from clauses to sentences

FROM CLAUSES TO SENTENCES

“Like words (in Chapter 5) and phrases (in Chapter 6),!clauses can be viewed either from ‘inside’,

in terms of their!form or structure; or from ‘outside’, in terms of their!function in sentences.”!

Clauses: The Inside View

English is often said to be an!SVO language, because unlike many other!languages, these three

elements usually occur in that fixed order.

However, in the previous lessons we also introduced another kind of!element in clause structure:

the Adjunct (A), which adds to a clause an!extra piece of information (usually optional) about time,

place, manner,!etc. So we can specify the structure of a clause in terms of symbols such!as ‘SVO’,

‘ASAVA’, like this:

[7.1] [ S:(An expression of extreme annoyance) V:(crossed) O:(her face)].!SVO

[7.2] [A:(Actually) S:(we) A:(quite often) V:(breakfast) A:(at Tiffany’s)].!ASAVA

A!fifth!element!is!the!complement!(C):

“After certain verbs, especially the verb!to be, an NP is not an!Object. Instead, it is often called

a!Complement!(or!Predicative Complement), and is represented by the symbol!C:”

[7.3] [S:(Fawlty Towers) V:(must be) C:(the best-loved bad hotel in the!world)].!SVC

The Subject: prototypical definitions

- Subjects precede the verb phrase

- Subjects are noun phrases

- if the Subject is a pronoun, it has to be in the correct form

- Subjects “agree” with the VP

- Subjects refer to the doer of an action, while Objects refer to the ‘doee’.

The Object: prototypical definitions

- Objects are typically NPs

- Objects typically refer to the ‘doee’ rather than the ‘doer’

- Objects are realised by the Object form of the pronoun, not the Subject form

- The “Passive Test”

- Objects can be “direct” and “indirect”

Clauses: The Outside View: Types of Clauses

- Declarative – i.e., the clause acts as a statement, or assertion, claiming to tell us something about

the world of reality: e.g., His girlfriend has left him. Life is like that. I didn’t believe it.

- Interrogative – i.e., the clause acts as a question: e.g., Has his girlfriend left him? When did she

leave him? How should I know?

- Imperative – i.e., the clause acts as a directive – e.g., a request, instruction or suggestion: Pass

me that drink please. Put oil in a pan over a low heat. Look out!! Just hurry!

- Exclamatory – i.e., the clause acts as an expression of emotion. What a weekend I’ve had! How

that kid squealed! How ghastly you look!

Non-finite Clauses

There are three types of non-finite clauses:

- (a)!infinitive!(normally preceded by to or bare infinitive):!

e.g., He is thought [to be!hiding in Brazil]: I made him [leave].

- (b)!–ingform(also called ‘present participle’):!

Hedda enjoys [chatting!with the construction workers]

- (c)!–enform(also called ‘past participle’):!

e.g., I saw [your book!reviewed!in the paper].

“Non-finite clauses obviously have no finite verb, and generally have no Subject. Consequently,

they tend to be shorter, more compact than finite clauses, and are useful for simplifying sentences

that would otherwise be complex and unwieldy, especially in writing.” (Culpeper et al. 2018, Ch. 7)

- Non-finite clauses express no tense and no number markings.

The functions of non-finite clauses are similar to those of finite ones.!They function at sentence

level as subject in (1); direct object in (2);!adverbial in (3); and subject predicate in (4):

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“Like words (in Chapter 5) and phrases (in Chapter 6), clauses can be viewed either from ‘inside’, in terms of their form or structure; or from ‘outside’, in terms of their function in sentences.” Clauses: The Inside View English is often said to be an SVO language, because unlike many other languages, these three elements usually occur in that fixed order. However, in the previous lessons we also introduced another kind of element in clause structure: the Adjunct (A), which adds to a clause an extra piece of information (usually optional) about time, place, manner, etc. So we can specify the structure of a clause in terms of symbols such as ‘SVO’, ‘ASAVA’, like this: [7.1] [ S:(An expression of extreme annoyance) V:(crossed) O:(her face)]. SVO [7.2] [A:(Actually) S:(we) A:(quite often) V:(breakfast) A:(at Tiffany’s)]. ASAVA A fifth element is the complement (C): “After certain verbs, especially the verb to be , an NP is not an Object. Instead, it is often called a Complement (or Predicative Complement ), and is represented by the symbol C:” [7.3] [S:(Fawlty Towers) V:(must be) C:(the best-loved bad hotel in the world)]. SVC The Subject: prototypical definitions

Subjects precede the verb phrase
Subjects are noun phrases
if the Subject is a pronoun, it has to be in the correct form
Subjects “agree” with the VP
Subjects refer to the doer of an action, while Objects refer to the ‘doee’. The Object: prototypical definitions
Objects are typically NPs
Objects typically refer to the ‘doee’ rather than the ‘doer’
Objects are realised by the Object form of the pronoun, not the Subject form
The “Passive Test”
Objects can be “direct” and “indirect” Clauses: The Outside View: Types of Clauses
Declarative – i.e., the clause acts as a statement, or assertion, claiming to tell us something about the world of reality: e.g., His girlfriend has left him. Life is like that. I didn’t believe it.
Interrogative – i.e., the clause acts as a question: e.g., Has his girlfriend left him? When did she leave him? How should I know?
Imperative – i.e., the clause acts as a directive – e.g., a request, instruction or suggestion: Pass me that drink please. Put oil in a pan over a low heat. Look out!! Just hurry!
Exclamatory – i.e., the clause acts as an expression of emotion. What a weekend I’ve had! How that kid squealed! How ghastly you look! Non-finite Clauses There are three types of non-finite clauses:
(a) infinitive (normally preceded by to or bare infinitive): e.g., He is thought [to be hiding in Brazil]: I made him [leave].
(b) –ing form (also called ‘present participle’): Hedda enjoys [chatting with the construction workers]
(c) –en form (also called ‘past participle’): e.g., I saw [your book reviewed in the paper]. “Non-finite clauses obviously have no finite verb, and generally have no Subject. Consequently, they tend to be shorter, more compact than finite clauses, and are useful for simplifying sentences that would otherwise be complex and unwieldy, especially in writing.” (Culpeper et al. 2018, Ch. 7)
Non-finite clauses express no tense and no number markings. The functions of non-finite clauses are similar to those of finite ones. They function at sentence level as subject in (1); direct object in (2); adverbial in (3); and subject predicate in (4):

[Eating pancakes] is a pleasant thing.
I love [eating pancakes].
[Arrested last night], he is in jail now.
The problem is [to decide on what to eat]. The Sentence: Embedding “Embedding is a very powerful means of elaborating the content of what we want to say, particularly because it is iterative. This means that not only can one clause (call it ‘Clause b’) be embedded in another clause (‘Clause a’), but a third clause can be embedded in ‘Clause b’ (call it ‘Clause c’) and this process can be repeated indefinitely, as is shown in the rough sketch of a tree diagram in Figure 7.4.” (Culpeper et al. 2018, Ch. 7) The Sentence: Coordination “Coordination is another powerful elaborating device, like embedding. But it is different in that the elements coordinated occur side by side in the sentence, rather than one inside the other. The three most common coordinating words (called coordinating conjunctions) are and, or and but, and the most common combination involves simply joining two similar units of language together like this: X and Y : for example, (my sister) and (her boyfriend).” (Culpeper et al. 2018, Ch. 7) The Sentence: Embedding The main types of embedded (or subordinate) clauses are:

Adverbial: time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, concession (see Laviosa, p. 164)
Complement: nominal clauses (-that clauses)
Relative/Adjective: introduced by relative pronouns (restrictive/non-restrictive) Sentences (by clause structures) Sentences can be defined as larger grammatical units, or as “the unit that defines the upper limit of grammatical structure” (Culpeper, Ch. 7, Illustration Box 7.3). Sentences are usually classified in four categories as far as the structure is concerned:
Simple sentences consisting of just one clause
Compound sentences consisting of two or more coordinated clauses
Complex sentences consisting of one main clause with one or more embedded clauses inside it
Compound-complex sentences combining both these types of clausal relationship – coordination and embedding Types of clause
Independent Clause (Can stand alone as a complete sentence)
Dependent Clause (A subordinate clause: cannot stand alone as a sentence because it is an incomplete thought)
Noun Clause (A dependent clause that begins with a subordinator that connects the clause to the main clause)
Adjective Clause (A dependent clause: modifies a noun or a pronoun): restrictive (essential)
Adjective Clause (A dependent clause: modifies a noun or a pronoun): non-restrictive (non- essential)
Adverb Clause (A dependent clause: modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or a sentence)

from clauses to sentences, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Lingua Inglese

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FROM CLAUSES TO SENTENCES