2

A Course in English Morpho-Syntax

Syllabi for the Lectures
Examples and Exercises



Ludmila Veselovsk




Recenzenti: Prof. PhDr. Jaroslav Machcek, CSc.
Prof. Joseph Emonds, PhD.



3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Working with this text................................................................................................................................ 7
The Topics and Background Philosophy................................................................................................... 7
1 COMMUNICATION (REVISION)....................................................................................................... 9
1.1 MODEL OF COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................................... 9
1.2 HUMAN LANGUAGE.......................................................................................................................... 9
1.3 LINGUISTICS ................................................................................................................................... 10
1.4 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 11
2 LINGUISTICS AS A SCIENCE.......................................................................................................... 13
2.1 HOW TO EVALUATE DATA (ACCEPTABILITY VS. UNACCEPTABILITY) ............................................ 13
2.2 STATING THE RULES / PRINCIPLES.................................................................................................. 14
2.3 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 15
3 MORPHOLOGY................................................................................................................................... 18
3.1 MORPHEME .................................................................................................................................... 18
3.2 LEXICAL AND NON-LEXICAL MEANING OF MORPHEMES ................................................................ 18
3.3 CRITERIA FOR DIVIDING MORPHEMES............................................................................................. 19
3.4 MORPHEMES AS THINGS OR AS RULES?.......................................................................................... 20
3.5 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 22
4 WORD-FORMATION......................................................................................................................... 26
4.1 LEXICON......................................................................................................................................... 26
4.2 KINDS OF WORD-FORMATION (REVISION) ..................................................................................... 26
4.3 BACK FORMATION.......................................................................................................................... 27
4.4 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 28
5 DERIVATION....................................................................................................................................... 30
5.1 THE OPEN-ENDEDNESS OF THE LEXICON........................................................................................ 30
5.2 CONSTRAINTS ON PRODUCTIVITY................................................................................................... 30
5.2.1 Blocking Effect .......................................................................................................................... 30
5.2.2 Phonological Factors................................................................................................................ 31
5.2.3 Morphological Factors ............................................................................................................. 31
5.2.4 Semantic Factors ...................................................................................................................... 32
5.2.5 Aesthetic Factors ...................................................................................................................... 32
5.3 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 32
6 COMPOUNDING................................................................................................................................. 35
6.1 ORTHOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................... 35
6.2 PHONETICS ..................................................................................................................................... 36
6.3 MORPHOLOGY................................................................................................................................ 36
6.4 SYNTAX.......................................................................................................................................... 36
6.5 SEMANTICS..................................................................................................................................... 38
6.6 HEADEDNESS OF COMPOUNDS........................................................................................................ 39
6.7 RIGHT-HAND HEAD RULE............................................................................................................... 39
6.8 LEFT-HAND HEADED COMPOUNDS (IN ENGLISH) ........................................................................... 39
6.9 HEADLESS COMPOUNDS (EXOCENTRIC COMPOUNDS).................................................................... 40
6.10 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 40
7 SOME SPECIAL KINDS OF ENGLISH COMPOUNDS................................................................. 42
7.1 NOMINAL COMPOUNDS: BRACKETING PARADOX........................................................................... 42
7.2 VERBAL COMPOUNDS..................................................................................................................... 42
7.2.1 Incorporation of Object/ Adverbial into Verb........................................................................... 42
7.2.2 Phrasal Verbs (Verbs with Particles) ....................................................................................... 43
4

7.3 SOME OTHER KINDS OF (ENGLISH) COMPOUNDS ............................................................................ 43
7.3.1 Rhyming Compounds ................................................................................................................ 43
7.3.2 Cranberry Words (analogical formations) ............................................................................... 43
7.3.3 Neoclassical Compounds .......................................................................................................... 44
7.3.4 Quotational Compounds ........................................................................................................... 44
7.4 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 44
8 MORPHOLOGICAL TYPOLOGY OF LANGUAGES ................................................................... 46
8.1 INDEX OF SYNTHESIS...................................................................................................................... 46
8.1.1 Isolating Languages.................................................................................................................. 47
8.1.2 Polysynthetic and Incorporating Languages ............................................................................ 47
8.2 INDEX OF FUSION ........................................................................................................................... 48
8.2.1 Agglutinating Languages .......................................................................................................... 48
8.2.2 Fusional Languages.................................................................................................................. 49
8.3 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 50
9 PARTS OF SPEECH / WORD CATEGORIES................................................................................. 57
9.1 THE NATURE OF CATEGORIES ........................................................................................................ 60
9.2 SEMANTIC-NOTIONAL CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING A CATEGORY ............................................... 61
9.3 MORPHOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING A CATEGORY...................................................... 61
9.3.1 Derivational Morphology ......................................................................................................... 61
9.3.2 Inflectional Morphology ........................................................................................................... 61
9.3.3 Grammaticalisation ............................................................... Chyba! Zloka nen definovna.
9.3.4 Types of Features...................................................................................................................... 63
9.4 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 64
9.5 SYNTACTIC CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING A CATEGORY ................................................................ 65
9.6 HEADS AND PHRASES ..................................................................................................................... 65
9.7 CATEGORIAL PROTOTYPICALITY.................................................................................................... 66
9.8 SOME MINOR PARTS OF SPEECH ...................................................................................................... 67
9.9 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 67
10 SEMANTICS AND MORPHOLOGY OF NOUNS........................................................................... 71
10.1 CASE .............................................................................................................................................. 71
10.1.1 The Repertory and Realization of Morphological Case............................................................ 71
10.1.2 The Source and Function of Case ............................................................................................. 72
10.2 COUNTABILITY AND NUMBER ........................................................................................................ 74
10.2.1 Countability .............................................................................................................................. 74
10.2.2 Singular vs. Dual vs. Plural Number ........................................................................................ 75
10.3 DETERMINATION ............................................................................................................................ 76
10.3.1 Classification of Determiners w.r.t. Distribution...................................................................... 76
10.3.2 Articles ...................................................................................................................................... 77
10.3.3 Types of Reference .................................................................................................................... 77
10.4 ANIMACY AND GENDER ................................................................................................................. 78
10.4.1 Animacy .................................................................................................................................... 78
10.4.2 The Gender Category................................................................................................................ 79
10.5 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 81
11 SYNTACTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOUN..................................................................... 86
11.1 INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF NOUN PHRASES..................................................................................... 86
11.1.1 N-premodifiers .......................................................................................................................... 86
11.1.2 N-postmodifiers......................................................................................................................... 87
11.2 DISTRIBUTION AND FUNCTIONS OF NOUN PHRASES....................................................................... 87
11.3 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 88
12 PRONOUNS .......................................................................................................................................... 93
12.1 PERSONAL PRONOUNS.................................................................................................................... 93
12.1.1 Interpretation of Personal Pronouns ........................................................................................ 93
12.1.2 Function and Form................................................................................................................... 94
12.1.3 One............................................................................................................................................ 95
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12.2 RELATIVE PRONOUNS..................................................................................................................... 95
12.2.1 The form of the relative Pronouns ............................................................................................ 95
12.2.2 Omitting the relative Pronoun .................................................................................................. 96
12.3 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS........................................................................................................... 97
12.3.1 The form of the interrogative Pronouns.................................................................................... 97
12.3.2 The position of the WH-Pronouns............................................................................................. 97
12.4 EXERCISES...................................................................................................................................... 99
13 ANAPHORS (REFLEXIVES AND RECIPROCALS) .................................................................... 102
13.1 REFERENCE .................................................................................................................................. 102
13.1.1 Co-reference (Antecedents and Indices) ................................................................................. 102
13.1.2 The linear position of an antecedent (above all with pragmatic anaphors)............................ 103
13.2 THE FORM AND INTERPRETATION OF ENGLISH ANAPHORS .......................................................... 103
13.2.1 Antecedents of anaphors ......................................................................................................... 103
13.2.2 Binding of Anaphors ............................................................................................................... 104
13.2.3 Reciprocals ............................................................................................................................. 104
13.3 THE DISTRIBUTION/ USE OF REFLEXIVE/ RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS .............................................. 105
13.4 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 105
14 MODIFIERS........................................................................................................................................ 107
14.1 SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJECTIVES/ ADVERBS............................................................ 107
14.2 ADJECTIVAL / ADVERBIAL MORPHOLOGY.................................................................................... 107
14.2.1 Derivational Morphology ....................................................................................................... 107
14.2.2 Inflectional Morphology ......................................................................................................... 108
14.3 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 108
15 SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES.............................................................................................................. 109
15.1 ADJECTIVE PHRASE...................................................................................................................... 109
15.2 DISTRIBUTION/ FUNCTIONS OF ADJ PHRASES............................................................................... 110
15.3 ADJECTIVAL PREDICATES............................................................................................................. 110
15.4 ADJECTIVE PRE-/POST-MODIFIERS OF A NOUN............................................................................. 111
15.4.1 Pre-modifying Adjectives ........................................................................................................ 111
15.4.2 Post-modifying Adjectives....................................................................................................... 111
15.5 SUBJECT/OBJECT COMPLEMENTS (SECONDARY PREDICATES) ..................................................... 112
15.6 CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL ADJECTIVES...................................................................................... 113
15.6.1 Secondary Adjectives .............................................................................................................. 113
15.7 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 114
16 ADVERBS............................................................................................................................................ 117
16.1 VERBAL, TEMPORAL, SENTENTIAL AND GRADING ADVERBS......................................................... 118
16.2 NEGATIVE, PARTIAL NEGATIVE, POSITIVE ADVERBS..................................................................... 118
16.3 ADVERBIALS AS COMPLEMENTS, ADJUNCTS, DISJUNCTS, CONJUNCTS ........................................ 119
16.4 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 119
17 SEMANTICS AND MORPHOLOGY OF VERBS.......................................................................... 121
17.1 SEMANTIC SPECIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION......................................................................... 121
17.2 VERBAL PARADIGMA (VERBAL MORPHOLOGY)........................................................................... 122
17.3 TENSE........................................................................................................................................... 123
17.4 ASPECT......................................................................................................................................... 123
17.5 COMBINATIONS OF ASPECT & TENSE........................................................................................... 124
17.6 MOOD, SENTENCE MODALITY...................................................................................................... 125
17.7 VOICE........................................................................................................................................... 126
17.8 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT........................................................................................................ 126
17.9 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 127
18 SYNTAX OF VERBS.......................................................................................................................... 130
18.1 VERB PHRASE............................................................................................................................... 130
18.2 DISTRIBUTION AND FUNCTIONS OF VP......................................................................................... 132
18.3 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 132
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19 AUXILIARIES AND MODALS........................................................................................................ 133
19.1 SEMANTIC SPECIFICATION............................................................................................................ 133
19.2 TWO KINDS OF MODALITY AMONG THE MODALS ........................................................................ 133
19.3 PHONETIC REDUCTIONS OF AUXILIARIES, MODALS AND LEXICAL VERBS.................................... 134
19.4 MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES..................................................................................................... 134
19.5 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 135
20 SYNTAX OF AUXILIARIES, MODALS AND VERBS................................................................ 137
20.1 QUESTION FORMATION: MODAL/*VERB - SUBJECT - ... ................................................................ 137
20.2 NEGATION (POSITION OF NOT)...................................................................................................... 138
20.3 QUESTION TAGS, SHORT ANSWERS, QUESTIONS OF SURPRISE..................................................... 138
20.4 NEGATIVE QUESTIONS (TESTING THE PROPOSED VERBAL STRUCTURE)........................................ 139
20.5 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 140
21 THE ENGLISH VERBS DO, BE AND HAVE ............................................................................. 143
21.1 SPECIFICITY OF BE ....................................................................................................................... 143
21.2 SPECIFICITY OF HAVE ................................................................................................................... 144
21.3 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................................... 146
22 APPENDIX: LIST OF SOME ENGLISH BOUND MORPHEMES.............................................. 150
22.1 NEGATIVE AFFIXES....................................................................................................................... 150
22.2 SOME OF THE MORE FREQUENT ENGLISH SUFFIXES ...................................................................... 150
22.3 PREFFIXES OF GERMANIC ORIGIN ................................................................................................. 154
22.4 NON-GERMAN PREFFIXES............................................................................................................. 154
22.5 SOME MORPHEMES OF GREEK ORIGIN........................................................................................... 158
RELATED LITERATURE.......................................................................................................................... 159

7

INTRODUCTION
Working with this text
This text has been written to assist students of English in their work in Morphology
and Morpho-Syntax courses in the programme of English philology. It assumes a solid
working knowledge of English grammar and of the traditional grammar at the level
assumed for the Grammar school courses of Czech language.
This text, however, is in no way intended to replace any textbook specified in a
course description, nor does the amount of material cover all of what students need to read
for their exams. Instead, it provides syllabi for the lectures with many schemes and
examples commented on and discussed in the course. Without a commentary some of them
may be difficult to understand, so the students are strongly encouraged to make their own
notes and remarks during the classes. Enough space is given between the paragraphs and on
the margins so that such additions are possible. Some students may still have problems with
English terminology and structuring their study - this text should also provide them with
the main terms used, and the sections basically follow a pattern that can be used in
preparing for English grammar exams, though not all topics are covered to the same extent
and some require more individual reading.
Apart from syllabi, the following text also contains a number of exercises. The
function of the exercises is twofold. First, they introduce some new aspects or problems of
the proposed analyses not mentioned in detail during the lectures. Second, they allow
students to test their understanding of the topics under discussion. In some cases, however,
there is no generally agreed solution to the problem and the exercise provides more data for
discussion of alternatives than a simple minded test of knowledge.
The Topics and Background Philosophy
The text in this volume is divided into two parts, each of which can be covered in
some 10-13 two-hour classes (in the existing system in a semester).
The first part of the volume constitutes a general introduction to the study of
morphology as a part of linguistics. It deals with the most standard and frequent processes
of English word-formation concentrating mainly on derivation and compounding. At the
end of this section some general principles of the morphological typology of languages are
introduced and discussed. The text goes into some detail establishing morpho-syntactic
criteria for English parts of speech, providing a universal introduction for the next part of
the volume.
The second part of the course concentrates in detail on the characteristics of the main
lexical categories (and also Pronouns) in English. Special attention is given to the forms
and functions of Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs and Verbs, including Auxiliaries and Modals.
In this part many syntactic terms are introduced as far as they are relevant as categorial
characteristics. Because the assumed readers are Czechs and many of them intend to
translate or interpret in their future careers, English grammar is usually compared with its
Czech formal and/or pragmatic equivalents. Some other languages are also occasionally
mentioned, to provide a more universal background for the topic under discussion.
Each part contains an introductory Revision section testing the assumed preliminary
knowledge, and a final Revision section which summarizes the basic topics covered in the
course.
8

The text concentrates on topics which the author finds most important, most
interesting and sometimes neglected in other study materials. To complement these
individual choices, at the beginning of most sections there are some bibliographical
references to the literature which are recommended as study material for the course. The
students are expected to go through at least some of the materials mentioned.
The author of the following text believes in linguistics, above all in grammar, as an
autonomous science. Therefore the analyses here assumed that human language is a system
which can be studied by applying scientific methods, with the result of acquiring some
descriptively adequate and as explanatory as possible generalized hypotheses. Empirical
data and argumentation are thus strongly preferred to the memorizing of any listed
classifications, and no a priori analysis or theory is taken for granted or as definitive.
Nonetheless, the presentation and hypotheses here, such as in the choices of categories, are
based on traditional functional and structuralist grammar (which the students used during
their pre-university education) and only slightly influenced by current theoretical proposals.
Recent functional and generative approaches typically present themselves as return-
ing to the empirical concerns of traditional grammar and at the moment provide a wide
range of plausible frameworks. The grammatical analyses introduced in this course assume
the need for empirical and scientific understanding of human language and although it
concentrates on formal grammar, it assumes interactions with other disciplines such as a
theory of communication, literary study, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. The
author hopes that discussing and trying to understand basic grammar in a more universal
and open-minded way turns out to be useful for all students of English language, who can
then go on in their studies in whichever field or framework suits their fancy.

Ludmila Veselovsk

9

1 COMMUNICATION (REVISION)
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 2-16, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 1-10;
Akmajian, Demers, Farmer & Harnish (1990) pp. 1-10; Crystal (1987) pp. 395-414.
1.1 Model of Communication
(1) Simplified Model of Communication

REALITY

CONCEPT of reality

CODING DECODING

transmitter receiver
speaker/ writer CODE hearer/ reader

channel/ noise/ etc.
context (linguistic/ extralinguistic), situation

Sciences/ Arts dealing with human language

(2) (a) Theory of Communication, Semiotics
(b) Language Form (LINGUISTICS)
(c) Language Meaning (Semantics)
(d) Language Use (Pragmatics)

Special (Technical) Sciences: Lexicology, Lexicography, Logaoedics
Interdisciplinary Sciences: Stylistics, Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Neurolinguistics,
Computer Linguistics, etc.
1.2 Human Language
Crystal (1987) pp. 395-403

Compare human language (human-specific communication code) with animal
communication. The distinction is NOT in a level of communication needs, feelings, or so
on, but primarily in the FORM.

(3) 'Double articulation' / 'Duality of patterning'
- A few meaningless elements (phonemes: consonants and vowels) combine into a vast
number of meaningful units (morphemes) which further combine into an infinite number of
larger units (words, phrases, clauses, texts).
- (Hocket 1960): the existence of two levels of rule-governed combinatorial structure,
one combining meaningless sounds into morphemes, the other combining meaningful
morphemes into words and phrases is a universal design feature of human language.
10

1.3 Linguistics
Crystal (1987) pp. 81-123; Svoboda (2004) pp. 10-15

(4) Levels of Linguistic Analysis - Parts of Linguistics


(a) TEXT ANALYSIS text / paragraph
(Hypersyntax) clause / sentence
(i) SYNTAX phrase syntagma
(b) GRAMMAR
(ii) MORPHOLOGY word paradigms
morpheme

(c) PHONETICS / PHONOLOGY phoneme


Some levels of Linguistics are more autonomous, e.g. independent, they have their own
definable topic, deal with specific elements and apply their own rules which are less
derived from other fields (Phonetics/ Phonology, Semantics, Pragmatics) than others, e.g.
Morphology + Syntax (= Grammar) use similar elements, apply similar rules and discuss
the same or similar topics.

(5) Immediate Constituent Analysis of Phonetic/ Phonological Structure


(a) His father is tired.


(b) his father is tired

(c) his father is tired

(d) [his] [fa] [ther] [is] [tir] [ed]

(e) h i z f a d e i z t a i e d


(e) phoneme (distinctive features) / allophone / sound (the symbols are only illustrative)
(d) syllable
(c) phonetic word (stress pattern, )
(b) phonetic phrase
(a) phonetic sentence (intonation pattern, )

Phonetics/ Phonology is an autonomous field of linguistics. It deals with elements which
carry the meaning but do not have the meaning themselves (sounds/ phonemes).
Phonological rules apply with no respect to the meaning, e.g. final devoicing in Czech
applies in all parts of speech and all sentence members, i.e. on all phonetically defined
elements irrespective of their role in the other parts of the language system.
11


(6) Levels of Morpho-Syntactic (Grammatical) Structure

(a) His father is tired.


(b) his father is tired

(c) his father is tired

(d) [he] + s father [be] + s tir + ed


(d) morpheme = minimal meaningful element
(c) word/ part of speech (paradigm)
(b) phrase/ sentence member (syntagma)
(a) clause

Syntagma: a relation between two syntactic elements.
Syntagmatic relations are hierarchical. Traditionally they are equivalents of the sentence
functions (which relate sentence members). E.g. Subject-Predicate, Noun-Adjectival
Attribute, Verb-Object.
Sometimes we use only one of the couple to classify the relation: 'Attribute' means a
relation which e.g. an Adjective has with respect to a Noun (blue sky).
The Syntactic System is a complex net of relations. The units which form a system are not
separable from the relations, in fact it is the relations (=functions) which define the units.

Paradigm: a list of (e.g. morphological) forms of one unit (tokens of a type)
e.g. he (Pron.): he/ his/ him, help (Verb): help/ helped/ helping, book (Noun): book /books,
nice (Adj): nice/ nicer/ nicest. One of the paradigmatic forms is usually taken as unmarked.
Paradigms are traditionally related to specific parts of speech (categories).
1.4 Exercises
(7) EXERCISE ==========================================
Think of 5 Czech sentences using the word jazyk in the whole range of its meanings.
State which usage is appropriate in linguistics.
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................

(8) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the terms double articulation and complex system applied to linguistics
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
12

(9) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the main topics (units, terms) of the following sciences. What does it mean to
say that phonetics and semantics are autonomous parts of linguistics?

(a) lexicology
(b) semantics
(c) pragmatics
(d) phonology/ phonetics
(e) morphology
(f) syntax
(g) communication theory
(h) semiotics
(i) stylistics

(10) EXERCISE ==========================================
Name the parts/ units involved in the structure at a given level using the following
terms: sentence member, sound, syntagma, part of speech, syllable, phoneme, morpheme,
word, clause/ sentence, paradigm, Predicate, Pronoun, etc. Think of other terms related to
a given level.

(a) My boy friend reads novels.



(b) my boy friend reads novels

(c) my boy friend reads novels

(d) my boy friend read + s novel + s

(e) m y b [o+ y] f r [ i+ e] n d

(a) .........................................................................................................................................
(b) .........................................................................................................................................
(c) .........................................................................................................................................
(d) .........................................................................................................................................
(e) .........................................................................................................................................

(11) EXERCISE ===========================================
Terminology: In the following sentences classify the words according to their parts
of speech: 1. Nouns, 2. Adjectives, 3. Pronouns, 4. Numerals, 5. Verbs,
6. Adverbs, 7. Prepositions, 8. Conjunctions, 9. Interjections, 10. Particles.

(a) Muj star bratr el rychle do koly a vrtil se v pt hodin.
(b) My father went to the cinema.
(c) He went quickly and came back tired.
(d) This lazy brown dog jumped over five green hedges.
13

2 LINGUISTICS AS A SCIENCE
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 17-42, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 11-28.

Ferdinand de Saussure - Langue vs. Parole
Noam Chomsky - Competence vs. Performance
Linguistics, as a science, deals with a language system, i.e. this means an interrelated
structure of elements. The language system is a reality, it is a human-specific code for
communication. It is subject to language-specific rules.

(1) Linguistics
(i) observes/studies data within one or many language(s) (i.e. Parole),
(ii) describes them (classifies their parts),
(iii) looks for generalizations and
(iv) creates a model of grammar.

a) narrow data wide comparison
b) concrete descriptions abstract generalizations

Language-specific features: e.g. some languages have morphological Case on Adjectives.
W.r.t. this point, Czech and German do while English and French do not, etc. (Comparative
linguistics)
General universals: e.g. all languages have essentially the same parts of speech.

Model of Grammar
(a) Observationally/ Descriptively adequate: the model must reflect the data correctly.
(b) Explanatory: individual rules are to be related to the whole system.
2.1 How to Evaluate Data (Acceptability vs. Unacceptability)
"We may make an intuitive judgment that some linguistic expression is odd or deviant. But
we cannot in general know, pretheoretically, whether this deviance is a matter of syntax,
semantics, pragmatic, belief, memory limitations, style, etc., or even whether these are
appropriate categories for the interpretation of the judgment in question. It is an obvious
and uncontroversial fact that informant judgments do not fall neatly into clear categories:
syntactic, semantic, etc."
(Chomsky: Essays, 1977:4)

(2) Native speaker has intuitions a) about WELL-FORMEDNESS
b) STRUCTURE

(3) A structure can/ must be evaluated w.r.t. a) its form (grammaticality)
b) its interpretation (meaning)
c) its usage (specific contexts)

Pragmatic Competence (Theory of Language Use)

14

(4) (a) ? an honest geranium.
(b) ? the man next door says she never looses her temper with anyone
(c) ? the tree who we saw
(d) ? Human beings have two or three eyes.
(e) ? William was pregnant but he had a miscarriage.
(f) ? The umbrella is flying with the bathroom.
(g) ?Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
(h) ?Im thinking of the sonata I hope to compose someday.

Semantic Competence

(5) (a) I thought that Elisabeth was there, but it turned out that she wasn't.
(b) ! I realized that Elisabeth was here, but it turned out that she wasn't.

(6) (a) The man
=Peter

knew that somebody saw him
=Peter
.
(b) !/* He
=Peter

knew that somebody saw the man
=Peter
.

"The borderline between grammar and semantics is unclear, and linguists will draw the
line variously... Similarly the borderline between grammar and pragmatics (and even more
between semantics and pragmatics) is unclear." (Quirk et al. 1985:16)

Grammaticality

(7) (a) *Will you opening the window?
(b) *Opens the window!
(c) *Human beings has two or three leg.
(d) *William was pregnant but he had uncarriage.
(e) *The umbrella flying was with bathroom the.

The reason for the ungrammaticality has to be found, defined and explained, referring to
some rule and/or principle, which the ungrammatical sentence violates.

(8) Phonological competence blick vs. *bnick
SENtence vs *senTENCE

(9) Morphological competence men vs *mans
tigress vs. *horsess

(10) Syntactic competence (a) I sent him out a copy.
(b) *I sent a copy to him out.
2.2 Stating the Rules / Principles
Testing grammaticality (native speaker judgments) is the main method to study a
linguistic system. Grammatical examples, however, illustrate a possibility, not a rule. The
rules are defined correctly only when their violation results in ungrammaticality. We have
to find contrasting examples to demonstrate the potentials and limits of the system.

15

Compare the following examples in (11). Discuss how each or them 'demonstrates' the rule
for the order of Subject Verb Object in English and Czech (and or these fixed vs. free
??? ), considering also the style, frequency, special interpretations, etc.

(11) SVO (a) Mary wrote a letter. (a') Marie napsala dopis.
SOV (b) *Mary a letter wrote. (b') % Marie dopis napsala.
OVS (c) *A letter wrote Mary. (c') Dopis napsala Marie.
OSV (d) A letter Mary wrote. (d') % Dopis Marie napsala.
VSO (e) *Wrote Mary a letter. (e') % Napsala Marie dopis.
VOS (f) *Wrote a letter Mary. (f') % Napsala dopis Marie.
2.3 Exercises
(12) EXERCISE ==========================================
Mark the acceptability, distinguishing between OK= correct, , * = ungrammatical,
e.g. a syntactic / morphological error, and ! / ? = a semantic / pragmatic, discourse error.

(i) (a) Jenda zabil kmen.
(b) Tygr zabil antilopu, ale ona neumrela.
........ (c) Vcera jsem to ti dal.

(ii) (a) Muj bratr Petr si uvdomil, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(b) Moje kocka si uvdomila, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(c) Moje zlat rybicky si uvdomily, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(d) Muj prvok si uvdomil, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(e) Moje teflonov pnev si uvdomila, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(f) Moje pravdomluvnost si uvdomila, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(g) Moje narozen si uvdomil, e jsem mizern kucharka.
(h) Muj bratr Petr si uvdomil, e jsem mizern kucharka, ale j jsem dokzala, e
to nen pravda.
(i) Moje Petr si uvdomil, jsem e mizern kucharka.

(iii) (a) Podvej se na toho vidravho slona.
(b) Podvej se na ta vidrav jtra.
(c) Podvej se na ta vidrav proti.

(iv) (a) Vcera ho nutil napsat to Marii.
(b) Vcera ho to Marii nutil napsat.
(c) Vcera ho nutil podepsat se j.
(d) Vcera se j ho nutil podepsat.

(v) (a) Bledmodr sloni se 35. listopadu zakuklili.
(b) Dvanctitecn sluncko sedmitecn si utrhlo noicku.
(c) Kdo si mysl, e to Maruce koupil?
(d) Kdo se ptala, e to Maruce koupil?
(e) Kdy si mysl, e dal Petr Maruce ten karafit?
(f) Kdy si mysl, co dal Petr Maruce?

16

(13) EXERCISE ==========================================
Decide on the well-formedness of the following examples. Use the correct symbols
for deviant sentences (choosing among ?/ !/ *).

(i) (a) Zach killed the stone.
(b) Zach killed the rabbit but it didn't die.
(c) Killed rabbit Zach.
(ii) (a) My uncle realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(b) My cat realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(c) My goldfish realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(d) My pet amoeba realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(e) My frying pan realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(f) My sincerity realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(g) My birth realizes that I'm a lousy cook.
(h) My uncle realizes that I'm a lousy cook, but I proved I am not.
(i) My realizes uncle that I'm a lousy cook.
(iii) (a) Look at the cross-eyed elephant.
(b) Look at the cross-eyed kidneys.
(c) Look at the cross-eyed from.

(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
Mark the acceptability and try to explain it. Which principle/ rule does the
ungrammatical example violate? Be clear, short and accurate.

(a) Emma like to read novels.
(b) The wheatfield informed Alice that she should turn left.
(c) Adam completely will finish his work.
(d) I gave to some of my students new books.
(e) Pink elephants will fly over the city.

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
How would you interpret the following data? Which principle/ rule do they
demonstrate? Can you add more data showing the same rule?

(i) (a) This book can tire me out. (c) ...............................................
(b) *These book can tire me out. (d) ...............................................
(ii) (a) big boy (a') velk chlapec
(b) big girl (b') * velk dvka
(c) big baby (c') % velk dt
(iii) (a) I went to school (a') J jsem el do koly.
(b) You went to school. (b') * Ty jsem el do koly.
(c) He went to school. (c') * On jsem el do koly.
(iv) (a) *I saw boy. (b) I saw you boy.
(c) I saw a boy. (d) *I saw the your boy.

17

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples which illustrate the facts about English Subject-Verb agreement and
try to state the rule for the agreement as precisely as possible (e.g. 'English Verbs show
Subject-Predicate agreement only in 3rd person singular present tense'). Recall that your
examples are to illustrate all possibilities including the ungrammatical ones. However, try
to express yourself as economically as possible!

................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Do your examples in (16) exclude/ take into account also the following data?
If not, do they make your rule 'wrong'? How can one make it 'right'?

(a) * I be at home.
(b) * The teacher musts read their papers.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
A traditional definition of Pronouns is that "Pronouns can be used instead of Nouns."
Do the following data confirm the definition? (Mark the grammaticality of the sentences
first). Can you improve the definition? Give more examples illustrating the same
phenomena.

(a) She went to school. (g) I saw him.
(b) Emma went to school. (h) I saw Adam.
(c) My little sister went to school. (i) I saw the tall blond boy.
(d) My she went to school (j) I saw the he/ him.
(e) My little she went to school. (k) I saw the tall blond he/ him.
(f) My little one went to school. (l) I saw the tall blond one.

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the following data concerning clausal negation. Assuming that in English
the clause is negated with the help of 'not' and in Czech by the use of 'ne-'. How would you
state the exact place where the negative element is added? Some relevant examples are
given below. Add more, to support your claim.

(a) I was not going to the centre. (i) J jsem nela...
(b) *I was going not to the centre. (j) *J nejsem la...
(c) I will not read Johns letter. (k) J nebudu cst.
(d) *I will read not Johns letter. (l) *J budu necst...
(e) *I read not Johns letters. (m) J nectu...
(f) I will not be reading when you call. (n) J nebudu cst.
(g) I will be not reading when you call. (o) J cst nebudu.
(h) *I will be reading not when you call.
18

3 MORPHOLOGY
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1567-1579, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp.
264-290; Crystal (1987) pp. 88-100; Dukov (1994) pp. 13-22; Akmajian/ Demers/
Farmer/ Harnish (1990) pp. 11-52; Finegan & Besnier (1989) pp. 85-124; Fromkin &
Rodman (1990) pp. 122-157; Katamba (1993); Matthews (1974); Spenser (1991).
3.1 Morpheme
Bloomfield (1933):
A morpheme is the smallest element of a language which carries a meaning.
Which kind of meaning? SIGN = form + meaning. (In a language everything has some
meaning = reason/ function/ role in the system)
(Phoneme: can distinguish the meaning, but it does not carry it itself.)
3.2 Lexical and non-lexical Meaning of Morphemes
Morphology as realization of A. lexical (autosemantic) meaning and/or
B. grammaticalized meaning.

Discussing the meaning of all the parts of the words below, we need to refer not only to the
lexical meaning of the stem, but also to the other parts of the word.

(1) preskakovali = pres + skak + ova + l + i

Lexical morphemes (stems/ bases) have a huge number of meanings they reflect existing
reality: boy, believe, age, evolution, game, tree, vacuum, China, Christmas, Islam

Non-lexical morphemes are not infinite in number. They are the core of the grammar of a
language, i.e. their number, form, position, combinations etc. define the specific typological
characteristics of the language (e.g. Czech vs. English).
For some morphemes, to assign a category and to be itself a member of a category is its
'meaning/ function':

(2) [N] dark-ness, govern-ment, stupid-ity, brother-hood, leader-ship
[Adj] atom-ic, colour-ful, green-eye-d, inter-nation-al
[V] dark-en, modern-ize, intens-ify, celebr-ate

Some morphemes provide a grammaticalized (simplified, regular) meaning (within the
existing language specific limits)

(3) (a) [Number: singular/ plural] book-s
(b) [Tense: Past/ Future] govern-ed, will govern
(c) [Aspect: Perfect/ Progressive] has stopp-ed, is stopp-ing
(d) [Grade: Comparative/ Superlative] short-er, short-est
(b) [INF: no Subject/ Predicate] to govern, to have gone

Morphemes can also signal a relation, a configuration, a syntagma:
19


(4) vysok- dvka
The morpheme on vysok- is a morpheme of agreement (in Gender), which signals that
the expression is related to a feminine Noun. (Note that the final vowel height of vysok is
itself in some sense feminine compared with vysok.)

(5) The-se boy-s
The form these contains a morpheme of agreement in Number, which signals, that the
expression is related to a plural Noun. (Note that the demonstrative meaning of these would
itself be in some sense more plural than this.)

(6) (a) [Case: genitive/ accusative] hi-s, hi-m
Case shows also a relation to the other member within the syntagma.
(b) i. then they killed hi-m fast ,
ii. she spoke with hi-m every day

-m in him marks the Object function of he w.r.t. the Verb kill or the Preposition with. Such
a function is interpreted as an affected Object (of a Verb/Preposition): the meaning includes
that (i) he is dead, (ii) he was (spoken) with...
(c) hi-s/Mary-'s only recent picture
-s in his marks the function of he w.r.t. to the Noun picture and such a function is
interpreted as the Agent, Patient, or Possessor role of he.

(7) Adam/Emma read-s well

-s in reads does not modify the lexical meaning of the stem, i.e. the reading activity is
identical with or without the morpheme s. The morpheme s is configurational; it shows
agreement, i.e. it signals that the Verb read is related to a Subject and the Subject is 3sg.
3.3 Criteria for dividing morphemes
I. With respect to their meaning (see above in section 3.2):

(a) stem (free) / base (bound): rarely applicable in English

(b) function(al) word (free) / affix (bound)
(i) derivational affixes ............................. create (usually) a new word = category
(ii) inflectional endings ........................... create a new form within a paradigm

(8) (a) writ+er VN
(b) modern+ize AdjV
(c) modern+iz(e)+(a)tion AdjVN
(d) nation+al+ity NAdjN
(e) king+dom N (person)N (region)
(f) instruct+ive VAdj
(g) thirteen+th Num (cardinal)Num (ordinal)
20

(9) (a) governor+s, book+s, N (plural)
(b) pretti+er, Adj (comparative)
(c) stopp-ed, is read+ing V (Tense, Aspect)

PARADIGM: Morphological class vs. lexical class.
Nominal paradigm: declension. Verbal paradigm: conjugation.

II. With respect to their independence: (a) bound
(b) free

(10) pretti-er vs. more beautiful

III. Affixes with respect to their position: (a) prefix
See below (11) below. (b) in(ter)fix
(c) suffix
(d) circumfix

(11) (a) under-graduate, en-rich, ex-minister, mis-read, oever-sleep, re-design
(b) infixes are rare: r-i-ng, r-a-ng, r-u-ng Cz: ten-to, to-ho-to, to-mu-to
(c) dark-ness, atom-ic, govern-ment, brother-hood, intens-ify, modern-ise
(d) especially within the verbal system: is read-ing, is introduc-ed


MORPHEMES bound bases prefixes
affixes suffixes
in(ter)fixes
circumfixes
contracted forms

free content words
function(al) words

3.4 Morphemes as Things or as Rules?
FERDINAND de SAUSSURE - Langue vs. Parole
morpheme vs. allomorph

Every pronounced form is a kind of allomorph!

(12) morpheme = plural of Nouns, OR abstract nominalization etc.
allomorph(s) = -s [-s/-z/-iz] /-en /
-(t)ion (re-ceive > re-cept-ion)

Level of Abstraction of Morphology
i ) Morphology = concatenation of morphemes = things / adding material
ii) Morphology = application of an abstract rule + subsequent insertion in a structure
21

View I: Morphology = concatenation of morphemes = things / adding material

Which things?
WRIT + ER + S = writers

(13) affixation See also (11).

(a) prefixes NA-rostl / DE-stabilize
(b) suffixes bez to-HO chlapce, modern-IZE
(c) in(ter)fixes bez to-HO-to chlapce
(d) circumfix chodi-LA BYCH

BUT ! There are other examples which make this simplified view implausible. See below.

(14) suppletion go > went, good > better > best, she > her, is > are, two > second
partial suppletion France > French > franco-phile, Franco-American

BUT regular phonetic/ orthographic changes are not suppletion:

stop > stopp-ed, find > finds, nice > nic-er, city > cities, tomato >tomatoes

(15) reduplication Cz.: mal-IN-k > mali-LIN-kat
Sp.: poqu-IT-o > poqu-IT-IT-o

(16) opaque compounding blackbird, greenhouse, numbskull, pineapple, private eye

(17) cliticization (a) He is not at home.
(b) He isn't at home. Is this morpheme bound of free?

(18) Phonological change / alternation
(a) stress construct, contrast, increase, import, record, torment, transport
(b) vowel quality
(i) length/ tone lead>led>led, loose>loss, meet>met, hide>hid
(ii) quality = ablaut/apophony sing>sang>sung, tell>told, mouse>mice
(c)consonant mutation bend > bent > bent
N > V : use, house, advice>advise, belief >believe
leaf >leaves, roof >rooves

(19) Null/ Zero affixation = CONVERSION For partial conversion see (18).

(a) a cut/ stop/ talk vs. to cut/ stop/ talk
(b) he is back vs. to back his team vs. my back hurts
(c) el okolo naeho domu. vs. el jenom tak okolo.
(d) Objednal si drtkovou. vs. Objednal si drtkovou polvku.

View II: Morphology = application of an abstract rule + subsequent insertion

BUT what is it subsequent? Is creating the word a process?
22

3.5 Exercises
(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the word antidisestablishmentarianisms.
(a) Is it a possible English word? YES NO ?
(b) Is it the longest English word? YES NO ?
(c) Is it simple or complex (composed of elements)? SIMPLE COMPLEX ?
(d) Can you separate some parts of the word and use them in other English words?
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................

e) What does the word mean? (Give its Czech equivalent/ translation)
...................................................................................................................................................

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
Looking above at (2)-(7), discuss the number of distinct morphemes in Czech and in
English. Are there distinctions in numbers of (i) lexical, (ii) derivational, and (iii)
inflectional morphemes?

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which kind of meaning/ function/role can you find in the following words? Classify
the morphemes with a view to their independence, position, and function. Consider above
all (a) which part of speech the word was before and which part of speech it is after adding
a morpheme; (b) whether the meaning/ function of the morpheme is grammaticalized?

(a) prac-ova-l-a (b) ne-u-vrit-eln-

(c) under-gradu-ate (e) dis-agree-ment
(d) read-er-s (f) re-read-ing (of those articles)

(g) he reads (j) he had read
(h) I have read (k) we will have finished
(i) he has read (l) (the house) is built
(j) he will be reading (m) (the letter) has been being written

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the importance of productivity (regularity). Under which letter are the
following words listed in English dictionary? Which morphemes are listed in the
dictionaryand how? Why?

(a) writer (f) reevaluate
(b) impossible (g) distress
(c) blackboard (h) co-occurrence
(d) drivable (i) wonderful
(e) tigress (j) submarine
23

(24) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give two examples (one English and one Czech) of the types of morphemes. Write a
complex word and underline the relevant morpheme.

ENGLISH CZECH
bound morpheme.......................................................................................................................
free morpheme..........................................................................................................................
stem ................................................................................................................................
base ................................................................................................................................
function word.............................................................................................................................
prefix ................................................................................................................................
in(ter)fix ................................................................................................................................
suffix ................................................................................................................................
circumfix ................................................................................................................................

(25) EXERCISE ===========================================
Using your vocabulary and consulting Appendix 1, derive as many words as possible
from the following roots. Example: employ, employ-ee (VN), employ-er (VN), under-
employ-ment (VN), un-employ-ed (VAdj), employ-able (VAdj)...

read ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
act ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
light ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................

(26) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the internal structure of the following complex words. Divide them into
morphemes and state (in detail) the kinds of the morphemes. Find other words comprised of
the same morphemes.
Example: underemployment = under+employ+ment
under - derivational prefix, low, less (e.g. under-graduate, under-mine, under-used)
employ root/ stem, give work (e.g. employ-er, employ-ee, employ-able)
ment derivational suffix, VN, institution/ abstract (e.g. govern-ment, improve-ment )

waiters ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
modernizeable ..........................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
cranberry ................................................................................................................................
re-reads ............................................................................................................................
spoke ................................................................................................................................
(he) was ................................................................................................................................
24

h e ' s r e a d i n g

h a v i n g b e e n e a t e n

w i l l b e w r i t t e n

sing - sang - sung - song


(27) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give English morphemes for the following features. If there is more than one, state
the distinctions. If there is some choice of pronunciation, give all options.

(a) Number .......................................................................................................................
(b) Gender .......................................................................................................................
(c) Case .......................................................................................................................
(d) Tense .......................................................................................................................
(e) Aspect .......................................................................................................................
(f) Grading .......................................................................................................................

(28) EXERCISE ===========================================
What are the underlined morphemes? If there is more than one option, give contexts
which disambiguate them.

(a) stop-s .......................................................................................................................
(b) satisfi-ed ......................................................................................................................
(c) read-ing .......................................................................................................................
(d) read-ing-s .......................................................................................................................

(29) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which kind of morpheme is the S/-ER/-ING/-ED morpheme in the following
examples? Justify your choice. Consider the category of the following word in the context.

(a) (i) This is Emma'-s book.
(ii) These book-s belong to Emma.
(iii) Emma read-s many books.

(b) (i) He is a bit bigg-er than Barbara.
(ii) He is a fit swimm-er.

(c) (i) He is read-ing the book.
(ii) His read-ing of the book has taken a long time.
(iii) He is quite a bor-ing guy.

(d) (i) This chicken was kill-ed (by Harriet).
(ii) This chicken is freshly kill-ed (*by Harriet).
(iii) A freshly kill-ed (*by Harriet) chicken (*by Harriet).
25

(30) EXERCISE ===========================================
How can you show /argue/ prove that the bold element in (a) is a morpheme while in
(b) it is not? Apply similar arguments to (c), is the part in bold a morpheme?

(a) speak-er ......................................................................................................................
(b) moth-er .......................................................................................................................
(c) nic-er .......................................................................................................................
(a) call-ing .......................................................................................................................
(b) br- ing .......................................................................................................................
(c) str- ing .......................................................................................................................
(a) un-fortunate .............................................................................................................
(b) un-iversal .............................................................................................................
(c) un-do .............................................................................................................
(a) re-call .......................................................................................................................
(b) re-ad .......................................................................................................................
(c) re-memeber......................................................................................................................

(31) EXERCISE ===========================================
What can one say about the relative order of derivational and inflectional
morphemes? Give more English and Czech examples showing that it is a universal rule.

(a) govern-ment-s (c) uci-tel-
(b) * govern-s-ment (d) *uci--tel

(32) EXERCISE ===========================================
On each line, what is the distinction between the underlined morphemes?

(a) She is much nic-er than Mary. (a') She is more beautiful than Mary.
(b) I stopp-ed at the traffic lights. (b') I will stop at the traffic lights.
(c) Jill does-n't want to come. (c') Jill does not want to come.
(d) Chod- do parku. (d') You go to the park.
(e) On chod- do lesa. (e') He go-es to the forest.

(33) EXERCISE ===========================================
What is the meaning of the ER/ MORE morpheme in the following contexts?

(a) big, big-er, the bigg-est (b) clever, more clever, the most clever

Does you definition cover also the following examples?

(c) This dwarf is much bigg-er than that dwarf, but neither of them is big, of course.
(d) Though Barbara is much more clever than Grace, they are both pretty stupid, in fact.

Discuss: (i) Is a big mouse bigger than a small elephant?
(ii) How big is big?
(iii) What is the meaning of an Adjective modifier?
26

4 WORD-FORMATION
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1623-1695, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp.
264-290; Quirk/ Greenbaum/ Leech/ Svartvik (2004) pp. 1515-1586.
4.1 Lexicon
Word: A word is a minimal free form. Lexeme: Words are listed in lexicon. A lexical
entry is comprised of the form + the meaning, i.e. it includes all specific (idiosyncratic)
phonological/ morphological/ syntactic/ semantic properties of a word.


.
(1) Center/ Core vs. Periphery of the lexicon.




Grammatical elements and basic words are in the (stable) center.
The Periphery (neologisms, slang, archaisms) undergoes main changes.
4.2 Kinds of Word-Formation (Revision)
Diachronic vs. synchronic view

(2) Neologism: (a) totally new form: rare
(b) old form with a new meaning: snail-mail, cool, cruise, surf
(c) generalized meaning (brand name): Kleenex, Xerox, cola, faucet
(3) Loan words: (a) genetics, international, infant, perfume, sister, they, take
(b) coffee, caf, teepee, robot, polka, hatcheck, typhoon, sushi
Languages can differ w.r.t. the tolerance to the loans. The reasons may be social (e.g.
xenophobia) and/or formal (synthetic languages must adopt the new words to paradigms).

(4) Abbreviation: (a) Initial abbreviations: IBM, MP, p.m., SOB, UN, EU, w.r.t.
(b) Acronyms: UNESCO, radar, WASP, NASA
(c) Clipping: mike (<microphone), bike, fridge, info, hype (<hyperbole)

(5) Composition: (a) of morphemes: derivation
(b) of parts of words: blending: portmanteau words
smog (<SMOke+foG), motel (<MOTo+hoTEL), hi-fi
(c) of words:
(i) compounding: blackbird, snowman, dry clean, input
(ii) quotation compounds: hard-to-get items, do-it-
yourself store, fly-by-night business, off the cuff speech

(6) Conversion: (a) true conversion (null affixation?): fast, hard (ADJ=ADV)
(b) partial conversion (phonological change / alternation)
27

(i) stress: transport, contrast, increase, torment, record
(ii) vowel length/tone or quality (= ablaut/apophony): sing>sang>sung>song
(iii) consonant mutation: advice>advise, belief>believe, use, house, mouth
4.3 Back Formation
= derivation by (false/ naive) analogy:

(7) (a) televise (< television), difficult (<difficulty)
(b) baby-sit (< baby-sitter), chain-smoke (<chain-smoking)
(c) crap < crapper < Thomas Crapper
(d) beg < beggar

To claim that some word has been back-formed, we have to provide arguments about the
likelihood of the steps in the process of the word formation. The arguments may result from
(a) more detailed morphological analysis; see (8),
(b) knowledge of some specific morphological (word-formation) process; see (9),
(c) knowledge of historical data; see (10).

(8) tele vis ion regular complex word consisting of existing morphemes
tele- e.g. tele-phone, tele-graph
vis- e.g. vis-ibility, in-vis-ible
-ion e.g. locat-ion, nat-ion, criter-ion
televise which morphemes does it consist of ???
(a) tele- e.g. tele-phone, tele-graph
(b) vis- e.g. vis-ibility, in-vis-ible
(c) *-e .... such V morpheme does not exist
or (b) *-v- .... such morpheme doesn't exist
(c) -ise e.g. modern-ise, legal-ise

Conclusion: the word 'televise' couldn't be formed in a normal way. It must have been
backformed by speakers assuming the analogy with the words ending on ion which have
the verbal source on ise (modern-ise modernisat-ion; re-vise revis-ion).

(9) baby sit ing regular (old, Germanic) process of incorporating compounds
the structure is [N+ [V + er/ing ]] , never [N+V]. Exceptions
are assumed to follow the regularity, not the opposite.

(a) make a coffee coffee making, coffee maker BUT * to coffee make
(b) make shoes shoe making, shoe maker BUT * to shoe make
(c) lay bricks bricklaying, bricklayer BUT * to bricklay

(d) sit (at) a baby baby sitting, baby sitter EXCEPTION!!! baby sit

(10) Thomas Crapper a name of an engineer
crapper the WC Thomas Crapper invented and was selling
crap back-formed Verb: writ(-er), crapp(-er)
The knowledge of historical data can thus be a source of information about a words origin.
28

4.4 Exercises
(11) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss how/ when the underlined words entered the English vocabulary.

(a) Charles IV was a great king, not an archbishop.
(b) Her ex-husband is a bricklayer. He works like a robot.
(c) Mr. Kinnock has never been Prime ministerable.
(d) Its nonsense to take only a canoe for such a long journey.
(e) They saw the Princess Royal on the balcony.

(12) EXERCISE ===========================================
How were the underlined words formed?

(a) Samuel likes coffee.
(b) Take your Kleenex and wipe it off.
(c) I have never been to the USA
(d) They are a member of NATO.
(e) Joe bought a new bike.
(f) This should count as a kind of brunch.
(g) Our government is disappointing.
(h) Mike never eats blackberries.
(i) He is not a do-it-yourself man.
(j) He has always been backing his team.
(k) We must increase the production.
(l) To make money, she is ready to baby-sit every day.

(13) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain potential problems with the following words when used in Czech / English.

Ren, IBM, teepee, zoo, vacuum, Dolores Ibarruri, Ghana, tsunami, knedlich, gnocchi

(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
Provide original words for the following abbreviations and acronyms. Add some
examples of further abbreviations you know.

(a) a.m./ p.m. ......................................................................................................................
(b) B.C. / A.D. / C.E. ............................................................................................................
(c) UN(O) ......................................................................................................................
(d) OPEC ......................................................................................................................
(e) FBI ......................................................................................................................
(f) CIA ......................................................................................................................
(g) UNICEF ......................................................................................................................
(h) SOB ......................................................................................................................
(i) MP ......................................................................................................................
(j) REM ......................................................................................................................
(k) ROM ......................................................................................................................
29

(l) WIN ......................................................................................................................
(m) RIP ......................................................................................................................
(n) SUNY ......................................................................................................................
(o) CUNY ......................................................................................................................
(p) nylon .....................................................................................................................
(q) dederon ......................................................................................................................
(r) PC ......................................................................................................................
(s) .........................................................................................................................................
(t) .........................................................................................................................................

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
What is the origin of the following words?

(a) motel ................................................ (b) hotel ....................................................
(c) boatel ................................................ (d) brunch .................................................
(e) hi-fi ................................................ (f) sci-fi ....................................................

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Are the following words in the centre/ core of the vocabulary or on the periphery?

(a) matka, cdcko, posed (v lese), makromolekulrn, ona
(b) child, infant, mother, sophisticated, chic, crack, e-mail, cop, introduce, yuppie, kid

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of the words which during your lifetime entered English vocabulary.
What are their stylistic values?

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of the words which during your life time entered the Czech
vocabulary. What are their stylistic values?

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Try to generalize the rule for (a) the stress distribution and (b) consonant mutation
for the categorial change of the words like:

(a) construct, contrast, import, permit, record, torment, transport, etc.
(b) advise/ advice, believe/ belief, house, mouth, use, breathe/ breath, bathe/ bath

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Use the following quotation compounds in short sentences and translate them to
Czech.

(a) hard-to-get ....................................................................................................
(b) do-it- yourself store ....................................................................................................
(c) fly-by-night ....................................................................................................
(d) what's-his-name ....................................................................................................
30

5 DERIVATION
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1666-1720, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp.
264-290.

Creating/ Enlarging the Lexicon by Composition

Creating a new word: Compounding BASE + BASE
Derivation BASE + DERIVATIONAL AFFIX
Paradigmatic form: BASE + INFLECTIONAL ENDING


(1) (a) blue-print, word-stock, trigger-happy, dry clean, offshoot, back formation
(b) writ-er, invest-ment, final-ize, near-ly, mis-calculate, re-invent, trilion-th
(c) read-s, John-s, stopp-ed, spok-en, nic-er, frend-li-est, re-low-er-ing

DERIVATION: Creating a new word by combination of base (bases) and affix(es)
PROBLEM: What is a word/ a base/an affix/an ending?


PREFIX BASE SUFFIX ENDING
5.1 The Open-endedness of the Lexicon
Real words vs. potential words (individual occasional nonce-words: uncomplicatedness).
Words are listable (in dictionaries). Core and Periphery of the Lexicon; see (1).
Productivity follows from the rule-based processes of forming new words.
(2) PRODUCTIVITY - to produce an infinite number of words/utterances
in Morphology - is a matter of degree not a dichotomy
- is subject to a dimension of time
5.2 Constraints on Productivity
5.2.1 Blocking Effect
A more specific (idiosyncratic) form takes preference over (blocks the existence and use of)
a less specific (regular) form. (Aronoff, 1976)
(3) (a) write > writ-er
steal > *steal-er (blocked by semantically more specific thief)
(b) help > help-ed
write > *writ-ed (blocked by irregular 'wrote')
(c) book > book-s
man > * man-s (blocked by irregular 'men')

Productive / idiosyncratic / frozen morphemes. Creativity - standard vs. innovations (poetic
language). Consider parsing.
31

5.2.2 Phonological Factors
E.g. ADJ ADV-ly cannot lead to repetitive effect

(4) easy easily, stupid stupidly, friendly *friendlily, smelly *smellily

(5) ADJ V-en (inchoative V = to begin to V)
(i) monosyllabic base(ii) ending must be a stop/ fricative/ non-sonorant

(6) (a) fast > fasten, soft > soften, dark > darken, loose > loosen, tough > toughen
(b) dry > *dryen, blue > *bluen, low > *lowen, fine > *finen, lame >*lamen
(c) stupid >*stupiden, morose >*morosen, urgent >*urgenten, alive >*aliven
5.2.3 Morphological Factors
The order of morphemes is fixed. English tolerates only one inflectional morpheme.

(7) (a) a boy two boy-s, a boy-s book
(b) that James those James-e-s, James-s book (James book)
(c) mens room, childrens room, *boyss room (where boyss has two syllables)
5.2.3.1 Classes of Morphemes
Three different classes of morphemes
(Margaret Allen (1978), Dorothy Siegel (1979).

Class I: (a) -ion, -ity, -ous, ... (b) in-, sub-, re-, ...
Class II: (a) -hood, -ful, -ly, ... (b) un-, sub-, re-, ...
Class III: regular inflection (=endings)

Level Ordering (Composition as a Process)
(i) take the base and add Affixation of Class I
assign word stress rules (apply non-automatic phonological processes)
e.g. 'un+anim+ous,
(ii) then add Affixation of Class II in its position
create Compounds
e.g. un+anim+ous+ly,
(iii) then add Affixation of Class III (regular inflection) in its position

(8) Therefore Class I affixes always precede Class II affixes and Class III endings.
(= Stems precede suffixes which precede endings.)

(a) danger-ous-ly *danger-ly-ous
(b) writ-er-s *write-s-er
(c) conscience-ous-ness *conscience-ness-ous
(d) able-ity-s abil-iti-es *able-s-ity
(e) character-iz-ing *character-ing-ize
32

(9) Compounds do not take derivational morphology, once created.

(a) passion > com+passion, / fruit > fruity
(b) passion fruit > *com-passion fruit / *passion fruit-y
(c) trouser+s + hanger(s) > trouserhanger(s) / *trouser-s-hanger(s)

Class I undergoes special phonological processes, Classes II/III are phonologically inert.

(10) assimilation of prefixes: (a) legal in+legal = illegal
(b) lawful un+lawful =*ullaful
(c) real in+real = irreal / unreal / *urreal
(d) ruly un+ruly = *urruly

(11) stress attraction: ocean occean + ic / ocean + less
conscience conscient-ious / conscience + ness
rapid rapid + ity / horrid horrid + ness
5.2.4 Semantic Factors
The use of specific parts is often defined with respect to (w.r.t.) the their meaning.

(12) (a) red-roofed house one-armed bandit wide-eyed girl
(b) *white-fenced house *two-rivered land *long shirted guy

Compounds of the form ADJ+N+ed seem best for inalienable possession.

(13) Negative elements from bipolar couples resist negation.

(a) happy - sad > unhappy, *unsad
(b) love - hate > unloved, *unhated
5.2.5 Aesthetic Factors
(14) (a) stagnation + inflation stagflation
(b) marathon talkathon, ?? swimathon
5.3 Exercises
(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the internal structure of the following complex words. Find other words
which are comprised of the same morphemes.
E.g. underemployment = under (prefix, low, less, e.g. under-ground), employ (root, give
work, e.g. employ-er), ment (suffix, VN, institution, e.g. govern-ment)

(a) childish .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(b) novelists .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
33

(c) unemployment .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(d) governmental .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(e) modernize .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(f) privatization .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(g) generalizations .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(h) immortal .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(i) transportation .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(j) co-operatively .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(k) subversive .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(l) hypothermic .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
(m) monothematic .............................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write the meaning/ function of the following morphemes and give two examples
containing them.

(a) -ise ...............................................................................................................................
(b) -ic ...............................................................................................................................
(c) -al ...............................................................................................................................
(d) -en ...............................................................................................................................
(e) -dom ...............................................................................................................................
(f) en- ...............................................................................................................................
(g) re- ...............................................................................................................................
(h) co- ...............................................................................................................................
(i) dis- ...............................................................................................................................
(j) fore- ...............................................................................................................................

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the ungrammaticality of the (a) example. Using the examples (b) and (c)
discuss whether the reason may be "pronunciation difficulty" or "impossibility of
possession by a plural entity." Mention the synchronic vs. diachronic approach to
morphemes (which morphemes are synchronically productive?).

(a) *girlss room (where girls has a second syllable with a reduced vowel)
(b) Charles Charles-e-s, Charles-s / Charles book
(c) children / woman
children's room, womens dress,
34

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Referring to the constraints on productivity, explain the (un)grammaticality.

(a) boy / boys, child / *childs
(b) stop / stopped, speak / *speaked
(c) easy / easily, silly / *sillyly
(d) black / blacken, white / whiten, dry / *dryen, green / *greenen
(e) illegal, impossible,*ullaful, *urruly
(f) blue-eyed boy, *red-capped boy, *two-cared family, *big-Alsatianed woman
(g) unclean, unhappy, inexpensive, *undirty, *unsad, *uncheap

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Mark and explain the distribution of the stress.

(a) lawful unlawful, unlawfulness
(b) finite infinite, infinity
(c) marine submarine, marine ex-marine

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the distinction between the two morphemes -er.

(a) baker, fighter, dancer, killer, toiler, wrecker, painter
(b) banger, barber, butcher, dresser, farmer, foreigner, gripper, hanger, hooker, lawyer,
mixer, prisoner, stretcher, upper/ downer, whisker, rooster, poster, breather

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the function of the -ER in the following contexts. Support the distinction by
providing more examples.

(a) John Updike is a famous American writ-er
(b) It is easi-er to do it now.
(c) Connie did not give us h-er book.

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of derivational morphemes with the following specifications

(a) V N .............................................................................................................................
(b) V A .............................................................................................................................
(c) A V .............................................................................................................................
(d) N N .............................................................................................................................
(e) N A .............................................................................................................................

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the logic which results in the claim that the following words are backformed.

(a) to chain smoke (b) to televise (c) to beg (d) a burger
35

6 COMPOUNDING
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1644-1666, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp.
264-290.


Creating a new word: Compounding BASE + BASE
Derivation BASE + DERIVATIONAL AFFIX
Paradigmatic form: BASE + INFLECTIONAL ENDING


COMPOUNDING: Creating a new lexical entry by combination of at least two bases.


(1) PREFIX BASE BASE SUFFIX ENDING



Compounding is a fusion of individual elements into one complex unit. It is a process
which takes place on two levels: semantic and formal. Some complex units are fused
above all semantically (idioms), some above all formally (compounds). Some are fused on
both levels (true compounds). The process is a matter of degree, not a dichotomy and it is
subject to the dimension of time. Distinct languages traditionally define compounds in
distinct ways (e.g. in Czech orthography is crucial).

1. Phrase: several words connected by syntactic rule (transparent/ compositional meaning).
2. Idiom: several words/ bases connected by syntactic rules but functions as a single unit,
i.e. the meaning is opaque.
3. Compound: several words/ bases form a structure which functions in the language
structure as a single word.

(2) (a) Do centra msta nesmj nkladn auta.
(a) Nkladky do centra msta nesmj.
(3) (a) That bird is really black. Have you ever seen such a black bird?
(b) There are many blackbirds in the park. Some of them are not black at all.
The process of unification can (and should) be traced/ considered on several levels:
(a) in orthography, (b) phonetics, (c) morphology, (d) syntax, and (e) semantics.
6.1 Orthography
This is the main (necessary and sufficient) criterion in Czech but not in English.
In English orthography is a sufficient but not necessary criterion. Many compounds are
hyphenated or separate.
(4) (a) Rohrer (1974): Some Problems of Wordformation.
(b) Aronoff (1976): Word Formation in Generative Grammar.
(c) Bauer (1983): English Word-formation.
36

6.2 Phonetics
Bloomfield (1933): accent subordination is a hallmark of compounds.
Compounds have one main stress only, while phrases put stress on each word separately.

(5) (a) ICE CREAM vs. ICE cream
(b) WHITE HOUSE vs. WHITE house
(c) GREEN HOUSE vs. GREEN house
BUT (d) APPLE PIE, MAN MADE, EASY-GOING
(e) pea GREEN, knee DEEP, dirt CHEAP (Adj-headed: final stress)
Thus, single stress is a sufficient but not necessary criterion for an English compound.
6.3 Morphology
In English lexical morphemes are ordered in front of derivational and inflectional
(mis-, ex-, de-, re-, non-, etc. precede the stems). There is no inflection inside a true
compound. (See above in 5.2.3.1)

(6) (a) girl friend girl friends * girls friend
(b) short-sighted *shorter-sighted
(c) *scissor scissors scissor-handle(s)
(d) *binocular binoculars binocular-case(s)
(c) quick fried *quickly fried *quicker/est fried
BUT (f) well- known better-known best-known
(g) a new mens store, a big kids play-ground, etc.

Thus, spelling the couple as a one word is a sufficient but not necessary criterion for an
English compound.
6.4 Syntax
Testing whether the complex behaves as one unit or as a syntactic phrase consisting of
several separable parts.

(7) syntactic complex idiom
(a) when the chaps are here (a') when the chips are down
(b) rule the country (b') rule the roost
(c) the man on the boat (c') the man on the Clapman omnibus
(d) round the house (d') round-the-clock

We can test whether the structure can be changed by some regular syntactic process.
Idioms: undergo (to various degrees) syntactic operations.
Compounds: are inert / frozen with respect to (w.r.t.) syntax (syntactic atoms).
(a) Enlarging the complex by additional material: e.g. Nouns in a syntactic complex
(phrase) can be premodified by semantically compatible Adjectives rather freely.
(b) Passivization: A syntactic complex [Verb +Object] can be passivised.
37

In (8) adding Adjectives and passivization do not change the meaning, while in (9) they do.
(* here means the loss of the idiomatic reading.)

(8) (a) vzali kldu na ramena (= nst kus dreva)
(b) Vzali kldy na ramena. (= nesli kusy dreva)
+Adj (c) Vzali dlouh/tk kldy na ramena.
(= nesli svoje dlouh, tk kusy dreva)
Passive (d) ?Kldy byly vzaty na ramena. (= kusy dreva se nesly)

(9) (a) vzt nohy na ramena (= utkat)
(b) Vzali nohy na ramena. (=utkali)
* +Adj (c) Vzali svalnat/chlupat nohy na ramena. (= * utkali.)
* Passive (d) ??Nohy byly vzaty na ramena. (= *utkalo se.)

(10) syntactic complex idiom

(a) hold ones bag (a') hold ones tongue
(b) I held my/ his bag. (b') I held my/ *his tongue.
(c) Her bag was held by Mary. (c') *His tongue was held by John.
(d) Its her bag that she held. (d) *Its her tongue that she held.

BUT some idioms still keep a certain level of syntactic freedom.

(11) (a) break the ice (a') The ice was finally broken by Mary.
(b) keep tabs on someone (b') Tabs are being kept on new students.
(c) take someone for a ride (c) The owner has been taken for a ride.

Questioning of separate parts: individual parts of a complex verbal phrase (Objects,
Adverbials) can be questioned.

(12) (a) stand here Where did he stand? - Here.
(b) stand by Where did he stand? - *By
(c) get off the train Where did she get? - *Off the train.
(d) take a coffee What did you take? - A coffee.
(e) take courage What did you take? - *Courage.
(f) have fun What are you having? - *A lot of fun.

Premodifying Adjectives can be used as Predicates after a copula and in a relative clause.
With idioms the same changes in the structure causes the loss of the idiomatic meaning.
See also section 6.5.

(13) ice cream (*after copula) *The cream is ice.
(*relative clause) *The cream which is ice/-y

(14) a colorful/ blue/ black bird (after copula) The bird is colorful/ blue/ black.
(relative clause) The bird which is colorful /blue/ black

(15) a darkroom (*after copula) *The room is dark.
(*relative clause) *The room which is dark.
38

6.5 Semantics
The meaning of a complex can be (i) compositional (=transparent) or
(ii) non-compositional (=opaque).

Remember that transparent meaning includes the syntagmatic information, i.e. hierarchy,
with the kind of relation expressed in some formal way (word order, morphology, etc.).

TRANSPARENT OPAQUE (non-transparent)

bird BLACKBIRD
BLACK
+ modification

Consider the following couple of words: it is not enough to know the meaning of both, we
must also know how they are related (which ONE is hierarchically higher and/or which
kind of function does the subordinate element fulfill).

(16) Combining Samuel (a person) and predstavovat (an action)
(a) Samuel predstavoval Samuel is Agent of introduce
(b) predstavovat Samuela Samuel is Object of introduce
(c) predstavovat Samuelovi Samuel is Goal/ Beneficiary of introduce

(17) Combining Peter and introduce
(a) Samuel introduced Samuel is Agent of introduce
(b) introduce Samuel Samuel is Object of introduce
(c) introduce to Samuel Mary Brown Samuel is Goal/ Beneficiary of introduce

(18) Combining city and skyscraper
(a) city skyscraper city modifies skyscraper
(b) skyscraper city skyscraper modifies city

Many phrases can have both transparent and idiomatic reading:

(19) eat humble pie (a) eat pie which is humble
(b) submit to humiliation

(20) (a) GREEN HOUSE a house which is green
(b) GREENhouse a house made of glass to grow warm weather plants

Semantic relations between elements can also be transparent in idioms, to a certain extent,
especially if one of the elements is a Verb.

(21) (a) playmaker a person who makes plays (team leader in football, hockey)
(b) man-eater an animal that eats people
(c) housecleaning activity of professionally cleaning houses
(d) ball park a park or grassy stadium where ball games are played
(e) underground (something) which is under the ground
39

6.6 Headedness of Compounds
Compounds are structures, i.e. there is a hierarchy between their parts.
Most compounds are endocentric, i.e. they have a head.

The HEAD is the most important part of a compound. What does most important mean?
In semantics we can consider the meaning.
In grammar we take for the head the element which assigns a category to the larger unit,
i.e. the one which takes relevant inflection and determines about the distribution.
See also above in (6).
(a) velk msto (a') velk-o-msto
(b) ve velk-m mst- (b') ve velk-o-mst-
(c) black bird (c') blackbird(s)
6.7 Right-hand Head Rule
Consider the following compounds consisting of distinct categories. Which of them decides
about the category of the complex?

(22) (a) N+N=N water-lily, bookcase
(b) A+N=N hothouse, high-court
(c) P+N=N undergraduate, oversight
(d) N+A=A world-wide, user-friendly
(e) A+A=A short-lived, good-natured See also above in (6)(e).
(f) P+A=A overconfident, outspoken, inbred, downtrodden
(g) P+V=V underestimate, outscore, overrate, downplay
(h) V+P=V show off, look after, get up See also above in (33).
(i) V+N=N playboy, showman, think tank,

(23) Right-hand Head Rule (Williams, 1981):
In morphology we observe that the head of a morphologically complex
word is the right-hand member of that word (in English).

(24) (a) short-lived *shorter-lived
(b) *scissor, scissors, scissor-handle(s)
(c) *binocular, binoculars, binocular-case(s)

(25) BUT (a) craftsman, craftsmen
(b) better-known, best-known, menservants, women priests
(c) ladies man, bulls-eye, Achilles heel
6.8 Left-hand Headed Compounds (in English)
(26) (a) N-PREPOSITION passer-by, passers-by, *passer-bys
(b) FRENCH-BASED attorney general, attorneys general, *attorney generals
(c) QUOTATION COMP. mother-in-law, mothers-in-law, *mother-in-laws
40

6.9 Headless Compounds (Exocentric Compounds)
Compounds: (a) endocentric (have a head)
(b) exocentric (have no head)

In English the headless compound appear headless only w.r.t. to semantics/ meaning, but
syntactically (and morphologically) the unit almost always has a (usually right-hand) head.

'Bahuvrihi' compounds: semantically opaque (metaphors). It is impossible to define which
part is more important w.r.t. its meaning. Morphology, however, takes the rightmost
element for the head of the complex.

(27) (a) lazy-bones are NOT bones but a lazy person
(b) numb-skull is NOT a skull but a stupid person
(c) loud-mouth is NOT a mouth but a noisy person
(d) wall-flower is NOT a flower but someone who doesnt dance

'Dvandva' compounds (copulative/ coordinate compounds). Though semantically equal,
morphology can disambiguate, using the RHHR.

(28) boy-friend, North-West, player-manager, washer-dryer, father-son
(a) Josephine often keeps two or three boy-friends at the same time.
(b) Next day they took North-Westerly direction.
(c) Some teams could save money by using player-managers.
(d) You can now purchase washer-dryers as single machines.
(e) Mother-daughter trips are an increasingly common type of vacation.
6.10 Exercises
(29) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the relations between the following couples of words. Is the interpretation
'transparent'? Why?

(a) Elisabeth's sonnet (b) Elizabethan sonnet
(c) show Mary (d) show Mary Adam

(30) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the relations between the following couples of words. Are the interpretations
'transparent'? Why?
(a) exercise book (b) play-boy (c) steeple-chase (d) wall flower

(31) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the contrasted structures. Why are some OK while others are *?

(a) Mary held her/ his head. (b) Mary held her/*his tongue.
(c) His head was held by Mary. (d) *His tongue was held by Harry.

41

(32) EXERCISE ===========================================
Paraphrase and translate the examples below. Consider all types of arguments
showing that the following are/ are not idioms/ compounds. Recall that the arguments are
to be (i) phonetic, (ii) morphological, (iii) syntactic, (iv) semantic.

(a) Flying saucer (b) capital punishment (c) Big Apple

(33) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the contrasted structures. (Why are some OK while others are *?)

(a) eat outside - Where did he finally eat? - Outside.
(b) eat out - Where did he finally eat? - *Out.
(c) look well - How did he look? - Well.
(d) look ahead - How/ Where did he look? - *Ahead.
(e) take advantage - What did she take of him? - *Great advantage.

(34) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the distinction between an idiom and a compound.

(35) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the categorial composition and define the head of the following compounds.
Argue in favor of your choice of the head.

(a) skyline (h) overreact
(b) wet-suit (i) get rid (of)
(c) near-sightedness (j) call girl
(d) foolproof (k) hanger on
(e) hard-hearted (l) downplay
(f) near-sighted (m) brother-in-law
(g) Princess royal (n) heir apparent

(36) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss a possible meaning and the grammaticality of

(a) girl friend girl friends *girls friend
(b) clear-cut *clearer-cut
(c) playboy playboys *playedboy

(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the semantic structure of the following compounds. Find the semantic /
syntactic (morphological) head. Explain the meaning/ specificity of the following examples.

(a) butterfingers (inept catcher) outdoors
(b) blue-green dare-devil (reckless person)
(c) blockhead (idiot) spoil-sport (a grumpy person)
(d) turncoat (renegade) stick-in-the-mud
42

7 SOME SPECIAL KINDS OF ENGLISH COMPOUNDS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1644-1666, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp.
264-290.
7.1 Nominal Compounds: Bracketing Paradox
English compounds of the form N+N are recursive, i.e. an already compound Noun can
modify a Noun and there can be Adjectives involved, too, which can be related to any of
the Nouns. The interpretation is therefore vague, it depends on how the listener relates the
elements (which hierarchy is assigned to the structure). In Czech the translation must
disambiguate the structure.


(1) (a) new hospital building (i) [new hospital] building
A + N + N (ii) new [hospital building]
(b) American history teacher (i) [American history] teacher
(ii) American [history teacher]

(c) new government fund reserve ... new is the government, fund, or reserve?
(d) next lid cover steam box ... next is lid, cover, steam or box?
7.2 Verbal Compounds
- comprised of a head derived from a Verb;
- a non-head is usually interpreted as complement/ adjunct of the Verb, where
complements have a thematic role;
- the meaning is rather transparent.
7.2.1 Incorporation of Object/ Adverbial into Verb
Their basis is a Verb plus its argument. The (post verbal) argument is preposed
(incorporated) and the complex is deverbalized by some derivational suffix (nominal or
adjectival). It is an old, productive Germanic derivational process.


Predicate VERB nominal OBJECT



(2) lend money, make shoes, sell books, make hay, lay bricks.

(3) (a) N = N+V+er : moneylender, shoemaker
(b) N = N+V+ing : hay-making, brick-laying
(c) A = N+V+en : hand-written, time-worn
(d) A = N+V+ing : God-fearing, self-seeking

43

Apart from arguments (Objects) of the Verb, the initial element can also be an adjunct of
time/ place/ manner/etc. as well, especially when the N suffixes -er/-ing are not used.
(See also section 4.3 about Backformation.)

(4) (a) chain smoker, bar tender (d) low-flying, high-flying
(b) Sunday closing, dry cleaning (e) time consuming, back breaking (labor)
(c) alcohol related, steam driven (f) babysit, dry clean
7.2.2 Phrasal Verbs (Verbs with Particles)
(5) (a) lock out locked out *lock outed
(b) take off took off *take offed
(c) phone in phoned in *phone ined

Phrasal Verbs are special kinds of compounds, more semantic than actually syntactic. Their
head is not the right member, but the Verb, and the two elements can be separated. The
process of word formation with phrasal Verbs is matter of diachrony; some are well
established, others are more recently created and becoming productive.

(6) (a) I locked him out. There was a lock-out after the strike.
(b) They took their coats off outside. The take-off was rough. (intransitive)
(c) I phoned my order in to the restaurant. ?They no longer accept phone-ins.
7.3 Some other kinds of (English) Compounds
(a) Rhyming Compounds (b) Cranberry Words
(c) Neoclassical Compounds (d) Quotational Compounds
7.3.1 Rhyming Compounds
Typical for nursery rhymes, child language, slang, etc. (special stylistic value)

(7) (a) Black-Jack, claptrap, night-light, hocus pocus, honky tonk, hanky-panky
(b) goody-goody (good in sentimental or naive manner)
(c) namby-pamby (weak, ineffective--a person, or as adjective)
(d) wishy-washy, tick-tock, ding-dong (=ABLAUT, high/front + low/back vowels)
7.3.2 Cranberry Words (analogical formations)
Some morphemes appear only in one or few combinations = 'cranberry' morphemes

(8) (a) N N+N straw+berry, goose+berry
(b) N A+N blue+berry, black+berry
(c) N N??+N cran+berry
(d) fishmonger (fish+*monger, war+*monger)
(e) lukewarm (*luke+warm); to jay walk (*jay+walk); a werewolf (*were+wolf)
44

7.3.3 Neoclassical Compounds
In compounding the morphemes tend to be of the same origin.
Some compound were taken from a foreign language as compounds already, their structure
may be nontransparent to an English speaker and their parts not used separately. On the
other hand, speakers can acquire in varying degrees awareness of their structure, as in (d).

(9) (a) hydrology, hydrolysis, hydrometer
(b) theocracy, theology, theosophy
(c) television, telephone, telescope
(d) biology, biophysics, biography, geology, geophysics, geography

(10) tele+vis+ion tele+v??+ise ... back formation due to nontransparency?
7.3.4 Quotational Compounds
Hyphenated phrases, clauses, parts of sentences. They also contain grammatical
morphemes, not only bases. Parts of a bigger text. Used usually as N-premodifiers.

(11) (a) forget-me-not (d) lady-in-waiting
(b) lily-of-the-valley (e) touch-and-go
(c) devil-may-care (f) stick-in-the mud
7.4 Exercises
(12) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the possible meanings of the following compounds. Explain the term
'bracketing paradox' and show the bracketing which capture the alternative meanings.

(a) old city tower light
(b) house plant food dish
(c) international crime prevention office manager

(13) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the following complex verbal Predicates into Czech.

(a) to hit the road/ the highway leave, start traveling
(b) to hit the street(s) become public news
(c) to hit the air(waves) become news
(d) to hit the pavement go on strike
(e) to hit the ice start a game of hockey
(f) to hit the floor get up out of bed
(g) to hit the roof/ ceiling lose temper violently
(h) to hit the jackpot get rich quick
(i) to hit the sack/ hay go to bed tired
to have a roll in the hay have sex
(j) to hit the big time become famous (entertainer)
(k) to hit the spot be exactly the right thing
45

(l) to hit the bull's eye make an exact remark
(m) to hit the nail on the head say something exactly true
(n) to hit some place e.g. London become the fashion there, e.g. in London
(o) to hit a sore spot say something really bothering somebody
(p) to hit on someone to interact with someone with a sexual intent
(q) to hit it off get on together really well
(r) to hit the dirt get on the ground to avoid shooting

(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of complex verbal structures with the following weak Verbs.

to get (i) ................................................. (ii) ................................................
(iii) ................................................. (iv) ................................................
(v) ................................................. (vi) ................................................

to make (i) ................................................. (ii) ................................................
(iii) ................................................. (iv) ................................................
(v) ................................................. (vi) ................................................

to look (i) ................................................. (ii) ................................................
(iii) ................................................. (iv) ................................................
(v) ................................................. (vi) ................................................

to put (i) ................................................. (ii) ................................................
(iii) ................................................. (iv) ................................................
(v) ................................................. (vi) ................................................

to take (i) ................................................. (ii) ................................................
(iii) ................................................. (iv) ................................................
(v) ................................................. (vi) ................................................

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the origin (steps in the derivation) of the following expressions:

(a) bookseller, party drinker
(b) church-going, house sitting
(c) computer-matched, drug related
(d) eye-catching, hard-hitting

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
What kind of compounds are the following? Discuss their characteristics.

(a) night-light, pretty-pretty (prettiness that goes over the top)
(b) zigzag, sing-song, wishy-washy, tick-tock, knick-knack, lovey-dovey
(c) blue-green, South-West
(d) coffee-maker, beer-drinking
(e) hard-to-follow story, catch-me-if-you-can game
(f) put up (with), take away (from), stand up (for)
46

8 MORPHOLOGICAL TYPOLOGY OF LANGUAGES
See also: Comrie (1989) pp. 33-54, 210-226; Crystal (1987) pp. 84-86, 283-341;
Greenberg (1961).

3,000 - 10,000 languages (alive/ dead, language/ dialect, pigeon/ Creole, style/ slang)
Ranked in terms of numbers of speakers: Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic,
Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German, French, Punjabi....

(1) A. Genetic Classification
August Schleicher (Comparative Linguistics).
Both Czech and English are Indo-European languages. And so are Hindi, Persian, Latvian...
English is West Germanic, Czech is West Slavic.
But Hungarian, Estonian, Basque, Georgian, Hebrew, Turkish, Tamil, etc. are not I.-E.

(2) B. Morphological Classification (Typology)
Comparing Czech with English, English is isolating/ analytic, while Czech is synthetic/
fusional. However, neither of them is an extreme version and both show mixed
characteristics.
Discussing the morphological typology of a language, which criteria are relevant ?

E.g. August von Schleger (1767-1845)
(a) Isolating, analytic, root languages
(b) Inflecting, synthetic, fusional languages
(c) Agglutinative languages
(d) Polysynthetic, incorporating languages

BUT many other typological classifications exist (Sapir, Skalicka, etc.).
A more contemporary approach to morphological typology distinguishes languages w.r.t.
two main parameters (INDEXES).


1 NUMBER OF MORPHEMES PER WORD analytic vs. synthetic

2 ARE THE MORPHEMES SEGMENTABLE? agglutinative vs. fusional

8.1 Index of Synthesis
- measures the number of morphemes per word.
(Isolating/ ANALYTICAL vs. Polysynthetic languages)

ANALYTICAL (a) isolating
(c) agglutinating
(c) fusional
(d) incorporating
SYNTHETIC (e) polysynthetic
47

Most/ All major category words in Czech have more than one morpheme. In English
monomorph(emat)ic words are more frequent due to the lack of inflection.

(3) a) monomorphematic words: proti, a, blue, very, elephant
b) polymorphematic words: ne-u-vri-tel-n, un-kind-ly, four-th
8.1.1 Isolating Languages

ONE WORD = ONE MORPHEME

(4) Beijing Chinese W mi jzi ch.
I buy orange eat
'I bought some oranges to eat.'

Vietnamese Khi toi den nh ban toi, chng toi bt dau lm bi.
when I come house friend I PLURAL I begin do lesson
'When I came to my friend's house, we began to do lessons.'

Compared with typical Indo-European languages, these highly isolating languages have:
- many monosyllabic, invariable words (larger phonetic repertory, e.g. tonic vowels),
- many non-categorial stems (since they do not fit I.-E. standard with its Latin-based
terminology, many of these are called 'particles'),
- fixed orders of elements/ words,
Isolating/ analytic characteristics are far more frequent in English than in Czech, but both
languages have numerous free grammatical morphemes.

(5) (a) to read, will have been reading, woman-doctor, take advantage of
(b) by el, sml se, budu cst
8.1.2 Polysynthetic and Incorporating Languages

ONE SENTENCE = ONE WORD

Polysynthesis: the number of compound morphemes is large and a single word may form a
rather complex sentence. In such words, only one of the morphemes, however, is lexical.

(6) Yupik angya- ghlla - ng - yug - tuq
(Siberian Eskimo) boat AUGMENT-ACQUIRE-DESIDERATIVE-3Sg
'He wants to acquire a big boat.'

Incorporation: a number of lexical morphemes combine into one word. This is possible in
many languages (compounds), but if it prevails, the language is taken for incorporating.

(7) Chukchi t - meyn - levt - pyt - rkn
1S great head ache IMP
'I have a fierce headache.'
48

(8) Tiwi (aboriginal) ngi - rru - unthing - apu - kani
I PAST for some time eat repeatedly
'I kept on eating.'

Compared with typical Indo-European languages, these languages have:
- long, complex words,
- fuzzy categories (if one is using Latin-based terminology),
- fixed orders of elements/ morphemes.
Polysynthetic and incorporating characteristics are of rare occurrence in both English and
Czech, but derivational and compounding phenomena have some traces of incorporation.

(9) (a) re-nation-al-is-abi-lity, dis-establish-ment-arian
(b) chain-smoking, fresh orange juice maker, heat sensitive rocket reentry shield
(c) do-it-yourself, catch-me-if-you-can
(d) utrinos, vlezdoprdelka, cerveno-modro-bl, cerno-koil-c
8.2 Index of Fusion
Standard Indo-European word structure (mostly synthetic).

ONE WORD = ONE BASE + grammatical (derivational & inflectional) morpheme(s)

Classification w.r.t. the way the (grammatical) morphemes combine.
This measures the segmentability and invariance of morphemes:

(i) agglutinating languages (simple concatenation),
(ii) fusional languages (one element containing several inseparable morphemes).
8.2.1 Agglutinating Languages
(Latin gluten = glue) Turkish, Finnish, Japanese, Swahili

ONE WORD = MORE (CLEAR-CUT) MORPHEMES

modern ise - er - s
BASE M-1 M-2 M-3

Individual morphemes are clearly separable (sometimes with some regular changes at the
borders). Each has one function/ meaning, often identical with distinct parts of speech.

(10) Swahili mimi ni - na - ku - penda wewe.
me I-PRES -you-love you
'I love you.'

(11) Turkish (a) SG/NOM adam (b) PL/GEN adam - lar
SG/GEN adam-in PL/GEN adam - lar -in
SG/LOC adam-da PL/LOC adam - lar -da
49

8.2.2 Fusional Languages

ONE WORD = MORE UNSEGMENTABLE MORPHEMES

Latin, Greek, Arabic

BASE M1/2/3

Each inflectional morpheme expresses a complex of meanings/ functions which cannot be
formally separated. The paradigms are complex, however. Marked/ unmarked combinations
appear, and zero morphemes are frequent.

(12) Spanish: Le compr- un libro a l.
him-DAT buy-1sg/ past a book to him
'I bought him a book.'

Is a zero morpheme present, when 'nothing' is present? Is it fused or agglutinating?

(13) On by el domu.
(a) on ... [Person: 3, Number: singular, Gender: masculine, Case: nominative]
(b) by ... [Person: 3, Mood: conditional]
(c) el ... [Number: singular, Gender: masculine, Tense: present]

(14) He read-s
(a) Person: 3 [BUT: they read / *they reads]
(b) Number: singular [BUT: one book / *one books, I read / *I reads]
(c) Tense: present [BUT: we read / *we reads]
Regarding English inflection, recall example (7) on page 31.

The agglutination/ fusion contrast can be considered with (a) distinct kinds of morphemes,
(b) the same kind of morphemes.

In Indo-European languages (both English and Czech) the standard word template consists
of 1(2) stems, 1(x) derivational morpheme(s), 1(x) inflectional morpheme(s) in this order.
Observing the following examples, check that the distinct kinds of morphemes usually do
not fuse. Notice that fusion is a phenomena concerning mainly inflection.

(15) (a) black-bird-s, baby-sit-ing, under-ground
(b) modern-isa-tion-s, inter-nation-al-is-abil-ity
(c) under-gradu-ate-s, person-al-ise-s
(d) he stop-s, she leng-th-en-ed

(16) (a) velko-msto
(b) ne-u-vri-tel-n
(c) nej-ne-obvyk-le-j
(d) vidl-y zelen- stromy
50

8.3 Exercises
(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Find examples of all the typological characteristics in

CZECH ENGLISH
analytical /isolating .................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
agglutinating .................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
fusional .................................................... ....................................................
synthetic .................................................... ....................................................

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give some contrasting examples of English (analytic) and Czech (synthetic)
morphology in the given category of

Verb .................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
Noun .................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................
Adjective .................................................... ....................................................
.................................................... ....................................................

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which kind of typological characteristics do the following English structures show?

(a) The boy loves the girl.
(b) The mightiest Emperors loved the finest Empresses.
(c) The most handsome male athletes will love the most beautiful female athletes.

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Find the Predicates and divide the verbal complexes into morphemes. Which kind of
typological characteristics do they show?

(a) In January I will have been living in this town for ten years.
(b) The building had been being built for two years already when the fire happened.

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the agglutination/ fusion of the following kinds of morphemes in English.
Give examples of combinations of

(a) lexical and derivational morphemes .................................................................................
(b) lexical and inflectional morphemes .................................................................................
(d) two lexical morphemes ..................................................................................
51

(e) two derivational morphemes ..............................................................................................
(f) two inflectional morphemes .......................................................................................

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Compute the Index of Synthesis with the preceding and following expressions.

(a) pst ..........................................................................................................
(b) to write ..........................................................................................................
(c) preskocila jsem ..........................................................................................................
(d) I jumped over ..........................................................................................................
(e) Petrovi ..........................................................................................................
(f) to Peter ..........................................................................................................
(g) nejkrsnj ..........................................................................................................
(h) the most beautiful..........................................................................................................

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the word 'take' in the following example and discuss which problems may
arise when computing the indexes, assuming answers to the following questions:
What is a 'word'? (minimal free form?) Is there some zero morpheme?

(i) Theo will take a shower every other day.

(24) EXERCISE ===========================================
Relate the following phenomena to the typological characteristics of English and
contrast them with Czech

(a) the length of 'word' (pronunciation)
(b) the definition of 'word'
(c) the word order

(25) EXERCISE ===========================================
Illustrate the index of synthesis and consider the degree of fusion by contrasting an
example of an analytic English Verb/ Adjective with a synthetic Czech Verb/ Adjective.

(a) a Verb .................................................... ....................................................
(b) an Adjective .................................................... ....................................................
(c) a Noun .................................................... ....................................................

(26) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain briefly the main principles of each classification and compare English and
Czech with respect to
CZECH ENGLISH
(i) genetic classification ........................................... ...........................................
(ii) morphological typology ........................................... ...........................................
(ii) word-order typology ........................................... ...........................................
52

(27) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the internal structures of the following complex words. Divide them into
morphemes and state (in detail) the types of the morphemes. Find other words comprised of
the same morphemes.
Example: underemployment = under+employ+ment
under - derivational prefix, low, less (e.g. under-graduate, under-mine)
employ root/ stem, give work (e.g. employ-er, employ-ee)
ment derivational suffix, VN, institution/ abstract (e.g. govern-ment, improve-ment )

readers ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
nationalize ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
cranberry ................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
writes ................................................................................................................................
went ................................................................................................................................
(he) was ................................................................................................................................

h a v i n g b e e n w r i t t e n

w i l l b e i n t r o d u c e d

sing - sang - sung - song

(28) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give the English morphemes with the following features. If there is more than one,
state the distinctions. If there is some choice of pronunciation, give all options.

(a) Number .......................................................................................................................
(b) Tense .......................................................................................................................
(c) Aspect .......................................................................................................................
(d) Grading .......................................................................................................................
(e) Voice .......................................................................................................................

(29) EXERCISE ===========================================
What are the underlined morphemes? If there is more than one option, give contexts
which disambiguate them.

(a) read-ing .......................................................................................................................
(b) stop-s .......................................................................................................................
(c) introduc-ed ......................................................................................................................
53

(30) EXERCISE ==========================================
Give examples of derivational morphemes with the following specifications.

(a) V N .............................................................................................................................
(b) V A .............................................................................................................................
(c) A V .............................................................................................................................
(d) N N .............................................................................................................................
(e) N A .............................................................................................................................
(f) N V A ...................................................................................................................
(g) A V N .....................................................................................................................

(31) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the categorial composition and define the head of the following compounds.
Argue in favor of your choice of the head.

(a) skyscraper (f) soft spoken
(b) suitcase (g) look forward (to)
(c) light-hearted (h) playboy
(d) waterproof (i) court martial
(e) out spoken (j) sister-in-law

(32) EXERCISE ===========================================
Try to generalize the rules for (a) the stress distribution and (b) consonant mutation
for the categorial change of words like
(a) contrast, construct, increase, import, torment, transport, etc.
(b) use, house, mouth, advise/ advice, believe/ belief

(33) EXERCISE ===========================================
What kind of compounds are the following? Discuss their characteristics.

(a) night-light, hanky panky
(b) zigzag, sing-song, wishy-washy, tick-tock
(c) blue-green, South-West
(d) coffee-maker, whiskey-drinking
(e) hard-to-follow story, catch-me-if-you-can game
(f) put up (with), take away (from), stand up (for)

(34) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the typological characteristics of the following kinds of languages. Give
examples in both English and Czech.

(a) analytic /isolating ....................................................................................................
(b) synthetic ....................................................................................................
(c) agglutinating ....................................................................................................
(d) fusional ....................................................................................................
54

(35) EXERCISE ===========================================
Each of the following words in Telugu (a Dravidian language spoken in India) is
translated into English by an entire sentence. Analyze the words by identifying the
morphemes occurring in each word - fill in the right column.
(See Demers & Farmer 1991, pp 25-28)

Telugu English English Telugu
1. ceppccnu I told. tell 1.
2. cepparu You
pl
will not tell. sing 2.
3. cuustaam We will see. see 3.
4. ceppccm We told. laugh 4.
5. ceppanu I will not tell. ask 5.
6. adugutaadu He will ask. beat 6.
7. cuustunnaadu He is seeing. do 7.
8. ceppccyi They told. PAST 8.
9. kodataanu I will beat. -ing 9.
10. paadataanu I will sing. I 10.
11. ceppccru You
pl
told. you
sg
11.
12. ceppccvu You
sg
told. he 12.
13. ceppavu You
sg
will not tell. we 13.
14. ceppam We will not tell. you
pl
14.
15. ceppccdu He told. they 15.
16. cuusccdu He saw. NEG FUT 16.
17. kodatunnaayi They are beating. CAUSATIVE 17.
18. ceestunnaanu I am doing. FUTURE 18.
19. adugutaam We will ask. You
pl
are singing. 19.

20. ceppincunu I cause (someone)
to tell.
They will not
laugh.
20.
21. navvincum We cause
(someone) to laugh.
You
sg
will cause
(someone) to ask.
21.
22. ceesccnu I did.


55

(36) EXERCISE ===========================================
The following words are in Swahili (a language of the Niger-Congo family).
(i) Identify the morphemes occurring in each word - fill in the right column.
(ii) What is the order of the main sentence members in Swahili?
(iii) Which type of language is Swahili?
(See Demers & Farmer 1991, pp 29-32.)

English Swahili English Swahili
1. aliwaandika (S)He wrote you
pl
. I / me 1.
2. ninakujua I know you
sg
. you
sg
2.
3. anasoma (S)He reads. (s)he / him/ her 3.
4. ulituuliza You
sg
asked us. we / us 4.
5. tulikuona We saw you
sg
. you
pl
5.
6. anamjua (S)He knows him/ her. they / them 6.
7. mtasoma You
sg
will read. PRES 7.
8. walimpiga They hit
PAST
him/ her. FUTURE 8.
9. umeandika You
sg
have just written. PAST 9.
10. mlimpiga You
pl
hit
PAST
him/ her. PERF 10.
11. anakujua (S)He knows you
sg
. write 11.
12. mtaniona You
pl
will see me. ask 12.
13. nimembusu I have just kissed him/her. read 13.
14. walisoma They read
PAST
. see 14.
15. nitawabusu I will kiss you
pl
. know 15.
16. tumewaandika We have just written you
pl
hit 16.
17. utanibusu You
sg
will kiss me. kiss 17.
18. utatupiga You
sg
will hit us.
19. wamewauliza They have just asked them
20. tumewauliza We have just asked them.

56

(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
The following words are in Classical Nahuatl (a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in
Mexico). (i)Identify the morphemes occurring in each word - fill in the right column.
Recall that some morphemes can be phonetically empty ().
(ii) What is the word order in Nahuatl?
(iii) Which type of language is Nahuatl?
(See Demers & Farmer 1991, pp 33-36.)

Nahuatl English English Nahuatl
1. nicho:ka I cry I 1.
2. nicho:kani I am crying you
sg
2.
3. ankochinih You
pl
are sleeping he 3.
4. tikochih We sleep we 4.
5. kochiya He was sleeping you
pl
5.
6. kwi:kas He will sing they 6.
7. ankochiyah You
pl
were sleeping PRES 7.
8. nicho:kas I will cry PRES PROG 8.
9. cho:kayah They were crying PAST PROG 9.
10. tikochi You
sg
sleep FUTURE 10.
11. ancho:kah You
pl
cry 11. tikwi:ka
12. tikochis You
sg
will sleep 12. cho:kani
13. ticho:kayah We were crying 13. nikochiya
14. cho:ka He cries We cry 14.
15. kochini He is sleeping They will sing 15.
16. ancho:kayah You
pl
were crying
17. ticho:kanih We are crying
You
sg
are
sleeping
16.
18. kwi:kah They sing
19. tikwi:kani You
sg
are singing
20. cho:kanih They are crying
21. nikwi:kaya I was singing
57

9 PARTS OF SPEECH / WORD CATEGORIES
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 22.

(1) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the set of objects below in Table 1. Assuming you are to divide them, how
would you do it? How many groups could you make?

Table 1.


















(2) EXERCISE ===========================================
Define the criteria applied in the division in Table 2. State all the properties of the
elements appearing in the leftmost /middle/ rightmost group.

Table 2.
















58

(3) EXERCISE ===========================================
Define the criteria applied in the division in Tables 3-6. State the properties of the
elements appearing in the leftmost/ rightmost group. Which division do you prefer? Why?

Table 3.


















Table 4.


















(4) EXERCISE ===========================================
Into which group in which Table above would (a) (b) (c)
you put the following objects?

59

(5) EXERCISE ===========================================
Compare Table 5 and Table 6. Which is better? Why? State all the reasons.

Table 5.

















Table 6.


















(6) EXERCISE ===========================================
Assuming words in a language to be objects, which division is applied to form
parts of speech? Which of the above Tables is closest to the system which results in the
traditional 9-11 word classes? Can you explain
(a) - why we should divide the lexicon?
(b) - what are the criteria for the division?
(c) - how many parts of speech do we have (have to have)?
60

9.1 The Nature of Categories
The label for a part of speech expresses a number of properties shared by the specific
group of words. Many specific structural relations can be derived from the categorial status
of a given word. Therefore from the beginning of the theoretical study of language in
ancient Greece, words were grouped into several categories according to various criteria.

(7) CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHING PARTS OF SPEECH

1. SEMANTIC - notional - based on the meaning of the word and/or its function
2. MORPHOLOGICAL - based on the inner word-structure,
some morphology is typical for each category:
(a) derivational morpheme(s)
(b) inflectional morpheme(s)
3. SYNTACTIC - (a) based on distribution in a sentence
(b) co-occurrence restrictions (includes modification)
4. PHONETIC - complementary criterion mentioning e.g. an particular stress pattern
or some specific phoneme. E.g. in Classical Greek Nouns had variable stress, while
Verbs and Adjectives had a fixed rule for penult/final stress placement. In Igbo
(Nigeria), Verbs begin with consonants while Nouns typically begin with vowels.

In an ideal case all the criteria applied to one lexical item agree, but they need not. In this
situation some of the criteria are taken for more important, according to the kind of
grammatical theory used and specific characteristics of the studied language. The
definitions of word categories may therefore vary in different theoretical frameworks.
In traditional grammar the notional and morphological criteria prevailed, e.g. in
Czech the following traditional grammar word categories are used: Nouns, Adjectives,
Pronouns, Numerals, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Particles and
Interjections, and for English the categories of Articles (Determiners) and Modals could
be added. The criteria for inflecting words (word categories) are mainly morphological,
while with non-inflecting words (word categories) syntactic and semantic criteria prevail.
The notion of a word category is closely related to the notion of a word and may
differ in different languages as well.

MAJOR (OPEN CLASS, LEXICAL) CATEGORIES:
N (Nouns...) A (Adjectives, Adverbs...) V (Verbs...) P? (Prepositions...)
unlimited number, productive

MINOR (CLOSED CLASS) CATEGORIES: P? (Prepositions...), Pronouns,
Auxiliaries, Complementizers (Conjunctions), Particles, Quantifiers-Numerals etc.
limited number (a list)

The existence of the major lexical categories seems to be quite universal, but the
importance and role of their members may differ substantially. Also the number and
character of minor lexical categories may differ and so may the nature of non-lexical
categories. The awareness of some universal and some language-specific categorial
features is also highly relevant when language acquisition is taken into account.
61

9.2 Semantic-Notional Criteria for Establishing a Category
(8) Prototypical correlations of syntactic categories (Croft 1991, p.55, 65, 79)
Noun Adjective Verb
Semantic class object property action
Valency 0 1 >1
Stativity state state process
Persistence persistent persistent transitory
Gradability nongradable gradable nongradable
Pragmatic function reference modification predication
9.3 Morphological Criteria for Establishing a Category
(a) derivational affixes............................. create a new word usually with a new category
(b) inflectional endings........................... create a new form within a paradigm
9.3.1 Derivational Morphology
Derivational morphemes derive a new word / with a new part of speech (category),
e.g. the Verb write + derivational morpheme -er = action Noun writer.
The presence of the derivational morpheme (in the relevant position) is a clear and
sufficient argument in favor of some category. However, not all words have derivational
morphemes and in languages where conversion and morpheme homonymy is frequent (e.g.
English) a derivational morpheme can be misleading. For example, British English fiver,
based on a numeral, is a five pound note, and drug slang includes e.g. a downer.

(9) the Right-hand Head Rule
- the head of a (complex) word in English is the rightmost element

(a) nation-al = A
(b) nation-al-ise = *A / V
(c) nation-al-is-ation = *A / *V / N

(10) (a) government The government funds are restricted.
(b) reading I need new reading glasses/ glasses for easy reading.
He was/ began/ kept reading a book of poetry.
The reading public is hard to deceive.
9.3.2 Inflectional Morphology
Inflectional morphemes change the word / part of speech (category) within its own
paradigm, e.g.
the Noun mu has a Case/Number paradigm: mu, mue, mui, muem
mui, much, muu, muum, mue, much, mui.
the Nouns boy has a Case/Number paradigm: child, child's, children, childrens.
Inflectional morphemes (i.e. plural of Nouns) are specific/ typical for each part of speech:
e.g. Nominal paradigm = nominal declension: Number, Case, etc.
Verbal paradigm = verbal conjugation: Tense, Aspect, Mood, etc.
62

The (universal) morphological/inflectional (paradigmatic) complexity of categories

Nouns Countability/Number, Case, Animacy/Gender, Size (e.g. augmentative,
diminutive), Shape (e.g. classifiers in various languages), Definiteness
(determination), Alienability, certain Honorifics in some languages
Adjectives Grading (e.g. comparative, superlative), equative, intensive (very,
somewhat, too), approximative, agreement with modified nouns
Verbs Tense, Aspect, Mood, Voice, modality, agreements with Subject and
Object(s), transitivity and types of transitivity (applicative structures)
9.3.3 Grammaticalization
Inflection encodes the meaning/ features which a language has grammaticalized.
Grammaticalization of a lexical (auto)semantic feature is a diachronic process.

Semantic meaning/ feature which becomes (in a given language) grammaticalized is:
(i) simplified (appears only as a choice between a limited number of options)
(ii) regular (has a canonic representation with a limited number of exceptions),
(iii) productive (frequent, can be used with new words)

(11) (a) a tiny/ small/ little apple (a') jabl-ko
(b) female/ woman/ she doctor (b') doktor-ka
(c) lion-ess, actr-ess, *doctor-ess, *author-ess

The lexical morphemes (independent words) like tiny/ small/ little or female/ woman/ she
can diachronically lose the semantic (lexical) richness and become simplified into
productive grammatical formatives, in the extreme case becoming a regular/predictable/
productive bound morpheme.
Grammatical morphemes are nonetheless semantic in some sense, i.e. related to aspects of
reality which can also be expressed lexically. They represent some simplified version of it.

(12) Real vs. grammaticalized notion of e.g. Number

(a) Real Number (an infinite scale): 1/2/3/.../789/.../8723...
(b) Grammaticalized Number: one vs. many
book vs. book-s (-s means 'many')

(13) Real vs. grammaticalized notion of Time = Tense

(a) Time, an infinite line: E.g. Future time: tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next year,
the next century, Dec.7, 2110...
(b) Tense, Grammaticalized: established points (with respect to the speech act)
Past vs. Present vs. Future Tense (= what precedes/ occurs with/ follows a speech act)
He stopped. (-ed means preceding the speech act)
He will come. (will means following the speech act)

Languages can differ as to which categories use which grammaticalized features (have
specific kinds of inflectional morphology). Compare these English and Czech examples
w.r.t. the formal realization/ grammaticalization of (a/b) Gender and (c/d) Countability:
63

(14) (a) The Great Emper-ess [Fem] was sitting on the throne.
The Great Emper-or [Masc] was sitting on the throne.
(b) Velk- csar-ovna sedl-a na trun.
Velk- csar sedl na trun.

(c) Mary bought many / few / *much /*little books.
Mary does not have much / little / *many / few time.

(d) Marie koupila mnoho / mlo knih.
Marie m mnoho / mlo casu

Inflectional morphology on a lexical entry reflects features which can be of the following
three types
9.3.4 Types of Features
1. PRIMARY (a) inherent (part of the lexical entry)
(b) optional (depend on the choice of the speaker)
2. SECONDARY (c) configurational (kongruencn, agreement)

The kinds of features are illustrated in the following (15)

(15) (a) Mary [Fem/*Masc] is an actress [Fem/*Masc]
- Mary/actress are always/inherently of [Fem] Gender.

(b) Julie bought [Past]/ will buy [Fut] a book [Sing] / many books [Plur]
- the choice of Tense in bought/will buy depends on the speaker.
- the choice of Number in book/books depends on the speaker.

(c) Hilary introduces/*introduce her friends to Bill.
They introduce/*introduces their friends to Peter.
- the Agreement on the Predicate introduce(s) depends not on the Verb itself, but on
some other (related) element - on the characteristics of the Subject.
(Speakers cannot chose the form of the Verb, once they have chosen the Subject.)

(16) Jirina poslal Petrovi velk-ou knih-u.
knih-u[Fem, Sg, Acc]
(a) Gender [feminine]: inherent feature (the lexical entry kniha is in Czech formally
feminine and cannot be otherwise).
(b) Number [singular]: optional feature (the speaker was able to choose plural: knihy).
(c) Case [accusative]: configurational (the Czech Verb poslat requires accusative Case
and no other for its direct Object).

velk-ou [Fem, Sg, Acc]
All features on the Adjective are secondary, i.e. configurational; they reflect the properties
of the superordinate element (knihu) to show that the Adj. is its (pre-)modifier.
64

Inflectional morphology is a strong signal of categorial status.
In a language with rich inflectional morphology (e.g. Czech) each major class lexical item
can have some typical inflectional ending, which identifies the part of speech rather
unambiguously. However, in a language with poor inflectional morphology (e.g. English)
the morphological signal is usually absent and co-occurring elements decide the category.

(17) (a) stop - stops
(b) to stop, he stop-s vs. the stop, two stop-s
(c) zastav-it, zastav-il vs. zastv-ka, zastv-ky

(18) List of English bound inflectional morphemes
... Category Morpheme Example Meaning/Function type
1. N -s book-s Number [plural] optional
2. N 's Mary's Case [Saxon genitive] configurational
3. Pron -s/-r hi-s/ou-r Case [Possessive] configurational
4. Pron -m hi-m/who-m Case [Object] configurational
5. V -s (he) read-s Agreement [3sgPres] configurational
6. V -ed stopp-ed Tense [Past] optional
7. V en writt-en Aspect [Perfect] optional
8. V ing read-ing Aspect [Progressive] optional
9. A -er small-er Grading [Comparative] optional
10. A -est small-est Grading [Superlative] optional
11. Num -th four-th XXX ? [Ordinal] ? configurational
9.4 Exercises
(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
(i) Give the pronunciation of the morphemes s and ed. What are the options?
(ii) What is 'assimilation in voicing'?
(iii) Under which conditions does the pronunciation involve [-i-]?
(iv) Can you state the rule in some general way?

(a) books (a) cat's (a) he talks (a) he talked
(b) dogs (b) dog's (b) he reads (b) he arrived
(c) trees (c) Mike's (c) he tries (c) he tried
(d) masses (d) James's (d) he fusses (d) he trusted
(e) hedges (e) Butch's (e) he amuses (e) he traded

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
The inflectional morphemes en, er and -ing have derivational counterparts. What
is the meaning/function of those morphemes? Give examples.

-en .............................................................................................................................................
-er .............................................................................................................................................
-ing ...........................................................................................................................................
65

9.5 Syntactic Criteria for Establishing a Category
Syntactic criteria for establishing the category of an item are based on its distribution, i.e.
co-occurrence restrictions. Each part of speech appears in some typical environments.
There are typical elements which are subordinate to it (lower in a hierarchy) and typical
elements which are superordinate to it (higher in a hierarchy).
E.g. with Nouns: subordinate elements (what depends on N?) are Adjectives, Articles, etc.
while superordinate elements (what does the N(P) depend on?) are Verbs, Prepositions, etc.

(21) (a) N: book, friend, road
(b) NP: [
NP
the new book], [
NP
a friend of mine], [
NP
the road to take]
(c) V, [ _ NP]: to publish [
NP
the new book], to see [
NP
a friend of mine]
P, [ _ NP]: about [
NP
the new book], about [
NP
the road to take]
9.6 Heads and Phrases
Every part of speech can become a head of a more complex structure = phrase.

(22) Phrases can have

pre-modifier(s) HEAD post-modifier(s)

brother
that big of mine

The form of a pre-/post-modification is typical for a specific head/part of speech. Some can
be more/less obligatory.

(23) (a) N: boy [
NP
the little boy of mine ]
(b) A: small [
AP
much smaller than Theo ]
(c) V: read [
VP
to never read the article ]
(d) P: up [
PP
right up the hill ]

In a sentence, a constituent (phrase) can appear as (i) simple/ bare, or (ii) complex.
Generally we can say that a sentence consists of phrases, not of words. Sentence functions
like Subject, Object, Attribute and Predicate are phrases although they can be bare
phrases (i.e. they can look like one word only) or clauses.

(24) (a) We saw a boy / [
NP
the little boy of mine ] Object is NP
(b) This boy is small / [
AP
much smaller than Adam ] Predicate is
AP
(c) I want to read it. / [
VP
to quickly read the article ] Object is VP
(d) He went up. / [
PP
right up the hill ] Adverbial is PP
(e) This is a big step / [
AP
an extremely big] step Attribute is AP

The main or major parts of speech N, V, A, P (in fact their phrases NP, VP, AP, PP)
typically have PROFORMS: grammatical words which can replace them. The kind of
proform used for such substitution is in itself a signal of the kind of phrase. (Pronouns
replace NPs, Adverbials like there, then replace PPs, do so replaces VP, such replaces AP.)
66

(25) The little boy was already running in the city's only park at 8 oclock.
(a) NP [
NP
He ] was already running in the city's only park at 8 oclock.
(b) VP She wonders if [the little boy ] [
VP
did so ].
(c) PP The little boy was running [
PP
there ] at 8 oclock.
(d) NP The little boy was running in [
NP
our ] only park at 8 oclock.
(e) PP The little boy was running in the city's only park [
PP
then ].
(f) AP [
AP
Such] a boy was running in the city's park at 8 oclock.
(g) [
NP
He] is [
VP
dong so ] [
PP
there] [
PP
now].
9.7 Categorial Prototypicality
Ideally the words belonging to the same part of speech have the same (general)
meaning, the same (predictable) forms and the same distribution/ function/ pragmatics.
Grammatical categories have best case members and members that systematically
depart from the best case. The optimal grammatical description of morpho-syntactic
processes involves reference to the degree of categorial deviation from the best case.
To know' the characteristics of a specific part of speech means to know to which extent the
members of the category are the same (what they have in common) and to which extent
they can differ (what are the frequent exceptions).

(26) (a) book/ books but sheep/ *sheeps
(b) to write, to sleep but (*to) can/ *to should

FUZZY CATEGORIES: The boundaries between categories sometimes seem nondistinct.
The reason for the fuzziness of categories lies in the multiple criteria for the category;
see (7) on page 60. Category is defined on each linguistic plane separately; the results of the
multiple definitions can be contradictory. If we still must choose only one category, our
choice depends on what we focus on (recall that categories are abstract artifacts).
Consider the following examples.

(i) Meaning is adaptable and there is no morphology:
(27) (a) ...stop... - meaning??? V?, N?, A?
(b) The nearest stop is... N, *V
(c) The stop lights are broken. A, *N, *V
(d) He should stop soon. V, *N, *A

(ii) Meaning is adaptable and morphology is ambiguous
(28) (a) ...reading... - meaning of ing???, V?, N?, A?
(b) Reading about that is easy. ?V, ?N
(c) This reading is easy. N, *V
(d) He was reading a book. V, *N
(e) Take the reading glasses. A, *N, *V

(iii) Meaning is adaptable, morphology signals X and distribution (syntax) signals Y
(29) government (funds) -ment N
position A
67

9.8 Some minor parts of speech
Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 188-203; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik (2004)
pp. 393-398; Dukov (1994) pp. 136-140, 273-306; Svoboda and Oplov-Krolyov
(1989) pp. 138-162; Crystal (1987) pp. 91-93

Minor parts of speech (closed categories) have a limited, essentially fixed number of
members. They are lists of specific expressions. They can be
(i) grouped together with some mayor category, or more traditionally
(ii) kept separate because of some special property.

(30) (a) Pronouns = Nouns, Adjectives ?
(b) Numerals = Nouns, Adjectives ?
(c) Conjunctions = Prepositions ?

(31) Numerals
(a) I can see those three hundred and thirty-three silver fire-brigade vehicles.
(b) The fifth one I see twice or three times a day.
(c) The purpose of their presence is twofold. First, they have nothing to do; second.
(d) Many of them are ugly but a few are not so bad.
(e) They drank a barrel of beer. Mike drank a lot of wine, too.

(32) Prepositions, Conjunctions, Adverbs
(a) I havent done anything since Sunday, after the party.
(b) Samuel hasnt done anything since (he got up).
(c) Peter arrived after she finished her work in the garden/ after(ward).
(d) I arranged for her to get a free trip. For she really deserved it.
(e) What are you looking at /for? What are you looking forward to?

Consider the notion of transitivity with regard to the distinctions among:
Particle / Preposition / Conjunction / Adverb .
9.9 Exercises
(33) EXERCISE ===========================================
Use the ambiguous? /fuzzy? expressions use, love, top, after, back, book, open in at
least two ways in contexts which clearly disambiguate their category as N, V, A or P.
Think of other English words which are 'fuzzy' in a similar way.

use .............................................................................................................................................
love ...........................................................................................................................................
top .............................................................................................................................................
after ..........................................................................................................................................
back ..........................................................................................................................................
book ..........................................................................................................................................
open...........................................................................................................................................
.
68

(34) EXERCISE ===========================================
Recall the (semantic-notional) definitions you were using at primary school to
characterize the category (part of speech):
Nouns are names of people, animal and things. Verbs express ??... Pronouns ??....

(35) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of 3 derivational morphemes that change each word category:

Nouns: (i) govern+MENT, V + ment = N
(ii)............................................................. (iii).................................................................
Verbs: (i) modern+ISE, A + ise = V
(ii)............................................................. (iii).................................................................
Adjectives: (i) coffein+FREE, N + free = Adj
(ii)............................................................. (iii).................................................................
Adverbs: (i) east + WARD, X + ward = Adv
(ii)............................................................. (iii).................................................................

(36) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss what the underlined morphology in the examples below signals.

(a) Jan a Marie jd-ou do kina. (d) John i-s in the garden.
(b) Zelen-ou si neber. (e) There we-re some boys there.
(c) Petra js-em vidl-a j. (f) The man who-m I gave it to.

(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
In the following examples circle all the morphemes which show the feature of
Number. Explain the distinctions between Czech and English.

(a) The other young girls came back from Prague very tired.
(b) Ty druh mlad dvky se vrtily z Prahy velmi unaven.

(38) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which kind of morpheme are the S/-ER/-ING/-ED morphemes in the following
examples? Consider which category the word in the following context is. Justify your
choices

(a) (i) I saw Adam'-s brother in front of the house.
(ii) These article-s were written by my father.
(iii) Josephine stop-s at every corner.

(b) (i) Joan is a bit quick-er than Louise.
(ii) She is a quick read-er.
69

(c) (i) Bill was shoot-ing the rabbits.
(ii) His shoot-ing (of the rabbits) went on and on.
(iii) Those shoot-ing sounds/ stars surprised me.

(d) (i) The staff was soon retir-ed (by the management).
(ii) My father is happily retir-ed (*by the management).
(iii) A retir-ed (*by Harriet) person (*by the management).

(39) EXERCISE ===========================================
In the following complexes find the elements which are subordinate / superordinate to
the underlined head. Which categories are these elements?

(a) Joe saw my younger brother.
(b) She fell in love with that brother of mine.
(c) Hillary always falls in love with quite young boys.
(d) My brother is really much younger than her.
(e) She is in very good terms with his mother.

(40) EXERCISE ===========================================
The underlined words are in fact bare phrases (i.e. phrases which contain only a
head). Replace them (in the text) by complex phrases which contain
(i) the head and some premodifier(s)
(ii) the head and some postmodifier(s)
(iii) the head and both pre-modifier(s) and post-modifier(s).

(a) [
NP
Mary ] went to [
NP
school].
(b) [
AP
Little] Mary run to the [
AP
closest ] shop.
(c) And Mary [
VP
did], too.
(d) And [
PP
then] Mary went [
PP
there], too.

(41) EXERCISE ===========================================
(i) What types of phrases are the underlined parts of sentences? Which are their heads?
(ii) Replace the underlined parts of the sentence by one word (and/or its proform).

(a) My older brother will help you.
(b) In the afternoon Mike will make supper in the kitchen.
(c) Not everybody can read a novel in one day.

(42) EXERCISE ===========================================
Say which part of speech the following proforms replace. Give examples in context.
E.g. 'she': She is at home. My sister is at home. She=NP

(a) he, his, this .............................................................................................................
(b) one .............................................................................................................
(c) here, now .............................................................................................................
(d) do .............................................................................................................
(e) so .............................................................................................................
70

(43) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the underlined words. Decide about their category and explain which
criteria from those given in (7) on page 60 were the most important for your decision.

(a) I wrote a long letter. = N, b(ii), c(i),
(b) I saw three big whugs in my garden. = .................................................
(c) I want to plymise this book. = ................................................
(d) He is much hompler than George. = ................................................
(e) I was trumbling the whole afternoon yesterday. = ................................................
(f) Marcel is the most dimable guy Ive ever met. = ................................................
(g) The book is fin the table, not under the chair. = ................................................
(h) This beautiful trouch of flowers is yours. = ................................................
(i) The letter is down the stairs. = .................................................
(j) I hate bending down. = .................................................
(k) I like the songs by J. J. Gale. = ................................................
(l) I like to listen to the songs by J. J. Gale. = ................................................
(m) I like listening to the songs by J. J. Gale. = ................................................
(n) He reads a newspaper every day. = ................................................
(o) He can read a newspaper every day. = ................................................

(44) EXERCISE ===========================================
Read the following expressions

(a) 3,876 + 12.75 = 3888.75. 6 x 7 = 42. 72 : 9 = 8.
(b) 3
2
, 5
3
,6
17
, \9.
(c) , , , 23/15.
(d) Miaow/mew, cock-a-doodle-doo, bang, splash, tick-tock, crash, bang, wow...

(45) EXERCISE ===========================================
Read the following joke:

Proof that Girls are Evil.
First state that girls require/equal time and money. (i) GIRLS = Time x Money
And as we know Time is Money (ii) Time = Money
Therefore (a) can be restated as (iii) Girls =Money x Money=
Money
2

We also know that Money is the root of all Evil (iv) Money = Evil
Therefore (c) can be restated as (v) Girls = Money
2
= ( Evil)
2
And we are forced to conclude that (vi) Girls = Evil

(46) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate and use in a sentence each of the following Prepositions/ Conjunctions:

for, since, out, after, alongside, towards, within, (un)till, owing to, in spite of, despite,
besides, beyond, by means of, according to, with respect/reference to, as opposed to,
(al)though, as if, provided that, supposing for the moment that, lest, unless, whereas.
71

10 SEMANTICS AND MORPHOLOGY OF NOUNS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 323-524, 1585-1595, Huddleston & Pullum
(2005) pp. 82-111, 264-290; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 70-107; Quirk, Greenbaum,
Leech & Svartvik (2004) pp. 241-332; Dukov (1994) pp.35-100; Svoboda and Oplov-
Krolyov (1989) pp. 50-83; Leech & Svartvik (1975).

Revise Section 9.1 above, especially topics mentioned in (7) on page 60.

Semantic/ Notional definition of Nouns:
'Nouns denote persons, animals and objects/things...'

See also (8)on page 61 Semantic class Object
Pragmatic function Reference
(1) Semantic Division:

I. Common (a) countable concrete/abstract (book, song/ argument, concert)
(b) non-countable concrete (water, bread, gas -these can have -s)
abstract (time, evidence, research, courage)
II. Proper (Henry, Egypt, Arabic)

The above division is based on semantic properties but in the same time each group has
some formal characteristics (e.g. spelling conventions, lack of Article). Purely semantic
divisions can be found in e.g. synonymic dictionaries but have no use in grammar.


(2) Formal characteristics of Nouns

a) Morphology - Derivational morphology (nominal affixes)
- Inflectional morphology (Declension Paradigm: Case,
Countability/Number, Determination, Animacy/Gender...)

b) Syntax - the structure within the Noun Phrase
- the function/ distribution in the sentence
10.1 Case
10.1.1 The Repertory and Realization of Morphological Case
7 Cases (=morphological forms of N) in Czech:
nominative, genitive / partitive, dative, accusative, vocative, local, instrumental

2/3 Cases in English: (a) 3 with Pronouns: I - me - my/mine
(b) 2 with Nouns: John - John's

(3) (a) *Him saw Mary.
(b) *Adam saw she.
72

(4) Classification of Cases in English

with Nouns with Pronouns
1. SUBJECT Case
(a) of a Verb
1. COMMON Case

2. OBJECT Case
(b) of a Preposition
2. SAXON-GENITIVE Case 3. SAXON-GENITIVE Case
10.1.2 The Source and Function of Case
Morphological Case is a specific form of a word/Noun, i.e. usually some special ending
added to the word (in Czech there are 7 forms, in English 3 forms with Pronouns).
Abstract Case is an abstract relation between a superordinate Case Assigner and a Noun
(NP). The relation can be morphologically realized (with an inflectional ending) or it can be
signaled in a more abstract way by the means of e.g. word order.

= Morphological realization of the Case on a Noun is a configurational feature.

(5) (a) st [
NP
dlouhou knih-u] / *cist kniha / *cst knihou
(b) bez [
NP
naeho dom-u] / *bez dum / * bez domem

In (5) the Verb cst and Preposition bez are Case assigners. They are superordinate (higher
in hierarchical structure) to the NPs velkou knihu / naeho domu, and they assign (give)
them Case. The Case shows that the two (Case assigner and Case-marked NP) are related.

The function of Case: : Licensing Semantic Roles (marking sentence members)

With Prepositions Case is marking a simple relation (esp. in English), with Verbs the Case
can also signal a specific meaning (semantic role).

(6) The Czech Preposition za can combine with the Nouns Petr/ hora in two ways:
(a) Zaplatil za Petra
ACC
. (b) Priel za Petrem
INSTR
.
(c) Msc zapadl za horu
ACC
. (d) Msto le za horou
INSTR
.

(7) The Verb watch can combine with David and Mary in two ways:
(a) David
NOM
vidl Marii
ACC
. (b) Marii
ACC
vidl David
NOM
.
(c) Marie
NOM
vidla Davida
ACC
. (d) Davida
ACC
vidla Marie
NOM
.

There are two main semantic roles (relations) with the Verb watch:
(a) Agent (the person performing the action) and
(b) Patient (the person who is affected by the action).
A language must make clear which is which. Compare the Czech above with the following
English.

(8) (a) about/with/for him (b) *about/with/for he/his
(c) David watched (d) Mary watched David.
(e) He watched her. (f) *Him watched she.

73

Canonical Formal Realization of the main semantic roles
To know a language means to know how the language expresses/ realizes/ encodes
distinct relational meanings, e.g. the semantic roles. The semantic roles of a Verb are
realized as specific sentence members, and these sentence members are signaled by
specific Cases or by other means, e.g. word-order. In Czech morphological Case prevails;
in English word order is primary.
In the diagram below, the Verb send combines with several NPs (Peter, a parcel, John,
afternoon). Each of the NPs is related to the Verb (= interpreted) in a distinct way. Some
interpretation can be guessed from the meaning of the words (e.g. afternoon will probably
be the time) but some cannot (Peter or John could be the sender).

(9)
verbal event
action complementary conditions
(manner/place/time)
1st participant 2nd participant 3rd participant
(Agent) (Patient) (Recipient/Beneficiary)

(a) Peter/He sent a parcel/it to John/to him in the afternoon
(b) Petr/On poslal balk Janovi v poledne


Semantic Role Syntactic Function Case (Word Order)
The realization of semantic roles depends on the Verb and its form

(10) (a) She
SUBJ
saw him
V-OBJ
.
(b) He
SUBJ
was seen by her
P-OBJ
.
(c) They
SUBJ
sent a book
V-OBJ
to me
P-OBJ
.
(d) They
SUBJ
were sent to him
P-OBJ
.
(c) He
SUBJ
was sent the book
V-OBJ
by her
P-OBJ
.
(d) Peter
SUBJ
is afraid of John
P-OBJ
.

CASE ASSIGNERS: Case is a relationship of a Noun to a Case assigner.
Case assigner assigns a (specific) Case to a Noun (Phrase) (see above in (5))

Case assigner N
CASE
bez Petr-a
GEN
proti Petr-ovi
INSTR
napsal dopis
ACC



What (which part of speech) can be a Case assigner? Are they the same in all languages?
(11) (a) Poslal dopis. Transitive Verb assigns ACC to its
(direct/structural) Object
(b) Pavel spal. Finite Verb assigns NOM to its Subject
(c) Bl se duchu /jich. Verb assigns OBL to its indirect Object
(d) el cestou pres les/nho. Preposition assigns Case to its Object
(e) Vidm prtele sv sestry. Noun assigns GEN to its Object
(f) Vidm sestrina/jejho prtele. Possessive Adj agrees with the Noun
(g) Vidl osm obrazu /jich. Numeral assigns PART to its Object
(h) Je vrn sv en. Adjective assigns OBL to its Object
74

Case assigners in Czech: V, V
fin
, P, N, Q, A (all major parts of speech).
Case assigners in English: V, V
fin
, P, N

(12) (a) to see him Verb assigns OBJECT Case to its Object
(b) about him Preposition assigns OBJECT Case to its Object
(c) He sleeps Finite Verb assigns SUBJECT Case to its Subject
(d) his book Noun assigns POSSESSIVE/ GENITIVE Case

(13) Saxon Genitive
(a) personal/ animal names/ Nouns George Washington's statue /the horse's tail
(b) collective Nouns the government's decision
(c) geographical names China's development
(d) locative Nouns (esp. with superlatives) the world's best university
(e) temporal Nouns this year's sales
(f) human activity the novel's structure
(g) idiosyncratic idioms for heaven's sake, their money's worth

Local genitives: at Bill's, at my aunt's, at Tiffany's, St. Paul's
The postnominal genitive: some friends of Adam's, several pupils of his
10.2 Countability and Number
1. Quantity: semantic notion
2. Number: grammaticalized feature related to quantity (Articles, plural morphemes,
Numerals). See (12) on page 62.
10.2.1 Countability
Countability is an inherent feature of the nominal category. (Countability is a property of a
given lexical item, the speaker cannot change it without changing the lexical entry.)
Prototypical people/ animals/ objects (=Ns) are countable (can appear in smaller or larger
Number). In reality apart from individual discrete (=countable) items we also distinguish
mass / continuum phenomena (scalar, measurable but not countable). Only countable
Nouns can be counted, i.e. have Number. Noncountable nouns can only be measured.

(14) (a) boy, rabbit, tree, song (b) water, love, justice
(c) two boy-s, a million tree-s, five song-s (d) a pint of water, a lot of love, no justice


(15) [COUNTABLE]


[+] [-]
NUMBER

[+] [-]
book-S book justice/ oxygen/ courage
childr-EN child (*-s)
75

In English Countability is a relevant formal feature because it affects the choice of articles
and (some) Quantifiers. Compare these characteristics with the formal realization
(visibility) of Countability in Czech.

(16) Countable Non-countable
MANY/ FEW/ SEVERAL *MANY/ *FEW/ *SEVERAL
*MUCH/ *LITTLE MUCH/ LITTLE
ALL/ EACH ALL/ *EACH
A/ THE *A/ THE
A LARGE NUMBER OF A GREAT DEAL OF
10.2.2 Singular vs. Dual vs. Plural Number
(17) Dual: only lexical

(a) both (vs. all), either (vs. any), neither (vs. none)... ?each other (vs. one another)
(b) a pair of scissors/ binoculars/ trousers IS here
(c) vezmi si *dv / dvoje nuky, koupil si ?pt kalhot / patery kalhoty

(18) Plural: -(e)s
Assimilation in Voicing
The pronunciation of the plural /s/ depends on the Pronunciation (not the spelling) of the
final sound of the Noun. The relevant feature is [ Voice].

(a) [-z] assimilation to [+ Voice] ...... all vowels and voiced consonants
(b) [-s] assimilation to [- Voice].......... [p], [t], [k], [f], [th]
(c) [-iz] insertion of a reduced vowel after fricatives/ affricates.

(19) Spelling: (a) boys, families, volumes, radios, tomatoes
(b) pence (pennies), dice.... houses

(20) Blocking Effect (the irregular inflection blocks the regular interpretation)
glass, colour, iron vs. glasses, colours, irons

(21) Zero plural: (a) animals: sheep, deer, moose, shrimp, fish
(b) affricate/fricative nations: Chinese, Portuguese, Sudanese,
French, Polish, Swiss, Dutch
(c) measure phrases: two dozen(*s) (of) eggs
a five-meter(*s)-long rope
(22) Collective Nouns
(a) police, audience, senate, clergy
(b) china, linen, pottery, cutlery, jewelry
(c) folk (vs. folks), people (vs. peoples)

(23) Singularia Tantum
Concrete countable, abstract, proper names, geographic terms, converted Adjectives,
games, sciences, idiosyncratic items...
76

bread/ honesty/ Wales/ loud
THIS / *THESE (a game of) billiards/ darts IS/*ARE EXCELLENT
acoustics/ news

(24) Pluralia Tantum
Clothes, instruments, diseases, applied sciences, converted Adjectives, idiosyncratic items

pyjamas/ measles
*THIS / THESE acoustics/ homeless/ pins *IS/ ARE AWFUL.
annals/ surroundings
10.3 Determination
Determination is a grammaticalized nominal feature of English Nouns: Nouns (if regular,
countable, concrete) must have a kind of Determiner. In Czech such determination is only
optional; it is not grammaticalized.

(25) (a) I saw a/ the/ some boy. (a') Vidl jsem njakho/ toho chlapce.
(b) *I saw boy. (b') Vidla jsem chlapce.
10.3.1 Classification of Determiners w.r.t. Distribution
Determiners occupy the left periphery (edge) of a NP, and they are followed by adjectival
modifiers. One NP can have up to three Determiners (one in each slot).

(26) (a) all the many handsome BOYS ...
(b) both those two beautiful GIRLS ...

pre-determiner / central determiner / post-determiner + Adj. modifiers + NOUN


determination field modification field


(27) I. Central Determiners: (a) Articles (a (an)/ the/ )
obligatory, unique (b) demonstratives (this, these / that, those)
complementary with (c) possessives
(d) what/ which/ whose
(e) some/ any /no
(f) every/ each/ either/ neither

(28) II. Pre-determiners: (a) al / whole/ both/ half
general Quantifiers (b) double/ twice/ three times/ one third
(c) such / what

(29) III. Post-determiners: (a) cardinal Numerals (three, fifty...)
(b) ordinal Numerals (third, seventeenth...)
(c) closed class Quantifiers (few/ a lot/ little...)
77

10.3.2 Articles
ARTICLES (category) vs. DETERMINERS (function)
Recall the variety and rules of pronunciation
(30) (a) a book vs. an orange
(b) the book vs. the orange

Notice the similarity and distinction between Articles and Demonstratives

(31) (a) the/ this book; the/ these books
(b) ta /tato kniha

Articles (i) are obligatory (part of the 'Noun')
(ii) cannot (contrary to demonstrative Pronouns) replace the NP.

(32) (a) the book, a book, *book
(b) ta kniha, njak kniha, kniha

(33) (a) Dej mi tamto/to.
(b) Give me that.
(c) *Give me the.

Articles are related to Countability

(34) Articles: historically grammaticalized features of Number & Reference
(a) one > a > twice a week, one at a time, in a word
(b) that > the > for the moment, nothing of the sort
10.3.3 Types of Reference
(1) Generic
(2) Specific (a) indefinite
(b) definite
10.3.3.1 Generic Reference: neutralization of Number
(35) Cats are better than dogs. = Cat is better than dog.
vs. A cat is better than a dog = the cat is better than the dog.
10.3.3.2 Specific Reference (Indefinite vs. Definite)
A. Indefinite Reference

(36) (a) She carried a/ the small suitcase.
(b) There is a (??the) table in the middle of the room.
(c) My sister would like to meet a Norwegian who speaks Czech.
78

B. Definite Reference

(a) consituation (extralinguistic context)
(b) anaphoric reference
(i) postnominal of-phrase
(ii) restrictive relative clause
(iii) attributive content clause


DEFINITE
ARTICLE
(c) modification
(iv) unique pre-/post-modification
(d) abstract ZERO
ARTICLE (e) inclusive

(37) (a) Mind the step! Where are the scissors?
the book of mine, the brother of my friend
(b) I bought a book. She thought the book and a scarf would be a nice present.
(c) (i) the Head of the Department
(ii) the book that I bought yesterday
(iii) the fact that he didn't come
(iv) the right man, the only exception, the best poet,
the number seven, the poet Robert Burns,
all the windows, both the boys
(d/e) President, Chairman
10.4 Animacy and Gender
10.4.1 Animacy
The grammatical feature [animate] is related to the notion of living in reality.
Animacy is an inherent feature: lexical items are animate because of their meaning/ form.

The concept of Animacy/Life is a scalar (biological, cultural) concept.
Grammatical features, however, are defined in a black-and-white manner: animate.

(38) Semantic scale of Animacy (Universal) . The break is English/Czech specific option.

arbitrary (language specific) break



HUMAN - DOMESTIC ANIMALS mammals-animals-plants inorganic things
Animate Pronouns - Proper names

High in Animacy Low in Animacy


Czech and English treat as [+animate] only [+human/ domestic animals].
79

Animate are animals a human can relate to (can be loved, hated) who are equal to human.

Only [+ANIMATE] = [+HUMAN] in English reflects Gender....... HE vs. SHE

(39) Some lexical entries inherently contain the feature of Animacy:
= Polarity elements, relative/ interrogative Pronouns, possessives

(a) Evelyn, Samuel, he, she
(b) some/ any/ no + body vs. some /any/ no + thing
(c) interrogative who vs. what
(d) relative who vs. which
(e) boy's leg, dogs leg, ?cow's leg, *rats leg, ??a table's leg, *a platforms leg
10.4.2 The Gender Category
The grammatical feature Gender is related to the semantic notion of sexual dichotomy with
many living creatures (above all humans).
Gender is an inherent feature: lexical items have it either because of their meaning
(semantic Gender) or because of their form (grammatical Gender).

(40) Levels of formal GRAMMATICALIZATION of Gender in English

(a) Special lexical entry: man vs. woman vs. child
(b) Compounds: boy student vs. girl student
(c) Derivation: steward vs. steward-ess
widow-er vs. widow
wait-er vs. wait-ress

English expresses Gender above all (a) lexically, (b) by compounds (two morphemes, one
of which is a simplified standard), or (c) with some non-productive morphology.

(41) Levels of Grammaticalization of Gender in Czech. Compare with (40).

(a) Special lexical entry: mu vs. ena vs. dt (dcko)
stroj vs. kvtina vs. msto
(b) Compounds: ?? ena lkar
(c) Derivation: sportovk-yn, doktor-ka,
(c) Inflection (agreement): T-a kniha leel-a na stole otevren- na str. 4.

While in English Gender remains mainly a semantic concept realized through lexical
means, Gender is highly grammaticalized in Czech.
(i) [+human] Nouns have Gender assigned according to the real sex,
(ii) [-human] inanimate nouns take Gender based on their morphology (ending),
(iii) there are productive [Fem] Gender suffixes ka, -yn, etc, and
(iii) Gender appears as a configurational (agreement) feature in pronominal, adjectival and
verbal paradigms).
80

(42) (a) pn, mu, predseda, soudce // hrad, stroj, les .... consonantal
(b) ena, rue... vocalic
(c) msto, more vocalic

(43) (a) ta dvka vs. to dvce formal neutralization of the semantic
Gender
(b) das Mdchen (rather rare exceptions)
10.4.2.1 Semantic/Natural Gender vs. Formal Gender
Semantic Gender is based on real/ intrinsic/ natural Gender of Humans (animate).
Formal Gender is based on the similarity of the form (the ending) with the Animates.

English: semantic Gender with [+HUMANs], Neuter for [-HUMANs]
Czech: semantic Gender with [+HUMANs] and Formal Gender with [-HUMANs]

Both English and Czech have a two level structure for the features of Animacy/ Gender.

(44) (a) English (b) Czech

[HUMAN] [HUMAN]


[+] [-] [+] [-]
Semantic Semantic Formal
GENDER GENDER GENDER


[-] [+] [-] [+] [ ] [-] [+] [ ]
Adam Emma table pn/mu en-a d-t hrad/stroj knih-a mor-e
he she it ten ta to ten ta to


Gender with inanimate nouns in English (more usual in poetic or figurative language)

(45) (a) Sun, death ........ HE
(b) Moon, Earth, justice, machines that are personal ......... SHE

Traditional Gender, transfer from Classical/ French languages, also folk thinking, applied to
some mythology or human-like gods.

(46) (a) Personification: ANIMATE = HUMAN = subject to AFFECT
animals, boats, pipes, countries

(b) Stylistics: +GENDER = +FEMALE = small/ nice/ lovable/ positive
= +MASCULINE = big/ dangerous/ negative

(47) Why do hurricanes have girls' names, because actually they are bad things?
81

10.4.2.2 Inflectional Morphology of Nouns (Summary)
The following table shows possibly universal features which appear with the category of
Nouns. All of those features can be expressed in both English and Czech in some way (e.g.
using some Adjective), but not all are grammaticalized (= obligatory and regular). Some
are grammaticalized in both languages (e.g. Number), some are more grammaticalized in
English (e.g. Reference), some more in Czech (e.g. Gender), some are grammaticalized in
neither English nor Czech (e.g. Shape).

category example bound/free
morpheme
Grammatical
YES/ NO
inherent/optional
/configurational
Eng. book-s bound suffix YES optional Number
Cz. mu-i bound fused suffix YES optional
Eng. Mary's, him bound suffix YES configurational Case
Cz. muu, dtte bound fused suffix YES configurational
Eng. she-student
tigr-ess
compounding
% suffix
% inherent Gender
Cz. doktor-ka suffix YES inherent
Eng. John-ie* suffix rare optional Size
Cz. Jen-cek suffix YES optional
Eng. the book free morpheme YES optional Definiteness
Cz. ta kniha demonstrative NO lexical feature
Eng. my hands possessive NO lexical feature Alienability
Cz. (moje) ruce zero morpheme rare lexical feature
Eng. round table lexical morpheme NO lexical feature Shape
Cz. kulat stul lexical morpheme NO lexical feature
* doggie, veggie, and also AN
SMALL
ie/y: quickie, fishy, cookie etc.
10.5 Exercises
(48) EXERCISE ===========================================
State which semantic roles the underlined NPs have w.r.t. the Predicate (Agent,
Patient, Recipient, Possessor, Modifier, etc).

(a) Joseph reads many books.
(b) They called his sister Barbara.
(c) Our Mary was called first.
(d) Peter donated the clothes to the charity.
(e) Bill was sent two letters the day before.

(49) EXERCISE ===========================================
State what kind of Case (give Latin terminology) are the Czech (pro) Nouns. For the
English examples use English terminology from (4) on page 72.

(i) Nov kolo koupil tatnek bratrovi po Vnocch, ale mn u ho nekoupil nikdy.
(ii) He saw Emily's brother introducing Bill to them.
(iii) His book was written by her and her sister.
82

(50) EXERCISE ===========================================
State which (i) semantic roles the underlined NPs have w.r.t. the Predicate,
(ii) what their syntactic functions are (which sentence member they are),
(iii) which constituents they are (NP/Pronoun, PP,VP, clause).

(a) She

loves him.
(b) Phoebe was given many presents for her birthday.
(c) Paul threw the rusty gun to the ditch.
(d) To read that book would kill me.
(e) That she came proves that she loves him.
(f) Little Mary introduced Joe to Peter's sister Vilma.

(51) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider how many N paradigms in Czech/English do have 7/3 distinct Case forms.
How many have a distinction between NOM-ACC? Which is the richest/ poorest paradigm?

(52) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the Czech examples in (11) on page 73 into English using Pronouns (to see
the Case). Compare which elements (categories) assign a Case to a nominal phrase.

(a) .........................................................................................................................................
(b) .........................................................................................................................................
(c) .........................................................................................................................................
(d) .........................................................................................................................................
(e) .........................................................................................................................................
(f) .........................................................................................................................................
(g) .........................................................................................................................................
(h) .........................................................................................................................................

(53) EXERCISE ===========================================
Make a short sentence using a Pronoun/Noun she/ona and Jane/Jana in the following
sentence functions.

(a) Subject ....................................................................................................
(b) Predicate ....................................................................................................
(c) Object ....................................................................................................
(d) Attribute ....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................

(54) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write down inside the [...] brackets the pronunciation of the final sound of the Noun,
then make plurals and explain the pronunciation of the final s.

(a) dog -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................
(b) state -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................
(d) boy -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................
(e) juice -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................
83

(g) window -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................
(h) brigade -[......]+S = ..................................................................................................

(55) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the following expressions:

(a) custom / customs ............................................... vs. ............................................
(b) pain / pains ............................................... vs. ...........................................
(c) picture / pictures ............................................... vs. ...........................................
(d) spirit / spirits ............................................... vs. ...........................................
(e) spectacle / spectacles ............................................... vs. ...........................................
(f) hair / hairs ............................................... vs. ...........................................

(56) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the demonstrative THIS/THESE and the form of the Verb BE

(a) ........ contents ................ not nice.
(b) ......... stove ................ very old.
(c) ......... violin ................. mine.
(d) ......... billiards ................. charming.
(e) ......... earnings ................. low.

(57) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the correct form of MANY / MUCH or LITTLE / FEW:

(a) I have .......................... time but not ........................... money.
(b) I don't have ..................................... information.
(c) This matter is of ..................................... interest to ...................................... people.
(d) We have ...................................... evidence for these .....................................facts.

(58) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give plurals of these Compounds (Define the head of the compound)

(a) forget-me-not ................................ (e) take-off......................................................
(b) manservant..................................... (f) coat-of-arms..............................................
(c) son in law ..... ................................ (g) hanger-on..................................................
(d) grown up ...................................... (h) lady-singer.................................................

(59) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give plural forms (and pronunciations) of the following expressions

(a) antenna....................................... (g) spectrum ...................................................
(b) mouse............................................ (h) brother .....................................................
(c) one................................................. (i) half ............................................................
(d) tooth.......................................... (j) wife ............................................................
(e) focus............................................ (k) curriculum..................................................
(f) faux pas........................................ (l) roof ............................................................
84

(60) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the reason for the ungrammaticality of

(a) * a one book (e) *I like that your brother.
(b) *We bought expensive book. (f) *We went to Ukraine.
(c) * a books (g) ??There is the book on the table.
(d) *a fresh air (h) ?? I saw men you met yesterday.

(61) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the Articles 0/ a/ the in the following examples:

(a) Washington was ....... first president of ........ United States.
(b) He lives in ......... city of New York.
(c) ...... most famous member of ..... Hague Court is John Smith.
(d) ....... Sahara Desert is ....... integral part of ......... Africa.
(e) ........ Canary Islands are as beautiful as ........ Crete.
(f) I don't like ...... Hyde Park but I am fond of .......... Westminster Abbey.
(g) I saw .......... last film about .......... Titanic in ......... July.

(62) EXERCISE ===========================================
State the distinction between Czech and English which follows from the examples:

(a) He received a book from my mother. (a') Dostal jakousi knihu od m maminky.
(b) *He received book from my mother. (b') Dostal knihu od m maminky.
(c) I gave the present to Adam. (c') Dal jsem ten drek Adamovi.
(d) *I gave present to Adam. (d') Dal jsem drek Adamovi.

(63) EXERCISE ===========================================
Replace the word chlapec with the word stroj and discuss the distinction:
(i) Vichni ti velc chlapci, kter se objevili pred chvl, zmizeli za rohem. - Kdo to zmizel?
(ii) .........................................................................................................................................

Do the same with English translation of the above sentences and discuss the distinction.
What does it show about which nominal features are used English and Czech?
(i) .........................................................................................................................................
(ii) .........................................................................................................................................

(64) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the distinction in acceptability. Compare with English.

(a) Tatnkova / Petrova / ?konova / *stolova / Alkova noha.
(b) Pod mostem leel(i) mu a ena / ?mu a koza / ?? mu a puka.
85

(65) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the missing feminine (or neuter) Forms
(a) stallion vs. ....................... vs. .........................
(b) bull vs. ....................... vs. .........................
(c) rooster vs. ....................... vs. .........................
(d) father vs. ......................... (k) brother vs. ............................
(e) steward vs. ......................... (l) traitor vs. ............................
(f) master vs. ......................... (m) heir vs. ............................
(g) sportsman vs. ......................... (n) man servant vs. ............................
(h) male readers vs. ......................... (o) gentleman vs. ............................
(i) laundryman vs. ......................... (p) turkey-cock vs. ............................
(j) tom-cat vs. ......................... (q) doctor vs. .............................

(66) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill the following table as suggested in the first line.

category variety marked feature
(morpheme)
examples

Number singular, plural plural, -s /-en/0 book/books, ox/oxen, Chinese/Chinese
Case
Gender
Size
Reference

(67) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the distinction between lexical and grammatical features. Give English and
Czech examples of nominal (a) Number, (b) Gender, (c) Reference' expressed with
lexical morphemes and contrast them with grammaticalized forms. Underline the relevant
morphemes.

(a) lexical .............................................................................................................................
grammaticalized........................................................................................................................
(b) lexical ..............................................................................................................................
grammaticalized........................................................................................................................
(c) lexical ..............................................................................................................................
grammaticalized........................................................................................................................

(68) EXERCISE ===========================================
(a) Which nominal category has Czech grammaticalized more than English?
(b) Which nominal category has English grammaticalized more than Czech?.
Consider the criteria for stating the level of grammaticalization, and demonstrate relevant
examples to support your claims.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
86

11 SYNTACTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOUN
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 323-524, 1585-1595, Huddleston & Pullum
(2005) pp. 82-111, 264-290; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 363-393; Svoboda (2004) pp.
18-23; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik (2004) pp. 1235-1352.

Syntactic properties concern above all distribution, i.e. co-occurrence of the lexical item,
that is, its context, (i.e. what does it combine with, in which order, with which hierarchy).

I. Elements subordinate to N (these modify N and form a complex NP)

(1) Noun Phrase (NP) = a nice BOOK of stories

II. The function/ distribution of NP
Elements superordinate to the (complex) NP.
What does the NP depend on?

(2) Peter saw NP = a nice BOOK of stories
11.1 Internal Structure of Noun Phrases
(3) Complex nominal phrase

all the three [very tall] white city towers of Mordor [with black spires]

(Q) - D/POSS - (Q) - A - A - N/A - N - P - PP - XP/cl

Elements preceding / pre-modifying the Noun Elements following /
post-modifying the Noun
11.1.1 N-premodifiers
(4) (a) Determiners the/ my friend
(b) Adjectives very interesting story
(c) secondary Adj government funds
(d) etc... sideways movement, outer limits

Discuss the following properties of elements preceding the Noun
(a) Determiners are obligatory and unique (see (26) on page 76)!!).
Possessives are not Adjectives, but NPs) (see (13) on page 74).
(b) Adjectives are recursive (and APs).
(c) Secondary Adjectives have the morphology of some other part of speech

(5) (a) a/ the/ my/ a friends book (d) *I bought expensive book.
(b) *the my book/ *the Johns book (e) [
NP
my brother John]'s book
(c) the big hairy barking stupid... dog (f) govern-ment funds. iron bridge
87

With the exception of recursive Adjectives (which follow a semantically determined order
according to their scope), there is a strictly fixed order among the pre-modifiers of N.

(6) (a) the big green monster (a') ta velk bl kniha
(b) *big the green monster (b') * velk bl ta kniha
(c) ? the green big monster (c') ? ta bl velk kniha
(d) an old French book (d) *njak francouzsk star kniha
11.1.2 N-postmodifiers
(7) Postmodification
(a) complex adjectival phrases a student [
AP
more intelligent than Einstein]
(b) of-phrase (unique, adjacent) the brother of mine from Brooklyn
(c) other PPs (multiple) the student of philosophy with long hair
the letter for John from Bill
(d) V-ing, V-inf the student reading philosophy, a man to watch
(e) clauses (relative clause)... the book which you gave me, the place you live
(f) etc the travel abroad, the way home

(8) The order of postmodifiers is correlated with their scopes (in the same way as the
order of A premodifiers) with the exception of the of-phrase, which must be adjacent.

(a) the student of math with long hair (a') student chemie s aktovkou na zdech
* the student with long hair of math *student s aktovkou na zdech chemie
(b) the letter for John from Bill (b') dopis od Petra pro Janu
? the letter from Bill for John dopis pro Janu od Petra
(c) a book of stories for Bill with a white cover
11.2 Distribution and Functions of Noun Phrases
The distribution of NPs (and their sentence functions) is very diverse. An NP of any
complexity can be any sentence member. Some positions are more typical than others.

(9) (a) Subject [
NP
Those students] arrived soon.
(b) V-Object I saw [
NP
those students] nearby.
(c) P-Object I spoke about [
NP
those students].
(d) PP Adverbial I stayed with [
NP
those students].
(d) Nominal Predicate John is [
NP
a student].
(e) Attribute [
NP
those students]'s books
(f) Complement They appointed her [
NP
a chairwoman]

The sentence functions illustrated above are syntagmatic relations, i.e. the sentence function
is a relation between two members of a syntactic couple. The only exception is the
Complement, which is a ternary relation (there are three related constituents).

No constituent can be a sentence member by itself, i.e. without a context.
In the above, those students can be any sentence member, depending on the relation.
88

11.3 Exercises
(10) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the slots for the most complex NPs you can construct. Use the Attributes (a) a
lot of, (b) very tall, (c) twenty-year old, (d) in the form of V infinitives, (e) relative clauses.

Q D/Poss Q A A N/A N P = of PP XP
each --- --- tall blond play BOY in a Fiat

girl




love




Mary


story


air


Prague


reading



(11) EXERCISE ===========================================
Rewrite the sentences below using the Pronouns. Specify the parts of the text which
was replaced by the pronoun.

(i) The tall boy with long hair was irritated by the next question.
(ii) To read some old novel would not please my beloved little brother.
(iii) The fact irritated me that my little brother would not read such a nice book.

he (i) ..............
(ii) ..............
(iii) ..............
one (i) ..............
(ii) ..............
(iii) ..............
it (i) ..............
(ii) ..............
(iii) ..............
89

(12) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss (i) the terminology, (ii) the obligatory or optional ordering and (iii) unique
or multiple occurrence of separate pre-/post-modifiers.

(a) all the boys (a) *the all boys
(b) a brother of mine (b) *a my brother / *my a brother
(c) that big boy (c) *big that boy
(d) the old big black dog (d') ?the big black old dog
(e) the two towers of the city from steel (e) *the two towers from steel of the city
(f) the book of stories in a green cover for my sister Emily

(13) EXERCISE ===========================================
Compare the ordering/ uniqueness of elements of the complex NP in Czech with the
data from English in (5) on page 86. Fill in the inverted examples and add * (and supply
your own examples) whenever needed.

(a) vichni ti chlapci (a') ti vichni chlapci
(b) *ten bratr mne (b') ten muj bratr / * muj ten bratr
(c) ten velk chlapec (c') ......................................
(d) ten velk cern pes (d') ...................................... SCOPE
(e) kniha pohdek v zelenm obalu pro mou sestru
(f) sestra moj kamardky v cervenm kabt s dlouhmi vlasy

(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
How can a NOUN / NOUN PHRASE (e.g. city / the large city and sister / my little
sister) modify another Noun (e.g. plan, room)? Compare English and Czech.
Evaluate the acceptability (assuming the proposed reading) of the following examples.
Then compare the category, complexity and position of the underlined modifiers. Give
more examples if necessary.

(a) the two tall city towers (a) the two the large city tall towers
(b) the two towers of city (b) the two towers of the large city
(c) chudk ensk (c) msto ve

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
Commenting the following examples, compare POSSESSIVEs and their equivalents
in English and Czech w.r.t. their (i) position (pre- or post-N),
(ii) complexity (N or NP or PP),
(iii) Number & Animacy,
(iv) category (A or N/NP).
(a) * the Jim's book (a) ta Janova kniha
(b) a book of (our) Jim (b) ?? kniha Jana / kniha vaeho Jana
(c) ?? a table's leg / paint (c) * stolova noha/barva
(d) pupil's / pupils' book (d) kova / * c? kniha
(e) mother's / father's / child's room (e) matcin/ otcuv/ dtt? pokoj
(f) your mother's book (f) * tvoj? matcina kniha
90

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Complex compounds with N/A (Adv) chains: Discuss the interpretation of the
following Bracketing paradoxes. Translate the examples into Czech.

(a) the Yorkshire wool industry wage dispute
(b) a starving children relief fund
(c) the ship-to-shore telephone experiment

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Mark sentence members in the following sentences and show the syntagmatic
relations which form them.

(i) Tvoje sestra pozorovala vcera ptky na plot.
(ii) The other boy gave his book to Adam.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
(i) What is the function (sentence member) of the underlined NP?
(ii) What does the NP depend on (what are the syntagmatic = syntactic/ binary relations)?

(a) I saw a man. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(b) over the hill (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(c) new pupil's books (i)........................................ (ii).......................................
(d) That boy is big. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(e) There is a boy there. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(f) He is a teacher. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(g) They elected him President. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................
(h) He was elected President. (i)........................................ (ii)......................................

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which elements do you need to add to create the given syntagmatic relations? Give at
least three examples. What are those elements?

(a) Joe (=Subject) ....................................................................................................
(b) Joe (=Object) ....................................................................................................
(c) Joe (=Attribute) ....................................................................................................

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Relate the following words by means of the given syntagmatic relations. Make short
sentences using the words and underline the relevant couple.

(a) Peter see (Subject - Predicate) .................................................................................
(b) Peter see (Verb - Object) .................................................................................
(c) book old (Noun Attribute) .................................................................................
(c) book see Adam old (Attribute-noun / Subject-Predicate / Verb-Object)
.........................................................................................................................................
91

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
In the following syntagmas (phrases): which elements are higher (superordinate) and
which elements are lower (subordinate)? How do we decide about this? Are the signals of
hierarchy the same in Czech and in English? Make your own examples to test your claim.

(a) to see Mary / *Mary to see - vidt Marii / *vidt Mari / Marii vidt
(b) this book / *these book /*book this - tato kniha /*touto kniha / ? kniha tato
(c) about him / *about he / *him about - o nm / *o nm / *nm o
(d) she arrives / *she arrive / *her arrives - ona prijela /*n prijela / prijela ona

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Create the relevant syntagmatic relation (add the other member of the syntagma).
Discuss the hierarchy and the way it is signaled.

(a) he (=Subject) ....................................................................................................
(b) he (=Object) ....................................................................................................
(c) he (=Attribute) ....................................................................................................

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Can ProNoun/ Noun appear as Adverbial or Complement? Find some examples.

(a) Adverbial ....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
(b) Complement ....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................

(24) EXERCISE ===========================================
Mark the relations in the following structure. Explain how morphology (if possible) is
a signal of hierarchy.

(a) el do koly (b) (he) went to school
(c) dopis pro nho (d) a letter for him

(25) EXERCISE ===========================================
What are the most typical sentence functions of Nouns? Which are rare? Why?

(26) EXERCISE ===========================================
Are the underlined elements heads (N) or phrases (NP? Can you support your claim?
(Can you substitute pronouns for them? What does this imply?)

(a) Your sister arrived later than Hillary.
(b) I met Jim in front of the house.
(c) William introduced his new girlfriend to all the school-mates.
(d) Those tall city towers had been rebuilt before the castle was finished.

92

(27) EXERCISE ===========================================
Are the sentence functions of Subject and Object phrasal constituents (NPs) or are
they heads (Ns)? Give examples to prove your claim.

(28) EXERCISE ===========================================
What follows Prepositions in Czech and in English? NPs or Ns? Give examples to
prove your claim.

(29) EXERCISE ===========================================
First look at the arguments in the example below which show that the word
organization in a given sentence is a Noun. Then give similar arguments for the capitalized
words (assuming they are Nouns) in the sentences below. Try to cover all arguments
(semantic, morphological, and syntactic). Use substitution, if necessary.

Example: Several new ORGANIZATIONS of young people took part in the program.

1. semantics: the word ORGANIZATION independently refers to some entity.
2. phonetics: the word takes main (possibly multiple) stress = a major category.
(Grammatical elements have no secondary or non-initial stress.)

3. morphology (derivational and inflectional)
(a) derivational morphology:
(i) -tion is an English morpheme used for the derivation of Nouns:
e.g. organize organiza-tion (like nationalization)
(ii) It can take derivational stem N+alAdj, e.g. organization-al (like national).
(b) inflectional morphology: the word may take the nominal morphemes of
(i) plural -s, e.g. many organization-s (like many boys),
(ii) possessive 's, e.g. our organization-'s decision (like Mary's decision).

4. syntax (subordinate and superordinate elements)
(a) the word projects according to (3) on page 86 to a typical Noun phrase, i.e. it is
modified by a Determiner (several), Adjective (new) and of-P (of young people),
(b) the complex headed by the word appears in a sentence in the function of Subject of
the finite Verb take part.


(a) There are some heavy CLOUDS on the western HORIZON.
(b) Every normal MOTHER feels a kind of LOVE to her CHILD.
(c) Because of the crisis, the new GOVERNMENT funds were restricted.
(d) The main CITY in Northern Moravia is Ostrava.
(e) He was impressed by the CITY towers of Carcassone but I like more those of vila.
93

12 PRONOUNS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 425-430, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 100-
107; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 108-128; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik
(2004) pp. 333-398, 817-822; Dukov (1994) pp.101-135; Svoboda and Oplov-
Krolyov (1989) pp.84-112.

(1) Classification of English Pronouns, from Greenbaum & Quirk (1990)

a) personal I/me, we/us...
1. CENTRAL b) reflexive myself, ourselves...
c) possessive i) determinative my, your, his, her, its, our...
ii) independent mine, yours, his, hers, ?its,
ours...
2. RECIPROCAL each other, one another
3. RELATIVE the wh-series, that, 0
4. INTERROGATIVE the wh-series, how, why
5. DEMONSTRATIVE this/these, that/those
a) positive i) universal all/both, each/every
6. INDEFINITE ii) assertive some-, one, half, several,
enough, (an)other
iii) non-assertive any-, either
b) negative no-, neither
12.1 Personal Pronouns
12.1.1 Interpretation of Personal Pronouns
(2) (a) To call oneself "James Bond" is appropriate only if one is James Bond (and
not Ludmila Veselovsk.
(b) To call oneself "I" is always correct, no matter whether one is James Bond or
Ludmila Veselovsk.

In (3) (a) is true no matter who says so only when James Bond actually did so.
(b) is true if the person, who pronounces it, did so.
(3) (a) James Bond was flying to Hawaii.
(b) I was flying to Hawaii.

Contrary to referential Nouns, Pronouns do not have independent reference. Their semantic
interpretation can be defined only in the terms of discourse, i.e. according to the conditions
and circumstances of the specific speech act.

(4) (a) this and that [PROXIMITY]
(b) here and there
(c) now and then
(d) Give me that.
(e) I am reading this book here and now.
94

(5) Discourse bound interpretation of personal Pronouns
(a) I (=1sg) = the speaker (= the person who performs the speech act)
(b) you (=2sg) = the hearer (= the intended addressee of the speech act)
(c) (s)he (=3sg,m/f) = the other (human non-participant of the discourse)
(d) it (=3sg) = non-human non-participant
(e) we (=1pl) = a set of people one of which is the speaker. The hearer can
be a member of the group (inclusive we) or not (exclusive we)
(f) you (=2pl) = a set of people including the hearer, not the speaker
(g) they (=3pl) = the others (non-participants of the discourse)

Consider the characteristics of Number [plural] with personal Pronouns
(6) (a) books / boys [plural] = book+book+book... / boy+boy+boy
(b) we [1 plural] = speaker + speaker + speaker....
(c) you [2 plural] = / = hearer + hearer + hearer...
(d) they [plural] = the other + the other + the other

(7) Stylistic / Pragmatic usage of we
(a) As we can see in Chapter 3... (Inclusive/authorial WE)
(b) As we showed a moment ago... (Editorial WE)
(c) Today we are much more concerned ... (Rhetorical WE)
(d) How are we feeling today? (= you)
(e) We are really in a bad mood today... (= he)

(8) it and there: referential and expletive Pronouns
(a) I want this book. She wants it, too. (Referring it)
(b) It is raining. (Weather it)
(c) It is not true that he did it. (Propositional it and Linking it)
(d) There is a man in the middle of the room. (Expletive there)
12.1.2 Function and Form
Case : English pronouns have three/ four morphologically distinct Case forms. See 10.1.

(9) Case: (a) SUBJECT (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
(b) SAX-GEN (my/mine. your/yours, her/hers, their/theirs...)
(c) OBJECT (me, you, him, her, it, us, them)

(10) (a) possessives This is my book.
(b) independent /predicative The book is mine. The brother of mine.
(11) (a) Object of the Verb I saw him /*he.
(b) Object of the Preposition I went there with him/*he.

Subject Case in English is more marked (less used) than the nominative is in Czech.
Consider the Case on the English Pronouns below. Compare with the Czech translations.

(12) (a) Who did it? - Me. It was me. (c) Mary and him often go abroad.
(b) It was she/ her that Adam criticised. (d) Nobody but she/ her can do it.
95

Recall which part of a structure is replaced by (which) Pronouns.

(13) [The smart girl] with [the two foreign friends] was awarded [the first prize]
SHE THEM IT

(14) (a) My younger brother bought a new car.
(b) *My younger he bought * a new it.
(c) He bought it.
(d) My younger one bought a new one.

Personal Pronouns replace Noun Phrases (not Nouns). See also (11) on page 88.
Pronouns therefore can express nominal functions. See section 11.2.
There are some distinction between Ns/NPs/and pronominals.

(Post) Modification of Pronominals
Unlike Nouns, Pronouns cannot be freely modified, they cannot be the head of a phrase
like Nouns in (3) on page 86. There are some idiosyncratic exceptions, e.g. relative clauses:

(15) (a) hardly any, nothing at all, almost anybody
(b) We all......, They each....., You both.... (vs. floating Qs)
(c) you yourself
(d) Silly me! We doctors..., Us visitors
(e) you there, you in the raincoat
(f) we of the modern age
(g) He/she who hesitates is lost.
(h) Those/*they who work hard deserve some reward.
(i) Cf. *It that/ What stands over there is a church.
12.1.3 One
(16) Numeric one (pro-Q) (a) I met one boy / two boys.
(b) One / many of the boys arrived at five.
(17) Substitute one (pro-N) (a) I'd like another steak /another one.
(b) Those red cars / red ones I like most.
(18) Generic one (pro-NP) (a) One / they would assume that...
(b) She makes one / my brother Adam feel well.
12.2 Relative Pronouns
These Pronouns introduce a relative clause.
(19) (a) kdo, co, jak, kter, c, jen.
(b) wh-Pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, + that, 0
12.2.1 The form of the relative Pronouns
The wh-Pronouns show (agree with) the morphological features of Nouns and Adjectives.
The agreement is built with two elements:
96

(a) Gender (Animacy)/ Number features depend on the head Noun (in the main clause).
(b) Case depends on the function of the Pronoun in the relative clause.

(20) (a) Znm enu, kter (= ta ena
NOM
) nos na hlav tek.
[Fem, Sg, ACC]
(a) singular
(b) feminine
(c) NOM

(b) I know her /the woman
ACC
, who
NOM
/*whom
ACC
(=the woman
NOM
) wears scarves.
[human, ACC]
(a) animate/human
(b) NOM

The WH relative Pronouns (only) can be preceded by Prepositions or other material:

(21) (a) The boys with who(m)/ which/ *that I go out
(b) I can see the book, the name of which I have forgotten
(c) Here is the answer, the importance of which you did not realize in time.
(d) I can see the guy whose name I have forgotten.

Case with relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns show pronominal Case morphology, i.e. Subject/ Possessive/ Object:

(22) (a) he - his - him
(b) who - whose - whom

The Object Case of the relative Pronoun is more likely to appear overtly in English if the
Pronoun is close/ adjacent to its Case assigner (Verb/ Preposition) and less likely if the
Case assigner is dissociated/stranded from the Pronoun.

(23) (a) I know the man who/ %whom you met yesterday.
(b) I know the man who/ %whom everyone says they like.
(c) I know the man to whom/ %who you were talking. Preposition
(d) I know the man who/ *whom you were talking to. stranding
12.2.2 Omitting the relative Pronoun
Only those relative Pronouns can be deleted in English which neither have the function of a
Subject nor follow a Preposition.

(24) (a) I know the man whom you invited for dinner.
(b) I know the man --- you invited for dinner.
(c) Can you give me the book which is laying on the table?
(d) *Can you give me the book --- is laying on the table?
(e) Show me the man at whom you are looking.
(f) *Show me the man at --- you are looking.
(g) Show me the man -- you are looking at.
97

12.3 Interrogative Pronouns
12.3.1 The form of the interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns are elements used in WH-questions, i.e. questions which ask to
identify some sentence constituent. The form of the Pronoun depends on the constituent it
replaces. The repertory and forms are like relative Pronouns plus how (many/ Adjective),
why but not including that or 0.

Consider which constituents (parts of speech, phrases, sentence members?) can be
questioned and what is the right morphological form of the WH Pronoun.

(25) Her younger brother/ he met her/ my sister very briefly
yesterday in front of their new school twice.

(a) Who met her yesterday in front of their new school twice?
(b) Whom/ Who did he meet yesterday in front of their new school?
(c) When did he meet her in front of their new school?
(d) Where did he meet her yesterday twice?
(e) In front of which school did he meet her yesterday? - In front of their new school.
(f) In front of whose new school did he meet her yesterday? -In front of their new school.
(g) How many times/ often did he meet her yesterday in front of their new school?
(h) How did he meet her yesterday in front of their new school?
(i) Why did he meet her yesterday in front of their new school?

As with relatives, the Case marking of the interrogative WH Pronouns depends on their
sentence function, i.e. on the function of the sentence member they are asking about. In
Modern English overt Case marking is most likely if the Pronoun is adjacent to the Case
assigner. (The same phenomenon as in (23) above.)

(26) I am waiting for hi-m. the P for is a Case assigner
(a) Who are you waiting for?
(b) % Who-m are you I waiting for? P is stranded of the Case assigner (for)
(c) For who-m are you waiting?
(d) % For who are you waiting? P is adjacent to the Case assigner (for)

(27) I saw hi-m. the V saw is a Case assigner
(a) Who did I see? V is not adjacent to the Case assigner (see)
(b) % Whom did I see?
12.3.2 The position of the WH-Pronouns
The interrogative Pronoun in the WH-question is moved from its position, it is fronted.
Notice that the size of the fronted interrogative element (the material preceding the inverted
Auxiliary and containing some interrogative WH element) can be far bigger that one word.
It is a phrase (it replaces the whole sentence member we are asking about).

98

(28) He bought [
OBJECT NP
the three books] [
ADVERBIAL PP
in the new shop on the square].
(a) [
OBJECT NP
What ] did he buy in the new shop?
(b) [
OBJECT NP
How many books ] did he buy in the new shop?
(c) [
ADVERBIAL PP
Where ] did he buy the three books?
(d) [
ADVERBIAL PP
In which shop on the square] did he buy the three books?

If there is more than one WH Pronoun (in so called Multiple Wh-questions), only the
hierarchically highest is fronted in Standard English. The other(s) remain in the position of
the sentence member they represent, i.e. they remain in situ.

(29) [
SUBJECT NP
Emily] bought [
OBJECT NP
several books] [
ADVERBIAL PP
in the new shop].
(a) Who bought what where?
(b) What did Emily buy where?
(c) *Where did Emily buy what?

Notice that in English the interrogative element can appear in a clause which it does not
belong to (often an initial main clause). Consider the sentence functions of the WH
Pronouns in such Long-distance WH-Movement:

(30) (a) When do you think that Emily arrived?
(b) Who(m) did Emily tell you (that) Bill met at the railway station?
(c) Which jacket did John persuade Emily (that) she should take on the trip?
(d) Who did Emily say (that) Bill wrote (*that) would arrive late?

While the long distance WH-questions appear often in English, in Czech this kind of WH
question is 'substandard' and their frequency is highest with Adverbials.

(31) (a) Kdo si mysl, e Maruce pomohl? (O kom so mysl, e Maruce pomohl)
(b) Kam si mysl, e Petr rekl, e to Jana dala.
(c) ??Kter kabt se Petr ptal Marie e si Jan vzal na vlet?

Interpretation of interrogative Pronouns
Indefinite (who) vs. definite (which)
Independent vs. determinative function

(32) (a) Who is your favourite conductor?
(b) Which is your favourite conductor?

(33) (a) What's the name of this tune? *Which is the nature of music?
(b) What / Which conductor do you like best?
(c) What / Which newspaper do you read?
(d) Which (of these) do you prefer? *What of these do you prefer?

(34) (a) Whose jacket is this? - This is Peter's jacket.
(b) Whose is this jacket? - This jacket is Peter's.
99

12.4 Exercises
(35) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the (discourse related) interpretation of the underlined words.

(a) Do you think that they saw us?
(b) He saw a man.
(b) He thinks that this book is more interetsting than those old ones.
(c) ?! I am there just now.

(36) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which category (part of speech) is one in the following sentence? Replace it with
another member of the same category.

(a) I do not want this one, but you can give me one from that counter.
(b) I do not want this , but you can give me from that counter.

(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the following sentences (find Czech equivalents to one). How do we call
these kinds of one?

(a) One boy arrived at five. .................................................................................
(b) I'd like another one. .................................................................................
(c) Those blue ones I like most. .................................................................................
(d) One would think that impossible. .................................................................................
(e) It gives one confidence. .................................................................................

(38) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give examples of English Pronouns which reflect Animacy/ Gender

ANIMATE INANIMATE
Gender marked no Gender
personal
possessive
reflexives
emphatic
relative
interrogative

(39) EXERCISE ===========================================
Make WH questions related to the following sentence with the proposed answers.
Underline the WH Pronouns and discuss their form/ size.

Yesterday our little Emily passed well both the difficult tests at school.

(a) .................................................................................................? - Our little Emily.
(b) .................................................................................................? - Both the tests.
100

(c) .................................................................................................? - Yesterday.
(d) .................................................................................................? Our (little) one.
(e) .................................................................................................? - Two.
(f) .................................................................................................? - The two tests.
(g) ..................................................................................................? - Well.
(h) ..................................................................................................? - Passed well both.

(40) EXERCISE ===========================================
Match the questions and the answers:

(a) What is her husband? (a') He is Paul Jones.
(b) Which is her husband? (b') He is a film director.
(c) Who is her husband? (c') He is the man on the right.

(41) EXERCISE ===========================================
(i) Explain the agreement morphology on the relative Pronoun in the (a) example below.
(ii) How are the same features expressed in the examples (b) and (c)?

(a) To je ten kluk, ktermu Maruka predevcrem nesla kytici ru.
(b) To je ten kluk, co mu Maruka predevcrem nesla kytici ru.
(c) To je ten chlapec, jemu Maruka predevcrem nesla kytici ru.

(42) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in all the correct forms (including ) and explain the morphology:

(a) Benjamin saw the book ....................... you ordered last month.
(b) Benjamin saw the book ........................ was lying on the window sill.
(c) Benjamin saw the book ......................... title I have forgotten.
(d) Benjamin saw the book, the title of ......................... I have forgotten.
(e) Benjamin saw the book about .................... you were writing your essay.
(f) Benjamin met the man ........................... you invited for dinner.
(g) Benjamin met the man ........................... was looking out of the window.
(h) Benjamin met the man ........................... name I have forgotten.
(i) Benjamin met the man the name of .......................... I have forgotten.
(j) Benjamin met the man about ...................... you were writing your essay.
(k) Benjamin met the man ....................... Hillary asked me to introduce to her.

(43) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in all the correct form(s) and explain which is the standard/ marked morphology
of the interrogative Pronoun for each of the sentences.

(a) .......................... do you imagine likes her the most? - Hugo.
(b) For ........................ are you working? - For Hugo.
(c) ......................... is she working for? - For Hugo.
(d) Do you know anyone ......................... she could work for? - Hugo.
101

EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the forms of the WH-questions asking for Subject. Give examples of (a)
a direct WH-question, (b) an indirect WH-question, (c) an echo WH-question.

"Hillary will read her paper tomorrow."

(a) .........................................................................................................................................
(b) .........................................................................................................................................
(c) .........................................................................................................................................

(44) EXERCISE ===========================================
Find nominal phrases headed by an underlined head N/Q. How many parts do they
consist of? Do all their parts appear in one place or is the NP split (divided)?

(a) Jak si Anna nakonec koupila auto?
(b) Kolik zn dobrch knih od Updika?
(c) Takovch jsem jich vidl vcera na ulici opilch nejmn osm.

Translate the examples to English and explain the distinction, referring to the structure of
the Nominal Phrase (see (3) on page 86), namely to its potential to be split when
questioned or topicalised.

(45) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the following examples to English and explain the distinction between the
languages w.r.t. multiple WH-questions.
(i) How many WH elements can be fronted in a Czech clause and how many in English?
(ii) What is the order of constituents in English/ Czech?

(a) Kdo komu pomhal s lohou? .............................................................
(b) Co kdo vidl? .............................................................
(c) Komu kdo co u vs daroval pod stromecek? .............................................................
(d) Kdy komu co dala? .............................................................
(e) Kdo kdy co komu dal zadarmo? .............................................................

(46) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the following examples of Long-distance Wh-Movement.
(i) Which sentence memeber is the fronted WH-member? What is its phrasal type?

(a) When do you think Monica arrived?
(b) Who do you think did it?
(c) Who did Julien say that Monica saw?
(d) How many books did Julien say that Monica claimed she had read?
(e) Who did Julien say that Monica wrote that Joseph spoke with?

(ii) Translate the above sentences to Czech and discuss the distinction(s).


102

"James Bond"
13 ANAPHORS (REFLEXIVES AND RECIPROCALS)
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 1451-1565.
13.1 Reference
Nominal expressions refer to something/ somebody.
Some of them have independent reference (= Referential Expressions),
others require co-referential antecedents (= anaphors).

REFERENCE [A] to non-linguisitc context to reality
[B] to some linguistic context or a context of pointing (ostension)
[C] to some syntactically definable linguistic context

(1)




[A] R-expression
[B] pronominal
[C] anaphor

Everybody hates JAMES BOND , and HE even hates HIMSELF .


Nominal elements can be divided according to their reference into three groups.

(2) R-expressions (a) Hercule Poirot invited Miss Marple.
(b) Miss Marple invited Hercule Poirot.
(c) One boy invited another boy.

(3) Pronominals (a) He invited her.
pragmatic anaphors (b) She invited him.
(c) He invited him.

(4) Syntactic Anaphors (a) Hercule Poirot invited himself.
(b) *Himself invited Hercule Poirot.
(c) *They invited himself.
13.1.1 Co-reference (Antecedents and Indices)
Formal marking of the co-reference: indices: subscripts (variables) show the co-referential
expressions (those are marked with the same index)

(5) (a) ? Everybody hates [Beckett], even [Beckett] hated [Beckett].
(b) Everybody hates Beckett
i
, even he
i
hated himself
i
.
(c) He
i
saw him
*i/ j
at the last second.
103

(d) He
i
was looking at himself
i/*j
in the mirror.
(e) Pit
J
described Patricia
m
to himself
j
/ herself
m
.
13.1.2 The linear position of an antecedent (above all with pragmatic anaphors)
(6) (a) anaphor John
i
came late, because he
i
had missed the train.
(b) cataphor Before he
i
joined the Navy, Gerald
i
made peace with his family.

Both anaphors and cataphors are, however, hieararchically similar; an antecedent is
superordinate to both anaphors and cataphors (it is 'higer,' i.e. formally more prominent).
13.2 The Form and Interpretation of English Anaphors
English Reflexive Pronouns: complex (personal Pronoun in OBJECT Case + SELF/
SELVES). Czech Reflexive Pronouns: simple SE/ SI. Do not contain the personal Pronoun.

(7) (a) He/ she/ they saw himself/ herself /themselves.
(b) On/ Ona/ oni vidli sebe.

Reflexive Pronouns are syntactic anaphors, i.e. they need antecedents.

(8) (a) He
i
introduced him
*i
. vs. He
i
introduced himself
i
.
(b) On
i
predstavil ho
*i
. vs. On
i
predstavil se(be)
i
.
///////
not co-referential co-referential

In the example above
He is the antecedent of himself (it is not the antecedent of him).
He and himself are bound to each other, he is not bound to him, i.e. him is free.
13.2.1 Antecedents of anaphors
Distinguish (a) unmarked reading vs. contrastive reading (= it can be so and so)
(b) obligatory reading vs. impossible reading (= it must be so and so)

(9) (a) John arrived. I love him. him can be John. (Construct a context for this.)
(b) John saw him. him must NOT be John
(c) John saw himself. himself must be John

(10) Bill met John. He didn't see him. He was looking at himself (in the window glass).
Bohu potkal Jendu. Nevidl ho. Dval se na sebe (do vlohy).

(a) Bill
i
met John
j
. / Bohu
i
potkal Jendu
j
.
Bill and John are referential expressions. They refer to two distinct people (outside of some
schizophrenic context). Bill and John are not bound to each other.

(b) He
i/ j/ x
didn't see him
i/ j/ x
. (i) Nevidl ho (=Bohu Jenka)
(ii) On ho nevidl (=Jenk Bohue)
104

- If (b) follows (a), the most salient (pragmatically probable) reading is that He in (b) is
co-referential with Bill in (a). With marked stress it can, however, also be John and if more
sentences preceded and the discourse suggests it, it can be anybody else as well.
- In any case, whoever is He in (b), it is not the same person as him in (b) = He and him
in (b) can not be co-referential.

(c) He
k
was looking at himself
k/*x
... On
k
se dval na sebe
k

The reference of He is vague as in (c). As for himself, however, there is no vagueness, it
must be the same person as the preceding Subject/Agent He.
He and himself in (c) above are co-referential = himself (reflexive) is a linguistic anaphor.
13.2.2 Binding of Anaphors
Look at the scheme (1) on page 102, and consider the place in the structure where we find
the antecedent of the anaphor. (What is the domain in which the antecedent appears? How
far away is the antecedent from the anaphor?)

The Clause Bound Nature of Syntactic Anaphors
(11) (a) Miss Marple believes that Poirot invited himself.
(b) * Poirot believes that Miss Marple invited himself.
(c) * Poirot believes that himself is the best detective.

(12) Binding Theory (BT), from Chomsky (1981):
(a) R-expressions have no formal/ structural antecedent, they are always free.
(b) Pronominals (pragmatic anaphors) have an antecedent in the context (linguisitc or
extralinguistic) but NOT in the same clause. In their clausal domain they are free.
(c) Syntactic anaphors (reflexives/ reciprocals) must be bound (have an hierarchically
higher antecedent) in the same clause, usually in the position of Subject/ Agent.
13.2.3 Reciprocals
(13) (a) They saw each other.
(b) We saw one another.
Reciprocals are syntactic anaphors, ie. Subject to BT as in (12) above. Contrasted with
reflexives, they moreover require their antecedent to be plural (the action or relation takes
place between the members of the set, reciprocally).

(14) (a) John and Mary introduced them. ......... = John, = Mary
(b) John and Mary introduced themselves.
(c) John and Mary introduced each other.
(b) themselves = [JohnJohn + MaryMary] or [John+MaryJohn+Mary]
(c) each other = [John Mary + Mary John]

(15) (a) Predstavili se (= predstavili kad sm sebe).
(b) Predstavili se (= predstavili se(be) navzjem).
105

13.3 The Distribution/ Use of Reflexive/ Reciprocal Pronouns
(16) argument of a transitive Verb/ Preposition (replacing an NP)
(a) * John blamed. ...requires an Object
(b) John blamed the girl / her / himself.
(c) * He thinks too much about. ...requires an Object
(d) He thinks too much about the girl / her / himself.

(17) part of a complex Verb
reflexive Verb semireflexive Verb
(obligatory) (optional)
(a) * She always prides on X. (a) Behave now!
(b) She always prides herself on X. (b) Behave yourself now!
(c) * She always prides him on X. (c) * Behave him now!

(18) emphatic Pronouns (doubling another NP)
(a) The President himself arrived. (a') Prijel sm president.
(b) Myself, I wouldn't take any notice. (b') (J) sm bych si ani neviml...

(19) Jan to dlal sm. (a) John did it himself. (= personally)
(b) John did it alone. (= without another person)
13.4 Exercises
(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the correct reflexive Pronoun. Underline the co-referential antecedent.

(a) The coroner concluded that he killed .......................
(b) The police did not have to move a finger, the kidnappers shot .............................
(c) It became clear that not even James can do it ............................
(d) I guess that Bonnie gave that small picture of ............................ to her boyfriend.
(e) To wash ................................ is a must for most civilised people.
(f) G7 or 8, it makes no difference, African people must help.......................................

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
Mark the co-reference. Fill in the missing indexes to the Pronoun and its antecedent.

(a) Tobias
k
saw him .
(b) Tim
i
and Monica
k
saw themselves .
(c) Martin
k
saw her at the last second.
(d) Monica was looking at herself
i
in the mirror.
(e) John
i
promised Peter
k
to shave himself .
(f) John
i
made Peter
k
shave himself .
(c) God will help you if you help yourself
k
.
106

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate into English. Discuss the meanings/ the distinctions.

(a) Vidli se v zrcadle. (a') ..................................................................
(b) Polbili se. (b') ..................................................................
(c) Prinesli si drky. (c') ..................................................................
(d) Psal jsem tu lohu sm. (d') ..................................................................
(e) Byl jsem na to sm. (e') ..................................................................
(f) Sm Superman by se bl zustat v tom pokoji sm.
...................................................................................................................................

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate into Czech. Fill in indices. Discuss the meanings/ the distinctions.

(a) They killed them . (a') ...............................................................
(b) They killed themselves . (b') ................................................................
(c) They killed each other . (c') ................................................................

(24) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in correct /possible forms of an anaphoric Pronoun. Fill in the correct indices.

(a) He was looking in the mirror at .......................
(b) She saw Emma looking at ............................. in the mirror.
(c) The kidnappers shot .............................
(d) Freeing ......................................with a sharp knife, Vincent lurched towards the door.
(e) They asked Julie to invite ....................................
(f) Even the King ............................ must help ..................................
(g) They promised Martha to wash......................................
(h) They ordered Martha to wash.......................................

(25) EXERCISE ===========================================
Long distance anaphors: Fill in the indices, notice the distinctions.

(a) The professor
i
made the student
k
read his article.
(b) Profesor
i
nutil ka cst svj clnek.
(c) John
i
saw Peter
k
beating his wife.
(d) Jan
i
vidl Petra
k
bt svou enu.

(26) EXERCISE ===========================================
Define the semantic frame = thematic roles = valency of the Verb help, and explain
which element expresses which role. Fill in the indices.

(a) They themselves helped them
(b) They helped themselves
(c) The Presidents helped the committee themselves
107

14 MODIFIERS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 525-596, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 112-
126; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 129-157; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik
(2004) pp. 399-474; Dukov (1994) pp. 141-164; Svoboda and Oplov-Krolyov
(1989) pp.113-134; Leech & Svartvik (1975) pp.189-203.
14.1 Semantic Characteristics of Adjectives/ Adverbs
(1) Semantic types of Adjectives (static property).
An adjective is a word which enlarges the meaning and narrows the application of a
Noun. There are many possible groups, e.g.:

(a) value (good, bad, important) (g) dimension (big, long, large)
(b) similarity (different, similar, other) (h) position (high, low, near)
(c) age (old, new, young, ancient) (i) color (red, dark, black)
(d) quantification (whole, numerous, third) (j) qualification (true, possible, plausible)
(e) physical property (hard, wet, open) (k) human quality (happy, clever dead)
(f) speed (fast, slow, rapid) (l) nationality etc (English, Slavic, Asian)

(2) Semantic types of Adverbs.
An adverb is a word which enlarges the meaning and narrows the application of a
Verb (and other parts of speech). Again, there are many possible groups, e.g.:

(a) focusing (also, even, too, just, only) (e) frequency (never, always, often)
(b) degree (very, well, how, as, really) (f) modal (perhaps, actually, obviously)
(c) aspectual (still, yet, already) (g) temporal (soon, late, long, sudden)
(d) connective (however, thus, indeed) (h) manner (quickly, easily, well)

General characteristics: As MODIFIERS, Adj/Adv modify some other word/ constituent.
(3) (a) his quick run (b) certain doubts
jeho rychl bh urit obavy

(4) (a) he runs quickly (b) he certainly doubts it
bh rychle urit o tom pochybuje
14.2 Adjectival / Adverbial Morphology
14.2.1 Derivational Morphology
(5) (a) new (c) green-ish AdjAdj
(b) agreee-able, VAdj (d) friend-ly, NAdj

(6) (a) bad-ly, clever-ly, legal-ly .... synthetic way: bound suffixes
(b) up-wards, back-wards, home-wards
(c) clock-wise, time-wise, weather-wise
(d) in an interesting /fast way .... analytic/ periphrastic way
108

14.2.2 Inflectional Morphology
Features: (i) INTRINSIC ...0
(ii) OPTIONAL ...Grading (comparative, superlative)
(iii) DERIVED ...N features (secondary agreement) (in Czech, not English)

Grading: Standard Adjectives /Adverbs are gradable.

(7) (a) synthetic (bound morphemes): -er, (the) est: nice, nicer, the nicest
(b) analytic (periphrastic): more, (the) most
(i) important, more important, (the) most important
(ii) ... in a more interesting way, in the most interesting way
(c) irregular (i) good/ well, better, the best
(ii) bad/ badly, worse, the worst

(8) Non-gradable As (a) finite, *more finite, *the most finite
(b) last, *laster, *the lastest
14.3 Exercises
(9) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give 5-10 derivational morphemes which create Adjectives. Find some which have
some additional meaning apart from deriving a category. (Consult Appendix.)
...................................................................................................................................................

(10) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give the category of the underlined elements. Discuss the distinction between a/b/c
and d/e/f. Find more Adjective/Adverb couples with similar properties. Make a
generalisation. Try to explain the phenomena, referring to the blocking effect.

(a) The child has a high temperature. (d) Elisabeth likes hard work.
(b) The airplane flies really high. (e) He likes to work hard.
(c) Marcel is highly experienced. (f) Mary hardly ever works

(11) EXERCISE ===========================================
State precise rules for using syntetic vs. analytic forms of English Grading Adjectives.

(12) EXERCISE ===========================================
Is semantics important for the order of pronominal modifiers/ adjectives? Consider the
examples below, change the order and discuss acceptability. Compare with Czech.

(a) a handsome three-year old boy .................................................................................
(b) a huge Italian pizza .................................................................................
(c) Shakespeare's new sonnet ................................................................................
(d) a new Shakespearian sonnet .................................................................................
109

15 SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 525-596, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 112-
126; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 129-157; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik
(2004) pp. 399-474; Dukov (1994) pp. 141-164; Svoboda and Oplov-Krolyov
(1989) pp.113-134; Leech & Svartvik (1975) pp.189-203.
15.1 Adjective Phrase
(very/extremely/as) interesting (as the other one)

(1) Grad. ADV / Measure Phrases - A - PP / that-CL / V
inf


elements premodifying A elements postmodifying A

(A) PREMODIFICATION of A (pre-A elements) -- comparative & level of quality

(2) Grading Adverbs / intensifiers Adv + A (= ADJ or ADV)
(a) more/ the most important (a') more/ the most easily
(b) very/ rather/ too/ so nice/ important (b') ver /rather/ too/ so easily
(c) exclusively/ surprisingly nice/ important (c') exclusively/ surprisingly easily

(3) Measure Phrases
(a) a [
AP
three-meter long] bridge (a') to look three meter-s long
(b) a [
AP
five-year old] boy (b') to be five year-s old
(c) a [
AP
five-meter-seventy-centimeter high] wall

(B) POSTMODIFICATION of A, A-complements (post-A elements)

(i) A + Prepositional Phrase:
(4) (a) a man [
AP
(very) proud of his son ]
(b) a women [
AP
(extremely) faithful/ loyal to her husband ]
(c) some heroes [
AP
(certainly) ready for a fight with aliens ]

(5) good at, afraid of, ready for, keen on, worried about/over, bad at, annoyed at/with,
successful in, interested in, conscious of, convinced of, based on, dependent on,
subject to, compatible with, disappointed with, etc.

(ii) A + that-clause:
(6) (a) I'm sure (that) you can come.
(b) He seems glad / surprised / amazed / certain / confident / proud/ sad/ alarmed/
annoyed / astonished / disappointed / pleased / shocked (that) you can come.

(7) (a) It is odd that he should be late.
(b) It is appropriate / extraordinary / fortunate / important / odd / alarming
/ embarrassing / fitting / frightening / irritating that he should be late.
110

(iii) A + to-infinitive:
(8) (a) He was ready / splendid / proud to help his neighbors.
(b) He was furious / slow / eager to react.
(c) They were careful / wrong / clever / cruel / kind / rude / silly not to follow us.

(9) Some complex structures related to modifiers (both pre- and post-modifying):
Adjectives Adverbs
(a) he is as big as ... (a') she runs as quickly as ...
(b) he is bigg-er than ... (b') he runs quick-er than ...
(c) he is not as/ so dangerous as ... (c') she runs not as/ so quickly as ...
(d) he is far from dangerous ... (d') she runs far from well ...
(e) the bigg-er they are, the more stupid... (e') the high-er they fly, the less fuel ...
(f) It is too heavy to fly. (f') She runs too well to be defeated.

(10) Discontinuous structures: (a) He is a much bigger IDIOT than me.
(b) John is not as easy a target as Jim.
15.2 Distribution/ Functions of Adj Phrases
There are 3 main functions of Adjective Phrases, all related to a nominal category.
(A) ADJECTIVAL PREDICATE (copula-AP) ... Predicate Nominal
(B) ADJECTIVAL PRE-/POST-MODIFIERS (N-AP) ...Attribute
(C) ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENTS ...Subject/ Object Complements
15.3 Adjectival Predicates
(11) His brother John IS [
AP
very handsome

SUBJECT - copula - AP


The status of a constituent as Predicate Adjective or Predicate Nominal is bound up with a
framework: How do we define Copula? What is a Complement? What is an Object? etc...
These questions are far from trivial.
Consider (a) Case on the verbal complement, (b) selection of Adj or Adv, (c) the meaning.

(12) (a) The boy is a student. (a') The boy saw a student.
(b) Chlapec je student(em)
NOM-INSTR
. (b') Chlapec vidl studenta
ACC.
(c) John is quick. (c') John runs quickly.
(d) Jenda je rychl
ADJ.NOM
(d') Jenda bh rychle
ADV.

A copula: (a) has two arguments referring to the same entity (it expresses identity),
(b) does not assign Object Case (to Nouns),
(c) can be followed by an Adjective (agreeing with the Subject).

How many Verbs have these properties of a copula? (One in Czech, several in English.)
111

How complex can a Predicate Adjective be? Discuss the complexity of the Predicate
Adjectival Phrases in English in (13) in terms of (1) on page 109.

(13) (a) Emma is/ sounds silly / very silly / unbelievably silly.
(b) Samuel is/ seems to be foolishly proud of his few achievements.
(c) Helen got/ grew/ became about twice as mad at her mother as Piers did .
15.4 Adjective Pre-/Post-modifiers of a Noun
The most standard function of Adjectives is to modify the meaning of some Noun they
are Noun modifiers. They can appear both in front of and after the head N.
The position of the AdjP with respect to the head Noun depends on
(a) the characteristics of the Adj,
(b) the complexity of the AdjP.


NP = (Q) - DET/POSS - (Q) - AP - AP N/A - N - AP - XP

15.4.1 Pre-modifying Adjectives
In the following examples notice that Adjective modifiers are phrases (APs), because they
can be enlarged. See adjectival phrase in terms of the scheme (1) on page 109.

(14) (a) Mary is a very SCARED child
(b) How FAITHFUL a woman did she turn out to be?
(c) I know an extremely PROUD man.
(d) Elisabeth jumped over a two-meter WIDE ditch.
(e) Elisabeth jumped over the DEEP AND DANGEROUS ditch.

(15) (a) * Mary is a SCARED of monsters child.
(b) * Did she turn out to be a FAITHFUL to her husband woman?
(c) * I know an PROUD of his achievements man.

Premodifying APs are syntactically "simpler"; they can be either bare (most often) or
premodified themselves (e.g. by very/ extremely/ how/ two-meter etc. (i.e. they are complex
phrases). However, they canNOT have their own postmodifying PPs or clauses (e.g. -of
monsters, -to her husband, -of his achievements, -glad we arrived, -eager to react.
15.4.2 Post-modifying Adjectives
These result from: (a) lexical or idiosyncratic properties of some A,
(b) Romance loans,
(c) complex APs (=with their own postmodification).

(16) Idiosyncratic As (a) Syntax proper, president elect
(c) the people (who are) involved
(d) the men (who were) present
112

(17) Romance loans (French) (a) Court Martial
(b) Princess Royal, battle royal
(c) attorney general, postmaster general
(d) notary public

(18) (a) un file gentille (b) un livre cher (c) un pierre lourde
Det girl nice Det book expensive Det rock heavy
'the nice girl' 'the big book' 'big rock'

(19) (a) la nia bonita (b) el libro grande (c) gran piedra /piedra grande
Det girl nice Det book big big rock / rock big
'the nice girl' 'the big book' 'big rock'

Even Germanic-based English Adjectives must appear in the postnominal position if they
are complex. Compare (14)/(15) with (20)/(21) and discuss the complexity of the post-
modifying adjectival phrase in terms of (1) on page 109.

(20) (a) *Mary is a child very SCARED.
(b) *She turned out to be a woman very FAITHFUL.
(c) *I know a man extremely PROUD.
(d) *Elisabeth jumped over a ditch two-meter WIDE.
(e) ?Elisabeth jumped over the ditch DEEP AND DANGEROUS. (ok in narratives)

With English Adjective Phrases, postmodifed APs MUST themselves be postmodifiers:

(21) (a) Mary is a child (very) SCARED of monsters.
(b) She turned out to be a woman (extremely) FAITHFUL to her husband.
(c) David is a man very FOND of English literature.
(d) I saw a girl as BEAUTIFUL as Mary / more BEAUTIFUL than Mary.
15.5 Subject/Object Complements (Secondary Predicates)
Syntactic relations (involving phrases) are typically binary (e.g. V +Object, N + attribute).
Complement (doplnk), however, enters into a ternary relation.
Compare with (11) on page 110 and (a/c) with (b/d) below.

(22) (a) The girl is as happy as before. = Adjectival Predicate
(b) The girl smiles as happily as before. = Adverbial (of Manner)
(c) The girl remained as happy as before. = Subject Complement

(a) Adj related to a "copula" is a Nominal Predicate (binary relation)
(b) Adv modifier of a "lexical Verb" is an Adverbial (binary relation)
(b) Adj related to a "lexical Verb" and in the same time to sone NP (Subject or Object) is
a Subject/Object Complement (trenary relation)


(23) (a) John painted the door green. V > Obj (painted the door)
V +Obj > Object Complement
(paintedgreen, the door green)
113

(b) Mary came back very tired. Subj > V
fin

V + Subj > Subject Complement

(c) David likes the girls very blond.
(d) The girl remained as happy as before.


He IS tired. He arrived tired.
subject + predicate subject + predicate
(predicate =copula+nominal part)
Complement
If is is a Copula tired is a part of a predicate
If arrive is a Lexical Verb tired is a (Subject) Complement

BUT: The distinction between 'copula' and 'lexical Verb' is fuzzy, and so many Czech
Adverbials can be analysed as Complements in English (alternatively several English Verbs
can be called "semicopulas" i.e. they are followed by a correferrential Adjective.)

(24) (a) Peter is/seems old. copulas?
(b) Peter became/grew/turned old. change of state Verbs
(c) Peter looks/feels old. Verbs of sensual perception

(25) (a) To je tk-/dobr-. copula + Predicate Nominal
(b) Pracuje tc-e/dobr-e/piln-. V + Adverbial
(c) He works hard/ well/ diligent-ly. V + Adverbial
(d) Jdlo chutn/ von *dobr / dobre. = (b/c) = V + Adverbial
(e) The food tastes/ smells good/ *well. V?/copula? + Subject Complement ?
15.6 Central and Peripheral Adjectives
(26) Typical Adjectives: (a) - are Attributes: (pre-)modify Nouns
(b) - can follow "Copulas" such as seem/ remain/ look,
(c) - are gradable (combine with very and more...than).
(27) (a) A (very) big boy...
(b) He seems very big / bigger than me.

Not all Adjectives are prototypical. There is a gradient between CORE vs. PERIPHERAL
members of the ADJ class. (See categorial prototypicality in section 9.7.)
15.6.1 Secondary Adjectives
(28) (a) those tall city towers (b) the new government project
(c) another top model (d) an inside story
(e) the [stick-in-the-mud] attitude (f) the stay-at-home American

Secondary Adjectives: have forms of Nouns/Adverbs/etc. (derivational morphemes) but
function as Attribute. They often have frozen inflectional morphology and no modification.

114

(a) * those tall cities towers ........................................ cannot take plural (N morphology)
(b) * citi-er towers, *more government project .......... cannot take Adj morphology
(c) * some interesting [a new government] project .... cannot form a full NP
(d) * some interesting [very government] project ....... cannot form a full AP

(29) Secondary Adjectives/Adverbs (conversion) (V. Mathesius, O. Jespersen)

Arguments for their adjectival (?) nature

(i) coordination (a) She is quite vulgar and commonplace.
(b) *The funds are new and government.
Assuming that only the same categories can be coordinated, vulgar and commonplace are to
be the same category but new and government are not.

(ii) A - N/ A - A (c) He is reading the new evening radical paper.
Assuming (?) a fixed position (or field) for Adjectives in front of a Noun, the position of
evening seems to suggest adjectival characteristics.

(iii) A - one (d) Electric engines are cheaper than steam ones.
Assuming 'one' combines with Adjectives, (d) suggests that steam is an Adjective.

(iv) too - A (e) That' a too London point of view
A - most (f) the topmost picture, the uppermost/ bottommost line
A - est (g) the choicest fruits
Assuming 'too/ -most/ -est' are Grading elements and that only Adj/Adv category can be
graded, then expressions like London/ top/ bottom/ etc. must be some sort of perhipheral A.
15.7 Exercises
(30) EXERCISE ===========================================
The morpheme ly can be used to derive Adverbs from Adjectives (AdjAdv), e.g.
nicenicely. Is this always the case? Analyze the morphological structure of the words
below concentrating on the character of the morpheme -ly. (To distinguish between Adj and
Adv you can use the word in prenominal and postverbal positions.) E.g.
(i) daily a daily newspaper -ly: NAdj,
(ii) really a real thing, really interesting -ly: AdjAdv

(a) friendly .......................................................................................................................
(b) hardly .......................................................................................................................
(c) early .......................................................................................................................
(d) nearly .......................................................................................................................
(e) worldly .......................................................................................................................
(f) lovely .......................................................................................................................
(g) madly .......................................................................................................................
(h) ugly .......................................................................................................................
(i) manly .......................................................................................................................
115

(j) nearly .......................................................................................................................
(k) clearly .......................................................................................................................

(31) EXERCISE ===========================================
Given your analyses in (30) above, can you predict which forms ending in -ly can be
graded by the bound morpheme -er?

(a) friendly - friendlier (b) hardly - *hardlier
(c) early - earlier (d) nearly - *nearlier
(e) lovely - lovelier (f) madly - *madlier
(g) ugly - uglier (h) nearly - *nearlier

(32) EXERCISE ===========================================
Can you relate the data in (31) above to the following examples?
(a) ugly uglish / ugliness (a') quickly *quicklish / *quickliness
(b) friendly friendliness (b) hardly*hardliness
(c) early earliness (c') nearly*nearliness / *nearlihood

(33) EXERCISE ==========================================
The following A-E are properties typical of Adjectives Considering the data in (i-vii),
fill in the table below with +/- and discuss the level of prototypicality of these Adjectives.
A. ADJECTIVE occurs after the Verbs /copulas seem, appear, feel, remain,
B. ADJECTIVE occurs between the Article and the Noun (Attribute),
C. ADJECTIVE can be (pre)modified by very / so / too / rather / somewhat,
D. ADJECTIVE can be graded by er/ -est or more/ most, less/ least,
E. ADJECTIVE can form Adverbs by use of ly.

(i) (a) A (very) hungry child... (ii) (a) A (*very) infinite mercy
(b) Adam seems (so) hungry. (b) God's mercy seems (*very) infinite.
(c) He is more hungry than me. (c) *God's mercy is more infinite than mine.
(iii) (a) ? (Rather) afraid people... (iv) (a) a (*rather) utter fool
(b) People seem (rather) afraid. (b) * Bobs foolishness seems (rather) utter.
(c) He is more afraid than me. (c) * Bobs rashness is more utter than hers.
(v) (a) * that (so) asleep baby (vii) (a) * The (very) abroad country.
(b) The patient seems (*so) asleep. (b) * The place seems (very) abroad.
(c) * He is more asleep than me. (c) * Korea is more abroad than Slovakia.

A B C D E category?
hungry
infinite
afraid
utter
asleep
abroad

116

(34) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in the blaks for complex APs (inside the complex NP):

AP AP D/Poss AP
Adv A
N
Adv A PP
a tall extremely nice MAN more thoughtful than X...
BOOK
LOVE

(35) EXERCISE ===========================================
Make an AP headed by A = clever according to the description. See (1) on page 109.
(a) bare AP [
AP
A] .....[
AP
clever]......
(b) AP with premodified A, [
AP
--- A] ..............................................................
(c) AP with postmodified A [
AP
A --- ] .......................................................................
(d) AP with both pre- and post-modified A .......................................................................

(36) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill the forms of APs from (35) into the proposed contexts. Mark the acceptability of
the resulting structures and then repeat the generalisation about the pre-/post-nominal
)distribution of Adj-Attributes.

(i) AP Predicate
(a) Josephine is clever. (c) ...........................................................
(b) ......................................................... (d) ...........................................................
(ii) Premodifying AP
(a) It was a clever proposal. (c) ...........................................................
(b) ......................................................... (d) ...........................................................
(iii) Postmodifying AP
(a) * She is a girl clever. (c) ...........................................................
(b) ......................................................... (d) ...........................................................
(iv) Complement AP
(a) Josephine appeared clever. (c) ...........................................................
(b) ......................................................... (d) ...........................................................

(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
How can you explain the order of elements in the following Czech examples?
(a) tlust kniha / ?? kniha tlust
(b) skokan zelen, kyslicnk uhlicit

(38) EXERCISE ===========================================
Is the distribution of nominal modifiers in Czech the same as in English? Give
relevant examples for pre- and post-modyfying APs.
117

(39) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the syntactic relations of the underlined elements in the structures below.
Which sentence members are they? (What are they related to?)
(a) Marion likes girls. (d) Samuel painted the floor.
(b) He knows many blond girls. (e) He likes dark floors.
(c) He likes his girlfriends blond (f) He painted the floor dark.

(40) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the distinctions.
(a) Petr je chytr. (b) Peter is clever.
(c) Petr vypad chytre. (d) Peter looks clever.


16 ADVERBS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 525-596, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 112-
126; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 158-187.

Semantic specification: modifiers. See section 14.1 on page 107.
Adverbs are modifiers which do not combine with nominal features.
Typically the modification concerns Manner, Place, Time, Frequency, etc., i.e. adverbs
modify a verbal action (i.e. Adverbs are typically related to the Verbs).

(1) (a) He runs quickly.
(b) He runs away /there.
(c) He runs daily/ now.

But consider also other parts of speech modified by Adverbs (notice their positions).

(2) Adj. (a) We are very/ so/ too/ rather/ somewhat late.
(b) He is more/ less clever than her.
(c) I saw the three most/ least beautiful girls in London.
(d) a tall very/ more/ strikingly beautiful girl
(3) Adv. (a) He runs very quickly.
(b) She will do it probably slowly but certainly well.
(c) The airplane flew very/ more/ extremely far.
(4) Prep. (a) He ran right up/ down the hill.
(b) He put them directly into the boxes.
(c) They were sitting just outside the hut.
(5) Nouns (a) There is the road upwards.
(b) His travel abroad lasted more than a year.
(c) The sideways movements were most unpleasant.
(6) Pronouns hardly anybody , precisely that , almost nothing
(7) Clause Well, I will do it. Of course, he did arrive. Perhaps I can help you.
118

16.1 Verbal, temporal, sentential and grading adverbs
Adverbs can actually modify any part of speech.
Some Adverbs share properties with Prepositions (particles) and/or Prepositional phrases.
The distribution of these Adverbs is similar to the distribution of PP. These adverbs/
adverbials can even be coordinated with PPs.

(8) (a) Jessica went up (the hill)
(b) Jessica ran away.
(c) Jessica read the book carefully / in a carefull way.
(d) Jessica arrived there / home / to school / at the cinema.
(e) Jessica performed the job work well and with creativity.
(f) They will be arriving tomorrow and on Friday.
The positions of the sentence/ verbal adverb/ials are:
(i) Initial, (ii) Middle, (iii) at the End/ Final.
Their distribution depends on the interpretation and complexity.

(9) (a) He never runs (*never).
(b) He (*very quickly) runs very quickly.
(c) (Certainly) he can (certainly) do it.

"I" (Initial) "M" (Middle) "E/F" (End/Final) position
sentential "temporal" verbal (Manner, Place, Time)
ADV - ... - ADV - V - ... - ADV

(10) Naturally he often runs very quickly

(a) Sentential Adv: usually precede the Verb or are at the very end.
(b) Temporal Adv: rather free, especially Adverbs of frequency.
(c) Verbal/Manner Adv: must be close to the Verb.
(d) Grading Adverbs: Adverbial/ Adjectival pre-modifier; see also (1) and (2) on p. 109.
16.2 Negative, partial negative, positive adverbs
Compare the adverbs often, never and hardly w.r.t. their positive/negative meaning and
formal scope properties. Notice that positive/negative polarity of the sentence is signaled
with (i) the presence of not,
(ii) pronouns (some- vs. any-),
(iii) positive vs. negative question tag and
(iv) neg inversion after ADV fronting.

(11) (a) He often says something stupid, doesn't he. / *does he.
*He often says anything stupid...
(b) Often John helped Mary with her homework.
*Often did John help Mary with her homework. ....... often is a positive ADV
119

(12) (a) He never says anything stupid, does he. / *doesn't he.
*He never says something stupid....
(b) *Never John helped Mary with her homework.
Never did John help Mary with her homework. .......never is a negative ADV
(13) (a) He hardly says anything stupid, does he. / *doesn't he.
*He hardly says something stupid..
(b) *Hardly John helped Mary with her homework.
Hardly did John help Mary with her homework.
.......hardly is a partially negative ADV: its meaning is positive but formally it is negative
(it negates the clause in the same way as never does)
16.3 Adverbials as Complements, Adjuncts, Disjuncts, Conjuncts
a) Complements
1
are obligatory complementations of a Verb.
b) Adjuncts enlarge the VP (V+Complement), they are related to the Verb (one can
WH- question them: when/ where/ why?),
c) Disjuncts/ Conjuncts are external to the Clausal Modality.

(14) (a) She runs there on Sundays. *She runs on Sundays there.
(b) He runs quickly to school every day. ?He runs every day quickly to school.
(c) Probably he runs to school quickly. *He runs probably to school quickly.

The SCOPE of the Adverb: (a) the verbal action,
(b) the domain of polarity/tense (scope of negation/tense)
(c) the whole sentence (proposition)

Consider some positions of the adverbs:
(15) (a) Mathew speaks English naturally / fluently/ * certainly.
(b) Mathew speaks naturally / fluently/ * certainly in English.
(c) Mathew will naturally/ fluently/ certainly speak English.
(d) Naturally / *Fluently/ Certainly, Mathew speaks English.
16.4 Exercises
(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the kind/ function of the underlined modifiers. Describe the scope (and type)
of the Adverbs.

(a) Jitka urcit odpovdla. (b) Jan odpovdl urcit.
(c) Jude will always help Mary. (d) Sure he will do it well.
(e) Emily is a nice girl. (f) Well, Emily is too nice.
(g) I do not like the green door. (h) This door seems really green.

1
Notice that Complement here does not mean 'doplnk' but is closer to the notion of Object because it is the
subcategorised (obligatory) element required by the lexical Verb.
120

(i) Emily painted the door green (j) Emily can run most quickly.
(k) Emily can certainly answer. (l) Emily can certainly answer rather well.
(m) Emily is so extremely beautiful. (n) Of course I arrived soon enough.

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which part of speech do the bold elements modify?

(a) Emma speaks well/quickly. (b) Marion is very lazy.
(c) George ran right up the hill. (d) Vilma will work unbelievably patiently.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Make an Adverbial Phrase according to the description.

(a) bare AP [
AP
Adv] .....briefly.......................................................
(b) AP with premodified A, [
AP
--- Adv] .......................................................................
(c) AP with postmodified A [
AP
Adv --- ] .......................................................................
(d) AP with both pre- and post-modified Adv.....................................................................

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
In which position of those in (10) on page 118 is the 'size of the Adverbial Phrase
important? Give relevant examples that illustrate contrasts.

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Replace the Adverbs by more complex constituents. Which phrases should they be?

(a) He runs quickly. (b) He runs away/ there on Sundays.
(c) He runs daily/ now. (d) He runs very /most often.

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
State and justify the categories of the underlined elements. For a similar example for
the Noun category see (29) on page 92. Try to give all possible
(i) semantic/ notional criteria,
(ii) morphological criteria (derivational, inflectional morphemes present or possible),
(iii) syntactic criteria (for a potential AP a discuss its function).
(a) I have a very big dog. (b) She is the least pretty child I know.
(c) She made his daughter pretty. (d) He is pretty silly.

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Look to the dictionary and find derivational morphemes which create ADJ/ADV. Give
several examples for each and notice, what is the category which allows that morpheme.

ADJECTIVE ADVERB
e.g. able, VAdj, : read-able, vis-ible
................................................................ ................................................................
................................................................ . ...............................................................
121

17 SEMANTICS AND MORPHOLOGY OF VERBS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 71-212, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 29-62;
Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 24-69; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik (2004) pp.93-
240; Dukov (1994) pp. 165-272; Svoboda and Oplov-Krolyov (1989) pp. 7-50;
Leech (1971), Leech & Svartvik (1975); Svoboda (2004) pp. 24-36.
17.1 Semantic Specification and Classification
(1) VALENCY (a Verb and its arguments, verbal action and its participants)


verbal event
action complementary conditions
(Manner/ Place/ Time)
1st participant 2nd participant 3rd participant
(Agent) (Patient) (Recipient/ Beneficiary)

(2) (a) Peter/He sent a parcel/ it to John/ to him in the afternoon.
(b) Petr/ On poslal balk Janovi v poledne.

Transitivity, Thematic frame, Valency: a Verb is a relation with participants/ arguments.
Classifications are based on semantic distinctions (which have formal consequences).

(3) Number of arguments

Transitive Verbs: Agent VERB Patient
Intransitive Verbs: Agent VERB

(4) (a) The farmers built a new house.
(b) A new house was built (by the farmers).
(c) Marilyn often laughs.

(5) Copulas, see (11) and (12) on page 110:
(a) Zach is a lawyer / Zach is silly.
(b) Zach seems/ appears silly.
(c) Zach became/ grew/ got older.

(6) Ergative/ Unaccusative Verbs: Theme VERB
(i) Ergative causative Vs (sink, break, close) (a) The enemy sank the boat.
(b) The boat was sunk.
Unaccusative usages of these verbs: (c) The boat sank. (atelic, intransitive)
(d) Some windows broke.
(ii) Unaccusative (a) come, go, return, fall
Vs of movement and change of state (b) turn, grow, become, get
122

(iii) Telic vs. atelic (a) There arrived three men.
(b) There came several students to the party.


(7) Inchoative Vs - start (to read) , finish (reading)

(8) Vs of sensual perception -see (him run), hear (her coming)
Vs dicendi (indirect speech) - say, tell, cry, think

(9) Causative Verbs - make (John leave), force (them to work)
(illocutionary/ performative) - order (Mary to leave), tell (him to leave)

(10) Reflexive Vs - perjure oneself, absent oneself

(11) Verbal complexes
(a) Phrasal Verbs (V+particle) - take off, look up, put away, think through, look after
(b) Verbo-nominal complexes - have fun/ a shower, take time, make money/ trouble
17.2 Verbal Paradigm (Verbal Morphology)
bare form 0 stop, choose
-s form -S stop-s, choose-s
-ing Participle -ING stopp-ing, choos-ing
Past Tense -ED or Vowel change stop-ed, chose
English VERBAL
FORMS
Passive Participle -ED/ -EN stop-ed, chos-en


(12) Simple vs. Periphrastic Forms

(a) He stops... / He stopped... / She chooses / She chose
(b) He might have been being stopped/ chosen by the police.

(13) Finite--See (12)--vs. Infinitive Forms

(a) (to) choose / (to) have chosen present/ past (bare) infinitive
(b) stopping / having stopped present/ past participle (or gerund)

(14) (a) He must/should go home. He must/should have gone home.
(b) Saying good bye, John left. . Having said good bye, John left.

(15) Verbal Features (finiteness)

(I) Aspect ....................................................... optional (Eng) /intrinsic (Cz)
(II) Tense ......................................................... optional
(III) Mood / Voice ............................................. optional
(IV) Nominal features ....................................... secondary, i.e. agreement
(Person, Gender/ Animacy, Number)

123

17.3 Tense
Time and Tense: Tense refers to the main pragmatic/ semantic notions of Time. Real Time
is an open and infinite phenomenon. Language works uses a simplified (=grammaticalized)
version of Time = Tense which is related to the moment of the speech act.

(a) Past = before the speech act
(b) Present = includes "now" (i.e. the moment of the speech act)
(c) Future = after the speech act (as yet unrealized)

Tense is an optional verbal feature, i.e. a standard Verb can take any of the Tenses
depending on the intended meaning.

(16) Morphology of Tense

[+PAST] [+PRES] [+FUT]
Hugo help-ed >>> Hugo help-s >>> Hugo will help.

Recall the rules for pronunciation (assimilation in voicing).

(17) Absolute Tense (with finite verbs)

(a) past Hugo stopp-ed >>> Did Hugo stop?
(b) present Hugo stop-s >>> Does Hugo stop?
(c) future Hugo will stop >>> Will Hugo stop?

(18) Relative Tense (with infinitives)

(a) Saying good bye, Hugo drove/is driving off in his car.
(b) Having said good bye, Hugo drove/is driving off in his car.

(a) the same (as the related finite form) to finish - finish-ing
(b) preceding (the related finite form) to have finish-ed - having finished-ed
17.4 Aspect
Aspect is added to the main Tense system providing additional conditions for the action.
(a) Progressive Aspect: continuation/ repetition, etc.,
(b) Perfective Aspect: reference to another Tense/ finishing, telicity, etc.


(19) ASPECT (a) PROGRESSIVE BE V-ing
(b) PERFECTIVE HAVE V-en

(a) +PROG circumfix: Hugo is explain-ing/ choosing
(b) +PERF circumfix: Hugo has explain-ed/ chosen

124

Aspect is an optional verbal feature. The Verb can occur with no Aspect (simple Tenses), or
it can have one Aspect or two Aspects.

(20) e.g. [PRES] (a) [-PROG/ -PERF] Hugo helps
(b) [+PROG] Hugo is help-ing
(c) [+PERF] Hugo has help-ed
(d) [+PROG] [+PERF] Hugo has been help-ing
17.5 Combinations of Aspect & Tense
In English, grammatical temporal concepts are expressed by a combination of the 3
Tenses and the 2 Aspects.

3 Tenses + 2 Aspects = 12 verbal forms
Using the 12 forms, English can express a wide variety of meanings. For a proper analysis
it is necessary to distinguish between the form (presence of the Tense+Aspect morphemes)
and the interpretation. Interpretation of specific forms is influenced by the presence of
morphemes but also by other factors, e.g. the existence of marked and unmarked usages in
a given language: each form must be considered as a part of the system, i.e. as contrastive
with the other existing forms.

(21) Temporal framing related to specific discourse (communication model)


PAST PRESENT FUTURE









(22) (a) I am leaving (now / tomorrow / every day / *yesterday).
(b) I believed that she would do it as soon as I asked her.

(23) English 12 verbal forms (Tense + Aspect Combinations)


(1) He [-ed] finish-ed (7) He was finish-ing
(2) He [-s] finish-s (8) He is finish-ing
(3) He will finish (9) He will be finish-ing
(4) He had finish-ed (10) He had be-en finish-ing
(5) He has finish-ed (11) He has be-en finish-ing
(6) He will have finish-ed (12) He will have be-en finish-ing
125

17.6 Mood, Sentence Modality
The category of Mood refers to the framing of the speech act (sentence) w.r.t. its intended
communicative function.

(A) communicative function (B) standard formal realization
(a) statement (informs about facts) : indicative Mood (sentence)
(b) question (asking about information): interrogative Mood
(c) order (influencing the hearer): imperative Mood
(d) wish (expressing a wish): optative Mood

In English the main sentence modality is not a part of verbal morphology. There is no
verbal inflection signaling sentence modality that is encoded syntactically (by bound
morphemes or in periphrastic way).
Compare the following English and Czech examples.

(24) (a) Indicative He can read.
(b) Interrogative Can he read? no morphology but distribution
(c) 2nd sg/pl Imperative Read! no morphology but distribution

(25) (a) Indicative te knihu.
(b) Interrogative te knihu? no morphology but intonation
(c) 2nd sg/pl Imperative t-i! t-te imperative morphemes

(26) Periphrastic imperative
(a) Let's go. (a') Jdme.
(b) Let me help you. (b') ??
(c) Let him do it. (c') At to udl on.
(c) Let it be. (c') ?? Nech to bt. At to je jak chce...

The category of Mood refers also to the concept of probability of the action. This feature
is optional and it does have a morphological representation in English.
(a) simple conditional (past, present)
(b) perfect conditional (past, present)


(27) CONDITIONAL WOULD bare V-infinitive
(a) Hugo would write (= present infinitive)
(b) would have written (=perfect infinitive)


(28) Conditional clauses. A realis main clause is indicative; an irrealis main clause uses
the conditional.

(a) Bernard will come tomorrow if you ask him within the next hour.
(b) Bernard would come tomorrow if you asked him within the next hour.
(c) Bernard would have stayed here if you had asked him politely.
126

17.7 Voice
The category of Voice is related to the distribution of the semantic roles among verbal
arguments (sentence members). See (9) and (10) on page 73 and (3) and (4) on page 121.
English Voice is an optional feature of the V. Verbs can take active or passive morphology.

(29) (a) Active She saw/ introduced Milan.
(b) Passive Milan was seen/ introduced by her.

(30) ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE BE -EN
(a) The book was (being) writt-en...
(b) is being writt-en...
(c) will have been writt-en...
17.8 Subject-Verb Agreement
Verbal morphology related to the characteristics of the Subject in English is not very rich.
In Czech the complex verbal morphology allows dropping the Subject (pro-drop language).

(31) (a) Nae mal Jana/Ona l-a domu. (a') Our little Jane/She goe-s home.
(b) l-a domu. (b') *Goe-s home.

Alternative realization (free vs. bound grammatical (inflectional) morpheme)
Also clausal subject can be expressed in the form of free or bound morpheme (or both).

(32) (a) more bautiful (a') nic-er (more = -er)
(b) to read, you read (b') cs-t, (ty) cte- (to = -t, you/ty = -)

Still, language is pro-drop because of the whole complex system of characteristics; not only
morphology. Not every type of overt morphology allows dropping the Subject.

(33) (a) I am reading now. (b) * Am reading now.

The English verbal morpheme of agreement is therefore a purely formal
configurational feature. (Bout also other languages with more morphology, e.g. French, can
be like English in that they require overt pronoun subjects.)
Find out in the Table in (23) on page 124 the precise position of the morpheme of
English Subject-Verb agreement -s . (Which part of the complex verbal form carries it?)

(= secondary/ derived Nominal features reflect the Subject)
(34) (a) He /she/ it call-s rather often.
(b) He/ she/ it do-es call (*s) rather often.
(c) Doe-s he/ she/ it call(*s) very often?

(35) What is -s? .... 3 sg. present. (a) Person BUT - they call(*s)
a fused morpheme of two features (b) Number BUT - I read(*s)
and - book vs. book-s
(c) Tense BUT - he wa-s
127

Think about the following examples of (dis)agreement:
semantic
(36) (a) His only success was his short stories. vs. formal agreement
(b) His short stories were his only success.
(c) What we need most is/ are sufficient funds.
(d) Two years is a long time to wait.
(e) Bread and butter is a nice breakfast.
(f) A large number of students are granted scholarships.
(g) Every year, a group of excellent students is/ are granted scholarships.
(h) Either he or you are/ *is mistaken.
(i) Either you or he is/ *are mistaken.
(j) For a birthday, flowers or a book is/ *are a good present.
(k) For a birthday, a book or flowers is/ are a good present.
(l) The police is/ are looking for the criminal.
17.9 Exercises
(37) EXERCISE ===========================================
Is a semantically based division of lexical (content) Verbs (Movement, Perception,
etc.) relevant for their form (morphology and/or syntax)?

(a) Verbs of movement (e.g. move, go) .........
(b) Verbs of perception (e.g. see, feel) .........
(c) Causal Verbs (e.g. make, force) .........

(38) EXERCISE ===========================================
(a) Say briefly what is the most common/ general interpretation of the feature [+PERF]
in English. (What do all perfect Tenses have in common?)

(b) Say briefly what is the most common/ general interpretation of the feature
[+PROG] in English. (What do all progressive Tenses have in common?)

(39) EXERCISE ===========================================
In the following table fill in the Czech 1st person sg of stavt (stavt dum) /
zastavit (zastavit auto). Recalling that linguistic signs are symbols, i.e. arbitrary, pay
attention to morphological form and interpretation - are they the same?

PAST Tense PRESENT Tense FUTURE Tense

no ASPECT
(nedokonav)
1. 2. 3.

+ PERF Aspect
(dokonav)
4. 5. 6.

Time in Czech is expressed by a combination of 3 Tenses and 1 Aspect (one form is
missing).
128

(40) EXERCISE ===========================================
Fill in all finite verbal forms of the English Verb arrive. Mark with distinct colours:
(a) Tense morphemes,
(b) the Progressive Aspect circumfix,
(c) the Perfect ASPECT circumfix.

PAST Tense PRESENT Tense FUTURE Tense

simple
= no ASPECT
1. 2. 3.

+ PROG
Aspect
4. 5. 6.

+ PERF
Aspect
7. 8. 9.

+ PROG Aspect
+ PERF Aspect
10. 11. 12.

(41) EXERCISE ===========================================
How is the morphological feature combination [+PERF][+PRES] interpreted in
English and how in Czech? Find examples in both languages.

..................................................................................................................................................

(42) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give the feature range and existing inflectional morphemes of English.

a) Tense ................................................................................................................................
b) Aspect ................................................................................................................................
c) Voice ................................................................................................................................

(43) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give the feature characteristics w.r.t. [Tense, Aspect etc] of the underlined verbal forms.

(a) Emanuel looks at Jane. .................................................................................
(b) Emanuel is looking at Jane. .................................................................................
(c) Emanuel was being looked for by Jane. .................................................................
(d) Emanuel will look at Jane. .................................................................................
(e) Emanuel has got a book. .................................................................................
(f) Emanuel has been reading a book. .................................................................................
(g) Emanuel was introduced first . .................................................................................
(h) Emanuel had had a shower. .................................................................................
(i) Emanuel had been stopped. .................................................................................
(j) Emanuel will have finished it. .................................................................................
129

(44) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write these forms of the English Verb help (underline the inflectional morphemes).

(a) [+PAST] [+PERF] [-PROG] .................................................................................
(b) [+PRES] [+PERF] [-PROG] .................................................................................
(c) [+PAST] [-PERF] [-PROG] .................................................................................
(d) [+PAST] [+PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................
(e) [+FUT] [+PERF] [-PROG] .................................................................................
(f) [+FUT] [+PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................
(g) [+PAST] [-PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................
(h) [+PRES] [-PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................
(i) [+FUT] [-PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................
(j) [+PRES] [+PERF] [+PROG] .................................................................................

(45) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write the forms of the English Verb INTRODUCE as in the list above, with the
additional feature [+/--PASSIVE]. Underline the inflectional morphemes.

(a) ............................................................... (f) ................................................................
(b) ............................................................... (g) ................................................................
(c) ............................................................... (h) ................................................................
(d) ............................................................... (i) .................................................................
(e) ............................................................... (j) ................................................................

(46) EXERCISE ===========================================
Compare and explain the Tenses in the examples below. List the elements (connectors
of some elements in the main clause) which influence the Tense in the subordinate clause.
Define exactly the conditions under which Tense shift applies in English. Give examples
(mention exceptions).

(a) Marie bude pracovat, hned jak bude pracovat ty.
(b) Hillary will start work as soon as you start work.
(c) Jana myslela, e tam nejsi.
(d) Jane thought that you were not there.
(e) Jan rekl, e to udl, kdy mu bude pomhat.
(f) George said that he would do it if you helped him.

(47) EXERCISE ===========================================
Give simple/ practical/ precise/ working rules for the usage of simple past vs. present
perfect in English (mention Adverbials of time).

(a) Caroline wrote a letter. (b) Caroline has written a letter.
(c) Peter was born in 1985. (d) *Peter has been born in 1985.
(e) Mary never saw such a book. (f) Mary has never seen such a book.
(g) Audrey read the book yesterday and she loved it a lot and remembers it all.
(h) *Audrey has read the book and she loved it a lot and remembers it all.
130

18 SYNTAX OF VERBS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 71-212, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 29-62;
Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 335-362.

(1) (a) the form of a VP (Verb Phrase)
(b) the distribution (function) of a VP
18.1 Verb Phrase


(2) VP: ADV - V - NP / PP / COMPLEMENT / V
inf
/ Clause

To form a VP (Verb Phrase), a Verb (head) combines with a range of constituents: NPs,
PPs, VPs, APs. If the combination is obligatory, we say that the Verbs lexically select
(subcategorize for) the NPs, PPs, VPs, APs. The number of the selected complements (the
obligatory ones) ranges from 0 to 2 but in a given clause it can be larger if optional ones are
also taken into account.

(3) VP = [
VP
V + OBJECT(S) ] to hand a book to Peter / Peter a book
[
VP
V + ADVERBIALS or PPs ] to dash home/ back/ into the office/now
[
VP
V + OBJ + COMPLEMENT ] to call Mary a beauty
[
VP
V + OBJ + CLAUSE or V
inf
] to warn Peter that we will come late

(4) Some obligatory verbal complementation. See verbal valency in (3) etc. on page 121.

(a) I can find the girl (e) I can swim.
(b) to gave the book to Benjamin. (f) I gave Benjamin the book.
(c) to dash to the cinema. (g) I got tired.
(d) to call him a hero. (h) Bush Jr. was elected President.

(5) Some optional modification of the Verb. See also (1) etc. on page 117.

(a) He often reads books silently, in the kitchen.
(b) Last year Henry visited his grandparents twice in Prague and once in Berlin.
(c) To invite Mary to the cinema was not a good idea.
(d) For Peter to introduce his sister to Bill was painful.

The main formal classification of Verbs is based on the specification of the obligatory
complementation of the Verb (i.e. the number and characteristics of its complements).

(a) transitive Verbs ..... require complementation
(b) intransitive Verbs ..... do not require complementation

(6) (a) *to find ..... the Verb is transitive
(b) to find a book ..... the Verb selects NP V, [ _ NP]
(c) *to find into the hall . the Verb does not select PP
131


The complementation of the Verb is stated in terms of the function or a category (part of
speech) of the following selected phrasal constituent(s): Object/NP, Adverbial/PP, etc.

(7) Kinds of lexical Verbs w.r.t. their obligatory complementation (their selection):

..... Example sentence
functions
kind of phrase
(category)*

1. The tramp laughed. S - V V, [---] intransitive V
2. Mary found a diary. S V - O
d
V, [---NP] monotransitive V
3. The tramp leaned toward
the girl.
S V Adv V, [---PP] V of movement
4. Bill started to read. S V V/Com.** V, [---VP]
5. He is/seemed tired. S V
pred./com.
V, [---AP] linking/copula V
6. He told a girl an
interesting story.
S V O
i
O
d
V, [---(NP) NP]
7. He sent a letter to John. S V O
d
O
i
V, [---NP (PP)]
ditransitive V
<Patient+Beneficiary>**
8. John put a book on the
shelf.
S V O
d
Adv V, [---NP
PP/Adv]
<Patent+Location>
9. He called her idiot.. S V O
d
com. V, [---NP NP]
10. He saw Bill run. S V O
d
com. V, [---NP VP]
11. The music drives me mad. S V O
d
com. V, [---NP AP]
complex transitive
V+Complement


* Many non-VP complements can be replaced by a (semi)clause.
** Patient is sometimes called Theme when change of Location is involved.
*** Complement means 'doplnk' here.

Many Verbs can select (are followed by) other Verbs (VPs). This is typical for Auxiliaries
and Modals but also for many other Verbs. The selected VP is in the form of an infinitive
(bare or with to) or an ing form. These infinitival structures are often called semi-clauses.

(8) (a) I am reading the book.
I have read the book.
I have to read the book.
(b) We must read that huge book.
She makes/ has us read that huge book.
(c) I reluctantly started/ finished/ kept reading that huge book.
(d) I wanted to read the book.
She wanted us to read the book.
(e) I love/ hate to read those books.
My mother loved/ hated us to read them.
(f) I love/ hate reading those books.
My mother loved/ hated us reading them.
(g) I saw/ heard the students fall asleep/ falling asleep.
(h) I decided/ arranged/ hoped to read the book.
(i) I promised Anne to read it.
(i) I convinced/made/ordered Anne to read it.
(j) I arranged for Anne to read it.
132

18.2 Distribution and Functions of VP
Typical function: (A) Finite Verb = Predicate: see above in (23) on page 124.
(B) Infinitive = -ing form, to-infinitive, bare infinitive

Both infinitives (ing and to-infinitives) can appear in any sentence function.
(9) (a) To read so many books to Adam every day must be maddening.
(b) To read (such books) is to know (many facts about life very soon).
(c) I like to read/ reading (books at night).
(d) A letter to read (quickly/ to Adam/ *a paragraph).
(e) Reading (books to Adam every day ) is easier than writing (poems every day).
(f) Saying good bye to Bill, he left.
(g) Hillary went to the pub, having finished her work.
(h) We asked (her) when to read to Adam.
(i) We talked to Adam about studying hard.
18.3 Exercises
(10) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write down examples of complex VPs with both premodification and
postmodification. Make the verbal head (i) finite and (ii) infinitival.

(a) VP = Adv+V+ OBJECT(S) (i) ....................................................................................
(ii) ...................................................................................
(b) = Adv+V+ADVERBIAL (i) .......................................................................
(ii) ......................................................................
(c) = V+N+COMPLEMENT (i) ..................................................................................
(ii) ......................................................................

(11) EXERCISE ===========================================
Divide the sentences in (9) above to sentence members (constituents).
(12) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write down example sentences with complex VPs (e.g. transitive Vs) in the function of

(a) Subject .............................................................................................................
(b) Predicate .............................................................................................................
(c) Object .............................................................................................................
(d) Attribute .............................................................................................................
(e) Adverbial .............................................................................................................
(f) Complement .............................................................................................................

(13) EXERCISE ===========================================
In which contexts does English use the bare infinitive (infinitive without 'to')? Write
down all of them. If necessary, mention the distinctions in active/ passive Voice and
American/ British norms.
..................................................................................................................................................
133

19 AUXILIARIES AND MODALS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 71-212, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 29-62;
Dukov (1994) pp. 165-272; Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 24-46; Quirk, Greenbaum,
Leech & Svartvik (2004) pp. 93-172; Leech (1971).
19.1 Semantic Specification
Full meaning vs. complementary meaning? (How do we measure a meaning?)
>> MOD/AUX requires a V complement
>> MOD/AUX has no thematic frame. Cf. (3) on page 121.

(1) (a) *Emma found. / Emma found a job.
(b) Emma is (not) finding / has (not) found a job.
(c) Emma has to / ought to / must find a job. (WHO/WHAT makes her?)

Assuming that the main property of Modals and Auxiliaries is their lack of lexical meaning,
then Auxiliaries are part of verbal paradigms and Modals express modality (they have
rather idiosyncratic behavior). There are several distinguishable groups of these Verbs; see
(2) below. Each group has special formal characteristics which can be contrasted.

(2) English Auxiliaries and Modals (Quirk, 1985)

(a) Auxiliaries be, have, do
(b) Central Modals can, will, may, shall, must
could, would, might, should
(c) Marginal Modals dare (neg. polarity), need (neg. polarity), ought to, used to
(d) Modal Idioms had better, would rather, have got to...
(e) Semi-Auxiliaries have to, be about to, be going to, (be to)

Some of the non-lexical Verbs have their lexical counterparts. Compare the paradigm of
the Modals need/ dare in (a/b/c/d) below with the Verbs need/ dare illustrated in (e/f/g/h).

(3) Marginal Modals
(a) She need /dare not (*to) see a doctor. (e) She does not need /dare to see one.
(b) Neednt she (*to) see a doctor? (f) Doesnt she need/ dare to see one?
(c) Dare she (not) see a doctor? (g) Does she (not) dare to see one?
(d) *She now needs/ dares see a doctor. (h) She now needs/ dares to see one.
19.2 Two Kinds of Modality among the Modals
Modals express the obligation (duty) or level of certainty.

(4) (a) I must go to school Deontic modality (still Verbal)
= I have a duty/ am obliged to go to school.
(b) It must be 5 o'clock Epistemic modality (a kind of Adverbial)
= It is certain that it is 5 o'clock.
134

There is not much formal distinction between the deontic and epistemic Modals in the
Present Tense (but compare the influence of Aspect/ Negation with may). However, the
distinction is clear in Past Tense. In the past the more verbal element which is marked for
Tense: the Modal (periphrastic) with deontics, the infinitive with epistemics.

(5) He must be at home.

With past deontic meaning, If must is epistemic, i.e. if must has
i.e. if must is verbal, the past adverbial characteristics, the infinitive
must be expressed in Past Tense, of the Main Verb expresses past by means of
and so had to replaces must. the perfect infinitive, in this case have been.

(a) He had to be at home yesterday. = deontic modality
(b) He must have been at home yesterday. = epistemic modality

(6) (a) He had to go to school. (= It was his duty to go...)
(b) He must have gone to school. (= He certainly went...)
(c) ??It had to be 5o'clock. (=??Someones duty was at 5 o'clock)
(d) It must have been 5o'clock. (=It certainly was 5 o'clock)
19.3 Phonetic reductions of Auxiliaries, Modals and Lexical Verbs
(7) Auxiliary (a) he is > he's > he isn't
(b) I have/ had > I've/ I'd > I haven't/ I hadn't

(8) Modal (a) I can/ will > *I'n/ Ill > I can't/ I wont
(b) he must > *he'st > he mustn't

(9) Lexical Verb (a) I read/ I kill > *I'd/ *Ill > *I readnt/ *I killnt
(b) he goes > *he's > *he goesnt

The above examples show a growing level of standard phonetic reduction which appears
(a) in declarative sentences between the Subject and the first verbal element,
(b) in negative contexts with the bound form of the particle not = -n't.

The Auxiliaries have and be have reduction in both cases, the Modals have only some
reductions, and lexical Verbs usually do not reduce (in standard speech).
19.4 Morphological Properties
(10) Auxiliary

(a) He is / was / will be reading... SUBSTITUTION: be
(b) He has / had / will have written... is suppletive but has a
(c) I want to be reading.../ I want to have written... full paradigm as in 17.2.
(d) (While) Being examined, Elisabeth broke into tears.
(e) He seems to have examined her carelessly.
(f) Having been examined, Elisabeth left.
135

(11) Modal (a) *William is can-ing/ must-ing/ will-ing .... (visit his parents).
(b) *William has can-ed/ must-ed / will-ed ... (visit his parents).
(c) I want * to can/ * to must/ * to shall... (visit my parents).

(12) Tense (could?/ would?/ *might/ *should)
(a) Constantine stopped.
(b) Constantine can/ could march to new conquests. (Past? Conditional?)
(c) Did Constantine stop?
(d) Constantine will / would march to new conquests. (Past? Conditional?)

(13) Aspect
(a) Constantine is marching again. (b) *Constantine is canning march again.
(c) Constantine has marched again. (d) *Constantine has canned march again.

(14) Voice (a) Better novels were written/ *canned/ *musted by new authors.
Mood (b) New authors (would) write/*can/ *must better novels.

(15) Subject-Verb Agreement (secondary/ derived Nominal features)
(a) Constantine reads a lot. (b) *He cans/ wills a lot.
(c) Constantine hopes to read a lot. (d) *He hopes to can/ to will read a lot.

With respect to morphology, the main Auxiliaries group together with the lexical Verbs,
because both have full verbal paradigms including infinitival forms.
Central Modals (and Modal Idioms) are unique, because they lack verbal morphology.
19.5 Exercises
(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Underline the words (the part of the Predicate) which express the main meaning of the
verbal complex.

(a) Mathew is looking at Jane. (e) Mathew is looking for Jane.
(b) Mathew has got a book. (f) Mathew has been reading a book.
(c) Mathew has had to go home. (g) Mathew is having a shower.
(d) Mathew will make trouble, I am sure. (h) Mathew started to read a book.

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the thematic/ semantic roles of the Predicates. Does the number and
characteristics of the participants related to the Verb change with the presence of an
Auxiliary or Modal? How?

(a) Hilary sang a song for Steve.
(b) Hilary is singing a song for Steve.
(c) Hilary will be singing a song for Steve.
(d) Finally Hillary's mother said yes and Hillary was allowed to go to the cinema.
(e) Hillary may go to the cinema.
136

(f) Hillary was able to climb the mountain.
(g) Hillary must sing a song.
(h) Hillary has to sing a song.
(i) Hillary must have sung a song.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Translate the sentence 'Mus bt doma' with (a) deontic and (b) epistemic meanings.
Explain the distinction in interpretation. Then put both sentences into the past.
.
(a) ............................................................. .....................................................................
(b) ............................................................. .....................................................................

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Paraphrase to express the meaning of the modal element. Translate into Czech.

(a) We were able to finish before noon.
(b) We could have finished before noon.
(c) He had to help her with her work.
(d) He must have helped her with her work.
(e) You should have told me yesterday, I then need not have worried.
(f) For all we ought to have thought but have not thought, for all we ought to have said
but have not said, for all we ought to have done but have not done I pray thy God for
forgiveness.

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Find out from Table (23) on page 124 in which part of the complex verbal form the
Subject-Verb agreement -s is realized. Compare the Auxiliary, Modal and Lexical Verbs.

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
Check which kinds of Modals in the Table (2) on page 133 have morphology typical
for Modals, i.e. which of them lack -s, -ed, -ing, to-infinitives etc.

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss what the element to is in the following sentences.

(a) I gave the book to Peter
(b) Who did you give the book to?
(c) I want to introduce you to Peter.
(d) I want to go home now, but when does Peter want to?
(e) I have to go home.
(f) I am able to go home.
(g) He dared to visit the princess, but he ought not to have.

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which Modals in Table (2) on page 133 are followed by bare infinitives and which
are followed by a to-infinitive? If an item allows both, what else correlates with the choice?
137

20 SYNTAX OF AUXILIARIES, MODALS AND VERBS
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 71-212, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 29-62.

Consider the word orders in the following sentences. (V = Lexical Verb)
(1) (a) Marcel reads American novels. = S-V-O
(b) Does Marcel read American novels? = S-V-O
(c) Marcel does not read American novels. = S-V-O

Simply referring only to the Verb is not enough to describe (the word order of) main
clause structures in English. The Predicate is analytic. We must divide the Predicate
(Verb) into several elements making up complex verbal forms/ complex Predicates.
How many and which elements are involved?
20.1 Question formation: Modal/*Verb - Subject - ...

(2) INVERSION: WHAT inverts?
(a) Marcel can read. Can Marcel read?
(b) Marcel is reading. Is Marcel reading?
(c) Marcel reads. *Reads Marcel?
(d) Marcel (DOES) read. Does Marcel read?

Assuming the (d) example is showing the hidden structure of an English clause with no
Aux/Mod, we can propose the following scheme.
Notice the importance of the first phonetically present Mod/Aux, and that is distinct from
V
LEX.
This first element inverts with Subject, not the Verb.

(3) Question Inversion: the first Aux/Mod moves in front of the SUBJECT.



Marcel can read
will
Inverted might semantically empty
Position is (-ing) nonemphatic do
do provides DO-support

SUBJECT Mod/Aux VERB


In English the V position is to be divided into a Mod/Aux + V
LEX

complex. We
provisionally call this the position.
Auxiliary do: In declarative positive nonemphatic structures the initial Aux do remains
phonetically empty. It is, however, visible in interrogative, negative or emphatic
structures, where it provides DO-support.
138

20.2 Negation (Position of not)
Clausal Negation: inserting the particle NOT. What is the position of not?

(4) (a) Marcel canNOT be reading. (b) ?Marcel can be NOT reading.
(c) *Marcel can be reading NOT. (d) *Marcel NOT reads.
(e) *Marcel reads NOT. (f) Marcel does NOT read.

The negative particle not appears in front of some Verbs but after others. Assuming the
structure proposed in (3) on page 137, we can propose the following uniform scheme.
Notice the importance of the first phonetically present Mod/Aux, distinct from V
LEX.
This
element precedes the particle not (or its bound form -n't ).

(5) Negative particle (+negative/ short Adverbs) follows the first Aux/Mod : O


Marcel can NOT - - - read
will never semantically empty
might just nonemphatic do becomes lexicalized
is (-ing) to provide DO-support
do for the particle not.

SUBJECT NEG - - - VERB

20.3 Question Tags, Short Answers, Questions of Surprise
The role of O operator (the first Mod/Aux) is again crucial. DO-support reappears.

(6) (a) John can see us, can't he? - Yes, he can. - Can he?
(b) John has been reading, hasn't he? - Yes, he has. - Has he?
(c) *John reads them, reads he not? - *Yes, he reads. - *Reads he?
(d) John reads them, doesn't he? - Yes, he does. - Does he?

Conclusion:
With respect to their distribution/ syntax, MOD/AUXs form a special group within the
category of VERBS and their characteristics can be stated as in (9) on page 139.

Morphological vs. syntactic criteria
The morphological template of an English Predicate consists of up to 5 elements, the 5-
slot Predicate model (Quirk, 1985):


(7) Modal Perfect Progressive Passive Lexical



John will/can have been being introduced
139

For syntactic analysis, however, i.e. when discussing the word order of English clause, the
2-slot Predicate is sufficient as well as more elegant. The first slot is the operator (=
the first Modal MOD/AUX , preceding any NEGATION); the others are all the following
Aux/Vs.

(8) O V(s) = one or more AUXs / Vs

John will/can have been being introduced

(9) Classification of the verbal elements
a) Modals : central Modals appear always in the position
b) Auxiliaries: appear either in or in some following (V) position
c) Lexical Verbs: never appear in the position

The above allows us to define Central Modals in English in a more precise way.

(10) Central Modals in English:
a) lack verbal morphology
b) always appear in O i.e. - they are unique and
- always precede Aux

(11) The specific properties of 'the first modal/auxiliary' position (here as O):
Huddleston & Pullum (2002) : NICE (NICCEE)

a) Negation O takes not, lexical V does not
b) Interrogation O inverts in questions, lexical V does not
c) Coda O is used in short reactive structures (question tags, questions
of surprise), lexical V is not
(i) John must speak English, mustn't he?. - Must he?
(ii) John speaks English, speakn't he? - *Speaks he?
d) Contraction O contracts, lexical V does not
e) Emphasis O is used to emphasize the polarity, lexical V is not
(i) A: John cannot speak English. - B: (No,) John can so speak English.
A: John can speak English. - B: (No,)John can't either speak English.
(ii) A: John speaks English. - B: *(No,) John speaks so English.

f) Ellipsis O is used in ellipsis, lexical V is not
(i) John can speak English - and so can/should/do I. but/so Mary needn't.
John could speak English - before Mary could /did. - if Mary did.
(ii) John spoke English - *and so spoke I. - before Mary spoke.
20.4 Negative Questions (Testing the proposed verbal structure)
Notice the pattern, referring to (3) on page 137 and (5) on page 138.
Negative questions should (i) have inversion, and (ii) contain the particle not (or -n't ).
Discuss in more detail which element (how many of them) inverts with a Subject, reflecting
on the categorial status (= particle) of not (or -n't ).
140

(12) (a) Marcel will often be reading. (b) Will Marcel often be reading?
(c) *Will be Marcel often reading? (d) *Will often Marcel be reading?
(e) *Will be reading often Marcel?

(13) The above issues are clarified by the possible morpho-phonetic contraction of not:
(a) David won't be reading. (e) David will not be reading.
(b) Won't David be reading? (f) *Will not David be reading?
(g) Will David not be reading?
(c) David doesn't read. (h) David does not read.
(d) Doesn't David read? (i) *Does not David read?
(j) Does David not read?
20.5 Exercises
(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
Assuming the syntactic distinction(s) between Aux/Mod and Verbs, i.e. referring to
(i) their need for DO-support, (ii) their ability to invert, and (iii) infinitive or agreement
morphology, discuss the underlined Verbs and state their category (V or Aux or Mod).

(A) (a) Do you go swim often? - No, I don't go swim.
(b) * Go you swim? - * No, I go not swim. Example shows a typical
(c) I want to go swim. pattern of .........................

(B) (a) * Do you can go? - * No, I don't can go.
(b) Can you go? - No, I cannot go. Example shows a typical
(c) * I want to can go. pattern of .........................

(C) (a) * Do you be going now? - * No, I don't be going now.
(b) Are you going now? - No, I am not going now. Example shows a typical
(c) I want to be going now. pattern of .........................

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the ungrammaticality of the following sentences, referring to the rule for
Subject-Verb agreement in English. (Giving a possible correct form is NOT an
explanation! Use the reasoning in terms od the model (8) on page 139)

(a) *A lot of guests arrives today. (e) *Bill wills read a journal.
(b) *Their type arrive pretty often. (f) *Knows John about the situation?
(c) *Mary or John are reading the book. (g) *Do John knows about the situation?
(d) *Bill will reads a journal. (h) *Do John know about the situation?

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Referring to your rules for question formation and for making clause negation in
English, explain the ungrammaticality of the following examples.

(a) *Can be John running? (f) *Will not John come soon?
(b) *John not reads much. (g) *John reads never novels.
141

(c) Does he understand? - *Not (so). (h) *John don't reads good books.
(d) *Can Mary havent read that book? (i) *Needs Bill do anything about this?
(e) *Dare John to notify the police? (j) *Does John will know about it soon?

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Construct relevant examples which show whether the following underlined Verbs are
Aux/Mod Verbs. For the criteria see (8) on page 139 and (10) on page 139.
(a) Julien can be leaving London just now.
(b) Mary has been writing her essay for two weeks already.
(c) Livia was introduced to Martin.
(d) Claire has to read this paper tonight.
(e) Hugo is to help his mother with the shopping.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Assuming the properties of the best case Modals as discussed above, see (8) on page
139 and (10) on page 139, and considering above all:
(i) no do-support,
(ii) no inflectional morphology,
(iii) followed by bare infinitive,
find out what makes central Modals distinct from the marginal Modals, modal idioms and
semi-Auxiliaries. (See (2) on page 133.)

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Write the correct forms and explain the ungrammaticality referring to the model (8)
on page 139.
(a) *William need to go to school. .......................................................................
(b) *Harry dares now go to the cinema. .......................................................................
(c) *Neednt they to go to school? .......................................................................
(d) *Dont they dare go to the cinema? .......................................................................
(e) *Needs he not to go to school? .......................................................................
(f) *Does he not dare see his friend? .......................................................................

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Compare the particle not with the negative Adverb(ial) never. Discuss their
properties suggested by the questions below. Use the examples below (and create more of
your own) to demonstrate the phenomena.
(i) Is their position the same?
(ii) Do they both require DO-support ?
(iii) Where do they appear in (negative) questions?
(iv) Can both of them contract?
(v) Under which condition can they appear in front of the Subject?
(vi) Can they be used alone in isolated answers?
(vii) Which kind of verbal inflections can(not) appear after them?
(a) Livia will not be (*not) reading. (a') Livia will never be (not/ *never) reading.
(b) *Livia not reads. (b') Livia never reads.
142

(c) Livia does not read. (c') ??Livia does never read.
(d) Will Livia not read? (d') Will Livia never read?
(e) Won't Livia read? (e') *Will never Livia read?
(f) *Not will he help her. (f') Never will he help her.
(g) Will you help? - *Not. (g') Will you help? - Never.
(h) *Livia not does read.. (h') Livia never does read.

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
To describe the English word order, the simple model S V O is often used, which
employs a single (synthetic) symbol V for the whole Predicate. In this section we have
been using a 2-slot model for the analytic English Predicates in model (8) on page 139 and
mentioned the 5-slot Predicate (see (7) on page 138) for the complex verbal forms of
English.
A. What is the distinction? Make a schematic picture of both, label the components and
give examples
5-slot-model



2-slot-model



B. How would you define (= describe) the element labeled here O?
C. In the following examples underline the full Predicates and describe their structure.
Which model seems to you descriptively most adequate? What are the reasons for
your choices?
(a) This house must have been being built for years already.
(b) The picture could not be seen because of the shadow.
(c) Your money is being spent just now.
(d) *Will not you help your brother?
- Will you not help your brother?

D. Using the two models, try to answer the following questions?
(i) How many elements can appear in each slot?
(ii) Is the order of the units obligatory? Try to give relevant data (give examples)!
(iii) Are all/ some of the members of the form(s) in a given slot obligatory?
(iv) What is the position of negation (NOT) in each scheme?
(v) Which element (slot?) inverts in questions?
(vi) In which element (slot?) does the 3sg morpheme s appear in the Present Tense?

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss (explain, comment) the distinctions between the 'first modal/auxiliary' O
providing examples of all the diagnostics NICE. (Negation, Inversion, Coda,
Emphasis).
143

21 THE ENGLISH VERBS DO, BE AND HAVE
See also: Huddleston & Pullum (2002) pp. 71-212, Huddleston & Pullum (2005) pp. 29-62;
Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) pp. 24-69; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech & Svartvik (2004) pp.93-
240; Dukov (1994) pp. 174-180; Svoboda and Oplov-Krolyov (1989) pp. 7-50;
Leech (1971).

Every English Auxiliary and Modal is rather idiosyncratic (= specific, sui generis, with
some unpredictable property or properties). Recall the following:

(1) Classification of the verbal elements
a) Modals: central Modals always appear in the O position
b) Auxiliaries: appear either in or in some following (V) position
c) Lexical Verbs: never appear in the O position

The following examples illustrate that apart from the Auxiliary "do", there also exists in
English a lexical Verb "do". Considering all the distinction(s) among Aux/Mod/Lexical
Verbs discussed in the above sections, the two kinds of "do" are distinct lexical items, each
of which behaves regularly with respect to its characteristics.

(2) Lexical do Auxiliary do

(a) Emma did her homework. (a') Emma did read the novel.
(b) Did he do his homework? (b') *Did he do read the novel?
(c) *Did he his homework? (c') Did he read the novel?
(d) He wants to do his homework. (d') *He wants to do read the novel.
(e) Dont do your homework again. (e') *Dont do read the novel again.
(f) *She didnt her homework yet. (f) She didnt read the novel yet.
(g) *Do not your homework here! (g) Do not read the novel here!
21.1 Specificity of be
The English Verb be can be analyzed as several different elements, depending on its
complementation.

(3) Kinds of be
(a) He is reading some novel, isn't he? be (+ing) = progressive Aux
(b) It is written in English, isn't it? be (+en) = passive Aux
(c) Peter is a teacher/ silly, isn't he? be (+NP/AdjP) = Copula
(d) Mary is at home, isn't she? be (+PP/AdvP) = location
(e) There is a man in the garden, isn't there? there construction = existential be
(f) I am to read this article by next week. be (+ to-infinitive) = Modal

The position of "be" in the English analytic Predicate
In terms of the 2-slot Predicate model (8) on page 139, notice the special properties of the
English Verb "be" as illustrated below. Consider all formal distinction(s) among
Aux/Mod/Lexical Verbs discussed in earlier sections.
144

(4) (a) Is he at home?
(b) *Does he be at home? be inverts like an Aux/Mod.
(c) He is not reading any books.
(d) *He does not be reading any books. be precedes NEG like an Aux/Mod.
(e) We arranged for it to be translated.
(f) I want to be a teacher. be can be non-finite like Lexical Vs.
(g) There are men here. There is a man here. be has inflection like an Aux.
(h) He can/ will (not) be (*not) at home. be can appear after Mod/Aux.
(i) Don't be silly! be co-occurs with Aux do.

As schematically illustrated in (3) on page 137 and (5) on page 138, a standard Predicate in
an English sentence has (at least) two syntactic positions: O (an operator, the first
Mod/Aux) and a second V position for (Aux and Lexical) Verbs.
The Verb be is special, because it can occupy both positions.

(5) Schematic structure for all uses of the Verb be (within the analytic Predicate)

(a) Emma IS not at home.
(b) Emma can BE at home.



Emma IS not at home.
can BE

SUBJECT =Mod/Aux Neg VERB

analytic Predicate


Note: It seems that only one use of be, Modal be, occurs only in the position:
*We may be to read that article next week. *I wouldnt want to be to report to the office.

The Verb be occupies (in some abstract sense) the position of the lexical Verb, i.e. is NOT
followed by another (bare) V. In a sentence, however, unlike any other V, any be can also
appear in the position of the O when this position would otherwise be empty.
Another way to say this: In finite ( non-imperative) clauses with be, there is no do-support.
21.2 Specificity of have
Using the 2-slot Predicate model (8) on page 139, compare the examples of the Verb have
below with the structure of be in (5) above.

(6) Archaic stative have .... a structure identical with be.
(a) I (can) have a book here. I want to have more books.
(b) Have you a book here?
(c) I haven't any book here.

145

The Predicate in Old English was not as analytic as in Modern English, and the examples
above suggest that the archaic usage of the stative (possessive) Verb have is structurally
similar to the Verb be, i.e. have
(a) is NOT followed by another V
(b) is able to move to the position of the AUX/MOD (in front of negation) whenever
possible/ needed.

Languages, however, have a tendency to get rid of irregularity and Modern English does
not freely use the archaic form of have as illustrated above. Look below at the strategies
applied in Modern British and American English.

The following examples (7) show that British English has made stative (possessive) have
into a non-lexical element, Auxiliary. The position of the lexical Verb is represented by got.

(7) Stative/ possessive have in Modern British English
(Consider its similarities with the standard perfective Aux have.)

(a) I (*will) have got new books. (a') I (will) have received new books.
(b) Have you got a new book? (b') Have you received a new book?
(c) * Do you have got a good book? (c') * Do you have received a good book?
(d) I haven't got any books. (d) I haven't received any books.
(e) * I don't have got any books. (e') * I don't have received any books.
(f) Youve got new ones, havent you? (f) Youve received them, havent you?

The following example (8) shows that in contrast to the British usage, American English
treats stative (possessive) have as a lexical Verb.
(Consider its similarities with standard lexical Verb receive.)

(8) (a) Do you have new books? (a') Do you receive new books?
(b) Yes, I (do) have new books. (b') Yes, I (do) receive new books.
(c) No, I don't have any books. (c') No, I don't receive any books.
(d) You (do) have some, dont you? (d) You do receive some, dont you?

(9) Schematic picture of the stative/ possessive Verb have
Compare the structure below with structure of be in (5) on page 144.


Archaic HAS not
British Emma HAS not got any toys
American (does) not HAVE

SUBJECT =Mod/Aux Neg VERB


Apart from stative/ possessive have, English uses other kinds of have, too. In these usages,
British and American are the same. The following examples show that have can be Aux,
Mod, and Lexical Verb as well.
146

(10) Perfective have: You (may/ *can) have written a letter.

(a) Have you written a letter? (a') * Do you have written a letter?
(b) I haven't written a letter. (b') * I don't have written a letter.
(c) You have written one, havent you? (c) * You have written one, didnt you?
(d) For Jane to have written a letter would surprise me.

(11) Modal have: I (may/ *can) have to go there immediately.

(a) *Have you to go there? (a') Do you have to go there?
(b) *I haven't to go there now. (b') I don't have to go there now.
(c) *You have to go now, havent you? (c) You have to go now, dont you?
(d) For Jane to have to go now would surprise me.

(12) Dynamic have : (i) You (can) have a look around.
(ii) They (can) have good times later.
(iii) I (could) have lunch with Joe.

(a) *Had you a look around? (a') Did you have a look around?
(b) * I haven't a look around often. (b') I don't have a look around often.

(c) * Had they some good times later? (c') Did they have some good times later?
(d) * I haven't good times lately. (d') I don't have good times lately.

(e) * Have you lunch with Joe today? (e) Did you have lunch with Joe today?
(f) * I hadn't lunch with Joe. (f') I didn't have lunch with Joe.
(g) * She often has lunch, hasnt she? (g) She often has lunch, doesnt she?

(13) (a) John has a shower every day. Agentive/Experiencer have
(b) John has Mary carry his suitcase. Causative have
(b) John has his car repaired. Concern have
21.3 Exercises
(14) EXERCISE ===========================================
Assuming the 2-slot predicate model (8) on page 139 and considering the position of
negation (and the ability to invert in questions), does the Verb be occupy the position of
Aux/Mod or the position of a Verb?

(a) Julie is not at home. (b) Emma cannot be at home.
(c) Be ready to go at five! (d) Don't be late again!
(e) Arent they ready yet? (f) To be or not to be, that is the question.

(15) EXERCISE ===========================================
Considering the distinction between the following examples
i) w.r.t. the meaning (epistemic vs. deontic interpretation)
147

ii) w.r.t. the characteristics of the finite verb (see criteria (8) on page 139 and (10) on
page 139).
iii) Explain the distinction in making the past tense of the two forms.

(a) He must be at home ... (...every day / - mustn't he? / -Isn't he?)
(b) He has to be at home...

(16) EXERCISE ===========================================
Assuming the 5-slot predicate model (see (7)on page 138), make English sentences putting
the correct form of be into the bold framed slot (try to fill the other positions with some
element, too, if possible). Are all positions available for be?

Which of the verbs be illustrated in (3) on page 143 is in which position?
How would the same exercise look assuming the 2-slot predicate model?

Mod Perf Prog Pass Verb
(a) Adam
(b) Adam
(c) Adam
(d) Adam
(e) Adam

(17) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the examples of Modal be below which test
(i) the form of negation and question formation,
(ii) the ability to appear in every Tense/ Aspect,
(iii) the ability to appear as infinitive.
Try to test the same properties with the other kinds of be given in (3) on page 143.

(a) I am (not) to leave at six o'clock. (a') He is (not) to leave at six o'clock.
(b) I was (n't/ not) to leave before six. (b') They were (n't/ not) to leave before six.
(c) Am I (not) to leave at six o'clock? (c') Were they (not) to leave at six o'clock?
(d) *He will be to leave at six o'clock. (d') *They had been to leave at six o'clock.
(e) * To be to leave at six a.m. is irritating.

(18) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider the same questions as in exercise (14) above for the Modal have (to) and
also the other kinds of have.

(19) EXERCISE ===========================================
Explain the ungrammaticality of the following sentences in terms of the syntactic
distinctions among the LEX-AUX-MOD Verbs.

(a) *Had you a quick look at this book?
(b) *Have you to write a letter to Julie already?
(c) *Do you have written a letter to Wilma?
(d) *Im surprised that John had not a good time in London.
148

(e) *For him to havent written yet worries me.

(20) EXERCISE ===========================================
Which form of a Verb follows the Modal? A bare infinitive or to-infinitive?
Consider the following sentences and find similar examples to demonstrate your claim.

(a) I must go now. (a') *I have go now.
(b) *I must to go now. (b') I have to go now.
(c) I must have gone too early. (c') *I had go too early.
(d) *I must to have gone too early. (d') I had to go too early.
(e) *I dont want to must live forever. (e') I dont want to have to live for ever.

(21) EXERCISE ===========================================
In the following sentences classify all the verbal elements among Lex-Aux-Mod.
Give relevant arguments for your decisions.

(a) Theo is looking at Jane. (f) Theo is looking for Jane.
(b) Theo has got a book. (g) Theo has gotten a book.
(c) Theo has had to go. (h) Theo is having a shower.
(d) Theo will make trouble, I am sure. (i) Theo started to read a book.
(e) Theo may have read that book. (j) Theo has been reading that book.

(22) EXERCISE ===========================================
Discuss the properties of the following dynamic usages of have. Give more examples
of the kind.

I. Agentive: Tourists (can) have a look around the museum before they leave.
(a) *Have you often a look around it? (a') Do you often have a look around it?
(b) *I haven't always a look around it. (b') I don't always have a look around it.
(c) .........................................................................................................................................
II. Causative: You (can) have somebody help you with the homework.
(a) *Had you somebody help you? (a') Did you have anybody help you?
(b) *They haven't anybody help them. (b') They don't have anybody help them.
(c) .........................................................................................................................................
III. Concern: They (will) have their house repainted every year.
(a) * , havent they? (a') , wont they?/ , dont they?
*Have they really? Will they really?/ Do they really?
(b) *I haven't ever mine repainted.
(b'). I didn't/ wont ever have mine repainted.
(c) .........................................................................................................................................
149

(23) EXERCISE ===========================================
In (substandard) spoken American English the possessive Verb have (see (8) on
page 145 above) is often replaced by 'got', especially in a positive declarative context.
Consider the examples below. Notice that this paradigm of got looks like a lexical Verb
paradigm, but because of example (d), it cannot be taken for a regular type.

(a) I/ You/ We/ They got a new book. = I/ You/ We/ They have a new book.
(b) I/ You/ We/ They don't got a new book. = I/ You/ We/ They don't have a new book.
(c) Do I/ you/ we/ they got that book? = Do I/ you/ we/ they have that book?
(d) *He gots a new book. (d') He's got a new book.
(e) He hasn't got a new book.
(f) Has he got a new book?

Notice that the form used is "got" not "get" (Standard English: to get to V = to have of
advantage of V-ing)

(g) We get to (can, manage to) visit the museum free every Wednesday.

(24) EXERCISE ===========================================
Consider also the following examples in which gotto is replacing have to = must.
(The written form is unlikely to appear since these forms are more or less colloquial only.)
Is gotto in the V position or the O operator position? Why?

(a) You [gotto] go, don't you?
(b) They [gotto] go, don't they?
(c) You don't [gotto] go, do you?
(d) He's [gotto] go.
(e) Has he [gotto] go?
(f) You [gotto] get the book soon, don't you?
(g) *You [gotto]not come back soon.
(h) To [gotto] go now is a pain.

(25) EXERCISE ===========================================
i) Find all the sentence members in the following examples.
ii) Which constituents (phrases) represent the sentence members? Make the phrases
more rich // replace them by a short variety of the same category.
iii) Find the VP and discuss the valency of the Verb. How are the Arguments realized?
Which kind of Verb is it using the Table 7 on p. 131
iv) Look in more detail at each word, giving its category and explaining its form.

(a) His younger brother saw your friend in front of the main building.
(b) I introduced Mary's boyfriend to my grandfather.
(c) They were determined to put all the exercise books to the bottom shelves.
(d) The free people of Uganda will be electing their President soon.
(e) To read all those huge books of short stories every day is more than extremely
boring.
(f) While at school, all the students must respect the official rules.
150

22 APPENDIX: LIST OF SOME ENGLISH BOUND MORPHEMES

22.1 Negative affixes
Discuss the distinction between the NEGATIVE PREFIXES w.r.t. their origin and
diachronic/synchronic productivity .

un-

Germanic
unable, unabridged, unclothed, unadvanced, unalloyed, unadorned,
unambiguous, unambitious, unaffected, unaltered, uneducated, unfinished,
unhurried, unknown, unloved, unread, unspoken, untouched, unwelcome
in-





Latin/French
(i) inability, inadequate, inaccessible, inarticulate, inhospitable, intolerable,
insatiable, invisible
(ii) imperfect, impossible, improbable, implacable, immature, immoral,
immobilized, immoderate, imbalance, impassionate, immortal
(iii) irresistible, irreclaimable, irregular, irreligious, irrelevant, irreparable,
irresolute, irresponsible, irresistible, irrational,
(iv) illogical, illegal, illegible, illiterate, illusion, illiberal, illicit
non- nonsense, nontoxic, nonstop, nonconformist, nonevil, nonprofit, nonplus,
nonage, nontaxable, nonphenomenal
non-American vs. un-American
dis- disarm, disagree, disabled, disadvantage, discourage, disease, dishonor,
disgrace, disgusting, discredit, disloyal, distrust, discontented, dissolved,
disregard, dispose, disapprove, disinherit
-less baseless, artless, careless, effortless, friendless, graceless, fearless,
helpless, homeless, hopeless, noiseless, powerless, sleepless, tasteless,
voiceless, trackless, weightless
-less+ness carelessness, effortlessness, hopelessness, sleeplessness, shamelessness,
lifelessness, restlessness
-free fat free, insect free, caffeine free, noise free, dust free
22.2 Some of the more frequent English suffixes
(a) State/Define the meaning and kind of the morpheme
(b) State the resulting categorial change
(c) Discuss the origin and the diachronic/synchronic productivity

-able (i) capable, bearable, agreeable, acceptable, comfortable, enjoyable,
transferable, laughable, manageable, portable
(ii) terrible, forcible, horrible, edible, transmissible, visible



-ad(a/e)
parade, brigade, barricade, marinade, cannonade, tirade, cavalcade, decade,
lemonade, serenade, myriad, monad


151


-age carriage, courage(ous), outrage(ous-ly), marriage, marriage(able),
envisage, damage, salvage, storage, pillage, visage


-al sensual, autumnal, animal, aural, cerebral, decimal, gradual, intellectual,
infernal, internal, manual, mental, natural, optional, oral, spiritual,
technical, usual, phenomenal


-ance/y
-ence/y
(i) alliance, elegance, reluctance, intolerance, relevance, resistance,
assistance, attendance, allowance, endurance, vigilance, militancy
(ii) difference, competence, conference, existence, influence, obedience,
patience, fluency, urgency


-a/e/ory (i) N: factory, memory, dictionary, category, burglary, depository,
dormitory, bakery, bravery, bribery, repertory, reformatory, witchery
(ii) Adj: necessary, primary, voluntary, obligatory, stationary


-ate advocate, dedicate, educate, abbreviate, deviate, enumerate, exaggerate,
fascinate, segregate, emancipate


-dom boredom, Christendom, dukedom, earldom, freedom, kingdom,
martyrdom, officialdom, random, whoredom, wisdom, Yankeedom


-ee employee, referee, alienee, donee, invitee, hiree, divorcee, appellee,
biographee, devotee, deportee, fiance, mortgagee, nominee, refugee,
trustee, expellee
recipient

-en (i) silken, frozen, oaken, woolen, wooden, golden, brazen
(ii) broaden, brighten, hasten, heighten, lighten, roughen, soften, frighten
NA
A/NV
made of N; silk+en = made of silk,
made st. A/N; to light+en = to make it light

-er (i) baker, fighter, dancer, killer, toiler, wrecker, painter
(ii) waiter, starter, hamburger/frankfurter, banger, breezer, poster
-or/-ar actor, beggar, radiator, carburetor, censor, debtor/creditor, doctor, editor,
jailor, liar, professor, rector, sailor, tractor


-(e/a)sis analysis, anabasis, genesis, hypnosis, neurosis, psoriasis, symbiosis
action, process, condition

152


-ful frightful, careful, doubtful, graceful, grateful, fearful, beautiful, dutiful,
helpful, joyful, pitiful, restful, shameful, tearful, tactful, worshipful


-fy diversify, fortify, ratify, simplify, terrify, testify, verify, unify, amplify,
solidify, intensify, modify, typify


-ian Cuban, African, Dominican, Ethiopian, Italian, Jamaican, Somalian,
Libyan, Mongolian, Liberian, Syrian, Tunisian, Ugandian, Australian


-cian logician, musician, technician, physician, magician, electrician, dietician


-ic poetic, endemic, barbaric, acidic, geologic, metallic, drastic, heroic,
majestic, prosaic, patriotic, strategic, satanic, emphatic, realistic


-ile domicile, docile, agile, fertile, fragile, imbecile, juvenile, infantile, mobile,
projectile, senile, reptile, sterile, volatile, versatile


-ine (i) columbine, divine, saturnine, supine
(ii) feminine, genuine, masculine, routine


-ise/-ize modernize, memorize, centralize, liberalize, penalize, nationalize,
privatize, acclimatize, familiarize, fertilize
ise >>> isa(+tion)

-ish brutish, foolish, childish, clownish, amateurish, bluish, bookish
Scottish, Irish, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Turkish, Jewish


-ism alcoholism, baptism, barbarism, colloquialism, despotism, heroism,
Nazism, nihilism, charisma, plagiarism, romanticism, terrorism


-ite Israelite, Semite, suburbanite, appetite, favorite, exquisite, dynamite,
meteorite, graphite, stalagmite, stalactite, pyrite
N // -A native of, quality of, mineral product // property of

-ity clarity, absurdity, debility, ambiguity, authority, captivity, ability, charity,
complexity, dignity, eternity, fraternity, humanity


153


-ive explosive, declarative, affirmative, additive, aggressive, assertive,
authoritative, cohesive, abusive, cooperative, exhaustive, expletive


-ment instrument, apartment, achievement, statement, testament, government


-ology morphology, biology, ethnology, philology, ontology, theology


-oid asteroid, Negroid, thyroid, tabloid


-ous serious, delicious, gracious, homogenous, mysterious, obvious, spacious,
malicious, nervous, tremendous, voracious, obnoxious, ridiculous


-ship hardship, friendship, apprenticeship, authorship, scholarship, fellowship,
lordship, ladyship, championship, citizenship, dictatorship


-(s/t)ion diction, celebration, action, injection, formation, infection, function,
junction, limitation, location, option, partition, question, reflection,
suspension, verification


-tude attitude, gratitude, multitude, solitude, similitude, latitude, longitude


-ure censure, exposure, future, legislature, overture, literature, picture,
prefecture, pressure, procedure, tenure, temperature, culture


-wise (i) counterclockwise, edgewise, marketwise, timewise, crosswise,
othewise, moneywise
(ii) streetwise, worldlywise
Adv /Adj

-y cheery, catty, arty, crafty, furry, dreary, faulty, dirty, foxy, hairy, itchy,
misty, rosy, salty, sleepy, wary
NA tends/inclines to have the property of the N

154

22.3 Prefixes of Germanic origin
be- beloved, bedeck, belabor, bemused, bewail, bequest, betoken, benighted,
bestow, bereave


for- forward, forego, forget, foresee, foretell


with- without, withstand, withdraw


out- outcome, outrun, outrageous, outswim, outlast, outtalk, output


over- overcome, overrule, overthrone, oversee, overact, overestimate

22.4 Non-German prefixes
ab- absolve, abnormal, abolish, abortion, abbreviate, abdicate, absorb,
abstract, abstain, aberration

amb- ambivalent, ambiguous, ambidextrous, ambulance, ambition
around, about, both

an- anemia, anesthetic, anomaly, anonym, anorganism, anecdote
absence of

ad- adaptable, addict, adequate, adhere, adjacent, adjunct, admire, advance,
advocate, advise, administer


ana- anabasis, analogy, analyze, anachronism
up, back, again, too

ante- antecede(nt), antedate, antemeridian, antebellum, anterior


bi(n/s)- biceps, bicycle, biennial, bimonthly, bifocal, bigamy, bilabial, bilingual


co(n)- (i) connect, congress, congregation
(ii) combine, compound, cooperation, collect, correlate, coherence


155


de- deprive, defend, depend, deform, decay, debark, denude, depose


di- dichotomy, diameter, dilemma, dialog, diphthong, dioxide, dicephalous


en- (i) environment, entrap, encamp, encourage, endanger, enroll, signature
(ii) embark, embrace, embitter, employ, embody, employable, embellish


ex-
e-
ec-/ef-
(i) extract, exclaim, extend, exclude, exit, exact, excel, excite, expression,
excavate, exception
(ii) elaborate, eject
(iii) eclipse, eccentric, efficient, effort, effect, effervescent


in- (i) interior, influx, inhale
(ii) impress, imprison, immigrate, important


mal- malign, malady, malcontent, malefactor, maltreated, malediction,
malevolent, malicious, malapropism


post- postfix, postmeridian, postmortal, postnatal, postpone, postgraduate


pro- proceed, process, procedure, proclaim, produce, product, profess,
professor, project, prolific, progress, profluent


sub- subdivide, subscribe, submarine, submission, subject, subpoena


sys-
syl/m/n-
system, syllogism, syllable, symbol, symmetry, symphony, syndrome,
synonym, synthesis
with, together

trans- transatlantic, transportable, translate, transform, transmit, transplant


re- rebuild, recall, reflect, refold, regain, reiterate, rejoin, relate, relive,
remind, remarry, repay, resell, return, reverse, rewarm, rewrite


156

(26) SOME OF THE MORE FREQUENT ROOTS OF LATIN ORIGIN

-ali/ter alias, alibi, alien, alienable, alter (ego)r, alternation, alternative
Lat. ali, allo, alter ( other)

-a/enni/u- annual, per annum, annuity, anniversary, biennial, triennial...
Lat. annus ( year)

-aud- audible, auditor, audience, auditorium, inaudible, audibility, audiovisual
Lat. audire ( hear/listen)

cap/cep(t)- capable, caption, captive, accept, deception, exception, perceptive,
Lat. capere ( take)

cise/cide concise, circumcise, caesura, decide, decisive, precise, homicide, suicide
Lat. caesus ( kill, cut)

-cla(i)m- reclaim, claimable, declaim, proclaim, exclamatory, unclaimed
Lat. clamare ( call out)

-clud/s- conclusion, recluse, exclude, inclusive, seclusion, preclusion, occlusion
Lat. claudere ( shut)

-co(u)rd- cordial, courage, discouraged, court (-martial), courtesy, courtship
Lat./Fr. court ( heart)

-fac(t)-
-fic(t)-
-fec(t)-
(i) fact, factory, faculty, factive, satisfaction, facility, manufacturer
(ii) efficient, certificate, personification, proficient
(iii) affect, defective, effective
Lat. facer (Lat. clamare to make, the deed, construct)

-fer- coniferous, circumference, deference, fertile, fertilization, conference,
reference, inference, preference, suffer, transfer
Lat.ferre ( bring, bear, yield)

-fin- final, finish, finite, affinity, confine, define, definitive, infinite, finance
Lat. finis ( end)

-gen- gene, genetics, genial, genius, generic, general, generate,
genitals, Gender, genre, genuine, progeny, indigenous
Lat. genus ( race, kind)

-id morbid, splendid, horrid, tepid
V ADJ Lat.(French): ADJ having the quality of the Verbs. In ModE: frozen

-ist artist, biologist, chemist, dentist, evangelist, violinist, humanist, legalist,
monarchist, naturalist, pianist, racist, chartist, communist
N N Lat. advocate of X (co-occurs with -ism) (anarchist)
157

N ADJ practitioner of X (violinist, *drumist)
advocating X (sexist)

-mar- mariner, marina, mermaid, marsh, marshy, Margaret
Lat. mar ( sea)

-mem- memory, remember, memoir, memorandum, memento, commemoration
Lat. meminisse ( remember)

mitt/ss mission, missile, admission, submission, commit, submit, transmit, permit
Lat. mittere, missus ( send)

-nat-, -nasc- native, nation, nativism, internationalism, nature, natural, naturalize,
naive, naivity, innate, renascence
Lat. natus ( be born)

-omni- omnibus, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnicompetent
Lat. omnis ( all)

-port- port, porter, portable, export, importer, exportation, deportee, report,
reporter, reporting, support
Lat. portare ( carry)

-spond/s sponsor, respond, response, responsible, correspond, irresponsible
Lat. spondere ( pledge, answer)

-scrib/p describe, script, transcript, ascribe, prescribe
Lat. scribere/scriptus ( write)

-tempo- temporary, extempore, contemporary
Lat. tempus ( time)

-tend/s intend, intention, Tense, intensity, intensification, attention, detention
Lat. tensus ( stretch, strain)

-tent- tenant, tenable, contented, intention, retain, continue, maintain
Lat. teneo ( hold)

-trib- tribute, Attribute, contribute, distribute
Lat. tribuere ( pay, bestow)

-vi(n)c(t)- victory, victim, convict, convince, invincible
Lat. vincere ( conquer)

-vis- visa, vis--vis, visage, visible, vision, visionary, visit, visitor, vista, visual,
visualize, invisible, evident, provide, provisional, providential
Lat. visus ( see)

158

-viv(i)/-ta vital, vitamin, vivacity, revive, survive, vivisection
Lat. vita ( alive, life)

-voc/k- voice, vocal, vocabulary, vocation, invoke, evoke, provoke
Lat. vox, vocis ( voice, call)
22.5 Some morphemes of Greek origin
auto- autobiography, autocracy, autogenesis, automat, automatic, automobile,
autonomy, autonomous
Gr. autos ( self)

-chron- chronic, chronicle, chronology, synchronic
Gr. chronos ( time)

-itis bronchitis, arthritis, sclerosis, appendicitis
Gr.: inflammatory disease (in Greek: derived feminine Adjective

-drome- dromedary, airdrome, hippodrome, syndrome
Gr. dromos ( running)

eu- euphony, eureka, euphemism, Eudora, euphoria, euthanasia, eurhythmics
Gr. ( well, good)

hypo- hypochondria, hypocrite, hypotaxis, hypothetical
Gr. ( sub, under, less)

mon(o) monad, monarchy, monogamy, monologue, monotony
Gr. monos ( one, alone)

-p(a)ed- (i) pedagogue, pedophilia, pediatrics
(ii) pedestrian, pedometer, orthopedian, pedestal, podium
Gr. paidos ( boy =child/foot )

-phil- philologist, philosophy, philodendron, philanthropy, philharmonic,
Philadelphia, philatelist
Gr. philos ( love)

pro- progress, project, procedure, produce, promote, professor, proletariat
Gr. pro ( forward, before)

-soph- Sophia, sophisticated, sophomore, philosopher
Gr. sophos ( wisdom)

-the(o) theocracy, theocentric, theology, theologist, atheist
Gr. theos ( God)
159

RELATED LITERATURE
(A) The list A below gives practical manuals of English grammar which can help
students not fully familiar with the pratical usage of the structures discussed. The working
knowledge of this manuals is assumed for the course.

(B) The list B provides bibliography for the more theoretical manuals covering the topics
in more detail. They provide some discussion of the phenomena, provide much more data
and demonstrate alternative terminologies and analyses.

(C) The list C provides bibliography for the cited works and some additional literature
related to the topics discussed in the course.




A. PRACTICAL MANUALS
Alexander, L.G. (1993): Longman Advanced Grammar. Reference and Practice. Longman.
Hewings, Martin (2005): Advanced Grammar in Use (2
nd
edition) with answers and CD
ROM. CUP.
Jones, Leo (1991): Cambridge Advanced English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Leech, Geoffrey & Svartvik, Jan (1975) A Communicative Grammar of English.
Longman, London.
Murphy, Raymond (2004): English Grammar in Use With Answers and CD ROM : A
Self-Study Reference and Practice Book for Intermediate Students of English. 3rd
edition. CUP.
Svoboda, Ale & Oplov-Krolyov, Mria (1998) A Brief Survey of the English
Morphology. Filozofick fakulta Ostravsk univerzity, Ostrava.

B. THEORETICAL MANUALS
Dukov, Libue (1994) Mluvnice soucasn anglictiny na pozad cetiny. Academia Praha,
Prague.
Huddleston, Rodney and Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002) The Cambridge Grammar of the
English Language. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Huddleston, Rodney and Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2005): A Students Introduction to English
Grammar. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Leech, Geoffrey (1971) Meaning and the English Verb. 3
rd
edition. Longman, London
2004.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. (2004) A Comprehensive Grammar
of the English Language. Longman, London
Quirk, R., and Greenbaum, S. (1991): A Students Grammar of the English language.
Longman1991.

160

C. FURTHER RELATED / CITED LITERATURE
Akmajian, A., Demers, R.A., Farmer, A.K. & Harnish, R.M. (1990) Linguistics: An
Introduction to Language and Communication. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Chomsky, Noam (1981), Lectures on Government and Binding. Foris, Dordrecht.
Comrie, Bernard (1989) Language Universals and Linguistic Typology. Blackwell,
London.
Croft, William (1991) Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations. Chikago:
University of Chikago Press.
Crystal, David (1987) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
Demers, Richard A. & Farmer, Ann K. (1991) A Linguistics Workbook. The MIT Press,
Cambridge, Mass.
Finegan, Edward & Besnier, Niko (1990) 'Structured Meaning in Words.' In: Language:
Its Structure and Use. HBJ.
Fromkin, Victoria & Rodman, Robert (1990) 'Morphology : The Words of Language.'
In: An Introduction to Language. HBJ.
Katamba, Francis (1993) Morphology. The Macmillan Press Ltd.
Matthews, P.H. (1974) Morphology. Cambridge University Press.
Spenser, Andrew (1991) Morphological Theory. Blackwell, Oxford UK & Cambridge
USA.