Syntax ENSGA03X / Pedagogical Grammar ENSG1B02X

It’s not what you say, but HOW you say it.

Lessons Syntax 1  Block 1, first 8 meetings Rest of block 1: 1 hour per week regular review sessions and practice test Pedagogical Grammar 1  starts half way through block 1. Runs through block 3. In block 4 remedial Ped.Grammar 1 lessons to prepare for the resit (re-register!).

Tests Syntax  end of block 1 (resit after block 2) study: reader & class notes Pedagogical Grammar  end of block 3 (resit after block 4)

What is a sentence? A group of words which makes sense. A word or set of words followed by a pause and revealing an intelligible purpose. A combination of words that contains at least one subject and one predicate. A combination of words that completes a thought.

Collins English Dictionary finite ‘A sequence of words capable of standing alone to make an assertion, ask a question, or give a command, usually consisting of a subject and predicate containing a finite verb.’

What are sentences for? To make statements To ask questions To request or demand action To express emotion

The Life and Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho' not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull; He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, whose Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family in that Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call our selves, and write our Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call'd me. —Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719)

‘But --- !’

Subject & “The rest” Subject – What is it / Who is it “Rest” – What we’re saying about it

Examples SUBJECT John The dog The beautiful fairy An immense and terrifying Armada “Rest” smiled. was barking. had granted three wishes. appeared over the horizon.

Examples “Rest” Over the horizon appeared SUBJECT an immense and terrifying Armada. Some sentence constituents can be moved around, but others can’t! Appeared over the horizon an immense and terrifying Armada.

Analysis Dividing sentences into Constituents (zinsdelen) Giving them labels eg Subject, Predicator etc.

Constituents are realized by phrases ( are realized by = consist of )  Phrase eg Noun Phrase (head word is a noun) Dogs / barked. The dogs / barked. The furious dogs / barked. The furious drug-sniffing dogs / barked. In Syntax, a phrase can consist of one or more words!

Five kinds of phrases 1.Noun phrase the furious dogs 2.Adjective Phrase glad 3.Adverb Phrase drastically 4.Verb Phrase were barking / rushed off 5.Prepositional Phrase in the garden

Parts of Speech (Word Class ) p22  Parsing (the art of analysing the various roles played by words in a sentence) Every word belongs to one of the word classes, or parts of speech.

Parts of speech (word classes) OPEN CLASSES Nouns Adjectives Verbs Adverbs Interjections CLOSED CLASSES Determiners Pronouns Conjunctions Prepositions Auxiliaries 8 parts of speech, plus two special categories

Summary: three levels The constituents of a sentence reflect their function (S = subject; P = predicator, etc.) Each constituent is realized by one of the five kinds of phrases (NP = noun phrase; VP = verb phrase, etc.) Each word belongs to one of the parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, preposition, etc.) Exercise: Name the parts of this sentence on three levels: Shy Mr. Morton really loves his cat.

Exercise key S Adv. P DO (direct object) Shy Mr. Morton / really / loves / his cat. noun phrase adverb phrase verb phrase noun phrase | | | | | | adjective (proper) noun adverb lexical verb possessive pronoun (common) noun Click on the dice for a clip of a kinesthetic (TPR) mnemonic.