LB Engl An2 Trantescu

UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA: ROMANA / LIMBA STRAINA
INVATAMANT LA DISTANTA
PROGRAMA ANALITICA
Disciplina: LIMBA ENGLEZA CONTEMPORANA
Specializarea: Romana- engleza ID
Anul II Semestrul I
Titularul disciplinei: lector dr.Ana-Maria Trantescu
I. OBIECTIVE:
- cursul urmareste predarea structurilor de baza ale propozitiei simple din limba
engleza, vizand gradul de complexitate al constituentilor din care este alcatuit acest tip de
propozitie, precum si relatiile dintre acestia. Cursurile preliminare studierii categoriilor
sintactice (The Sentence and The Phrase) au drept scop familiarizarea studentilor cu
concepte ca: teoria limbii, gramatica conceputa ca model, notiunile de competenta si
performanta lingvistica, caracteristicile universala ale limbilor naturale.
- cursul urmareste predarea transformarilor ce survin in cadrul propozitiei simple din
limba engleza intr-o forma teoretica coerenta. Urmeaza apoi prezentarea organizarii si
formalismului gramaticii generativ- transformationale, insistandu-se cu precadere asupra
componentei sintactice. Se acorda o importanta deosebita predarii categoriilor sintactice de
baza: The Sentence si The Phrase Unit, in calitatea lor de obiect al descrierii lingvistice.
- cursul urmareste nu numai identificarea constituentilor, ci si explicarea lor, precum si a
functiilor sintactice pe care acestia le indeplinesc.
II. TEMATICA
Cursurile sunt structurate pe urmatoarele teme:
1. Introduction: An Outline of English Syntax.
Acest capitol defineste si explica dferitele tipuri de abordare a gramaticii limbii
engleze, de la cea traditionala, structurala si terminand cu cele mai noi abordari in
domeniul sintaxei. Sunt definite de asemenea categoriile sintactice care opereaza atat
lexical, cat si la nivelul propozitiei.
2. Sentence types
In acest capitol este realizata o clasificare a propozitiilor tinandu-se cont de
propietatile lor gramaticale, semantice, fonologice si functionale.
- declarative sentences
- positive sentences
- negative sentences
- interrogative sentences
- imperative sentences (commands)
- exclamatory sentences
3. The Simple Sentence
Acest capitol analizeaza structura propozitiei simple, luindu-se in considerare doua
aspecte: structura, organizarea interna a propozitiilor, precum si relatiile gramaticale
dintre constituentii unei propozitii. Prima parte a acestui capitol enumereaza
mijloacele de conectare a cuvintelor in cadrul propozitie: inflexiunea, cuvintele de
legatura, ordinea cuvintelor, relatiile de coordonare si subordonare. A doua parte a
acestui capitol se ocupa de relatiile sintactice dintr-o propozitie simpla, de modul de
identificare a constituentilor, clasificarea acestora, precum si functiile lor sintactice.
The Phrase:
a. the Noun Phrase: structure and functions: subject, object, predicative, apposition
b. the Verb Phrase: structure and functions: predicate. Morphological and syntactic
aspects of predication.
Subject-Predicate Agreement
c. the Adjective Phrase: structure and functions: attribute and predicative: predicative
(complement) and predicative adjunct (the Complement of the Object)
d. the Adverbial Phrase: structure and functions: adverbial modifier which is a
secondary part of the sentence that modifies or renders more precise a verb, an
adjective or another adverb. Types of adverbial modifiers:
a. adverbial modifier of place
b. adverbial modifier of time
c. adverbial modifier of manner
d. adverbial modifier of concession
e. adverbial modifier of cause
f. adverbial modifier of purpose
g. adverbial modifier of result
h. adverbial modifier of condition
i. adverbial modifier of exception
j. adverbial modifier of relation
4. Complex Constructions
In acest capitol vor fi analizate constructiile infinitivale, participiale si gerundiale care
in limba engleza sunt folosite de obicei pentru transformarea unei propozitii
subordonate in parti de propozitie secundare. Aceste constructii sunt:
a. the Accusative with the Infinitive, the Present Participle, the Past Participle
b. The FOR- TO Infinitive
c. The Nominative with the Infinitive, the Present Participle
d. The Absolute Nominative with the Infinitive, the Present Participle, the Past
Participle
e. Gerundial Constructions
III. EVALUAREA STUDENTILOR:

examen scris
III. BIBLIOGRAFIE:
1. Badescu, A., Gramatica limbii engleze, Ed. Stiintifica, Bucuresti, 1963
2. Bantas, A., Elements of Descriptive English Syntax, TUB, Bucuresti, 1977
3. Budai, L., Gramatica engleza, Teorie si exercitii, Editura Teora,
Bucuresti, 1997
4. Galateanu, G., Comisel, E., Gramatica limbii engleze, Ed. Didactica si pedagogica,
Bucuresti, 1982
5. Levitchi, L., Preda, A., Gramatica limbii engleze, Ed, Stiintifica, Bucuresti, 1967
6. Murar I, Trantescu A.M., Pisoschi C.The Syntax of the Simple English Sentence,
Reprografia Universitatii din Craiova, 2001
7. Serban D. English Syntax, volume one, Bucuresti, 1982
8. tefnescu, I., Lectures in English Morphology, TUB, Bucuresti, 1978
9. Quirk R., Greenbaum S., Leech G., Swartvick J., A Grammar of Contemporary English,
London, Longman, 1972
10. Thomas A., Martinet A. A Practical English Grammar, Oxford University Press,
London, 1969
UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA: ROMANA / LIMBA STRAINA
INVATAMANT LA DISTANTA
SUPORT DE CURS
DISCIPLINA: LIMBA ENGLEZA CONTEMPORANA
Anul II Semestrul I
Titularul disciplinei: lector dr.Ana-Maria Trantescu
I. PREZENTAREA CURSULUI
Cursul contine urmatoarele capitole:
I. Introduction
II. Functional classification of Sentences: declarative, positive, negative,
interrogative, imperative, exclamatory sentences
III. The Simple Sentence: means of connecting words, the structure of Noun
Phrase, the Verb Phrase, the Adjective Phrase, the Adverbial Phrase
IV. Complex Constructions
II. SUPORT DE CURS
Chapter 1: An Outline of English Syntax.

Most of the grammars written in the 19 th and 20 th centuries reflected
the traditional attitude that stems from the 18 th century grammarians. They
were rather rigid and dogmatic, tended to reject actual usage, and were quite
frequently under the influence of Latin grammars. We find a different attitude
in H. Sweets New English Grammar, Logical and Historical (vol. I 1892, vol.
II 1898). Sweet had the attitude of an explorer rather than that of a legislator.
He wrote In considering the use of grammar as a corrective of what are
called ungrammatical expressions, it must be borne in mind that the rules of
grammar have no value except as statements of facts: whatever is in general
use in a language is for that very reason grammatically correct 1 . Apart from
Sweets works, the most elaborate presentations of English grammar have
been made by some grammarians in the Netherlands and Scandinavia: E.
Kruisinga, A Handbook of Present - Day English (1911), H. Poutsma, A
Grammar of Late Modern English (1926), O. Jespersen, A Modern English
1
H. Sweet, A New English Grammar, p. 5.
Grammar on Historical Principles (7 volumes: 1909-1949). These grammars
are fully documented, considerable attention is paid to the history of the
language and meaning is the main basis of treatment of syntax.
The past decades have witnessed - to a certain extent in Britain and to
a larger extent in the United States an increasingly changed attitude. One of
the first of these was the structural grammar, associated chiefly with the name
of the American linguist, L. Bloomfield (Language, 1933). As its name
suggests, the main thesis of this school was that language has a structure. This
structure can and must be discovered by a set of rigorously defined
procedures (discovery procedures). One of the procedures most emphasized
was substitution in a frame, to find out what particular class a word belongs
to. For instance, in a sentence The birds are singing we substitute other words
such as children, people, crickets for birds. The words which remain
unchanged The are singing provide the frame in which the substitution takes
place. The words that can be substituted for birds are members of the same
class. The most extensive use for this procedure may be found in Charles
Fries The Structure of English (1952). The chief characteristic of this
approach was a rigid exclusion of considerations of meaning. The structural
method considers the traditional type of sentence analysis unscientific
because it starts from the total meaning of the sentence and bases the whole
analysis on this meaning: it therefore labels instead of analyzing. Fries points
out that the meaning of a sentence is not just the sum of the meaning of all the
words. It is a combination of the lexical meanings plus the structural
meanings, i.e. the relationships of the words to each other.
As well as the emphasis on procedures, structural grammars
developed the technique of immediate constituent (IC) analysis. This is a
technique for breaking down a sentence into its immediate constituents; in
turn, these constituents are broken into their immediate constituents.
Eventually, constituents are reached which cannot be divided up further;
The most influential of all modern linguistic theories is
transformational generative grammar, TG for shorts. This theory was firstly
made public through Syntactic Structures (1957) by N. Chomsky. He has
pointed out that a grammar must satisfy various requirements: it must be
based upon accurate observation of actual language and also satisfy the native
speakers intuition about language. It must, for example, be able to account for
his intuitions that:
- some sentences are related to each other (e.g. active-passive)
- some sentences are grammatically ambiguous: cases of syntactic ambiguity
show that one and the same string of words may represent entirely different
constituent organizations, correlated with different meanings. For instance,
the sentence The chicken is ready to eat has two readings depending on the
function of the word chicken: subject or direct object (to eat = to be eaten).
- some pairs of sentences, though alike on the surface, are different at a
deeper level. The sentences The man was eager to please and The man was
easy to please show the same arrangement of constituents in their surface
structure but they are understood in different ways because there hold
different functional relations between these constituents in the two sentences.
In the first sentence the man is understood as subject of the verb to please,
while in the second the man is decoded as direct object of the verb please.
Chomsky offered the view that grammar is a set of rules for forming
sentences. A sentence (S) such as The headlights penetrated the darkness consists of a
noun phrase (NP) followed by a verb phrase (VP). In turn, the VP consists of a
transitive verb (Vt) and an NP; the last NP consists of a Det and a N. This information
can be represented in a tree diagram:
Such an analysis becomes generative when it is expressed in the form of
rules:
1. N NP + VP
2. VP V t + NP
3. NP Det + N
4. V t penetrate
5. Det the
6. N darkness, headlights
Rules such as those which allow for a single symbol at a time to be
rewritten or replaced by another symbol are known as phrase structure rules. By
applying these rules it would be possible to produce, to generate the sentence that
we wanted.
The question of generation concerns the contrast between competence
and performance: the TG grammarians are interested not in the actual
utterance of the speaker (which are a matter only of performance) but in
what is linguistically possible, in what the speaker can say (his competence)
they are finite devices. Chomsky put forth the concept of linguistic theory,
in fact a universal grammar, having both descriptive and explanatory
adequacy.
In early 80s Chomsky set up a new model of grammar, Government
and Binding (GB), which presents phrases and sentences as developing out of
the lexical properties of words. Each word may project a phrase i.e. it may
grow into a phrase. Phrase Structure Rules are no longer necessary, being
predictable from the lexical properties of words.
A more fundamental development concerns the relations between
semantics and deep structure: deep structure often accounts for semantic
differences which cannot be accounted for in surface structure. Some
grammarians suggested that deep structure ought to go even deeper and will
thus be identified with semantics. One of the most interesting theories that
have come out of this approach is the case grammar associated with the name
of the American linguist Ch. Fillmore. The theory is based on the fact that we
can, for instance, say John broke the window, John broke the window with a
hammer, The hammer broke the window, and even the window broke. Thus,
although we are talking about John as the one who did the breaking, the
window as the item that was broken and the hammer as the instrument which
was used, all three can appear as the subject of the sentence. Therefore,
traditional functions (Subject of etc.) are discarded as being semantically
irrelevant. New functions - cases - are introduced, which receive semantic
characterization, so that John is agentive, hammer is instrumental, window is
objective. Fillmores model takes us very close to logical representation
because he views the sentence as a relation expressed by the verb, holding
among a number of nominals.
2. Syntax is that branch of linguistics which describes the relation

between words and their correct arrangement in units of expression apt to
reflect logical units and patterns. While morphology studies words and their
changes in various situations and contexts, syntax describes the situations and
contexts themselves, deriving the principles, rules and patterns which govern
the arrangement of morphological elements as part of independent or
connected sense units. Among the various disciplines and branches of
linguistics, syntax plays the role of offering the structures of speech and
writing which are most adequate for the communication of peoples thoughts.
That is why many of the notions and terms employed in syntax are so closely
connected with logic and philosophy.
3. The present series of lectures is focused on the description of units

and the relation between them at the syntactic level of linguistic analysis. It
is also focused on the correct arrangement by which the strings of units are
constructed. The place held by function is central in this course of lectures,
syntax consisting of the treatment of the main functions of sentence
constituents: subject, predicate, objects, adverbial modifiers.
Evaluation Questions:
1. Define the domain of syntax.
2. Which are the most important models of grammar in the 19 th and the 20 th
centuries?
3. Enumerate the set of rules for forming sentences.
BIBLIOGRAFIE:
Bucuresti, 1997
Bucuresti, 1982
London, 1969
Chapter 2: Sentence Types
In morphology we examined the morphemic structure of words (words are

structured strings of morphemes); in syntax we shall see how words are combined
into larger structures: phrases, clauses, sentences. The sentence is the main unit of
syntactic description. The sentence enjoys a status of independence at the level of
occurrence, i.e. a structural independence, as well as at the other levels, such as the
phonological or the semantic level. The sentence is a string of words organized
according to the following properties:
- grammatical properties: there is an underlying hierarchy of
syntactic relations holding between the constituents of sentences, minimally
actualized by the relation of predication between an NP functioning as Subject
and a VP functioning as predicate of the sentence.
- semantic properties: the sentence is assigned a global semantic
interpretation;
- phonological properties: the sentence has a phonetic shape made up
of a specialized intonational (phonological) contour, the pitch and boundary
signals;
- functional properties: (the functionality of sentences in concrete
communicative contexts): the sentence items may be analysed as items of
discourse which serve most efficiently the communicative function of the
message. The sentential organization of units of information is the following:
the sentence is divided into theme (or topic) and rheme (or comment). The
theme renders old or given information; it tends to be incorporated in the first
part of the message roughly coinciding on the grammatical plane with the
subject group. The rheme is that part of the message that conveys new
information; it roughly coincides with the predicate group and the focus of
information is on the last constituent of this group.
Sentences may assume a variety of forms:
A. The overlapping between the form of sentences and the
communicative function of each formal type leads to the following
classification of sentences:
1. Declarative sentences are primarily used to convey information
under the form of Statements;
2. Interrogative sentences (or Questions) express lack of information
on a specific point and request the listener to supply missing information;
3. Imperative sentences (or Commands) are specialized for
requesting action under the form of orders, invitations.
4. Exclamatory sentences are primarily used to express subjective
reactions, feelings. They are the proper field of applications of those
modalities which are most clearly connected with our emotions.
There is no one-to-one correspondence between a certain sentence
form and its discourse function.
e.g. I wonder if youd kindly open the window
is a statement according to form, but a command according to function.
Further subclasses obtain if we take into account the possibility that
each type has variations according to polarity, hence there are positive and
negative variants for each sentence type.
1. Declarative sentences (Statements) normally end in a period or full

stop and are uttered in a falling tone. A declarative sentence expresses some
statement in the affirmative or negative form.
1.1. Positive (Affirmative) sentences are sentences in which the subject
is present and generally precedes the verb; the predicate is in the positive
(affirmative), form.
1.2. Negative sentences
1.2.1. The negation of a simple statement is accomplished in two ways:
- by negating the verb: verb negation is usually done by means of the
negative particle NOT which is attached to the operator, i.e. to the tense
(modal)-bearing element of the VP (be, have, modals).
e.g. John is not working these days. John has not been working for several
days. John could not have been working at the time.
When the sentence contains no operator, i.e. when the verb is a
simple present or past tense form, the auxiliary DO is introduced 2
2
The old negative form without the use of the auxiliary do is still preserved in the
poetic style, e.g. Those ills that we know not of (W.S.); I speak not, I trace not, I
breathe not thy name. (G.G. Byron)
e.g. They do not understand my problem.
Peter did not answer.
As we have already mentioned, the negation of a whole sentence is done
by means of the adverbs no and not. No is usually followed by the subject
(expressed by a pronoun), the operator and the contracted negative from nt.
e.g. Do you like him? - No. Have you seen Tom? No. I havent.
1.2.2. Polarity Items
Roughly speaking, for any affirmative statement there is a negative
counterpart, usually obtained by negating the verb (by introducing the particle
not).
e.g. John is happy John is not happy.
However, this is not always so. There are affirmative sentences which
have no negative counterpart (S/ * Not - S). Similarly, there are negative
sentences which do not have affirmative counterparts ( * S/Not S). This lack of
symmetry (regular correspondence between affirmative and negative
sentences) is due to the occurrence in such sentences of certain grammatical
and lexical items, which at least in some of their meanings or in given
collocations require only an affirmative or only a negative environment
(context). Such items have been called polarity items: those items which
occur only in affirmative contexts are called affirmative polarity items
(API), those which are restricted to negative contexts are called negative
polarity items (NPI). They are sub-classified into:
a) lexical items:
- items occurring only in an affirmative context: pretty (adv.), far, long since
e.g. Tom is pretty smart. *Tom isnt pretty smart.
- items occurring only in a negative context: verbs such as abide, bother,
budge, care (=like), adverbs such as at all, a bit, in the least/slightest.
*I like it at all I dont like it at all.
b) grammatical items
Certain regular correspondences between polarity items can be
established in affirmative and negative sentences: thus, for the indefinite
some and its compounds there are two corresponding items in the negative
sentence: non-assertive items and negative items.
e.g. Ive bought something for you I havent bought anything for you/Ive
bought nothing for you
He smokes a lot He doesnt smoke much.
Her mothers coming, too Her mothers not coming, either.
In most cases (except possibly that of never) the combination of not +
a non-assertive item is more colloquial than the negative variant. Other
grammatical NPI are restrictive adverbs such as: barely, hardly, only, rarely,
scarcely, seldom, little.
Sentences with this words behave like ordinary negative sentences. Thus:
- they are followed by non-assertive forms;
e.g. He seldom speaks to anyone.
- they correlate with positive tags.
e.g. You could hardly understand the book, could you?
1.2.3. Scope of negation.
If a sentence contains a negative element, the whole sentence is negative.
e.g. Ive never traveled anywhere by air yet.
The non-assertive forms even occur in affirmative subordinate clauses
following a negative in the main clause.
e.g. Nobody has promised that any of you will be released yet.
The scope of the negative particle normally extends from the negative particle itself
to the end of the sentence.
e.g. I didnt listen to any of the speakers.
2.Interrogative sentences
Interrogative sentences are usually subdivided into General questions, Special
questions, Alternative questions, Disjunctive questions.
2.1. General questions (Yes/No questions)
They are questions which require an affirmative or negative answer in relation
to the validity of an entire sentence 3 : yes, of course, rather, no, not at all, etc.
The intonation of General questions is rising .
General questions are formed by means of Subject-Operator inversion. This rule
inverts the order of the subject and the Operator moving the operator in front of the
subject:
- there is full inversion when the predicate is expressed by the verbs be, have in a
simple form.
e.g. Is the man in town? Has she sisters?
- there is partial inversion when the predicate is in a compound form or comprises a
modal verb.
e.g. Is he coming? Can you see the car over there?
Yes/no questions may however be focused upon some part of the sentence and this
may be achieved by grammatical focus or prosodically (by stress and intonation): Was
it John
that found the book? Was it the book that John found? Did John find the book?
When the sentence contains no operator, i.e. when the verb is in the Simple Present or
Past Tense, the auxiliary DO/DID is used.
e.g. Do you like that? Did John find the book?
The only alternative is to retain the statement organization of the sentence and to mark
it as a question by using the appropriate intonation, commonly a rising intonation.
e.g. Hes coming? John found the book?
2.2. Special questions (Wh- questions)
They elicit information on particular parts of the sentence:
Through the use of wh-forms we can ask for the identification of the subject, object,
predicative or adverbial of the sentence. The wh-forms are represented by the
interrogative pronouns who, what, which and the interrogative adverbs when, where,
why, how .
e.g. What was he?
Do does not occur when the wh-form questions the subject, i.e. when the
interrogative word is the subject or serves as an attribute to the subject.
e.g. Who told you? Mary. (subject)
2.3. Disjunctive (Tag) questions
A tag questions is a very short question attached to a statement. Tag questions
are very frequent in conversation. Their meaning differs from that of general or
special questions in that they are not requests for information but for confirmation that
a statement or supposition is really correct. Compare:
Did John leave? general question.
John left, didnt he? A sentence with a tag is the paraphrase of I
suppose John left.
The rules for forming tag questions are:
a) the question consists of an operator (auxiliary) and a subject;
b) the operator is opposite in polarity to the verb of the statement: if
the statement is affirmative, the operator is negative and if the statement is
negative, the operator must be affirmative. The operator in the tag
corresponds to the verb in the statement, namely:
- if the verb in the statement contains an operator ( be, have, do, can, must,
will, shall) the operator is repeated.
e.g. The Smiths are your friends, arent they?
You havent reed the book, have you?
I can depend on you, cant I?
You dont think we have lost our way, do you?
- if the statement contains no operator, i.e. when the verb is in the simple
present or past tense, the auxiliary do/did is used as for questions formation in
general.
e.g. He knows you, doesnt he?
c) the subject of the tag is always a pronoun which repeats or substitutes the
subject of the statement.
e.g. The girl/she is a beauty, isnt she?
Indefinite pronouns marked by [+animate] such as everyone, no one,
everybody are resumed in the tag either by he (as usually indicated in
normative grammars) or by they (often found in actual usage).
e.g. Everyone likes her, doesnt he/dont they?
Indefinite pronouns marked by [-animate] such as everything, anything, something are
resumed in the tag by it.
e.g. Something is missing, isnt it?
3. Imperative sentences (Commands)

3.1. Commands without a subject
This is the most common category of command, that which differs from a statement
in that:
a) it has no overt (formally expressed) grammatical subject;
b) the verb is in imperative mood (the 2nd person singular and plural).
3.2. Commands with subject
It is implied in the meaning of a command that the omitted subject of the
imperative verb is the 2nd person pronoun you. This is intuitively clear, but it is also
confirmed by the occurrence of you as subject of the following tag question: Be quiet,
will you! and by the occurrence of yourself as object: Behave yourself!
There is, however, a type of command in which the subject you is retained. You
indicates:
- the speakers irritation (these commands are usually admonitory in tone), e.g. You be
quiet! You mind your own business!
- a differentiation: to single out two ore more distinct persons.
e.g. You come here, Jane, and you go over there, Mary!
A third person subject is also possible: an indefinite pronoun when the imperative is
addressed to any person in the group.
e.g. Somebody open the window!
Everybody write their names!
3.3. Commands with LET
In the 1st and 3rd person sg and pl, the imperative can be formed by means of
let followed by a (pro)noun in the objective case.
e.g. Let each man decide for himself!
3.4. Negative commands. To negate the first three classes of command, one simply
adds an initial dont, replacing assertive by nonassertive forms where necessary:
I. Open the door! Dont open the door!
II. You open the door! - Dont you open the door!
III. Someone open the door! - Dont anyone open the door!
1st person imperatives (class IV), on the other hand, are generally
negated by the insertion of not after the pronoun following let,
e.g. Lets not open the door!
4. Exclamatory sentences
Exclamatory sentences resemble wh-questions in involving initial placement
of an exclamatory wh-element. The word which is emphasized by the speaker is
placed after the exclamatory word (except when the emphasized word is the predicate
of the sentence, which remains in its usual place, after the subject: How she sings!)
On the other hand, in contrast to wh-questions, there is generally no subject operator
inversion.
e.g What a beautiful woman!
The range of wh-words that can be used in exclamations is restricted to what
used with reference to a noun (functioning as predeterminer in an NP) and how
functioning as intensifier of an adjective, verb, adverb.
e.g. What a fool I was!
Sometimes the exclamatory sentences are elliptical, the subject and predicate
being omitted.
e.g. What a wonderful voice (she has)! How true (this is)!
B. According to their structure, sentences may be classified into:

1. simple sentences: are based upon one predication relation realized
by a finite verb form.
2. compound sentences: are based upon the coordination (conjoining)
of two or more simple sentences.
3. complex sentences: are based upon the subordination (embedding)
of at least one sentence. The embedded sentences are called clauses. Clauses
may be, in their turn, subclassified according to the verb form of their
predication:
i. Finite clauses, whose verb form carries the markers of mood, tense,
aspect;
ii. Non finite clauses whose verb form is an infinitive, a gerund or a
participle.
1. According to what principle can the sentences be classified to?

2. Classify the declarative sentences.
3. How can we accomplish negation in simple sentences?
4. Classify the interrogative sentences according to the type of answer.
5. Which are the forming rules of tag questions?
BIBLIOGRAFIE:
Bucuresti, 1997
Bucuresti, 1982
London, 1969
Chapter 3: The Simple Sentence
In this chapter we shall deal with the simple sentence. We shall analyse two
aspects: a) the structure, the internal organization of sentences; b)the
grammatical relations of the constituents in a sentence.
1. Means of connecting words in the sentence
The English language uses the following grammatical means of
connecting the words in the sentence:
- Inflexion: Words may be connected by means of their form
(inflexions). Although the English language has few inflexions, it widely uses
them to express the relations between the words in the sentence, e.g. He saw
them yesterday (the form of the objective case of the pronoun them indicates
its connection as object with the predicate saw).
- Form words: Form words (prepositions and conjunctions) are
another important device for connecting the words in the sentence. Modern
English widely employs prepositions to indicate the various relations of
(pro)nouns to the other words in the sentence.
e.g. Gardens crowded with flowers of every rich and beautiful tint
- Word order: When the English language began to lose its inflections,
word order became an important means of indicating the relations of words in
the sentence. As words were no longer connected by inflections, they had to
occupy fixed positions in the sentence to show their syntactic connections.
- Coordination and subordination: when two words are connected
syntactically, their relation may be one either of coordination or of subordination:
a) in coordination both words are equal in rank, one word is not
dependent on the other. Coordination is shown either by form words
(coordinating conjunctions) or by word order.
e.g. Mr. Dick and I soon became the best of friends.
b) in subordination the relation between the words is not equal, one
word (adjunct word) is subordinated to the other (head word). The
subordination of an adjunct to its headword takes the form of agreement,
government and adjoinment:
- agreement: by agreement we mean the repetition of the inflection of
the headword in its adjunct. Because of the scantiness of inflections, modern
English has preserved but few traces of agreement. We find agreement
between
i. the predicate and the subject,
e.g. Im tired;
ii. The head noun and its attribute. As adjectives in English have no
forms of gender, number or case, agreement between head noun and attribute
is found only with the demonstrative determiners:
e.g. this book- these books.
- government: is such a mode of connecting words when a word
assumes a certain grammatical form through being associated with another
word. We find government between:
i. object and verb,
e.g. She read the book;
ii. Head nouns and attributive nouns,
e.g. The boys father.
As English has very few cases (common and possessive in the noun,
nominative and objective in the personal pronoun) the object of any verb is in
the common case when it is a noun and in the objective case when it is a
pronoun. The role of formal government is practically reduced to nothing and
English widely uses another device for indicating the various relations of
objects to the governing verbs it has recourse to prepositions. Prepositional
government plays a very important role in English,
e.g. I looked at the boy/him.
2. The Phrase
The categories at the syntactic level are the sentence and the phrase. In order
to state general rules about the construction of the sentences it is necessary to refer to
smaller units than the sentence itself, i.e. the phrase. The phrase is intermediate
between a sentence and the lexical items (words) constituting a sentence.
The phrase refers to all structural sequences realized as groups of
words which occur as constituents of sentences. Phrases are based on:
a) subordination holding between a head (he principal word of word group) and its
adjuncts. The possible subordination relations at phrase level are of adjoinment
(determination, modification) and government. Sometimes adjuncts appear in front of
the head (prehead adjuncts) and sometimes after it (post-head adjuncts).
b) coordination holding between constituents of the same rank. There are four
types of phrases: the Noun Phrase, the Verb Phrase, the Adjective Phrase, the
Adverbial Phrase.
2.1. The Noun Phrase

2.1.1. The structure of the NP
The NP consists of the Head (expressed by a noun, a pronoun or a nominal)
accompanied by one or several adjuncts. Adjuncts may be expressed by:
a) Determiners: articles, demonstrative, possessive, indefinite
determiners;
b) Modifiers: adjectives, nouns, adverbs, prepositional phrases,
clauses. Adjuncts may appear:
1) in front of the head when they are expressed by:
a) determiners,
e.g. This movie is very interesting.
b) modifiers expressed by:
- adjectives, e.g. a low fence; old buses; a fine day
- nouns, e.g. A wire fence; London buses; Shaws plays
When an adjective and a noun modify the head, the adjective precedes
the modifying noun, e.g. That low wire fence.
- an attributive group of words.
e.g. A sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-chair movie.
2) after the head, when they are expressed by modifiers:
- some adjectives: present, proper, extant,
e.g. The story proper
- adverbs,
e.g. The examples above.
- prepositional phrases,
e.g. He was a young man of middle height.
- an infinitive, participle or gerund,
e.g. I have no time to spare.
He saw a figure standing by the door.
The conclusion arrived at is not encouraging.
- a relative clause,
e.g. The book which Im reading is interesting.
2.1.2. The functions of the NP. The NP has the following functions in the sentence:
subject, object, predicative, apposition.
2.1.2.1. The subject
1) Syntactic characteristics
The subject is expressed by means of noun phrase items:
- the noun (phrase), e.g. The library closes at 8 oclock.
- two or more coordinated nouns which make up:
i. A compound subject representing only one element, e.g. A
great poet and revolutionist was lost when Shelley died;
ii. Coordinated subjects, e.g. Tom and Maggie are the principal
characters in The Mill on the Floss.
- a noun substitute:
i. a pronoun (personal, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, indefinite,
negative)
e.g. Can you drive?
His is a large family.
Whos there?
Nothing was said for a long time.
ii. a numeral,
e.g. Four were missing.
iii. a non finite form (infinitive or gerund),
e.g. To escape would be difficult.
Reading aloud will help you a lot;
iv. a complex construction,
e.g. He happened to be in town at the moment.
He was noticed entering the house.
The children were seen running to the river (a Nominative with Participle)
v. a subject clause,
e.g. Whether he admits it or not is another matter.
Owing to the scantiness of inflections for person and number in the verb, the subject
is always expressed with the exception of imperative sentences having you as implied
subject.
The place of the subject.
The subject takes the first place in the sentence, place normally held by the element
which forms the theme/topic of discussion. The subject is placed
- before the predicate in declarative (affirmative and negative) sentences,
e.g. Turner was a landscape painter.
- after the operator (auxiliary, copulative and modal verbs) in interrogative sentences,
e.g. Can it be true?
2) Classification of subjects in point of content.
According to the criterion of content or semantic value, subjects may be classified
into: grammatical, impersonal, logical.
Grammatical (formal) subjects are directly connected with the predicate and therefore
usually determine concord between the latter and the subject, e.g. He knows you.
Impersonal subjects do not refer to a definite person or thing; they lack semantic
content altogether. The impersonal subjects are expressed by the impersonal pronoun
it. It is an impersonal empty subject of:
- impersonal verbs: dew, lighten, rain, snow, thunder
e.g. It often rains in autumn. It dewed heavily overnight.
- sentences expressing time, weather, distance or a state of things in general,
e.g. It was late when I arrived, it was midnight.
It is getting colder and colder.
Its a log way to the station.
- Indefinite/Generic Subject: (subjects of vague or general meaning) are expressed in
English by the following pronouns:
- they, meaning an indefinite group of people
e.g. They say I am like my father, grandmother.
- we, you, one, meaning any person, people in general
e.g. We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older.
2.1.2.2. The object
The main syntactic function discharged by NP constituents at the level of the verb
phrase is that of Object. The government relation holding between the predicating
verb and the Object(s) may be of two distinct kinds:
a) non-oblique: the function of the NP is that of Direct Object and it actualizes the
regime of transitive verbs;
b) oblique: the verb governs a prepositional NP. The functions of this prepositional
NP are:
(i) Indirect Object if the preposition is the dative to or for
(ii) Prepositional Object if the preposition is other than to or for
The Direct Object

The direct object (DO) is expressed by means of noun phrase items:
a) a noun (phrase),
e.g. I enjoyed the book.
b) co-ordinated nouns: two or more nouns
e.g. The box contains some documents and a pen.
c) a noun equivalent: pronoun, numeral, non-finite form (infinitive, gerund)
e.g. He didnt do anything.
Add fifty and thirty and you will get eighty.
I should like to explain.
She hates being contradicted.
d) a complex construction made up of a (pro)noun in the Accusative (Objective) case
+ a non finite form of he verb (infinitive, participle, gerund):
- The Accusative with the Infinitive occurs after verbs of physical perception, mental
activity, feeling, order, permission (acknowledge, admit, advise, allow, ask, assume,
believe, cause, command, compel, conceive, consider, declare, deny, desire,
recommend, request, see, suffer, suppose, understand, want,watch, wish).
e.g. He conceived himself to be calm.
- The Accusative with the indefinite Participle after verbs of physical perception,
mental activity, feeling (like, notice, observe, see, set, want, watch, hear).
e.g. And they heard him walking.
- The Genitive/Accusative with the gerund after the verbs hate, like, mind, prevent.
e.g. She doesnt like my doing that.
- The Accusative with the Past Participle after verbs like get, have, hear, like, want.
e.g. He had his hair cut.
I cant bear to hear them spoken badly of.
They had him brought before them.
- the Accusative with an Adverb occurs after verbs expressing feeling, order,
permission (desire, keep, order, permit, prefer)
e.g. I ordered him away. = I ordered him to go/stay away.
e) an object clause, e.g.
I dont know where he lives.
The place of the Direct Object

The DO normally follows the verb phrase expressed by a transitive verb,
e.g. Put out the candle, so that they cant see the light.
The DO is sometimes separated from the transitive verb by a prepositional object or
adverbial modifier. This is often the case when the group of the object is rather
lengthy,
e.g. Felix saw on the branch of the apple-tree a tiny brown bird.
2) Classes of verbs followed by a Direct Object:

a) transitive verbs
- transitive verbs followed by one Direct Object: drink, eat, love, meet, need, read,
seek, speak, write etc.
e.g. I need the book tomorrow.
The Passive Transformation: The Direct Object becomes the subject of the passive
sentence, and the subject becomes the Object of Agent.
The students loved their teacher.
The teacher was loved by his students.
- transitive verbs followed by two Direct Object (the first DO denotes a person, the
second a thing): answer, ask, envy, forgive, save, spare, strike, teach.
e.g. We ask him several questions.
Passivization: Constructions with two Direct Objects have two transformations:
Mr. Bent taught us a new lesson. We were taught a new lesson (1)or
A new lesson was taught to us (2). The most frequent is the first one (the personal
Object becomes the subject and the other Direct Object is retained).
- transitive verbs followed by a DO and an Indirect Object: bring, give, hand, lend,
offer, read, show, write etc. The usual order is IO + DO, e.g. I gave Mary a book. I
handed him a letter.
Passivization: Both Objects can become the subject for the passive sentence:
They showed me the picture. The picture was shown to me.
The first is the most common. The Indirect Object becomes the Subject and the Direct
Object is retained.
-transitive verbs followed by DO and a Prepositional Object: accuse (of), charge
(with), compare (with), congratulate (on), cure (of), deprive (of), prevent (from) etc.
The order of these objects is DO + PO:
e.g. They charged him with an important mission.
The Passive Transformation: the Direct Object becomes the Subject, and the
Prepositional Object is retained.
We congratulated him on his success.
He was congratulated on his success.
b) intransitive verbs
There are some intransitive verbs: die, laugh, live, sleep, smile etc. which can be
followed by DO. In such cases the verb behaves like a transitive verb. The object is a
lexical copy of the verb or a mere semantic one (cognate object).
e.g. Last night I dreamt a strange dream.
He lived a long and happy life.
The Indirect Object

The indirect Object (IO) is expressed by means of:
- a noun (Phrase),
e.g. He spoke to the manager
- a pronoun: the pronoun is in the objective case when it is represented by a personal
pronoun or by the interrogative-relative pronoun who,
e.g. Please send me a postcard.
To whom did you lend it? (or: Who(m) did you lend it to?)
a. The place of the Indirect Object
- the IO is placed before the DO (the IO is used without any prepositions):
e.g. He sold us his car.
She bought her mother a blouse.
- the IO is placed after the DO (the IO is preceded by the preposition to/for):
e.g. He sold his car to our neighbour.
I bought a blouse for mother.
b. The passive transformation
- the to - IO construction yields two passive forms:
a) the IO becomes the formal subject of the sentence,
e.g. The teacher gave John a book John was given a book (by the teacher);
b) the IO is retained,
e.g. A book was given to John.
- the for IO yields only one passive from, the one with the IO in subject position
being ungrammatical,
e.g. A book was brought for John. *John was brought a book.
2) Classes of words followed by an Indirect Object:
a) verbs
- transitive verbs followed by an IO and a DO (the order can be changed if the
preposition FOR is inserted): built, buy, choose, cook, cut, do, find, get, leave, make.
e.g. Buy me an ice-cream, please Buy one for me.
- transitive verbs followed by an IO and a DO (the order can be changed if the
preposition TO is inserted): assign, cause, give, hand, lend, offer, owe, pay, promise,
read, return, sell, send, show, sign, write:
e.g. This has caused us much anxiety.
Youve caused trouble to all of us.
- transitive verbs followed by a DO and an IO preceded by the preposition to:
address, admit, announce, ascribe, attribute, communicate, confess, contribute,
illustrate, indicate, introduce, mention, narrate, point out, propose, refer, recommend,
relate, repeat, report, say, state, submit, suggest, translate, transmit
e.g. Let me introduce my friend to your parents.
b) adjectives: dangerous, faithful, good, grateful, harmful, helpful, open
e.g. He always remained faithful to his principles.
c) nouns: benefit, gratitude, help, service, use
e.g. My gratitude to him cannot be expressed in words.
3) Types of indirect Objects
a) The non-prepositional Indirect Object. The non-prepositional IO is used when the
IO is placed before the DO. The non-prepositional IO is preferred in English because
(i) the object designating persons normally precedes that which designates things;
(ii) spoken English manifests a preference for shorter constructions,
e.g. The colonel gave us a smile.
b) The prepositional Indirect Object. The prepositional IO built up with the
prepositions to/for is required in the following situations:
- when the speaker or writer wants to emphasize the IO or to place it in contrast with
another IO,
e.g. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to anyone.
- when the IO is followed by a subordinate clause,
e.g. He gave a book to his friend who is visiting him.
- when DO is expressed by a personal pronoun while the IO is expressed by a noun,
e.g. He gave them to his mother.
- when both objects are expressed by personal pronouns,
e.g. He bought a rose and offered it to me
The verb give allows the omission of the preposition to (I gave it to her I gave it
her),
e.g. A gentleman gave it me.
The verb to write may be followed by an IO without the preposition to,
e.g. he wrote me a strange letter.
The Prepositional Object

Means of expression: Being a nominal part of the sentence, the PO can be expressed
practically by any of the nominal elements preceded by a preposition:
- a noun or an equivalent preceded by a preposition
e.g. He was looking for a pen.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
- a gerundial phrase preceded by a preposition,
e.g. He insisted on doing it himself.
She was conscious of being admired by everyone present.
The place of the Prepositional Object.
a) the PO is placed after the predicate when it is expressed by an intransitive verb,
e.g. He was talking with his friends.
b) The PO is placed after the Indirect Object,
e.g. Have you spoken to him about it?
c) The PO is placed after the Direct Object when the predicate is expressed by a
transitive verb,
e.g. He gave me a broad hint about it.
2) Classes of words followed by a Prepositional Object:
a) verbs
- intransitive verbs with obligatory preposition: argue about/with, aim at, boast of,
call for, care for, complain of, depend on, hint at, insist on, long for, look at/after/for,
pass for, resort to, wait for, wonder at, worry about.
e.g. Would you care for one of these books?
- transitive verbs with obligatory preposition: acquaint sb with, advise sb about,
assure sb of, blame sb for, bother sb with, congratulate sb on, convince sb of, cure
smb of smth, deprive smb of smth, help smb with smth, entrust sb with, mistake sb
for, remind sb of.
e.g. I am writing to acquaint you with the latest developments in the situation.
b) Adjectives or participles, which fulfil the function of a predicative in a nominal
predicate, followed by obligatory prepositions: angry at/about/with, aware of, careful
about/of, content with, concerned about/for, free from/of, good at, interested in, proud
of, satisfied with, successful in, surprised at.
e.g. Try not to be angry with her.
c) nouns: anger at, attitude to/towards, reaction to, response to.
e.g. What is your attitude towards this question?
3) Types of Prepositional Objects
a) The Prepositional Object of Agent is expressed by means of a NP introduced by the
preposition by. It denotes the person (more rarely the thing, natural element or
abstract notion) performing the action. This doer or performer of the action appears as
the real/logical subject in passive sentences, being therefore closely connected with
the passive voice.
e.g. This was given me by a young French lady.
b) The Prepositional Object of Instrument is expressed by means of a NP introduced
by the preposition with. It denotes the instrument, agency through which an action is
performed.
e.g. I managed to beat the dog off with a stick.
c) The Prepositional Object of Association is expressed by means of an NP introduced
by the prepositions with, together with. This PO denotes the person (more rarely the
animal and thing) participating in an action with the speaker or writer.
e.g. I am sending you the letter together with a copy of my reply.
d) The Prepositional Object of Relation is expressed by means of the prepositions for,
against, to, towards. It includes various kinds of relations as well as attitudes, feelings
etc.
e.g. Are his feelings towards us friendly?
2.1.2.3. The Predicative (The Subject Complement)

The Predicative (Complement), occurs after link verbs forming with them Nominal
Predicates. The Predicative has the following syntactic characteristics:
a) It is expressed by means of
- a noun phrase, usually a [-definite] NP,
e.g.He is an engineer. She has remained a widow.
- a prepositional noun phrase: (i) with deletable preposition: a whole group including
of NP which indicates attributes connected with colour, size, age, quality, shape may
undergo preposition deletion,
e.g. These shoes are (of) the same size,
Her dress is (of) the same colour as mine.
(ii) with undeletable preposition,
e.g. They are of the same opinion.
She is in good health.
- a noun substitute:
(i) a numeral
e.g. Mike was the first.
She was seventeen then.
(ii) a pronoun (personal, possessive, interrogative, indefinite)
e.g. The house was no longer theirs. Who are you?, asked Tom; It is I (In spoken
English: It is me).
(iii) a non finite verbal form (an infinitival or gerundial phrase),
e.g. His principal pastime is to drive in the countryside.
His hobbies are travelling and reading.
Seeing is believing.
- a predicative clause,
e.g. The trouble is that I forgot the address.
b) The Predicative cannot became subject through passivization.
e.g. He looked a complete idiot.
*A complete idiot was looked by him.
2.1.2.4. The Predicative Adjunct (The Complement of the Object)

The Predicative Adjunct determines both the predicate expressed by a transitive verb
and the noun (or the noun substitute) heaving the function of a Direct Object of the
Predicate. The Predicative Adjunct has the following syntactic characteristics:
a) it is expressed by means of:
- a noun phrase which occurs after verbs such as: appoint, call, choose, consider,
declare, designate, elect, make, name, nominate, proclaim, prove, select, vote.
e.g. They appointed Paul Brown chairman.
They elected him president.
- a noun phrase preceded by as, after the verbs: accept, describe, designate, disguise,
engage, regard, look upon,
e.g. The jury accepted the woman as a witness.
b) The Predicative Adjunct is placed after the Direct Object
c) There is number concord between the Direct Object and the Predicative Adjunct
e.g.They consider him a fool.
They consider the men fools.
d) The Predicative Adjunct does not become Subject through passivization,
e.g. They appointed Harry manager.
*Manager was appointed Harry.
Harry was appointed manager.
2.1.2.5. The Apposition

The apposition is an element which renders the main noun more precise or definite.
The apposition resembles coordination since two or more units in apposition are
constituents of the same level. For units to be appositives, i.e. in apposition, they must
normally be identical in reference or else, the reference of one must be included in the
reference of the other. For example, in A neighbour, Frank Brown, is on the phone.
a neighbour and Frank Brown refer to the same person.
In terms of structure, appositions are subdivided into:
a) the simple (close) apposition is closely connected with the respective head noun; it
determines or defines names of persons, titles, professions, geographical names.
e.g. Im afraid Aunt Augusta wont approve of your being here.
b) The loose apposition is considered less important than the close apposition; it is
separated by commas even if it does not include more than one word. The loose
apposition follows the head noun and has the force of a descriptive attribute.
e.g. Mr Smith, a friend of hers, visited her last week.
2.2. The Verb Phrase

2.2.1. The Structure of the Verb Phrase.
The verb phrase (VP) consists of a verb the head accompanied by its adjuncts. The
head is expressed by a predicating verb or by a copulative verb + NP/Adj.P. The
adjuncts are expressed by adverbial phrases, noun phrases, prepositional phrases, non-
finite forms (infinitives, participles, gerunds), clauses.
e.g. adverb: He reads rapidly. She walks slowly.
Noun phrase: He will pay next time.
Prepositional phrase: He reads in the library.
Clauses: He reads when he wants to relax.
Adjuncts may be obligatory or optional in the verb phrase.
a) obligatory: adjuncts functioning as objects
- direct or indirect objects for transitive verbs
V+DO+IO e.g. He offers flowers to the teacher.
- indirect or prepositional objects for intransitive verbs
V+IO e.g. It happened to Mary.
V+PO e.g. Look at the picture
- non-finite or finite clauses, e.g. He wants to help.
b) optional: adjuncts functioning as adverbial modifiers
- V+Adv Modifier of Place e.g. The children play in the garden
- V+Adv Modifier of Time e.g. He wakes up early.
- V+Adv Modifier of Manner e.g. He drives carefully.
2.2.2. The function of the verb phrase. The VP has the function of a predicate 4 in the
sentence. The Predicate may be defined as part of the sentence which ascribes an
action, a state or a quality to the subject. The Predicate necessarily includes a verb in a
finite (personal) mood.
2.2.2.1. Morphological aspects of predication. The constituents of the predicate are
grouped into the Auxiliary and the Main Verb. the Auxiliary consists of grammatical
formatives that mark the grammatical categories pertaining to the verb. It is
characterised by a non-homogenous discontinuous structure, being a sequence of
affixes (bound morphemes: -s, -ed, -en, ing) that alternate with auxiliary verbs (free
morphemes: modals, aspect auxiliaries). Any auxiliary in a finite clause contains
Tense as an obligatory constituent; all the other elements modal and aspect
auxiliaries combine with tense:
Aux Tense (Modal) (Perfect) (Progressive) (Passive)
Have ed Be-ing Be-ed
What is called the lexical meaning is contained in the last item which is the main
(lexical) verb; but only the first item is affected by person, number, tense and it is the
first item that makes the group finite. This first item in a VP is called the operator
since it is the key word in six important operations performed in the VP: a) the
negative of the VP; b) the interrogative of the VP; c) the negative-interrogative; d) tag
questions; e) emphatic affirmative; f) pro-forms of the whole VP.
The operators are a closed set, namely: be, have, do, the modals.
2.2.2.2. Syntactic aspects of predication
1) The place of the predicate in the sentence.
The predicate is usually placed after the subject, before the object(s) or adverbial (s),
e.g. The sun was shining brightly.
This order is changed in a number of cases when the predicate or the operator is
placed before the subject:
- interrogative sentences:
e.g. Is your father at home?
- conditional clauses when the conjunction if is omitted and the predicate contains an
auxiliary or modal verb,
e.g. Had I time I should help him.
- sentences introduced by so, neither, nor (pro-forms)
4
e.g. I am very tired! So am I
I dont like the painting. Neither do I.
2) The syntactic function of predication may be carried out by:
A) single item: a verbal predicate;
B) the joint contribution of two items a copula/link verb + a predicative: a nominal
predicate.
A) The Verbal Predicate
In point of composition verbal predicates can be classified into:
(i) the simple predicate proper (the simple verbal predicate) expressed by a verb in a
personal mood in a simple or compound tense (active or passive voice),
e.g. I had been shown the way to the post office and yet I didnt find it.
(ii) the compound predicate is such a predicate in which the primary lexical meaning
is expressed in one word a notional word -, and the additional grammatical
meanings (person, mood, tense etc.) are expressed in another word a semiauxiliary.
The compound predicate is of two types:
- the compound modal predicate includes a modal verb in a predicative mood
+ a non-finite form of the verb to be conjugated,
e.g. I think you might work harder.
- the compound aspect predicate which is made up of a verb denoting a lexical
aspect in a predicative mood and a non finite form of the verb:
My mother began to cry.
Verbal predicates are expressed by means of transitive or intransitive verbs. Verbs can
be classified according to the type of sentence structure in which they occur:
Structure Type of verb
SP Intransitive
S PA
SPO Transitive
S P OOO
(i) Transitive predication is performed by the following types of transitive verbs:

a) Simple Transitives (Monotransitive verbs). They include monotransitives
which indicate activities associated with affected objects. Here are some of these
English verbs; accumulate (goods, wealth), decorate (a room), beat (a carpet), break
(a window), burn (paper), carry (a box), (catch a ball, a train), drop (a pot, a glass),
eat (food), drink (water), move (a chair), open (a door), take (a book) etc.
b) Relational Verbs express symmetric or asymmetric interrelations between
sets or members of sets:
- reciprocal verbs which express symmetric relations between humans (divorce,
embrace, kiss, fight, marry, meet, resemble) are characterized by reversibility of their
Subject and Object, which explains their resistance to passivization, e.g. x married y
y married x * (y was married by x);
- Verbs of possesion (acquire, appropriate, get, have, possess, receive, own) resist
passivization. Reversibility of the two terms the subject and the Object is possible
only by recourse to other verb lexemes, basically the intransitive belong to which
takes the possessed item (the Object) as Subject,
e.g. The Browns own/possess/have an elegant villa The elegant villa belongs to the
Browns.
Possesive have is to be distinguished from: have with a particular activity meaning as
in have coffee (=drink), have a roastbeef (eat); have as a quasi-verb, with a rather
vague, general activity meaning (=experience, suffer), e.g. have a walk, have a
bath; have as a causative verb, in constructions of the form have something done,
have somebody do something;
- verbs of inclusive relationship (comprise, contain, cover, hold, include) are
semantically related to verbs of possesion,
e.g. The box has 25 matches There are 25 matches in the box. Some of the
verbs of inclusion resist passivization,
e.g. * 25 matches are contained in the box.
c) Complex Transitives (Transitives with Two Adjuncts)
Quite a few subcategories of Vt-s take a post-DO obligatory adjunct,
functioning as Predicative Adjunct/Indirect Object/ Prepositional Object/Adverbial
Modifier of Manner, Place, Quantity etc.
The subcategory of ditransitive Vs can be included here. Ditransitive verbs are those
followed by a Direct Object and an Indirect Object (bring, give, hand, land, offer,
read, show, right, buy, choose, do, leave, make, order), or by two Direct Objects (ask,
envy, save, strike, teach).
Transitives with Prepositional Object.
Semantically most of these verbs denote an inter-human relationship. Here are some:
accuse smb of smth; acquaint smb with sth, blame smb for smth, charge smb with
smth, congratulate smb on/for smth, deprive smb of smth, cure smb of smth, entrust
smb with sth.
The Direct object is +human while the Prepositional Object is in general +abstract.
They blamed Pete for their failure.
d) Transitives with Particles: bring up (children), call up (a person), clean out
(room), finish off (a letter), give away (a secret), give up (hope), hand in (a note), look
up (a word), make up (a story), pick up (an object), put on (a coat), sew on (a button),
take off (a coat) etc. The first subgroups include verbs with the rule feature [+/-
Particle Movement], the second, verbs that obligatory apply Particle movement, i.e.
[+Part Movement] verbs and the third, verbs that never undergo this transformation,
i.e. [- Particle Movement] verbs.
The great majority of transitives with particle represent the standard of
regular pattern: the particle precedes the Object NP; it is moved optionally in post
Object position if the NP is non-pronominal, and obligatorily if the NP is a personal
pronoun,
e.g. The man filled in the application incorrectly.(Particle movement)
The man filled the application in incorrectly.
The man filled it in incorrectly.
e) Recategorization of Intransitives as Transitives or Transitivization
The huge category of transitive verbs is fed by the smaller category of
intransitives by means of some distinct lexical and/or syntactic processes.
- intrasitive verbs are recategorized as transitive by means of a cognate
object: cry (tears), flash (fire), scintillate (sparkles) etc. The NP functioning as Direct
Object often contains a modifier expressed by an adjective which indicates the mode
of the action.
e.g. She cried quiet tears (cried quietly).
He wept hot tears upon his mothers grave.
(ii) Intransitive predication is expressed by the following types of intransitive verbs:
a) simple intransitives are what traditional grammars call verbs of complete
predication. Semantically, they express events of all types of activities processes or
states with reference to a wide range of possible subjects. Syntactically, these
predicates are not followed by Direct Objects, but they can take as optional adjuncts
Prepositional Object as well as Adverbial Modifiers of various kinds.
e.g. The lilacs have bloomed (in my garden).
The boy slept (two hours) (in the afternoon).
b) intransitives with particle: they are lexically complex items, made up of a
verb and an adverbial particle (traditionally labelled as Complex/Phrasal Verbs).
- a number of intransitives combine freely with particles having a locative and
directional meaning. These particles preserve a relatively high degree of independence
from the verb they combine with. This independent status is confirmed formally by
their possible preposing for emphatic purposes,
e.g. A gang of thieves broke in.
The boy went out in tearless grief.
The balloon went up Up went the balloon.
c) intransitives with Prepositional Objects: this class is not homogeneous in
point of semantico-syntactic peculiarities. This lack of homogeneity is due to factors
such as the meaning contribution of the preposition, the degree of idiomacity:
- intrasitives, with no change in the meaning of the verb: abound in/with, allude to,
belong to, consist of/in, depend on, long for, rely upon,
e.g. The river abounds in fish.
- intransitives with a change in the meaning of the verb: account for explain, call on
pay a short visit, come across meet by chance, look after take care of, etc.
e.g. How do you account for this change?
d) intransitives with particle and preposition: this class includes phrasal verbs
(V+Part) which take a fixed preposition followed by its Object,
e.g. They had done away with this piece of legislation.
The office staff are looking forward to his retirement.
e) intransitives with adverbial modifiers:
- intransitives with locative adverbials:,
e.g. The house stands on the hill.
- intransitives with time adverbials:
e.g. The debates take place between 9 and 11 oclock.
- intransitives with manner adverbials:
e.g. I think he has acted quite foolishly.
- intransitives with quantifying adverbials (the verbs cost, owe, weigh take quantifying
adverbials):
e.g. The smart dress cost 20.
B) The Nominal Predicate is made up of a Copula (Link Verb and a Predicative)
(i) The Copula . The role of the copula is to perform the normal (syntactic and
morphological) tasks of predication, verbalizing the meaning carried by the second
constituent of the Predicate (i.e. the Predicative). In other words the role of the
Copula is: to link or connect the subject NP to the Adj. P/NP functioning as
predicative; to realize agreement with the Subject NP (in person and number); to
express the grammatical categories of the finite verb, that is person, number, tense and
aspect.
e.g. The book lay open on the table.
Being completely devoid of lexical meaning, the verb be displays the largest number
of combinatory possibilities, with any part of speech that can have a nominal function,
i.e. with a noun, an adjective or a past participle, a pronoun, a numeral, an infinitive, a
gerund.
e.g. He is a teacher/very competent/impressed.
This umbrella is mine.
We were only three.
To learn is to know.
His hobby was collecting stamps.
Almost all copulative combine with adjectives: appear, become, continue, fall, feel,
get, go, grow, lie, hold, look, keep, remain, run, seem, stay, turn.
Note that the function of connecting the subject with the subject complement may be
performed not only by a verb which has lost its lexical meaning, but also by a verb of
full meaning:
The moon rose red. = The moon was red when it rose. (The verb rose
performs here the role of a link verb connecting, the subject moon with the subject
complement red.)
Compare the following:
The sun shone brightly (Verb + Adverbial Modifier).
The sun shone bright and hot (Verb + Subject Complement).
The sun rose slowly and unclouded above the mountains (Verb + Adverbial Modifier
+Subject Complement)
(ii) The predicative expresses the meaning, i.e. the semantic force of the Predicate.
The predicative is realized by one of the following syntactic categories: Adjectival
Phrase, Noun Phrase (which may be prepositional or non prepositional), or a non-
finite form (see also 2.1.2.3. and 2.3.2.2.).
2.2.3. Subject Predicate Concord

Concord (agreement) can be broadly defined as the relationship between two
grammatical elements, such that if one of them contains a particular feature (e.g.
plurality), then the other also has to have that feature. In English the problem of
concord between the predicate and the subject refers to the concord in person and
especially in number.
2.2.3.1. Concord in Person. The person of the finite verb corresponds to that
indicated by the subject: when the subject of the sentence is a personal pronoun, the
verb (auxiliary agrees in pers with the personal pronoun),
e.g. I am Romanian.
2.3.3.2. Concord in Number is the most important type of concord between
subject and predicate.
1) Grammatical concord refers to the rule that the verb matches the subject in number.
(i) Concord of variable nouns. The normally observed rule is very simple: a singular
subject requires a singular verb, a plural subject requires a plural verb. This rule is
applied to countable nouns which are variable in form, having both a sg. and pl.
number
e.g. The window (sg) is (sg) open.
The windows (pl) are (pl) open.
Coordinated subjects agree with the verb in the plural,
e.g. The book and the pen are on the table.
His attitude, his smile were Byronic.
(ii) Concord of invariable nouns. With invariable nouns the predicate is either in the
singular (after singular invariable nouns) or in the plural (after plural invariable
nouns).
a) singular invariable nouns that agree with the verb in the singular.
- uncountable concrets nouns:
Butter contains animal fat.
Fruit is good for health.
- uncountable abstract nouns:
His knowledge of English is good.
- names of sciences:
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics.
- names of games:
Billiards is a game for adults.
- names of diseases:
Measles is a contagious disease.
- some proper names:
Athens is the capital of Greece.
b) plural invariable nouns agree with the predicate in the plural.
- summation plurals (nouns denoting objects made up of two equal parts):
Scissors are made of steel. Where are my glasses?
- some nouns ending in s annals, doings, earnings, proceeds, valuables (pluralia
tantum):
The valuables have been locked in the safe.
The goings-on are not to my liking.
- unmarked plural nouns (nouns of multitude) cattle, folk, people, police, poultry:
The cattle are grazing.
- substantivized adjectives and participles:
The handicapped attend special schools.
The wounded were taken to hospital.
- some proper nouns:
The Alps are the highest mountains in Europe.
2) Notional concord is the concord of predicate with subject according to the idea of
number rather than the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that idea. This
type of concord is used with the following nouns.
a) countable nouns that get zero ending in the plural (deer, sheep, works, Chinese,
Swiss) take a singular or plural predicate according to the meaning of the noun,
e.g. This sheep is very old./ These sheep give very good wool.
b) collective nouns (audience, committee, crew, family, government, team etc.). The
choice is based on whether the group is being considered as a single undivided body
(predicate: sg) or as a collective of individuals (predicate: pl).
e.g. The committee is made up of twenty people.
The committee have finally agreed on the agenda of the next meeting.
c) nouns denoting quantity or kind (kind, number, sort, variety).
e.g. The number of inhabitants has increassed.
A number of interesting papers were read.
d) plural nouns denoting titles of books, newspapers magazines take either a plural
predicate (according to its formal aspect) or a singular predicate (according to
meaning = a book, a volume).
e.g. The Times has a literary supplement.
e) a singular noun preceded by two coordinated adjectives agrees with the verb in the
singular; when the two coordinated adjectives differentiate the noun, the verb is in the
plural:
e.g. A blue and white cloth was for sale.
f) some coordinated constructions looked upon as a whole agree with the verb in the
singular:
- two nouns coordinated by and, when are conceived as a single notion, as a unit:
e.g. The poet and musician was invited to talk about his work.
- two nouns coordinated by and when they are determined by each or every:
Each tree and every bush is in bud.
- two or more infinitives coordinated by and
e.g. To take care of the children and cook the meals is exhausting.
- numeric expressions,
e.g. Two and three makes/make five.
Five kilometers is a long distance.
g) two subjects connected by with, together with as well as, no less than agree with
the predicate according to the number of the first subject (considered as the
headword).
e.g. The teacher, together with the pupils is expected today.
The ship, as well as the passengers, was lost.
No one except his own supporters agrees with him.
3) Concord by Attraction / Proximity. The principles of proximity denotes agreement
of the verb with whatever noun or pronoun precedes it sometimes in preference to
agreement with the headword of the subject. This type of concord is used:
- with subjects co-ordinated by eitheror, not only, but also.
e.g. Either your friends or your neighbour is at the door.
Not only Tom but also his parents are sending you their best regards.
- in sentences with the introductory subject there.
e.g. There is a pen, a rubber and some pencils in the pencil-case.
But when the nouns making up the enumeration are felt to represent a set of distinct
elements, the verb is in the plural:
There are a composer and a poet to come to the party.
- in sentences with the introductory subject here.
e.g. Here comes my friend and his twins. Here are your books and bag.
- in interrogative sentences,
Where is my coat and hat?
2.3. The Adjective Phrase

2.3.1. The structure of the Adjective Phrase:
The Adj. P is a group of words that has an adjective as its head word. The Head is
expressed by an Adjective. Its adjuncts may be expressed by:
a) quantifiers (comparison markers and adverbial intensifiers);
b) adverbs
c) prepositional phrases;
d) clauses.
Adjuncts may appear:
(i) in front of the Head (Pre-head adjuncts) when they are expressed by:
a) quantifiers, e.g. more interesting, much better
b) adverbs, e.g. He is enormously fat and lazy. It is surprisingly nice.
ii) after the Head (Post-head adjuncts) when they are expressed by:
a) quantifiers, e.g. Those years seemed unprofitable enough.
b) prepositional phrases, e.g. He is good at sums;
c) non-finite forms (an infinitive or gerund), e.g. He was eager to see her.
d) clauses, e.g. He is happier than he used to be.
2.3.2. The Functions of the Adjective Phrase

2.3.2.1. The Attribute. The attribute determines or modifies any noun or noun
equivalent irrespective of the syntactic role it discharges (subject, predicative, object,
adverbial modifier).
1) Means of expression. The attribute may be expressed by :
a) qualifying adjectives (beautiful, good, kind, small, tall, ugly)
b) relative/denominal adjectives (English, gold(en), silk(en), stone, etc.)
c) verbal adjectives (adjectives derived from ing or -ed participles)
e.g. The next day we made an astonishing discovery.
d) adverbial adjectives (afraid, agape, alike etc.) e.g. Who is the greatest man alive?
e) attributive clauses, e.g. a man who is timid A timid man.
2) The place of the attribute
a) The attribute usually precedes the noun it determines, more precisely, it is placed
between the determiner and the head of the noun phrase. This position is taken when
the attribute is expressed by an adjective proper (a qualifying adjective), by a relative
or verbal adjective,
e.g. He was a careless, impetuous, good-natured, generous fellow!
b) The attribute is placed in postposition (after the word it determines) when it is
expressed by:
- adjectives in fixed constructions of French or Latin origin (the compounds are
mostly legal and quasi-legal): heir apparent, postmaster general, Court Martial,
body politic, Ambassador Extraordinary, attorney general, sum total.
The Ambassador Extraordinary attended all the cultural
manifestations.
He was appointed Attorney General.
- some adjectives ending in able, -ible (which are usually derived from verbs) when
the head is modified by a superlative or by only,
e.g. He was driving at the greatest speed possible.
That is the only book available.
- a few adjectives which have a different sense when they occur attributively or
predicatively: present (being in the place in question), proper (as strictly defined),
involved (connected with), concerned (involved in)
e.g. The members (who were) present were in favour of the resolution.
The story proper is very simple.
The people (who were) involved were not found.
- adverbial adjectives (with the prefix a: alive, awake, asleep etc.)
e.g. There were few passengers astir (C.D.)
Mouth agape with astonishment. No man alive.
Some adverbial adjectives precede the head when they are modified.
e.g. The half-asleep children; the fully awake patient; a somewhat
afraid soldier; a very ashamed girl; a completely aware woman.
For most adjectives postposition is possible if the adjective has a complementation
(the adjective is determined by some phrases).
e.g. A few traditional trends peculiar to this country.
Any rule liable to exceptions is only relative.
- adjectives determining or modifying an indefinite pronoun ending in one, -body,
-thing.
e.g. The evening passed quietly, unmarked by anything extraordinary.
There is something strange, but I dont understand it.
- adjectives such as deep, high, long, old, square, thick, wide are placed after the NP
denoting measure or time.
e.g. He saw a wall six feet high.
The ice was an inch thick.
- in poetical language, when the unusual position of the attributive adjective is felt as
a sort of poetical licence
e.g. With fingers weary and worn/ With eyelids heavy and red/ A
woman sat(Th. Hood)
2.3.2.2.The Predicative
1) The Predicative (Complement) is placed after a copulative verb.
It may be expressed by an adjective or co-ordinated adjectives.
e.g. In the north of Scotland the streams are very rapid.
It was growing dark and foggy (C.D.).
We kept silent.
Most adjectives may occur as either noun modifiers (Attributes) or Predicatives, i.e.
they may occur in both frames: Det + Adj + N; NP + V+ Adj (+Prep. P). The
adjectives that occur in both frames are either qualifying or verbal.
e.g. They look healthy a healthy man.
She is polite a polite woman.
I am very proud of your results a proud girl.
The tall man / The man is tall.
An astonishing discovery. The discovery is astonishing
Relative (denominal) adjectives cannot appear as Predicatives unless a figurative
meaning is intended
e.g. She has a golden watch.
A wooden box.
*The box is wooden.
But: Her movements were wooden (=like wood).
These adjectives are:
- adjectives ending in en, derived from concrete nouns (see the examples above)
- adjectives which indicate points of the compass:
Romania lies in Eastern Europe.
- other adjectives derived from nouns: medical advice; atomic structure
- some adjectives from which adverbs can be derived:
my former friend, her late husband.
Adjectives which can be used only predicatively:
- adjectives like: ill, well, drunk, worth, alert
She is ill.
I am well now.
- adjectives derived with the prefix a-: ablaze, afraid, alone, ashamed, alike, asleep,
awake, aware (Adverbial Adjectives)
I was still asleep then.
He appeared aghast.
Some of these predicative adjectives have a synonym with an attibutive value: afraid
- frightened
alive living
alone - lonely
They can be used attributively when they are preceded by an adverb: the half asleep
baby, a completely aware person. Some of the predicative adjectives take
Prepositional Objects:
e.g. You should be ashamed of yourself.
The town was ablaze with lights.
The Predicative is occasionally placed in front position for stylistic reasons (for
purposes of emphasis or effectiveness).
So difficult was my position that I had no choice.
2) The predicative Adjunct (The Complement of the Object) determines both the
predicate expressed by a transitive verb and the noun having the function of a direct
object of the predicate. The adjective functioning as predicative adjunct often
expresses the results of the process denoted by the verb,
e.g. He pushed the door open (the result of the process can be stated:
The door is open).
The predicative Adjunct occurs after the following transitive verbs:
bake (hard), boil (hard), break (open), drive (crazy, mad),lick (clean), make (happy),
open (wide), paint (green, white), push (open, shut), set (free), slam (shut), wash
(clean).
e.g. She boiled the eggs hard.
She dyed her hair brown.
He made his wife happy.
It also occurs after verbs expressing mental activity: consider, deem, find, think,
e.g. They thought the idea very funny.
2.4. The Adverbial Phrase

2.4.1. The Structure of the Adverbial Phrase
The adverbial phrase is a group of words that has an adverb as its head. The head may
be accompanied by one or several adjuncts, expressed by means of quantifiers or
other adverb classes. The adjuncts may appear:
a) in front of the head when they are expressed by quantifiers, e.g. very
fast; or by adverbs, e.g. intolerably fast.
b) after the head when they are expressed by quantifiers, e.g. fast
enough.
2.4.2. The functions of the Adverbial Phrase

The adverbial Phrase discharges the function of an adverbial modifier or of a
predicative in the sentence.
The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence which modifies or renders
more precise a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It expresses the various
circumstances that may attend an activity or a state such as place, time, manner, cause
etc.
The adverbial modifier is expressed by means of:
- an adverb (including an adverbial phrase, i.e. a phrase with an adverb as its head),
e.g. Well go there.
I dont know them well enough.
She smiled proudly.
- a prepositional phrase: the adverbial phrase may be realized by prepositional
phrases, i.e. structures consisting of a noun phrase dominated by a preposition,
e.g. The children were playing in the street.
Handle the box with care.
- a noun phrase,
e.g. It rained all day.
- non-finite verbs (infinitival, gerundial, participial phrases.
e.g. Working intently, she did not notice the man who had come up to
her.
- a finite clause,
e.g. He was happy when his friend arrived.
The place of adverbial modifiers.
The position of adverbial modifiers is generally mobile, i.e. they are capable of
occurring in more than one position in the sentence.
Adverbial modifiers may occur:
- at the end of the sentence (end position), i.e. after the object if there is one, or after
the predicate if there is no object.
e.g. He stated his opinion clearly/yesterday/there.
- in the middle of the sentence, within the verbal phrase
e.g. She quickly realized the difficulty.
He had never used this machine.
- at the beginning of the sentence (front position),i.e. before the subject,
e.g. All his life he had hungered for her love.
Slowly she began to move.
Optionality of Adverbial Modifiers:
a) Most adverbials are optional, i.e. they may be added or removed from a sentence
without affecting its acceptability.
e.g. He did this all afternoon.
He did this.
b) Adverbials are obligatory only after
- a small set of verbs that require either a predicative or a adverbial: be, lie, live, put,
stand.
e.g. He is in the garden.
He lived in Rome/happily.
- a small set of verbs that require both an object and an adverbial place, put, set,
e.g. He put the book on the table.
He placed his arms around her shoulders.
Adverbial modifiers may occur more than once in succession in a clause,
e.g. He ran quickly down the stairs.
2.4.3. Types of Adverbial Modifiers

According to their meaning, adverbial modifiers may be classified as follows:
2.4.3.1. Adverbial Modifiers of Place

I. Adverbials of place are expressed by means of:
- an adverb(ial phrase)
e.g. Lets stop here.
The noise was coming from upstairs.
- a noun phrase: verbs such as come, fall, go, move, rise, run, travel, walk can take an
adverb which has the form of an NP
e.g. We have come a long way.
They ran the distance in record time.
Step this way, please.
- a prepositional phrase,
e.g. We buy bread at the bakers.
- an adverbial clause of place
e.g. We do our shopping where every body else does.
2) Position of place adverbials
a) Adverbials of place usually appear in end position:
- after a predicate when it is expressed by an intransitive verb
e.g. I am going to the country.
- after the direct object when the predicate is expressed by a transitive verb
e.g. Hes been reading a book in the library.
Ill meet you downstairs.
The adverbial of place can occur between the verb and the direct object if the
direct object is too long or is expressed by a subordinate clause,
e.g. They took into the reading room all the dictionaries they needed.
- after the adverbial of manner,
e.g. Hes been working hard in the library.
The adverbial of place indicating direction sometimes occurs immediately
after the verb before the adverbial of manner.
e.g. She went to school in a hurry yesterday.
- the adverbial of place occurs before the adverbial of definite time,
e.g. Im going to the country the day after tomorrow,
b) Adverbials of place (especially prepositional phrases) sometimes appear in initial
position (stylistic inversion):
- they may be put there for contrast or emphasis
e.g. From the window you had an excellent view of the harbour.
- some adverbials of place denoting direction (away, in, off, out, up) may occupy
initial preposition: in that position they have a dramatic impact and normally co-occur
with verbs in the simple present or past tense.
e.g. Away he hastened into the field.
If the subject is not a pronoun but a noun and therefore has greater informational
value, subject-verb inversion is normal.
e.g. Out came the chaise, in went the horses, on sprang the boys, in
got the travellers. (C.D.)
Off goes your train.
c) Two adverbials of place can co-occur in hierarchical relationship: the more specific
adverbial precedes the less specific.
e.g. Many people eat in restaurants in London.
Only the less specific adverbial can be transposed to initial position,
e.g. In London many people eat in restaurants.
*In restaurants many people eat in London.
The adverbial expressed by an adverb normally comes before a prepositional phrase,
e.g. They drove downhill to the village.
3) The meaning of adverbials of place: Adverbials of place are used to indicate
position (here, there, somewhere) or direction (forward(s), backward(s), right, left).
Most adverbials of place denote both position and direction,
e.g. He lived a long way from here. (Position)
He has came a long way. (Direction)
2.4.3.2. Adverbial Modifiers of Time

Adverbial modifiers of time are expressed by means of
a) an adverbial phrase
e.g. He arrived yesterday.
b) a noun phrase,
e.g. She spoke hours on end.
c) a prepositional phrase,
e.g He came here in the afternoon.
d) a complex construction used for reducing an adverbial clause of time to an
adverbial modifier (a non-finite or verbless clause):
- an absolute nominative participial construction,
e.g. His homework written, the boy went out to play.
- a participle (sometimes preceded by a temporal conjunction)
e.g. Turning the corner, the lorry hit the tree.
She doesnt feel quite well when travelling by plane.
- a gerund preceded by a preposition,
e.g. On leaving the house she asked me to look after the child.
- a NP introduced by a temporal conjunction,
e.g. While in Australia, he learned English.
I remember heaving read the book when a boy.
e) an adverbial clause of time,
e.g. He is always air-sick when he travels by plane.
The place of Adverbials of Time

a) Adverbials expressing a point of time (now, nowadays, today, then, yesterday, last
week, at 5 oclock, etc.) usually have the last place in the sentence (after adverbials of
manner and place).
e.g. He came back yesterday.
We went to the cinema last week.
Time adverbials can be in a hierarchical relationship: the order of the
adverbials depends in part on information focus, but the tendency is for the adverbial
denoting the more extended period to come last,
e.g. I see you at nine on Monday.
They may appear in initial position with a slight degree of emphasis which is
usually achieved in this way.
e.g. Tomorrow youll feel much better.
The next day the expedition left for the Antarctic.
Only the adverbial denoting the more extended period can occur in initial
position,
e.g. On Monday Ill see you at nine.
*At nine Ill see you on Monday.
b) Adverbials denoting a temporal sequence (afterwards, before, eventually, finally,
first, then etc.) are usually placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
e.g. This first day of our vacation is going to be very enjoyable for us:
well first play a game of tennis.
Afterwards well do some sun-bathing on the beach.
Eventually well take a walk.
c) Adverbials of indefinite time and frequency denote an imprecise, vague period of
time (just, lately, recently) or refer to the habitual, repeated nature of the action
(always, often, never, seldom). Adverbials of indefinite time and frequency may take
the following places in the sentence:
- between the subject and the predicate expressed by a simple verb
e.g. I seldom read in the evening.
Englishmen rarely talk to strangers in trains.
- immediately after the operator in any complex verbal group
e.g. He had always been a reliable man.
He has never been to England.
- immediately after the verb be
e.g. He is never at home after 7 oclock.
Good novels are always worth buying.
- the modals dare, need, used to (regarded as marginal auxiliaries) generally follow
the adverbial
e.g. She never dares to open her mouth.
He often used to drop in for a chat.
- if emphasis is intended and the auxiliary or modal verb has a special stress, the
adverbial of indefinite time is placed before
e.g. I never shall forget the waking next morning
- adverbials may be placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis,
e.g. Generally/usually he doesnt drink coffee.
When placed in initial position never, seldom, rarely require an obligatory inversion
of subject and operator.
e.g. Never have I seen him so angry.
Never in all our life have we heard such nonsense.
- long adverbials normally take the last place in the sentence (like those of definite
time), but they may be placed at the beginning of the sentence (with a slight degree of
emphasis or for the sake of contrast).
e.g. He leaves the door unlocked time after time.
I have been in his office on several occasions.
d) Adverbials denoting duration (long, since, for a long/short time, during lunch, until
summer etc.) are usually placed at the end of the sentence.
e.g. They slept (for)a long time.
We always have to wait so long.
Relative positions of adverbials of time: there are three subclasses that can occur in
end position. Their relative position is duration (D) frequency (F) point of time (P).
e.g. Im paying my rent monthly (D) this year (F).
Our electricity was cut off briefly (D) today (P).
2.4.3.3. Adverbial Modifiers of Manner

The adverbials of manner can be divided into the following types:
Adverbials of manner proper denote the manner in which the action is performed.
(i) Adverbials of manner are expressed by means of:
- an adverb(ial phrase): the main method of forming adverbs of manner is by adding
the suffix ly to an adjective slowly, quickly.
e.g. She was smiling happily.
- a prepositional noun phrase: the NP is introduced by the prepositions by, in, with,
without, at.
e.g. I took it by mistake.
You must handle it with care.
- a gerundial phrase introduced by the prepositions by, without
e.g. He finished by thanking them for their help.
- an adverbial clause of manner
e.g. He drove the car as they had told him to.
An adverbial of manner can usually be paraphrased by in amanner in away with
the adjective base in the vacant position. Where an adverbial form exists, it is usually
preferred, over a corresponding prepositional phrase with manner or way. Hence, He
always writes carelessly is more usual than He always writes in a careless
manner/way.
(ii) The position of adverbials of manner-proper:
- when the verb has no object the adverbial of manner comes immediately after the
verb:
e.g. The car stopped suddenly.
She left quickly.
- if the verb is transitive and followed by a direct object the adverbial of manner is
placed after the direct object,
e.g. He prepared his lessons carefully.
She opened the door quietly.
- the adverbial of manner is placed with the predicate, ie. in front of the main verb,
especially when the direct object is long or determined (by a modifier, clause)
e.g. I clearly remember that day.
She quietly opened the door.
- adverbials of manner precede adverbials of place and time. The normal order is:
Manner Place Time,
e.g. They played very well at Wembley last Saturday.
- adverbials of manner may be placed at the beginning of the sentence for stylistic
purposes (constructions without inversion are also used in this case)
e.g. Silently and patiently did the doctor bear all this
Inversion is normal when the adverbs so, thus are placed at the head of the sentence,
e.g. So ended the sorrows of that day
Sentence adverbials (Viewpoint adverbials) usually qualify a whole sentence.
(i) Means of expression: they are expressed by adverbs ending in the suffix ly:
educationally, evidently, financially, naturally, normally, scientifically, theoretically
(ii) Sentence adverbials are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence,
e.g. Normally, there are several solutions that can be applied.
There is a difference in meaning between sentence adverbials and adverbials of
manner proper. Consider the following pairs of sentences: a) Scientifically, the
expedition was a success. b) the expedition was planned scientifically. In a)
scientifically answers the question From what point of view?, while in b) it answers
the question How? and could be paraphrased by In a scientific manner.
In the pair a) He had naturally stated his opinion, b) He had stated his opinion
naturally, sentence a) could be paraphrased as He had stated his opinion and that
was natural (Here there is an alternative construction, viz. Naturally, he had stated
his opinion); Sentence b) is pharaphrased as He had stated his opinion in a natural
way. In sentences like a) the adverbial is a sentence adverbial i.e. it modifies the
whole sentence, whereas in sentences like b) the adverbial modifies a verb only (here
plan, state). In a) the adverbial implies a personal comment on the rest of the
sentence; this is not so in b).
3) Adverbials of quantity, degree, approximation
Adverbials of quantity, degree, approximation occur in the following positions
in the sentence:
(i) they take the same position as the adverbials of indefinite time and frequency, that
is they are placed: a) in front of the predicate when it is expressed by a simple verb; b)
after the operator (the verb be, the modals, the first auxiliary of a compound verb)
e.g. I actually sat next to her.
He really likes her.
The degree adverbials: fairly, most, much, quite, very are placed before the adjective
or the adverb which they determine.
e.g. He speaks English very beautifully5.
Enough follows its adjective or adverb:
e.g. The lesson is easy enough.
(ii). Long adverbials take the last place in the sentence:
e.g. They annoy me a great deal.
We miss our friends a lot.
Adverbials of comparison can be subdivided into three classes:
(i) Adverbials of equality are expressed by means of:
- a noun phrase or an equivalent (pronoun, numeral, non-finite verb), an adjective or
an adverb preceded by the conjunction as:
e.g. She is as old as my sister.
Its as hot as in summer.
The conditions were the same as before.
5
- a NP (or equivalent) preceded by the preposition like
e.g. He behaves like a father to her.
It fits him like a glove.
(ii) Adverbials of unequality are expressed by means of
- a noun phrase or an adverb introduced by than (after a comparative form)
e.g. He went further than the other explorers.
Its cooler here than upstairs.
- a noun phrase or an adverb introduced by as (in correlation with not so/as)
e.g. He is not so bright as his brother.
- a clause
e.g. Its cooler here than it is upstairs.
(iii) Adverbials of comparison-concession are expressed by means of a prepositional
NP, an adjective or a non-finite verb (infinitive, participle) preceded by the
conjunctions as if, as though
e.g. She cried as if in a terrible danger.
- a clause
e.g. She cried as if she were in a terrible danger.
2.4.3.4. The Adverbial of Attending Circumstances.

While the adverbial of manner proper refers to the way in which the subject performs
the action, the adverbial of attending circumstances refers to the condition
beyond/outside the subject in which the action is performed. It answers the questions
In what conditions?, under what circumstances?
Adverbials of attending circumstances are expressed by means of:
- a prepositional noun phrase
e.g. He went out in the pouring rain.
- an absolute infinitival or participial construction (it may be introduced by the
preposition with)
e.g. The boys played on, with little Tom watching them.
Adverbials of attending circumstances may take a final or initial position in the
sentence:
e.g. After lunch we went sightseeing, with Tom as our guide.
2.4.3.5. The Adverbial Modifier of Concession.

It may be expressed by:
a) a prepositional noun phrase. The introductory prepositions are: in spite of, despite,
for, with.
e.g. I admire him in spite of his faults.
The last two prepositions for, with occur in the construction: for/with+all+NP
e.g. For all his technical skill, he is not really a great novelist.
For all his wealth, is not happy.
b) a NP introduced by the conjunction though in the structure though + not/no + NP
e.g. Though not a surgeon, I can tell a fracture from a sprain.
c) an adjective, or a past participle introduced by the conjunctions (al)though,
however, whatever
e.g. However busy, they call on her every week.
The adverbials in b) and c) are verbless clauses, since they are based on the ellipsis of
the predicate.
2.4.3.6. The Adverbial Modifier of Cause (Reason)

It is expressed by:
a) a prepositional noun phrase. The prepositions expressing cause are because of, on
account of, owing to, thanks to, from, out of, for, with, through.
e.g. Because of the soloists illness they cancelled the concert.
Thanks to his help we finished our work in time.
b) a non-finite form
- a gerundial phrase introduced by a preposition (by, owing to, for, because of);
I couldnt talk to him because of his not being alone.
- a participial construction
e.g. Finding it useless to argue with him, I left the room.
- an absolute construction
e.g. It being very cold, we had to put on warm clothes.
2.4.3.7. The Adverbial Modifier of Purpose

It is expressed by:
a) an infinitival phrase in the following patterns
to
in order to +Infinitive
so as to
for + NP + to
The infinitive preceded by in order to is rather more formal and more emphatic than
the infinitive alone
e.g. Children go to school to learn things.
We had to shout at the top of our voices in order to be heard.
The infinitive preceded by so as is used especially when the idea of result is also
present.
e.g. I shall go on working today so as to be free tomorrow.
(Purpose + Result)
So as is frequently used with a negative purpose.
e.g. We hurried so as not to be late.
So as is also used where there is a personal object of the main verb but the purpose
refers to the subject1,
e.g. Peter sent his son into the garden so as to have some peace.(i.e.
Peter was to have some peace). Compare with Peter sent his son into the garden to
play (i.e. the son was to play)
The construction for + NP + to infinitive is employed when the two actions have
different subjects/agents.
e.g. We stood aside for her to pass.
b) A gerundial phrase preceded by the prepositions for, with a view to,
e.g. This tool is for tightening bolts.
c) A noun phrase preceded by the preposition for.
e.g. Everyone ran for safety (in order to reach safety.)
2.4.3.8. The Adverbial Modifier of Result

It is expressed by means of an infinitival phrase in four patterns:
a) a to-infinitive,
e.g. He lived to be very old.
b) an infinitive preceded by as to whose correlative can be:
so-Adj./Adv.
Such+NP
e.g. I hope he will not be so weak as to yield.
1
Behave in such a way as to be admired.
c) a to-infinitive whose correlative is too+Adj/Adv.
e.g. He is too young to understand.
I am too tired to go out.
The construction for+NP is employed when the two actions have different subjects.
e.g. The suitcase is too heavy for her to carry.
e) a to-infinitive whose correlative is Adj/Adv+enough
e.g. He was not tall enough to reach the shelf.
2.4.3.9. The Adverbial Modifier of Condition

It is expressed by:
a) a noun phrase introduced by the prepositions with, without, but for
e.g. But for Gordon we should have lost the match (i.e. if it hadnt
been for Gordon)
Without his help I could not have been able to find the place.
b) an adjective or participle introduced by the conjunctions if, unless,
e.g. If interesting, we might publish it.
c) a non finite form:
- a participial construction,
e.g. Taken in small amounts it can do no harm.
The construction may be introduced by the conjunctions if, unless,
e.g. If distilled, water becomes quite tasteless.
Ill be back by 6.pm. unless detained by some urgent matter.
- an absolute construction,
e.g. Weather permitting, the expedition will set out in May.
2.4.3.10. The Adverbial Modifier of Exception

It is expressed by means of a noun phrase introduced by except (for), with the
exception of, but, bar(ring).
e.g. Everybody was present except Tom.
We had a very pleasant time except for the weather.
With the exception of John none of us had any money.
2.4.3.11. The Adverbial Modifier of Relation

It is expressed by means of a noun phrase introduced by the prepositions about, on,
concerning, regarding, respecting, as for, as to, with regard to, with reference to, with
respect to.
e.g. He knows everything about computers.
As for the meals, he had to cook them himself.
As we have mentioned an adverb can also discharge the function of a Predicative:
The film is over.
Time is up.
An adverb used as a subject complement loses its adverbial meaning and begins to
indicate state.
Compare: He speaks French so-so (An advebial Modifier of Manner) and How are
you today? Im so-so(a subject complement).
The adverb so is used to replace a preceding subject complement
She is very sad and looks so.
1. How can words be connected in an English sentence?
2. Which are the functions of the Noun Phrase?
3. The syntactic characteristics of the Subject
4. The syntactic characteristics of the Direct Object
5. The syntactic characteristics of the Indirect Object
6. The syntactic characteristics of the Prepositional Object
7. Enumerate the types of the Prepositional Object
8. Explain the structure and functions of the Verb Phrase
9. How many types of Subject- Predicate agreement are in English? Give examples
10. The syntactic characteristics of the Adjective Phrase
11. The syntactic characteristics of the Adverbial Phrase
12. How many types of Adverbial modifiers are in Ehglish?
BIBLIOGRAFIE:
Bucuresti, 1997
Bucuresti, 1982
London, 1969
Chapter 4: Complex Constructions
1. Definition
The term of complex constructions refers to the infinitival, participial and gerundial
constructions which are usually used to reduce subordinate clauses to secondary parts
of sentence.
These constructions are:
- the Accusative with: the Infinitive, the Present Participle, the Past
Participle
- the For- To Infinitive
- the Nominative with: the Infinitive, the Present Participle
- the Absolute Nominative with: the Infinitive, the Present Participle, the
Past Participle
- Gerundial Constructions
2. The Characteristics of the Complex Constructions
2.l. Complex Constructions have a predicative character, because there is an implicit
predicative relation between the two members of the construction: the nominal group
(NP), i.e. an Accusative or a Nominative and the verbal group (VP), represented by an
Infinitive, an -ing form or a Past Participle. The non-finite form of the verb functions
as a predicate of the nominal element, but this function is considered to be implicit,
not explicit, because the non-finite forms of the verb dont have the grammatical
category of person. The predicative character of the report between the two elements
is obvious because the function of these constructions is to substitute or to reduce
elements containing a predicate:
People consider him to be a responsible man = People consider that
he is a responsible man.
2.2. Complex Constructions
Complex Constructions
with the Accusative with the Nominative Absolute Nominative
Accusative + Infinitive Nominative + InfinitiveAbsolute Nominative
+Infinitive
Infinitive
I want you to start I was warned to start at He sent a post card first, the
immediately. once. letter to post later.
Accusative + Present Nominative + Present Absolute Nominative +
Participle Participle Present Participle
I could feel her coming. He was noticed standing Everything being ready we
there. left earlier.
Accusative + Past - Absolute Nominative + Past
Participle Participle
I want this finished now. - His work finished, he left
the office.
2.3.The action is seen differently in these three kinds of constructions:

a) Infinitival Constructions. We are interested in the action itself and consider
it finished: They saw her come. (= that she came).
b) Present Participial Constructions. The action is seen in progress: They saw
her coming. (= that she was coming).
c) Past Participle Constructions. The action is seen as a result:
We found the room deserted.
2.4.These constructions discharge the following functions:
1) Complex Direct Object (Accusative Constructions)
e.g. I heard Mary coming. I want this finished.
2) Complex Subject (Nominative Constructions)
e.g. He is believed to be a very intelligent man.
Mary was heard coming.
3) Adverbial (The Absolute Nominative)
e.g. Everything being ready, they left the room.
The work finished, they called her.
3. Accusative Constructions
Accusative Constructions are formed with a noun or pronoun in the
Accusative and a verb in the Infinitive or in the Participle (Present or Past).
3.1. The Accusative with the Infinitive
This construction is required by the following transitive verbs
expressing:
a) inert perception: feel, hear, notice, observe, perceive, see, watch:
e.g. Did you hear Peter come?
b) cognition (mental activities): believe, consider, expect, fancy,
imagine, know, suppose, think, understand
e.g. I expected you to be a good woman.
I knew her to have been seriously ill.
c) intention or wish: desire, intend, mean, want, wish
e.g. I want you to write your homewok at once.
Did you mean me to leave earlier?
d) feelings: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer
e.g. I hate you to be interrupted.
e) an order or permission: allow, command, compel, force, order, request
e.g. He allowed me to leave earlier.
He ordered the soldiers to be ready in time.
f) causative verbs: cause, get, have, induce, let, make
e.g. Peter made me laugh.
g) declarative verbs: declare, pronounce, report, usually with [+ animate]
subject
e.g. They declared him to be the best player.
h) some prepositional verbs: count on, depend on, hope for, wait for, etc.
e.g. We cannot wait for him to agree with us.
The verbs of perception (except for perceive), the verbs let, make and have
are followed by the Short Infinitive: I saw her enter the house.
The verb help is usually followed by the Long Infinitive in British English
and the Short Infinitive in American English:
Can you help me (to) repair my car?
Some verbs (except for want) can be also followed by That clauses. But
there are some differences between the use of a subordinate clause and of an
Infinitival Construction:
a) He requested me to come immediately (me + animate).
He requested that the project should be finished in due time. (project [-
animate]).
b) I wish you to be careful.
I wish you would be careful (but I don't think you will).
c) We think him to be very intelligent. (formal English)
We think that he is very intelligent. (spoken English)
The Accusative with the Infinitive is used after verbs expressing cognition
especially in formal English (the Infinitive of the verb to be).
e.g. We believe Jane to be a good doctor.
These verbs are usually followed by a Direct Object Clause in spoken
English. We believe (that) Jane is a good doctor.
3.2. The For - To Infinitive

An Accusative with the Infinitive can be also used after an adjective or noun, being
preceded by the preposition for:
e.g. It was important for him to be there.
It was madness for him to do such a thing.
There are some verbs followed by for which can be used with the For - To Infinitive:
arrange, ask, hope, long, plan, pray, provide, ring, send, telephone, wait, etc.
e.g. I arranged for them to bring the books.
They sent for the doctor to come.
The For - To Infinitive construction is formed with the preposition for followed by a
noun or a pronoun in the Accusative and by a Long Infinitive.
e.g. It was necessary for me to finish the work quickly.
This construction is used after:
a) adjectives: (it is/was) advisable, difficult, easy, imperative, impossible,
necessary;
b) nouns: idea, problem, subject, etc.;
c) some transitive and intransitive verbs.
The For - To Infinitive is used to reduce some subordinate clauses to parts of
sentence:
1 ) Real Subject introduced by anticipatory it:
e.g. It is advisable for you to pass the exam this trm.
2) Predicative:
e.g. The best thing is for you to accept.
3) Direct Object:
e.g. He wished for the letter to be posted at once.
4) Prepositional Object:
e.g. I would be delighted for you to come to the party:
5) Adverbial Modifier of Purpose:
e.g.I went to the museum for my children to see the new exhibition.
6) Adverbial Modifier of Result:
e.g. This problem is too difficult for him to solve.
3.3.The Accusative with the Present Participle

The Infinitive considers the action to be completed, while the Present Participle
presents the action in progress:
e.g. I saw them come. (= That means they have arrived.)
I saw them coming. (= I saw them while they were coming.)
The Accusative with the Present Participle is used after:
a) verbs of inert perception: feel, hear, observe, notice, see, watch;
e.g. I heard you talking to her:
We watched them crossing the street.
b) find, leave, set, catch, send;
e.g. I caught her stealing.
3.4.The Accusative with the Past Participle
This construction is used after:
a) verbs of perception:
e.g. I heard my name called.
b) verbs which express an order:
e.g. I ordered it finished.
I want it done at once.
c) the causative verbs have and get:
e.g. You must have your car repaired.
4. Nominative Constructions
These constructions are formed with a pro(noun) in the Nominative case and a verb in
the Infinitive or in the Present Participle. A finite form of the verb is between them:
e.g. She happened to be a kind woman.
She was seen entering.
4.1.The Nominative with the Infinitive is used after the following types of verbs:
1) intransitive verbs: seem, appear, happen, chance, prove, turn out which
are synonymic pairs:
e.g. They appeared/ seemed to be pleased with the issue.
She proved/turned out to be a good teacher.
2) declarative verbs in the Passive Voice: say, declare, report, announce:
e.g. He was reported to have been wounded.
3) the copulative verb to be and one of the adjectives: likely, unlikely, sure,
certain
e.g. The train is likely to be late.
Some constructions with the Accusative are transformed into Nominative
constructions (passivization). Thus, the Nominative + the Infinitive occurs after
transitive verbs which can be followed by the Accusative + the Infinitive in the Active
Voice (except for those expressing wish or intention):
a) verbs of perception: I was seen to leave the classroom. (Nominative +
Long Infinitive);
b) verbs of mental activity: think, know, cnsider, expect, understand,
believe, suppose, etc.
e.g. Dogs are considered to be intelligent and friendly animals.
c) verbs which express an order or permission: command, order, allow, Iet,
etc.
e.g. He was ordered to come.
I was allowed to leave earlier.
d) verbs like: cause, make, have, force, compel:
e.g. He was compelled to assume responsibility.
4.2.The Nominative with the Present Participle

This construction is similar to the Nominative + the Infinitive
construction with a difference concerning the aspect (the action is seen in progress):
e.g. I was seen entering the house.
The Nominative with the Present Participle is used after those verbs followed
by the Accusative + the Present Participle in the Active Voice (see, hear, leave, catch,
find, etc.):
e.g. He was heard talking to Paul.
5. The Absolute Nominative Construction

The Absolute Nominative is used when the Infinitival or Participial construction and
the sentence containing a predicative verb have different subjects.
This complex construction is formed with a noun in the Nominative and a verb in the
Infinitive or Participle (Present or Past):
e.g. They gave her the grammar books, the dictionaries to be sent by mail.
The project finished, he left the office.
The subject of the Absolute Nominative with the Present Participle can be anticipated
by it or there:
e.g. There being nothing else to say, they kept silent.
These constructions are used to reduce secondary clauses to Adverbial Modifiers:
a) Adverbial Modifier of Time:
e.g. Lunch being ready, her family sat down round the table. (= When lunch
was ready . . . )
b) Adverbial Modifier of Reason:
e.g. The weather being unsettled, we left quickly (= as the weather was
unsettled .)
c) Adverbial Modifier of Condition:
e.g. Weather permitting, we will ski tomorrow. (= If the weather permits ..).
This type of constructions is not common in spoken English, being specific to the
formal language.
6. Gerund Constructions
The Gerund can be part of a complex construction together with a noun
or a pronoun. There is a predicative report between the two elements of the
construction:
e.g. Your refusing to work with us amazed everybody.
The noun can be:
a) in the Synthetic Genitive:
e.g. I was surprised at Peter's calling me so early.
b) in the Accusative Case:
e.g. Did you mind him/Peter smoking here?
The Gerundial Construction is required after the same words which require a Gerund
form.
This construction can replace:
a) Subject Clauses:
e.g. Your trying to tell the truth was obvious = That you tried to tell the
truth was obvious.
b) Direct Object Clauses:
e.g. I don 't like his visiting us so often. = I don 't like that he visits us so
often.
c) Adverbial Clauses:
e.g. She being absent, nothing could be done. = As she was absent,
nothing could be done.
1. Enumerate the complex constructions in English and discuss them briefly.
2. Which are the characteristics of complex constructions?
3. Discuss the Accusative with Infinitive construction.
4. Discuss the FOR- TO Infinitive construction.
5. Discuss the Accusative with the Present Participle construction.
6. Discuss the Nominative with Infinitive construction.
7. Discuss the Nominative with the Present Participle construction.
8. Discuss the Gerund construction.
BIBLIOGRAFIE:
Bucuresti, 1997
Bucuresti, 1982
London, 1969

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UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA

III. EVALUAREA STUDENTILOR:

II. SUPORT DE CURS

Chapter 1: An Outline of English Syntax.

2. Syntax is that branch of linguistics which describes the relation

3. The present series of lectures is focused on the description of units

In morphology we examined the morphemic structure of words (words are

1. Declarative sentences (Statements) normally end in a period or full

3. Imperative sentences (Commands)

B. According to their structure, sentences may be classified into:

1. According to what principle can the sentences be classified to?

Chapter 3: The Simple Sentence

2.1. The Noun Phrase

The Direct Object

The place of the Direct Object

2) Classes of verbs followed by a Direct Object:

The Indirect Object

The Prepositional Object

2.1.2.3. The Predicative (The Subject Complement)

2.1.2.4. The Predicative Adjunct (The Complement of the Object)

2.1.2.5. The Apposition

2.2. The Verb Phrase

(i) Transitive predication is performed by the following types of transitive verbs:

2.2.3. Subject Predicate Concord

2.3. The Adjective Phrase

2.3.2. The Functions of the Adjective Phrase

2.4. The Adverbial Phrase

2.4.2. The functions of the Adverbial Phrase

2.4.3. Types of Adverbial Modifiers

2.4.3.1. Adverbial Modifiers of Place

2.4.3.2. Adverbial Modifiers of Time

The place of Adverbials of Time

2.4.3.3. Adverbial Modifiers of Manner

2.4.3.4. The Adverbial of Attending Circumstances.

2.4.3.5. The Adverbial Modifier of Concession.

2.4.3.6. The Adverbial Modifier of Cause (Reason)

2.4.3.7. The Adverbial Modifier of Purpose

2.4.3.8. The Adverbial Modifier of Result

2.4.3.9. The Adverbial Modifier of Condition

2.4.3.10. The Adverbial Modifier of Exception

2.4.3.11. The Adverbial Modifier of Relation

Chapter 4: Complex Constructions

2.3.The action is seen differently in these three kinds of constructions:

3.2. The For - To Infinitive

3.3.The Accusative with the Present Participle

4.2.The Nominative with the Present Participle

5. The Absolute Nominative Construction

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