GRAMMAR III THE RANK SCALE

The RANK SCALE as a dimension of organization of the lexico-grammatical resources

The RANK SCALE is one of the dimensions of organization of the grammar whereby all the lexico-grammatical resources (clauses, groups/phrases, words and morphemes) are organized hierarchically, from higher-ranking units to lower-ranking units. The principle of organization can be formulated as follows: higher-ranking units (like the clause) are made up of lower-ranking units (like the groups and phrases) and these, in turn, are made up of units which are still lower in rank, like words. The lowest-ranking unit in the rank-scale used by most SFGrammarians is the morpheme. Words are made up of morphemes. The rank-scale used in this course and the principle underlying it is represented in the next slide.

The RANK SCALE used in this course: clause/clause complex group/phrasewordmorpheme

Introducing Groups and Phrases GROUPS

In this course we will be recognizing the following GROUPS In this course we will be recognizing the following GROUPS: Nominal group (NGp): trains, those trains, those three trains, those three splendid trains with pantographs Verbal group (VGp): understood, had understood, must have understood, will have been understood Adjectival group (AdjGp): difficult, very difficult, so difficult I decided to give it up Adverbial group (AdvGp): quickly, very quickly, so quickly that I had difficulties following him.

Introducing Groups and Phrases Introducing Groups and PhrasesTHE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Additionally, at the same rank as groups, we will be recognizing PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. See the difference between Group and Phrase in the next slides. (PP): Prepositional Phrase (PP): She forgave him. She forgave him out of love. She was born. She was born in the 1920’s. The man is staring. The man at the corner is staring at you. Life was very different. Life in the 19th century was very different.

Difference between GROUPS and PHRASES Groups are Groups are EXTENDED WORDS Nominal group (NGp): trains, those trains, those three trains, those three express trains; those three splendid express trains; those three splendid express trains with pantographs Verbal group (VGp): understood, had understood, had been understood; had been being understood; must have been being understood Adjectival group (AdjGp): difficult, very difficult, so difficult (that) I decided to give it up, difficult to understand Adverb group (AdvGp): quickly, very quickly, more quickly than his brother; as quickly as a machine; as quickly as he could; so quickly (that) I had difficulties following him

Phrases are Phrases are MINICLAUSES A PP such as “out of love” is not an extension of the preposition, but rather, like clauses, is “out of” and “love”, the latter being the object or term of the preposition. This object or term of the preposition is very much like a participant or an element of the clause, such as (Complement = DO of the verb) in “The expedition had crossed the bridge that morning”, i.e. it completes the meaning of the preposition rather than extend it. So PPs are A PP such as “out of love” is not an extension of the preposition, but rather, like clauses, is made up of different constituents “out of” and “love”, the latter being the object or term of the preposition. This object or term of the preposition is very much like a participant or an element of the clause, such as “the bridge that morning” (Complement = DO of the verb) in “The expedition had crossed the bridge that morning”, i.e. it completes the meaning of the preposition rather than extend it. So PPs are structures of Complementation.

Test to confirm differences between Gps and PPs Instead of expanding/extending a word/the Head, as in slide 7, do the opposite, i.e. strip the Gp or the PP progressively of all the elements except for the Head and see what you get Nominal group (NGp): those three splendid express trains with pantographs, those three splendid express trains; those three express trains; those three trains, those trains, trains. Verbal group (VGp): must have been being understood, had been being understood; had been understood; had understood, understood You can do the same with the Adjectival and Adverbial Groups, but look at what happens with the Prepositional Phrase in the next slide

Test to confirm differences between Gps and PPs They met at the new railway station. They met at the railway station. They met at the station. They met at … If we strip a PP of all the elements except for the Head (i.e., the Preposition), the structure that we obtain in the end is incomplete. This confirms the PP is a structure of complementation, that can only make sense if the Preposition is followed by a Complement that completes its meaning. This is why the Complement of a Preposition is also called a “Completive”.

THE ADJECTIVAL GROUP GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics of the Adjectival Group Adjectival Groups typically describe people, places and things. They express ATTRIBUTES (= qualities and states of things in attributive or linking clauses) “Mary is hard-working.” “The town I come from is small and quiet.” “My new car is very/really fast.” “The film is so boring I decided to leave.¨” The adjectival group is made up of three structural elements: the Head (adj: difficult), a (pre) modifier, that is always an adverb (extremely difficult), and a qualifier (groups and clauses: good at chess; difficult to solve; sure that he is innocent; the most difficult I have ever attempted)

Functions within the ADJG Structure of the AdjG It is composed of three structural elements: a head (h), a modifier (m) and a qualifier (q), which combine to form the following four basic structures: AdjGp m h q h: good hq: good at chess mh very good mhq: very good at chess The head of an AdjG is always realized by an adjective, which may function alone in representation of a whole AdjG. The AdjG is thus also an expanded word

The AdjGp Syntactic function The adjective group always functions as Complement in clauses. Examples of adjective groups in this function are the following: These goods are tax-free. It was getting darker and darker. His acting was brilliant.The knife is too sharp. He looked awfully tired.The news is most distressing. He was afraid of the dark. The problem was difficult to solve. He was so afraid that he could barely talk.

THE ADVERBIAL GROUP GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics of the The Adverbial Group The Adverb is a more heterogeneous word class than the Adjective and consists of three major sets. Circumstantial: space (here, there, outside, inside), time (today, yesterday), manner (carefully, recklessly) Expressive: modality (probably/certainly), degree (extremely, highly, too), attitude (thankfully, hopefully) Conjunctive: addition (moreover, furthermore), contrast (yet), condition (otherwise), etc. All can be extended, but the one with most potential for being extended is the first class

Circumstantial AdvGps – Meaning Semantically, circumstantial adverbial groups express qualities of processes (verbs) (= circumstances), just as adjectives express qualities of ‘things’. “She drove recklessly” (manner) “She got up early” (time) “She went outside/inside” (location) “They worked long” (duration)

Functions within the ADVG The structure of the AdvGp is similar to that of the AdjGp, that is, it is composed of three elements: the head (h), the modifier (m) and the qualifier (q). These elements combine to form the following four basic structures: AdvGp m h q h: recklessly hq: recklessly enough mh very recklessly mhq: so recklessly that he was bound to have an accident

The AdvGp Structure illustrated The head is always realised by an adverb. The modifier is realised typically by grading and intensifying adverbs. The qualifier expresses a different type of meaning from that of the modifier, as it does in AdjGps. It further specifies the meaning of the adverbial Head, by expressing the scope or context of the meaning expressed or by defining the modifier more explicitly (e.g. more correctly than before). She decided to live. She decided to live far away from civilization. He ran. He ran so fast that I couldn’t catch him. She said it. She said it (quite) clearly (enough).

THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PP The PP consists of the sequence preposition + completive, where the preposition is recognised as the ‘head’ element. Prepositions may consist of one word: from, two words: because of, or three: in contact with. All are considered prepositions. The completive (complement/object) may be realised by a pronoun: ‘after me’, a NGp: ‘in town’, for a long time’, an adjective: ‘in short’, an adverb: for now’, an embedded clause: ‘because of what happened’, but the probabilities for the completive being a nominal group are higher.

The PP: general characteristics Note: A preposition cannot occur without a nominal unit (= pronoun, nominal group, embedded clause filling the position of a nominal group) and a nominal unit is not part of a PP if there is no preposition. Both are equally necessary to form the group; both have equal grammatical status. Remember that a prepositional phrase is not an expanded word, but more a structure of complementation. Just as with many transitive verbs the ‘Complement’ has to be there, so in a PP both the preposition and the completive are also obligatory. Just as a transitive verb ‘governs’ its Complements, so a preposition governs its completives.

Functions within the PP The elements of the PP are: the ‘modifier’ (m): straight to bed; the ‘head’ (h) straight to bed; and the completive (c): straight to bed. The internal structure of PPs can be represented as follows. Not all PPs contain a modifier, but all of them contain a preposition and a completive. In fact, the modifier normally relates to the preposition + completive taken together as a single item. PP m h c right into the policeman’ arms completely out of date straight along this road just at that moment quite near here only by studying hard

The PP: its function in the Clause PPs usually function in the Clause as Circumstances to a verb expressing an action, event, happening, or as Qualifiers mainly in nominal groups and also in adjectival and adverbial groups. Both functions are illustrated below: Circumstance to a verb: All this happened long before the war. All the children were running around the playground. They often smoke during the morning break. She saved him out of love. She asked the question with great innocence. She works as a shop-assistant. In her view, he is wrong. Qualifier in NGp: a bridge [over the river]; apricots [on the tree] Qualifier in AdjGp: brilliant [at mathematics]; doubtful [about his chances]; interested [in literature] Qualifier in AdvGp: away [from home]; far [from here] There are other uses which are not so frequent as, for example, Subject: “After dark is the best time for fireworks.”

THE VERBAL GROUP GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VGp CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VGp -Verbal group structures can be single, consisting of one element only (runs, asked), or extended, consisting of one or more auxiliaries + a main verb (may have been running) -Up to four auxiliaries can occur. -The meanings expressed by the auxiliaries are: modality, perfect tense, progressive aspect, passive voice, in this order when they all occur. - The longer combinations are more frequent in spoken than in written English. - Non-finite VGps (having been seen) can express perfect, progressive and passive meanings but not tense or modality.

The VGp: Single verbal groups further described A single VGp structure consists of a single element, usually the lexical element, realised by a finite or non-finite form of a lexical verb, for example drive: Finite forms Non finite forms drive They drive on the left in the UK (to) drive It is important to drive with care They won’t let you drive without a license drives He drives to work every day. driving Driving to work, I listen to the news drove He drove out of the garage. driven Driven away by night, the car was abandoned So there will be finite and non-finite verbal groups

The Vgp: extended structure Extended structures of the Verbal Group An extended VGp structure consists of a lexical verb at the head, preceded by up to four auxiliaries (see meaning of auxiliaries and ordering in previous screens). Internal structure of the VGp: In VGps with only one auxiliary, this is necessarily the operator (o), and according to its type, selects a corresponding form of the lexical verb. Operators typically carry the idea of time and, sometimes, of person: has driven; is driving; was driven. They can also express modal meaning (can be there, may be there, must be there) and positive or negative polarity (did go, didn’t go).

The VGp: extended structures Extended structures of the VGp: In VGps with more than one auxiliary, the first one is the operator (o), the others being just auxiliaries indicating modality, perfect tense, progressive aspect, voice, etc. and being identified with an (x). The lexical verb is marked with a (v). Examples: must drive ov will have driven oxv should have been driving oxxv can have been being driven oxxxv

Groups and Phrases Illustrated Identify AdjGs, AdvGs, PPs and Vgs in the following text: Identify AdjGs, AdvGs, PPs and Vgs in the following text:

The USA is very big and the climate is different in various parts of the country. In the Northern States, for example, like Maine and Vermont, the weather is very cold in winter. It snows and you can ski. In the Southern States, the climate is tropical. In Florida, the summer months are very hot and sunny, but it often rains. It doesn’t frequently rain in winter and it’s quite warm. Lots of people travel to Florida in December and January for the warm weather.

VERY BIG DIFFERENT VERY COLD TROPICAL VERY HOT SUNNY QUITE WARM The USA is VERY BIG and the climate is DIFFERENT in various parts of the country. In the Northern States, for example, like Maine and Vermont, the weather is VERY COLD in winter. It snows and you can ski. In the southern states, the climate is TROPICAL. In Florida, the summer months are VERY HOT and SUNNY, but it often rains. It doesn’t frequently rain in winter and it’s QUITE WARM. Lots of people travel to Florida in December and January for the warm weather.

OFTEN FREQUENTLY The USA is very big and the climate is different in various parts of the country. In the Northern States, for example, like Maine and Vermont, the weather is very cold in winter. It snows and you can ski. In the southern states, the climate is tropical. In Florida, the summer months are very hot and sunny, but it OFTEN rains. It doesn’t FREQUENTLY rain in winter and it’s quite warm. Lots of people travel to Florida in December and January for the warm weather.

IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. IN THE NORTHERN STATESFOR EXAMPLE, LIKE MAINE ANDVERMONT INTHE SOUTHERN STATES IN FLORIDA IN WINTER TO FLORIDA IN DECEMBERAND JANUARYFOR THE WARMWEATHER The USA is very big and the climate is different IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. IN THE NORTHERN STATES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE MAINE AND VERMONT, the weather is very cold IN WINTER. It snows and you can ski. IN THE SOUTHERN STATES, the climate is tropical. IN FLORIDA, the summer months are very hot and sunny, but it often rains. It doesn’t frequently rain IN WINTER and it’s quite warm. Lots of people travel TO FLORIDA IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY FOR THE WARM WEATHER.

ISIS IS SNOWS CANSKI ISARE RAINS DOESN’T RAIN’S TRAVEL The USA IS very big and the climate IS different in various parts of the country. In the Northern States, for example, like Maine and Vermont, the weather IS very cold in winter. It SNOWS and you CAN SKI. In the southern states, the climate IS tropical. In Florida, the summer months ARE very hot and sunny, but it often RAINS. It DOESN’T frequently RAIN in winter and it’S quite warm. Lots of people TRAVEL to Florida in December and January for the warm weather.