CHAPTER 1
ELEMENTS OF
GRAMMAR
Main Points
1. Parts Of A Sentence
2. Categories Of Verbs
3. Categories Of Adverbal
4. Types Of Sentence Structure
5. Element Realization Types
6. Parts Of Speech
7. Proforms
8. Questions And Negation
1. PARTS OF A SENTENCE
• Subject and Predicate
- Subject: What is being discussed (the theme of
a sentence)
- Predicate: Something new about the subject
• Operator, auxiliary, and predication
• Range of operators
• Sentence elements: S, V, C, O, A
1. PARTS OF A SENTENCE
sentence
subject predicate
auxiliary
predicati
as
on
operator
SENTENCE ELEMENTS
1. Subject (S)
2. Verb (V)
3. Complement (C): subject complement
object
(Cs) complement (Co)
direct object (Od)
4. Object (O):
indirect object
(Oi)
5. Adverbial (A)
2. CATEGORIES OF VERB
* Types of verbs corresponding closely to the different
types of O and C:
+ Intensive V: V intransitive
+ Cs (without
O, C)
transitive (with O)
+ Extensive V: monotransitive
ditransitive (Od)
(Od + Oi)
complex transitive (O +
Co)
*Types of verb corresponding to
aspectual contrast of “progressive” and “non-progressive”
+ Stative (non-progressive)
+ Dynamic (progressive)
3. CATEGORIES OF ADVERBIAL
• Time (A time)
• Place (A place)
• Process (progressive aspect) (A process)
4. TYPES OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE
A place
intens
V stat Cs
Ext & trans: Od
Intens: Cs (A
S
Tim
(A e)
V dyn (A Plac
mono: proces e)
di:
trans Od s)
ex complex:
(O1)Od Od
t intransitiv
Co
e
5. ELEMENT REALIZATION TYPES
• Verb element (always a verb phrase):
+ Finite: showing tense, mood, aspect, voice
+ Non-finite: showing aspect, voice only
• S realised by:
+ noun phrase (simplest form: pronoun)
+ a clause
• Cs, Od, Co: realised by same range of structures as S
• Cs, Co: also realised by adjective phrases
• Oi realised chiefly by noun phrases, not realised by “that” clauses
• A: realised by adverb phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases,
clauses (finite/ non-finite)
6. PARTS OF SPEECH
+ Open-class items
• Noun
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Verb
+ Closed-system items
• Article
• Demonstrative
• Pronoun
• Preposition
• Conjunction
• Interjection
6. PARTS OF SPEECH
(CONTINUED)
+ Stative and dynamic
• STATIVE noun ↔ adjective
↕ ↕
• DYNAMIC verb ↔ adverb
Notes: Exceptions within the class of verbs:
stative Vs
Exceptions in the other directions within the class
of nouns and adjectives.
7. PRO-FORMS
• ‘one’ replaces a noun in a noun phrase
• Pronouns replace noun phrases
• Proforms for place, time, and other
adverbials: there, then, so
• ‘so’ replaces – along with the pro-verb ‘do’ –
a predication
• The pro-predication is achieved by the
operator alone
8. QUESTIONS AND NEGATION
+ Wh-questions
• Pro-form = we know what this item refers to, so I need not state it in full
• ‘wh’forms = It has not been known what this item refers to and so it
needs to be stated in full
+ Yes-No questions
+ Negation and non-assertion
Sentence assertion - positive andpositive
declarative
interrogative
non-assertion negative
negative
