You will need Dennis Freeborn (1995) A Course Book in English Grammar (2nd edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan, to proceed through this Unit.
Syntax is the area of linguistics concerned with the sequencing of language. In the last fifty years, syntactic theory has exploded in range and complexity. The result is that there are many different theoretical frameworks that account in different ways for the syntax of language. Models you might come across include Transformational-Generative Grammar (TG), Government and Binding Theory, X-Bar Theory, Minimalist Theory (all associated with the work of Noam Chomsky), Scale and Category Grammar, Systemic-Functional Linguistics (SFL) (both associated with Michael Halliday and Randolph Quirk), Cognitive Grammar (Ronald Langacker), Case Grammar (Charles Fillmore), and many others. Each of these is useful in its own right, and if you intend to become a specialist in syntax you would need to investigate all of them; it would be wrong to say that one is 'right' or 'better'. For our purposes in this Unit, we are going to use the reasonably simple model presented by Freeborn, which is based on much traditional terminology and a functional approach.
Clause Structure
If you look back to the linguistic rank scale in Unit 1, you will see that syntax is concerned with the structure of sentences, clauses and phrases. An essential feature of language is embeddedness, and it is this feature of syntax that allows language users to be creative in their language production: we can say an almost infinite number of things, many of them completely new or unexpected, and we can be understood by other language users.
The structure of clauses can be described based either on the function of the phrases or on the form-class of the phrases. For example, from a functional perspective, a clause can be composed of:
Subject Predicator Complement Adjunct
The very fat man next-door has run up a bill almost into thousands Here, the phrases have the functions of being the subject or actor in the clause (S), the verbal element which enacts the clause (P), the item which receives the action directly (C), or the circumstances in which the action or event takes place (A).
The phrases (sometimes also called 'groups') also have the form-class in this example of:
NP Noun Phrase e.g. the very fat man next-door VP Verb Phrase e.g. has run up PrepP Prepositional Phrase e.g. almost into thousands AdjP Adjectival Phrase e.g. very fat Additionally, a phrase can be:
AdvP Adverbial Phrase e.g. quickly, in a hurry PossP Possessive Phrase e.g. my neighbour's You will notice that some phrases (such as AdjP) are often embedded within other phrases.
Activity
Identify the phrases in the following sentences:
The man hit the dog The man hit the dog with a stick The big fat nasty man was hitting the poor defenceless dog with a stick that he had found Cruelly, the dog's owner was not showing him any mercy by hitting him with a stick The dog owner was bitten
Phrase Structure
Phrases can be further subdivided in constituent structure, as follows:
NP - has an obligatory element, the headword (h), but this can also optionally be accompanied by a modifier (m) which precedes the headword (and is sometimes called a 'pre-modifier'), and a qualifier (q) which follows the headword. For example: The very fat (m) man (h) next-door (q). Notice that the modifier here consists of a determiner (det) and an embedded AdjP (see below).
VP - has an obligatory element, the verb (v). There are three optional elements that can accompany the verb: a negating particle (neg), an auxiliary (a), and an extension (e). For example: has (a) run (v) up (e), or is (v) not (neg).
PrepP - has an obligatory preposition (p), and an optional before preposition (b) and a completive (c). For example: almost (b) into (p) thousands (c). Notice that the completive here is also a NP consisting simply of a headword.
AdvP and AdjP - are structurally very similar. The headword slot is typically filled by an adjective (adj) or adverb (adv) respectively. These may be accompanied by a modifier or qualifier. For example: He is very fat indeed, he arrived very quickly.
PossP - contain a noun in the headword slot, with a possessive pronoun sometimes accompanying: my pen.
The basic example sentence above can be broken down to this detail as follows:
NP VP NP PrepP m h q a v e m h b p c The man next-door has run up a bill almost into thousands
Activity
Now identify the constituents within the phrase-structure in the following sentences:
The man hit the dog The man hit the dog with a stick The big fat nasty man was hitting the poor defenceless dog with a stick that he had found Cruelly, the dog's owner was not showing him any mercy by hitting him with a stick The dog owner was bitten
Rankshifting
An important feature in constituent structure is rankshifting. Elements at different levels can be moved wholesale to operate at a level above or below them on the rankscale. For example, in the following, the sequences in green have been rankshifted:
- clause rankshifted to act as a noun phrase
That he would fail was inevitable
The results showed which theory was right
I want to be alone- clause rankshifted to operate as a qualifier in a noun phrase
The colour that I prefer is blue
The woman standing by the lake feeds the ducks- clause rankshifted to operate as an adjectival phrase
That is so not what I meant when I said that
He is very nutter on a bus- noun phrase rankshifted to operate as a modifier in another noun phrase (to create PossP)
The neighbour's dog's bone
- noun phrase rankshifted as a completive in a prepositional phrase
...beside the lake
...up the hill- prepositional phrase as a qualifier in a noun phrase
The woman beside the lake feeds the ducks
The house near the river has collapsed- and so on...
Before proceeding, you should review the detail of this material by reading Chapters 6 and 7 in Freeborn (1995). Notice the additional complexity that he introduces. (At the end of Chapter 12, Freeborn also introduces alternative ways of representing syntactic structure, for example, in a branching 'tree' diagram). You should satisfy yourself that you are able to complete the exercises in the book before continuing.
Chapter 8 in Freeborn (1995) gives detail of the verb phrase. You should also read this now.
There is an interesting theoretical question concerning how you can decide whether a feature is a rankshift or a subordinated clause. For example, in the sentence, My friend who has the Mercedes gave me a ride to work, it is possible to argue either that there is a subordinated relative clause ('who has the Mercedes') or that this is a clause rankshifted to operate at the level of a qualifier within the NP 'My friend...'. Similar arguments can be made for:
The computer which is broken should be thrown out
When it was time to go, he left very quietlyThe crucial difference lies in deciding whether the information subordinated/rankshifted is essential or incidental.For example, is the element 'who has the Mercedes' present simply to add incidental information, or is it there to differentiate this friend from other friends who drive different cars? In writing, this is often disambiguated by punctuation:
My girlfriend, who lives in Paris, sent me a card
My girlfriend who lives in Paris sent me a cardIn the first example, the fact that my girlfriend lives in Paris is coincidental. The second example strongly suggests I have more than one girlfriend in different places! Consider which form you would choose if the next sentence was: my other girlfriend sent me chocolates. In speech, of course, a slight pause after the first NP would differentiate the first from the second meaning.
Chapter 9 in Freeborn (1995) deals with embedded clause structure.
Nominalisation and Passivisation
Nominalisation is a word-formation process by which verbs or clauses become nouns or act as noun phrases:
conversion from to convert
derailment from to derailThe process often features affixes such as -acy, -ician, -ist, -ment, -ism, -ship, -ance, -ity, -ness, and so on.
Entire clauses can be nominalised:
freedom from someone is free
a shooting from someone shoots someone else
walking on the grass is prohibited from someone walks on the grassPassivisation is a process which deletes the actor or minimises its importance in the clause, by moving the actor from the Subject position to the Adjunct position, and using the verb to be as an auxiliary:
The demonstrators were shot from X shot the demonstrators
Students are reminded to arrive on time from X reminds students to arrive on time
The trees were cut down by men from the council (which foregrounds the trees as theme).Manipulation of these syntactic patterns provide a means of presenting the world in particular ideological ways.
Chapter 10 in Freeborn (1995) discusses complex and derived clauses. You do not need to read this at the moment, but you might find it useful to note its contents for future reference.
Further Reading
Baker, C.L. (1989) English Syntax, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. and Finegan, E. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, London: Longman.
Fabb, Nigel (1994) Analysing Sentence Structure, London: Routledge.
Freeborn, Dennis (1995) A Course Book in English Grammar (2nd edition), Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1985) An Introduction to Functional Grammar, London: Arnold.
Hurford, J.R. (1994) Grammar: A Student's Guide, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jackson, Howard (1990) Grammar and Meaning, London: Longman.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, London: Longman.