Intro to Words and Phrases Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sehnaz Sahinkarakas

Word Classes Traditional classification of words (eight parts of speech): Noun Pronoun Adjective Adverb Verb Preposition Conjunction Interjection However, four of them (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are different from other word classes. How? They constitute 99% of our vocabulary They can have particular endings / suffixes

NOUNS Traditional Definition of Noun: a person, a place, a thing However, a noun like «kindness» is not exactly a thing: A new definition should be considered!

A new definition of noun (based on form) might be: Let’s consider ‘Noun Inflections’ (modification of a word to express different grammatical categories) A new definition of noun (based on form) might be: A noun is a word that can be made plural and/or possessive.

NOUN PHRASE Phrase: any group of words that functions as a unit within the sentence A phrase always has a head/headword Headword of the noun phrase is a noun Most noun phrases include a noun signaler (determiner) Egs (headwords underlined; determiners in italics) The headword A unit The traditional definition

Determiners in Noun Phrases A) articles (‘a’ and ‘the’) a unit the traditional definition B) functions of nouns and pronouns in the possessive case Mary’s laugh her new car C) demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, those this old house those expensive sneakers

Which noun phrases do NOT have determiners? Proper nouns --names of people (Mary) and places (Turkey) Plural nouns with a general meaning (cats) Thus, it is possible to say that (not considering the exceptions), most noun phrases begin with a determiner; i.e., when you see a determiner, be sure you are at the beginning of a noun phrase The new definition: A noun is a word that can be made plural and/or possessive; it occupies the headword position in the noun phrase; it is usually signaled by a determiner.

Exercise 1 Identify the determiners and headwords in the following sentences 1. The students rested after their long trip. 2. Our new neighbors across the hall became our best friends. 3. Mickey’s roommate studies in the library on rainy weekends.

4. A huge crowd lined the streets for the big parade. 5. This new lasagna recipe feeds an enormous crowd. 6. Jessica made her new boyfriend a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

The guitar is a universal instrument. p. 10 Exercise 1 (coursebook) Identify the determiners and headwords of the noun phrases in the following sentences. Two noun phrases do not have determiners. How do you know they are still noun phrases? The guitar is a universal instrument. The electric guitar became popular in the 1930s. This innovation rocked the world, so to speak. The electric guitar has played an important role in our culture. Expereince Music Project has an exhibit of famous guitars. The exhibit includes Jimi Hendrix’s Fender Stratocaster from the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

Group Discussion Turn each list of words into a noun phrase and use it in a sentence. Compare your sentences with a classmate’s; they will be different but not your noun phrases! 1. table, the, wooden, small 2. my, sneakers, roommate’s, new 3. cotton, white, T-shirts, the, other, all 4. gentle, a, on the head, tap 5. the, with green eyes, girl

VERBS Base form laugh eat -s form laughs eats Past tense laughed ate Traditional definition: an action word; however, ‘expect’ is not an action There are five forms of verbs Base form laugh eat -s form laughs eats Past tense laughed ate Past participle eaten Present participle laughing eating

To Be ‘to be’ has 8 forms: am, is, are, was, were, been, being, be Not considering this exception, the definition of a verb: A verb is a word that shows tense, such as present and past tenses

Group Discussion Many words can serve as either nouns or verbs I made a promise to my boss. (noun) I promised to be on time for work. (verb) He offered to help us. (verb) We accepted his offer. (noun) Write a pair of short sentences for each of the following words (as nouns and verbs): visit plant feature

VERB PHRASE Headword of a verb phrase: verb Other components depend on the subclass of the verb E.g. It might be followed by a noun phrase A noun phrase follows a transitive verb, The cat chased the mouse. transitive noun phrase but not an intransitive verb Cats fight. intransitive In many sentences, the verb phrase include one or two adverbials (Mary laughed loudly)

These are single-word verb phrases and are very rare Like in noun phrase, a verb phrase can be completed with only the headword. E.g. Cats fight; Mary laughed. These are single-word verb phrases and are very rare Most of the time the formula: NP + VP = S The NP functions as the subject of the sentence; the VP functions as the predicate.

1. Our country comminssioners passed a new ordinance. p. 11 Exercise 2 (coursebook) Find the border between the subject and the predicate of the sentences; then supply a pronoun for the subject 1. Our country comminssioners passed a new ordinance. 2. The mayor’s husband spoke against the ordinance. 3. The mayor was upset with her husband. 4. The merchants in town are unhappy. 5. This new law prohibits billboards on majör highways.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS Can generally be recognized by their form and/or by their position in the sentence. The inflectional endings that identify adjectives and some adverbs are the comparative suffix, -er and the superlative, -est. Adjective Adverb big near bigger nearer biggest nearest

Adjective Adverb beautiful quickly more beautiful more quickly When the word has two or more syllables, the comparative and superlative markers are generally more and most. Another way of testing if a word is an adjective or adverb is its ability to pattern with a qualifier, such as very Very beautiful very quickly Adjective Adverb beautiful quickly more beautiful more quickly most beautiful most quickly

How do we differentiate an adjective and an adverb? -ly

There are some other adverbs without –ly: -ly in adverbs is a derivational suffix (rather than inflectional suffix): it enables us to derive adverbs from adjectives. There are some other adverbs without –ly: then now soon here there everywhere afterwards often sometimes always seldom  

information of time, place, manner, frequency, … How do we identify an adverb in a sentence? By the kind of information it supplies to the sentence: information of time, place, manner, frequency, … it answers such questions as where, when, why, how, and how often on the basis of their position in the predicate and their movability

Adverbs or adjectives? Adjectives are positioned between the determiner and the headword This new recipe an enormous crowd Adverbs are part of the predicate (modify verbs) Some residents spoke passionately for the ordinance. Mario suddenly hit the brakes. And they can often be moved to a different place in the predicate Mario hit the brakes suddenly. Suddenly Mario hit the brakes.

1. I have finally finished my annual report. p.14. Group Discussion (coursebook) Identify the adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences. Are the adverbs moveable? 1. I have finally finished my annual report. 2. Maria has now made great progress toward her goal. 3. The hunters moved stealthily through the deep woods. 4. The young activists organized rallies everywhere. 5. My best and oldest friend occcasianally surprises me with a visit.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES A two-part structure consisting of a preposition followed by an object (generally a noun phrase) They may appear as part of a noun phrase or as a modifier of the verb In a noun phrase, prepositional phrase adds a detail or makes clear the identity of the noun E.g.: Our new neighbors across the hall became our best friends. It serves like an adjective (answers which neighbors) so it is called adjectival prepositional phrase.

We can also see adverbial prepositional phrases: E.g. 1: Our good friends live across the hall. (answers the question ‘where’) E.g. 2: The students rested after their long trip. After their long trip, the students rested. (answers the question ‘when’)

Modifiers of nouns are called adjectivals. Modifiers of verbs are called adverbials.

1. You will often find a cake at special parties. p. 15 Exercise 3 (coursebook) Underline the prepositional phrases in the following sentences and identify them as either adjectival or adverbial 1. You will often find a cake at special parties. 2. Birthday cakes are common in many Western cultures. 3. Birthday cakes in ancient Rome contained nuts and honey. 4. Cupcakes are a popular alternative to birthday cakes. 5. Most people add candles to the top of the birthday cake.

More exercises on adjectivals and adverbials Identify the underlined prepositional phrases as either adjectival or adverbial 1. A huge crowd lined the streets for the big parade. 2. Bill got a new MacBook Air for his birthday. 3. Some residents of the community spoke against the ordinance. 4. The merchants in town are unhappy. 5. I googled Tony’s blog on my BlackBerry.

More exercises on adjectivals and adverbials 6. This was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times.   7. Kingdoms became more centralized after the breakup of the Empire. 8. Over a hundred years and more, all the territory was eventually conquered by the Romans. 9. The distinction between North Africa and much of Sub-Saharan Africa is historically and ecologically significant. 10. The reasons for the decline of the Empire are still debated today

More exercise on adjectival and adverbial 11. It also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy, associated with tourism.   12. The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase "Climate is what you expect. 13. Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. 14. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild.