syntactic realization of objects:
In English, the bare object is always realized by a nominal element (a NP). In Spanish, however, the element that corresponds to the English bare object, can be realized either by a nominal element (examples 1-4), but it can also be realized by a PP introduced by the preposition ‘a’ (example 5).
We are not going to make any distinction between Oi and Od in sentences conforming the SPO pattern. In Spanish, however, we do make this distinction. encantar + Oi: Le encanta a María (NP: Oi) He conocido a tu padre (PP: Od)
In English there is not any criteria that leads us to distinguish between Oi and Od in SPO clause types. In Spanish we can substitute the form for a pronoun, we use le / les if it is Oi, and lo / la / los / las for the Od. When we have an Od referring to a male human being, in singular, we can also use le. In those instances, we have what we call ‘leísmo’.
Syntactic realization of the elements in Spanish that correspond to the syntactic realization of the English bare object:
A. Reference (87) If the NP functioning as object refers to a definite particular individual, it normally requires the occurrence of the preposition ‘a’. This preposition can be omitted if the NP functioning as object has non-specific reference (‘reyes’).
The preposition ‘a’ is also used in Spanish when there is ambiguity as to who is the subject or object.
B. Ambiguity (88) In English, the difference between a NP functioning as a subject or as direct object is indicated by word order in the sentence. The element placed before the verb is the subject, and the one placed immediately after it has the function of object.
(89) Od. The object refers to an inanimate entity. This entity lacks the capacity to move, therefore, the capacity of ambiguity of who is the S and the O is not present. The action must be carried by a mobile entity.
C. Indirect object (90) In Spanish, the Oi is always realized by a PP introduced by the preposition ‘a’.
EXERCISE 16
4. She (S) brought up (Ptor) her two children (O) strictly (A) → SPO
5. The postman (S) thinks (Ptor) [that his family (S) belongs (Ptor) to the aristocracy (A)] O → SPO. Clause → SPA
6. They (S) say (Ptor) [that he (S) is moving (Ptor) to Chicago (A)] O → SPO. Clause → SPA
7. Many citizens (S) believed (Ptor) [that the writer of that passage (S) went (Ptor) to the University of Oxford (A)] O → SPO. Clause → SPA
8. I (S) didn’t know (Ptor) [you (S) could (Ptor) [drive]O] O → SPO. Clause → SPO
9. The birth rate (S) fell (Ptor) in our country (A) → SP
10. The young cashier (S) hesitated (Ptor) for a moment (A) → SP
11. Hilary (S) broke (Ptor) her right arm (O) in a train accident (A) → SPO
12. She (S) teaches (Ptor) at the local technical college (A) → SP
13. The restaurant (S) stands (Ptor) on the site of a Roman church (A) → SPA
14. The European Championships (S) were (Ptor) in Split (A) that year (A) → SPA
15. The will (S) remained (Ptor) with the solicitor (PO) for a week (A) → SPO
16. The bus (S) sounded (Ptor) its horn (O) → SPO
17. The article (S) reads (Ptor) very well (A) → SPA
18. Dennis (S) waited (Ptor) for a long time (A) → SP
19. The committee (S) approved (Ptor) of the manager’s proposals (PO) → SPO
20. We (S) decided (Ptor) on the fruit tart (PO) → SPO
21. We (S) sounded out (Ptor) all the employees (O) → SPO
22. I (S) found out (Ptor) his real intentions (O) → SPO
SPOO clause type
In Spanish, the Oi is always realized by a prepositional phrase.
Clitic doubling : the Oi is expressed twice in each of the Spanish sentences. We can also find clitic doubling in clauses that conform to the SPO pattern (99).
Contexts in which you have clitic doubling in Spanish:
- The object (either Od or Oi) is realized by a full NP or by a PP placed before the Ptor (99, 100).
- We have clitic doubling when you use a PP, and the preposition is followed by a strong object pronoun (mí, ti). The weak object pronoun must also appear (me, te, le) (101-103) We use clitic doubling to give emphasis (105) In English, we only have one set of pronouns. We emphasize a pronoun by intonation. In Spanish, however, you cannot emphasize a weak pronoun (107)
A clitic is an element that cannot occur on its own. E.g.: articles (they always need the support of a noun). In Spanish, a weak object pronoun can also be regarded as a clitic. In English, object pronouns are not clitics.
(108-110) Clitic doubling in these examples is compulsory.
English and Spanish also differ on the semantic roles played by the Oi in SPOO construction.
Similarities:
- In both languages, the Oi may stand for the Recipient of the action denoted by the verb. (112)
- Beneficiary of the action (113-115)
Differences:
- An important difference is that in which Beneficiary and Recipient are not represented by a Oi (e.g. deliver, donate → they are always represented by a PO). In Spanish, the Beneficiary and the Recipient are always represented by a Oi.
- In Spanish, the Oi may also stand for the Source, the person from whom something is removed or taken away. In English, however, we use a PO (116)
- It may also stand for the Possessor (117-119). In (117-119), we use a possessive determiner. Semantically alike, but different from a semantic point of view.
- The Oi is used with a much broader meaning in Spanish. In English, it normally stands for the Beneficiary and the Recipient. That is why some Spanish sentences are ambiguous. In (120), ‘le’ can refer to the Beneficiary (la casa es para él), but it can also refer to the Source (la casa era de él y la compró).
The object pronoun is placed after the predicator in a positive imperative, infinitive and gerund (‘Contéstame’, ‘Amarte es imposible’, ‘Vieron a tu madre comprándole un regalo a tu hermano’).
EXERCISE 19
1. Juan (NP:Subj) / consideró (VP:Ptor) / tu intervención (NP:Od) / de mal gusto (PP:PCo) → SPOC clause type ✗ 2. The death of the President (NP:Subj) / will remain (VP:Ptor) / a mystery (NP:Cs) → SPC clause type ✓ 3. The jury (NP:Subj) / found (VP:Ptor) / my eldest brother (NP:Od) / guilty (AdjP:Co) → SPOC clause type ✓ 4. Your proposal (NP:Subj) / seems (VP:Ptor) / like a good solution (PP:PCs) → SPC clause type ✗ 5. The Archbishop (NP:Subj) / crowned (VP:Ptor) / the young prince (NP:Od) / king (NP:Co) → SPOC clause type ✓ 6. He (NP:Subj) / is acting (VP:Ptor) / as my representative (PP:PCs) → SPC clause type ✓ 7. His theory (NP:Subj) / proved (VP:Ptor) / entirely wrong (AdjP:Cs) → SPC clause type ✓ 8. El juez (NP:Subj) / estimó (VP:Ptor) / las preguntas (NP:Od) / improcedentes (AdjP:Co) → SPOC clause type
Ambigua: El juez (NP:Subj) / estimó (VP:Ptor) / las preguntas improcedentes (NP:Od) → SPO clause type ✓
9. El presidente de esta comisión (NP:Subj) / se ha vuelto (VP:Ptor) / loco (AdjP:Cs) → SPC clause type ✓ 10. La Iglesia (NP:Subj) / declaró (VP:Ptor) / su matrimonio (NP:Od) / nulo (AdjP:Cs) → SPOC clause type ✓
That man bought his son a horse from that cowboy Ese hombre le compró a ese vaquero un caballo para su hijo
‘Un caballo de ese vaquero’ → funciona como modifier de caballo, no es un A funcionando como Source, como en inglés. La frase no tendría los mismos constituyentes y sería distinta.
Formal differences:
- Clitic doubling in the Spanish sentence, because the Oi occurs twice. Once as a weak object pronoun (‘le’), once as a PP (‘a ese vaquero’). You can always have clitic doubling in a Spanish sentence.
- ‘From that cowboy’. The Source in English is represented by a prepositional phrase functioning as A. In Spanish, however, this role is carried out by a prepositional phrase functioning as Oi.
- The role of Beneficiary in English is carried out by a noun phrase functioning as Od. In Spanish, however, we find a prepositional phrase functioning as A.
Le compré el regalo
‘Le’ is the Oi. There is ambiguity , as it can play both the role of Source and Beneficiary.
When you use ‘para’: Le compré el regalo para mi novia
- ‘Le’ here is the Oi, functioning as Source. It cannot take the role of Beneficiary, as the Beneficiary here is El Beneficiary es ‘para mi novia’. ‘Le’ nunca se refiere a un grupo preposicional introducido por ‘para’
15/04/
Comentario de las diferencias formales de estas dos oraciones (non-kernel)
It was that man that had been accused of the horrible murders that had shocked the Jewish community Fue a ese hombre al que habían acusado de los horribles crímenes que habían horrorizado a la comunidad judía
The first difference we can find in these examples is the characterization of the subject. In ‘al que’, the subject has been omitted, as Spanish is a pro-drop language. The inflection of the verb (‘acusado’) gives us the answer of who the subject is (in this case, ‘ellos’ or ‘ellas’). In English, however, there is a subject, as the subject position cannot be left empty (in any case, that criterion would only work with the 3rd person singular ending).
A second difference is that the focused element in the Spanish sentence is realized by a PP , instead of by a NP , as in the English construction. That is due to the syntactic role they play: ‘A ese hombre’ is a PP functioning as Od, and ‘that man’ is a NP, in this case functioning as subject. The Od in Spanish can only be realized by a NP, or by a PP introduced by the preposition ‘a’. We use ‘a’ because the Od refers to a specific person.
2. Discuss the criteria that we may use for the direct object / indirect object distinction in English and Spanish sentences
In English we use word order. If there is just one instance of an object, it will always be a Od. We can only establish the distinction between Oi and Od when we have two nominal expressions functioning as object. In this case, it is the position they occupy that tells us if they are Oi or Od: the Oi is always placed before the Od.
In Spanish, however, this is not so simple.
We can look at the realization : The Od can be realized by a NP, or by a PP introduced by the preposition ‘a’. On the other hand, the Oi is always realized by a PP introduced by ‘a’. As we can see, this criterion does not help us (we can have both Od and Oi introduced by ‘a’, and we cannot make a distinction).
We can also take into consideration the position they occupy in the sentence, but it does not help us either. As Spanish word order is much more flexible, we can have the Oi before or after the Od.
The last criterion is substitution test (the one we actually use to identify the Od and Oi in Spanish). According to this criterion, you replace an Oi or a Od with a pronominal form: Od: lo la los las Oi: le les
However, there is still potential for confusion, as you can have ‘le’ for Od that refer to male humans (apart from referring to the Oi). In that case we just have to replace that Od with an element referring to a female being. In that context, you can use ‘la’ if it is a Od, or ‘le’ if it is an Oi.
