¡Descarga Sintaxis del Inglés y más Apuntes en PDF de Filología Inglesa solo en Docsity!
There is linguistic variation of the English language along several dimensions like history, age, education, register - in professional fields- and whether it’s spoken or written. In short, there are different variants of “Englishes” depending on how, when and by who it’s used.
1..1. SYNTAX
It’s the set of rules* for combining words that a language has developed throughout generations of use by the speakers of a community. Those regularities have been studied from early times and systematized and written down as “grammars”. Different descriptions of what is grammar may vary in some terms, but they are all concerned abut language, which evolves parallel to social, cultural and historical changes. Each language has its own ways of assembling words in a certain order to convey meaning. Grammar is just a list of all the possible ways sentences can be assembled.
- Syntactic grammar : is concerned with well-formed English sentences, but languages aren’t rigid systems, they’re flexible systems where gradation, adjustment, adaptation is crucial.
- Descriptive grammar : isn’t concerned with correctness or incorrectness, but rather with appropriacy or acceptability.
1.2. THE ORGANIZATION OF LANGUAGE IN UNITS
1.2.1. Language as system
1.2.2. Unit, structure, classes of units
A unit is any stretch of language that constitutes a semantic whole that has a recognized pattern that is repeated regularly in speech and writing. Structure is a general concept applicable to any complex entity.
- It is divisible into parts (constituent)
- There are different kinds of parts (categories of constituents)
- The constituents are arranged in a specific, regular and recognisable way
- Each constituent has a specific function in the structure of the entity as a whole
- Constituents are often complex in themselves Rule As "regularity" descriptive As "imposition" prescriptive
1.2.3. The rank scales
1.2.4. Constituency, function, category
1 .3. TERMINOLOGY AND NOTATIONS OF STRUCTURE (CONVENTIONS)
The tools for analysis are various kinds:
1.3.1. Concepts and terminology
1.3.2. Notation conventions (visualization)
1.3.2.1. BRACKETING
[[[My]Det [sister]N]NP [[has bought] Vgrp [[a]Det [new]Adj [car]N]NP] VP]
EXAMPLE: SENTENCE DIVIDES INTO PHRASES
morpheme word phrase clause sentence
2 .1. THE DEFINITION OF THE MORPHEME:
2.2. CLASSES OF MORPHEMES
2.3. DISTINCTIVE CRITERIA (LEXICAL VS. NON-LEXICAL)
When comparing lexical and non-lexical morphemes, there are some differences between them: Regarding allomorphs: BOUND MORPHEMES SUFFIX: DERIVATION SUFFIX: INFLECTION
- able, - dom, - er, - hood, - ity,
- less, - ness, - ship… plural, genitive, present tense 3rd sing, past tense, - ed participle, - ing participle, comparative, superlative PREFIX: DERIVATION a-, de-, ex, in-, mini- non-, out-, pre-, re-…
2.4. DERIVATIONAL AFFIXES
English has +60 common derivational affixes. Unlike inflectional affixes, derivational affixes can change the word class of the item they are added to. If both inflectional and derivational affixes are used, then the derivational affixes are inner, closer to the stem, and inflectional affixes are outer, furthest from the stem. Example:
- Fright + en + ed = frightened
- Resign + action + s = resignations They are usually divided into two:
- Class-changing derivational affixes :
- Class-maintaining derivational affixes : don’t change the word class of the word they are added to. They are mainly prefixes. AFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE ad toward advance anti against antibiotic be all around, completely, covered with, affect with, cause to be beset, bemuse, bejewelled, befog, becalm col before collector de away, completely, removal deduct, denigrate, decamp dis negation disadvantage im negative immature mis negation mistrust pre before pre-adolescent pro in favour of, acting for, motion forwards, before in time pro-African, proconsul, propulsion, prologue re again repaint un negation, cancellation of action unhappy, unplug under below, lower in rank, not enough underarm, undersecretary, underdeveloped
2.5. SEMANTICAL CLASSES OF PREFFIXES IN ENGLISH
- Time : prearrange, presuppose, preheat, aftershock, afterthought, afterglow
- Number : trycicle, trianual, triconsonantal, multinational, multilingual, multimillionaire
- Place : infield, in-patient, ingrown, interconnect, interbreed, interlace
- Degree : supersesitive supersatured, superheat, overanxious, overconfident, overdue
- Privation : amoral apolitical, asymmetric, unlock, untie, unfold
- Negation : unafraid, unsafe, unwise, antisocial, antitrust, antiwar
- Size : microcosm, microchip, microfilm, miniskirt, minivan, minimal
A complex word-form where 2 bases combine to form a new word, which behaves as a single word, (stress in first element) [‘bluebird / blue ‘bird].
- Noun + noun: chairman, boyfriend, textbook bookcase, sandstone
- Noun + adjective: colour-fast, user-friendly, care-free
- Verb + noun: playboy, washing-machine, guesswork
- Adjective + noun: nobleman, Frenchman, blackbird, blackberry
- Other processes: clipping, back formation, blending, acronyms, abbreviation 3.1.2.4 MULTIWORD LEXICAL UNITS-IDIOMS A sequence of word-forms that function as a single grammatical unit and has become lexicalised: sometimes they are called idioms.
3.2 MAJOR WORD CLASSES
The parts of speech (traditionally called) are the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. They are open classes (content words, form classes, lexical words) as they admit new members because words, of whichever category, are constantly being born. Categorising is a process that consists of a grouping of linguistic expressions which have a common set of formal and syntactic properties and sometimes semantic properties. Those categories are necessary for description and explanation, but they aren’t always straightforward so sometimes there can be difficulties for defining continuum. The problematic cases will have to be tested against various types of evidence. The categories are non-discrete and overlapping so following a prototype is more useful. The classification of major word classes – lexical words- is done by means of a cluster of criteria. Some criteria are more central than others.
- Morphological or FORMAL CRITERIA (internal) : types of morphemes (inflectional and derivational) associated with each class.
- Syntactic or FUNCTIONAL CRITERIA (external): position(s) they occupy and grammatical or function they play in the structure of the constituent above, i.e. in the structure of the phrase.
- SEMANTIC CRITERIA: the types of meanings (clusters of semantic features usually associated with a given class) most typically encoded by each class. Categorization / classification is necessary for description and explanation. It is not always straightforward, difficulties for defining a continuum. In language there is often gradience. Problematic classes will have to be tasted against various types of evidence. Linguistic categories are not mathematical and logical classes, but rathe more like “natural classes”. A prototype approach is sometimes more adequate and more useful. Categories are often fuzzy-edged, non- discrete, over lapping (More central members and peripheral members). These classes are not homogenous and class membership is a membership is a matter of degree. Some words may be said to belong to more than one class → multiple membership.
- Preposition/particles
- Preposition/adverbs
- Words in - ing
3.3 MAJOR WORD CLASSES: PROPIERTIES
3.3.1 The noun
- MORPHOLOGICAL : they are affected by both inflection and derivation o Inflection : number [singular and plural (-s)] and case [genitive (‘s)]. o Derivation
- SYNTACTIC : nouns function as the head of nucleus of the noun phrase (NP) and they are typically determined by a determinant. ➢ They can also be optionally pre-modified by: o an adjective ( a beautiful house ), o a numeral ( three men on a boat ) ➢ They can optionally post-modified by a relative clause or prepositional phrase ( the music that I like ) ➢ They can function as modifier of the head of a NP ( the delivery truck ).
- SEMANTIC : Only classes of nouns that are large, attested in many languages and relevant for syntactic behaviour are usually considered: o Concrete/abstract o Animate/inanimate o Countable/uncountable ( mass ) A mass noun, uncountable noun, or non-countable noun is a noun with the syntactic property that any quantity of it is treated as an undifferentiated unit. o Common/proper This classification on semantic properties results in some relevant differences of syntactic behaviour: Common Proper Plural numerals many, few, several much, little def article indef.ar Count + + + - + + Mass - - - + + -
3.3. 2 The verb
Constitute a major word class , distinct from the other major word classes (nouns, adjectives and adverbs), they are characterised by specific formal, syntactic and semantic features:
- Verbs are typically associated with specific grammatical morphemes : TAM morphemes (Tense, Aspect, Modality) which may be Suffixes or Periphrastic constructions involving the combination of lexical forms (free morphemes) and auxiliaries (function words)
- Syntactic : verbs are essential constituents in the structure of the VERBAL PHRASE, it is the HEAD of VP. It determines the complementation. (Different classes of verbs play different syntactic functions in the VP)
- Semantically speaking: verbs are typically associated with the expression of actions, events, states. 3.3.2.1. CLASSES OF VERBS A. LEXICAL VERBS (OPEN CLASS)
- o o o • o
It has finite (has, have, had) and non-finite (have, having) forms, can co-occur with a modal auxiliary and with the auxiliary BE [Modal + have + lexical → She may have written Have + be+ lexical (- ing ) → She has been writing Modal + have + be + lexical (-ed) → She may have been abducted]. It’s the auxiliary of the perfective aspect (Have + V-ed), and the present perfect (has/have + V-ed) or Past perfect (have + V-ed). The auxiliary BE It has finite ( is, are, am, was, were ) and non-finite ( be, being, been ) forms, can co-occur with a modal auxiliary and with the auxiliary have [ Modal + be + V-ing ) → She may be writing _Modal
- be + V-ed_ ) → It may be written Have + be + V-ing ) → She has been writing _Modal + have
- be + V-ed_ ) → She may have been abducted]. It’s the auxiliary of the progressive aspect ( be + V-ing), it can be present or past progressive ( Am, is, are + V-ing ) → He is composing a new song Was, were + V-ing → He was writing a letter) and it’s also the auxiliary of the passive voice (be + V-ed) → He was knocked down by a bus. It can combine aspect and voice (The new motorway has already been built → present perfect & passive The new roundabout is being built → present progressive & passive) Modal auxiliaries
1. Morpho-syntactic properties: Will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought t, dare to, need to They are defective ( incomplete conjugation ), they aren’t inflected, they only have a certain number of forms, they are finite, some have distinct past forms could, should, would, might but they are used for more meanings than just reference to the past. Some have negative forms: can´t, cannot, mustn´t. They come always first in VP and are followed by the base form of the verb → I must leave at three. They are mutually exclusive; they function as operators in NICE syntactic environments. They are central elements in the system of modality. 2. Semantic properties : Modality refers to the expression of the speaker´s attitudes towards the content of the sentence, towards the truth of the proposition ( probability, certainty, possibility, prediction ). This is epistemic (or extrinsic) modality, related to knowledge, to an external personal comment on the truth or the logical status of the proposition. Modality also refers to the personal intervention of the speaker in the speech event in terms of notions such as obligation, permission, prohibition, volition : this type of modality is called deontic (or intrinsic) modality: it refers to actions and events that humans directly control. Language is not only used for exchanging information by making statements and asking questions, but also for making requests, offers, suggestions, or expressing wishes and intentions. We may also want to be polite or tactful, or to indicate our feelings about what we are saying: modals and other modal expressions will be used. A non-modalized assertive form is a categorical assertion → two + two make four Modalized assertions express an attitude or personal standpoint from the part of the speaker → It may be raining (possibility) / It might be raining (remote possibility). Modals (and semi-modals ) can be grouped into 3 major categories according to their central meanings:
3. Uses of the modals Semi-auxiliaries (quasi-auxiliaries) : they share properties from the auxiliaries and lexical verbs. They are tow-or-three-word combinations, and they include the following:
- ought to
- need to
- dare to
- be going to → I’m going to interview the Lord Mayor
- have to / have got to → I have to leave early today
- want to
- used to → I used to live in that house
- had better
- be able to
- would rather (‘d rather)
- seem to
- tend to
- turn out to
- be about to → The film is about to start
- happen to
- be likely to
- be supposed
- →
3.3.3. The adjective
- Morphological characteristics: o Most adjectives are gradable ▪ They can be inflected for comparison [Absolute (dark) → comparative (darker) → superlative (darkest)] ▪ Some have irregular forms (good → better → best) ▪ Some adjectives form the comparative and superlative, using more and most respectively [ important → more important → most important ] o They are often complex ▪ They can have a derivational suffix too: - able/-ible, - al, - ary, - ful - less, - ly, - ous ▪ They can be compound adjectives o Many adjectives are derived from - ed and - ing participles ▪ - ed: state of a person or temporal quality ▪ - ing: state of a thing or situation, and permanent quality ➢ - ing ending words can be a noun or a verb → Her dancing was beautiful / When scoring the first goal (…) ➢ - ing participal adjectives → It was very confusing
- Syntactic characteristics: o They function as the head of the adjective phrases (AP) ▪ Very dark ▪ Extremely large buildings o Adjective phrases typically function as
4.1. THE PHRASE: AN INTRODUCTION
A phrase is a sequence of words or a group of words arranged in a grammatical construction, and functions as a unit in a sentence. There are five commonly occurring types of phrase. They are:
- Noun phrase (NP)
- Adjective Phrase (AdjP)
- Verb Phrase (VP)
- Adverb Phrase (AdvP)
- Preposition Phrase (PP) The types of phrase correspond to the major classes of lexical words. Phrases are specific grouping of words, which have a specifiable position and function in the structure of the sentence: they are the immediate constituents of the sentence/clause. Phrases may themselves consist of other groupings of words. Example: a young man was fishing by the lake. If words were the (immediate) constituents of a sentence the diagram would be: S a young man was fishing by the lake
- In diagram (a), the only organizational pattern (structure) is sequence.
- It predicts (1) but predicts as well (2) and (3). o (2) *lake a man was young fishing by the o (3) *was a by fishing young lake man the A string of words is not necessarily a sentence. Sentences contain words but do no consist only of words. Words are arranged in patterns. There are intermediate (mediating) abstract patternings (structures/groupings) between words and sentences. There intermediate constituents are called PHRASES. A full identification of phrases involves combining information of two types: i. Formal properties ii. External function : the position and the syntactic function it plays within the structure of constituent above, in this case the sentence. Understanding the structure of a sentence involves more than knowing what its constituents are: it involves knowing the category and the function of those constituents. Phrases are not only syntactic units, but coherent units of sense, i.e. semantic units as well.
4.2. THE NOUN PHRASE (NP)
4.2.1. Introductiory remarks
The NP is identifiable by its internal, formal properties as well as by its external, syntactic properties and its semantic properties.
4.2.1.1. FORMAL PROPERTIES
- The head, a noun, is an obligatory constituent o The head determines the number and gender of the NP as a whole
- Though there can be more than one noun in the NP, only one can function as the head (except in coordinate phrase)
- Typically, the NP has fixed pattern that combines 2 different categories of words in a specific way → Determiner + Noun o The determiner specifies the reference of the noun o The determiner isn’t always necessary: ✓ Peter was jumping over the fence ✓ He was jumping over the fence ✓ Smoke gets in her eyes o Provisionally, the structure of the NP can be stated as: NP → Det + Noun/Pronoun
- The noun can be preceded by modifiers —pre-modifiers— that are typically optional o Pre-modifiers describe or classify the entity denoted by a N
- The noun can also be followed by modifiers —post-modifiers or complement— that completes the meaning of the N. 4.2.1.2. SYNTACTIC PROPERTIES NPs tend to appear in certain positions and to perform certain syntactic functions which are distinctive:
- Prototypically, NPs function as Subject : The cow was jumping over the fence However, NPs have a wide syntactic potential: they may have varied syntactic functions, as sentence constituents and as phrasal constituents:
- Direct object (DO) : She broke the car
- Indirect object (IO) : The old lady gave the baby a kiss
- Complement of the Prepositional Phrase (CPrep) : They were rowing on the river
4.2.2. Structure and realization
Within the structure of NP there are intermediate levels, (similar to the intermediate levels in VP). The NP has 2 immediate constituents: DET (determiner) and NOM (nominal). NOM is the intermediate head of NP; N is the head of NOM; N is the ultimate head of NP. All modifiers of the head noun will fall under the node NOM.
4.2. 3. Determiners
They are a fixed set of grammatical words that provide information about definiteness and indefiniteness. Any expression which occupies the same position as an article counts as a determiner: If it cannot appear in sequence (or co-occur) with an article it counts as a determiner NP Det art a Nom AP A difficult N lesson
NP
Det
art
the
Nom
N
book
✓ many books (analysed as: DET (unfilled) many books) ✓ much garlic o they may occur in the VP, as Subject Complement ✓ Her problems were many/ few ✓ It isn´t much ✓ It was little o they are gradable ✓ Very many books; too much salt; so few ideas ✓ many, much have comparative and superlative forms: more, most ✓ Little less least ✓ Few, fewer, fewest
- Numerals : should be treated as QA within NOM since they follow DET, including unfilled DET o Cardinals : one, two o Ordinals : first, second
- Adjectives: they are sometimes considered post-determiners. Some can pre-modify or post-modify the head noun. o A few adjectives may pre-modify or post-modify the head noun ( visible, present, absent, responsible...) (Usually with some meaning differences:) ✓ the responsible men/ the men responsible ✓ the present members/ the members present o Post-modifying APs occupy the same position in Nom as post-modifying PPs. ✓ Any AP with a complement of the adjective must postmodify the head noun within NOM: 1) responsible for the distribution 2) the sentence empty of meaning NP DET ART The NOM AP QA one N issue NP DET NOM AP DEG very QA many N mistake NP DET Art the NOM N men AP A responsible NP DET Art the NOM AP A responsible N men
4.2.5.2. PARTICIPLE PHRASES (PartP) Non-finite forms of verbs (V-ing and V-ed) may appear as pre-modifiers within NOM:
- The non-finite forms are verbal when they aren’t gradable. o The smiling lady // *The very smiling lady
- If they are gradable, they should be analysed as adjectives. o Rather surprising 4.2.5.3. NOUNS They may act as pre-modifiers of head nouns:
- The combination of modifier noun and head noun is often considered a compound noun (it is treated as a compound word) o Computer program, book collector
- Difficulties increase when the noun modifier is itself modified:
4.2. 6. Post-Modifiers in NP
- Prepositional phrase (PP) : the head of the PP is a preposition and it’s followed by a complement of the PP (CPrep), usually a NP. o A visit to some villages (1)
- Adjectival phrase: only a few adjectives can both pre and post-modify a head, and when they do so, they change the meaning of the sentence. Post-modifying AP occupy the same position in Nom as post-modifying PP. o The responsible men // The men responsible o The members present (2) o Any AP with a complement of the adjective must have a post- modifying position in the structure of NP ✓ The men responsible for the distribution of goods
- Adverbial phrase (AdvP) : the head noun is post-modified by an AdvP o The day before (3)
- Nominalised clauses: relative clauses and non-finite clauses. NP DET Art The
NOM
N
members
AP
A
present
NP
DET
Art A
NOM
N
visit
PP
P
to
NP
Det Q some Nom N villages NP DET Art The NOM N day AdvP Adv before
participle form of the verb coming next: (PERF): HAVE + V - ed form (PAST PARTICIPLE FORM)
- The teacher has forbidden the use of calculators 4.3.2.3. PROGRESSIVE ASPECT (PROG) (PROG): BE + V-ing form ( PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM)
- She is listening carefully
- he was writing a letter to his parents 4.3.2.4. PASSIVE VOICE (PASS) BE + V - ed
- She is followed
- He was followed The 16 possible combinations:
- Present/past Vgrp (simple) : he listens/ listened
- Present/past) modal Vgrp : she may listen / might listen
- Present /past perfect Vgrp : she has listened / had listened
- Present /past progressive Vgrp : she is listening / was listening
- Present/past) modal perfect Vgrp: she may have listened / might have listened
- Present /past) modal progressive Vgrp : she may be listening / might be listening
- Present /past perfect progressive Vgrp : has been listening / had been listening
- Present /past Modal perfect progressive Vgrp: she may have been listening / might have been listening.
- Present / past passive : she is listened / was listened
- Present /past modal passive : she may (can) be listened / might (could) be listened
- Present / past perfect passive : she has been listened / had been listened
- Present / past progressive passive : she is being listened / was being listened
- Present /past modal perfect passive : she can have been listened / could have been listened → Improbable* forms
- Present / past modal progressive passive : she can/could be being listened
- Present / past perfect progressive passive : she has / had been being listened
- Present / past modal perfect progressive passive : she might have been being listened
4.3.3. Complementation (see 5.2)
The VP may contain a second constituent, however, not all VPs require a NP. The NP depends on the type of lexical verb functioning as head of Vgrp/Predicator. Lexical verbs sub- categorise according to what other elements must appear with them in the VP, i.e. they are sub- categorised in terms of their complementation. The sub-categories of verbs are: a) Transitive (mono-transitive) b) Intransitive c) Ditransitive d) Intensive e) Complex - transitive f) Prepositional 4.3.3.1. TRANSITIVE Vgrps → denote actions
- They require a single NP to complement the Vgrp
- In them, the NP functions as a direct object (DO) o Figo kicked the ball.
- When the head of NP is a pronoun, that PRO must be in objective case o Tom fears me/her/him/us/them.
- When the form of a NP is determined by its complement relation with the other constituent, it is said to be governed by it: o Tom fears her (governed by the verb) o For him (governed by the preposition) 4.3.3.2. INTRANSITIVE Vgrps → denote actions They don’t require any further constituents as sister in VP 4.3.3.3. DITRANSITIVE Vgrps → denote actions
- They require two NPs as complementation o Mary gave her brother a kiss (1). ✓ The first NP functions as indirect object (IO) and the second as DO, but both NPs are governed by Vgrp.
- There is a systematic correlation between IO and a PP following DO o Mary gave a kiss to her brother. / Mary gave her brother a kiss o John sent the president a letter. / John sent a letter to the president. o She bought him a new book / She bought a new book for him.
- The IO can be specified or realised by either a NP or a PP with “to”, “for” …
- The PP is part of the complementation, it is not optional 4.3.3.4. COPULATIVE
- They require a single complement, which can take the form of AP, NP or PP S NP N Mary VP Vgrp (ditrans) gave NP: IO her brother NP: DO a kiss
