I. O. Macari, Morpho-syntax, Lecture 2 sem.

I, 2014

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2.5. Clauses
2.5.1. Finite and non-finite clauses
At the level of clause, English grammar distinguishes between finite clauses (with the verbal
realized by a finite verb
1
) and non-finite clauses (with the verbal realized by a non-finite verb
2
).
This is due to the fact that, because the central element of a clause is the verb phrase, the clause
is finite or non-finite depending on the form of its verbal.
Consider the clauses in bold in the following examples:
1. |||I expected ||that he would help me.|| |||
2. |||I expected ||him to help me.|| |||
3. |||I expected ||to get help.|| |||
All three example sentences contain an embedded object clause in bold. The first (that he would
help me) is finite, while in both 2 (him to help me) and 3 (to get help) the embedded clause is
non-finite. The difference between the two embedded clauses is that if in 2 the subject is
lexically realized by a NP (him), in 3 the subject position is not lexically filled.
Because English has case distinctions only for pronouns, another rule concerns the nominal
element preceding the verb: the 3
rd
person pronoun is typically (but not exclusively) in the
nominative in the finite clause and in the accusative or possessive in the non-finite clause.
If a participle, a gerund or an infinitive is the first or only verb in the verb phrase, the VP is non-
finite. A non-finite verb form
3
functions both as a verb and as another word class.
non-finite verb form example word class grammatical
behaviour
present participle The snoring dog disturbed Toms reading. adjective
present participle Mumbling, he went on reading. adverb
past participle He was reading the damaged manuscript. adjective
past participle Exasperated, he resumed his reading. adverb
gerund He likes reading. noun
to-infinitive He likes to read. noun
to-infinitive He has a manuscript to read. adjective
bare infinitive He made them come, too. verb
In Strumpf and Douglass view, because participles, gerunds and infinitives are verb forms
(called by them verbals,), they
retain some of the abilities of verbs. They can carry objects or take modifiers and
complements. At the same time, verbals possess abilities unknown to the typical verb,
the abilities of other parts of speech. In this way, verbals may perform the duties of

1
Finite and non-finite verbs are discussed further in 4.4.
2
Some grammarians classify non-finite clauses as participial, gerund and infinitive phrases but, because in the
approach of this course, any verb phrase consists exclusively of verb words, only certain one-word (with no
modifiers or complements) participial, gerund and infinitive constructions are recognized as phrases.
3
Some grammarians call participles, gerunds and infinitives verbals, but this course recognizes the verbal as the
syntactic function realized exclusively by a verb phrase (see 2.2.2. and 3.3.1.).
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two parts of speech simultaneously. (The Grammar Bible: Everything You Always
Wanted to Know about Grammar But Didn't Know Whom to Ask , 2004, p. 136)
In English, there are three types of non-finite clauses, depending on the form of the first verb in
the verb phrase:
1. -ing clauses
a. -ing participle clauses
Doug Crandell lives in Douglasville, Georgia, where his wife has crocheted him nine winter hats
while watching The Andy Griffith Show. (The Sun Magazine)
b. ing gerund clauses
Wed not eaten at many fast-food restaurants, and seeing our mother in her uniform made me
feel as if wed somehow been promoted from farm family to suburbanites. (The Sun Magazine)
2. -ed clauses/-ed participle clauses
I spotted our mother standing proudly on the front porch, dressed in her new work outfit. (The
Sun Magazine)
3. infinitive clauses
(a) with to
You couldnt have been expected to know that. (The Sun Magazine)
(b) without to
The book helped reshape Americans attitudes toward this native predator []. (The Sun
Magazine)
Such non-finite clauses may be regarded as reduced clauses which often lack a subject but which
can be analysed in terms of constituents/ elements of the clause. Most types can be expanded into
finite clauses.
non-finite clause constituents expanded finite clause
1. while watching The Andy Griffith Show V + O while she was watching The Andy Griffith
Show
2. seeing our mother in her uniform V + O + A that I saw our mother in her uniform
3. dressed in her new work outfit. V + A she was dressed in her new work outfit.
4. to know that. V + O that you know that
5. reshape Americans attitudes toward this native
predator
V + O that Americans attitudes toward this native
predator are reshaped
In headlines, auxiliary verbs are usually dropped from progressive and passive structures, leaving
only present/past participles. Headlines are often expanded in the article body, as in the example
below.
headline body
Great Barrier Reef damage irreversible
unless radical action taken
The Great Barrier Reef will suffer irreversible damage by 2030
unless radical action is taken to lower carbon emissions, a stark
new report has warned. (The Guardian)
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In relation to the auxiliaries and voice of non-finite clauses, Huddleston and Pullum (The
Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, 2002, p. 1174) note that modal auxiliaries and
operator do are excluded, but each of the three varieties (-ing clauses, -ed clauses and infinitive
clauses) admits one or more of the remaining three auxiliaries:
1. -ing clauses (which the authors call gerund-participials) accept have and passive be, but
not progressive be.
perfect have I regret having told them.
passive be I resent being given so little notice.
progressive be I remember being working when they arrived.
2. . -ed clauses accept progressive and passive be.
passive be Ed has been seen.
progressive be Ed has been seeing her.
3. infinitive clauses accept all the three auxiliaries.
perfect have I expect to have finished soon.
passive be I expect to be working all weekend.
progressive be I expect to be interviewed by the police.
Unlike in most finite clauses, the presence of the subject is not obligatory in non-finite clauses.
Huddleston and Pullum consider the subject an optional element in non-finite clauses, not an
element whose presence is necessary for an expression to qualify as a clause (2002, p. 1175).
When present, the subject makes it clear that the non-finite verbal does not have the same subject
as the finite verbal of the main clause. A characteristic of the subjects of non-finite verbals is that
normally they are not nominative. This feature becomes obvious in subjects realized by personal
pronouns, which are either accusative or genitive.
subjectless clause clause containing a subject
-ing clause a. Having agreed on all the details, we then rapidly
proceeded with the preparation of draft contracts.
b. Many teachers enjoy telling jokes in class.
a. He and I having agreed on all the details, the
preparation of draft contracts then proceeded rapidly.
b. Many teachers enjoy students
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telling jokes in class.
-ed clauses Having been exposed, the thief turned to flee. His identity having been exposed, the thief turned to
flee
infinitive
clause
a. I want to stop listening to this rigmarole.
b. I will be happy to do the homework.
a. I want you to stop listening to this rigmarole.
b. I will be happy for my students to do
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the homework.
Huddleston and Pullum distinguish between clauses that consist only of the VP functioning as
verbal, on the one hand (Having been exposed, the thief turned to flee.), and attributive VPs
6


4
The subject of a gerund must be in the possessive form, since gerunds behave like nouns and should then be
preceded by the possessive forms of nouns/pronouns (they mean whose + noun). However, in colloquial speech
the objective form is very common.
5
The for +accusative + to-infinitive structure is common after adjectives expressing wishes and personal feelings. It
is not possible after likely and probable.
6
Participial adjective is a traditional term for an adjective that has the same form as the present or past participle of
a verb, but functions as a descriptive adjective and usually exhibits its ordinary properties of a central adjective
(they have the ability to occur both attributively and predicatively, are gradable and have comparative and
superlative forms). The adjectives in this class are also called verbal adjectives or deverbal adjectives.
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functioning as modifiers of nouns in NPs, on the other (our rapidly approaching deadline, a
poorly drafted report).
Whenever the non-finite forms function as the verbals of clauses which also contain subjects in
the nominative, different from the subject of the main clause, they form absolute verbal
constructions. An absolute construction acts as a modifier, but it is not modifying any particular
part of the main clause/sentence; instead, it modifies the entire clause/sentence by adding
information to it. In the example below, the non-finite clause is underlined, the verbal is in bold
and the subject is double-underlined.
All things considered, I think Putin is the right man for Russia, especially in these interesting
times. (The Guardian)
The discussion of the absolute constructions is continued in 5.6.2.
a. Participial clauses (1.a and 2 above) are non-finite clauses consisting of a participle
accompanied or not by the noun phrase/phrases that function as the subject, direct object/objects,
indirect object/objects, or complement/complements of the participle verb (see examples 1 and 3
in the table above).
In English there are two participle forms:
present participle (base form + -ing).
past participle (for all regular verbs, the past participle form ends in ed, while irregular
verbs endings vary considerably (for instance, been, brought, seen, etc.).
Both of them can function as the verbals of non-finite clauses.
example participle form syntactic
function
clause type
Because if F1 teams are paying 800
for a wheel nut, then whoever they
are getting them from must have
seen them coming. (The Guardian)
present participle object SV (acc, + present participle). The verbal in the main
clause (double underlined) that governs the participle
is a perception/cognition
7
or causative
8
verb.
Michael Jackson as you've never
seen him painted before. (The
Guardian)
past participle object SVA (acc. + past participle).
The verbal in the main clause (double underlined)
that governs the participle is a perception/cognition
or causative verb.
Robert Spencer came across picture
of his injured stepson while reading
reports on the Santiago de
Compostela crash. (The Guardian)
present participle adverbial (conj.) VO
Just like full adverbial clauses, only more
economically, participial clauses express
condition, reason, cause, result or time. They can
be introduced by subordinating conjunctions such
as if, unless, because, when, while, etc. The
participle clause normally comes in front of the
main clause
US ambassador says Iraqi aides will
quit unless granted asylum (The
Guardian)
past participle adverbial

7
Examples of perception/cognition verbs include see, hear, feel, know, believe, think, remember, recall, forget, etc.
8
Causative verbs are used to indicate that some person or thing helps to make something happen and are followed
by another verb form. Examples include cause, allow, help, have, enable, keep, hold, let, force, require, and
make.
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The meeting ending earlier than
expected, everyone gathered their
belongings and left.
present participle clause/
sentence
modifier
SVA
These clauses are called absolute participial
clauses because they are not dependent on any
other part of the main clause, though they cannot
be used independently, as they lack a finite verbal.
The meeting ended, everyone
gathered their belongings and left.
past participle clause/
sentence
modifier
One-word participle phrases usually occur as premodifiers (the crying baby), but they may,
however, occur at the beginning of a sentence as adjuncts (Troubled, he went to) or inside
the sentence, as parenthetical elements (His gaze, frozen, moved away from ).
Negative participle clauses are also possible, with not normally placed before the participle.
Not having time to finish my essay on time, I decided to withdraw from the contest.
Clearly not entirely convinced, he took another look at the photos.
b. Gerund clauses (1.b above) are non-finite clauses consisting of a gerund accompanied or not
by the noun phrase/phrases that function as the subject, direct object/objects, indirect
object/objects, or complement/ complements of the gerund verb (see example 2 in the table
above).
c. Infinitive clauses (3.a and 3.b above) are non-finite clauses consisting of the infinitive or bare
infinitive form of a verb accompanied or not by the noun phrase/phrases that function as the
subject, direct object/objects, indirect object/objects, or complement/ complements of the
infinitive verb (see examples 4 and 5 in the table above).
Split infinitives occur when one or more words are interposed between the particle to and the
verb (to quickly remove, to more clearly articulate, to more than double, to suddenly leave,
etc.), but they should be avoided in formal writing.
Present participle clauses vs. gerund clauses
Because present participles and gerunds are identical in form (-ing ending), it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish between them. However, the difference becomes obvious in contexts,
since participles function as adjectives pre- or postmodifying a noun, while gerunds function as
nouns. In the examples below, the participial clause and the gerund clauses are in bold.
Mary, constantly nagging, drives him mad.
Marys constant nagging drives him mad.
In the first, constantly nagging is a participle which functions as an AdjP whose head is nagging,
which modifies Mary and which can be expanded into a relative clause (who is constantly
nagging).
In the second, Marys constant nagging functions as a NP whose head is nagging and which
realizes the syntactic function of subject. In the gerund clause in this sentence, the subject
(Marys) of the non-finite verbal (nagging) is present.
As a rule, when the subject of the gerund occurs in the gerund clause, it is usually in the
possessive case (morphologically marked on pronouns and common or proper nouns -
Her/the womans/Marys constant nagging ). This does not normally happen with
compound subjects (Mary and her mother constant nagging ). However, when the
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gerund expresses general activities (driving, teaching, diving), its subject will be elided
(Driving can be tiresome).
Gerunds vs. infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives are different in form but, because both function as nominals, usage
confusion may often arise especially for non-native speakers of English.
Confusion between gerunds and infinitives occurs primarily in cases in which one or the
other functions as the direct object in a sentence. In English some verbs take gerunds as
verbal direct objects exclusively while other verbs take only infinitives and still others
can take either. (Owl)
The examples below show one verb (agree) that can take only the infinitive as direct object and
another one that takes only gerunds.
Abbott and Obama agree to extend Australia's defence cooperation with US (The Guardian)
Abbott and Obama agree extending Australia's defence cooperation with US
PRISM scandal: tech giants flatly deny allowing NSA direct access to servers (The Guardian)
PRISM scandal: tech giants flatly deny to allow NSA direct access to servers
The same source offers a list of such verbs, organized according to which kind of verbal direct
object they take.
Verbs that take only infinitives as verbal direct objects (Owl)
agree expect hope learn neglect pretend propose
attempt hesitate intend need plan promise want
decide




Verbs that take only gerunds as verbal direct objects (Owl)
admit delay finish give up postpone recommend
appreciate deny get/be
accustomed to
keep practice regret
avoid detest get/be tired of keep (on) put off risk
be fond
of
dislike get/be through mind quit suggest
can't help tolerate get/be used to miss recall stop (quit)
consider enjoy
Verbs that take gerunds or infinitives as verbal direct objects (Owl)
begin like remember

continue love start

hate prefer try

A few verbs can take both gerunds and infinitives but with a change in meaning.
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come
forget
go on
mean
regret
remember
stop
try
A discussion with examples can be found at www.edufind.com/
english/grammar/gerund_or_infinitive2.php.
Verbs that take an object plus a gerund or a bare infinitive
feel hear notice watch
see smell observe

The use of the gerund normally indicates a continuous action, and the use of the bare infinitive
indicates a one-time action.
In traditional Romanian grammar, only a finite verb can be the verbal of a clause, and, consequently,
finite moods are called predicative moods, while non-finite moods are called non-predicative moods.
Non-finite forms in Romanian
In Romanian there are four non-finite forms: participle, gerund, infinitive and supine. Except for the
supine, the others can be turned into nouns by the presence of the enclitic definite article, of the
proclitic indefinite article, of and adjective or a preposition. They can even appear in the vocative:
participle (cntat cntatul, citit cititul, condus condusul)
o Pe veci pierduto, vecinic adorato! (M. Eminescu, Sonet III)
gerund nominalization is uncommon and it occurs through its preliminary adjectivization:
gerund adjectiv noun (intrnd intrndul/un intrnd, suferind suferindul/un
suferind);
o Murindului sperana, turbrii rzbunarea,/Profetului blestemul, credinei
Dumnezeu (M. Eminescu, Amorul unei marmure)
long infinitive (a cnta cntare, a citi citire, a conduce conducere)
o Cu geana ta m-atinge pe pleoape,/S simt fiorii strngerii n bra.(M. Eminescu, Sonet
III)
2.5.2. Subordinate clauses
According to the VP used as verbal and to the presence or absence of a subordinator, there are
four types of subordinate clauses.
finite verb subordinator
main clause
9
+ -
A. subordinate clause + +
B. subordinate clause + -
C. subordinate clause - +
D. subordinate clause - -

9
For comparison, a main clause is also diagrammed in the table.
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o Notice: Category B is quite rare.
The following examples illustrate the four types of subordinate clauses described in the table.
A: ||when nobody was looking|| [+ finite verb], [+ subordinator]
B: ||| ||Had nobody looked,|| he would have taken the note.|||
[+ finite verb], [- subordinator]
C: ||while looking for her|| [- finite verb], [+ subordinator]
D: ||| ||Looking up,|| he realized his mistake.||| [- finite verb], [- subordinator]
The situation in Romanian is to some extent different, mainly because grammatical rules equal
the number of the clauses in a sentence with the number of the finite verbs with the function of
predicat. Thus, clauses of type A and B are the only possible categories, exactly because they
have finite verbs, while C and D will be identified as pri de propoziie that can be expanded
into clauses by replacing the non-finite verb form with a finite one.
C: while looking
for her
[-finite verb],
[+subordinator]
C: while he was
looking for her
[+finite verb],
[+subordinator]
cutnd-o [-finite verb],
[-subordinator]
n timp ce o cuta [+finite verb],
[+subordinator]
D: Looking up,
he realized....
[-finite verb],
[-subordinator]
D: When he
looked up, he
realized...
[+finite verb],
[+subordinator]
Ridicndu-i
privirea, i
ddu....
[-finite verb],
[-subordinator]
Cnd i ridic
privirea, i
ddu....
[+finite verb],
[+subordinator]
Actually, Romanian grammar recognizes the connection between the clause elements and their
corresponding clause types, as well as various procedures to contract finite clauses into non-
finite ones. The table below endeavours to illustrate these correspondences by adapting a number
of examples proposed by Bulgr (1995: 2005).
ROMANIAN
parte de propoziie subordonat
o subiect
Se tie pregtirea lui.
o subiectiv
Se tie c e bine pregtit.
o predicat
Adevrul este acesta.
o predicativ
Adevrul e c e bine pregtit.
o nume predicativ
Adevrul este acesta.
o

1)
o Atribut
Apreciem faptul acesta.
o atributiv
Apreciem faptul c e bine pregtit.
o complement direct
tiu asta.
o completiv direct
tiu c e bine pregtit.
o complement indirect
Ne bucurm de pregtirea lui.
o completiv indirect
Ne bucurm c e bine pregtit.
o element predicativ suplimentar
Este cunoscut ca specialist.
o

2)
o complement circumstanial
I-a uimit cu pregtirea sa.
o circumstanial
I-a uimit cu ct e de bine pregtit.
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o Notice that there is no subordinate clause corresponding to the Romanian nume
predicativ; for an explanation, it would be useful to resort to the definition of the subordonata
predicativ
10
.
o Also notice that there is no subordinate clause corresponding to the Romanian element
predicativ suplimentar.
It would be more difficult to produce such a table about the English elements because of the different
approach mainstream English grammars take to the classification of the subordinate clauses. However,
the analysis of the complex sentence is not within the scope of this course.
As Downing and Locke note, an important property of language is the fact that there is no one-
to-one correspondence between the class of unit and its function. While it is true that certain
classes of unit typically realise certain functions [], it is nevertheless also true that many
classes of unit can fulfil many different functions, and different functions are realised by many
different classes of unit. (2006, pp. , 19). To illustrate this, they propose the following examples:
FUNCTION REALIZATION
subject Next time will be better.
adjunct Ill know better next time.
direct object Well enjoy next time.
2.6. Phrases
2.6.1. Definition
In English grammar, the term phrase defines a word or group of words which can fulfil a
syntactic function in a clause. In an informal description, phrases are described as bloated
words, in that the parts of the phrase that are added to the head elaborate and specify the
reference of the head word (Hasselgrd, Lysvg, & Johansson, Glossary of grammatical terms
used in English Grammar: Theory and Use (2nd edition)).
The elements of the clause in the example below (subject, verbal, subject complement) are
realised as follows: the subject is realised by the noun phrase the girl in blue, the verbal by the
verb phrase was and the subject complement by the noun phrase his best friend. These
realisations can be shown by using labelled bracketing
11
.
[
NP
The girl in blue] [
VP
was] [
NP
his best friend]
As you know from the Romanian language classes you have taken until now, the phrase as such
has no correspondent in Romanian traditional grammar. However, in the more recent approaches
adopted by Gramatica Academiei (GALR 2008) and Gramatica de baz a limbii romne

10
Propoziia care ndeplinete funcia de nume predicativ se numete predicativ .
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Labelled bracketing is a method of representing the structure of a phrase by using square brackets to the left and
right side of its constituents (words). The brackets carry subscripts (labels), which state the class of the unit in
question.
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(GBLR 2010), the analogous unit is called grup
12
(grup nominal, grup verbal, etc.), as illustrated
below
13
.
[
GN
Fata n albastru] [
GV
era] [
GN
prietena lui cea mai bun]
One observation can facilitate the identification of phrases in both English and Romanian: unlike
in traditional Romanian grammar, the phrases - not the words! - fulfil syntactic functions.
2.6.2. Structure of phrases
At syntactic level, a phrase works as a unit, that is, the whole group has a single syntactic
function. Nevertheless, since phrases can be made up of more than one word, they have an
internal structure and several rules order their constituents
14
.
A phrase contains a head and a number of dependant(s)/modifier(s). According to Leech (1992,
pp. , 51), the head is the obligatory element in a phrase, while the modifiers are optionally added
to qualify its meaning. He provides three examples - (friendly) places (to stay), (extremely) tall,
(more) often (than I expected) where the parts in parentheses are modifiers, and those not in
parentheses are the heads of their phrases
15
.
The two structures below illustrate the prototypical English noun phrase and the Romanian
grup nominal, respectively.
English: [
NP
[determiner(s)] [modifiers(s)] head [modifier(s)]
Romanian: [
GN
[Determinant] [Cuantificator] Centru [Modificator] [Posesor] [Complement]]
According to phrase structure grammar originally introduced by Noam Chomsky, but in
simplified terms, the following propositions should be considered about the structure of phrases:
Phrases are generated by rules of grammar (phrase structure rules).
These rules determine:
- which categories go into a phrase
- how categories are ordered
- which constituent is the head of the phrase
As the most important word in a phrase, the head carries the meaning of the phrase and
gives the name of the whole group. Thus, if the head word is a noun, the group is a noun
phrase. Verbs name verb phrases, adjectives - adjective phrases, adverbs - adverb phrases
and prepositions prepositional phrases
16
.

12
Grupul sintactic reprezint o proiecie a unui centru, realizat pe baza disponibilitilor sintacticosemantice ale
acestuia. La primul nivel de proiecie a centrului se gsesc complementele, componente obligatorii sintactico-
semantic, iar la al doilea nivel, adjuncii, componente facultative. (Nicolae, 2011)
13
They use the notation system proposed by the definition above.
14
In syntactic analysis, a constituent is a word or a group of words that functions as a single unit within a
hierarchical structure. The analysis of constituent structure is associated mainly with phrase structure grammars,
although dependency grammars also allow sentence structure to be broken down into constituent parts. (Constituent
(linguistics))
15
By convention, optional elements are normally placed between parentheses or brackets.
16
In some grammars, the prepositional phrase is not described in terms of head and modifier(s), one argument being
that both parts are needed in order to construct a prepositional phrase (cf. (Hasselgrd, Lysvg, & Johansson,
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Unlike the other constituents, the head of a phrase cannot be omitted.
Phrases have a hierarchical structure. They can contain other phrases or clauses due to
embedding processes.
2.6.3. Embedding
In a definition provided by Leech (2006, pp. , 37), embedding/nesting is seen as the inclusion of
one unit as part of another unit of the same general type. He exemplifies the embedding of one
phrase inside another with the phrase [at [the other end [of [the road]]]], where one
prepositional phrase [of the road] is embedded in another [at the other end of the road]; also,
one noun phrase [the road] is embedded in another noun phrase [the other end of the road].
The subordination of clauses is recognized as another major type of embedding by the inclusion
of one clause (a subordinate clause) inside another one (the main clause). Downing and Locke
(2006, pp. , 28; 46) use the examples below to demonstrate the embedding of clauses
17
and some
syntactic functions they can fulfil as elements of the clause.
clause at S [That he left so abruptly] doesnt surprise me.
clause at dO I dont know [why he left so abruptly].
clause at oC He made the club [what it is today].
clause at Cs The question is [whether we can finish in time].
clause at A [After they had signed the contract] they went off to celebrate.
The same authors recognize the presence of recursive embedding when a series of clauses is
embedded, each within the previous one: I reminded him hed said hed find out about the flight
schedules. Here, the that-clause direct object of remind, which comprises the remainder of the
sentence, (hed said hed find out about the flight schedules) contains a further embedded that-clause
hed find out, which has a PP (about the flight schedules) as complement (Downing & Locke, 2006,
p. 105).
Embedding enables the expansion of linguistic units. In Greenbaum and Nelsons view (2002,
pp. , 49-50), embedding takes place in stages that are illustrated as follows:
- the first stage puts the sentence close to the noun it will be modifying:
a. He had a nasty gash. The gash needed medical attention.
- the next stage changes the noun phrase into a relative pronoun here which:
b. He had a nasty gash which needed medical attention.
The relative pronoun which functions as subject in the relative clause, while the gash functions
as subject in a., 2
nd
clause. The relative pronoun can be replaced by relative that:
Embedding is a widespread phenomenon in English; it can be described as a type of
subordination at phrase or clause level and, by it, a clause functions as a constituent of another
phrase or clause.
2.7. Words

Glossary of grammatical terms used in English Grammar: Theory and Use (2nd edition)). Similarly, the verb
phrases as well are not normally described in terms of head and modifier(s).
17
The embedded clauses are enclosed in square brackets.
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2.7.1. Definition and characteristics
Words are the penultimate of the five levels in the grammatical hierarchy. They are below
sentences, clauses, and phrases and above morphemes (see 2.4., 2.5., 2.6.).
Unlike sentences, clauses, and phrases (that justify their existence only as linguistic entities), words
have both a referential and a linguistic meaning.
The referential meaning acts as name/label for all the objects (= things, actions, events,
qualities) and notions (= opinions, meanings, ideas, concepts) outside the language, so that it is
extra-linguistic. It is also called dictionary meaning, and it must be distinguished from linguistic
meaning, which is not available in a dictionary. This course almost exclusively approaches the
linguistic meaning of words which are consequently seen as the building-blocks of phrases.
A comprehensive definition of what words are is far from simple. As Haspelmath puts it, it
seems that most languages have a word for 'word', the smallest unit of language that people with
no training in linguistics or writing have an awareness of (2002, p. 163).
Linguists (Carstairs-McCarthy, 2002; Katamba 2006; Fasold & Connor-Linton 2008; Meyer 2009;
Brjars & Burridge 2010) commonly agree that words can be identified by a number of criteria,
such as:
They possess a regular stress pattern, the can be preceded or followed by pauses in speech
or separated from one another by means of spaces and punctuation marks, in writing, as in
The boy is reading a book.
They are the minimal possible unit in an utterance, as in the exchange Can we go now?/
Yes.
They are assigned one or more dictionary meanings: boy 1. a male child or a male person
in general: The boys wanted to play football. 2. a son: How old is your little boy?
(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)
The above-mentioned conditions are met to various degrees and depend on the nature of each
word.
2.7.2. Orthographic word, grammatical word, lexeme
Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002, p. 15) identify three senses of 'word':
1. Orthographic words, as the words that we are familiar with in written language, where they
are separated by spaces. For example, They wrote us a letter contains five distinct orthographic
words.
2. Grammatical words, as units that fall into different grammatical word classes/parts of
speech. Thus the orthographic word leaves can be either of two grammatical words: a verb (the
present tense -s form of leave) or a noun (the plural of leaf). This is the basic sense of 'word' for
grammatical purposes.
3. Lexemes, as a set of grammatical words which share the same basic meaning, similar forms,
and the same word class. For example, leave, leaves, left, and leaving are all members of the verb
lexeme leave.
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In Romanian the lexeme is defined as 1. cuvnt sau parte de cuvnt care servete ca suport
minimal al semnificaiei; morfem lexical. 2. unitate de baz a vocabularului care reprezint
asocierea unuia sau a mai multor sensuri; cuvnt; unitate lexical (ro.wiktionary).
A lexeme is a word that roughly corresponds to a dictionary entry. For instance, play would have
two entries in the dictionary, as a verb and as a noun. These are the lexemes, the basic forms. The
verb would appear in various forms when used in sentences, while the noun would have other
forms:
Verb lexeme: play. Forms of the lexeme: play, plays, played, playing
Noun lexeme: play. Forms of the lexeme: plays (pl.), plays; plays (genitive)
2.7.3. Morphological structure of words
The smallest constituent of words is called morpheme. By definition, a morpheme is a minimal
unit of meaning; in other words, a morpheme is characterised by two basic features: it has
meaning and it is indivisible.
Morphemes are different from syllables, and the number of syllable does not usually equal the
number of morphemes. The word tennis, for example, can be divided into two syllables (tennis),
yet it consists of one morpheme only, which in this case, is identical to the word. The smaller units
(the syllables ten- and-nis) bear no meaning of their own.
As we have already seen in 2.1., morphemes are classified as free morphemes and bound
morphemes on the one hand, and as roots and affixes, on the other. Free morphemes can stand
alone (charm, duty, man, animal, etc.) and cannot be divided into smaller meaningful units, while
bound morphemes/affixes cannot occur as independent words and are attached to other
morphemes to build words: charming, dutiful, manly, animalism, etc..
There are two types of affixes: prefixes (added to the beginning of a word) and suffixes (added to the
end of a word). For examples of derivational and inflectional morphemes, see the table in 2.1.
2.7.3. Word classes
A word class can be defined as a set of words that display the same formal properties, especially in
their inflections and distribution (see above).
There are two major types of word classes
1. lexical (or open) classes, that include nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The words
belonging to the open class are also called lexical or content words.
2. function (or closed) classes, that mainly include determiners, pronouns, particles and
prepositions. The words belonging to the closed class are also called function or grammatical
words
3. Besides these two, Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002, p. 16) identify a third class they name
inserts
18
. Inserts are found mainly in spoken language and do not form an integral part of a
syntactic structure, but tend to be inserted freely in a text (see 5.1.).

18
This class includes the elements that in Romanian are recognized either as construcii incidente or interjecii.
Construcie incident = un cuvnt, un grup de cuvinte sau o propoziie care nu are nici o legtur sintactic cu
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All English words belong to one of these classes. Notice however that the adverb class is partly
open (i.e. adverbs of manner) and partly closed (i.e. time and place adverbs).
Word classes such as noun, verb, adjective, etc., are traditionally called parts of speech. The
table below contains the two categories of the major word classes.
open classes closed classes
noun pronoun
main verb auxiliary (verb)
adverb determiner
conjunction
preposition
Minor classes include the numerals (one, twenty-three, first) and some words that do not fit
anywhere and should be treated individually (the negative not and the infinitive marker to).
Especially the words that belong to one the major word classes may have more than one
grammatical form. The noun work has the singular work and the plural works; the verb work has
the base form work and the past worked.
The discussion of word-classes should be based on the previous remarks in this section, where
the basic relationships between word, lexeme, morpheme, lexical and function words were
highlighted. For reasons of clarity and comprehensibility, we can also draw on Kies diagram
below (Kies).


restul enunului, ci reprezint o comunicare de sine stttoare. O propoziie incident (zise el, cred eu, m
gndesc) se reduce adesea la un verb i la subiectul acestuia, care este frecvent plasat dup verb. Verbul unei
propoziii incidente este foarte frecvent un verb de declaraie de tipul a spune, a zice, a rspunde, a declara sau
de opinie, de tipul a crede, a gndi, a presupune. n limba vorbit apar frecvent cuvinte sau propoziii incidente
care nu comunic nimic, sunt golite de sens, ca: Domnule!, Soro!, M rog, Nu-i aa?, Ce mai? (Forscu)
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Kies notes that traditional grammar describes word classes as a combination of the bases and the
function words. The bases are called the open classes (because new words can be created in each
of those categories), while the function words are called the closed classes, since the speakers of
a language do not normally create new vocabulary in those categories. For example, it is easy to
create new nouns, but not new pronouns. He explains that speakers recognize word classes
through three different, but complementary, processes - the use of word endings, function
words, and word order, but that no process is totally efficient by itself.
Thus, though English employs a great number of word endings to signal different word classes,
the employment of endings alone does not identify all members of a word class, nor do they
identify all word classes. In order to demonstrate that speakers also rely on function words and
word order to distinguish one class from another, Kies uses a quote from Anthony Burgess A
Clockwork Orange and another from Carrolls "Jabberwocky"
19
, a nonsense verse poem in his
Through the Looking Glass that was also exploited by other linguists for discussions related to
English syntax (en.wikipedia.org).
1. The gloopy malchicks scattered razdrazily to the mesto.
2. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymble in the wabe
He maintains that people perceive the words brillig, slithy, gloopy, and razdrazily as modifiers
due to a combination of factors, including the suffixes -y (also spelt -i- when a second ending is
used on the same word, as in razdrazily) and -ly - two suffixes that mark adjectives and adverbs.
He also points to the fact that word endings are clues for the identification of the modifiers,
together with function words and word order. Thus, noun phrases have a predictable structure of
Determiner + Adjective + Noun (the clever children), so the combination of both determiners
(the) marking the beginning of noun phrases and word order in the sentences above help us
interpret slithy and gloopy as adjectives. Similarly, adjectives follow forms of the verb be when
the verb functions as a linking verb, as in Elizabeth is clever. So in the first sentence, the verb
was (part of the poetic fusion of it was into 'twas) helps us to interpret brillig as an adjective.
Finally, it is also common to find adverbs after verbs in English, as in Emily learns quickly,
which helps us to interpret razdrazily as an adverb in the last example sentence.
Kies concludes that speakers recognize patterns of word endings, function words, and
word/morpheme order when they do grammar, and that patterns are crucial in the discovery of
the constituents of language: recognizing patterns in distribution and meaning becomes the
process through which humans discover the grammatical structures of their languages (Kies).
In order to show that such recognition of linguistic patterns is not restricted to English, let us take
a look at a short text
20
.

19
A more detailed analysis of the linguistic relevance of Carrolls poem can be found in Analyzing Grammar: An
Introduction, by Paul R. Kroeger, CUP 2005.
20
The text is taken from Nina Cassians Loto-Poeme (1972) and it is written in Sparg. Just like the language of
Jabberwocky, this is an imaginary language created by Nina Cassian. That is how the poet describes it: Limba
sparg am inventat-o n 1946 (am pomenit doar de avangardismul meu, de propensiunea mea structural spre
joc). Ion Barbu mi-a interzis s includ acele exerciii n volumul meu de debut. Mult mai trziu le-am
publicat n volumele Loto-Poeme (1972), n Jocuri de vacan (1983), nsumnd pn la ora asta, circa o duzin
de sparguri, ba pe unul l-am tradus i n sparga englez... (Cassian, 2001).
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Huelu care-i huat,
N-are flean, nici cherbat.
Hueaua care-i huat
N-are cherb la trizat.
Even if, except have and be, the rest of the content words are incomprehensible, we can
recognize this text as Romanian for the same reasons that make Jabberwocky English. Although
referential meaning is erased by the employment of nonsensical words, the patterns of word
endings, function words and word order are specific to Romanian.
The prosodic pattern is also recognizable for the Romanian speaker, and we sense that the four-line
sequence is a strigtur
21
because of its rhythm and rhyme, as well as because of its binary
parallel structure.
After reading these lines, any native speaker of Romanian will react in the same way as Alice in Through
the Looking-Glass did to Jabberwocky:
'It seems very pretty,' she said when she had finished it, 'but it's RATHER hard to understand!'
(You see she didn't like to confess, ever to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.)
'Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideasonly I don't exactly know what they are!''
(Dodgson).
However, even if we are not helped by Humpty Dumpty who could explain all the poems that
were ever inventedand a good many that haven't been invented just yet.' (Dodgson), we can
understand that Huelu is a common noun with a suffixal definite article, masculine, animate
(probably human), while Hueaua is its female counterpart, also including the suffixal definite
article in the form of the noun. They are both qualified by the adjective huat (masc., sg.)/huat
fem., sg.), respectively. The huel does not possess a flean, nor a cherbat, while the huea does
not possess a cherb at her trizat. The fact that they do not possess such things can be either a
good thing or a bad thing, we cannot tell.
Unlike the grammatical units on the levels above - sentences, clauses, and phrases - the members
of word classes are normally single words. Nevertheless, multi-word units such the verb idioms
(phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, phrasal prepositional verbs) or compound prepositions are
also classified as members of word classes.
The basic information about the rank scale of the units of language (discourse is not traditionally
described by grammar) can be revised as follows:
The sentence is the largest unit of language that grammar (traditionally) describes. It is a set of
words standing on their own as a sense unit, its conclusion marked by a full stop or equivalent
(question mark, exclamation mark). In many languages sentences begin with a capital letter, and
include a verb. (Ur 1999: 31) It is made up of one or more clauses.
The clause is a major unit of grammar, a kind of mini-sentence: a set of words which make a
sense unit (Ur 1999: 31), defined formally by the elements it may contain: subject (S), verbal
(V), object (O), complement (C) and adverbial (A). A clause is made up of one or more phrases.

21
Strigturile sunt structuri simple realizate, de obicei, n grupuri de 2-4 versuri cu exclamaii introductive cu caracter
epigramatic i adesea cu aluzii satirice sau glumee, uneori erotice, ori cu coninut sentimental, care se improvizeaz i
se strig, de obicei, n timpul executrii unor jocuri populare la sate. (Lascr, p. 4)
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A phrase is a shorter unit within the clause, made up of one or more words which fulfil the
grammatical function of a single word.
A word is the minimum normally separable form: in writing, it appears as a stretch of letters
with a space either side. (Ur 1999: 31) Each word can be further divided into one or more
morphemes.
A morpheme is a bit of a word which can be perceived as a distinct component (Ur 1999: 31),
the smallest meaningful unit that cannot be further divided.
In short, a sentence consists of one or more clauses, a clause consists of one or more phrases, a
phrase consists of one or more words, and a word consists of one or more morphemes.
Downing and Locke convincingly illustrate the relationship between the units with a one-word
clause.
Looking downwards, each unit consists of one or more units of the rank below it. []
For instance, Wait! consists of one clause, which consists of one group, which consists
of one word, which consists of one morpheme. More exactly, we shall say that the
elements of structure of each unit are realised by units of the rank below. Looking
upwards, each unit fulfils a function in the unit above it. (2006: 11)
It is important to approach one rank at a time (starting either upwards or downwards) in the
course of the analysis, because otherwise the constituents and functions would mix up. This
warning is very similar to the procedure in Romanian: you only deal with prile de vorbire
when you perform the morphological analysis, and with prile de propoziie when you perform
a syntactic analysis.

1. Identify the head in each of the following bracketed noun phrases:
1. [Cats] make very affectionate pets
2. [The editor] rejected the manuscript
3. We drove through [an enormous forest] in Germany
4. [People who cycle] get very wet
5. We really enjoy [the funny stories he tells]

2. Identify the phrase type:
1. Houses are [unbelievably expensive] just now.
2. We [met Paul] last week.
3. [A car that won't go] is not particularly useful
4. I enjoy eating [in Indian restaurants]
5. Don't you have to leave [early]?
6. Tell [him] not to worry.