THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE ETSI de Telecomunicaciones ENGLISH

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE GRAMMATICAL UNITS: CLAUSE PHRASE WORD MORPHEME CONSTITUENCY: Relation between one unit and another unit of which it is a part. Thus, PHRASES are CONSTITUENTS of the simple SENTENCE.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE e.g.: Third-generation devices will become commonplace very soon, where ‘Third-generation’ is a Noun Phrase ‘will become’ is a Verb Phrase ‘commonplace’ is an Adjective Phrase ‘very soon’ is an Adverb Phrase

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENTS: Parts into which another unit is immediately divisible. e.g.: The VP ‘will become’ is an immediate constituent of the sentence. The auxiliary form ‘will’ and the main verb ‘become’ are immediate constituents of the VP. (Part- whole relationship).

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE UNITARY CONSTITUENCY: One unit is the only part into which another unit can be analysed. As opposed to MULTIPLE CONSTITUENCY, where a unit is divided into two or more immediate constituents.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE From that: SIMPLE SENTENCE: One CLAUSE (immediate constituent) COMPOUND SENTENCE: Two or more CLAUSES at the same level. e.g.: Third-generation devices will become commonplace soon, and their cost will increasingly be reduced. (COORDINATION)

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE COMPLEX SENTENCE: Two or more CLAUSES at different hierarchical levels. e.g.: Although portable computers have become commonplace, their price is still prohibitive in some cases. (SUBORDINATION)

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL ELEMENTS: CONSTITUENCY OF CLAUSES: Subject Verb Object(s) Complement(s) Adverbial(s)

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE e.g.: 1. Optical fibres transmit pulses of light. 2. The Director has given us his opinion on the matter. 3. Most people consider portable devices quite expensive (Co). 4. LANs are particularly useful (Cs) in University areas.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE The VERB is the most ‘central’ element in that a. its position is normally medial rather than initial or final b. it is normally compulsory c. it cannot normally be moved to a different position d. it helps to determine what other elements must occur

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE ADVERBIALS are the most ‘peripheral’elements (‘optional extras’): a. their position is most frequently final b. they are usually optional d. they are mostly mobile e. they do not determine what other elements occur

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBIALS: DISJUNCTS (Sentence adverbials/Subjective comment): To be honest, it cannot be said that the computer performance is up to our expectations. CONJUNCTS (Sentence adverbials/Connective function): Yet, it is just a problem of stability. ADJUNCTS (Time, place, manner...): Third-generation devices will soon become commonplace.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE WORD CLASSES: 1. MAIN CLASSES a. CLOSED CLASSES preposition pronoun determiner conjunction modal verb primary verb

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE WORD CLASSES (2): 1. MAIN CLASSES b. OPEN CLASSES noun adjective full verb adverb

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SENTENCE 2. LESSER CATEGORIES c. numerals d. interjections The status of these two categories is open to discussion (as far as the fact of their belonging to the ‘open’ or ‘closed’ class is concerned).

The 7-clause patterns in English SVThe computer was operating SVC s The computer was operative SVAThe computer is here SVO The computer handles information SVOO The dealer provided me expensive software SVOCo We consider the program the best SVOA The programmer installed the software in the PC /yesterday

Parts of the sentence Identify the highlighted word in each of the sentences below as a simple subject, a verb, a direct object, an indirect object, or a subject complement.simple subjectverbdirect objectindirect objectsubject complement 1. The old house on the hill gave Leonora chills and conjured up images of ghosts and monsters and other unknown beings. 2. Next to the china cabinet, Mrs. Wilkes placed a polished side table and an antique jug. 3. Despite winning the lottery last week, my cousin still seems unhappy. 4. They gave the university a large endowment for the scholarship fund. 5. Some experts believe it is easy to overstate the role that genes and heredity play in determining a person's predisposition to alcoholism. 6. After the luncheon buffet, she grew drowsy and decided to take a nap. 7. I don't know how you can understand anything that professor says. 8. There were no credits after the movie. 9. His deaf aunt will be going to the symphony next week. 10. The company has been mailing George CD catalogues ever since he bought his stereo. Written by Frances Peck© University of Ottawa