III.

3.1. Labelling Constituent Function

The text in the following table was discussed earlier in section 2.8. In the present section with
its subsections the same text will be used to explain some syntactic aspects that have already been
presented, this time from a slightly new perspective.
Function can be clearly shown in the form of a slot and filler chart, in which four columns
suffice for these simple kernel-type clauses 1. Here is a possible analysis of this text. The conjunctions
are omitted:

1.
2.

SUBJECT
An old man

PREDICATOR
sat

There

was

a bridge

(S=; dummy S)
3.
4.

people
The carts

COMPLEMENT

ADVERBIAL
by the road. (A of

Place)
across the river (Ca)

(=S;
delayed S)
it. (Od)

were crossing
staggered

up the bank. (A of
Place)

5.

soldiers

helping
push

against the wheels.

(Prep O)

6.
7.

The trucks
the peasants

headed
plodded along

8.
9.

the old man

He

sat
was

out of

it all. (Ca)
in the dust. (A of
Place)
there. (A of Place)

tired. (Cs)

3.1.1. Types of Process in the Text

a). Relational process clauses
Clauses (2) and (9) in the text above are relational, both having the linking / copulative /
relational verb be as Predicator. In (9), tired, a one-word AdjP, is an intensive complement (Cs), the
attribute of the s he. Clause (2) will be described in more detail in 3.2.1. (a) below.
b). Actional process clauses
All the other clauses have Predicators which stand for actional processes: sat, were
crossing, helping, push, headed, plodded.
i). Transitive clauses

Some clauses in this table are not, however, kernel clauses, for reasons that will be discussed shortly in the subsequent
(sub)sections.

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Only one clause, (3), is transitive, having a Direct Object as Complement of the verb, the
pronoun it in the people were crossing it. This clause can be put into the Passive Voice: it was
being crossed. Transitive clauses must have at least two participants. Most of them, though not all, can
take the passive transformation.
ii). Intransitive clauses
The other actional clauses are intransitive and have no Objects as Complements of the verb;
they refer to actions that involve one participant only, i.e. the grammatical Subject.
Even though we can infer from the meaning of (5) that the soldiers would be pushing
something, the wheels, the clause contains not a Direct Object, but a Prepositional Object against the
wheels. It is, therefore, still grammatically intransitive, like the others.
c). Mental process clauses
In the short text above there are no mental process clauses, but examples from the same story
include:
I was watching the bridge. (perceptive process)
I was wondering how long it would be (cognitive process)
What animals were they? I asked. (verbal process)
It was my job to find out (behavioural process)
3.1.2. Some Transformations: Derived Clauses
Three of the clauses in the text above are not kernel clauses.
a). A special kind of relational-existential THERE:
In clause (2), There was a bridge across the river, the Subject is There, a word which is
usually an adverb-head of an AdvP. In clause (8), The old man sat there, there functions as an
Adverbial. But in (2) it has the special function of filling the Subject slot.
There is also a difference in the pronunciation of there in each of the two clauses: in (2) it is
unstressed and so it is reduced in pronunciation. We can check this by saying this aloud:
One time there used to be a field there.
There is used as a dummy Subject, followed by a suitable form of the verb be there is,
there are, there was / were, there used to be, there would be, there could have been, and so on
while a bridge in (2) is grammatically a Complement: it is the focus of information as the topic of
the clause, and it is a kind of delayed Subject. In English, new information is generally placed at the
end of the clause, and in speech it is marked by tonic stress. Because we cannot say:
* Was a bridge across the river.

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the Subject slot has to be filled with something. So, this clause, There was a bridge across the river,
is not a kernel clause, but a transformation / derivation of a kernel clause.
The use of the word there as Subject of a clause is extremely common, and it points to the
existence of something. This is the reason why it is generally called existential there.
b). Predicators in phase
The sentence (5), Soldiers helping push against the wheels, is of interest for two reasons.
Firstly, it contains two predicators in phase, helping push. The form helping to push is an
alternative we may prefer, but the analysis remains the same, and this sentence is therefore not a kernel
clause, because it has two predicators. It is possible to derive two clauses from the underlying units of
meaning. For example:
[Soldiers were helping]. [Soldiers were pushing against the wheels].
or:

[Soldiers were helping] [by pushing against the wheels].

The meaning remains the same, but the grammatical / syntactic forms are different.

c). Non-finite clauses

Secondly, the sentence above could not stand alone as an independent sentence:
* Soldiers helping push against the wheels.
This is because in the VP helping push neither verb is marked for present or past tense. Helping is
the ing participle (the present participle), and push is the bare / short infinitive (the infinitive without
to), so both are non-finite, and the clause is also called non-finite. All non-finite clauses are
subordinate within other sentences. For this reason also, this statement is not a kernel clause.
In the text, this formulation is introduced by the preposition with, functioning here as a
conjunction: .with soldiers helping / push against the wheels. And so we call it a prepositional
clause (PrepCl). Prepositional clauses are always non-finite.

3.2. More Clause Structure Constituents

The constituents of kernel clause structure described so far are:
1. SUBJECT (S)
2. PREDICATOR (P)
3. COMPLEMENT (Od, Cs, Ca)
4. ADVERBIAL (peripheral A, or Adjunct)
in the following combinations or patterns, in each of which one or more peripheral adverbials (A) can
optionally be added at the end of the kernel clause:

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1. SP or SPA (intransitive)
2. SPO or SPOA (transitive)
3. SPCs or SPCsA (intransitive)
4. SPCa or SPCaA (intransitive)
5. SPOCa or SPOCaA (transitive)
Examples:
1a. The children were playing.
1b. The children were playing in the street.
2a. People were crossing the bridge.
2b. People were crossing the bridge in haste.
3a. The old man was tired.
3b. The old man was tired after his walk.
4a. I have been in the garden.
4b. I have been in the garden recently.
5a. The old man put his bundle on the ground.
5b. The old man put his bundle on the ground wearily.
3.2.1. Direct and Indirect Objects
A kernel clause which contains a Subject and an Object is a transitive clause, with the relation
of Subject and Object often representing that of Actor to Affected, in a very general sense. In the
clause:
S
P
O
1). The teacher gives lots of encouragement.
the NP lots of encouragement is the Object of the verb gives. Encouragement is an abstract thing
that cannot be literally affected by the process of giving, so we can call it the goal of this process. It
is in a similar grammatical relationship to the teacher as the NP the pupils in:
S
P
O
2). The teacher encourages her pupils.
Both active clauses can be transformed into passive clauses:
1`). Lots of encouragement is given by the teacher.

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2`). Her pupils are encouraged by the teacher.

In the following clause, another participant is included (i.e. the third participant), represented
by the PrepP to her pupils:
S
P
O
PrepO
3a). The teacher gives lots of encouragement to her pupils.
which has an alternative version:
S
P
?
O
3b). The teacher gives her pupils lots of encouragement.
But the phrases her pupils (NP) and to her pupils (PrepP) have a similar meaning in this
context. Compare the following pairs of clauses where the same phenomenon of similarity of meaning
can be noticed:
S
P
O
PrepO
4a. John made a nice cup of tea for Alice.
S
P
?
O
4b. John made Alice a nice cup of tea.
S
P
O
PrepO
A
5a. Sue bought a new sweater for John on his birthday.
S
P
?
O
A
5b. Sue bought John a new sweater on his birthday.
These clauses can be further changed, by substitution of pronouns:
3b`). She gives them lots of encouragement.
4b`). He made her a nice cup of tea.
5b`). She bought him a new sweater on his birthday.
The clause constituents labeled with a question mark (?) have more or less the same meaning
as the PrepPs from which they are derived, but they differ in grammatical function.
We call NPs which can be derived from the PrepPs with to or for Indirect Objects (Oi).
They represent, semantically, the person who receives something the recipient (her pupils,
corresponding to the PrepP to her pupils in 3b. and 3a., respectively) - or the person who benefits
from something done the beneficiary (Alice, John, corresponding to the PrepPs for Alice, for
John).

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The other objects in the same clauses are called Direct Objects (Od) when they are in contrast
with an Indirect Object2:
S
P
Oi
Od
The teacher gives her pupils lots of encouragement.
(recipient)

(goal)

S
P
Oi
Od
John made Alice a nice cup of tea.
(beneficiary)

S
P
Oi
Od
Sue bought John a new sweater.
(beneficiary)

Notice that clauses with both Direct and Indirect Objects have two passive transformations, in
which both the Direct Object and the Indirect Object can function as the Subject of the passive clause.
The semantic roles of Actor (who gives), Goal (what is given), and Recipient (to whom it is given)
remain unchanged:
S
P
Oi
Od
Active: The teacher gives her pupils lots of encouragement.
Passive: 1). Lots of encouragement is given to her pupils by the teacher.
2). Her pupils are given lots of encouragement by the teacher.
Transitive verbs which take both a Direct and an Indirect Object as Complements are called
ditransitive, and those which take only a Direct Object are called monotransitive.
The structure illustrated by some of the examples above adds a sixth basic pattern to the list of
types of kernel clauses so far discussed:
6. SPOiOd or SPOiOdA (ditransitive)
E.g.

6a. He told me a good story. (SPOiOd)

6b. He told me a good story last night. (SPOiOd)

3.2.2. Intensive Complements Referring to the Object (Object Complements / Co)

i.e. When both types of objects are found in the same clause, this distinction in terms of direct / indirect is necessary in
syntactic description. When only one object is present, it is automatically a Direct Object, therefore this distinction is not
necessary, although it is not wrong to label the single object in a clause a Direct Object.

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In each of the following clauses there is an intensive complement (Ci) which describes an
Attribute of the Object:
Od
Ci
1. They elected Mary president by a big majority.
Od
Ci
2. Do you like your coffee black?
Od
Ci
3. The sunlight made the apple red.
In all these examples the noun president and the adjectives black and red complete the
action expressed in the verb and refer to the Direct Object. More commonly they are called Object
Complements (Co). The Object Complement, if expressed by an adjective, describes or limits the
object; if it is a noun, it is in a sense, semantically identical with the Direct Object. The verbs which
can be followed by an Od and a Co are called complex transitive verbs.
Now we can add a seventh pattern to the list of kernel clause patterns:
7. SPOdCo or SPOdCoA (complex transitive)
E.g.

7a. They elected him chairman. / They called me a liar. (SPOdCo)

7b. They elected him chairman last week. / They called me a liar at the meeting. (SPOdCoA)

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