Lecture 2. Word Classes; Clause Elements

Transcription

1 Lecture 2. Word Classes; Clause Elements General information: This and other lecture handouts cannot exemplify or list all characteristics, forms, etc. of grammatical features; time does not allow for such extensive treatment. Please see UGE for more detailed accounts. It is necessary to study the relevant passages in UGE as well as the handouts and the PowerPoint presentations in order to cover all aspects of the grammar component of the Language Structure course. Lecture handouts almost always cover more topics than are actually treated explicitly during the corresponding lectures. This is intentional: the lecture handouts are intended chiefly to make it easier to study the material and complete exercises outside the classroom. Before each lecture, please download a PDF version of the PowerPoint slideshow that accompanies the lecture from the Studentportalen website. Printing that PDF file and having the printout at hand during the lecture will make the lecture easier to follow and will make it possible for you to note down what is said during the lecture, because you will not need to copy the information on the slides. Taking notes is important. 1 Word Classes The word class of a word is: o A permanent characteristic of a word and part of its definition but many words can belong to more than one word class. o Dependent on: The meaning of the word (less important). The grammatical characteristics of the word (more important). Word classes may be open or closed: o Open word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and interjections) admit new members readily. o Closed word classes (pronouns, numerals, prepositions, and conjunctions) contain fewer members and rarely admit new members. 1

2 Nouns: o Meaning: nouns refer to things, people, animals, plants, substances, abstract notions, etc. Common countable nouns inflect for number (singular vs. plural). Many nouns inflect for case (common case vs. genitive case). Many nouns can be determined by the indefinite article or the definite article. Nouns can be heads of noun phrases. Verbs: o Meaning: verbs express actions, states, mental processes, sensory perceptions, relations, etc. Verbs can inflect for tense (in English, present vs. past). Verbs help to form verb phrases. Adjectives: o Meaning: adjectives describe or classify people, things, etc. Gradable adjectives can be compared. Adjectives describe or classify nouns or pronouns. Adjectives may: Modify the head of a noun phrase. Function as the head of a predicative. (More rarely) be the head of a noun phrase. Adverbs: o Meaning: very diverse. Adverbs may answer questions such as When?, Where?, How?, and To what extent?, express attitudes, link stretches of text, negate, intensify, downtone, etc. Many adverbs are derived from adjectives and typically end in -ly. Gradable adverbs can be compared. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses. Pronouns: o Meaning: very diverse and often dependent on context. Pronouns have two main functions: Heads of noun phrases ( självständiga pronomen ). Determiners in noun phrases ( förenade pronomen ). 2

3 Numerals: o Meaning: Cardinal numerals express numerical quantity. Ordinal numerals express numerical order. Numerals often but not always (see, for instance, UGE, p. 70) function as determiners in noun phrases. With the exception of first, second, and third (and compounds that end in -first, -second, or -third), ordinal numerals end in -th. Prepositions: o Meaning: prepositions express meanings such as place, time, etc. by linking a prepositional complement to another part of the clause. Prepositions are often simple (e.g. at), but may be complex (e.g. in front of). Prepositions form prepositional phrases together with a prepositional complement. Conjunctions: o Meaning: conjunctions express connections between words, phrases, clauses, etc. Conjunctions are often simple (e.g. but, because), but may be complex (e.g. both and, as if). Two main functional groups: Co-ordinating conjunctions or co-ordinators connect two elements (e.g. words, phrases, and clauses) of the same type. Subordinating conjunctions or subordinators introduce dependent clauses (but not all dependent clauses are introduced by subordinators). Interjections: o Meaning: interjections express various types of exclamations. 3

4 2 Clause Elements Clause elements: o Are based on the function of the units that make up a particular clause. o Can be defined only for an individual clause. o May consist of several words and the same word(s) may appear in different clause elements in different clauses. o Except where dependent clauses are explicitly treated, this course focuses on clause elements that are themselves phrases rather than dependent clauses (see Lecture 3 for more information on phrases). The subject (S): o Is typically the topic of the clause. o Typically comes before or after the first verb form in the clause. o Usually consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 3). o IMPORTANT: the head of a subject noun phrase may control agreement (e.g. The teacher is here; She hurt herself)! The direct object (Od): o Usually refers to someone/something that is affected by the verbal action (e.g. Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney in 2012) or to the result of the verbal action (e.g. My uncle has knitted this sweater). o Usually consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 3). o Can become the subject of a passive clause (e.g. Mitt Romney was defeated [by Barack Obama] in 2012). The indirect object (Oi): o Precedes the Od and usually refers to the recipient of the verbal action (e.g. The manager gave Katie the job). o Usually consists of a noun phrase (see Lecture 3) that typically refers to an animate being. o Can become the subject of a passive clause (e.g. Katie was given the job [by the manager]). NOTE. It is not mentioned in UGE that an active Oi can become a passive S, but this is an important feature. o Can often be replaced with a prepositional phrase with to/for after the Od (e.g. The manager gave the job to Katie). Katie in The manager gave the job to Katie is called a prepositional object in UGE (p. 67); however, we will not use the term prepositional object in this course. 4

5 The subject predicative (Ps): o Provides information on characteristics or the identity of the S via a linking verb. o Usually consists of: A noun phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. My aunt is a famous paleontologist). An adjective phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. The oak leaves have turned brown). The object predicative (Po): o Provides information on characteristics or the identity of the Od via a linking verb. NOTE. The relationship between the Od and the Po is thus the same as that between the S and the Ps. This means that an Od + Po can be turned into a clause where the Od becomes the S and the Po becomes the Ps (a linking verb must be inserted between them). See the slideshow to Lecture 2 for examples. o Usually consists of: A noun phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. They made me their spokesperson). An adjective phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. I consider your idea foolish). The adverbial (A): o Has diverse meanings; often provides information of the types When?, Where?, How?, How often? Why?, speaker attitude, links between stretches of text, probability, etc. o Can often but not always be omitted or moved. o Can occur several times in a clause. o Often but not always consists of: An adverb phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. They completed the assignment very quickly). A prepositional phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. We will study English in Uppsala next year). A noun phrase (see Lecture 3) (e.g. We will study English next year). 5

6 The verb (V): o Consists of a verb phrase with a main verb as head + auxiliaries, if any (see Lecture 3). o There are three types of main verb. Which type the main verb in a given clause belongs to depends on what objects and predicatives, if any, occur in the clause: Intransitive main verbs: no objects or predicatives (e.g. She was drowning). Transitive main verbs: at least one object (e.g. She has played chess for three years) but no predicatives. Linking main verbs two structures: A subject predicative (e.g. This course seems quite interesting). A direct object and an object predicative (e.g. They have made me their spokesperson). o NOTE 1. The term verb is used both for the word class and the clause element! o NOTE 2. Many main verbs can belong to several different categories, e.g. drown (intransitive The killer drowned vs. transitive The killer drowned his victims). It is thus necessary to look at the clause elements of the individual clause to know what type of main verb the clause has! o NOTE 3. Adverbials may co-occur with all three types of main verb. 6